The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

With the winter tournament under their noses already, the training menu also had some changes. To the players' relief, the physical portion was reduced to minimize the probability of injury, replaced by tactical and game-simulation training. That didn't mean the intensity went down, though. If anything, Akira went harsher than his usual self, setting a higher standard for his players. Continue your adventure at empire

"Come on, Jimmy! You are one second too fast! In the real game, you will give away what we are trying to do! Look at Koji's movement and synchronize with him!"

"Yes, Sensei! I am sorry!"

"Riku! 10 Push-ups for you! How many times do I have to tell you to curb your show-off tendency?! Do it when necessary, but not too often! Our opponents will realize that soon, you know?!"

"Hiee! Yes, Sensei!"

"Rano! If you cannot communicate clearly, synchronize your movement with the others! Always look at where Kai and Yuki are on the back, and protect the area they cannot cover!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Oka, you need to be more confident setting up an attack! You are our secret weapon, act like it!"

Three hours of training, and not even a single player managed to get out of it without being chewed by Akira. Somehow, this was more tiring than their usual training session. After all, the coach suddenly forced them to think more in the middle of a fast-paced game, which required time to get used to this.

Akira kept watching the training session with furrowed brows. He wouldn't say it out loud, but the coach had a high hope for this tournament. The hardest opponent they had to face before Matsukita was Tsukiji High, and based on how they played during the inter-high, even though that school managed to enter the semifinal, he was confident his team would be able to beat them. Hell, based on the improvement his players had during this summer, he even had the dream to beat Matsukita to go to the final.

However, it was still far away in the future, and for now, he had to keep his head down and not underestimate the other teams in this tournament.

"Anyway, Ayaka-san, the game between Sumida High and Tokomiyama High is tomorrow. Can you go and scout our next opponent?" He asked his manager.

"Sure!" Megumi nodded. Then, she pondered for a moment before asking, "Can I bring Yuki-kun too?"

Akira raised his eyebrows questioningly. However, Megumi just gave him her default smile, not giving any hint of why she asked for the glasses boy. After pondering for a moment though, he finally relented.

"Well, Yuki is one of the most observant players on the team, so having him scouting with you will probably give us a good insight there. But don't do anything stupid, okay?" He warned the girl.

"Sure!" She chirped happily. Way too happy to his liking. Inwardly, Akira sent his deepest condolences to Yuki. 'I am sorry, my boy. I don't know what I have gotten you into, but I hope you can survive.'

-0-

"So, not that I am complaining, but why bring me along?" Yuki couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, can I just ask to hang out with my beloved kouhai?" Megumi smiled playfully. As a result, Yuki just rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "Please, don't joke like that, okay? Koji-senpai will hang my head without mercy if he heard about this."

Megumi nodded as if she understood him. "Not only that, Kato-chan would also hate me for the rest of her life if I snatched her boyfriend." If only Yuki had drunk something, he would have sputtered it out comically at that remark. He stopped walking, feeling sweat starting to roll down his face. Megumi herself just smiled slyly, enjoying his panic state.

"Oh, what is wrong, Yuki-chan? Did you forget to tell me about something?" She smiled sweetly. Too sweet, even, giving Yuki a chill on his spine.

"N-No, Senpai! There is n-nothing happening between me and your sister!" He stuttered.

"Oh? Why?" She tilted her head innocently. "Is it because she is not pretty enough?"

Yuki cursed out loud when he realized he was falling into her trap. Now, he didn't have a way to get out of this situation and whatever answer he said, it would only strangle his neck to death.

Seeing him getting panicked more as time went by, Megumi finally took pity on Yuki as she let out a small giggle that confused the boy to death. "Oh, don't worry, Yuki! I am just joking here! I know that you both are close, and it is not my business to meddle with your relationship!" Yuki sighed in relief at her display of common sense. However, he winced unconsciously when her hand grabbed his tightly. "But if I hear you treat her wrong, no one will find the body, you understand?"

Yuki nodded his head frantically, trying his best to appease the older girl. Seeing that her point was delivered, Megumi nodded in satisfaction. "Good! As long as you know that, we won't get in trouble with each other!"

As she released the grip, Yuki rubbed his hand immediately, wincing at her sweet, innocent smile. 'Damn, she is crazy! Who would've thought she would have a yandere side on her? Poor Koji-senpai, he would faint immediately if he got treated like this by his goddess.'

After that small episode, they continued their journey toward Sumida High in silence. It took them one hour and about forty minutes to reach Sumida Station with a subway, but with how crowded the train was, Yuki felt that the journey was far longer than the reality.

"Damn, it is autumn already, right? How come the train is still full of people?" He cursed, fixing his messy hair.

"Well, you cannot help it. This is one station away from Akihabara, so no matter what season we are in, it would always be this full." Megumi commented, unbothered by this.

Yuki stared at her strangely before something clicked inside his head. "Ah, you are a former otaku, of course, you will know about it."

The girl blushed furiously, not expecting Yuki to know about her dark history. After thinking about it, she promised inwardly to pay her sister back for this humiliation, knowing full well it would be Kato who told him about this. But for now, what she needed to do was to change the topic immediately. "Anyway, come on! We need to find the school quickly, or we will be late!"