The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

After watching and observing the video of Sumida's game, all the Tsunemori had the same conclusion; a very resilient team. It didn't matter how hard they got attacked, how hard they had to defend and hustle for every ball they had, but as long as it was still in the air, they would run with all their might to save it. Honestly, this kinda reminds Tsunemori of their own playstyle.

That was why all the Tsunemori players knew how hard the next game would be.

"Man, can we get at least one easy game? How could we be so unlucky to meet a school with a similar playing style with us?!" Ogawa whined.

"It would be an endurance battle, something I am not looking forward to." Asahi commented wryly.

Still, even with how much they complained, everyone was confident that they could win the game. For one, their confidence after reaching the top eight in the last Inter-high was still there and added with the fact that they would play in their homecourt also gave a morale boost to all the Tsunemori players.

As they prepared for the next game, time passed pretty quickly. Just in a blink, it was Thursday already, one day away from the fateful day. Akira decided to set them free without any training to let them calm themselves down. Even though this wasn't their first rodeo, the first game of the tournament was always the hardest. Everyone would feel jitter for a while, and if they couldn't overcome it quickly, it would be hard for them to stage a comeback later.

Currently, Yuki was in the kids' room, helping them with their coloring book. Some people might find it stressful to be surrounded by children like this. However, Yuki found himself able to relax when he was around his siblings, watching their antic amusedly.

"Hiko-nii, give me the lilac crayon!"

"Lilac? What color is that?"

"Urgh… It is that purple color next to you!"

"Hey, I still use it! Go to Hina-chan and ask her something similar, okay?"

"Don't throw your problem at me, Hiko!"

"Can I have my lilac crayon, please?"

Yuki watched amusedly as Mai, Hina, and Hiko, the three artists of the orphanage bickering with each other over a piece of crayon. He just let them be like that, knowing they would resolve the problem by themselves in the next minute. As he helped the youngest girl coloring the drawing though, he suddenly felt his phone was buzzing. He checked it for a second before rising from the spot.

"I am sorry, everyone. I have to pick up the call first. I will be back in a minute." He rushed outside immediately, ignoring the curious gazes of the children there. The moment he entered his room, he picked up the call and greeted the person on the other side of the world in English immediately. "Hello, Maria-san, it is good to hear you."

"It is good to hear you too, Yuki-kun! I heard that you will have your first game tomorrow?"

Yeah, the one who called him was Maria Silvestri, the matriarch of the family who sponsored his education. Yuki didn't question how she knew about that, guessing it was Akira who let her know.

"Yes, Maria-san. Any advice you can give me?"

"Oh, you don't need advice from me, Yuki-kun. You are experienced enough to know what to do there." The woman laughed merrily. "But if you insist on having one, don't underestimate your opponent. Your tournament uses a knockout system, so one mistake and you will go home immediately. Remember that."

Yuki nodded solemnly at the warning. He could still remember how Shimoyawata and Kyoei Gakuen players acted when they played against his team before they met their demise. Now that Tsunemori was in a higher position, he didn't dare to repeat the mistakes his opponents made in the past.

"Anyway, I just want to tell you that I will be there to watch your game!"

There was a silence for a moment as Yuki was too stunned to react. However, he shook his head quickly, exclaiming in surprise. "Really?!"

"Yes! Me, Mattheo, Ella, and Bella will be there to root for you! So, give us your best performance, okay?"

"Sure!"

As they chatted more, Yuki clenched his fist tighter while his eyes were burning in determination. If before, he still felt that tomorrow was just a normal game, it was a different story now. With the Silvestri family on the stand, he had all the motivation in the world to be the best player tomorrow, and God has mercy for anyone who dared to stand up against him, for he wouldn't have it for the game.

'Shit! I am fired up now!'

-0-

Friday arrived quickly, and even with half of the team nervous, Tsunemori was ready to face his opponent. Almost all the classrooms were empty with their residents were already on the gym, cheering loudly for their school. Their opponent wasn't even there yet, but the building was full of people already. Yuki could see the referee was nervous, probably not expecting that a second-round game would be able to attract so much attention like this.

It wasn't just Yuki whose eyes wandering around to observe the situation in the building. Akira also did the same, finding some suspicious people blending among the crowd. He knew full well that they were not the residents of the school so that only meant one thing.

'They are the other team's scout to see our game.' The coach murmured in realization.

Still, that didn't change anything. Akira knew by now that the record of his team's game against Kyoei Gakuen and Konan High had already spread among the schools in Tokyo, so it wasn't hard to gain intelligence from them right now. The scouts were just here to confirm whether the record was true or not.

But he shouldn't be concerned about that, for now. Instead, he should pay attention to his players who were shaking in nervousness at the thought of playing in front of such a crowd. He knew this wasn't their first time doing this, but since it had been four or five months since they experienced that, the players couldn't help but feel the same nervousness again as if this was their first time in this position.

"Asa, lead your teammates to do warm-up first. Let their body relax for a bit before our opponent arrives." He instructed the captain.

This was also the change Akira made during the summer break. He saw Koji's leadership was not up to his standard, and Koji himself also felt that he wasn't a leader-type of player. So, the team's new ace came to the coach and offered to give up the captain role voluntarily, and after a quick vote, the team decided immediately that the new captain would be Asahi.

As they were warming up though, the sound of a smooth engine buzzing from the outside could be heard even with how noisy the building was. When Akira took a glance at it, his expression turned solemn as he murmured, 'So, they are finally here, huh? Now, let the party begin!'