The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Do you have any grudges against their blocker?" Yuki asked, amused.

"You don't know half of it, Yuki!" Riku whined childishly, eliciting chuckles from the others. "He kept spouting a lot of nonsense about him being the more handsome blonde or something like that even when we all know it is me who is the better blonde! Urgh… He is so infuriating!"

"Ah, so, he is basically another version of you. I got it." Yuki commented casually as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "No wonder he could get under your skin so quickly."

This time, the stiffened laughter around finally broke as the other players couldn't hold it back anymore. Riku himself pouted at Yuki's response, his lips moved forward a few inches to show his dissatisfaction.

"Why are you so mad, Riku?"

"Yuki is right! He is just another version of you!"
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"Shut up, Jimmy!"

Akira could only shake his head in amusement as he saw the carefree atmosphere on the team. He knew it wasn't that the team underestimated their opponent, but more because their motivation was at its peak since they performed well in the second set.

Even Kyoei's head coach who was infamous for his dislike of taking a timeout was forced to take his second one even before one of the teams managed to reach 15 points, which showed that the team's performance far exceeded the opponent's expectations.

Although it wasn't good to be so carefree in the middle of the game, Akira still preferred this kind of atmosphere rather than the gloomy one in the first set. However, just like when the team performed badly and he had to be the calmest of them all, when the team was in a hot form like this, it was his role to keep the team level-headed.

"Okay, everyone! Let's focus back to the game!" He finally raised his voice to interrupt the chatters around. "You did a good job at the beginning of the second set, leaving Kyoei far behind with the score 13 – 4. If any scouts came late to this game and didn't know how it went, I bet they would think it was us who had the four points. So, for that, I give my highest appreciation to you all."

All the players grinned excitedly at each other. This was what they liked the most about Akira's coaching style. While the man had a high requirement and was strict and harsh during the training session, he had never been stingy to give praise when he saw the team doing well, just like today.

"However!" Akira raised his voice once again, this time his expression was serious. Everyone straightened their back immediately, knowing it was time for the coach to pour the cold water to keep them sober. "Our job is not over yet. If you can remember correctly, we are still one set behind. So, I don't want you to get overconfident too quickly and lower your guard. I want you all to stay aggressive!

Keep pushing them to the edge! Never allow them to snatch our momentum! If possible, I want to keep their score in this set below ten points. Do you have the confidence to do that?!"

If Akira said his request before the game began, they would have thought the coach was drunk and didn't know volleyball at all. However, when he did that after the perfect beginning of the second half, all the players had a grins on their face, their smile was full of confidence. Facing that challenge from the coach, there was only one appropriate response they could give.

"YES, SIR!"

-0-

"Woah, those people are back!" Kaede blinked at the sight of the crowds outside of the court that seemed to get noisy once again.

"Don't think too much about them, Kai," Okamura replied casually, adjusting his jersey a bit. "They are just a bunch of glory hunters. If we win, they will support us, but if we lose, they will be the first ones to go. Their presence meant nothing here."

Even though it was harsh, Okamura wasn't wrong here. If people left when they were at their lowest, why would they care about them when they were at their best? Still, Yuki didn't completely agree with his words. He knew that even when they were at the worst time in the first set, there were still a lot of students who supported them. He couldn't judge them all based on those who left first.

Yuki shook his head, turning it to the crowds one more time. When his eyes saw the girl who helped him bring the ice pack before, a small, genuine smile formed on his face. He touched the wristband unconsciously as a warm feeling suddenly surged in his heart.

'Well, Oka might be right. As long as I know those who care would always support me, the other's presence didn't really matter here.'

-0-

After a minute of timeout, the game finally continued again. However, the timeout Kyoei took wasn't enough to cut off Tsunemori's momentum. Yuki and the others kept pushing forward, not giving Kyoei any chance to breathe.

If anyone who was a volleyball enthusiast saw this game, they would be surprised at Kyoei's abysmal performance. They were one of the teams that a lot of analysts predicted to have a breakout this year, especially after adding Haruo, one of the best blockers in the national tournament for middle school last year. For them to get dominated by a no-name team like Tsunemori, it was unacceptable.

However, those who followed the entire tournament from the beginning wouldn't be that surprised. Even though Tsunemori's reputation was still too low, their win against Shimoyawata managed to grab a lot of attention. Even if Shimoyawata hadn't played for a full year before the tournament, people still thought they were the third-best team in Tokyo.

To snatch the game in just two sets, people wouldn't dare to treat them as a no-name team.

Still, there was something strange on the court right now. Even though the team was in the lead, Yuki couldn't help but feel something was off. Kyoei didn't put up their best effort right now, yet there was no sign of giving up on them. It was as if they decided to let Tsunemori win this set while aiming for something. However, that 'something' was the thing Yuki couldn't figure out right now.

'They are observing us for the final set. But who is the target?'

As the game went by, Yuki kept his eyes intently on the opponent, wanting to figure out what they wanted to do. He observed their reaction, their attacking pattern, their spiking route, and even the smallest thing like their interaction with each other, just to find that everything seemed to be normal. But that normal thing was scariest for him than anything else.

It was as if he was a prey being stared at from the dark by a predator who was ready to pounce him but decided to toy with him at first, and it made him uncomfortable.

"You okay, Yuki?" Asahi suddenly asked. Yuki shook his head, regaining his focus just to find the concerned gaze from his senpai. "You have been dozing off for a while. Is there anything wrong?"

"Nothing, Senpai." Yuki smiled, trying to reassure his senpai. "Just thinking of something."

"Related to the game?"

"Not really."

"Well, don't let that distract you. We still have one more point to get to win this set!" Asahi slapped his back. "Oh, and don't forget to call me Asa! Don't be too awkward, okay?"

Yuki shook his head amusedly at his senpai. Inwardly, he thought, 'Maybe I am overthinking here.' And decided to forget about that matter for now.

The team was one point away from winning this set, and everyone was excited. Riku who was the one to serve was too eager to seal the deal, hitting the ball short to the net. Fortunately, it rolled down to the other side of the court, not giving a point to Kyoei.

"Haruo!"

"I got this!"

Since the ball fell short to the front side, Haruo had to pick it up to keep the game alive. Unfortunately, he was a middle blocker by nature, and saving a wild ball like this wasn't his strong point. Although he managed to keep the ball in the air, it was a bit too close to the net, and Hirano on the other side of the court didn't hesitate to jump and slam the ball back to the floor.

*Thud!*

"YOSSHAAAA!"

"NICE FOLLOW UP, RANO!"

"WE WIN THIS SET! WE WIN THIS GODDAMN SET!"

"HELL YEAH!"

As the ball rolled down gently on the floor, all the Tsunemori players celebrated the last point of the set crazily. From Yuki's early departure and the desperate situation to keep the game alive in the first set to dominate the same opponent like this, some of them wanted to cry on the spot. The crowds also cheered as they hugged each other as if they just won the game.

Unbeknown to them, the head coach of the opponent team gave a nod to his players, not a hint of anxiety after losing horribly this set could be seen on his face.

'Good job. After this, it is our time to counterattack.'