The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Good job, everyone!" Akira clapped excitedly, his face was full of smiles.

It was the intermission before the second set began, and the atmosphere on Tsunemori's bench was lively. While the exhaustion after such a long set was still there, it couldn't dampen everyone's excitement, and Akira didn't have the intention to do that too.

Winning the first set against Shimoyawata High was a big deal, after all.

Even Akira didn't expect his team would do wonders against them. In his mind, as long as they were not behind for more than five points, everything would be fine. It wasn't until he saw the performance of his two freshmen that Akira changed his thought.

'Maybe, we can really win this game.'

"Okay, everyone, listen to me!" He shouted once again, attracting his players' attention. While excitement was good, they had to know that the game was still on. They had done half of the job well, and now, they had to ensure that they could finish it all. "We have done so well earlier, but there is still room for improvement. Koji!"

"Yes, Sir!" The boy who took Noriyuki's role as the ace of the team straightened his back.

"You have to participate more actively in defense! We are not the old Tsunemori who gave such a leeway for one or two particular players anymore!"

"Yes, Sensei!" The boy replied in a military fashion.

"And that is for you all too." Akira turned his head toward all of his players. "Don't think that since Kobayashi or Okamura or Kaede could cover your asses, you can do anything you want! While they are amazing defenders, they cannot do everything alone! Remember, I want you all to cover each other and stay connected! Always communicate and don't let your teammates fight alone, do you understand?!"

"Yes, Sir!"

-0-

A moment later, the referee blew his whistle, asking for the players from both teams to enter the court again. The second set of the game would be started in a second, the fateful set for Shimoyawata's future, whether they would survive and prolong the game to the final set or die here straight away would be determined by whether they could get 25 points first or not in the set.

That was probably why they were so tense at the moment.

However, Yuki who was the most observant player in the team furrowed his brows deeply, noticing something wrong. While he could understand the gloominess on the opposite side after losing the first set, there was something else he couldn't figure out based on their expression. It was a... Hostility?

'Toward whom, though?' He murmured confusedly.

"Anything wrong, Kobayashi?" Riku asked, noticing his friend who was in a dazed state.

"Nothing." The glasses boy shook his head. "Just thinking there is something wrong on Shimoyawata's side."

"Really?" Riku asked skeptically, turning around at the opponent too. "The only thing changed on their side is the presence of that player number 11."

"Player number 11?" Yuki's eyes wandered for a moment before they locked into one particular player that Riku mentioned. It was a boy with slightly curly hair and a meek demeanor that gave everyone the impression he was easy to be bullied. "Since when was he there?" Yuki asked confusedly.

"Dunno." Riku shrugged. "Maybe the opponent's coach is not satisfied with their performance and he thought this number 11 would be the game changer for them."

Yuki nodded, knowing what Riku said was reasonable. But if he was the game changer, how could his teammates look at him with such an intense hostility?

"Anyway, don't overthink it, Kobayashi." Riku waved his hand nonchalantly. "I doubt he would be able to make such a drastic change. Come on, we have to prepare ourselves too."

Yuki nodded, yet his eyes still locked on the number 11 player. The tiny bit of worry didn't go away, as his hunch told him that this new player would be someone troublesome for the team.

'I need to keep my eyes on him.'

-0-

Just like Yuki's thought, the atmosphere on Shimoyawata was tense. It wasn't much for the lost, but for the presence of the player that their head coach brought into the game. While some of them were neutral, there were players who scowled at the new boy, looking at him with a hostile intention.

"Oi, Ueno," Senki called the setter. " Don't pass him the ball, okay?"

Ueno pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "I am sorry, Senki. I cannot do that."

Senki froze on the spot for a second before his expression changed, couldn't hide his rage anymore. "You know what he did last year, right? Because of his stupidity all of our senpai had to bury their dream for nothing!"

"I know." Ueno nodded solemnly. "But thus opponent, Tsunemori, is stronger than we thought. We cannot win against them without his ability.

Senki was speechless for a second. While he knew his friend was right, his heart wouldn't let go of the hatred inside his heart. After a while, he just clicked his tongue to express his thoughts and turned away.

"Just do whatever you like." He said finally.

A moment later, the second set finally began with Hideo doing the first serve. While he had a powerful jump serve, it wasn't at the same level as Riku, and Tsunemori also started the rotation with Yuki and Okamura, the two strongest defenders on the back. They did not worry that Hideo would be able to pull something like Yuki or Riku did earlier.

*BAM!*

A strong serve delivered toward Okamura's direction. The libero didn't have any problem receiving the ball.

"Senpai!"

Okamura knew who just called his name, and he directed the ball easily toward him. The blonde boy on the right side grinned after seeing such a perfect pass coming at him.

Asahi and Koji started his run-up immediately, moving in sync. Knowing that Okamura was here, Yuki also decided to join the attack. The simultaneous movement from the three of them was enough to give the opponent a headache.

Riku himself was calm, didn't give away any notable tick that indicated where he would send the ball. It wasn't until the ball was about to fall in his hand that the blonde boy started moving. Without hesitation, he sent the ball toward the left, fooling one of the blockers who tried to read his game.

"Nice pass, Riku!"

Koji who received the ball had the same grin as Riku before, knowing that this was such a perfect toss crafted for him. Without hesitation, he recoiled his arm back before unleashing it like a whip, killing the ball with such incredible power.

*BAM!*

It was a perfect spike, and with only two players forming an incomplete wall in front of him, normally, it would be easy for Koji to score. However, not this time. Before it could touch the floor, one player suddenly dived forward with one of his arms extended far. A second later, the ball landed perfectly on his forearm before it flew once again, high close to the ceiling.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

"HOW COULD HE DO THAT?!"

All the Tsunemori players had their eyes widened in shock the moment they saw Koji's spike was saved by the number 11. Yeah, it was the same number 11 that Yuki was wary of earlier.

However, the play was not over. The number 11 rose immediately, his feet were quick enough to allow him to recover his position in a second before he was ready to join the attack. Seeing that, Ueno didn't hesitate to send the ball high in his direction, allowing the number 11 to kill the ball.

"Ezaki!"

"He is coming! Fall back!" Yuki shouted an instruction, snapping his teammates from their shock. Everyone recovered quickly, preparing themselves to receive the spike.

However...

*BAM!*