The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"So, he is back, huh?" Ito stared at Yuki on the other side of the net with a solemn expression. "Things wouldn't be so easy with him here."

The other players nodded in agreement, remembering how tough Yuki's defense was at the beginning of the game. For them, Nitta's offensive power was unmatchable. So, to see someone was able to receive the end of it several times in a row, it definitely left an impression in their head.

"Bah! Why are you so worried like that?!" Nitta suddenly spoke. "He is only one player, a defensive specialist nonetheless! No matter how good he is, he wouldn't be able to affect the outcome of the entire game! The worst thing he could do is to make their defense better, but don't you forget that I destroyed him before?! If I could do it once, what makes you think I cannot do it for the second time?!"

Everyone had their eyes lightened up at his words. Yeah, Nitta was right. No matter how good Yuki was, he was only a defensive specialist, couldn't affect the entire game by himself. And even though they were uncomfortable with the strategy, they couldn't deny how effective it was to destroy the opponent's best player as soon as possible to ease their path to winning the game.

Unfortunately, there was a flaw in their information. The intelligence they had about Yuki only came from Tsinemori's second-round game and the glimpse of his ability the glasses boy showed at the beginning of the game before he had to be sent out to treat his injury, and in those two occasions, he had never participated in the team's offense.

That was why they always thought Yuki was just a defensive specialist player.

However, this time would be different. Yuki had already been given the green light by the coach to be more aggressive on the front line. When all the Tsunemori players heard the information relayed by the glasses boy himself, they couldn't help but get excited, especially when they remembered how deadly it was the combo of Yuki and Riku when they attacked together.

They all knew that this game was far from over yet.

-0-

"Die, you bastard!"

"Don't you dare to score!"

"Kill him!"

"Fuck you, Bastard!"

The game was about to be continued again, and the moment the referee gave the ball to Nitta who was about to serve, the boos started to get louder again. The insult that started from Nitta's provocation earlier kept getting so intense that the referee had to talk to Akira first to calm the crowds down, afraid an unwanted accident might happen in the game.

After talking for a while and asking the other teachers to help control the situation, the tension finally eased a bit, and Kyoei's ace was able to serve the ball peacefully.

*BAM!*

Just like what everyone expected, Nitta aimed his first serve straight in Yuki's direction. Kyoei made it clear from the start that whenever Yuki was on the court, he would never be able to have peace there as they would always pester him to no end. However, to Nitta and his teammates' surprise, Yuki suddenly stepped back, letting Kaede receive the ball instead of doing it by himself.

"Shit! Sorry!"

"Chance ball!"

His serve dropped instantly the moment it crossed the net, giving Kaede a hard time to receive it. As a result, the second-year defensive specialist could only save the ball, yet couldn't aim it perfectly to Riku's spot as the ball flew back to Koei's side.

"Yamada! Give it to me!" Nita shouted, asking for the ball. Inwardly, a thousand questions flashed inside his mind, trying to figure out what happened. 'Why did he let the others receive the ball? Is his condition still not good? Then, did he come back just to raise the morale of the team?

If that is so, this would be easy.'

With that thought in mind, Nitta took off from the ground, recoiling his arms back and getting ready to hit the ball while glancing around to search Yuki's whereabouts. What he didn't expect though, was for him to not find the glasses boy's presence at all. And when he swung his arms…

*BAM!!*

An imposing wall formed by Yuki, Riku, and Hirano suddenly appeared, blocking the path in front of Nitta in every way possible. The Kyoei's ace was stunned, knowing he couldn't escape it as the ball hit straight to Yuki's forearms. Everyone on Kyoei's side also had their jaws dropped, not expecting something like this to happen.

And when they finally realized what happened, Yuki was already waving his hands to the crowds, shouting with full enthusiasm.

"COME ON! WHERE IS YOUR VOICE, TSUNEMORI! GET LOUDER!"

-0-

"As expected, he is really troublesome." Saito furrowed his brows deeply. "But I am not expecting he would come back that quickly. It seems what we did to him before was too light."

Fortunately for Saito, even though he was in the middle of adrenaline, he still remembered where he was and knew how to lower his voice. If only anyone from the crowds could hear what he just said, he wouldn't be able to get out of the building safely. Still, he wasn't worried at all.

He rose from his seat, signaling his players to calm down and asking for Nitta to hold back his aggressiveness on Yuki and ensure the next two points first to grab the first set.

'Don't get provoked by them! No need to take a risk, just win the first set!'

-0-

After the cheers from the crowds finally died down a little, the game continued once again. Unfortunately, Kaede wasn't able to follow the momentum as his serve fell short to their own area, couldn't even cross the net.

"Sorry!" He apologized quickly, feeling guilty for making a mistake at such a crucial time.

"Don't worry, Senpai." Riku patted his shoulder. "It is just one mistake. Let's move on and get ready for the next play!"

Kaede nodded gratefully at his kouhai, relieved when he saw no one blamed him. However, there was a pang of guilt lingering in his heart as he knew his mistake pushed the opponent one step forward to snatch the first set. Now, they only needed one more point to ensure the win on this set and they were already half a step forward to win the game.

'I need to concentrate better!' He slapped his face hard.

A moment later, the game was resumed again with Ito serving the ball. Just like before, the captain sent a nasty spin serve that curved immediately the moment it crossed the net. However, this time, Kaede was prepared. As if wanting to pay back the mistake he had made before, he dived to his right side, protecting the area near the sideline carefully with his hand.

*BAM!*

"Oh! Nice save, Kaede-senpai!"

"Kobayashi!"

"I got this!"

All the players on Kyoei's side were stunned the moment they saw Yuki rush forward to join the attack. Although they had already seen the glasses boy entering the front line to help the blocker, they still didn't expect him to be more aggressive, still thinking he was just a defensive specialist player.

Out of all of them, there were two players who didn't think too much about it and followed Yuki's movement, and that was Nitta and Haruo.

'Well, let's see if you can follow me!'

Instead of jumping ahead, the moment Yuki crossed the front line, he suddenly turned around, speeding up to the left side immediately. Nitta was taken aback for a moment and got attracted to his direction. However, Haruo's shout woke him up from his dazed state.

"SENPAI! HE IS JUST A BAIT!"

"SHI – !"

*BAM!*

"YOSSHAAAA!" Asahi roared excitedly on the right side, followed by Riku and Yuki who gave him a high five.

"Good job, Senpai!"

"Nice run for you too, Kobayashi!"

"Come on! We can do this!"

A moment later, it was Asahi's turn to serve the ball. Even though he just scored a point for the team, he couldn't help but feel nervous, especially whenever he remembered that one mistake was enough for them to lose this set. However, the reassuring gaze from Yuki and Riku managed to ease him a bit as he did his serve a moment later.

*Thud!*

"Nice receive, Aki!"

"YAMADA! HERE!"

Hearing Nitta suddenly shout, the three players on the front line knew that there would be no deception in the next play. It would be a pure confrontational battle between Nitta and the three best blockers of Tsunemori, and they all were ready for this.

"Agostini! Hirano-senpai! Get ready!" Since Yuki came into the court, he took the command from Riku as even the blonde boy acknowledged that he was the better game-reader. "Follow my lead! Don't mess up the timing! One!

Two! Jump!"

*BAM!*

"Oh! Nice block, Hirano-senpai!"

"Get ready for the second attack!"

.net

Nitta clicked his tongue as he saw Yuki keep talking to his teammates. It seemed that even though the intelligence about the boy that his coach had was full of flaws, there was one thing the coach found right, and that was the fact Yuki was the commander of the team.

He noticed that from the moment he entered the court again, Tsunemori players' movement became better, able to keep up with all the attacks Kyoei formed.

'That means I need to destroy him again!'

"YAMADA!"

After hitting the ball deliberately to Hirano's hand to get a rebound, Nitta asked for the ball once again. Seeing the blazing determination in Nitta's eyes, the setter gulped nervously, didn't dare to not follow his order. He tossed the ball high in Nitta's direction once again, giving the ace another chance to attack.

"Hirano-senpai! Agostini! Again! Jump!"

*BAM!*

This time, even though Nitta's spike was heavier than before, Hirano was able to slam the ball back to Kyoei's area, adding another point for Tsunemori. The cold-blooded blocker himself just clenched his fist tightly, and while he didn't roar like any other player, his face couldn't hide the excitement that rose onto his head right now.

It wasn't until he saw Yuki and Riku grin that he couldn't help but grin too, offering them a high-five that was replied excitedly by his two kouhai.

"AWESOME BLOCK, HIRANO-SENPAI!"