The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Standing on the sideline and could only watch the opponent do everything they wanted without him being able to do anything to stop it while all of the people in the building looked down on him and his teammates, honestly, this was the first time Yuki experienced something like this. Not something he desired to experience, of course. Unfortunately, it happened this time.

Yuki didn't know when was the first time he realized this, but he figured out all the Konan players avoided sending the ball in his direction like he was a plague. Of course, he should be honored by this, knowing that the best team in Japan recognized his ability by avoiding him deliberately.

Unfortunately, his teammates couldn't show the same level of performance as him, and as a result, they couldn't stop the wave of offense coming from the other side of the net.

Facing such a situation, Yuki felt depressed, not knowing what to do.

"You okay, Yuki?" Riku suddenly asked, concerned.

While the others also had similar depressed expressions on their face, the blonde boy cared more about his friend, considering he and Yuki were the pillars of the team. It didn't matter if it was their senpai since their mood swing was always volatile in nature. They would feel okay in the next moment.

However, Riku knew his friend, and he knew the glasses boy could always keep his composure and never showed any emotional spike. So, to see him so depressed like this, he knew Yuki must be really affected by the game.

"Don't worry, I am fine," Yuki said. However, it was clear to anyone who knew him that he was far from okay. "I just feel uncomfortable being isolated from the game like this."

"I got you." Riku nodded sympathetically. As a setter, watching the ball fly around and not being able to touch it and set it up for his teammates was probably a nightmare for him. Then, he suddenly got an idea. "Well, how about this?"

He lowered the volume of his voice while telling Yuki his idea. Yuki's face brightened gradually as he listened to it, clearly liking what he just heard.

"Wow, you really have a good idea this time." Yuki praised genuinely. "If only you use your brain more in things other than volleyball."

"Hey, no need to insult me, okay?!" Riku retorted. Then, he had an expectant look as he himself also liked his idea. "So, should we do this?"

Seeing the nonchalant opponent as if they had won the game already, Yuki nodded his head firmly. "Yeah, let's show them that we still have something to surprise them today."

-0-

The scoreboard showed 18 – 6, still for Konan's lead. The situation was far from Tsunemori's favor, since not only they were down 12 points, but the opponent also just scored their sixth point in a row. They basically had no answer on how to stop Konan's attack or make a counterattack to score for themselves. So, it was no wonder almost all the Tsunemori players felt depressed right now.

Yuki and Riku themselves didn't say anything this time. Usually, they would try t lift the mood by taking a small positivity despite the unfavorable position they were currently in. However, if they kept repeating the same words over and over again like a broken record without anything changed, it would only demoralize their teammates more.

No, what they needed the most right now was a real action to show everyone that they still had hope here, and the two freshmen knew what they should do.

The one who served the ball was still Arizawa. Even though his floater was ineffective against Tsunemori, at least with him moved on the back row, the front line was filled by Lucas, Matsumoto, and Sawada, the three best attackers on the team. This was also the reason why it was hard for Tsunemori to break through Konan's streak.

When the referee blew the whistle, Arizawa threw his serve. The same as before, the ball was far opposite of Yuki's direction. However, unlike the last few players, the glasses boy wasn't idle on his spot. He moved forward to Riku's usual spot, while the blonde boy suddenly took a quick step back before starting his run-up.

It happened just in a couple of seconds, and in a blink, the ball flew already to the spot favorable for Riku to slam it down.

"WHAT?!"

"HA! Nice pass, Yuki!"

However, even though they were caught off guard by the sudden surprise the two freshmen pulled, all the Konan players reacted quickly. They were really worthy of their reputation, especially Akihiro who rushed toward the blonde boy. His reaction speed was similar to Haruo from Kyoei Gakuen, yet the pressure radiated from him was unmatchable.

'As expected, he is a beast. Unfortunately for him…'

*BAM!*

Riku took off from the ground, then coiled his arm back to exert more power from his body. Then, without hesitation, he unleashed it like a quick whip, hitting the ball with all his strength to the opposite wing. With only Akihiro trying to block the spike, no matter how good he was, it was impossible for Konan's middle blocker to cover all the area behind him.

Even though he still jumped to pressure Riku, it was a futile attempt, as the blonde boy sent a powerful cross-spike to the area where he came from.

Akihiro could only widen his eyes in shock as the ball flashed right in front of his eyes before piercing Konan's defense and falling onto the back right without anyone able to pick it up.

"AAAARRRGGHH!!!" Riku roared immediately the moment he saw his spike land perfectly to the opponent's side. Then, he turned around, just to see Yuki who was as excited as he was. "Good job, Yuki!" He high-fived the glasses boy.

After that, everyone suddenly woke up from their daydreaming before all the eyes turned to the two main protagonists who just shocked the hell out of them all.

"Oh! Damn, I have never thought the setter would turn into a spiker like that!"

"Yeah! And he is good at it!"

"That is a sharp cross-spike to the sideline, something that is hard to do without hard training. He should be a decent hitter before turning into a setter."

"I know, right?!"

While all the people on the stand were talking about Riku, Amagi, Matsukita's setter turned solemn as his eyes landed on Yuki. He knew that no matter how good Riku's spike was, it would be impossible without a good pass from the glasses boy.

'It is not just a good one though, but a perfect pass. It is designed so the blondie could hit it easily no matter where he would spike. Such a perfect technique… I cannot believe he is just a freshman.' If only he knew Yuki was only exposed to volleyball in less than three months, he would have a heart attack on the spot. 'Well, it seems they have the potential to trouble us in the future.

Unfortunately, they are still too weak right now, just a small stone that would be forgotten after this game.'