The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"YOSSHH-------!"

"------------SSSHAAAAAAAA!"

As the referee announced the final result, Yuki roared wildly, followed by Riku who jumped in his direction immediately with a similar enthusiasm. Then, they were followed by their teammates who rushed into their direction and hugged them tightly as if what just happened was a dream.

Megumi who was on the sideline could only cover her mouth, her hands trembled a little as she tried her best to hold back her tears. It was an exaggerated reaction, she knew, considering this was just the first round. However, she couldn't help it.

Not only because the opponent they had to face was close to the final boss in terms of quality, but also the rough journey they had to take to reach this point.

She could still remember how devastated the state of all the sophomore players here the moment they realized their senpai left them alone with only two freshmen on the team.

And even before that, the fight between the freshmen and the senior team… The dramatic walk out from Noriyuki and Yoshi… The torture they had to endure in the name of training just to fill up the blank spot the senior members left… It was always a tough battle for them, and she was proud to say they overcame the situation really well.

Meanwhile, on Shimoyawata's side, the situation was the exact opposite. Exhaustion hit them hard as some of them let their jelly legs take over their body, letting them fall to the floor without any resistance. Tears shed on their faces as they realize that they lost the game.

'Is it really over?'

'After waiting for a year…. Damn…'

Their shoulder trembled as they wanted to hold back the tears that kept falling down stubbornly, didn't want to admit the reality. The first one who finally accepted everything was Hideo as their captain had some sort of relieved expression on his face.

"Don't think about it too much," Hideo said. "We still have one more chance this year, so, just like Ezaki said in the past, let's train our asses off and show everyone the new Shimoyawata High."

He said it casually, didn't intend to make a jab at Ezaki. Still, the boy who was mentioned was stunned immediately, then he bowed his head deep down to the ground with his eyes getting teary.

"I am sorry!" He shouted, getting everyone's attention. His body trembled heavily which made everyone afraid he would collapse on the spot. However, Ezaki himself didn't care. He still bowed his head while tears kept rolling down the floor.

"When the opponent number 19 managed to score before… Senki apologized to me for not being able to receive it… That was when I realized… That I… That I… I have never apologized to you all before… It is because of me that we couldn't play for almost a year… But I…"

All the players around them also had tears when they heard Ezaki's words, knowing this was what they had waited for a year since that incident.

"I AM SORRY!" Ezaki finally couldn't hold it anymore and did a dogeza pose, kneeling down on the floor while crying hard for forgiveness.

"There are so many people who are ready to forgive you, you know?" Wakamatsu said, his voice was thick. "However, if you don't apologize, how could we forgive you?"

"Yeah…" The one who was replaced by Ezaki before also nodded, his shoulder still trembling. "If only you are the one who plays since the beginning instead of me…"

"No, the result would be no different than right now." Senki shook his head, surprising everyone else. "I mean, is there anyone between us who runs as hard as they did in this game? They really deserve the win today…"

"Yeah." Hideo nodded, wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes. "Now, what we have to do is to start from the beginning again. The next winter tournament… Let's show everyone else, including Tsunemori, the new Shimoyawata who is better than this!"

"Yes, Captain!"

Miura nodded in satisfaction when he saw his players' interaction after losing the game. While he had a lot of dissatisfaction for the game to be voiced out, the coach could wait for later. Right now, all his players needed was encouragement to get better, and he was sure the conversation today would help them more in the future.

'I am glad that our opponent today is Tsunemori, the same team who is trying to climb to the top.' He muttered. 'I doubt something like this would happen if we lost against Matsukita or Konan.'

-0-

"Good game." Hideo offered his hand to Yuki.

After all the enthusiasm went down on Tsunemori's side, they went to Shimoyawata's side to offer a handshake. Just like anyone expected, it was Yuki who got the most attention, what with his incredible performance on the court. He was surrounded by the players with white jerseys who wanted to congratulate him or just exchange a small talk or two with him.

It took a while for Yuki to get away from the crowds, and the moment he was able to do that, he was greeted by Hideo who looked at him with a complicated gaze.

"Ah, thank you." Yuki scratched the back of his head shyly, not knowing what to say.

"You catch us off guard and deserve to win today." Hideo continued. "But don't expect you will always be able to win like this. The shaky performance your team had in the second set would be exposed in the late stage of the tournament."

"I know." Yuki nodded solemnly as he could see that too.

"Good." Hideo nodded in a satisfied manner. "Don't lose embarrassingly in the future, it would bring shame to us who lost to you in the first stage. If you could, keep going on until you were beaten or Konan or Matsukita."

Yuki arched his eyebrow a little before asking, "What makes you think we will lose against them?"

"As if you are going to beat them." Hideo snorted. "If anyone could break those two teams' domination, it would be us, Shimoyawata, and not you, Tsunemori. Just remember that."

"Well, that means we have to agree to disagree here." Yuki snarked.

They both glared at each other, for a moment, the tension was heated between them. However, after a while, Yuki let out a small smirk, and it was mirrored by Hideo who chuckled merrily.

"Good. You have the spirit. As expected from the team that beat us." Hideo nodded in approval. "Good luck with the tournament. Next time we meet, you will see the new Shimoyawata that wouldn't be so easily to be beaten again."

"I will wait for that." Yuki nodded genuinely.

After that, all the players on the court could hear the referee blow the whistle, and they formed two lines quickly before they bowed deeply without even being commanded by anyone else.

"SE! NO!"

"THANK YOU FOR THE GAME!"