The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY A TEST?! / WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE WILL BE THEIR OPPONENTS?!" the four of them cried simultaneously, then comically glared at each other. For a moment, the tension caused by the incident just seconds ago was forgotten. Even Kato, the victim of it, couldn't help but let out a small giggle.

Sekine himself snorted, unimpressed by their reaction. "Well, as you both can see..." He directed his gaze at Yuki and Riku. "Those two want to join the team, and I have already cleared it with Ryutaro. He wants to see their capabilities first before we go any further with this."

"You never mentioned anything about a test, old geezer," Riku muttered, clearly unhappy with the situation. Some of them were sweating from the disrespectful nickname coming from his mouth. However, the old man didn't mind; he just waved it off as if Riku's attitude wasn't an issue.

"Well, what can I say?" Sekine shrugged nonchalantly. "Usually, the team only accepts new players in November, after the league has ended. However, since I'm the one asking here, everyone is still giving me face. It's impossible for the team to accept you based solely on my word. You need to show them that you deserve this special treatment," he explained.

Yuki and Riku nodded; they could see the logic behind this approach. However, it was too sudden, and they were not prepared for it. "I don't have my sneakers right now," Yuki confessed, with Riku nodding in agreement. Discover more stories at empire

"Don't worry about it. We still have plenty of new sneakers from our sponsor that no one is using. Nobody will make a fuss if we borrow a couple for a single session," Sekine reassured them with a wave of his hand.

Once again, Yuki and Riku stared at each other, silently communicating about what to do. With the sneaker problem resolved by the old man, they didn't have a solid reason to refuse the test. Honestly, they didn't mind taking the test; they were simply caught off guard and couldn't process everything quickly since it was all happening so fast.

It seemed that the two older boys, appointed as their opponents, also noticed their dazed state. One of them suddenly sighed. "Sekine-sensei, is it really necessary for us to test them? I mean, you know what we are capable of, and I think it might be a bit overkill to send us against them. What if they become too discouraged after realizing the gap between us and don't want to play volleyball again in the future?"

While Yuki didn't show any reaction, Riku's temper flared once again, a thick vein popping on his temple. The boy didn't intend to stop the provocation there. When he saw Riku's flushed red face, he smirked, knowing he was already getting under the blonde boy's skin and just needed one more push to make him snap.

"It's okay. We just don't want to bully you. After all, you two are just high school students while we're in our second year at university. It wouldn't look good for us to bully little boys like you."

"Okay, that's enough!" Riku growled. At first, he was just fuming because the two older boys in front of him were flirting with Kato, but now he was furious. "I don't care about whether we can join the team or not, but I swear I will kick your ass before we leave the building!"

"Aw, is the little boy angry? Come on, we're just concerned about you!" the other boy mocked.

Yuki swore he could see smoke coming from his friend's head. Knowing the blonde boy's short temper, he sighed deeply, feeling pity for him, and decided to join the banter. "You know, you always emphasize how small we are, but we're the same age as Kato-san here. Does that mean you admit you're trying to hit on a little girl?" he muttered, yet still loud enough for everyone to hear.

The two older boys, who hadn't even introduced themselves yet, spluttered, coughing violently at the implication behind Yuki's words. Their faces immediately lost color, and cold sweat rolled down their foreheads. Seeing this, Riku chuckled, pleased to see those two rendered speechless.

"Okay, no more jokes, please!" The man behind Sekine who seemed to be the coach of the team finally interrupted. He turned to Yuki and Riku and said, "The sneakers are in the storage room. Just go through that door and ask the officer there where the room is, okay?"

"Yes, Sir!" The two of them nodded before rushing off, completely forgetting about Kato, who suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, Kato-chan," Sekine said suddenly before anyone else could. "Just wait with me here, and no one will dare to hit on you like these two stupid boys. Right?" He glanced sideways at the two older boys, whose tension was palpable, knowing it was a threat from their coach.

"Yes, Sir!"

Sekine sighed when he saw the two run away, leaving him, Kato, and the man behind him. Kato smiled at the old man, grateful that even though he had only heard about her from her sister, he was still willing to save her from the uncomfortable situation.

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Kato suddenly thought of something and asked, "Is it okay to let Yuki and Riku do this? They're facing university students, right?"

Unexpectedly, it was the man behind Sekine who answered. "Well, the lowest level we have right now is the U-19 team, so if they want to join, they need to impress us first by holding their own against U-19 members. Don't worry, though. Even if Tondo and Miyahara are university students, since Sekine-sensei vouches for them, I know they have the capability to be here. Just trust them."

"Yeah, Kato-chan! Those two boys are more than capable; just trust them!" Sekine added.

Kato sighed in relief when she heard that. Even though she didn't know much about Sekine, from what she heard from her sister, she knew the old man was always wise and had a good eye for recognizing talent. If he trusted her two friends this much, it would be silly not to do the same.

"Well, well, well…" After waiting for a while, Akira smirked as he saw the two boys return, newly equipped. Even though they still wore their school uniforms, they had rolled up their sleeves, and with the new sneakers, their aura radiated readiness. "Go warm up for fifteen minutes, and after that, get ready for the game, okay?"

The two boys nodded simultaneously, shouting, "Yes, Sir!"