The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Holy shit! He ducked?!"

"You can do that?!"

"Damn, he's awesome! It seems Riku Agostini will be a big challenge for us!"

While all the spectators praised the blonde boy, Yuki shook his head in amusement, watching his friend with pride swelling in his chest. He always knew what Riku was capable of, and honestly, no matter how many times he saw his friend in action, he always found himself in awe.

This was also what motivated Yuki to train hard in service drills. He always thought it was magical how Riku, as a setter, could make everyone else move like pieces on a chessboard, and somehow, Yuki wanted to achieve the same in his unique way. That's why he trained so diligently to reach this point.

Not that he would tell Riku, of course; he didn't want to inflate his friend's ego.

"Your friend is quite impressive, Kobayashi," Tanaka, his partner, mumbled enviously. "Even Hasebe-san nodded in approval of his actions—this is the first reaction I've seen from him today. Agostini must have left a good impression here."

"Yeah, probably," Yuki chuckled. "Still, after this, it'll be our chance to impress everyone, so just wait patiently, Tanaka."

The rest of the game didn't go well for the Subaru-Ishida pair. It wasn't that they were bad players. Ishida's ability to defend the entire back row even impressed Yuki, and it wasn't often he admitted that someone was better than him in defense. Still, Ishida was too one-dimensional; aside from his defensive skills, he had almost no outstanding abilities to counter Riku and Ono.

"Poor Subaru, getting dragged down like this."

"Well, he can't help it; having a libero partner is a disaster in this scenario."

"Psst! Don't say it out loud!"

Yuki winced at the toxic comments directed at Ishida. He noticed the frustration evident on the libero's face as he struggled to keep up with the game. Fortunately, Subaru was kind enough to encourage him until the end—something Yuki observed received a nod of approval from Hasebe.

In the end, the combination of Riku and Ono was too much for their opponents, and they won the game without any hassle.

"The first match is over! Rest for five minutes, and then we will continue the game!" Hasebe announced.

"Nice! We finally got our first win!" Riku grinned, high-fiving Ono. "Now we're on top of the table!" All the players in the vicinity looked at the blonde boy with envy and hostility. That was why they all wanted to get the first turn; they wanted to put more pressure on their competitors.

While Riku and Ono took a rest, Tanaka asked Yuki a question, "Any idea how we could beat him?"

Yuki pondered for a moment, unsure how to answer. It wasn't that he didn't know Riku's weaknesses, but sharing them with Tanaka, who might be their future opponent, would be foolish. Still, the weakness was pretty obvious, and he was sure Akira would address it sooner or later, so he decided to answer truthfully.

"He has one glaring weakness in his style." Tanaka raised his eyebrows slightly, not expecting a candid answer. Ignoring his reaction, Yuki continued, "For all his talent, Riku always loves to show off. So, whenever the game tends to get a bit boring, always expect something unexpected from him."

"Got it." Tanaka nodded.

After a while, Hasebe finally blew the whistle, his voice ringing loudly in the gym. "Break is over! Team 2, return to the court! Team 3, get ready to play!" he shouted.

"Finally!" Riku grinned. "So, who will be our next victim?!" All the players around him looked at him with hostility, unappreciative of his provocation.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Why, Riku, are you sure we will be your next victims?" Yuki asked playfully, mirroring Riku's grin. This time, not only Riku, but almost everyone there widened their eyes in shock.

"Holy shit! It's Kobayashi's team!"

"This will be the duel between two Tsunemori players!"

"Damn, this is so exciting!"

After gaping like a goldfish for a moment, Riku finally shook his head, all the excitement that had dissipated a while ago rushing back. "Damn, it's been a while since we played against each other like this, right?"

"Yeah," Yuki nodded. "I think it should be the first time I joined the team."

They felt a bit melancholy as memories hit them hard. Still, the excitement was too much for them to contain, and they grinned at each other. "Don't expect me to hold back, okay?" Riku said.

"Sure, you too." Yuki nodded. Then, the grin on his face spread wider as he added, "Let's show them what Tsunemori players are capable of, okay?"

Riku mirrored his expression, answering, "That's my intention too!"

-0-

After some playful banter between Yuki and Riku—with Ono and Tanaka chatting in the background—the second game was about to start. Riku cursed his luck as he saw Yuki grab the ball, his body tensing in anticipation of his friend's serve.

"Ono, wait up front and be ready to move. I'm not sure I'll receive the ball perfectly," Riku said matter-of-factly.

Ono raised an eyebrow slightly before nodding his head. "Don't worry; I'm confident in my reaction speed."

Not just those two, but almost everyone watched Yuki's every tiny movement intently, not wanting to miss a thing. By now, Yuki's reputation as one of the best servers in Japan had already spread, and the fact that he could steal almost ten points alone from Konan High from behind the service line was well-known in the volleyball community, making everyone wary of him.

Yuki took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. This wasn't his first time playing under scrutiny, so he adjusted his mentality without issue. The moment Hasebe blew the whistle, he tossed the ball immediately, using the same trick Subaru had used in the last game. Unfortunately, when he saw both Riku and Ono didn't lose their focus, he knew they were prepared for his trick.

"Tch." Yuki clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Well, it doesn't matter. Let's test that boy first."

Thud!

Without mercy, Yuki sent a powerful ball too close to the sideline, causing Ono to hesitate about whether to receive it or let it go. However, Riku, who had become accustomed to Yuki's abnormal accuracy, shouted immediately, "Don't let it go! Pick it up!"

Hearing that, Ono reacted quickly, his hesitation vanishing. He leaned his body sideways, extending his arms as far as he could to reach the ball. Unfortunately, his effort proved futile as the ball suddenly curved slightly, changing direction straight at Ono's body.

Not expecting the sudden change of course, Ono was taken aback and didn't have time to react properly. As a result…

Thud!

The ball hit his chest gently before falling to the ground, giving the first point to Yuki's team.

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