The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

November was about to end, and the 'real' winter tournament was about to begin. What did it mean by the 'real' tournament?

Well, the tournament in Tokyo Prefecture itself had about 150 schools as participants, and there was no way all of them were good enough to compete at the highest level. Most of them were just a bunch of hobby clubs that didn't even have a professional coach and wanted to join the fun and try their luck here. While sometimes miracles could happen here and there, the probability was too small for those small teams to cause a wave.

That was why people always said that the first three rounds of the tournament were there to weed the cannon fodders, the ultimate punching bag of the tournament. Now that it had already entered the fourth round, while there still might be one or two weak teams there, at least all the top 32 teams there were serious enough to aim for a higher place.

That was also the case for Tsunemori High. Although they had just won their game against Setagaya High yesterday, they moved on immediately, knowing that the stronger opponent would wait for them in the future. Unfortunately, since they were a team without any rich history in this sport, they were put as a low-seeded team, which meant their next opponent would be far more difficult than before.

Not that they would complain, since the last game was pretty anticlimactic for most of the Tsunemori players there.

However, instead of training their asses off, they were currently gathered in Tsukiji High to observe their next opponent.

"Well, fortunately, Tsukiji is not that far like Setagaya," Kaede commented casually. "Anyway, who is their opponent today?"

Megumi flipped the ticket she bought for the team and read it. "Keihin Industrial High. I have never heard of that school before." She furrowed her brows.

"Ah, that school," Okamura exclaimed in realization. Everyone turned around at him, waiting for the libero's explanation. "Well, I don't know a lot about them except for the fact that they are close to the Keihin industrial area. Maybe close to the border between Tokyo and Kanagawa. Maybe, that is why they name it that way."

Some of them flinched and took pity on this Keihin Industrial High's players. If the place Okamura said was true, that meant they had to go from the very south of Tokyo Prefecture to the north district to play this game, and after experiencing exhausting travel from Edogawa to Setagaya district in the last game, they knew what it felt to have to go in such an away game.

The interesting part though, was the fact that Tsukiji High opened this game to the public, with about 500 tickets sold to their supporters. The price itself was just 200 yen, about the same as the price of a cup of instant ramen they could buy in a supermarket. However, the problem was not the price, but how the school commercialized the game.

Honestly, this was the first time anyone saw a school open the game for the public like this, especially in the middle of a weekday when most of the people had to go to work. However, it seemed that Tsukiji's reputation as one of the powerhouse teams in Tokyo worked here, as most of their fanatic supporters came. If the Tsunemori players thought they were the only ones who could attract a lot of supporters in their home game, this was a wake-up call for them.

Well, not that they would mind about it, since this made it easier for everyone to come and watch the game without attracting attention.

"So, where should we go?" Ogawa asked, just to receive the 'Are you stupid?' look from the others. "What?!" He blushed a little, defending himself.

"Well, I don't know how you could miss it, but it is pretty clear that we should've just followed where the crowd goes, right?" Kaede asked.

"You are right, Kai. Just ignore him, Jimmy is just having his usual dumb moment here." Asahi answered.

"Hey, I don't have any dumb moments that often, you know?!" Ogawa said, offended. The only thing he got as an answer was a collective eye-roll from the others as they walked through the gymnasium.

While the others were bickering though, Yuki had his eyes wandering around, observing the school closely. Even though there was nothing special in it – which by that he meant nothing different from Tsunemori High – he still observed the school just like any other ones he visited in the past. This was something Yuki found to be enjoyable, coming to a new school and comparing it to his own school.

As they were getting closer to the gymnasium though, he winced unconsciously at how loud inside the building was.

"TSUKIJI HIGH!"

DRUM! DRUM! DRUM! DRUM!

"TSUKIJI HIGH!"

DRUM! DRUM! DRUM! DRUM!

"They allow the supporter to bring percussions?!" Koji shrieked. His words seemed to catch some attention here as one of the old men waiting in the line turned his head at Koji. "Of course, it is allowed! You should be new here if you don't know about it!"

Some of the Tsunemori players looked at each other before Riku decided to ask, "Why do you think so, Ojiisan?" He tried his best to look innocent so that the old man wouldn't be suspicious of them. While there was no rule forbidding anyone to spy on their next opponent, no one wanted to get into trouble by announcing it out loud.

"Well, you would've known about this if you were an avid volleyball fan! This has been like this since I was even a child!" The old man laughed boisterously. "This has been our strength for a long time! No matter whether it is sunny or rainy, our Taiko Army will always be here, supporting Tsukiji High! Hahaha!"

All of the Tsunemori players glanced at each other silently, not knowing what to say. However, one thing is for sure though, whoever granted as the home team would have the crowd advantage, and they could expect that to be the decisive factor in their game. Now, they had to wait until the official decided who would be the home team next.

'Man, having our fate depended on the other people sure is the worst.'

-0-

Meanwhile, inside the building, all the twelve players from both teams had already been there, waiting for the game to get started. It was clear here that Tsukiji High was the top-seeded team here, what with how calm they were on the court. Compared to Keihin High players who looked nervous, it looked like the game was already in Tsukiji High's grasp.

"Hey, Yuki, that is Ishida-kun!" Riku suddenly pointed his finger at a small player with a different jersey color compared to his teammates. "I forgot that he is from this school!"

"Oh, you know someone?" Ogawa who overheard the blonde boy asked. Explore stories on My Virtual Library Empire

"Yeah, Tsukiji High's libero, Ishida, is one of the summer camp participants together with us." Yuki nodded solemnly. Okamura perked up a little when he heard the word 'libero' was mentioned. "He is also one of the few players there who managed to predict and deal with my serve constantly. Although the success rate is pretty low, it still touches 50 percent, which not a lot can do the same."

All the Tsunemori players held their breath unconsciously when they heard that. Yuki's serve was probably Tsunemori's best weapon to deal against their opponent. Only a few exceptional players like Shimada from Konan High could adapt to Yuki's serve, and it still took a long time for him to do so. That said a lot of how good Yuki was behind the service line.

So, to hear that there was a chance this advantage could be nullified, it scared Tsunemori players a bit.

"Well, you need to watch the other players too," Megumi added with an unusually solemn gaze. "There, Tsukiji's number 4." She pointed her finger at a player with unnaturally blonde hair and a cheerful demeanor, which didn't look intimidating at first glance. However, to catch Megumi's attention, there should be something special about him.

"So, who is he?" Koji was almost afraid to ask.

"His name is Reiki, and don't be fooled by his harmless appearance. He is a powerful attacker with so many tricks under his sleeves. Two years ago, he was dubbed Tokyo's rookie of the year above Gondo-san from Matsukita and Matsumoto-san from Konan High. That should tell you how dangerous he is, right?"

Some of them blanched, not wanting to imagine another powerful spiker to be their next opponent. The thought that someone from outside of the top two teams in the country could be better than their captain was terrifying, and now that the 'someone' was going to be their next opponent made them shudder unconsciously.

However, when Yuki turned his attention back to the court, he caught a boy probably as tall as him on Keihin's side bouncing excitedly while staring at Reiki as if he were eyeing prey. Yuki didn't know whether it was overconfidence or not, but that hungry stare from the boy was familiar in his eyes.

'Damn, that is exactly the same eyes Riku has when he faces a strong opponent. It seems we cannot count Keihin High out yet. This game would be interesting.'