The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

It didn't take a long time for them to arrive at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, the arena that would hold the rest of the tournament for the next few days. As it was getting closer to the game time, the crowd also got crazier here, singing and chanting for their favorite team even before they could enter the court.

"Come on, come on, Matsuyama Kita!"

"Bring the glory back to our home!"

"Walk bravely, never surrender!"

"Don't be afraid, we are here with you!"

All the Tsunemori players were in awe as they saw the crowds from the bus's window. However, it didn't take long for someone to see something strange here, and it was Yuki who pointed it out. "Why is it that all the people there are the Matsuyama Kita's supporters? Where are ours?"

Indeed, almost all the people outside wore the purple-yellow jersey, the proud color of the Matsuyama Kita High. Even though they could see a few wearing the green forest jersey, those people were too uncoordinated, getting drowned easily by the opponent's supporters. Seeing this, everyone turned their attention to Arina Sugawara, the person who was in charge of the team's supporters.

"Oh, well, I cannot help it." The former student council president shrugged helplessly. "In the game against Kikugawa High, my papa is kind enough to rent us a few buses to carry all the supporters to the gymnasium. However, this time, he didn't reach an agreement with the headmaster, so it is impossible to pull something like that again. As a result, we just informed everyone to go with the team's jersey to the G and H sections, where we would support you guys during the game. I just didn't expect that the opponent's supporters would start their intimidation tactic from the start, overwhelming Tsunemori High's group right before they could enter the arena."

Hearing this, somehow, Yuki sighed in relief. "Oh, well, as long as we have people covering our backs, I don't mind the lack of numbers. We should've still remembered how we fought against Tsukiji High, right?"

Yeah, even though that game was almost a month ago, the memory of it was still fresh inside everyone's head. At that time, the team had to face more than 500 supporters of the home team, and normally, they should've crumbled like wet paper. However, the 50 people that the team brought to support them really gave the entire team a huge boost, turning them into Goliath, who killed David, even with all the handicaps that he had suffered in his life. This was something that was worth replicating.

"Okay, let's not talk for too long! Get ready, everyone! Take off your jacket and get ready to enter the building! Sugawara-san, I will leave the supporter's side to you, okay?"

"Don't worry, Sensei! I will do as you said!" The girl nodded, preparing to leave too. Then, she didn't forget to turn into everyone and said her last words. "Good luck, everyone! Don't worry about anything, just have fun! You have our back here, so come on!"

"Come on!" Everyone replied enthusiastically. After all, who would've done the same thing if the one who encouraged them was a beauty like Arina Sugawara?

When they entered the building, though, almost all the Tsunemori players were dumbfounded by the sight unveiled in front of their eyes. There, they could see the entire stand was dominated by the purple-yellow color, with a lot of people waving flags from the place close to the fence, which was there for safety. Almost all of them had their own flags to show their support for Matsuyama Kita High.

"Damn, we are going to play against them?!" Asahi somehow couldn't help but curse here. "This is Tsukiji High all over again!" He cried without tears.

Indeed, this was just the same exact situation all over again. Their own supporters were gathered in one small section in this arena, trying to show support for the team. However, their voice was completely overwhelmed by the opponent's supporters, making it hard to recognize them from afar.

"Yo, Kobayashi-kun!" Suddenly, from the other side of the court, Amagi, the opponent's setter, greeted Yuki cheerfully. "I have been waiting for this day since our last meeting! Don't disappoint us, okay?!" He only said such a short sentence before turning around and going back to his teammates, not letting anyone say anything about him.

Usually, all the Tsunemori players would be angry at the blatant provocation and the arrogant words coming out of their opponent's mouth. However, right now, they were all too shocked to know that their kouhai was familiar with the player who was dubbed as the best setter in this generation.

"What the hell, Yuki?! Why would you be so familiar with him?!"

"That is Amagi, for God's sake! He is the best setter in the country!"

"Hey, don't say such a hurtful thing in front of Riku! Don't you see his face turns red like that?!"

"Hey, you are right! Hahaha!"

Yuki himself was helpless when he was surrounded by his teammates, all inquiring about his relationship with Amagi. Inwardly, he also cursed Amagi for pulling something like this, thinking that this was a deliberate move to shake their mentality off right before the game began. Fortunately, before they could start questioning him further, Akria clapped his hands loudly, shouting, "Okay, I will greet that old man Honda-sensei first, so you better start doing your warming up too, you hear me?! I don't want any of you to slack off right before the game could even start!"

"Yes, Sir!"

As time went by, the people inside the building also increased, and the sound echoing throughout the building was also getting louder. Hell, there was even a commentary box section, since the game would be broadcast live on the local television channel. All of these things really showed how big this tournament was, even though volleyball itself wasn't the most popular sport in Japan.

After warming up for another twenty minutes, all the players were ready for the game. For Tsunemori High, the most obvious change was the lack of Koji's presence either on the court and on the bench, and he was replaced by someone who not a lot of people were familiar with, sitting on the bench calmly. As for on the court, Ogawa didn't have any problem filling Koji's position, having been ready for that since yesterday.

After the quick coin toss between the two captains was held, it was decided that Matsuyama Kita High would be the first to serve. Of course, Gondo, the team's captain and ace, didn't hesitate to grab the ball, ready to start the game. After confirming for all the players that they were ready, the referee took a deep breath first before blowing his whistle loudly, signalling Gondo to start the game.

FWEEEEEEE!

BAM!