The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

A long, awkward silence fell on the building as everyone stared at the ball in disbelief. Well, disbelief might not be the correct word here, since most of the people there had already witnessed Ogawa's addition to the duo in the last game. Hell, even Matsuyama Kita players still remembered vividly the memory of that game. However, having that inside their head was one thing, suffering from it directly was another.

Finally, it was Ogawa, the main protagonist of the last play, who broke the silence. With his face flushed red in excitement, a huge grin cracked on his face, and in the next second, he started punching the air violently.

"YOSSHAAAA!"

"Oh! What a spike!"

"As expected of Jimmy! We can always rely on you!"

"Come on, Jimmy! Let's go, Jimmy! Kill them all, Jimmy!"

Even though Tsunemori's supporters were only about 400 to 500 people, far below Matsuyama Kita High, who filled almost two-thirds of the arena, they still shouted and chanted loudly and bravely, showing their encouragement from their spot. They didn't even bother with the glare coming all around the building, knowing that this wasn't the first time they were in such a position. Compared with when they went to Tsukiji High to support the team in such a hostile atmosphere, this game, where there were still a lot of neutral fans, was far better.

Meanwhile, on Matsuyama Kita High's side, Nakatani, the team's middle blocker, had a gloomy expression on his face. "What the hell, Amagi?! You said it before that the ball was going to be back to the blonde, right?!"

"Ahaha… It seems I miscalculated here." Amagi smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I only had my eyes on those two and somehow forgot about this new guy. Sorry, sorry…"

Nakatani just huffed slightly, still fuming after being fooled by the opponent like that. In the end, Gondo had to interrupt them here. "Okay, okay, no need to make it big. It is just one point, and we are still in the lead. Also, Nakatani-kun, why are you so angry with Amagi when you were the one who followed his words blindly? You don't even put your eyes on the opponent's side, right?"

For this, Nakatani threw his face quickly, not wanting to admit his mistake. Seeing his reaction, Gondo just shook his head amusedly before patting those two's backs playfully. "Come on! Get ready to play again! We cannot let Tsunemori High do whatever they want in our area!"

"Hai!"

After the commotion died down, the game finally continued again, and this time, the ball was in Riku's hands. The blonde boy took a deep breath, glancing at the other side of the court to figure out a weak spot that he could exploit.

'Well, there is none of it. As expected of the second-best team in the country.' The boy smiled wryly. 'However, if they didn't change anything since our sparing game in the past, then…'

BAM!

Right after the referee blew the whistle, Riku didn't hesitate to send the ball straight in Gondo's direction. When he saw Tono, Matsuyama Kita's defensive specialist moved to protect his captain, Yuki couldn't help but grin, knowing that Matsuyama Kita hadn't changed ever since their sparring game before the Inter-high a few months ago.

Yeah, this was exactly the same strategy that Tsunemori High pulled during that sparring game. Even though they knew that the opponent's ace was capable of defending by himself, they also knew that the opponent was more than willing to cover for their captain and break their formation rather than entertaining the idea of their captain not being able to join the attack. Even though the advantage was still not clear, at least with Matsuyama Kita players scattered around to cover for the ball, it was easier for Tsunemori High players to react.

"Good serve, Riku!"

"Everyone, fall back! Rano, they are going for a quick! Left! Jimmy, be ready for a straight one!" Yuki commanded all of his teammates loudly, giving them clear instructions about what to do next.

True enough, Amagi sent the ball straight to Tsunemori's left side, where Nakamura, the outside hitter, was there. Hirano, who was already there, didn't hesitate to jump, and when he felt the ball collide with his hands, he shouted, "One touch! Cover it!"

"Oh! Don't worry, I get it!" Ogawa rushed outside the court, cleaning the mess and sending the ball back to the court.

Seeing this, Saburo Honda, Matsuyama Kita High's head coach, nodded appreciatively. He glanced sideways toward Tsunemori's bench, where his former student sat, applauding the boy's effort to raise his team to this level.

'Their improvement is amazing.' The old man hummed, smiling softly. 'Just six months ago, they didn't even know how to communicate with each other clearly, and now, they have a commander on the court who could read the game perfectly while also directing his teammates to the best position to stop the opponent. Not bad, Senki-kun… As expected, you can realize how fun volleyball is when you teach a bunch of rookies and force them to climb up to a higher place. Watching their improvement must be a delight for you, right, Senki-kun?'

Of course, Akira, who was on the other side of the court, didn't have time to think about that. Hell, he didn't even think about his teacher's presence on the opponent's side, choosing to observe the game carefully.

BAM!

"One touch!" Hirano shouted as he managed to deflect the opponent's spike once again.

"Oh, come on! Are you serious?!"

"Good job, Hirano!"

"Come on, everyone! It is time for us to score! Move, move, move!"

With Riku's command, all the Tsunemori players except Kaede rushed, trying to get into the best position possible. They didn't do a synchronization attack often, but once they pulled it out, the opponent knew that they had to be wary here. Tsunemori could be unpredictable, and this could be one of the cases for that.

True enough, as everyone paid their attention to either Riku or another big hitter like Yuki or Asahi, nobody expected that Ogawa, the boy who was the main protagonist in the last play, would step up and exchange positions with Riku. The blonde boy had already gone to the left, and with Ogawa handling the ball, all the Matsuyama Kita players widened their eyes, realizing where the pass would go.

"Shit! He is on the left! Kyogo-senpai, jump!" Amagi shouted.

Of course, Kyogo didn't dare to neglect this order. Seeing that Riku came in his direction, he also jumped immediately, not giving any room for Riku to kill the ball. However, when he saw the little smirk on the blonde boy's face, Kyogo knew that things shouldn't be this simple.

"FUCK! We are fooled!"

Yeah, instead of going to Riku, Ogawa decided to send the ball to the middle, the spot where Yuki had already occupied. Some of the Matsuyama Kita players ran frantically to get into that position, yet Yuki was so decisive in this chance. He didn't even bat his eyes, slamming the ball straight into the opponent's heart, forcing them to give one more point for Tsunemori High.

BAM!

"YOSSHAAAAA!"