The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

The next day started basically the same. They woke up pretty early, doing some warming-up before starting running even when the sky was still dark outside. It was just a low-intensity running to prepare their body for such a long day. After that, they enjoyed breakfast together in the campus's canteen while relaxing a little, talking and laughing about everything.

Then, they would be given free time for about half an hour to do anything they liked, either exploring the campus or just lying on the bed lazily. And when the time was over, that was when the torture started again.

Just like his promise, Akira didn't hold back. He added more sets for the interval running, letting all the players feel that they were still not good enough. If yesterday, they all could finish the training in full thirty minutes, this time, only Hirano was able to do that. Everyone lay on the ground quickly just in twenty minutes after the training started, showing how exhausted they were.

"God, this is impossible." Kaede panted heavily on the ground.

"Yeah…" Ogawa nodded, his condition was a bit worse than his friend's. "I… I don't think… Anyone would train this hard… For the tournament…"

"Hirano is insane, though," Koji commented. While he was tired and decided to walk out from this session, he still looked at his friend in admiration. "He could keep up with all the nonsense training Akira-sensei coming up with."

"He is just another freak, like the two people we know." Asahi snorted, his eyes glanced at Yuki and Riku.

Yeah, after the training yesterday, they all finally realized that it wasn't just Yuki who had an amazing talent in the team. Riku was the same, could absorb almost everything the coach gave instantly. And to make it worse, they both improved at a pace that the other people couldn't follow, outshining everyone without even trying to do that.

"No need to be jealous. We have our own talent and role, so it would be better if we just put our focus on that." Koji said casually. "Anyway, does the summer come earlier this year? Why is it so hot in the last two days?" He groaned while narrowing his eyes at the sun in the sky.

Yeah, just like Koji said, the weather today was still the same as yesterday, very good for outdoor activity. It was as if the God of Weather itself watched them getting tortured and decided to keep the weather as it was yesterday just because it was funny to see them running frantically as if they were chased by a wild dog.

"Here. A drink for you." Suddenly, a soft voice knocked gently through his ears like an angel. Coupled with the pleasant cold feeling from a drink getting pressed onto his cheek, Koji blinked a few times, his mind couldn't respond to what just happened.

"Thank you, Megumi-senpai." That was the only word that could come out of his mouth.

"You're welcome."

It took everyone a few seconds before they realized who just greeted them, and their head snapped immediately to the girl. "MEGUMI-SENPAI?! Why are you here?!"

Yeah, it was Megumi who just came here and gave them a drink to relieve their thirst. She wore a plain, white shirt combined with dark sports pants and white shoes, setting her hair in a high ponytail style that enhanced her beauty more, making everyone's jaws drop and their faces blush hard.

Megumi tilted her head confusedly when she heard the question. "Shouldn't I be here?" She asked.

"No, no, no, Senpai! I don't mean it that way!" Koji shook his head frantically. "I mean, I heard from Kobayashi that you have to accompany your grandma, right?" He asked while sending a glare toward the glasses boy. It was because of his kouhai that he didn't expect his idol to come and embarrass himself in front of her.

"Oh, yeah, he is right." Megumi nodded, putting Koji on the wrong foot. "But I only need to accompany my grandma for two days. You know that I have a little sister too, right?"

Koji blushed at her reminder, glaring fiercely at his teammates who stiffened their laughter at his reaction.

It was clear that Megumi's presence lightened up the mood of the team. With her among them, the conversation seemed to run better as everyone tried their best to impress the girl with their hard work. It wasn't until Akira blew his whistle again that they rose from the ground reluctantly to restart the training again.

"After this, we will have a guest who will help with our training." Akira suddenly announced.

"Eh? A guest?" Everyone stared at each other confusedly, just to receive a shrug from their friends.

"Yeah, he was one of my mentors in the past when I was a player here, and he is willing to help our training today." Akira's smile was full of nostalgia. "Ah, speaking of which, here he comes!"

They all turned their head around to the direction where the coach stared, just to find an old man with a short body and some sort of wry expression on his face walking with a cane in his hand, scrutinizing them all for a moment with the sharp gaze that would put everyone uncomfortable.

"Old geezer? Is that you?"Riku suddenly spoke in Italian, surprising everyone.

The old man had a thick vein popped on his forehead as he swung the cane immediately to the blonde boy. "How many times have I told you to not call me that, you disrespectful Brat!"

"Ouch! Stop it, old geezer! That hurts!"

"It is supposed to be hurt, you stupid boy! Come on! Apologize!"

"Never!"

Everyone had a blank face as they stared at the old man who just come and started bickering with Riku in Italian while waving his cane threateningly at the blonde boy. Only Yuki among the players had a clue of what they were talking about since he started learning Italian too, yet he couldn't follow up the conversation that running so fast.

Akira sighed tiredly at them before turning his attention back to the players, decided to ignore those two.

"Well, as you can see, there is one person who knows about the old man already." He said wryly. "But I will still introduce him to you. His name is Sekine, currently the advisor of the volleyball team here. As you can see, he also has experience with Italian volleyball. In fact, he was the one who pushed me to go there after finishing my study here."

"Eh?! Really?" All the eyes suddenly looked at the old man in a different light.

"Yes. At that time, you were still a brat like them too, Shinji." The old man chimed in after hitting Riku one more time with his cane. His eyes wandered around the players once again before sighing. "So, they are your boys, huh? I have already watched the record you sent to me, and I have to say they are not bad."

Their eyes beamed when they heard his words. After all, who didn't like getting praised?

"Still, there is room for improvement, though." The old man said. Then, a small smile suddenly formed on his face as he stared at the players in front of him. "Since Shinji asks me to do this, I will do everything seriously. By the moment your camp is over, I will make sure you lot are up to my standard. Are you ready to work hard?"

The last words seemed to be a threat in their ears, making all of them gulp in fright. Still, they knew this was necessary, especially when they remembered they had to face Konan High if they wanted to keep the club running. With determination blazing through their eyes, there was only one reaction that would be proper at this time, and that was the simultaneous shout that reflected their spirit.

"YES, SIR!"