The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Holy hell, how could the game turn out to be like this?" Haruo smiled wryly as he saw the disaster kept coming to his team. "One moment we have the momentum, and next it has already gone, snatched from us. This is so unfair."

Out of anyone else on the court, Haruo was probably the one who had the right to complain the most about this current situation. At the beginning of this set, he worked his ass so hard to score one point after another while also lifting up the team's mood. Basically, he had done the job of the ace and the captain, something that should be too much for a rookie like him.

Still, Haruo would never complain about it. He clearly enjoyed the responsibility, and the other bench players before him also listened to his instructions pretty well so that they could stabilize the game.

However, everything changed when the two main players; the ace and the setter entered the court once again. Somehow, just in less than five minutes they played, they managed to undo everything he had done before and dragged the team back into the slump.

"Go to the left! Tondo, move faster!"

"I got this!"

BAM!

"Oh! Nice receive, Yuki!"

BAM!

"YOSSHAAAAA!"

This should be the third in a row Thunder's new strategy worked perfectly. They knew Ojiro Senta was targeting Yuki and lured him to do so, knowing full well that Yuki was capable enough to handle it. Then, when they still recovered from the failed attack, Riku would step up and set a quick attack without giving any Giant Bear players time to react.

Honestly, Haruo didn't know what made Ojiro Senta so stubborn that he still wanted to break Yuki's defense directly like this. If once was an accident and twice was a coincidence, then the third time the attack failed should tell the ace that the attack was deemed to fail, right? But no, Ojiro Senta was still not satisfied and wanted to repeat the attack until he finally met the result he wanted, and this drove Haruo crazy.

"Don't worry, Ojiro! You would get another chance later." Goro, the team's captain reassured the ace.

While the others clearly disagreed with the sentiment, no one dared to voice their thought. After all, those two were the most important players on the team, and their influence was not limited just to the court. To go against them would be suicidal for their career.

However, it seemed that Haruo's patience was running thin right now. He might not be a confrontational player who would face the problem head-on like Yuki or Riku, but he had a way to complain about this situation. Right before the game was about to be restarted, he suddenly raised his hands, making a 'T' gesture to the bench.

"Eh?!"

Not just his teammates, but even all of the Thunder players were taken aback by the sudden unexpected development. Yuki who was clueless came to Riku immediately and asked, "What's wrong? What is the meaning of that gesture?"

"Well, usually, when a player makes that gesture, that means there is something wrong with him; either he is too exhausted or he feels pain that could potentially injure him so that he couldn't continue the game. That gesture basically means that he wants to get subbed off for the rest of the game." Riku answered still with a dumbfounded face.

This time, Yuki also had the exact reaction as he finally understood why everyone was so shocked by Haruo's gesture. When he saw the taller blonde boy's expression that didn't even look like he was in pain or exhausted, Yuki's eyes widened in realization.

'He snapped.' The glasses murmured. 'I don't know what happened, but it seems like a conflict between senior and junior players.'n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Of course, Yuki would know about that. After all, he had the same experience to be in Haruo's shoes, and honestly, he could sympathize with the blonde boy. He kept his eyes on Haruo as the middle blocker walked away nonchalantly from the court, not knowing what to say. In the end, though, Riku woke him up from his daydreaming by patting his shoulder.

"I know that you are worried about him, but this is not the best time to do that. He is still our opponent, and we have a game to win now. So, let's put our focus back on this set and think about anything else later, okay?"

Yuki nodded, smiling gratefully at his friend. His eyes turned back to the Giant Bear's bench when one player finally rose from the bench with a face full of nervousness. 'Well, this would be far easier than before.'

-0-

BAM!

"Damn, this is what? His sixth receive in a row?!"

"Probably!"

"Damn, Kobayashi owns Giant Bear's attackers!"

"Agostini!"

BAM!

"Hell yeah!" Shou roared when he saw the ball he just spiked landed on the floor.

It was ten minutes since Haruo left the court, and true to Yuki's prediction, the game became far easier when the middle blocker wasn't there. The Giant Bear didn't realize that what made their team survive up to this point was Haruo, and without him on the court, no one on their side was able to score anymore.

"Good job, Kobayashi!" Shou praised his kouhai genuinely.

"Eh, it is nothing, Senpai." Yuki rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly.

Strangely enough, Giant Bear still didn't give up on their pursuit to target Yuki even though it was proven to be useless already. But… Well, at this point, they didn't have any strategy that could save them from this disastrous game anymore, so the coach might as well let his players do anything they wanted.

The second surprise was coming from Kawaki. The Thunder's coach knew that this strategy to bait the opponent's ace didn't come from him, but when he saw how effective it was, he decided to let it run and saw how it went. Needless to say, he was very satisfied with this result and decided to let Yuki stay on the court for the rest of the game for his brilliant idea.

"Come on, one point left! Who will serve next?!"

"Holy shit, it is Kobayashi!"

"Damn, Giant Bear has the worst luck today! Rest in peace for them!"

Yuki grinned when he heard the whispers traveled from the stand. While he did an amazing job in the third set, the supporters would remember him more as a pinch server, and he didn't mind about it considering how good he was behind the service line. He took a deep breath, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle. And when it finally came, he tossed the ball slightly in the air, hitting it to the far corner of the opponent's side without hesitation.

BAM!