The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"It's because of you, Bastard, that we are on Hasebe-sensei's red list!" Akihiro scowled, accusing his partner.

"Hey, what do you mean by that?!" Aizawa retorted, refusing to accept the blame.

"Well, everything starts with you ordering me around! Do you think I'm a lesser player than you?!" Akihiro shouted heatedly, convinced that Aizawa was at fault for their current predicament.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes furiously and shot back, "Well, first, I am indeed a better player in the back compared to you." Akihiro growled, unhappy with the statement—though he knew it was true. "And second, you whined a moment ago about not knowing how to handle his serve?! How come, when I have an idea, you shoot it down immediately because you don't like being ordered by me?! Then how can I put my idea into action, Sparky?!" Aizawa growled in frustration.

This...

Akihiro wanted to say something—anything—to defend himself. However, all the words he wanted to utter caught in his throat, knowing that he was indeed at fault here. Still, he couldn't help it. This was probably the biggest insecurity that Akihiro had yet to overcome.

He came from a mediocre middle school, and although he managed to bring his former school to the top four in the national tournament, people still looked down on him because his school had no reputation at all. It was only after he joined Konan High that people began to treat him with respect. But when he heard Aizawa ordering him around, Akihiro suddenly remembered all the disrespect he had suffered in the past, and he snapped.

Still, while Akihiro was always full of pride, he had never shied away from apologizing, especially when he knew he was in the wrong. After calming his mind and thinking it over, he took a deep sigh before saying, "You're right; you are better than me in the back. I am sorry."

Aizawa was taken aback, not expecting such a direct apology. 'It seems there is more to him than meets the eye,' he thought.

There was an awkward silence between them for a moment, with both boys unsure of what to say. Hasebe, who had been watching them closely, nodded in satisfaction, glad that those two were able to set their differences aside. 'Those two are among the best here, so if they can work together, it will be difficult to beat them.'

"So… truce?" Akihiro asked awkwardly.

"Truce," Aizawa nodded, looking friendlier than before.

"Good." Akihiro sighed in relief. "Now, tell me what your idea was before. Let's see if it's enough for us to stop his serve." He said, his eyes on Yuki.

-0-

After the break was over, all four players returned to the court to continue the game. Yuki furrowed his brows deeply, not liking how calm his opponents were. Gone was the earlier disagreement; now, the two players on the other side of the court were eyeing him like prey.

'Well, it's a bit too much to expect them to stay conflicted for the rest of the game,' he mused. 'But why do they look at me like that? Do they think that because they are no longer in disagreement, they can suddenly face my serve? It seems they need a bit of a wake-up call.'

After a brief pause, Hasebe finally blew the whistle to resume the game. Without hesitation, Yuki served the ball quickly, aiming far to the edge of the baseline. Aizawa, who was at the front, reacted instantly and shouted, "Akihiro, move!"

Yuki raised an eyebrow slightly as he observed what was happening on the other side of the court. With how Akihiro shadowed Aizawa, it seemed Konan's blocker had moved with the assumption that Aizawa couldn't reach the ball. It was a smart strategy, considering the spot Yuki was aiming for was tricky. When Aizawa realized the ball was wider than he expected, yet still inside the court, albeit close to the sideline, he shouted at his partner, "AKIHIRO, PICK IT UP!"

Akihiro didn't need to be told twice; he dove forward, extending one hand to reach the ball. All the players on the sidelines scattered immediately, giving the boy enough room to dive.

BRUGH!

"I GOT IT!" Akihiro shouted, ignoring the pain tingling in his shoulder. However, his reception was sloppy; it was a bit too short and would hit the net if Aizawa didn't follow through with the play. "OI, BASTARD! IT'S YOUR TURN!"

"SHUT UP, SPARKY!" Aizawa retorted while sprinting for his life to save the ball. It was impressive to see how quickly Aizawa reacted—from running to receive the serve to turning around to save the second ball.

Unfortunately, Akihiro was out of the equation after receiving the serve, so Aizawa could only send the ball directly to the opponent, giving up the chance to attack.

'Well, if I have to give up the opportunity to attack, I must ensure their best attacker is out of the equation,' he mused. After thinking quickly, he finally decided, 'There!'

Thud!

He sent the ball just out of Tanaka's reach, forcing the boy to turn around and retrieve it. It was a calculated move since Aizawa knew it was easier to stop Tanaka than Yuki. As a setter, the only thing he needed to worry about regarding Yuki was his dump—

'Eh?'

BAM!

Aizawa didn't even have time to blink as he saw the ball come back to his own area. At first, he had no idea what was happening; everything occurred so fast that his brain couldn't keep up. However, when he saw the smirk on Yuki's face—who he quickly identified as the culprit behind the last play—his mind began to race, figuring out what had just happened.

'So, it's not an ordinary dump; he smashed the second ball immediately the moment he saw we weren't quick enough to recover. Damn, I didn't expect someone to think quickly and make such a good decision in the spur of a moment like that. Yuki Kobayashi, huh? Not bad…'