The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Out of all the basic volleyball skills he learned in the past, blocking was probably what Riku lacked the most. It wasn't like he was bad at it, but he always found an excuse to not put all of his effort into doing that.

From an excuse that he couldn't set properly if he joined the blocker, couldn't synchronize with the blocker's movement, to even a ridiculous one like no one thought being a blocker was cool, he had already thrown all of that as an excuse to get excluded from getting dragged into the front side.

However, once again, that didn't mean he was bad at it.

Just like this time, when Nitta spiked the ball for the first time to get the rebound, Riku noticed Kyoei's setter turned his hips slightly to the back line. Even though it could be a fake, he remembered that the opponent never did something outrageous to fool them during the game, so he knew the possibility of the ball going to the back line was high.

That was why instead of following Hirano to guard against Nitta, the blonde boy stayed still in the middle, his eyes glancing around to see the opponent's backline.

And true to his predicament, Riku caught Ito's movement from the back line, and he took off the ground immediately while extending his arms high to form a wall for Kyoei's captain. He was surprised though, that the spike went directly to his hands, and it was easy for him to take it down the floor.

*BAM!*

"HELL YEAH!" Riku roared immediately when he saw the ball bounce back to the opponent's floor.

In the next few minutes, Riku suddenly turned into a beast, joining Hirano on the front line to stop the wave of attack from Kyoei. He surprised everyone else with his game-reading ability that was on par with the middle blocker, second only to Yuki on the team. With him and Hirano there, their wall was strengthened immediately, and Kyoei started to have a hard time breaking it.

"Let me do it, Captain." Nitta suddenly spoke with a grin on his face. "If they thought they could stop me with that weak ass wall, they are in a rude awakening."

Ito didn't have any complaints, just nodding his head silently. He knew this wasn't the time he prioritized his ego, especially after his attack met the opponent's wall three times in a row. Even though he felt confident against Hirano, the captain never expected Riku to step up and show a strong ability in blocking, so, keep attacking the wall would be stupid here.

The best option for the current situation would be to use Nitta's brute force to intimidate the opponent's blocker.

"Do you want a bait or distraction?" He asked.

"No, if I use that, the effect wouldn't be as good as I thought it would be." Nitta rejected Ito's idea. Then, he turned to the setter and said, "Just give me the usual high toss parallel to the front line. Don't get too close to the net and look at my movement carefully to match the timing, understand?"

"Yes!"

After discussing a little bit more about what they should do after this, all the Kyoei players went back to their positions and got ready for the next play. With Koji still on the line, they all took a step back, knowing a strong serve to the back would come.

*BAM!*
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"Oh! Nice receive, Kusuda!"

"Yamada! Follow it up!"

Riku and Hirano on the front line stared at the setter intently, trying to figure out where the ball would go. By now, Riku had already figured out the tic their setter had, which was that he would always turn his upper body slightly to the player he wanted to pass the ball before executing it.

It seemed their setter wasn't that good, couldn't even hide his body movement that showed a flaw the opponent could take advantage of.

The moment he saw the setter turned slightly to the right, Riku shouted immediately, "Hirano-senpai, right! Asahi-senpai, with us! Follow my lead! One! Two! JUMP!"

*BAM!*

Riku winced unconsciously as he received the heavy blow from Nitta, inwardly giving a hat off toward Yuki who was able to defend against such a powerful spike several times before the glasses boy had to go out of the game.

If this was the level of power his opponent had, no matter how high his pain tolerance was, Riku would rather walk away from the front line the moment he had a chance rather than try to stop the spike.

Still, the play wasn't over. He managed to deflect the spike and reduced the impact of it, yet the ball still flew a bit far outside of the court.

"Koji-senpai! Cover!"

"I got this!"

Koji rushed while his eyes were still looking at the air, tracking where the ball would fall. The crowds who were close to the court dispersed immediately, giving room for him to save the ball. And even with struggle, he finally managed to reach the ball first before it could touch the floor.

"FOLLOW!"

Koji managed to hit the ball back to the court with an underhand pass. After that, he turned around immediately, ready to participate in the next attack. Unfortunately, his save before wasn't good enough that Ogawa had to get the second ball, and while his friend could toss the ball, the quality was far below what Riku usually gave to the team.

"Sorry!"

"Don't worry! I got this!"

Kaede stepped forward before he jumped, trying to spike the ball from the back. However, he was too far from the net, so his spike was a bit weak when it crossed the net. Fortunately, it was still able to get through the blocker and gave his teammates enough time to recover, so he counted it as a win.

"Nice job, Kaede!"

"Go back! Ready for another attack!"

In no matter of time, the ball flew one more time in Nitta's direction. The three blockers on the front side also followed his movement, ready to set a wall. Honestly, they were a bit reluctant to be in this position again. It seemed Nitta's heavy spike was able to leave a shadow in their heart, making them feel a bit afraid of facing it again.

Still, they already decided to defend with all their might until Yuki returned, so they didn't want to let the opponent score the ball so easily.

"Senpai, again! Follow my lead! One! Two! Jump!"

*BAM!*

"NICE! FREE BALL!"

This time, the spike hit straight to Hirano's arms. It was fortunate for Tsunemori since Hirano was a tough middle blocker in the beginning/ Receiving the heavy blow from Nitta wouldn't affect his mentality at all.

"Riku!"

"I got this!"

The ball flew back to the front where Riku stood. With quick thinking, he tossed it to the right side where Asahi was there. Unfortunately, once again, Kyoei's blockers proved their might with Haruo suddenly rushing toward the wing and deflected the ball.

*BAM!*

"Shit! Sorry!"

The rally kept going on for a while, making everyone hold their breath unconsciously. Even though Tsunemori was pushed back into a passive state, they still defended the ball stubbornly without panicking, having already had a similar experience when they played against Shimoyawata. It was Kyoei though, who started to get frustrated after their opponent suddenly resisted anything that came from them.

"Damn! This is awesome!"

"Don't give up, Kaede! Get up!"

"Riku-sama! You are so cool!"

The crowds cheered instantly as things got more heated. They all screamed not only to show their support for the team, but also trying to disturb the opponent's concentration by making loud noises. Unfortunately, it was proven to be futile as when all the blockers were attracted to Nitta, Kyoei's center suddenly passed the ball in the opposite direction where Ito was flying already.

"GODDAMNIT!"

*BAM!*

After a tough battle, the ball finally touched the floor, adding one more point for Kyoei. The atmosphere on Tsunemori's side turned gloomy as everyone felt depressed instantly. If with all of their effort to keep the ball in the air, they still couldn't stop Kyoei's offense, what could they do in the next play?

However, the dark atmosphere was suddenly washed away by the familiar sound from outside of the court, throwing a question with a cheeky tone.

"You all are not going to give up before I can play again, right?"