The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"KOBAYASHI! YOU ARE BACK!"

Gone was the depression that lingered around them a few seconds ago, not a trace could be seen on them as if they had never felt that way before. Now, all that could be seen there was enthusiasm as they slapped the glasses boy's head excitedly.

"Finally!"

"How long did you plan to be lazy? The first set is almost over, you know?!"

"Goddamnit, Kobayashi! You are finally here! We have been waiting for you!" Experience new stories on m v|l e'm,p| y- r

Yuki himself could only rub his neck apologetically while trying his best to hide his discomfort after getting slapped so many times by the others. Inwardly, he cursed them all for taking advantage of this moment to land a hit on him. Some even did it pretty hard as if wanting to vent out all the grievances between them. Yuki vowed inwardly that he would even the score after the game was over.

*Cough!*

All the players there turned their heads when they heard the cough, then turned it away immediately as the referee looked at them sternly. Some tried to look innocent while the others at least had the decency to apologize to the referee.

"I know you are excited to see your teammates, but it is still in the middle of the game, and your team has already used all the timeouts you have. So, don't delay the game!"

"Yes, Sir!"

As the six players went back to the court, Yuki walked to the bench immediately to greet the coach. There he could also see Megumi who helped him a lot was already there too, waving her hands cheerfully at him.

"So, how is your condition?" Akira asked, trying to hide his excitement. Out of all the people in the building, he was probably the one who was excited the most since that meant he could implement his strategy better after this. Still, he had to ask whether the glasses boy could perform his best or not. "Is there still any discomfort in your forearms?"

"Well…" Yuki pondered for a moment, twisting his wrist playfully while looking at his arms. "Apart from the slight ache that Megumi-senpai said it was normal, I think I have no problem with my forearms. Also, I have a sudden boost for my luck, so you don't need to worry about me."

Akira and Sekine stared at each other for a second, confused by his last words. They shrugged in unison as they both didn't know what Yuki meant by that and decided to let it go. Only Megumi who knew what he meant smiled knowingly at him, inwardly recalled the memory of what just happened outside of the building.

"What do you mean by there is no ice pack or bandages?!" Megumi shrieked hysterically. "Aren't those two the most basic things any clinic should have?!"

"I am sorry, Ayaka-san!" The one who was in the clinic, a young man in his early twenties who seemed to be new to that duty shrunk in fear under Megumi's glare. "I have already told about this to the headmaster and asked for some budget to restock all of the medical tools and equipment here, but he said I have to wait for the next month! Sorry!"

Yuki couldn't help but have a sweat drop on his face when he saw how timid this guy was. If Megumi pushed him a little bit more, Yuki was sure this guy would reveal his home address and phone number in a heartbeat.

"I think the ice pack before is enough, Megumi-senpai." He said wryly. "Other than the slight ache here, I don't feel any discomfort anymore. Maybe, we can go back to the gymnasium?" He asked, trying to save the poor guy.

"Shut up, Yuki-kun!" Unexpectedly, Megumi snarked at him, silencing the boy instantly. "This is not about you anymore, but also the student's safety at the school. How could the school clinic not have even the basic equipment to treat bruises?! It should be a crime at this point!"

The corner of Yuki's mouth twitched as he didn't know whether to laugh or feel annoyed at the girl. He knew Megumi meant well and it was probably because of her nervousness kicking in that she couldn't control her emotion well, but he didn't expect the first thing his senpai would do when facing this kind of situation would be ranting to no end.

"Neechan, if you keep doing that, the poor guy will probably faint on the spot." A familiar voice suddenly came from the door. When they all turned around, they were surprised to see who was there.

"Kato-chan? What are you doing here?!" Megumi asked in surprise. Yeah, it was her little sister who suddenly appeared there.

"Well, I saw from the crowd what happened and wanted to check it by myself. Here, by the way," She gave Yuki a small box full of ice. "I bought this from the convenience store nearby."

"You bought it for me?!" Yuki asked, touched.

"Well, duh, of course, it is for you." Kato rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Also, here, this is for you." She threw him something, which made Yuki confused for a second.

"A wristband?" His confusion grew more. Then, his eyes got teary when he saw a big, sloppy sentence written there.

'GOOD LUCK, YUKI-NII!'

"That was from the children," Kato explained. "Aiko-obaasan called me thirty minutes ago, saying that the children forgot to give you this. She asked me to give it to you if I could do it, so there you go…"

Yuki played a little with the wristband on his hand while a small, genuine smile formed unconsciously on his face.

'Yeah, with this kind of support, there is no way I would lose, right?'

-0-

A moment later, Kyoei scored one more time. Asahi couldn't block Nitta's spike perfectly, and the ball went outside of the court without anyone trying to save it. The first set was about to end with Kyoei only needing 2 more points to seal the deal. However, the motivation on Tsunemori's side was at its peak as they saw Yuki come in for Ogawa.

"You finally come, Bastard!" Riku grinned.

"Yeah. Good job for holding them back to this point." Yuki smiled a little. "Anyway, Kaede-senpai, I will join the attack after this, so you have to be the one who defends our back, okay?"

"Me?!" The defensive specialist was taken aback for a moment. However, the grin on his face told everyone his mood. "Sure! Leave it to me!"

"Good." Yuki couldn't help but smile. "As for our offense…" He turned around to Riku. "Agostini, remember the first time we got paired in a 2v2 game?"

Riku was startled, but his expression brightened up when his memory caught up with what Yuki talked about.

"So, we are going to do that?!" He grinned excitedly.

"Yes." Yuki nodded. His head then turned at Kyoei's side as a similar grin suddenly formed on his face. "Let's show them that we are not done yet."