The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

*BAM!*

"ONE TOUCH!" Sawada shouted, gritting his teeth to hold back the pain from the spike.

Yeah, the one who just blocked Hirano's attempt to spike before was Sawada, Konan's setter who had a thin body and was not suitable on the front line. He followed Yuki's eyes closely, wanting to figure out where the glasses boy wanted to send the ball. When he managed to read the opponent's intention, he moved instinctively without telling his teammates about it, making him do the block alone.

Unfortunately, he was too thin and didn't have a high pain tolerance. As a result, even though Hirano's spike wasn't too strong, his wall was blown easily by it. Still, his effort was enough to slow down the ball, and all of his teammates were touched by the grit he showed here.

"Damn, nice block, Nobu!"

"Get ready for the next attack! Recover quickly, Nobu!"

When he listened to the cheers from his teammates, Sawada gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain in his hand. The moment he landed on the ground, he moved immediately, observing the situation in the court for a second before deciding quickly which was the best option to score next.

"Shimada-senpai, here!" Sawada shouted, asking for the ball.

Shimada was taken aback by the request, didn't expect the setter to recover this quickly. However, since this was the first time he saw his kouhai being so aggressive like this, he still indulged in this request, sending the ball to the setter.

All the Tsunemori tensed for a second, their eyes on the opponent's movement. They tried their best to figure out who would get the pass, that somehow, they forgot Sawada could just execute the ball alone, and that was what the Konan's setter did here.

*Thud!*

When everyone didn't notice his presence, Sawada extended one of his hands slightly before tapping the ball with it and sending it directly to the Tsunemori's side. Everything from his block to the dump happened so quickly that it took a while for everyone to proceed. However, Sawada had a small, satisfied grin on his face as he clenched his fist excitedly.

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'I can do this too!'

-0-

"Damn, where is the real Nobu?! Tell us where is our sweet boy?!"

"Don't joke like that, Take! He would pass out if you went overboard."

"But that is a nasty dump, Nobu. And I have to agree with Take, your playing style today is a bit different but still in a good way. You are not afraid to show your fang anymore."

"Yeah, little Nobu has grown up already."

Hearing the praise from his teammates, Nobu's face went red like a boiled lobster. For all the talent he possessed, he was still a shy boy who wasn't used by the praise from the others. This was probably the second time he was basked under genuine praises, with the first one being when he joined the team for the first time. Still, he didn't hate that feeling.

"Thank you, everyone." He said quietly, yet genuine enough to make the others smile.

On Tsunemori's side, Yuki approached his teammates apologetically. "Sorry about the last one. I shouldn't pass the ball to Hirano-senpai." He somehow forgot Akira's request about not involving Hirano and Kaede in the offense.

"Don't worry about it. I would also be tempted if I saw Rano in such a good position without anyone guarding him like that." Riku waved his apology nonchalantly.

"Anyway, do you feel that the crowd gets bigger as time goes by?" Koji suddenly asked.

Everyone stared at each other confusedly for a second. However, when they turned their eyes to the stand, they could see that indeed, the amount of people there was at least twice the amount when the game just started. Hearing the whisper though, they knew those people didn't expect them to put up a stubborn fight like this.

"Damn, I thought Konan would have an easy game! Who would've thought they could survive for so long?!"

"It is clear you didn't see the game from the start! The combination attack between the number 19 and 7 from Tsunemori is troublesome even for Konan's players."

"Yeah! That number 19 is also a monster in the service line!"

"The others are not that bad either."

For a moment, a big grin cracked on everyone's face after hearing the praises there. However, it vanished immediately and turned into a solemn one as they all knew all that acknowledgment would be a waste if they couldn't win the game. Even though the chance was slim, they had to try their best today, or they wouldn't be able to stand on the court anymore.

"Okay, let's not rush things up," Riku spoke, his eyes dead serious. "Let's go back to the basics, ensuring we are not leaving any holes in our defense while trying our best to send one or two sneak attacks when they lower their guard. You all with me?"

"Sure." The others nodded with the same seriousness as him.

"Good. Even though they just scored twice in a row, it was still a tie. As long as we could drag the game into our familiar rhythm, everything would be easier in the future."

A moment later, Arizawa served the ball once again. This time, even though he sent it to Riku, Kaede covered the setter quickly, preventing the blonde boy from getting the first touch.

"Nice cover, Kai!"

"Okay, let's move!"

From the left wing, Yuki took three steps to the back quickly, starting to do his run-up. It wasn't just him, but also Kaede and Ogawa. They formed a three-pronged attack to confuse the opponent. And it worked perfectly since even all of his teammates didn't know who would get the final pass, the opponents wouldn't be able to read them easily.

Everyone was tensed for a moment, waiting for where the ball would go. However, Sawada suddenly had his eyes widened and rushed forward immediately, startling all the players close to him. When he saw Riku extend one of his hands slightly, Sawada knew the blonde boy wanted to retaliate from the last attack. However, it would be naïve for Riku to think Sawada would allow him to copy his attack before.

"DON'T THINK YOU CAN DO THAT, RIKU-SAN!"

However, seeing Sawada move to stop his dump attack, Riku let out a mischievous smirk as he suddenly said, "I finally got you, Bastard!"