The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"What happened here?"

"I don't know. Should we ask Miyazawa-sensei?"

"But she is not here, though."

As the loud, shrill alarm echoed through the building, Yuki could hear everyone whispering to each other in confusion. However, he didn't care about that. No, there was only one thing on his mind right now.

"We should leave the building quickly," he said, his expression tense. The two girls in front of him were startled, looking at him with concern. However, before they could say anything, he shouted immediately, "NOW!"

It seemed the two girls were not the only ones who listened to his shout. Right after the words left his mouth, all eyes turned to Yuki, and while most of them were filled with confusion, there was a hint of fright visible in their eyes.

"Kobayashi-kun, can you explain what happened?" one of them suddenly asked. "Miyazawa-sensei is not here, and if we leave without telling her first, we will be in trouble." While it sounded like a reminder not to act rashly, Yuki could see that the boy also felt worried about the situation.

"I don't know for sure, but it is clear that this is the sound of the emergency alarm. We should leave the building as soon as possible," Yuki said, trying to keep it brief. As for the part about being in trouble with his teacher, he couldn't care less. For now, the most important thing was to get out of the building and find an open space to evacuate while trying to figure out what was happening.

When they all heard Yuki mention the emergency alarm, their bodies tensed for a second before they immediately rose from their spots. Even though they had never been in this situation before, Japan was one of the countries with the most natural disasters, so they all received the same training on what to do when the emergency alarm rang. Still, that didn't lessen their concern about the situation.

"Attention, please! This is an emergency situation, not just a simulation! Please leave the building quickly and go to the evacuation zone! The emergency door is on the left wing of the building, so please don't wait for the lift and move! I will repeat, this is an emergency situation, not just a simulation! Please follow the procedure and leave the building quickly!"

If there had been any doubt about Yuki's statement before, the announcement they heard dispelled all of that instantly.

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"Come on, Kato-san, Sugawara-senpai, we need to move!" Yuki urged, taking his friends' arms and guiding them toward the nearest exit.

He was followed by the other students, who somehow dubbed him their emergency leader in this situation since he had been the first one to notice what was happening. In a normal situation, he would have laughed at them, thinking how ironic it was, considering how almost all of them had been involved in the gossip incident that put his name in the mud. However, that thought was far from his mind. The most important thing to do right now was to get outside and save themselves first.

As they finally left the building, they were greeted by the chaotic scene that enveloped the factory grounds. Workers poured out, their expressions varying from fear to panic. When Yuki saw one of them starting to distribute something from a box to the others, he decided to ask, "Ojiisan, can we have some too?"

The old man he asked was startled for a second, then replied, "Who are you? And why are you here?"

"We are students from Tsunemori High who are here for a study tour. Come on, Ojiisan, can you share some with us?" Yuki urged again, keeping it short.

Fortunately, the old man didn't ask any more questions and grabbed some of the items from the box to give to him. "Here, make sure all of your friends use this, okay?"

"Sure. Thank you, Ojiisan!" Without even waiting for an answer, Yuki grabbed what the old man gave him and ran back to the spot where all the Tsunemori students had gathered. Under everyone's questioning gaze, he raised his voice immediately, "Guys, this is a mask to cover your face! Use it properly and don't breathe the air here directly!"

It didn't take long for all the masks in his hand to disappear after he announced it. What he had asked the old man for were masks, essential for protecting themselves from breathing in harmful substances in the air. Although Yuki still didn't know what had happened, after connecting the dots between the fact that it was a pharmacy factory and the odor he had smelled before, he made an educated guess that whatever happened would be bad for their respiratory systems.

As time passed, more people could be seen leaving the building, each one appearing more panicked than the last. The sight of people having difficulty breathing only convinced Yuki that his guess was right. Unfortunately, he still didn't know what had caused all of this.

"Hey, don't push!"

"Has anyone called the ambulance already?!"

"I have! They said they would be here in fifteen minutes!"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Damn! That's too long! Can you ask them to come quicker?!"

Amidst the chaos, Yuki couldn't help but ask someone who had just come out of the building. "Ojiisan, what is happening here?"

The old man he asked was surprised to see a high school boy there, yet he didn't question it and answered immediately, "Bad stuff, boy. I don't know what it is, but a highly volatile solvent leaked during the extraction process of certain medications. It evaporates quickly and creates a toxic vapor cloud that could send you to the ER if you're not careful. So, don't take off your mask, okay?"

"Yes, Sir!" Yuki nodded like a good boy.

Inwardly, though, he was shocked to hear the cause of all this. This was the first time he had heard of something like this happening, and he cursed his luck for somehow getting involved in this mess.

When he returned to the spot where all the Tsunemori students were gathered, Arina Sugawara bombarded him with questions, unable to hide her anxiety.

"So, what is happening here, Kobayashi-kun? Did you hear anything from the people over there? Also, have you seen Miyazawa-sensei? We couldn't contact her at all since this mess started, and I am afraid something bad is happening to her." A tear threatened to fall from the corner of her eye.

Unfortunately, Yuki himself didn't have any comforting news to reassure her—or the other students around her. He simply shook his head and said, "I haven't seen Miyazawa-sensei at all, but she should be around here. As for what happened here, it is—"

BAM!

"Run! Get as far away from the building as possible!"

"Damn! Save yourselves! This won't be the only explosion today!"

"Come on! Run!"

Before he could finish his explanation, the sound of an explosion and the panicked screams of people filled the air. Acting on instinct, he shouted to the group of Tsunemori students around him, "Come on! We need to move! Be quick, but don't get separated from the group! Be careful!"

By now, no one cared about their sensei anymore, as the only thing on their minds was to save their lives. This was the first time they had been in the middle of a life-threatening crisis, and they couldn't help but feel anxious and afraid of the situation.

As for Yuki, while he was trying his best to look calm and composed, it was clear from his expression that the anxiety building inside him had already reached its peak. He tried to distract himself by shouting at the others to move in an orderly fashion and follow the crowd. But when he noticed one person—no, one girl he was familiar with—missing from the group, he couldn't help but curse out loud.

"Shit! She is still there!"