The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"His name is Riku Agostini. Due to the paperwork problem, he couldn't join us yesterday, but he will be your friend for the next three years, so I hope you guys can get along with each other, okay?"

"Yes, Sensei!"

That was the short introduction for the blonde boy Handa-sensei gave to the class. And as expected, it didn't take too long before his popularity soared among his peers. Girls were already talking and whispering and glancing at him while the boys looked at him with hostility as if he just stole their limelight.

Yuki himself ignored the commotion, didn't even glance at the blonde boy. While he might have seen the boy in the volleyball club, they didn't know each other that well. Hell, they had never exchanged even a single word before this morning, and it was just a short greeting with the blonde boy who was too shocked knowing they would be in the same classroom.

However, Yuki didn't want to be involved with Riku for too much. As a foreigner, the blonde boy was destined to be popular, and even if Yuki couldn't see the future, he knew that popularity would attract trouble. He had been in that position when he was in middle school, and Yuki didn't want to repeat that one more time.

Unfortunately, what Yuki didn't know was that his fate was already bound to Riku the moment they met in the volleyball club yesterday, and they were bound to have a crazy journey for the next three years.

-0-

Riku yawned, his eyes kept moving from the clock to the teacher who explained something about mathematics. Looking at the point of the clock were still in between one and two, he sighed, slumped in his chair. There was still about one and a half hours before the day was over, and he already felt tired.

This was his first day studying in Japan, and Riku was shocked to see how different it was compared to Italy where he lived before.

Here, almost everything was mainly centered on teachers, emphasizing the leadership of educators and paying attention to the basic knowledge with strict rules. Not saying that in Italy the rule was not strict, but at least it focused on students' practice based on their own exploration with interest, and the teachers were also willing to include the students to learn together.

At least, with that method, he wouldn't have to listen to boring lessons all day.

Unfortunately, he could only complain to himself inwardly as it was the system that had been running here for a long time already. There was no way the school would change its method just to comply with his protest.

His eyes then started scanning the room for anything, anything at all, to shake off the monotony. But all he saw were his classmates scribbling notes, their pencils scratching out a rhythmic beat that only seemed to lull him further into a state of boredom. As his gaze drifted back to the present, it landed on one person that intrigued him the most since yesterday.

'So, his name is Kobayashi Yuki, huh?'

His mind flashed back to yesterday's challenge when Yuki obliterated all five challenges that easily. Honestly, if he was given the same chance, Riku was sure he would be able to do the same that easily. And yes, it was jealousy that took over his body. He loved to show off and to be in the spotlight, so when it was snatched from him, it hurt.

However, no matter how he felt right now, Riku had to admit - even reluctantly - that what Yuki did was incredible.

That cycle challenge was something that came from his uncle's brain when he first wanted to learn volleyball, even stating boldly he wanted to do it professionally. That was a few years ago when Italy was able to get second place in the Volleyball World Cup and the sport spread all over the country.

At that time, his uncle promised that if Riku could persist in this training until he was able to complete all five challenges, his uncle would support his decision to be a professional.

And yeah, if you were wondering, his uncle was Akira Shinji, the head coach of Tsunemori High's volleyball club.

What hurt Riku's ego the most was the fact that he knew Yuki had never received any training, yet could complete all the challenges the first time he did that. It showed how much talent Yuki had for volleyball. Compared to him who needed more than a month to get it done, Riku knew he was far behind compared to Yuki just in terms of talent.

While it hurt, this also made Riku's competitive spirit pump up more, though.

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'Uncle should hold a sparring to assess the freshman today, right? I should bring him to the club too.'

-0-

"What?! You don't want to join the volleyball club?!" Riku's shriek attracts people's attention.

Yuki groaned, wanting to run away from this troublesome blonde boy, especially after seeing he was surrounded by so many people. "Yes, Agostini-san. I don't want to join." Yuki wanted to give himself a pat on the back for still managing to be polite in front of them all.

The school was finally over, and as expected, almost all the students there flocked into Riku, wanting to invite him to join a club or have some fun together. This was just the nature of a high school student, always felt the need to get closer to the most popular boy in the class. And since Riku was a half-Italian with rare blonde hair, it spelled the word 'Idol' all over his face.

To their surprise though, not only Riku refused their offer, he went straight to Yuki's seat in the front row and invited him to go together to the volleyball club.

For those who didn't go for the volleyball club's challenge yesterday or didn't see it until everything was over, they didn't have any idea why Riku was attracted to Yuki. In their impression, while Yuki was a handsome boy and always greeted them politely, there was this air radiated from him that gave them an unapproachable feeling.

With Riku asking Yuki to go together, this was like the plot from a teen novel where the popular guy was hanging out together with the loner of the class.

And when they thought the surprise was over, they were shocked by the second wave that came from Yuki's rejection.

"Why?!"

Yuki sighed tiredly, didn't want to explain at all. "Well, you know my condition, right? I need to start to make some money since I am 15 already." Out of politeness, Yuki still gave the blonde boy a short answer.

Riku winced, knowing what Yuki was talking about. While he wasn't an orphan, he knew it was basically a universal rule in every orphanage that all the kids over 14 or 15 would have to start making money by themselves. However, Riku still insisted on inviting him, his competitive spirit was hungry after seeing Yuki's performance yesterday.

"I know, but please! Come with us!" He pleaded a little. "Just this time! We will have a sparring game, and after I play against you, I will not bother you anymore!"

Honestly, the sight of him begging Yuki to come surprised the other students. They didn't know Yuki's background story, so the only thing inside their mind right now was Yuki trying to play hard to get, something which made their impression toward the glasses boy worsened by miles.

"Agostini-san, why do you really want him to go with you? I can do it too!"

"Yeah! It is just a volleyball game, right? Let me be your teammate!"

There were several of them who offered to replace Yuki's spot. However, Riku didn't bulge, still staring at Yuki with his bright, brown eyes. Facing such a request, Yuki finally wilted, complying with the request. "Just this one time, right?" He asked for a confirmation.

Riku's face lightened up as he smiled brightly. "Yes! Just this one time! Then, I will not bother you again!"

Yuki sighed, weighing his options one last time for a second. While he could refuse the invitation, he didn't want to do it, considering Riku did that under more than ten pairs of eyes. Riku was bound to be a popular guy, so refusing it would make a lot of enemies for him, something that Yuki didn't want to deal with.

In his mind, it was okay to be a loner, but being a public enemy on the second day of his school life would be bad.

"Just this time, right?" Yuki sighed one more time. "Don't forget your words after this is over."

"Sure!"

-0-

Yuki's eyes blinked a few times behind his glasses, his mind was wandering far when he entered the gymnasium building once again. This was his second visit in two days, some sort of record considering he had never visited a school gymnasium other than for the PE class when he was in middle school.

Unlike yesterday though, this time, no crowds were queueing for a challenge, making it easier for him to process everything that happened inside the gym.

It was a massive building with two courts inside it, separated by a thin line straight in the middle. The high ceiling and gleaming wooden floor seemed to reverberate with the sound of laughter and shouts, as a group of students were busy warming up for a game on one of the two courts.

To his left, a row of tall goals stood like sentinels, guarding the volleyball court, where a few players were already starting to toss the ball and spike it back and forth. Meanwhile, on the other court, a group of basketball enthusiasts were lacing up their sneakers and preparing for a pick-up game.

"Oi, everyone! Look at who I bring here!" Riku's voice suddenly snapped Yuki from his thoughts. The blonde boy was waving his hand excitedly, attracting the attention of all the people on the volleyball court. It didn't take too long before all the eyes turned to them, and everyone was excited immediately the moment they saw Yuki's presence.

"Oh! You bring him here! Good job, Riku!"

"Is he in your class?"

"Man, with him here, today would be interesting!"

"What is your name, by the way?"

"Hey, move! You overwhelm him!"

In a second, Yuki was surrounded immediately by the overly excited players from the volleyball club. He sighed, had already expected something like this to happen. He regretted a little inwardly, questioning his decision yesterday to show off a bit.

What surprised him more though, was the fact that all the players here somehow were familiar enough with Riku, to the point of calling each other with the first name basis. No matter how extrovert the blonde boy was, it was impossible to be this close to about ten or eleven people just in one day.

'Well, that would be a question for another time.' Yuki took a note inwardly.

"Are you here to join us?" When the crowds finally dispersed, one of the players suddenly approached him, offering a handshake while smiling politely at Yuki. "My name is Noriyuki Hanji, by the way, the captain of this team. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Noriyuki-senpai." Yuki accepted the handshake politely, trying to ignore the noisy whisper from the other players in the background. "I am Kobayashi Yuki, a freshman. I was dragged here by Agostini-san to join the activity."

The blonde boy gulped nervously when his name was mentioned, especially when all the eyes suddenly turned to him.

"Oh, interesting." Noriyuki sent a sweet smile at Riku, a smile that promised pain. "Let's talk about it later with Akira-sensei after everything is over, okay, Riku-san?"

"H-Hai!"

Noriyuki sighed before saying, "Well, I apologize for any disturbance he caused for you. But since you are here, do you want to join our sparring game?"

That was a genuine invitation. Yuki knew just by one look at his eyes that once he refused the offer, the captain would let him go immediately without holding him back. This was his chance to get away from this situation. However, Yuki was a man of principle, and he had never been the one who walked away after promising something to the others.

He knew this principle would bite him in the ass later, but for now, not even a second the idea of crossing his principle flashed inside his mind.

"Well, I have already said yes to Agostini-san, so why not?"

Hearing his response, the hopeful eyes on Riku's face suddenly exploded, turning into an ecstatic one. The blonde boy jumped immediately, blood seemed to rush into his head as his face was red, full of excitement.

"Yosh!" Riku clenched his fists. "Now that we are here, let's start the sparring immediately! Come on, Captain!"

Yuki and Noriyuki looked at each other for a second before sighing helplessly, knowing this would be a long day for both of them.

"Well, Kobayashi-kun, do you bring a casual shirt to wear for training?" The captain asked.

Yuki shook his head, then rolled up his uniform's sleeves, saying, "It is alright. This would be fine. "

"Are you sure?"

"Yup."

After staring at Yuki for a moment, Noriyuki nodded a little before saying, "Well, since you just arrived with Riku-kun, how about you do some warming up with him?"

At first, Yuki wanted to refuse, the idea of spending so much time with Riku who was still bubbling with enthusiasm sent a shiver through his spine. However, the blonde boy overheard the conversation and his eyes shone brightly, dragging Yuki immediately.

"Come on, Kobayashi! Stand on the other side! Let's see if you can receive my serve!"

Yuki's face palmed, knowing this was definitely not the warming-up he had imagined anymore. The other players just chuckled out loud, especially seeing how helpless he was facing a bundle of joy like Riku. However, it seemed no one wanted to help him here.

The moment Riku took a ball from the floor, all the eyes suddenly turned to him, observing every little movement he made before facing the serve. Yuki narrowed his eyes slightly in suspicion. If the reaction wasn't this intense, he would think this arrangement was a coincidence. However, now, he suspected that the captain deliberately planned this to test his ability.

It seemed they wanted to see more carefully his capability after the display of skill yesterday.

'This is what I got for showing off, right?' Yuki groaned inwardly.

"Oi, Kobayashi! Are you ready?!" Riku waved his hand excitedly at him. Yuki sighed, knowing he couldn't get away from it.

'Well, let's end it as soon as possible.'

After bracing himself, Yuki gave a thumb up to Riku, signaling that he was ready. He blinked a few times, shocked at the sudden change of expression in the blonde's eyes. Gone was that childish excitement a few seconds ago, now he was completely locked into the game.

'I need to be careful.' His consciousness told Yuki to do that.

He kept observing Riku on the opposite side as the ball was thrown high in the air before the blonde boy jumped. With a swift motion, Riku brought his arm back, coiling his body like a spring about to release. Then, in a flash of speed and power, he snapped forward, unleashing a blistering ace serve that whizzed straight to the other side.

Yuki could hear dramatic gasps from the sideline. However, he had no time to think about that. All he had in mind right now was the ball that seemed to zoom into his face with light speed. He swore that the ball crossed the net just a second after Riku hit it.

He didn't panic though. Since his eyes could track the ball's movement perfectly, Yuki just took a step back, timing when the ball would come in his direction, bending his knees a little before stretching his arms, letting the ball come to it perfectly.

There was a moment of silence as everyone tried to process what happened. Everything happened too fast, not all the eyes could follow it. What all of them knew was the fact Yuki killed the ball's speed perfectly, as the ball bounced from his hand toward the spot where in a normal game the team's setter would be there.

The silence was finally broken when Akira Shinji, the head coach of the team suddenly appeared, applauding Yuki's perfect play with his eyes shining brightly at the glasses boy.

"Nice receive, Son! Are you sure you have never received any formal training before?"