The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Two minutes later, the referee asked the players from both teams to come back to the court and get ready to continue the game. When Yuki saw the formation Fukushima Phoenix set for his next serve, he couldn't help but snort.

'They are trying their best to recreate the same situation when I served the ball for the first time before. It seems they have a theory and want to collect data to prove it. However, it would be stupid if I knew about that and still fall into the trap.'

If Yuki was like any other brash teenager, he wouldn't hesitate to answer the opponent's blatant challenge head-on. He would probably do so with the fake bravado of 'having to prove that his serve is the strongest' or some shit like that. Fortunately, Yuki's rational mind was more dominant here, and he knew personal winning would have no meaning if the team lost the game.

'Well, if they so want to see the trick, that makes me want to do the opposite.'

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With that thought in mind, when the referee finally blew the whistle, he tossed the ball slightly in the air before leaping forward to hit it as strongly as possible.

BAM!

Even though Yuki wasn't proficient in jump serve yet and still couldn't exert his maximum power on it, with the addition of his wicked accuracy, it was still enough to make a problem for the opponent. Since all the Fukushima players gathered around the center, he aimed far to the corner close to the sideline, and the speed of the ball itself didn't give the opponent any chance to think whether it was out or not.

"Shit! Mirai!"

"I got this!" The captain moved like a cheetah, jumping at the ball as if he was about to pounce it before swinging his forearms to redirect the ball into the air. "Shit! Sorry!" Even with his acrobatic save, Mirai still couldn't aim the ball perfectly. Even though Yuki's serve didn't score a point again, he managed to take the ace out of the equation and also scatter the opponent's formation, so just based on this fact, what he did was no less than before.

"Don't worry, I got this!" Koizumi, the opposite hitter who was also the team's emergency setter reacted. His eyes kept tracking the ball and his teammates' movement, and after careful consideration, he sent it toward Hachimura on the right. "I leave it to you, Kodai!"

Tondo and Shou reacted at the same time, moving in unison to shut down the attempt for cross spike. Yuki himself was also ready to cover for the straight spike. All the Thunder's players were ready to receive the attack.

When Yuki caught Hachimura's eye movement though, he realized what the opponent was trying to do and reacted first. True to his prediction, facing two blockers in front of him, Hachimura didn't use brute force, but handled it gently by tipping the ball to get above the blockers.

Thud!

"Shit! Someone, cover!" Tondo shouted.

Kojima who was the closest to the ball was about to react. However, before he could even do that, he saw someone flash in front of him, and before he knew who was it, the ball was already flying back into the air.

"Riku!" Yuki shouted, didn't even flinch as he recovered from his position. He didn't even need to adjust his stance to do his run-up as he just jumped, getting ready to attack. The opponent still hadn't recovered from their failed attack – hell, Tondo and Shou just landed on the ground – and the next attack was launched already.

BAM!

"OH, YEAH! Good pass, Riku!" Yuki grinned after seeing his spike was untouchable, turning his head to his friend. "Good thing you see me jumping immediately. If not, the surprise quick attack would have failed, you know?"

"Bah! Who do you think you talk to?" Riku scoffed, shoving his friend's shoulder playfully. "Please, don't underestimate me!"

"Ha! I would never dare to do that!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

While those two were bickering with each other, the other players on the court were in a state of confusion. They felt like they were just hit by déjà vu, but the role this time was reversed. What they didn't expect though, was how versatile Yuki was on the court. From serving, defending, setting, and even attacking, he could handle it all. The only thing he hadn't shown yet was blocking, yet no one doubted that he could do that.

"What the hell… This is so unfair…" Shigeo muttered wryly.

Hell, he wasn't the only one who reacted like that. Even Yuki's teammates also stared at the blonde boy in awe. However, in doing that, they forgot about Riku's impressive role in linking up the attack, and when everyone forgot about his presence, Riku wouldn't hesitate to punish them all.

-0-

"Come on, Yuki! Do it again!" Riku shouted as Yuki walked through the service line.

It was still Yuki's turn to serve the ball, and some people on the stand clapped their hands unconsciously, praying to whatever deity that Yuki would fail. It seemed that their wish was listened to, as when Yuki hit the ball, his hand slipped a little, and as a result, the ball that should have a spin in it that made it curve had no effect at all, turning it into an ordinary serve.

Shigeo, the blocker who was guarding the left front blinked, not expecting that after five or six torturous serves in a row, something easy finally came. However, he shook his head quickly, regaining his consciousness back in a second. This was the rare opportunity handed by their opponent, and if they couldn't capitalize on it, they deserved to be bullied by Yuki's serve for five more turns for their stupidity.

"Teru! Get ready!"

"I got it!" The setter moved immediately to pick up the ball. His eyes glanced around for a second, and when he made an eye-contact with Nakamura on the back, Tondo and Shou also reacted to that. "Nakamura-senpai!"

Nakamura clicked his tongue when he saw two blockers were already in front of him. Still, he proved to be an excellent hitter, as when he was doing his run-up to time his jump, he suddenly paused for a second, messing with the blocker's timing and catching them off guard before he leaped forward and hit the ball.

"Shit! A delayed attack!" Tondo cursed, inwardly berating himself for his poor performance today as he was fooled once again by the opponent's hitter.

However, when he had already closed his eyes and got ready to hear the sound of the ball hitting the floor, someone – well, two people if he was right – suddenly ran past him and jumped, and before he could realize it, instead of hitting the floor, the ball hit by Nakamura met a wall first before it bounced back to Fukushima Phoenix's side.

BAM!

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