-A few days later, in Matsuyama Kita High's gymnasium-
"Tsunemori? I have never heard of that school ever."
"It is a small, old school in East Tokyo. Edoagawa-ku, if I am not wrong."
"Oh, near the bay?! Man, it's been a long time since I have been there."
"Idiot! We are going to play here and not going anywhere!"
It was still early in the morning, yet almost all the players of Matsukita – the abbreviation of Matsuyama Kita – were already gathered in the gymnasium, ready for the friendly game. However, no one took this seriously, for once it was not a competitive game, and two, they didn't believe their opponent would be that strong to put them in trouble.
While doing their warmup so casually – borderline lazy, they kept chatting and laughing, using this opportunity to relax. Usually, this time, they would've started running around the school or doing another exhausting physical torture their coach set for them, so, they knew even if this was disrespecting their opponent, they could treat this game as a way to slacken off a bit.
"So, are they any good?" One of them asked.
"Nah." Another one just waved casually, replied, "There is no way a good team would accept our invitation. Just like us, they would try to hide their new rosters for the next tournament. The team that accepted this would be a poor one whose coach wanted to motivate their players after playing against a strong team."
"Well, that makes sense." The one who asked before nodded in understanding.
"Yeah. Just treat it as a spiking practice." Said another one.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" A sudden high voice suddenly snapped them from their casual chatting. They all winced simultaneously the moment a huge, imposing figure suddenly appeared, glaring at them fiercely. "Move your ass quickly! The opponent will come in the next five minutes, finish your warmup!"
"Yes, Sir!"
Seeing all the players run frantically, that figure just sighed tiredly. He was Takeuchi Gondo, the captain of the Matsukita team and one of the four senior members left remained. Looking at his kouhai underestimating their next opponent like this, he just shook his head helplessly, trying to figure out what went wrong with them.
'Why are they so proud of themselves and looking down on the other team? They couldn't even play as regulars here. Damn, those bench warmer are getting worse every day.'
Or so that was what he thought. Of course, Gondo wouldn't say that out loud. It would be irresponsible to alienate several of them unjustly, especially considering his position as the captain. However, sometimes, he hoped there would be a good small team that could knock down their ego and wake them up from their dream.
"I want to win~ I want to win~ I want to win against Konan~"
A thick vein suddenly popped on Gondo's temple when he heard that playful discordant tone sung by someone behind him. He knew even without turning around who was that, and he guessed the person behind him was also the culprit behind the overconfidence developed by the others in the team.
"Shut up, Amagi!" Gondo barked, having enough of this shit.
"Eh?! Why?!" The boy called Amagi whined immediately. He was just a normal boy with a height of about 180 cm and long hair. "This is the song I created to keep up our motivation to defeat Konan!"
The corner of Gondo's lips twitched after hearing that. "Can you be more serious, Amagi?" He asked. The person he had a conversation with just sighed, tying his messy hair into a bun before starting to throw the ball in the air, keep tossing it to himself several times with amazing control. "You are our setter, the pilar of our offense. If you got lazy, it would affect the morale of the team."
"Yeah, yeah… I know…" Amagi said that, but his eyes were locking into the ball he kept tossing into the air. He finally turned his attention from the ball the moment a bunch of unfamiliar people came inside, greeting them loudly.
"Good morning, Matsuyama Kita!"
Amagi's eyes turned to his soon-to-be opponent, then a smirk suddenly formed on his face. "Well, look at that. Don't they look like a strong team?"
There, in front of the gymnasium, all of the Tsunemori players finally arrived. They walked side-by-side with fierce expressions like they were about to go to war, wearing green jerseys with two white strips on the arms side.
Their head coach and manager of the team, Akira and Megumi approached Gondo immediately to greet the host team first.
"It's been a long time, Takeuchi-kun." Akira offered a handshake.
"Yes, Akira-san. It has been two years, right?" Gondo replied, accepting the gesture.
Amagi raised one of his eyebrows, interested. 'From what I heard, this Tsunemori should be a weak team, right? How could their coach and Gondo-senpai know about each other? And from Gondo-senpai's tone… There is a…. Respect in it?'
While Amagi was busy with his thought, Akira and Gondo continued their conversation.
"So, where is the old man?" Akira asked.
"He said he would come late. Well, you know how he is." Gondo shrugged nonchalantly.
Akira sighed helplessly, knowing clearly what Gondo meant. "Well, we will do our warmup first. Will the game start just as it is scheduled?"
"Yeah!"
Amagi who heard all the conversation was stunned. 'They both were talking about the old man?! Does that mean Tsunemori's coach also knew about the old man too? Yes, it should be! Gondo-senpai had already thrown a hint that they knew how the old man was!'
The old man they kept mentioning about was Honda Saburo, the head coach of Matsukawa Kita's volleyball team. Just by looking at his appearance, not a lot of people knew that the old man who always had a smile on his face was a big figure in the Japanese volleyball world, what with him being one of the members of the legendary team of Japan National Team when they won the silver medal for the first time in the history in volleyball world cup 1969.
That was probably the time when this sport started to spread widely in the country.
After retiring from the professional world, Honda decided to be a coach for a small high school team in his hometown, and even though he had never won the national tournament with that team, he kept giving birth to a lot of amazing players who went to be professional players when they graduated from the school.
His legendary reputation as the best trainee for young players kept spreading in the country until ten years ago when he was recruited by Matsukawa Kita to handle the team. After that, even though he still had never won the national tournament, Honda had already won second place eight times, something that only a few could achieve constantly.
For Akira to know the old man, something clicked inside Amagi's head quickly as he could take a guess that Akira was Honda's former disciple in the past.
'Well, if that is so, this game should be more interesting than I thought…'
-0-
While Amagi was busy with his crazy theory, Akira and Megumi walked back to the team, the girl suddenly let out a deep, relieved sigh. "Fortunately, the jersey came in time. It would be rude if we use vests to play against the second-best team in the country."
Akira who heard her mumble had the decency to blush and look embarrassed. He was thankful though, to have Megumi dealing with this stuff quickly. "Sorry about this one, Megumi-san."
"Don't worry, Sensei. Just, please, don't forget something important like this again in the future, okay?"
Akira nodded helplessly, knowing the accident was his fault. He was too enthusiastic preparing for strategy and a bunch of technical on-the-game stuff to the point he forgot the two freshmen, Yuki and Riku didn't have the jersey of the team. In a panic, just a night before the game, Akira called Megumi's phone immediately, asking if they still had two spare jerseys unused in their inventory, knowing there was no way they had even one left.
Fortunately, he had Megumi as the manager. Within a few hours, the girl showed how resourceful she was by contacting a lot of alumni, asking if they still had the jerseys of the team that could be borrowed for tomorrow. And fortunately enough, four people sent their jerseys to the school this morning before they started the journey, saving them from embarrassment.
So, here they are, wearing a classic green jersey of Tsunemori High with Yuki using the number 19 while Riku had the number 7 on his back.
"Okay, everyone! Gather up!" Akira shouted, signaling his players to listen to his instruction. "Just like the briefing we had yesterday, the starting players today would be Hirano for the middle blocker, Yoshi and Kobayashi as the opposite hitters, Noriyuki and Koji as the outside hitters, and finally, Riku for the setter spot. Okumura would be ready any time for the rotation with Hirano, and when that happened, Kobayashi would be our sole middle blocker. Is there any question?"
Everyone shook their head quickly. They had already spent most of their time yesterday complaining about this decision. After all, having two freshmen promoted already as the starting players was a big deal, and it also offended the senior members like Yori or Asahi who had been working their asses off to get that position. However, they knew Yuki and Riku deserved that position, what with how they dominated the entire team in that 2v2 competition a few days ago.
Akira nodded, satisfied with their reaction. "Well, I know that our chance to win this game is not that big, so my only homework today is… Do your best to make the second-best team in the country remember how strong we are!"
"Yes, Sir!"
-0-
'Oh, two freshmen on the team? How bold~' Amagi raised one of his eyebrows, intrigued. He kept bouncing the ball on the floor, ready to take the first serve of the game. 'Well, if they could take the spot from their senpai, they should have some skills. Should I test them first?'
After pondering for a second, he grinned widely. 'Well, let's do this!'
All the people in the gymnasium held their collective breaths the moment they saw Amagi throw the ball high into the air, jumping high before coiling his arms back just to release it like a quick whip, hitting the ball hard to Tsunemori's side. The ball was a blur of leather and spin, flying towards Riku with an incredible speed, even faster than the blonde boy's serve itself. It was a serve that would make even the most experienced players quiver with fear.
However, before it could cross the net, Amagi saw Riku take a step outside of the line while Yuki moved quickly, covering Riku's defensive area. The ball was now just a few feet away, and Yuki's instincts kicked in. He dropped his knees, his body bending into a perfect diving position, his arms outstretched like a shield.
The ball was now just inches from her fingertips, and Yuki's eyes locked onto it with laser-like precision. With a soft whoosh of air, the ball landed in the palm of his hand, and it absorbed the impact as he brought his body back up to standing while the ball was flying high on the spot.
"Nice receive, Kobayashi!"
As if it was just a daily operation, no one on Tsunemori's side was surprised that Yuki could do it. Riku went back to his spot immediately to get the second touch while Yuki and the other dispersed, ready to counterattack. Taking advantage of Matsukita players who were still in disbelief after witnessing Yuki receive the serve perfectly, Riku set the ball quickly to the left side where Noriyuki had been waiting.
By now, Yuki and Riku knew that their captain was also the ace of the team. Noriyuki was the strongest and the most agile compared to the others, and his calmness always reassured his teammates that giving him the ball was the best choice.
As Riku's set came to him, Noriyuki sprang into action, his eyes locked onto the ball as he sprinted towards the net. The ball sailed towards him, and Alex's arms extended out like a battering ram, meeting the ball at the peak of its trajectory.
*BAM!*
The impact was thunderous, and the ball exploded off Noriyuki's hands with a loud "thwack" that sent shockwaves through the court. The ball hurtled toward the opponent's side, leaving a trail of dust and debris in its wake.
As the referee's hand shot up to signal the point for Tsunemori, Amagi and his teammates stood frozen in shock, their eyes wide with disbelief. They couldn't believe what they had just witnessed. The serve, the reception, and the attack had all come together in a perfect storm of package.
Amagi, still reeling from the incredible play, shook his head in amazement. He couldn't believe that Yuki had made such an incredible diving reception out of his serve, and just like any veteran national team, the other Tsunemori players executed the sequence of play perfectly.
Amagi couldn't help but glance over at Yuki, the one who initiated the play. He thought that the freshman would be a glaring weakness, yet he was awakened rudely by that amazing save. To his surprise, Yuki suddenly turned around at him, and they met eye-to-eye for a second.
For a moment, Amagi felt his adrenaline spike up as he grinned widely, silently challenging Yuki to do that again next time. His excitement rose astronomically. His grin spread ear-to-ear as he took a step inside the court, ready to continue the game.
Inwardly though, he murmured, 'Well done, Tsunemori. You won the first round, but I hope you can keep it up until the end of the game.'