The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

A quick coin toss between two team captains determined that Tokyo Thunder would get the first turn to serve the ball. Yuki watched as Uehara walked through the service line with a calm expression.

Yeah, even with how many times Yuki proved himself to be a formidable player behind the service line, the coach decided not to put him as an opener. Of course, it wasn't because Kawaki didn't trust Yuki. It was more because he had to consider that this was the first time Yuki came as a starter and the emotional baggage the boy carried on his shoulder right now. If he forced Yuki to be an opener and the boy messed up, it would be hard for Yuki to get up later.

The referee did the last check for everything, sending a nod to the linesmen outside of the court before blowing the whistle on his neck. Right after that, Uehara didn't wait for too long as the ace threw the ball in the air, taking a strong step outside of the sideline before leaping forward to smash the ball.

BAM!

The ball traveled at a speed that no normal eyes would be able to catch, piercing the wind and creating a buzzing sound that was intensified by the building design. For a moment, all the people inside the building thought that no one would be able to stop it. However, a short player with 'unnatural' blonde hair suddenly charged, creating a lightning flash effect before he dove to reach the ball.

"I got this!" He shouted.

"Damn, nice reflex, Nakamura!"

"As expected from the Yellow Flash, his reaction speed is insane!"

Kato who listened to the Phoenix's supporters boasting about this Nakamura had a sweat drop on her face, not knowing how to feel at how cringe it was for the player to be given a nickname from the character in the manga Naruto. Of course, she wouldn't understand how much it meant to be put on the same level as one of the coolest characters in the Naruto franchise.

Still, the nickname at least gave a hint of how capable Nakamura was as the team's defensive specialist. When the team was still dazed because they didn't expect how fast and powerful Uehara's serve was, he was the first one to jump and save the ball, and he also made sure that it would fly straight to the setter's direction. This sequence alone was enough to establish his name as a beast defender inside the Thunder players' hearts.

"Teru, follow it up!" Nakamura shouted.

Ryo Teruya, a small boy who didn't look like he belonged here – a bit like Sawada from Konan High, Yuki thought – moved toward the ball quickly. As he was about to pick up the ball, two of the Phoenix's heavy hitters were already on the move, starting their run-up on the wing side.

Tondo observed the setter carefully while using his peripheral vision to track down the spikers. However, to his surprise, Teruya didn't send it to those two, instead, he threw it back to Nakamura behind the attacking line.

"Shit! Back attack!"

BAM!

Tondo jumped as he realized that the ball was going to Nakamura. However, his reaction was a second too late, as the boy dubbed the Yellow Flash hit it straight in Kojima's direction behind the middle blocker.

"YEAAAH!" Nakamura roared when he saw the ball touch the ground.

"Nice spike, Nakamura!"

"Damn, did you see the blocker's reaction? I swear, his eyes are going to pop from their socket!"

Tondo's face flushed when he heard someone mention his action before. However, he couldn't help it. He was indeed surprised by the back attack. It wasn't just him. Even Yuki stared at Nakamura in awe. At first, Yuki thought that given how short Nakamura was, the boy would be some sort of defensive specialist player who wouldn't be involved in the team's offense, something that Kaede did for Tsunemori. However, based on this surprise attack alone – especially how fast he recovered from receiving the serve to jumping to get the ball – it was clear that Nakamura was more all-around here.

"Oi, Yuki, you don't need to switch your position with Uehara and go to the back row after this. In fact, if you see him on the front, go forward and cover his ass quickly. He is a terrible blocker, after all." Shou explained quickly.

Yuki was taken aback for a moment before asking skeptically, "Are you sure that would be okay?"

"Don't worry, the coach would agree with this adjustment. Hell, if we didn't make that, he would call a timeout immediately just to scold us. Protecting Uehara from the front row is the general consensus of our defense, so you should've been informed about that before. It seemed Kawaki-sensei forgot to tell you about it."

This was one of the reasons why Kawaki was reluctant to put Yuki as a starter before. It had nothing to do with his skill, but volleyball was a 6 men's game. He had to adjust with his teammates too, and that also included what to do and what not to do in the middle of the game, which would be different for every team he would play with. If in Tsunemori, he was in charge of the back row since the team had Hirano, Asahi, and Riku in the front row, this time since Uehara was weak in the front and was the strongest spear on the team, the focus was to protect him from the confrontation, and it would require players to step up as the second blocker to help Tondo on the front.

After pondering about this, Yuki finally nodded and said, "Well, if the coach says anything, I will throw you under the bus, Captain." Find more to read at empire

Shou snorted in a not-so-amused manner. "Whatever. Just get ready for the next play. Oh, and also, cover his spot too."

Yuki nodded, stepping back a little while signaling Uehara to move back and give him some space to react. This was the privilege of being the team's ace. All of his teammates would try their best to protect him so that he could launch an attack.

The game was about to be continued, and the one to serve first from Fukushima Phoenix was Nakamura who just scored a point before. For a moment, Yuki's eyes met Nakamura's and instantly after that, Yuki realized that the ball would come in his direction.

"Well, if you dare to be this bold, come on! Send it to me!" Yuki muttered.

True to his thought, right after the referee blew the whistle, Nakamura sent the ball straight in his direction. However, what came next was something Yuki didn't expect at all. At first, he thought that with how Nakamura attacked before, it would be a powerful jump serve, or if not, at least a spin serve that would put him in trouble. However, the ball came in his direction now… Slow and slightly wobbling in the air.

'A floater?' Yuki raised one of his eyebrows slightly.

A floater was a bit rare in Japan, so it would usually be enough to trouble the defensive player. Unfortunately for Nakamura, Yuki was very familiar with this type of serve, and he also knew how to handle it. Stepping back one step, he raised both hands in the air, ready to redirect the ball immediately with an overhead pass.

"RIKU!"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The blonde boy didn't disappoint. It took him a second to proceed with everything that was happening on the court, and as the ball was on his hand, he tossed it directly to the left side where Uehara was already running past Yuki and leaping forward.

"Oh! Nice pass, Agostini!"

Uehara grinned full of excitement. Seeing that the opponent's blockers were one step behind, the grin on his face kept getting wider and it started to hurt his face. However, as he unleashed his arm, hitting the ball strongly, two pairs of imposing hands suddenly appeared, forming a wall that covered the sky instantly. Uehara widened his eyes in shock, not expecting the Phoenix's blockers would react this fast. However, he couldn't do anything to change the trajectory of the ball, and as a result, his spike met the wall in front of him as the ball bounced back to the Thunder's side.

BAM!