The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Yuki blinked his eyes confusedly when he saw a teenager with bob hair pointing his finger at him. The glasses boy could remember vaguely about the boy in front of him, yet the memory seemed to be stuck at the tip of his brain. After a while, he finally let out a deep sigh and said, "Okay, I give up. I know we have met once or twice in the past, but who are you again?"

He could see a vein pop on the boy's forehead. "Okay, usually, if I meet someone in the same circle, it would be me who asks that kind of question. I never thought that I would be at the end of it. Damn, Gondo-senpai and that old geezer would laugh at me if they knew it."

Yuki just maintained a blank face while trying his best to ignore the boy's constant muttering, shrugging at Kato who was full of questions. The boy seemed to have enough before he snapped. "Are you serious?! Do you really forget about me?! It is me, Amagi! Matsuyama Kita's setter and the second-best player of the Inter-high tournament!"

When that information sunk into Yuki's head, the image of an arrogant setter who always mocked and teased his opponent suddenly overlapped with the boy in front of him, and that was when something clicked inside his brain. "Ah! You are Amagi, Matsukita's arrogant setter! What are you doing here?!"

The boy – Amagi twitched his lips in annoyance. "First of all, I have already said my name, so don't act as if you remember it on your own! And what do you mean by arrogant?! I am a humble person, you know?!"

This time, it was Yuki who looked at him in disbelief. "Humble? Are you sure that is the best word to describe you? I mean, don't you hear what you said before?"

For a moment, the two boys glared at each other, putting Kato who didn't know anything about it on the wrong foot. However, just like any boy's friendship, the heated atmosphere disappeared immediately, replaced with a huge grin on their face.

"Aw, man! I didn't expect to see a familiar face here!" Amagi said, hugging the younger boy.

"Me too! What are you doing here, Amagi-san?" Yuki asked.

"Oh, I got dragged here as an unpaid laborer by the ogre that is my mother to help her run a camp. What about you? What are you doing in the middle of nowhere here?"

"Wait, a camp?!" Yuki turned his head to Kato, to which the girl returned with a shocked expression. "Don't tell me it is the astronomy camp in the observatory up there?"

This time, it was Amagi who was surprised "How do you know that?! Ait, don't tell me…" He widened his eyes in realization.

"Yeah… We are going to participate in the camp." Yuki pointed his finger at him and Kato while grinning sheepishly.

Amagi blinked his eyes several times, showing confusion. However, after everything sunk into his head, his expression changed. A huge grin formed on his face as he suddenly encircled his arm around Yuki's shoulder. "Awesome! This is the first time I see a familiar face during the camp! Maybe, things will not be as boring as before!"

"Wait, what do you mean by before?" Yuki frowned. "Oh, this is Kato Ayaka, by the way. I am here to accompany her for the camp." He didn't forget to introduce his friend to Amagi as the girl bowed politely and said, "Nice to meet you."

"I am Hiromitsu Amagi, nice to meet you too." The older boy returned the bow. "As for what I mean, well, just as I said before, this is the camp run by my mother. Since it didn't have a lot of participants, she forced me to join this last year and this year too. And – wait, what's wrong?" He felt uneasy at the envious gaze he received from Kato.

"Oh, she is just jealous." Yuki chuckled, knowing his friend full well. "She is a gook when it comes to astronomy. She has been waiting for a while to become a high school student to join this, and to hear that you were there last year and this is your second one, she is probably thinking of how unfair it was."

"Y-Yuki-kun!" She couldn't help but blush when her friend read her like an open book. However, the shyness disappeared as she stared at Amagi with shining eyes. "By the way, may I know your mother's name? Also, what kind of research does she participate in?"

Amagi was stunned at the questions barraged at him. After pondering for a while, he answered it slowly. "Okay, let me see… Her name is Chikako Amagi, and she is a lecturer at Gunma University and also the head of the Gunma Observatory. As for the research she participates in, it is a lot, but usually, the topic is around interstellar matter. It is – "

"Oh my god, I know what it is!" Kato suddenly squealed, interrupting the explanation. "It is all the stuff floating in space between the stars, like gas and tiny dust particles that helps make new stars and planets, right?! It's like the building blocks of the universe! Your mom is so cool!" She babbled with eyes shining excitedly.

Amagi blinked for a moment, then let out a small chuckle. "Oh, yeah, Kobayashi is right. You are a geek when it comes to astronomy. I am sure my mother will like you."

They continued their journey to go to the top of the hill, walking through the steep and dangerous road ahead. Even though it was the first week of September already, the sun was still scorching hot, and the more they got higher, the wetter their shirt was, drenched by their sweat. Fortunately, the addition of a new person to the group was enough to make the atmosphere lively. Kato forgot about her exhaustion as she kept barraging Amagi with question after question while Yuki would join the conversation when the situation turned awkward.

Overall, the journey became more enjoyable with Amagi there.

"Come on, we are so close to the observatory!" Amagi said, urging the two teens to walk faster. After walking for about three or four more minutes, they finally arrived at the destination, panting heavily after a long journey.

"Finally!" Yuki threw himself to the grass field there. "The journey is so long!"

"I know, right?!" Kato also took a seat next to him, enjoying a bottle of water. "I didn't expect that Gunma is this far."

As they took a rest though, suddenly, a soft voice greeted from behind. "Hiro-kun, what are you doing there? And who are those two?" And when those three turned around, they could see a woman close to Aiko's age with features resembling Amagi greeting those three. "Anyway, why are you sitting there? Come on! The camp is about to start!"