The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Okay, I have already given you enough time to collect your calm, so even though I know it is hard, I want you all to focus on what we are doing today, okay?!"

"Yes, Sir!"

The next day after the announcement was released, the Tsunemori Volleyball Club gathered once again in one of the classrooms near the gymnasium building. It was less than forty-eight hours before the game started, and while the preparation time was far from ideal for practicing any new adjustments for the next game, they still needed to listen to what Akira said about their next opponent first before charging into the game blindly.

After making sure that whatever he was doing on his laptop was shared to the screen, Akira double-clicked one of the videos there which showed the game between Tsukiji High and Keihin High a few days ago. "I know you all have watched this game already, but watching it from the screen sometimes will give you a different perspective of how the game went by," Akira explained.

At first, everyone didn't know what the coach meant by that. However, fifteen minutes after they watched the record, Yuki finally realized something. 'Everything is slower and less heated than what truly happened in reality.' He murmured, not realizing he said that out loud.

"Exactly, Yuki!" Akira said, startling Yuki. The boy's face flushed when he realized all the eyes were on him. It wasn't like he was a shy boy. He had already been out of that shell, especially with this team. Still, this reaction was understandable considering how startled he was by the sudden call out from the coach. "Well, as your friend said, the video didn't give you the information about Keihin players' stress for playing under such a crowd, the adrenaline rush from the supporters' screams, and something like that. That is why everything seems to be slower than the reality. However, it allows us to observe every little detail of what happened on the court better, and that is what we are going to do right now."

All of the Tsunemori players straightened their backs immediately, ready for a quick analysis class.

"Okay, first thing first, we have their captain, Tama Reiki. I am sure you have already seen what he is capable of, right?" The simultaneous nods from the players were the only answer Akira got. "Well, as you can see, he is fast. Really fast. Probably the fastest player you have ever seen. I don't think any of us can match his speed at all."

The blunt admission made everyone cringe internally.

"BUT!" The old man continued, "Despite his amazing speed, he is pretty much predictable. Look here, he will always point in one direction first before he spikes toward the opposite. Here, he is doing it again. He is the farthest thing you can say about a subtle player, and this is going to be our advantage. Yes, Asahi?" He pointed his finger at the team's captain.

"Uh… No offense, Sensei, but this habit looks so… Obvious. He is a third-year player, right? There is no way he or any other teams have never noticed this, yet he is still a dangerous attacker recognized by so many people. How could we exploit this weakness when any other teams before us couldn't do it?"

Yuki nodded in agreement, knowing full well that knowing the weakness wasn't the same as learning how to take advantage of it. Unfortunately, though, Akira just waved his hand nonchalantly as if what Asahi said didn't concern him.

"Well, if you think about one specific teammate of yours with an incredible game-reading ability, I am sure you will reach the same conclusion as me, that this is not a difficult problem to deal with, Asahi-kun."

Yuki nodded once again, knowing that his coach was right. With a good game-reading ability, anyone could do what Bato from Keihin had done in the last game, reacting first before the setter passed the ball. Now, the question was, who was the guy with the best game-reading ability here?

"Wait…" Yuki widened his eyes in realization when he noticed all the attention was on him. "You are talking about me?!" He pointed at himself in disbelief.

Everyone facepalmed at his obliviousness. "Of course, we are talking about you, Yuki! Who do you think has the best game-reading ability among us?" Asahi rolled his eyes a little.

"I don't know, Maybe, Riku or Rano-senpai, right?!" Yuki tried to defend himself.

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, Yuki, and while I am flattered that you think I am better than you, I cannot leave the duty of setting up an attack just to stop him, you know?" Riku chimed in, trying to hide the smugness on his face. "Also, no offense to Rano-senpai, but you are always two or three seconds faster than him. So, it is a no-brainer to put you on their demon speed attacker."

"Hn," Hirano grunted in agreement.

"Also, you don't have to keep your eyes on him all the time," Akira added. "When they do their synchronization attack either with their original setter or their libero, they would never give the ball to him. EVER. They would never expose their ace to a situation that puts his advantage away like that, so you can just let him go in that situation."

"Okay, okay!" Yuki finally had enough. He didn't know why, but the conversation seemed to turn into them convincing him why he should take the responsibility of watching Reiki. "I don't have much choice here, right?"

"No!" All of the players answered simultaneously.

Yuki huffed, crossing his arms while also pouting unhappily at the other's reaction. Akira just rolled his eyes secretly at his childishness before continuing, "The next one we have to keep our eyes on is their setter, Hirokazu Neito. He is not a flashy setter like Riku, but his basic ability as a setter is enough to enhance his teammates' ability to attack. Coupled with his non-existent ego, he is the kind of setter that any spiker would like. But that doesn't mean he doesn't know how to throw a trick or two. Hirano, I don't need to tell you this, but be careful."

"Yes, Sir." The stoic blocker nodded firmly.

"Then, let's talk about their libero, Asahi." Both Yuki and Riku straightened their back since they were somehow familiar with the opponent's libero. "He is a defensive beast who becomes one of the best youngsters in Tokyo. His game-reading ability and resilience remind me a lot about Yuki, but since he doesn't have to move forward, he could put all of his focus on the back, which makes him shine more as a defender in the last Inter-High. But I don't think that is what you are worrying about, right?"

"Yeah, it would be his new role as an emergency setter." Asahi nodded.

"Oh, well, I know Riku has already told you, but I don't think you need to worry about it too much. They might add one more player with Neito joins the front line, but since they couldn't use Reiki's ability to the fullest, the result will be the same. Also, it is clear that he is a rookie setter. I mean, don't you see he has never passed the ball to the place where he couldn't see it?" After watching the record once again with them focusing on Ishida's set ball, they all widened their eyes in realization.

"Holy shit, Sensei is right! He cannot even pass the ball to his back!" Kaede gasped.

"So, that trick is used only to bluff and scare their opponent, huh?"

"They are very brave, to reveal their incomplete trick before facing against any strong opponent yet!"

"That, or they are just a bunch of morons!"

"Hey, no need to be rude here!"

Akira let the others chat for a while before the sound of his cough interrupted their shenanigan. "Well, I am glad that you are happy to hear another weakness from our opponent, but let's talk about the other players as well, okay?" They all looked at their coach sheepishly before going back to their seat.

The next thirty minutes passed quickly with the entire team discussing a lot of things. They analyzed all the Tsukiji players one by one, from their strength, weakness, and even their habits in the game. Overall, it was a productive meeting. However, when the analysis about the last player was over, they started getting restless over the elephant in the room that hadn't been addressed yet.

"Uh… Sir?" Asahi asked hesitantly.

"Um? Yes, Asahi-kun? Is there something you want to add here?" Akira furrowed his brows.

"Well, you haven't said anything about the crowd, Sir, which we will probably struggle to face in the next game." The captain reminded him kindly.

"Oh, yeah! How could I forget about that!" Akira slapped his forehead comically.

Honestly, this should be the first thing addressed in this meeting. After all, based on the players only, all the Tsunemori members were confident they could beat Tsukiji High. However, playing under about 500 of the opponent's supporters would definitely affect them in a bad way, especially considering this would be their first full-house away day. Stay connected through My Virtual Library Empire

"I have already talked with the headmaster about this, and while it might not help too much, I am sure you will appreciate the gesture," Akira explained. All the players looked at each other, confused about what he was talking about. However, before anyone could ask, Akira's phone was buzzing, and when he checked the new message he received, the old man's face lightened instantly. "Well, I know you all are confused here, but I am not the best person to explain it."

"So, who will explain it to us?" Asahi clicked his tongue a little, starting to get annoyed.

After that, though, the classroom's door suddenly opened violently, and when all of them turned around, they all widened their eyes at the sight of a girl they were familiar with. "That would be me, Asahi-kun. Long time no see." She smiled prettily.

For a moment, there was a silence over the room before someone – no one recognized who – broke it with a shout, "Sugawara-senpai? What are you doing here?!"