The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"HARUO!" He roared.

Yeah, it was Haruo, the middle blocker of the team who chased and tried to save the ball, even with the cost of his body. Ito\'s heart skipped for a moment when he heard the loud sound of the collision echoing all around the building. However, before he could even ask the boy if he was alright, he could hear the shout coming from there.

"IT\'S STILL ALIVE! PICK IT UP!"

Ito blinked for a moment, then turned his head to the air just to find out that indeed, the ball was still alive. He glanced sideways at his kouhai who was still struggling to get up after the heroic save a few seconds ago and stared at the ball hesitantly, falling into a dilemma about whether he should check Haruo first or continue the game.

But after looking at the determination blazing in his kouhai\'s eyes, Ito gritted his teeth, convincing himself that this was the right decision.

\'Haruo is okay, and his sacrifice cannot be wasted that easily. We need to continue the game.\'

With that thought in mind, Ito shouted, "NITTA!"

"I GOT THIS!"

Even though Ito\'s emergency setup was not that good, he had been training together with Nitta for more than two years. In that period of time, they often acted as each other\'s setter, so it could be said that Nitta was familiar with Ito\'s awkward setup.

However, before he could jump, Nitta clicked his tongue at the sight of Hirano and Yuki eyeing him intently.

\'Tch. What a pest.\'

Yeah, the chaotic situation only happened on Kyoei\'s side. On Tsunemori\'s, while they all were surprised to see Haruo\'s heroic save, they didn\'t lose their calm, waiting patiently for the ball to come in their direction. And when it flew toward Nitta\'s, Hirano and Yuki jumped at the same time, not giving the ace any room to spike.

*BAM!*

"Oh! Nice block, Hirano!"

"But they got a second chance! Damn it!"

"Don\'t worry! Do it again! Block them!"

"Yeah!"

The crowds became more excited when they saw Hirano blocked Nitta\'s spike attempt. The noise kept getting louder and it even started to distract Tsunemori\'s players too. But just as the crowds said before, the ball was still within Kyoei\'s grasp.

When he saw the area in front of him was shut down, Nitta aimed the ball at Hirano\'s hand to let it bounce back at their own area so that they had a second chance to attack while giving Haruo enough time to recover.

And it seemed to be the right decision, as before all the Tsunemori players were ready for another attack, Yamada, the setter of the team suddenly set up a quick attack, and like a déjà vu, a yellowish blur suddenly rushed toward the ball. But this time, instead of trying to make it stay in the air, he slammed the ball with all his might, knocking it down to the opponent\'s floor.

*BAM!*

This time, it was Tsunemori\'s turn to be dazed. They all had their jaws dropped, still couldn\'t process what just happened. Haruo, the main protagonist of the amazing sequence had a big grin on his face, knowing that what he did earlier basically saved the entire team from losing control of the game.

"You don\'t think you can do anything you want in front of us that easily, right?"

-0-

"Damn! He is so arrogant!"

"He is handsome, though."

"Yes, and he also has a blonde hair!"

"He might be more handsome than Riku-sama!"

"Mind your words!"

"Yeah! Riku-sama\'s handsomeness is absolute!"

Honestly, if Haruo\'s amazing play happened in a different scenario, all the Tsunemori players would fall into depression instantly. However, when they heard how all the girls around started debating who was more handsome between Haruo and Riku, their facial muscles twitched, speechless at the reaction from the crowds.

"Your fangirls sure are something else, Riku," Yuki mumbled. "One moment they cheer for you, and when they see another handsome blonde, they turn their eyes immediately. Their loyalty toward you is amazing." He shook his head sarcastically.

Riku blushed unconsciously, couldn\'t help but feel embarrassed, thinking their action also represented himself. "Well, you have to admit that even though he is still below me, that middle blocker\'s handsomeness is good, okay? It is no wonder the girls would feel something when they saw him. They have a good taste, after all." He said defensively.

All the other players who heard his words twitched their mouths at the same time, speechless at how shameless Riku was when talking about handsomeness.

"So, you admit he is as handsome as you?" Yuki grinned, encircling his arm around Riku\'s shoulder.

"Bite your tongue!" The blonde boy retorted. "You heard me saying that he is below me! Don\'t twist my words!"

"Really?" Yuki asked playfully. "Then, don\'t you also hear them debating that he is more handsome than you? Are you not feeling offended?" He wiggled his eyebrows slightly, signaling the others to join the fun.

"Yuki is right, Riku!" It was Kaede who jumped onto the boat first. "Are you going to let this offense slide?"

"If it were me, I would never be able to sleep peacefully at night!" Ogawa nodded.

"Yeah! You need to take revenge!"

"Oh, shut up!" Riku finally snapped. "Don\'t think I don\'t know what you are doing here!"

"Oh?" Yuki arched his eyebrows innocently. "Please, do tell."

"You are trying to make fun of me to lighten up the mood, right?" He scowled. "It is not funny!"

"Oh, but it is, for us." Kaede snickered.

"Yeah. Hysterical, even." Koji nodded.

"Well, I am glad you have fun." Riku pouted childishly. "I hope you all never get that kind of treatment from any girls in the school." He stomped all his way toward the less crowded spot there.

Yuki sighed in relief when he saw Riku was back to his normal state. When he saw ire rose on his friend\'s face, he knew that the blonde boy\'s mentality was shaken from the last play. Well, not that he could blame Riku, since not only his momentum was stopped, but the culprit behind it was the player who frustrated him all the time during the game.

Yuki was afraid for a second that Riku would lose his calm and started to pick up a fight against Haruo just to settle the score. Not an actual fight, of course, but using the game to deliberately target the opponent\'s blocker for nothing. It would be a disaster if the blonde boy did that, knowing that Haruo – for all the surprise he gave – was still dubbed as the best blocker of his generation.

He… No, not just him. Tsunemori needed Riku to be calm and collected, especially when the game was in a crucial time like right now.

\'19 – 19, huh? It is a pity Riku\'s serve cannot produce one more point. But whoever gets the next point will be one step further toward the next stage. We need to grab it as quickly as possible.\'