The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Yuki and Riku couldn\'t help but have a sweat drop on their face as they saw the boy in front of them bowed politely. From the first impression, no one would believe the boy was a volleyball player. He had a thin body that looked so weak people would be afraid of hurting him just by touching the boy.

Added to the shy and quiet air radiated from him, they both had a hunch he had a hard time getting along with the other boys.

"Come here, Sawada-san! Sit with us!" Being the chatterbox he was, Riku invited the boy quickly, and soon started to dominate the conversation. "I heard from my mom that you are a volleyball player too, so which position do you play? And from which school do you come from? Oh, I am Riku, by the way, Riku Agostini. You can just call me by the first name.

He is Yuki Kobayashi." The blonde boy pointed his finger at his friend.

Yuki was speechless by the overly-friendliness Riku showed toward the boy he had just met. Maybe it was a family trait, considering how his mother acted over the children she had just met too.

As for the children, while some of them were playing around in the yard, a few were still there, listening to the conversation while looking at the new boy carefully. It was clear they were also interested in him, who also was a volleyball player just like their two brothers.

After being reassured that it was okay for the children to do that, Kato and Aiko were roped into the conversation with the two older women in the room.

\'Wait, someone is missing here!\' Yuki suddenly realized something. "Oi, Riku, where is your father?" He whispered to the blonde boy. Experience tales at mvl

"Oh? He is gone already? He must go back to his room. He is not the most socialized person, as you can see." Riku said nonchalantly.

Yuki somehow felt pity toward his father, since it must be hard for an introvert like him to live with the pair of lively mother-and-son. However, since the relationship in the family was healthy and everyone was happy, he was sure the father also enjoyed it secretly.

"So, which position do you play for the team?" Riku asked once again with the same curiosity. Yuki put aside his thoughts as he also waited for the boy to answer the question.

"Ah… I am a setter, and I am just an ordinary one." The boy, Sawada, rubbed his neck shyly.

"Setter?!" Riku perked up a little, and Yuki could see his competitive spirit rise instantly. "Hey, that is the same position as me!"

"Is that so…" Sawada chuckled a little, yet somehow looked uncomfortable.

However, it seemed Riku didn\'t notice that as he kept bombarding the poor boy with question after question. "So, which school do you come from? Is it any good? Hey, is it in Tokyo? Will it be possible for us to play against each other? And – Ouch!

What the hell, Yuki!" He glared at his friend who just sent a chop straight to his head.

"You overwhelm him, idiot. Give the poor boy a space, will you?" Yuki rolled his eyes. "He looks like he is about to faint. If you keep going to throw questions, I am sure he won\'t be able to survive for too long."

Riku was stunned, then when he noticed the not-so-good state of Sawada, he apologized quickly. "Sorry, Sawada-san! I am a bit overreacting here!"

"Ah… It is nothing…" Sawada was still in a daze, not knowing how to react. "Agostini-san is really an enthusiastic person when he is talking about volleyball, right?"

"No, not just about volleyball. He is always a chatterbox about everything." Yuki exposed his friend mercilessly.

"Hey, that\'s rude!" Riku sniffed.

"Well, tell me it is not true, I dare you!"

"It is still rude, though."

Sawada smiled as he saw the two boys start bickering with each other before bringing the topic back to the volleyball. "So, you both play regularly even though you are still a freshman? That is awesome." He let out a deep sigh.

"Yep!" Riku nodded proudly. "What about you?"

Sawada hesitated for a moment, and instead of answering the question straight to the point, he asked once again, "Are your senpai okay with you both grabbing the regular spot?"

"Oh, no, they are not okay with us. The third-year seniors, I mean. They are a bunch of pricks. Glad that the matter is over now." Riku said.

"Do you have trouble with your senpai? Especially after you grab the regular place?" Yuki inquired.

He remembered how it felt when the team started spreading bad rumors about him, and even though he was nonchalant about it, he could still see how it affected his reputation in the school. He didn\'t want to imagine that such a shy person like Sawada would have to go through the same scrutinization process as him in the past.

"Oh, no, the senpai are good. They welcome me pretty well." Sawada shook his head gently. "It is just…." He sighed once again, then continued, "I don\'t know…"

"Wait a second!" Riku interrupted, suddenly realizing something. "Does that mean you grab the regular position from your senpai?!" Seeing the nod from Sawada, he clapped his hands excitedly. "That is awesome!"

Yuki groaned, once again getting reminded that his friend couldn\'t read the atmosphere at all. Just as they were going to talk about the problem with the senpai, he was getting excited over the information that he should\'ve known from the confirmation without needing to confirm it.

Now, the situation was pretty awkward, with Yuki and Sawada didn\'t know how to go back to the conversation before without ignoring Riku\'s enthusiasm.

Fortunately, Riku wasn\'t that dumb.

He noticed immediately that there was no happiness and excitement on Sawada\'s face, and he finally remembered the troublesome episode when the senpai were trying to damage Yuki\'s reputation. "Do your senpai not welcome you and try to alienate you whenever the coach is not around?" He asked sharply.

Sawada was shocked by the sudden accusation. "No, God, nothing that far!" He rejected the idea immediately.

"Glad to hear that," Riku said, and he clearly meant it. "So, what is the problem here?" He asked once again. When he saw Sawada avoid his gaze, coupled with the shy and quiet demeanor shown by the boy, he could guess what happened immediately. "Are you feeling guilty because you grabbed the position from a third-year senpai who is about to retire this year?"

Even though Sawada didn\'t answer the question verbally, his expression was enough to tell Yuki that it was true. He applauded his friend inwardly for his sharp thinking, forgetting about his insensitiveness before.

"Well, how could you go all out if you keep thinking about that?" Riku frowned.

"You are right." Sawada sighed. Yuki forgot how many times he sighed in this conversation, but at least it told him that this problem bothered the boy.

"If your senpai is not retiring as soon as you are replacing him, that means he still has hope that he will be able to grab your position, you know?" Yuki commented. "He will work his ass off to regain the trust of your coach. And when he knows you are not going all out because you feel guilty, instead of happy, he would be fuming at you."

\'Kobayashi-san is right.\' Sawada slumped dejectedly when he heard that.

"So, the solution is easy, right?" Yuki said nonchalantly while picking up food to his mouth "Just go all out! If your coach is good, he should consider whether your ability is worth shaking the team\'s spirit or not. If you are just an ordinary player, there is no way your coach will let you touch the court.

And you said before that your senpai didn\'t mind it, so why are you worrying over something that is not a problem in the first place?"

Sawada\'s eyes lightened up as if he was enlightened by Riku\'s words. He nodded excitedly, thinking that this was never a problem in the team, just his overthinking mind going through his head.

"You are right, Agostini-san, Kobayashi-san. This is not a problem in the first place, and if I really care about my senpai\'s feelings, I should go all out at every chance to show that I deserve the spot. Thank you for your advice!"

"Ahaha, it is nothing." Riku rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Anyway, you haven\'t told us what school do you play for, right?"

"Oh, yeah!" Sawada slapped his forehead lightly. "Sorry, it is rude for me to forget about it. I am playing for a school called Konan High."

The moment Sawada finished his words, Yuki and Riku froze on the spot and then turned their head quickly to the boy. Konan High… That wasn\'t the name of the school they expected coming from Sawada\'s mouth. Riku suddenly got excited when he realized he met the setter of the number one team in the country. However, Yuki was still calm, asking a question.

"In Konan, there should be team 1, team 2, and something like that, right?"

"Oh, we call it team A and team B." Sawada nodded.

"So, in which team have you just grabbed your senpai\'s spot?" Yuki asked once again, trying to make his tone casual.

"M-Me? I should be… The team A." He smiled shyly.

However, Sawada didn\'t expect what he said would make Yuki and Riku react strongly. Yuki had a solemn gaze on his face as if he was assessing the new boy he just met, while Riku had his eyes shining with determination as he threw the challenge to the boy.

"When we meet against each other in the future…. Fight us with all your best, okay?"