The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"What a scum!"

"Yeah! It is unfair how they are so favored by the headmaster and not getting disbanded immediately."

"Isn\'t it a bit harsh? I mean, what if they are really good?"

"Yeah. They even appeared in Tokyo Shimbun! They deserve some respect for it."

"Bah! What makes you think they are not paying Tokyo Shimbun for that article?"

The attitude of the school\'s residents changed quickly toward the volleyball team. If yesterday, they were praised for their appearance in Tokyo Shimbun, now they were scolded and criticized by others who thought they were treated differently. It seemed Arina Sugawara worked fast to ensure she got what she wanted.

"Why is your face so sour like that?" Yuki asked his friend amusedly.

"Yuki, how could you say that?" Riku pouted. "Don\'t you hear what they said? It is so infuriating! Just yesterday they praised us so highly, yet they are ready to abandon the ship when it is convenient. What a bunch of traitors!" He grumbled and cursed lowly.

"Well, what can I say? It seems she works pretty well here." Yuki chuckled wryly. "And it is our fault that we agree to her request, right? We have no one to blame here."

"Oh, we have people to blame! We can blame those spineless bastards! How could they always fold under the seduction of pretty people, for God\'s sake?!"

Yeah, they could blame their senpai for this misfortune. They both could still remember what happened yesterday, especially after Yuki exposed Arina Sugawara\'s intention.

-A Flashback-

"Please, just for this time, help us the student council!" Arina Sugawara bowed deeply, surprising almost all of the people inside the room. For all they knew, the girl was always elegant and gracious, never showed any flaws in front of the others. It was probably the first time they saw Arina Sugawara exposed such a weakness in front of them.

However, Yuki himself didn\'t buy it. He didn\'t know Arina Sugawara at all, so there was no way he would be blinded by her prettiness like the others. Moreover, the girl asked too much. She wanted to sacrifice them to unite the voice of the students so they could resist to the school\'s policy more effectively.

However, as a side effect, their reputation would be killed instantly, and no matter what they achieved in the future, they wouldn\'t be able to regain their dignity at all.

Well, unfortunately, it seemed he was probably the only one who thought that far. Riku too, to some extent. However, the blonde boy was so quiet today, not like his usual self. As for the others, they agreed readily to the request without thinking too much, wanting to impress both Arina Sugawara and Megumi at the same time.

"Don\'t worry, Sugawara-san! We have already been under a nasty rumor once! What is another one compared to before?" Koji said smugly.

"Yeah, Sugawara-san! Don\'t worry, we will support you!" Okamura added.

"Let alone a rumor, if you want us to go to the headmaster and talk about this, I am sure we will find a way!" Kaede also chimed in.

"Yeah! Overall, don\'t worry about us!"

-End of the flashback-

So… Yeah… even though he didn\'t agree, he was the only one who thought about it. As for the others, they didn\'t think twice and jumped to the cliff without hesitation. As a result, now their reputation was ruined brutally without any chance to recover it.

\'Man, I hate democracy.\'

After walking for a while under so much scrutiny, Yuki and Riku finally arrived at the gymnasium. The atmosphere there was so gloomy as everyone realized the consequence of them accepting Arina Sugawara\'s request recklessly yesterday.

"So, any regret for yesterday?" He asked his senpai sarcastically. There was no way he didn\'t hold a grudge after his senpai didn\'t listen to his warning at all. The others could only bow their head, ashamed of their behavior yesterday.

"You don\'t need to gloat, you know? We know we are wrong." Kaede said depressingly.

Yuki let out a deep sigh, knowing he couldn\'t do anything about it. This was their fat now, and whether they liked it or not, they had to live with their decision.

However, before he or the others could say anything, they forgot about one important person who they should consult before making a decision yesterday. And now, that person walked through the gymnasium with a dark aura surrounding him as if he wanted to kill anyone who was on his way.

"So, what is it that I hear from the rumor? We are favored by the headmaster? Any idea who and how it is spread like this?" He asked in a casual tone. However, the fact that he didn\'t raise his voice was enough o make the others know he was pissed right now.

"Um… Coach…" Kaede raised his hand shakingly. "W-We can explain this…"

Yeah, it was Akira who just came to the gymnasium. He didn\'t know about the team\'s cooperation with the student council yesterday and was shocked to hear even the teacher whisper behind his back, talking bad about the team. After inquiring about the details from one unwilling student, he knew the root of it came from his students.

Of course, he didn\'t punish them all blindly. Akira always believed he was a fair coach, and he didn\'t want to judge something without knowing the story behind it. So, he wanted to hear Kaede\'s explanation.

However, after five minutes the defensive specialist told the story, from the meeting with Arina Sugawara, the conspiracy behind the purge, and the student council\'s request, his expression changed.

"Are you idiots or what?" He finally couldn\'t help but ask. Everyone was stunned since this was the first time they heard their coach mocked them like this. However, Akira didn\'t have any intention to stop. "You have been working hard for what? One month? To rebuild your reputation after the disaster last month.

And it was for what? Just to impress the girl who wouldn\'t even look at you? You fucking brainless idiots!"

Even though it was harsh, Yuki couldn\'t help but nod in agreement. He also said the same yesterday, yet was ignored by the others.

"And to make it worse, you accept it at the worst time possible! We are just one week away from the game against Konan, for God\'s sake! The game that would decide our fate! Against the best team in the country! And you make the entire school hostile against you?! Are you fucking kidding me?!" Akira continued, his hair was ruffled at this point.

Everyone bowed their head, didn\'t dare to look at their coach. There was silence for a moment before Akira took a deep breath and said, "Although I know you did it to help the student council fight for the student\'s rights, but I hope you can talk to me before agreeing to this ridiculous request. However, we cannot change it now. I will talk to Sugawara-san later about this.

As for you all, as the punishment for your idiocy, the training today will be doubled up!"

"EH?!"

"What are you complaining about?" Akira glared when he saw the others look at him with dumbfounded faces. "Do you want to make it three times harder?!"

"No, Coach!"

After that, the players started to run, didn\'t want to test Akira\'s patience. Akira himself could only sigh, feeling a massive headache all of a sudden. Although he knew about the school\'s deal with the Maiko Group, he didn\'t want to be involved too much in that shady business. He didn\'t expect though, that his players would be approached to fight against the school.

\'Man, this is getting far more complicated than necessary.\' Akira cursed. \'The difficulty of this mission impossible is doubled up by now. I wonder how far can we push Konan in the game next week…\'