The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"YUKI!"

"ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"AKIRA-SENSEI, TIMEOUT!"

Chaos fell on Tsunemori's side as all the players there saw Yuki was blown away from the impact of the spike. They all had some sort of panic expressions on their face, worrying that he got hurt again and had to be subbed off for the rest of the game.

Yuki himself was dumbfounded by their reaction. While yes, the spike before the hurt and it threw him away one or two meters behind, but it wasn't as exaggerating as the others made it to be. He only felt the same burning sensation as he had in the first set to come again, but this time, he had already gotten used to it.

As for the fall from impact… He didn't even notice about it until he realized he was still on the floor.

"Don't worry, everyone. I am o-" Yuki was about to reassure his teammates when he realized his legs felt like jelly. This was the first time he saw his legs shaking heavily and he was afraid they couldn't support his body.

Seeing that, Akira didn't hesitate to use the last remaining timeout he had to look at Yuki's condition closely. He asked several players there to help bring Yuki to the bench so that he could check the boy thoroughly.

After what felt like an eternity, Akira finally let out a very deep relieved sigh before giving a thumbs-up to his players. "It is good. He is just exhausted, nothing you need to worry about."

The moment those words escaped from his mouth, relief washed away the worry on their face as all the players followed Akira's action to let out a deep sigh. Yuki who was the victim of the accident couldn't help but snort amusedly. Yet there was still a concern shown on his face.

"Sensei, I have been following all the training regimes you gave to us. So, how come I am still the first one to be exhausted here? I didn't even play at the fullest in the first set before! It is almost like my stamina is not improved at all." He huffed, frustrated.

All the players there also turned their heads to their coach questioningly. They knew that whenever it was time for physical training, Yuki was the most excited one since it was probably his only shortcoming. But seeing that there was no result even after all of that…

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Akira asked helplessly. "Physical training is not something you can see the impact immediately, you know? Yuki has only been doing that for a month at most, so there is no way you can see a glaring improvement. This is sport, not magic. Please, be realistic."

This…

Even though they knew the coach was right, they suddenly felt offended. The tone that Akira used to say the last word was full of ridicule, making their facial muscle twitch a little.

"Anyway!" Riku suddenly spoke, interrupting before any quarrels could happen. "Here is the question that I think anyone wants to hear the answer. Can Yuki still play with his condition?"

Everyone was taken aback by his words, then turned their head to the coach once again for confirmation. Hell, even Yuki who was the main subject of the conversation also leaned his body forward, looking at the coach impatiently. However, it wasn't Akira who answered the question, but Megumi who hadn't said anything yet since the beginning. .net

"Even if he can still play, do you have the heart to force him to play when he is already this exhausted?" Her voice was tiny, yet could be heard by anyone else. "Do you think he has done enough for the team and deserves some rest?"

The atmosphere turned somber, as everyone fell into a dilemma. While they couldn't deny the truth behind Megumi's words, they also knew the importance of Yuki's presence for the team. Once he was subbed off, the team would crumble immediately, and they could say goodbye to the team.

Akira sighed once again. But this time, it contained tiredness that was rare to be heard from the coach. After pondering for a second, he finally decided to tell the truth. "From my perspective, Yuki is alright, just a little bit fatigue that could be relished with a little rest. However!" He raised his hand to stop the girl's protest. "Megumi is also right.

Yuki deserves some rest for carrying our asses up to this point. So, I will throw it back to Yuki. What do you think? Do you want to get a rest first or can you hold on for five more points?"

Yuki was stunned, not expecting the coach would throw it back to him. He squirmed uncomfortably under everyone's hopeful gaze, feeling a little bit awkward right now. He pondered for a while, weighing his options.

'My legs feel like a jelly right now. Even if I am on the court, I doubt I could contribute anything to the team. But to leave the team first after everything…'

After thinking for a while, he finally decided. "Give me five minutes!" He turned to the other players seriously. "Hold them back for at least five minutes. After that, I will be back like nothing happened. Can you do that?"

All the players there were taken aback by the sudden request. However, when they saw the blazing determination on Yuki's exhausted face, they knew the boy was serious. And if the victim was determined to come back, who were they to prevent him from doing so?

"Five minutes, huh?" Kaede muttered lowly. "It wouldn't be so easy."

"Yeah." Koji nodded solemnly. "With their blocker joining the attack and their ace suddenly getting fired up again, surviving for five minutes is like a mission impossible."

"However…" Riku's words trailed. "We have already done the same before, right? Remember the first set?"

"Yeah." Okamura nodded. "We also did the same against Shimoyawata. It is just like going back to the beginning."

"Going back to the beginning?" Someone muttered, parroting the libero's words. "I like that sentence. Yeah, it is just like going back to the beginning."

Yuki's request was like a spark. It seemed to be so little at the beginning. However, by the time everyone thought about it, it ignited the determination inside them, changing the despair situation into a new motivation.

"Five minutes?! Don't underestimate your senpai, Yuki! Even if you ask for one hour, we will do this!"

"Hell yeah! Kyoei Gakuen? Who are they?!"

"Come on! Let's show them who is the boss here!"

"Yeah! Let's drag them to the hell!"