The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Urgh…"

Yuki groaned as he started to regain his consciousness after falling asleep for he didn't know how long. Hell, he himself didn't even remember why he was asleep in the first place. The only thing he could feel right now was something wet being put on his forehead, and he still couldn't see what was that.

"… How is he…"

"… Will wake up soon."

"Good. The game is…."

"Oh, Yuki-kun will be…"

The subtle voice from the nearby reached Yuki's ears, and he tried his best to think of the topic of the conversation. That was when he widened his eyes in realization as memories rushed into his head like a flood burst through the dam.

"The game! Oyama High!" He gasped.

It seemed the noise he made attracted the people outside as someone suddenly swiped the veil and checked his condition. Yuki was a bit surprised to see Taro, his little brother there, but then he remembered that he also invited some of the children from the orphanage to watch the game.

"Yuki-nii! You finally wake up!" The boy exclaimed happily.

This was enough to attract the attention from the outside as several heads peeked from there. There, he could see his teammates, Kato, Arina Sugawara, Megumi, his coach Akira, the orphanage's matron Aiko, and the two little girls who jumped onto his bed staring at him with concerned gazes. It was Aio who jumped first and checked his condition before she sighed in relief after checking the temperature of his forehead.

"Good. The temperature is lower than before. Let's wait until your sensei is back and check with the thermometer later." She smiled.

However, Yuki's attention was not on her, but on the teammates who were staring at him from outside of the door. He could guess that Aiko and Kato probably held them back so that they didn't go inside and made a crowd around him. However, based on the bright expressions on his teammates' faces, he could guess the final result of the game.

"So, we win, huh?" He whispered softly. However, in a quiet atmosphere inside the clinic, his whisper echoed throughout the small building, and everyone could hear it clearly.

"Hell, yeah!" Riku gave a big thumbs-up with a huge grin on his face while his expression was shared by the other teammates. "We crushed Oyama High so bad they didn't even have a chance to fight back in the second set!"

This was followed by the other players who were eager to report their success to their teammate who had to go down first due to the fever he suffered earlier.

"Oh, you have to see the record later, Yuki! Jimmy is going crazy in this game!"

"Yeah! You have to be wary that your position will be replaced by him!"

"Hey, no need to exaggerate! I am still far behind him!"

"Yeah, Jimmy is right! If anything, it is you who have to worry, Koji! You suck, a lot!"

"That is not my fault, okay?!"

For a moment, the clinic was crowded by enthusiastic teenagers who didn't even know how to hold back the volume of their voices. It wasn't until they heard the cough and saw the stern gaze from Aiko that they stopped and scratched their head sheepishly. However, even though he was a bit overwhelmed, Yuki still caught some information from his teammates and had to confirm it first.

"So, Jimmy-senpai is finally stepping up as another one of our emergency setters, huh? Did Riku drag him into his crazy blitz attack too?"

All of the Tsunemori players were stunned when they heard his question. Even though they said a lot of things before, they had never mentioned Ogawa's new role as a setter and his combination attack with Riku, so they were wondering how could Yuki know about that.

"Oh, that is something that Riku and I have discussed a lot recently. We both feel that since our team only has one bench player, someone needs to be ready to step up if the worst situation, which is when a setter is taken out of the game happens." Yuki who noticed the confusion explained. "In fact, if you are hanging out with him for long enough, you will also notice Riku's rant about the lack of backup. Even though he loves the position to death, he also likes to join the attack occasionally, and that would be impossible to do without a proper setter as his backup."

Yuki found that it was funny how flustered Riku was when he exposed Riku's rant toward the other teammates. It wasn't like they spoke shit behind their teammates' backs, and he felt like the others needed to know their thought. He could also see the embarrassment on his senpai's faces as they all realized that they had never listened to Riku or even his thoughts before this.

Well, at least, they got the idea, and even Ogawa did what both Riku and Yuki wanted.

They chatted for a while about everything, mostly the game they had just played a moment ago. It would be a lie if Yuki said he didn't feel left out by the others since he was the only one who didn't finish the game with the team. However, since the final result was good, he didn't want to affect the team's mood by saying something stupid and egoistical right now.

It wasn't until the nurse came back that the crowd finally dispersed. After hoping for Yuki to get well soon, all the Tsunemori players left with Akira, only leaving Aiko, Taro, Mai, Hina, Kato, Arina Sugawara, and Megumi there. Still a lot of people, but at least they weren't the kind who liked to make too much noise that could make the nurse drive them away from the clinic.

"Brother, are you okay?" Mai who was so quiet since Yuki woke up from his sleep asked, her doe eyes were watery. Yuki couldn't help but feel distressed, especially when Hina had the same expression. Those two were still children, so hiding their emotions was never something they learned before. That was why when he saw this, Yuki knew it was basically from the bottom of their hearts.

"Don't worry, I am okay." Yuki coughed a little, engulfing both his sisters in a bear hug. He would also offer Taro the same treatment, but Taro was a boy and was a middle schooler already, so his little brother was more reserved for this kind of affection display. "Sorry, because of me, you couldn't even watch and enjoy the game fully."

"Eh, don't worry, Yuki-nii! Hina exclaimed, peeking up from his arms. "Obaachan said that we will have a chance to watch you again in the future!"

"Um!" Mai exclaimed happily. "Obaachan also said that it will be in… In… Tokyo metro…" She was struggling to find the right words before Hina continued, "Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium!"

"Yeah! That's it!" Mai smiled brightly at him. "Obaachan promises us that we will watch your game again in the future! And this time, she will bring the others too! Isn't that exciting?"

That was when Yuki realized that while yes, he couldn't play in the game earlier until the last time just like his teammates, it was not the end of the world. He still had more games in the future, and if he could win the next game, at least that would ensure the team was in the top four position, and when that happened, he had to make sure that all of his siblings were there to watch him reach the top.

So, with this determination, Yuki just rubbed his little sister's head fondly while saying, "Don't worry, Mai-chan! Hina-chan! Your Niichan will work harder in the future so that you can watch me shine! For that, I promise you both!"