The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Another long pause fell inside the room as everyone tried to proceed with what they had just heard. Some of them even rubbed their ears in disbelief, still thinking that their hearing deceived them. This information came out of nowhere, like a bolt from the blue. Even Riku, who treated everything as a joke, and Megumi, who was neutral here, were dumbfounded at this announcement, not knowing whether their coach was serious or not.

However, this situation didn't last long.

BRAK!

Just within a second, Suzuki suddenly slammed the table, catching everyone off guard. Fortunately, he didn't do it hard enough to flip the stove, the grill, and the food in it, or they could say goodbye to this celebration.

"SENSEI, I DON'T AGREE WITH THIS ARRANGEMENT!" He cried, complaining. "WHY WOULD WE NEED TO HELP THESE BUNCH OF BASTARDS GOING FURTHER?! THEY CAN GO TO HELL, AND I WILL NOT EVEN LAND MY HAND ON THEM!"

His aggressive words, coupled with the insult he threw about the team's nepotism before, were enough to make everyone from Tsunemori High unhappy. Some of the players there growled, ready to slay the man alive. In the end, a commotion broke out as everyone was in a shouting contest, mocking, insulting, and arguing with each other as if there was no tomorrow.

"Who the hell do you think you are?! We don't need your help, Bastard!"

"Oh, yeah?! Then, why would your coach beg for our help?!"

"Beg? Are you kidding?! Don't you listen that your coach lost a bet here? Also, he lost a bet because we are the winner! We don't need any help from the loser, okay?!"

"Why, you?!"

"Why, want to fight?!"

Akira sighed helplessly as tension broke once again in the room. He glanced sideways at his former disciple, who just put his best 'I told you so' eyes on him, not willing to even address or explain this to his players. Fortunately, his authority was absolute here, so with a single cough, everything went back in order instantly.

"Okay, I know that you are confused and dissatisfied with this decision, right? We can explain our reason here, but can you stop acting like a bunch of mindless beasts and back to being a proper human being again?" The old man clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Some of them bowed their head deep, ashamed of their behavior. While some of the Kikugawa players were unhappy to be reprimanded by the opponent's head coach, they still gave Akira some face, especially after knowing that the man was their coach's old master.

"Okay, now that you all are calm enough, can we start talking like a decent human being?" Akira asked sarcastically. In the end, most of the people there nodded slightly, knowing that this was probably the best approach here. "Okay, then, raise your hand if you want to ask something. Yes, Suzuki-kun?" The old man pointed his finger toward Kikugawa's captain who raised his hand like lightning.

"Well, I just want to ask, Sensei, why would you agree to help them even after they defeated us yesterday? Don't you think the humiliation was not enough and want to add more?" The boy gritted his teeth as he asked the question. Almost all of the Kikugawa players there nodded in agreement, as this was probably the biggest issue here.

"Oh, man, I know this is going to be a trouble." Arisawa Junya rubbed his forehead, suffering from a headache. "Okay, the first reason, I don't need to sugarcoat it, as yes, I lost the bet against Sensei. For that, I apologize to you guys." He bowed deeply, startling some of the players there. However, when they heard the reason behind it, they couldn't help but twitch their mouth, feeling annoyed over it.

"Secondly!" Arisawa Junya raised his voice, not letting the embarrassment get through him. "Although I know some of you might think it is a little bit too quickly, you have to know that I need to consider the team's future and start building up a foundation for the next year. Although we would only get the new players in the middle of April, at least the freshman and sophomore players could prepare themselves right now, and this week of helping Tsunemori High would also give me an idea of how to build the team for the next year."

This time, while some of the Kikugawa players still grumbled, they couldn't deny the truth behind Arisawa Junya's words. Of course, the players who got hit the hardest were Suzuki and Tachibana, the senior players who should be retired from the team at this point. They just stared at each other silently, promising each other that they would talk to the coach later.

"Also, by helping Tsunemori High, you will also be able to keep an eye on them, watching them closely from their playing style to their habit during the training. Who knows, maybe, this will help us get an edge when we play against each other in the future."

Akira knew that his former disciple just said that to stimulate his players, and by the gleam he could see in Kikugawa players' eyes, he knew that this worked pretty well. What he didn't expect, though, was for Tsunemori players to get affected by his words as well. Some of the players with the radical thought like Koji and Ogawa scowled unhappily, turning around at him and asking, "Why should we accept their help if it also helps them figure out our weakness, Sensei?" He could see some of his players were dissatisfied with his decision too.

"Well, it is simple. Because right now, we are desperately in need of a sparing partner here." Akira just shrugged nonchalantly. "As you can see, we only have eight players in our team, not enough to simulate what could happen during the game. Hell, even for our tactical training, we still have to play 4v4, which is not ideal to replicate some of the possible scenarios on the court. This might not be a problem in the past, but when we are so close to the national tournament, intelligence gathering alone will not be enough to cover everything. We need to simulate a lot of plays, and for that, we also need a competitive second squad to train with us."

This explanation was enough to satisfy all the Tsunemori players. No, it shouldn't be the explanation, because what really made them happy was the fact that Akira said Kikugawa High would be their second team. This alone was enough to tell their former opponent that Tsunemori High was one level higher compared to them.

Of course, Akira ignored their reaction. He knew that sometimes, suppressing their emotion wouldn't work in his favor. After all, he faced a bunch of teenagers here, and if he knew anything about them, it was the fact that their emotions were still too volatile for their own good. However, he still needed to keep them in line, so that they didn't offend Arisawa Junya who sat next to him.

"Okay, since we have already talked about the difficult topic, it is time for us to start the celebration! Let's enjoy the food, everyone!"

"Hell, yeah!"