The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Hey, Coach Kawaki put in a new pinch server!"

"Really? Do we have someone good on the bench?"

"I don't know, he looks a bit young, though. Same as our new setter."

"Really? Isn't it a bit risky to put a rookie into the game in this situation?"

"I don't know; I'm not the coach here."

Amidst Yuki's presence, doubt suddenly blossomed in the stands about how young he was. It wasn't that the supporters disliked a rookie, but after watching Riku perform poorly in the opening and considering this was a big game against a rival, they were reluctant to take a risk by putting someone inexperienced on the court. Still, as one of them pointed out, they were not the coaches, so all they could do was support the players.

There was one section of the stands that suddenly got excited at Yuki's presence, though; it was where the orphanage's residents and their chaperones sat.

"That's Yuki-nii! He's about to play!" Hina squealed, pointing excitedly at the court.

"Really? Where?! Where?!" Mai looked around until she finally spotted her big brother. Enjoy new chapters from empire

"Yuki-nii! Good luck! Beat them all!" she shouted happily from her spot.

Kato could only apologize awkwardly to those around them who watched the children's antics with amusement. Fortunately, everyone was friendly and pretty understanding of the situation, with some even offering snacks to the children.

"Hey, Megumi-chan, I've never noticed this before, but don't you think Kobayashi-kun looks a bit more muscular than before?" Kato heard Arina Sugawara whisper to her senpai. She furrowed her brows, narrowing her eyes unconsciously to check whether it was true or not, only to find herself turning around quickly with her face flushed.

While the word 'muscular' was perhaps a bit exaggerated, Yuki indeed looked more toned than a few weeks ago. It seemed whatever gym sessions he had with the coach since joining the camp worked, and it would be a lie if Kato said his new look was not attractive. Coupled with the bright blue jersey he wore, a change from the usual forest green Tsunemori jersey, Kato tried her best to hide her embarrassment from the two older girls beside her.

Unfortunately, her efforts proved useless as Mai ruthlessly sold her out. "Kato-nee, why is your face so red? Are you sick?"

"W-What? No!" Kato yelped quickly—too quickly for her liking—while inwardly cursing herself for her little stutter.

All eyes suddenly turned to her. While the children were clueless and looking at her worriedly, the two girls smiled widely as Megumi playfully nudged her shoulder. "He sure has an amazing body, eh?"

Kato instantly covered her face, not wanting to reveal how red it was. The only thing she wanted to do right now was disappear from her spot. Unfortunately, she didn't have that luxury, as Arina Sugawara decided to join the fun. "Is this the first time you've thought about how attractive he is?"

"N-No, it's not like that!" Kato squeaked, clamping her mouth shut as she realized what she had just said.

"So, does that mean you've always found him attractive?" Megumi smiled widely.

"Megumi-nee, it's not like that…" Kato whined, feeling her face grow even hotter.

The children watched cluelessly as the two older girls ganged up on their chaperone to tease her. Taro, the oldest, who had an idea of what they were talking about, had a slight blush on his cheeks before finally falling back on a classic excuse: "Just ignore them; you'll all understand when you get older."

-0-

Unaware of being teased due to him, Yuki took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. Even though he didn't like only being used as a pinch server, that was currently his best role, and it would be foolish not to take advantage of it. If he wanted to stay on the court as long as possible, he had to make sure that every serve helped the team, either by scoring directly or creating confusion among the opponent's players.

'Okay, the first serve is the most important thing here. I need to calm down,' he muttered under his breath. His eyes turned to the other side of the court, watching the opponent's expressions thoroughly. 'Aside from Haruo, no one is paying attention to me. They think I'm just an inexperienced rookie. They have no idea what I'm capable of. This is my advantage. I have to be aggressive from the start.'

"Come on, Kobayashi! Don't be too nervous!" Shou tried to encourage him, probably thinking he was anxious right now.

Yuki smiled gratefully at his captain before redirecting his focus back to the game. When the referee finally blew the whistle, he tossed the ball immediately, attempting to catch the opponent off guard by taking an early serve right after the whistle was blown.

'Let's see if you can handle this!'

Thud!

At first, the serve looked pretty ordinary, going straight to the right back. While he was initially taken aback by the quick serve, the Giant Bear player recovered from his surprise almost immediately and was ready to receive the ball. Imagine his horror when, right after the ball crossed the net, it wobbled slightly as if it were weightless and could be blown away by a simple cough from anyone there.

'SHIT!'

Even if the player realized he was facing a floater serve, he reacted too late. He couldn't even form a shield in front of his face to attempt an overhead pass as the ball moved too quickly toward him. In the end, even with a shaky reception, he managed to touch the ball, only to see it bounce gently off the floor.

For a moment, silence descended in the arena as everyone stared at the ball in disbelief. When everything finally sank in, they all snapped their heads toward the culprit, just to see the bespectacled boy shrug innocently.

"What?"

-0-

"That boy…" Zeno, Kawaki's assistant, could only sigh tiredly as he observed Yuki's antics. "He might not be a flashy player like his friend, but they sure share the same brain cell! Always love to show off, those kids!"

"This is still good for us, Zeno," Kawaki said calmly.

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, I asked him to serve aggressively, and he did exactly what I asked for. Now, if you notice what's happening on the court, you will realize that the atmosphere has shifted. The momentum is back on our side, and it's all because Kobayashi-kun executed my order perfectly." He grinned with excitement.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Zeno widened his eyes briefly before refocusing on the court. That was when he realized that the coach was right. "This is amazing…" he murmured in astonishment.

Kawaki nodded in satisfaction, his face aching from smiling too much. He fixed his gaze on the bespectacled boy, who was now surrounded by the other players while thinking, 'Now that you have everyone's attention, let's see what you're going to do. Don't disappoint me, Kobayashi-kun.'