The Birth of A Volleyball Legend-Chapter 355: The Second Set Begins!
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of a storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark
For a moment, all the discussions in both benches died as they all were stunned at the show displayed by Tsukiji’s supporters. It was as if someone threw a magical spell at them, forcing them to pay attention to the crowd singing together to probably one of the most inspirational songs in sports history.
Still, while it affected Tsukiji High in a good way, the same couldn’t be said for Tsunemori here.
Some of them felt shiver down their spine as the song echoed throughout the building. Even though they had already seen it live in Tsukiji’s last game, facing this situation directly as the home team’s opponent was a nerve-wracking experience. Some who had weak psychological strength like Kaede even started to hyperventilate as they all realized that after this, they would have to play the role of villain here.
’If we lose, we will be another stepping stone for Tsukiji’s legendary story, but if we win, we will trample over so many people’s hopes today. Whatever happened later would definitely leave scars on our hearts.’ Yuki concluded, worried. Experience new tales on novelbuddy
Then, he felt a soft pat on his shoulder and saw Akira look at him solemnly. "Yuki, don’t worry about their feeling. We are not coming here to please them or become their stepping stone, but we are here to win this game. At the end of the day, one of the teams will leave crying, and I know for sure that I don’t want it to be us, you understand?"
Yuki was taken aback for a moment before nodding his head slowly. It seemed the coach could read his emotions like an open book, which wasn’t a bad thing in this case.
"Good. Now, calm your nerves and get ready for the second set. We will need your composure later." Akira nodded before leaving the boy and walked toward the other players.
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
For your dreams be tossed and blown
As the crowd kept singing the song, Arina Sugawara also felt something moved her heart. While this wasn’t the first time she attended a sports event – not even the first time she watched her school’s volleyball game – she had to admit that this was the craziest atmosphere she had ever experienced. Even when the headmaster gathered all the students to watch the game when Tsunemori played in their home court couldn’t match what she saw today.
’No wonder Akira-sensei asked for a reinforcement. If they have to face this alone, they will crumble under the pressure in a minute.’ Muttered the girl.
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone
Still, she didn’t know what to do right now. Of course, she could ask the friends behind her to unite their voices and fight back to interrupt the song. However, that thought alone made her stomach uncomfortable, as if she just suggested that they should interrupt a sacred religious ritual. In the end, though, she and the crowd behind her could only wait uncomfortably until the song was over while they hoped that this wouldn’t break the team’s spirit instantly.
’Come on, Yuki-kun! Everyone! Show us that you can handle this!’
-0-
We’ll never back down, we’ll fight until the end,
In every serve, our spirits blend.
With heart and courage, we’ll rise above,
For Tsukiji High, we’ll sing it out loud!
TSUKIJI HIGH! TSUKIJI HIGH! TSUKIJI HIGH SCHOOL!
"Damn, now they sing a different song here." Ogawa whistled lowly as he stared at the crowd in awe. "Honestly, they sure know how to support their team." Some of his teammates chuckled nervously at his statement.
Yuki and Riku stared at each other with eyes full of concern about their senpai. While they tried their best to hide it, for both freshmen, it was clear that the senior members of the team were nervous. They could see how Asahi couldn’t stop his small walk around their side of the court, how pale Koji’s face was whenever he saw the crowd, or even how Hirano who always showed a flat expression had his fingers trembling slightly. The only one who wasn’t bothered by the crowd was Ogawa, and the man had the biggest ball of steel inside him.
’Well, that means we have to take initiative quickly or our opponent will bury us directly from the beginning of the game.’ Yuki communicated silently with his blonde friend.
However, it would be a far from easy task, especially when they saw the determination burning in Tsukiji players’ eyes. Gone were the playful and lazy eyes everyone could see in the first set, and now, all of Tsukiji’s players looked like they were a group of soldiers ready to be sent to a kamikaze mission in a heartbeat.
"Damn, they look scary," Ogawa commented casually, followed by Asahi smacking the back of his head.
"Think of the atmosphere here before you joke around like that! Not everyone has the nerve of steel like you, you know?!" Scolded the captain.
"Ah, sorry, sorry! I forgot that not all of us are ready to be superstars!" Some Tsunemori players twitched their lips in annoyance before they sighed, giving up the conversation. Seeing this, Ogawa winked subtly at Yuki and Riku, which surprised the freshmen a little.
’Did he do that on purpose?’
They both could see that while the tension was still there, at least Ogawa’s jokes managed to make the others relax a bit, which was important for them to have before the game. Even though Yuki and Riku didn’t know whether it was an accident or not, they both could appreciate the effort Ogawa made to keep the team afloat.
"Okay, everyone! Go back to your position! We will start the game in a minute!" The referee called the players from both teams.
To the Tsunemori players’ surprise, there was a substitution coming from Tsukiji High. One of the hitters who hadn’t done much in the first set was replaced by the middle blocker they saw playing against Keihin High in the last round. With him and Michael Wang on the court together, that could only mean one thing, Tsukiji High wanted to erect an unbreakable wall here.
As for Michael Wang, he walked through the service line with the ball in his hand, ready to serve the ball. It was another surprise here since in the first set, it was Reiki’s task to serve first. However, to be pointed as the first to serve meant he had something special here.
’Come on, show us what you can do…’
They didn’t have to wait for too long as the referee finally blew the whistle, starting the second set of the game. After taking a deep breath, Michael Wang tossed the ball high in the air and leaped forward to the sky. Everyone had their jaws dropped when they saw how high he could jump. And in the next second…
BAM!
The ball fell straight in front of Ogawa, untouchable. Ogawa himself had his jaws dropped when he finally realized what just happened here, and in the next second, cheers exploded from the outside of the court.
"OH! That is what we are waiting for!"
"A killer service! We have someone who can do a killer service! Hell yeah!"
"Come on, Wang! Kill them all!"
While Michael Wang was busy laughing with the crowd, all of the Tsunemori players came to Ogawa and asked quickly, "What happened? Is there anything wrong that freeze you on the spot like Yuki’s serve?"
"No, there is nothing like that." Ogawa shook his head, denying the idea pretty quickly. "If anything, I am sure his power is only at the same level as Riku’s, which is pretty powerful, but not what I expected from someone with a huge body like him."
The others stared at each other for a moment before Asahi asked another question, "So, why wouldn’t you react to that serve?"
"Because the angle is crazy." This time, Ogawa barely whispered the answer. When some of his players looked at him questioningly, he added, "You might not notice it, but with his height and his crazy vertical jump, whenever he spikes the ball, it would create a sharp angle like the ball is falling from the sky. Coupled with the speed of the ball itself, it caught me off guard in the last play."
Well… That was… Concerning. As if it wasn’t enough to face Tsukiji in their most spirited moment with the fuel from their own crowd, now Tsunemori suddenly found one of their opponent’s players had a trick on his sleeves. While this was still pretty early to say Tsukiji managed to grab the momentum, this definitely couldn’t stop Tsunemori from worrying about their own state right now.
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A moment later, it was Yuki’s turn to receive the end of Michael Wang’s serve, and he experienced first hand how the ball fell from the sky. The angle was tricky, yet he managed to save the ball albeit a little bit awkwardly. Unfortunately, he couldn’t aim it perfectly as the ball flew close to the net, which two of Tsukiji’s players had already waited there.
"Riku!" He shouted.
"I got it!" Returned the blonde boy while rushing forward. "Rano-senpai, give me a room!" Then, without waiting for the middle blocker to reply, Riku leaped forward while extending his arms far to reach the ball first before Tsukiji players knocked it down.
He managed to flick the ball a little to bring it back to Tsunemori’s side, which Asahi followed through by leaping forward to execute the attack. Unfortunately, as he was about to swing his arms, two pairs of imposing hands suddenly popped in front of him, and with the immense pressure built from the other side of the net, Asahi’s brain melted, and while he managed to hit a spike, it was clear that the ball couldn’t break the wall in front of him.
BAM!
