The Birth of A Volleyball Legend-Chapter 356: Yuki Back in Action! Targetting Michael Wang!
For Tsukiji High, we’ll sing it out loud!
TSUKIJI HIGH! TSUKIJI HIGH! TSUKIJI HIGH SCHOOL!
"Damn, they are getting louder," Ogawa grumbled grumpily. "We need to score quickly or we will be eaten alive by them." He said, that all of his teammates agreed with the sentiment.
Even though they just won the first set, somehow, the second set didn’t start as well as they liked. They had to face the crowd – which in their opinion was so much worse when they were united to support their own team rather than insulting Tsunemori High – and the vitalized Tsukiji High players who seemed to play in a fucking steroid, and they also had to think of a solution of how to adapt to Tsukiji High’s new formation.
"So, any idea of how to deal with this, Yuki?" Riku asked, followed by the other Tsunemori players who turned their heads toward the glasses boy. While everyone had already grown so much after the last Inter-high and built confidence in their volleyball ability, they still admitted that Yuki and Riku had a knack for the tactical aspect of this game, and Riku himself didn’t want to bother too much with something he thought too complicated like strategy and something like that.
After pondering for a second, Yuki finally said, "Even though they now have two blockers, they both are the same type of player, relying too much on their natural talent to cover their inexperience. So, our approach would be the same, use more synchronized and trick attacks to confuse and spread their blockers apart. However, with them both on the court, it would cut some time for them to cover each other, so we need to be quicker than before."
For a moment, silence befell upon Tsunemori players before a grin cracked on Riku’s face. "So, being quicker and trickier, huh? I sure as hell can do that." The sentiment was shared by the other players since this was one of their signature offensive strategies.
A second later, the referee asked all the players to get ready for another play, and the one who served the ball was still Michael Wang. Honestly, Yuki had to give a hat off to the Chinese boy. He didn’t know if it was because the boy had the same or even crazier experience in the state or if the boy was just a big game player, but Michael Wang didn’t even look bothered under the boos from Tsunemori’s supporters, not like his teammates.
Fortunately, though, Yuki had already seen the serve before and was prepared to handle it for the second time. Even though the ball fell two steps in front of him, he didn’t have a hard time covering the ball and sending it toward Riku’s spot.
"Koji, move aside and get ready to run!" He shouted before letting the ball fall on his forearms.
"Sure!" The ace replied.
BAM!
"Oh! Nice receive, Yuki!"
"Be quicker, Riku! Don’t give them any chance!"
The sudden quick attack from Tsunemori caught Tsukiji players off guard. However, Juzo, the first-year middle blocker who just came off the bench in this set reacted quickly, rushing toward the left side where Koji was flying in the air. Unfortunately, while he managed to read the direction correctly, he didn’t see the glimpse of a smirk on Riku’s face, and while yes, Riku sent the ball there, it was Yuki who after recovering from his position leaped forward to execute the ball before it could fly further toward Koji’s direction.
BAM!
"Oh, yeah!" Yuki punched the air. "Nice pass, Riku! Also, Koji-senpai, nice bait!" He couldn’t help but grin. While Riku mirrored his expression, Koji just rolled his eyes annoyedly. "Yeah, yeah, rub it off that you steal my limelight again, will you?" The outside hitter shoved Yuki’s shoulder playfully.
"Me? Stealing your limelight? Why, I would never!" Yuki gasped dramatically before a small, mischievous smile formed on his face. "Well, don’t worry, Koji-senpai. You will have a chance to get blocked once or twice later, and that would be your highlighted moment."
A thick vein popped on Koji’s temple as he sent a playful kick to Yuki’s rear. "Is that how you talk with your senpai, Brat?"
"Well, if the senpai is you, then yes!"
"Why, you?!"
Even though they had just scored one in this set and were still down by two points, the atmosphere in Tsunemori’s side was pretty lively. After all, while they managed to cut off the opponent’s momentum, the one who served the ball next would be Yuki, and the glasses boy had all the advantage the universe could give him in this chance.
’They have two blockers on the court, one in the backcourt. Their best defensive player and captain are also on the front side, and Ishida is on the bench. That means only the setter, Michael Wang, and that Outside hitter were there, and this will be my best chance to wreak havoc on their defense.’
With that thought in mind, Yuki decided to launch his first strike on Michael Wang, testing the Chinese boy’s defense. Even though under the pressure of more than 400 people booing at him, Yuki still managed to send a decent floater toward Michael Wang, and while the ball was within his reach that he didn’t even have to move his body, Michael Wang had to lean his body almost parallel to the floor, which also rendered him useless for the next attack.
"Sorry, that’s a bad receive!" Michael Wang shouted.
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"Don’t mind, don’t mind! I got this!" Kiyotake who was on the left side walked calmly through the ball before sending it to the right side. "Reiki, finish this!"
"Okay, this is mine!" The captain leaped forward, ready to execute the ball.
However, right before he slammed the ball, a pair of hands suddenly popped in front of him, and while he tried his best to change direction from going for a straight into a cross-spike, it seemed whoever possessed that hand knew what he was thinking as the wall in front of him suddenly bent sideways to follow through his action.
BAM!
"HELL YEAH, RANO!"
"Come on, Hirano! Come on, Hirano!"
As all the Tsunemori supporters shouted Hirano’s name, the middle blocker stared down at Reiki who was still stunned at the last play with a cold expression. The boy was the embodiment of ’action is louder than words’ as he just proved in the last play.
"Don’t worry, Reiki! That is just a coincidence! Let’s pay him back in the next play!" Kiyotake patted his captain’s back reassuringly.
"Y-Yeah." Reiki could only nod weakly to answer that.
In the next few minutes, it was clear that Yuki directly targeted Michael Wang’s defense. Yuki would always send the ball to a tricky spot that forced Michael Wang to react in an unfavorable position that forced him to stay away from the team’s counterattack, which made it easier for Tsunemori’s line of blockers to deal with.
The same method managed to snatch away two more points, turning the score into 3 – 4, extending Tsunemori’s lead.
"Oh, yeah! Come on, Yuki! Kill them all!"
"Yeah! You rock, Yuki!"
"Don’t worry about everything! We have your back, Kobayashi!"
The cheers kept coming from the stand as Yuki took a deep breath, ready to take the fourth serve in a row. After three times he cornered Michael Wang before, Tsukiji finally made a change by forcing the Chinese boy to step aside and let Kiyotake who was in front of him take over the left side completely.
Seeing the Chinese boy standing awkwardly close to the sideline while talking to Kiyotake who stood parallel to his spot, though, something suddenly clicked in Yuki’s mind.
’Oh, maybe I can use the old trick!’
A mischievous smile suddenly formed on his face as an idea suddenly popped inside Yuki’s head. When the referee blew the whistle, he tossed the ball a little in the air before slapping it lightly, doing an ordinary service that was easy to receive unlike his floater before. Kiyotake furrowed his brows, knowing something wrong yet couldn’t pinpoint anything related to his feelings. As he was about to move and pick up the ball, though, he felt his body lagging for a few seconds, and before he realized it, he could feel all the blood drained from his face when he saw the ball fall in front of him.
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Thud!
"Hell yeah! The old trick is back!"
"That’s our magician, Yuki Kobayashi, everyone!"
"Give him a round of applause!"
"Yuki! Yuki! Yuki!"
As the boy was basked under the cheers from his own supporters, Hasebe leaned his body against the seat while he had the biggest grin on his face today. He turned at his assistant and said, "That is the serve that put him under everyone’s radar, a serve to the traffic as he said. He hasn’t used the serve in the last two games since everyone had already anticipated it, but once people forgot about that trick, he saw it immediately and capitalized the chance in a heartbeat. His observation skills and decision-making ability are two of so many reasons why I want him for my team so badly. So, don’t you dare to doubt my vision again, okay?"
