The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

It was the first day of summer break, which also coincided with the first day of the training camp held by Konan High. Since the location was close to Riku's house, they promised to meet each other directly at Konan High. However, Riku was surprised to see Yuki's dark aura when his friend arrived.

"What are you sulking about? Still salty about the results of our Japanese exam?" Riku asked teasingly.

Yuki simply threw Riku a stinky glare while making a rude gesture that made Riku chuckle. Yes, after the midterm exams, there was only one thing that still made Yuki feel depressed: the result of his Japanese exam.

Yuki admitted that Japanese was not his strong point. He didn't have a problem reading novels, but he always struggled when asked to analyze stories thoroughly and guess the author's intentions in various parts. That's why, when he received a score of 79 out of 100, though it was his worst grade, he was still fairly satisfied with the result.

However, his satisfaction vanished instantly when he saw Riku's grade in the same exam. While Yuki received a 79, the blonde boy scored 88, coming in second best in the class, only behind Kato, who received a 92. This naturally annoyed Yuki since he had taught Riku everything.

"You underestimate the power of an otaku, Yuki. I've been analyzing a lot of anime and debating with strangers on the internet about the plotlines of our favorite stories. I might not be the smartest person, but I'm confident in that subject," Riku patted Yuki's shoulder, smiling brightly with a hint of gloating.

Yuki scowled, brushing Riku's hand off his shoulder. It seemed karma had worked too well against him. Before the exam, when they were still studying together, he had threatened Riku that if the blonde boy failed, he would gloat over Riku's misfortune every day of training camp. As a result, here he was, with one of his grades lower than Riku's.

"Forget it." Yuki shook his head, letting out a deep sigh. "So, where should we go?" he asked, staring at the tall building in front of him.

Honestly, the sight before him was not what he had expected. He had anticipated the best high school in the country—famed for its top-notch volleyball team—but the building looked plain and ordinary. The walls were a simple, faded beige, and the windows were nothing special at all. It was nothing like the flashy, vibrant place he had imagined. Yet, instead of feeling disappointed, he felt a strange sense of curiosity. How could a school that seemed so unremarkable produce such amazing athletes?

"Hey, you two are here too?!" A familiar voice suddenly greeted them from behind, snapping Yuki out of his thoughts.

When he turned around, he was surprised to see Haruo from Kyoei Gakuen approaching them. Yuki felt a sudden animosity spark within him, but when he heard what Riku said next, he facepalmed, finally remembering the cause.

"Uglier blonde," Riku said shortly.

"Shorter blonde," Haruo shot back.

A thick vein suddenly popped on Riku's forehead as he became irritated. Yuki groaned, realizing he'd forgotten that those two had been competing for the title of "stupidest blonde" since their first meeting.

"Okay, I don't care which blonde is uglier or stupider, but can we move on and go to wherever we should?" Yuki interrupted their staring contest irritably.

"Ah, you're right. I apologize for my rudeness, Kobayashi-san, shorty," Haruo said. However, he didn't want to miss the opportunity to throw one last jab at Riku before moving on to another topic. "If I'm not mistaken, someone is supposed to pick us up. Ah, there he is!" He pointed to one of Konan's players whom Yuki and Riku recognized.

"Sawada-kun?!" Riku's eyes widened in surprise.

"Long time no see, Agostini-san, Kobayashi-san. Nice to meet you, Haruo-san," Sawada, Konan's rookie setter, greeted them politely. "You're just in time. Everyone is already in the gymnasium, waiting for your arrival. Come on!"

When the trio heard that everyone was already there, they grew curious about who else would be joining the training camp. However, when they arrived, they found about 14 boys already present. The moment they stepped inside, all eyes turned to them, creating an awkward silence for a brief moment.

Fortunately, blessed with outgoing personalities, the two blondes broke the silence with the same exact greeting: "Yo!" Immediately after, they both were surprised and glared at each other once again. Yuki, who stood beside them, could only sigh tiredly at their childish behavior.

'God, one stupid blonde is enough; now there are two? What a joke!'

Still, that was enough to ease the awkward situation. After that, all 14 boys finally moved from their spots, swarming the three with questions.

"So, you're Kobayashi from Tsunemori, huh? Not bad. I watched your match against Konan High, and I was impressed with your serves," one of them praised.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Thank you," Yuki nodded politely.

"Hey, don't ignore me! I'm his partner, Riku Agostini!" Riku cried.

"Well, you're just another loudmouth blonde like Haruo, so it's better to ignore you," Konan's middle blocker, Takeshita Akihiro, commented casually.

"What do you mean loudmouth?!" Both blondes turned their heads simultaneously, giving Akihiro a sharp glare.

They all chuckled in unison, clearly amused by the dynamic between the two. Given how they acted around each other, it was surprising how similar their thoughts were. Perhaps it was that similarity that made them so combative towards one another.

While they chatted, Yuki took the opportunity to observe the other participants of the camp. Aside from Sawada, Akihiro, and Haruo, he didn't recognize any familiar faces. However, that was probably because his experience in the volleyball world was still limited. Internally, though, he resolved to gather more information about their future competitors after the camp concluded.

"ATTENTION, PLEASE!" A loud, authoritative voice suddenly boomed, demanding attention from everyone inside the building. When Yuki turned around, he saw a man around Akira's age standing tall, his physique quite muscular for his age. The sharp gaze of the man didn't waver as he spoke again, "I am Daiki Sato, and for the next week, I'll be responsible for running this camp. Before we start, let me say this: welcome to Konan High!"