The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Wait, a libero? In a time like this?" Koji furrowed his brows when he saw the change Tsukiji High made on the court. "Why? Should they need more attackers to escape Keihin middle blocker's constant interference?"

That was a fair question, which not just Koji, but almost everyone had inside their mind right now. However, for those who understood how the game worked, they could see instantly why this decision was made. "It is because Tsukiji's back line needs enforcement more than their front line," Riku answered the question.

"Huh?" Not only Koji, but some of the Tsunemori players stared at the blonde boy questioningly. "What do you mean by that?"

Instead of answering, though, Riku just stared at Yuki, and after a few seconds, the glasses boy sighed helplessly, knowing full well that his friend wanted to throw this responsibility on him. It seemed Riku was not in the mood to explain things here as the game was at a crucial moment. Having no choice, Yuki started explaining, "Well, you should've known by now that despite Tsukiji's failure to score a point from their offense, all of this was because of Keihin's middle blocker's constant presence on the front, right?"

"Yeah?" The answer he received was laced with hesitation, unsure of why Yuki would bring it up.

"Well, as you know about this, the constant threat from Keihin's front line is just one person, which should be easy to handle once their setter stops panicking whenever Keihin's middle blocker makes a move," Yuki stated. "Meanwhile, a few points they lost in the last couple of plays are because Tsukiji's defensive specialist is always out of place. He is not quick enough to read Keihin setter's intention, which makes it easy for Keihin players to take advantage of. Tsukiji needs someone who can be more reliable on the back to stabilize their defense, which is where the libero, Ishida, comes in."

While Yuki dumbed down the explanation to a rookie level, some of them still had a hard time understanding what he said, which made the boy sigh unconsciously. Fortunately, those who were curious were satisfied with his explanation as they nodded thoroughly after he finished talking.

"So, do you think it would be enough?" Asahi asked.

"I don't know, Senpai. I am not a prophet here, I cannot predict the future." Yuki shrugged helplessly. "While I believe that Tsukiji's back line would be strengthened by miles, everything still depends on their setter and how he would overcome the challenge Keihin possessed. The later he managed to do that, the more this game would be a disaster for Tsukiji High."

-0-

Unaware of their future opponent's conversation about them, all the Tsukiji players sighed in relief when they saw Ishida come in. While the libero couldn't participate much in the game, his presence alone was enough to ensure the other players that everything would be alright, a testament to how talented the freshman was.

"So, any instruction from the coach?" Reiki asked with a whisper.

"Yes, Senpai, we can use the new strategy to catch them off guard. That would give us an opportunity to snatch the momentum away from them, and then we should deal with it like the usual." Ishida relied on the message quickly.

Most of Tsukiji's players widened their eyes in surprise when they heard the new instruction. "The new strategy? Are you sure it is wise to reveal it now? Even though I don't know about it, I am 90 percent sure that a lot of our future opponents sent their people to come here to scout us. I don't want to reveal this too quickly." Reiki said, worried.

Ishida sighed, knowing full well why the captain would feel this way. "Unfortunately, Sensei has already decided to do this. Also, sooner or later, this will be out of the bag, so you shouldn't have worried about it too much, Captain." The boy pointed out, which made Reiki slumped in defeat.

"I know, but I just want to use this as our secret weapon against Matsukita or Konan, you know? Not to a no-name team like Keihin, for God's sake!" Reiki whined indignantly. All the Tsukiji players had a sweat drop at their captain's childishness.

"Well, Reiki's silly tantrum aside," Kiyotake took over, ignoring the complaint from his friend. "Since Sensei believes this is necessary, let's do this. Ishida, are you ready for the upcoming task?" He asked the libero.

"Sure!"

"Good. We will rely on you, but don't feel too pressured, okay?"

After another round of conversation between all the Tsukiji players, the referee finally blew the whistle, asking for the players from both teams to come back to the court. Since the last point was for Keihin, the privilege to serve was still on them, with a small boy who had a tough defense taking a turn behind the service line.

Thud!

Just like before, the serve coming from their opponent was a weak and ordinary one. It was clear that Keihin players still couldn't get over the distraction set by Tsukiji's supporters. The serve itself went straight to Reiki, wanting to avoid the libero while also targeting the ace at the same time. While Reiki didn't have any trouble handling that, it was still enough to slow him down for a second, nullifying his speed advantage instantly.

However, this time, Tsukiji came prepared. While they couldn't use Reiki's usual quick attack, they made it up by letting four players on the front line rush forward for a simultaneous attack. To everyone's surprise, though, they could all see Neito also participated in this shenanigan.

"Wait, if he is there? Who will set up the play?!"

"Hey, it is Ishida!"

All eyes widened in shock when they witnessed how the smallest boy on the court, who had just come to the court a few seconds ago, rushed forward and jumped, setting up an attack for his team. All the Keihin players were dumbfounded by this, and they couldn't react quickly enough when the ball flew in front of the net.

BAM!

Kiyotake didn't even meet any interference as he slammed the ball straight to the left side.

"YOSSHAA!" The opposite hitter roared, clenching his fist strongly.

"Oh, nice attack, Kiyotake-senpai!"

"As expected from our vice-captain! You are still as strong as ever!"

While Tsukiji players were celebrating with each other, all the other people in this building still had their mouths gaped wide, couldn't comprehend the last play. Koji who had the same expression shook his head, turning to Yuki and Riku and asked, "Is that even allowed?!" Your next read is at My Virtual Library Empire

"Why would you ask us?" Yuki was taken aback.

"Well, it is because you two are the bookworms of our team." Koji shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Yuki scowled, unhappy, while Riku had half of his mind to feel offended by that remark. Still, Yuki decided to answer the question here. "By the standard textbook, a libero is allowed to use the 'overhead pass' technique to set up an attack as long as their feet are behind the line separating the front row and the back row. A libero is still allowed to set up an attack even if he is in front of the line, but he could only use the 'bump-set' technique. What Ishida did before is basically allowed since he is one or two feet away from the line, so yeah, everything is within the legal rule here."

If before, they were still joking about Yuki being the team's bookworm, this explanation confirmed that it wasn't just a joke. They had their jaws dropped at the vast knowledge Yuki had inside his tiny head.

"I am more surprised about Ishida's setup, though." Riku suddenly spoke, turning the attention on him. "I know it was this was a part of the training camp, but I couldn't remember any libero who excelled in a set-up training like what Ishida had just done before. He should've been training hard to polish this during the time before the winter tournament began."

Yuki couldn't help but nod in agreement. While Ishida was a talented libero – Yuki and Riku didn't doubt it – learning something that was the completely opposite of his natural position was a great challenge that not a lot could overcome. For Ishida to be proficient enough to do it just a few months after his first training was once again a testament to his talent.

Even without turning around, Yuki could see determination flaring from his friend. It was understandable, though. After playing three easy games in a row, having seen their next opponent was full of potential was enough to pump Riku's blood. Hell, not just the blonde boy, even Yuki himself felt the same. He stared at Ishida who was chatting with the other Tsukiji players on the court and couldn't help but mutter, 'Ishida, huh? Interesting… Let's see if he is enough to satisfy our hunger in the next game.'

-0-

Back to the court, Ishida who was still celebrating with his senpai over the last play suddenly felt a shiver through his spine. He turned around quickly trying to figure out who was who could make his instinct scream danger even from afar. After letting his eyes wander around for a while, he finally found a group of strangers who didn't belong there, especially the two who stared at him as if they wanted to kill him.

Seeing them, a smirk suddenly formed in his mouth as he thought, 'I see you are here to see us. I hope I didn't disappoint you, Agostini-san, Kobayashi-san.'