The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Man, I am so fucking glad that the headmaster provides us with the bus." Asahi groaned, stretching his stiff body after sitting for more than half an hour inside the bus. "Imagine we have to go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in the usual way while our supporters come with several high-end busses. Man, that would be embarrassing as hell."

It was an hour before the game began, and all the Tsunemori players had already arrived at the arena. Usually, they would go together by using the subway, but the headmaster took pity on them and decided to rent them a bus so that they wouldn't be embarrassed before going to the battlefield. They were glad, though, as this at least showed how much the headmaster cared about the team.

"Well, yeah, but with this bus and so many supporters coming to support us, the pressure will be bigger on our side." Riku couldn't help but comment. "I mean, after all the things the school gives us, defeat is not an option here."

The atmosphere turned solemn as they heard that. Even though the wind was not that bad this morning, they could feel it piercing their bones, making them shiver from it and the pressure that Riku had just talked about. They didn't even notice that they attracted a lot of attention by standing still in front of the gymnasium with the Tsunemori High jacket. It wasn't until Megumi clapped her hands loudly that they finally regained their consciousness.

"Okay, why are you all so depressed this early?!" The girl clicked her tongue, putting both hands on her hips to show her dissatisfaction. "You have been doing so well in this tournament, beating a strong team like Tsukiji High and even managed to reach the top eight stage again after our last run in the Inter-high tournament. Your preparation is also top-notch, and they are here to support us, not to pressure you guys! Be more confident and optimistic, will you?! At least, don't bring the negative energy before the game begins!"

They all were startled at the sudden rant from the girl. After all, even though she was the oldest person on the team, it was pretty rare for Megumi to scold them so openly like this. If anything, she was the doting mother who always worried about their every movement while thinking that they could be hurt by everything.

"Ayaka-san is right." Akira clapped his hands, gaining everyone's attention. "We have already experienced a lot of things, so this shouldn't be a problem for us! Moreover, they are here to support us, not to judge us. So, don't be so pressured and go all out today! We are here to bring the win back and write a history today!"

With the new spirit ignited by the head coach, all the Tsunemori players marched into the gymnasium together. However, no matter how prepared they were, all of them were still flabbergasted at the sight that greeted them inside.

There, they all could see one side of the stands which they could guess was where their supporters sat was full of people, and all of them raised a paper high to the sky. Each one of them might not show anything specific, but once they all were set together, all the papers raised in the sky formed a big choreography of the kanji 'Mori' which was also the name of the team. Not only that, they all also chanted together, singing a song that showed their support to the team.

In the forest, we unite!

Our team is ready, feeling bright!

With the strength of every tree,

We will fight for the victory!

Tsunemori High! Together we will fight!

"Holy shit…" Ogawa had his mouth gaped wide in awe. "They all are here for us?"

"I know that Arina-senpai and her team have been preparing something in the last few days, but I don't think it will be this exaggerated." Yuki was also flabbergasted at the sight in front of him. "This is like when we were playing against Tsukiji High, but we are the ones who receive the support this time."

"Hell, they even have a song for us! Can you listen to it?!" Koji cried, tears rolling from the corner of his eyes.

All of them were still in awe at how the school went all out to support the team. Even though they had already been used to the school's craziness, except for when they were against Tsukiji High, everything always happened in their home court. To see this in a neutral ground, let alone the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, they all could feel the sincerity that the school showed for the team.

"With them having our back, it is impossible to lose, right?" Ogawa grinned, trying to hide his excitement.

The sight of Tsunemori supporters gathering on one side of the stand and doing a big choreography while singing loudly to support their team also surprised most of the people there. This was the opener of the top eight stages, and usually, for this kind of game, the atmosphere could still be considered as mild. The crowd would start to gather when the big teams like Konan High or Matsuyama Kita High played, not a no-name team like Tsunemori High.

Yuki himself had his eyes wandering on the stand. There were about 500 Tsunemori supporters there, twice more than the amount of tickets the school provided. It seemed those who didn't get the ticket decided to buy on their own and the school helped arranging so that they all could still sit together in Tsunemori's crowd.

However, that wasn't what Yuki was focusing on. No, he wanted to search the whereabouts of his siblings who should be there too.

'Obaasan and the others should be with Arina-senpai, right? I wonder whether they are already here or not.' He muttered.

Unfortunately, before he could find his siblings, Yuki's attention was attracted by the single tap on his shoulder. When he turned around, he could see Riku had a solemn gaze as he pointed his finger to the entrance of the building.

"They are here."

That short warning was enough for Yuki to turn around, and there, the opponent players with red-striped-black jerseys arrived. Then, as if wanting to steal the spotlight early, one particular player who left a deep impression on all the Tsunemori High students suddenly run to the center of the court and shouted excitedly, "WE ARE HERE, BITCH!"