The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Before this play… No, even far before that, Riku noticed that he had been stared at constantly by Sawada from the other side of the net. At first, he thought the boy was just targeting Yuki. But after a while, he realized he was also under Sawada's radar. Continue your adventure at empire

He also knew that even though they had little to no contact before this game, Sawada had already known about his overly high competitive spirit. It was something that he could never conceal.

So, adding those two facts, together, Riku laid a careful plan to lure Sawada out to the front line and expose his weak defense.

Riku deliberately raised his voice when he said he wanted to stabilize the game first so that Sawada could hear and guess his plan. With his sharp instinct, there was no way Sawada wouldn't guess it was just a fake call and he would do the same dump attack just like Sawada did before.

However, that was the bait that Riku sent to lure him out.

As a result, the first time Riku showed his intention to do a dump attack, Sawada rushed forward immediately just as he wanted. He couldn't help but smirk, feeling like the main protagonist in a movie full of plot twists who said something like, 'I predict your prediction.' with his protagonist aura.

And when everything went perfectly as he planned, it would be easy for any of his teammates to execute the last attack.

"Ha! I finally got you, Bastard!"

*BAM!*

Instead of a dump, Riku changed his stance once again into a normal pass and sent a quick toss toward Yuki who also rushed to the front line. Even though Yuki didn't know his plan to the fullest, the glasses boy still trusted him when he asked the boy to move forward and get ready to attack. Of course, he didn't say that out loud. He wasn't that stupid.

Yuki himself didn't think about it for too long. Since Riku wanted him to move, he would do so, knowing that his friend had a plan. As a result, when he realized the ball suddenly flashed in front of his face, he swung his hand instinctively, and while his spike wasn't that powerful, it still caught everyone off guard, piercing the area between Matsumoto and Arizawa on the left side.

Seeing the ball bounce at Konan's side, everyone fell into stunned silence. Even if Riku's carefully crafted plan had so many details, in reality, everything happened in just less than three seconds. The people in the stand didn't know why Konan players were frozen on the spot and didn't react to the quick at all. However, they didn't care about it.

When everything finally sunk in, cheers exploded from every corner of the building.

"See?! That is the nasty combination between number 7 and number 19!"

"Damn, even Konan players couldn't react to that?!"

"To see it directly like this, they are awesome!"

"Can you really see the quick?"

"Hey!"

"Hahaha!"

Even though almost all the people here came to see Konan High, most of them were neutral fans. What they wanted to see the most besides the best team in the country was a Cinderella story when a no-name team somehow managed to beat them. And while it was still far from that, at least Tsunemori managed to make everyone remember their name, all because of the two freshmen on the team.

Amagi himself turned somber, far opposite of the mood around him. He was different than those people. Even though he was far from the court, he could still see so many tiny details from the last play and could probably guess Riku's plan.

However, guessing was one thing, and stopping it was another. He recalled the last play inside his head and tried to imagine himself in Sawada's position, trying to figure out what he could do in the setter's position.

After a while, a cold sweat rolled down his face as he came to a conclusion, even with Gondo joining him, it would take them to read the game in a high accuracy for them to stop the blonde's plan.

The fact that this idea came and was executed by a no-name team sent a shiver down his spine, knowing that one or two years later, they would become deadlier to face on the court.

'Fortunately, we decided to come and see this game. This would be a precious intelligence for the future.' He thought.

Meanwhile, on Konan's side, everyone gathered around Sawada, trying to cheer him up.

"Don't worry, Nobu! It is just one point! You can get it back later!" Matsumoto patted his back.

"Yeah, Nobu! Everyone has this moment once in a while. Don't worry about it." Shimada also nodded sagely.

The treatment was far different from when Akihiro failed to stop Tsunemori's attack before. However, it was understandable. Akihiro was a player who had already had experience playing in the national tournament when he was in middle school. There was no need to coddle him over his failure. However, Sawada was the least experienced player here.

Everyone always treated him as a fragile person who could break from any external pressure. That was why they were always so supportive of their setter.

"Don't worry, Senpai, I am okay." Sawada tried his best to reassure his teammates.

"Nobu, maybe you should learn something from their number 19." Lucas suddenly spoke, gaining everyone's attention. Sawada was confused, asking silently for the Brazilian boy to elaborate. "Well, just look at him. No matter where his position is, his command always makes sure everything goes flawlessly. Maybe, that is what you need to try?

Not rushing forward when you see the opponent's intention, but shout and tell us where to go. Easy, right?"

"Easy, he says." Arizawa snorted.

Sawada couldn't help but nod at Arizawa's snarked response. Even though what Lucas said made sense, it wasn't easy for him who was always shy to suddenly shout and order everyone to do what he wanted. This was not his style.

Still, it was a decent suggestion. After pondering for a second, Sawada finally nodded at the Brazilian boy. "I will try to do that, Senpai."