The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

After a while, Yuki finally realized that the story of him navigating all the students out of the pharmacy factory during the incident and his heroic action to search for Kato's presence had spread around, with almost everyone in the school knowing about it.

Honestly, this was bound to happen. There were about 24 members of the chemistry club who joined the study tour, and one of them was Arina Sugawara, who had a good reputation among the students. With just her words, all the residents of the school would hear about his heroic deeds before the day was over. Adding to the fact that there were two other girls from his class who also joined the tour, his classmates' enthusiasm was not surprising.

"So, how do you feel after being treated as a hero?" Kato asked teasingly.

Yuki, who had just escaped from the crowd, groaned immediately, his hair messy. "I know I should lay low and try to stay under everyone's radar. This is too troublesome," he whined.

Kato fell silent for a second before she said quietly, "Well, I, for one, am glad that you didn't do that. If you had decided to stay silent and not taken the initiative to lead us, I'm sure the victim wouldn't just be you."

Yuki was stunned; then his expression turned solemn. However, he shook his head immediately and said, "No need to think of the 'what if' scenarios; it would never end. Let's just think about happy things, like what the latest gossip in the school is currently." He asked, changing the subject.

Fortunately, his attempt to lift the mood was successful, as he could see Kato's eyes lighten up a bit at that. "Well, the biggest one is the reactivation of five old clubs, including yours," she said. "Now, all the leaders of the old clubs are trying to appeal to the headmaster so that their clubs can be reactivated."

"And the result?" Yuki asked.

"Unfortunately, nothing," Kato shook her head. "While the headmaster is willing to give them a chance, he wants a serious proposal to show their commitment to running the club, and unfortunately, no one is ready to do that."

Yuki nodded in understanding, knowing that the headmaster wasn't a foolish person. While the purge was full of controversy, the final result was something that all the higher-ups wanted—cutting off all the unnecessary clubs that could only waste the school's money. So, there was no way they would make the same mistake and allow those clubs to appear again in the school.

They chatted for a while until the first class began. Unfortunately, the midterm exam would be held a week later, so the atmosphere in the class was a bit heavy. Everyone tried their best to listen to what the teacher said; some even tried their luck by asking for hints about the subjects that would appear on the exam.

While Yuki sat close to the front row and couldn't get the best view of the others, he could imagine Riku with smoke coming out of his head. His blonde friend wasn't the most studious person, and the last few days must have been torturous for him.

'Luckily, I have already prepared for the exam. Even if I don't come in first, at least I can still make it into the top five in the class,' he muttered.

"… Here are the characteristics of logarithms. If you can remember them all, the midterm exam will be easy for you, as you only need to apply them to the problems given in the test," the math teacher explained.

Right after the words escaped his mouth, the school bell finally rang, eliciting collective sighs from all the students. The teacher checked the clock on the wall, and when he realized it showed around 15:00, he concluded the lesson. "Okay, since this will be our last meeting, I wish you all good luck on the exam. If we meet again before the summer break is over, that means you are unlucky, as I will be the one teaching the supplementary class. So, don't fail your test, okay?"

"Yes, Sensei!"

Yuki sighed, stretching his stiff body after sitting for about seven hours non-stop. Fortunately, before anyone could approach him—something Yuki was already tired of due to their fake concern—Riku came immediately and said, "Do you want to go now?"

"Oh, sure! Wait a second!" Yuki quickly stuffed all of his books into his bag. Then, he turned to Kato and asked, "We're heading to the gymnasium. Do you want to join?"

Yes, this would be the first meeting for the Tsunemori volleyball team after they were reactivated. Akira didn't want to delay it any longer, as based on his words, the team had already fallen behind compared to the others since they hadn't trained at all during their disbandment.

"No, I'm going to Miyazawa-sensei," Kato shook her head. "Say hi to Megumi-nee for me, okay?"

"Sure!"

During the journey to the gymnasium, Yuki found that many people greeted him politely. Although he didn't know any of them, it seemed most of them were members of the chemistry club. While it was exhausting to maintain a fake smile all the time, Yuki was glad that at least his reputation had bounced back after suffering during the purge.

"Yo, Yuki! Riku! Long time no see!" A familiar voice suddenly greeted them. When the two freshmen turned around, they grinned at the sight of their ever-cheerful senpai waving at them.

"Jimmy-senpai! Long time no see!" Yuki high-fived the older boy enthusiastically.

"Jimmy? It has been a long time since someone called me that," Jimmy—Ogawa, if anyone forgot about him—snorted. "So, a little bird told me that you just did something heroic, eh? How do you feel, new celebrity?" He grinned teasingly.

"Not you too, Senpai!" Yuki groaned, eliciting a chuckle from Riku. "Don't you know how exhausting it is to deal with the crowd? I'm not Riku, you know?!"

"Hey, why are you pointing your finger at me?!"

"Because you always enjoy the attention!"

"Ah, Yuki and Riku bickering with each other. It seems something will never change, huh?" someone suddenly chuckled from behind. When they turned around, they were taken aback by the sight of their tall, handsome senpai in front of them.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Asa-senpai, how did you get taller in a month?!" Riku cried.

"Well, it must be because of my superior genetics," Asahi answered smugly.

"What do you mean, superior genetics, asshole?!" Ogawa growled.

"It is what it is! No need to be jealous, midget!" Asahi shot back.

"Why, you?!"

As the argument escalated, Yuki just shook his head in amusement. However, he felt a trace of fondness when he saw them, inwardly thinking, 'Tsunemori volleyball team, I'm back!'