The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Chapter 367 Post Game Reaction

"HELL YEAH!" Yuki roared, spreading his arms widely as if he were the second Jesus incoming. Unexpectedly, the first one to jump onto him wasn't any other Tsunemori players, but one boy who rushed from the group of Tsunemori supporters and hugged Yuki fondly.

"Good job, Yuki! That last one is a nasty job!"

"Hell, yeah! Advancing through the 16th round! One more win and we will be able to reach the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium!"

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"Bah! Don't get too technical! Just win the next game, and the opportunity will come!"

"Hell, yeah!"

In the next couple of seconds, Yuki was swarmed by the crowd coming from Tsunemori, almost all of them held their phone and started taking a selfie photo which surprised Yuki a lot. After all, he had never been asked for a photo or two since he played volleyball, so to get a superstar treatment out of nowhere was a bit shocking.

"Hey, hey, don't push around like that! No, not the hair, please! Let me go!" With his exhausted body, Yuki was struggling to navigate himself to get away from the crowd. It took a while, but finally, he managed to survive, just to glare at his teammates who were laughing at his misfortune. "Why won't you help me?!" Whined the boy.

"Oh, don't be a whiny like that! It is not often to see you so flustered like that!" Ogawa grinned mischievously.

"Yes, and you deserve their love too! Don't think you can get away after all you have done during this game!" Asahi added.

Yuki could only grumble grumpily as he threw his body back against the bench, wiping the sweat on his face. There, he could see the crowd was now swarming Riku and Koji who seemed to enjoy the attention, and even he himself couldn't help but smile.

Then, he suddenly felt something cold pressed on his cheek, and when Yuki turned around, he was greeted by Arina Sugawara who was holding a cold can of ionized water for him. "Good job, Yuki-kun. You really lead us to the win." She smiled.

"Eh..." Yuki rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "It is nothing special. Everyone also did a very good job, you know? I won't be able to do everything alone." He said, trying to be humble.

"Don't say it like that!" Megumi who overheard the conversation chimed in. "The others might have done a good job, but that is only because they know you have their back. If not for you, I am sure everything wouldn't go as smoothly as we see today."

"Well... If you say so..."

"Yes! We will never forget your time here!"

"Keep practicing, and if I see you play in any competitive tournament again, I will cheer for you!"

"Hell yeah!"

"Don't forget that you will never walk alone!"

When everyone saw those three had their shoulder shaking, they also cried silently for them. Unfortunately, no matter how much they wanted to, it was impossible to turn back time. Now, they could only feel regret that they hadn't done enough and left the high school volleyball team forever.

"Neito, after this, I will leave everything to you," Reiki said, trying to hold back more tears from coming out of his eyes. "Please, build a mentally stronger team than this year. Don't be like me, a disappointment through and through."

"Don't worry, Senpai. I will do it." The setter nodded solemnly. "Thank you for your dedication to the team. After this, leave everything to me. With Ishida and Wang's help, we will rebuild this team into something that you can be proud of in the future, just wait for it!"

As Neito mentioned Ishida and Michael Wang, Reiki couldn't help but turn his attention to the two talented freshmen the team had. Both could be seen talking to the other two freshmen from the opponent team, the two who buried his dream alive. Once again, he couldn't help but let out a deep sigh, his thought was filled with so many 'what-ifs'.

'If only they are in the same year as us...'

Unfortunately, that was just a 'what-ifs' scenario that would only happen in another life. For now, they could only feel regret that they wasted their last year with the talented junior just like that. In the end, Reiki let out a deep sigh before patting Neito's shoulder, saying, "I leave the rest to you. Good luck."

-0-

"Ah, it is finally over!" The man sat on the back of the stand and stretched his body, feeling tired after watching the game full from the start. "So, what do you think, Hasebe-sensei? Did this game meet your expectations?" He asked the older man next to him.

"Well, you can say that this exceeds all of my expectations," Hasebe said wryly. "Before this, I only saw him as a mere service specialist. But now, I could see him as a defensive specialist, an emergency setter, an opposite hitter, and also a natural leader to any team he is in. His presence would be crucial for the team I have in mind."

"So, you have made your decision?"

"Yes." Hasebe nodded firmly, his eyes were still on Yuki on the court. "Yuki Kobayashi will have one spot in Japan National Team U – 17 for the World Cup U – 17 next March, for that I guarantee."