The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Chapter 134: Before the Game

Akira's stimulation during the last lunch the team had yesterday was able to ignite the spark inside the team's heart. Although they were still under scrutiny from the students, at least they were able to ignore it for now, knowing they had something more important in the next few days. They also regained their focus back, and the quality of the practice improved astronomically compared to before.

"Good job, Megumi-san." Akira nodded in a satisfied manner as he watched the practice from the sideline. "It is because of you that we can recover just in time before the game against Konan. For that, I am grateful to you."

Megumi blushed at the sudden praise and shook her head quickly. "It is nothing, Sensei. I just want to contribute to the team too just like the others."

Yeah, unbeknown to the others, the plan to have a big lunch together was Megumi's idea. After seeing the distraught state shown by the players, she remembered how excited they were when the team had a sukiyaki party after the game against Kyoei Gakuen. She thought it was worth repeating, and fortunately, the plan was successful this time.

"Even though the plan is unsuccessful, Megumi-san, there would be no one who dares to say you are not contributing enough to the team," Akira said seriously. "Without you, the team would be in a scramble by now."

Indeed, Akira was not exaggerating when he evaluated Megumi's role in the team so highly. Without the girl, they wouldn't be able to have a new jersey to use, wouldn't be able to compete in a tournament, and wouldn't even be allowed to take an absence when they were going to play in a school hour. Overall, he could even say Megumi's role was bigger than him.

"Anyway, the atmosphere is quite good right now." Akira changed the topic. He stared at the players on the court who were competing with each other for who would get the most points from their service and couldn't help but feel satisfied. "We need to take advantage of this momentum to make our best preparation for the next game."

After that, the practice started to get more intense. Akira made sure that every aspect of the practice would be targeted for the game against Konan. For example, Hirano, Riku, and Asahi practiced a lot to increase their reaction, knowing Konan's setter, Sawada, would be hard to read.

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On the other hand, Kaede and Yuki were in hell, as Akira wanted to increase their pain tolerance by having them face the entire team spiking the ball at them.

The sound of his phone vibrating in his pocket snapped Yuki from his thought. He frowned a little bit at the continuous vibration, trying to think who would call him this late. When he saw the name displayed on the screen, his face lightened up instantly.

"Hi, Yuki-kun!"A cheerful sound suddenly greeted him. "Long time no talk! How are you? I heard from Akira-sensei that you will have a game in the next two days, right?"

"I am doing good, Maria-san."Yuki had a genuine smile on his face. "What about you and the others?"

"Oh, we are good! Here, Isabella and Gabriella are next to me, wanting to talk to you too."

"Yuki-nii, how are you?!"

"Bella, don't push me around!"

"What do you mean pushing you?! It is you who push me first!"

Yuki laughed a little when he heard the squabble from the other side of the phone. Yeah, the one who called him right now was Maria Silvestri, the lady of the family who sponsored his education. Just like the promise he made to them, they communicated with each other regularly just to exchange news.

And while Yuki had never said it out loud, he secretly enjoyed their weekly call, thinking of them as his cool, distant family.

"Hmm... So, you are going to play against a Brazilian player, huh?" Maria hummed after she heard Yuki's story about his next game. Even though he couldn't see Maria's face, Yuki could imagine a playful smile formed as she asked before. "Well, you are in for a treat, Yuki-kun."