The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Senki Haraguchi.

Ueno Koki.

Ezaki Nakamoto.

Those were the three names that joined Shimoyawata High last year. It was clear since the beginning that they were talented, at least enough to be on the bench of a national-caliber team like Konan or Matsukita.

However, out of the three talented players, there was one who shone the brightest, and that was Ezaki. Since he joined the team, Ezaki had already shown his talent, from a powerful ace-serve, good game reading ability, great at blocking and receiving a spike, up to his killer spike that would make any defenders tremble in fear.

However, just like any talented player outside, he had his own problem. He was so arrogant that he thought it was impossible for anyone at his age to stop him. He also had a short temper. Whenever someone was able to put up a decent fight, he would always lose his calm and resolve everything with violence.

There were several occasions in the past when he snapped against a strong opponent and ended up getting a warning, a yellow card, and sometimes even an ejection from the game. But since Ezaki was always the best player on his team, his former coach had never scolded him openly, forming the thought that losing control of his emotions in the middle of the game was not something big.

It wasn't until last year in the third round against another strong opponent from North Tokyo, when Ezaki faced a tough blocker who kept pestering him all the time that he finally messed up. After getting blocked three times in a row, Ezaki was so frustrated he let his intuitive thought take over him. He punched his opponent straight in the face, causing a big commotion to happen on the court.

Something forbidden in any sports event ever.

"The punishment from the association would be announced last week." The headmaster of Shimoyawata High said to the coach. "But from my perspective, we need to make a decision faster than the official did. We are a private school, and by doing that, we would be able to protect what was the most important thing for us, which is the public impression of us.

We need to show the public that our school would never tolerate that kind of behavior here."

Miura nodded solemnly, agreeing completely with the headmaster's words. After that, the school finally announced their withdrawal from any official tournament, noting that they would take care of the players' attitude first before going outside, and also prohibited Ezaki from any student activity for the rest of the year.

At that time, there were still many people who thought the punishment for Ezaki was too harsh.

However…

"While it sucks to not be able to play in an official tournament again, at least we can train our asses off for the rest of the year and show everyone our might again, right?" Ezaki said nonchalantly.

What came from his mouth made all of his friends speechless before Senki scowled. "Ezaki, we are here to comfort you because we thought you would be depressed. But… Is that all you can think about?"

"Eh? Depressed?" Ezaki was confused. "Why?"

All his friends looked at each other for a moment before Senki with his face darkened said, "All of our senpai were so determined to beat Konan and Matsukita this year. But now… All eight third-year students announced their retirement from the team, knowing they couldn't participate again for their final year in this school."

Ezaki was stunned on the spot straight away. That was when he finally realized the gravity of this situation.

Just because of his stupidity, eight players had to bury their dream to challenge the best team in the country again. This was something that Ezaki had never thought about. For a while, the guilt he felt was trying to eat him alive. The weight of snatching eight people's dreams like that… It was too heavy for him to carry it on. He even thought about resigning from the team.

However, Miura rejected his request.

"No, I will not allow you to resign. You are also not allowed to skip the training." Miura shook his head firmly. "I will never let you run away like that."

'Come on, Ezaki! Keep moving!' He thought to himself after saving Koji's spike. Then, when he saw Ueno send him a high pass, Ezaki couldn't help but feel touched. 'Thank you, Ueno. Even though I don't know why you are still so kind to me, but because of you, I can still be here. And for you… I will kill this ball!'

*Whoosh!*

All the Tsunemori players were so shocked that some even had their jaws dropped when they saw Ezaki jump. No, it was not a jump, but a flight. The boy with jersey number 11 leaped so high that half of his body was above the net. And a second later, he unleashed a powerful spike that no one would believe it could come from such a thin body.

*BAM!*

"SHIT!"

Okamura received the spike, yet his body was thrown a few meters away. It flew wildly outside of the court, which would result in a point for Shimoyawata if nothing happened in the next few seconds.

"COVER IT UP!" Okamura shouted.

Yuki didn't need to be told twice, as he rushed already toward the ball, trying to track and predict where it would fall. The moment it lost its speed in the air and started to move down, he dived and punched it back to the court.

"OH! NICE SAVE, KOBAYASHI!"

"SEND IT BACK TO HIM!" Yuki shouted immediately. "DON'T LET HIM SPIKE THE BALL AGAIN!"

His hunch was right. Ezaki was a troublesome guy. That kind of spike was on the same level as Gondo's, and Matsukita's captain was one of the best hitters in the country. Riku also realized that, and he spiked the ball that Yuki saved toward Ezaki's direction.

*BAM!*

Even if the blonde boy spiked it from the back without doing his run-up, it was still a powerful hit. Unfortunately, he didn't know Ezaki's ability in defense. The opponent's new player received the ball perfectly before using his quick feet to run, even when all of his teammates were still frozen on the spot. He knew, though, that the setter would pass the ball to him.

"UENO!"

"I got it!"

*BAM!*

They did a quick tempo attack, not giving any Tsunemori players to react and recover. Hell, Ezaki even landed later than the ball hitting the floor, putting everyone in awe. The man in the spotlight himself also had a dumbstruck expression, his chest moving up and down rapidly.

He had never expected that the first time he came to the court, he would be able to change the direction of the game completely.

In his mind, Ezaki suddenly recalled his coach's words before he came in, and he couldn't help but agree with that.

'Now, it is time for me to repay all the debts last year for the team.'