The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

After that day, Yuki's routine changed drastically. In the mornings, before he went to school, Kawaki assigned him a task to maintain his condition, which included light jogging and a series of exercises to keep his body in peak shape. This usually took about forty minutes, and afterward, he helped all of his little siblings prepare for their day.

After school, he and Riku—sometimes joined by Kato if she wasn't busy—would go to the 'Sumida Volleyball Arena,' the home ground of the Tokyo Thunder, to join the training. The schedule varied from days filled with physical training, drills to improve their basic skills, learning about strategies and codes that the others typically practiced for games, to sometimes not even going to the court, but instead heading to the multimedia room—which was something they both became familiar with after joining the team—to watch recordings of the main team's performances for inspiration.

Overall, the exhausting yet fulfilling days returned to his life, and Yuki couldn't be happier about it. However, school life was giving him a big headache.

After thinking and talking with many people, Yuki ultimately decided to join the chemistry club. The reason was simple: he knew he wouldn't invest too much time in the club and wanted to focus more on his volleyball activities. So, rather than joining a club where he knew nothing about the subject and would have to learn from scratch, it was better to join something for which he already had a basic understanding.

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It was a reasonable excuse. While he wasn't the smartest person in the class, Yuki felt proud to have secured third place in academic performance, only behind Kato and another student. His grade in the chemistry class was also good, second only to Kato. Moreover, he knew the girl would also be in the same club as him, so Yuki had a feeling that club life would be easy.

Unfortunately, he was very wrong about that.

"And remember, class, the atomic number is like the unique fingerprint of an element, determining its identity and properties—just like how each one of you has your own special qualities!" As the chemistry teacher droned on about atomic structures, Yuki's eyes began to droop. Despite his best efforts to pay attention, the periodic table blurred into a hazy collage of symbols and colors dancing in front of his eyes. It seemed he wasn't the only one in this state, as he noticed some other club members displaying a similar reaction.

Most members of the chemistry club were former members of the old science club who were glad that, although the name had changed and the scope of the club's activities narrowed down into one subject, they could still do what they enjoyed within the school. However, they didn't expect that not only had the name changed, but the style was also completely different. Gone were the fun experiments and interactive learning experiences, replaced with the old-fashioned method where one teacher talked while the students listened silently at their desks. It felt as though the club was just an additional chemistry class now.

"And so that's it! Let's finish the class for now and continue another day. Don't forget to do your homework, okay?"

"Yes, Sensei!"

As the class—no, club—was over, Yuki groaned, his body stiff. He could see the girl next to him giggling softly, looking at him with eyes sparkling with amusement. "It's rude to sleep in the middle of class, you know?" she asked.

"Well, it's not my fault that it's so boring! Can you imagine after sitting through normal classes for about seven hours, we're forced to take an additional one for an hour and a half? This is torture!" he whined indignantly.

The girl just giggled more, her lips quivering in surprise at his childish complaint. "Well, you chose the club yourself, so bear the consequences."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"There's no need to rub salt in my wounds, Sugawara-senpai," Yuki pouted, giving her a sour expression.

Yes, the girl was Arina Sugawara, the former president of the student council. After being demoted from her position, she became a normal student and had to follow the school's rules, ultimately deciding to join the chemistry club.

Yuki was surprised when he saw her presence, but he shrugged it off and treated her like any other girl in the class, and surprisingly, they got along quite well. From her, he learned that she hadn't given up on her mission to bring the Maiko group's involvement during the purge sessions to light and had decided to lay low while waiting for an opportunity to strike back in the future.

A naïve thought, Yuki mused, considering everything had returned to normal, and it would be difficult to disrupt this harmony. Still, who was he to dampen the girl's enthusiasm, especially when he saw a hint of cunningness in her eyes? He knew Arina Sugawara was not a simple girl and could be quite shrewd when the situation called for it.

"So, where is Kato-chan?" Arina Sugawara asked, her eyes twinkling brightly.

Yuki rolled his eyes in exasperation at her nosy question. "Well, she has a family matter to deal with, Megumi-senpai, so you should have heard about it from your friend. Also, we're just friends, Sugawara-san. There's nothing between us. So, please don't gossip like the other girls around here."

"Well, I'm a girl too, and I love gossip! So please, do tell! Is there any chance you both will soon change your status to be a couple?"

Yuki could only shake his head in exasperation. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that the seemingly aristocratic girl would also be gossipy, enjoying tales about her friends' love lives. Of course, he wouldn't give her a satisfactory answer, as it would only provide her with ammunition to tease him. But Yuki still enjoyed the interaction between the two of them.

Well, that was basically his daily routine. Fortunately, aside from the club turning into an additional class, he had no trouble, and his school life finally found peace once again. However, he knew this would change when, a week before the summer holiday began, he saw the content of a pamphlet stuck on the club's announcement board.

A study tour to the Maiko Pharmacy Factory to learn more about how to apply the chemistry knowledge they learned in the real industry.

'Well, interesting…'