The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Isn't it a bit early to yawn that big, Kobayashi-kun?" a girl he was familiar with – albeit regretfully – asked playfully.

Yuki just gave her a stink eye while making rude hand gestures, which made the girl giggle hard. He could see some students around him staring at him with hostility, and considering the girl's identity, he could guess why they were like this.

Still, Yuki didn't care. By now, he had already realized that almost all the residents of the school were just a bunch of sheep. They only dared to talk behind his back while they were in their groups. They would back down and report him to the teacher immediately if he tried to confront them alone. They were just meaningless bystanders in his life, and he was learning how to ignore their presence.

As soon as the bus arrived, he quickly got on and chose a seat by the window. He reserved the two seats next to him for the two girls he knew would rather sit with him than with others.

As all the other students followed his lead, he leaned his arm against the window, staring outside with a melancholy gaze.

It was a Saturday morning, and while it was still the middle of July, the unseasonably high temperature under the scorching sun was enough to dampen Yuki's mood for any outdoor activity. He cursed his luck inwardly, realizing that he couldn't escape this situation no matter what reason he offered since this was the first official activity the club had organized outside of school.

"Still jealous of Riku's schedule?" another girl, the one with glasses, suddenly said, her eyes twinkling with amusement. She took a seat next to him without asking, knowing that Yuki had already reserved it for her. "Don't worry; he will also have a similar study tour in the next few weeks, and when that time comes, we can gloat at him together."

Oh, remembering the gloating look on his blonde friend's face, Yuki clenched his fist, knowing he had to take revenge in the future.

Yuki's schedule indicated that today was supposed to be his day off since the main team would be playing a game. However, that meant the training session on Friday evening would be more intense, filled with physical exercises that would leave his body aching for the next two days. He could already feel the pain, which was why Yuki wanted to clear his schedule for every Saturday.

Unfortunately, the study tour to the Maiko Pharmacy Factory had been planned for about three days, and the club's advisor, Miyazawa-sensei, had already informed all the club members that if they couldn't attend, they needed to tell her at least a day in advance. Yuki was too late to ask for permission to be absent today.

What made it even more infuriating was the fact that Riku knew about it from Kato. Last night, his blonde friend took a moment to call and gloat about Yuki's misfortune.

"Hey, Yuki! Let's do something relaxing tomorrow! Wait, what?! Do you have a club activity? Oh, I'm so sorry. I wish you good luck while I'll be spending my morning comfortably in bed…"

That was what the blonde jerk had said last night. Unfortunately, before Yuki could respond – or curse him into oblivion – his friend hung up, leaving him frustrated in his room. So, Yuki was consumed by thoughts of revenge, eagerly awaiting the right moment to return the favor.

"So, here you both are!" The first girl who greeted him suddenly appeared, her cheeks puffed in annoyance. "I've been searching for you both, and you two are already here? Mou, you're so annoying!" She threw herself into the seat next to Kato, creating a squeaking sound.

"Well, since everyone noticed how quickly Yuki-kun got onto the bus, I thought you would know that we're already inside, Sugawara-senpai," Kato answered with an innocent face.

Yeah, the girl was Arina Sugawara, the former student council president and a third-year student. It might seem strange to see her interacting more with two freshmen than her peers, but after getting to know her for a while, Yuki finally understood why.

To put it simply, almost all of her peers treated her like a rose—beautiful to be seen and admired from afar, yet no one dared to touch it directly. Everyone kept their distance, only communicating with her in a cordial manner, not close enough to be friends. This somehow made her lonely.

This was probably what people meant when they said that being beautiful had its downsides. Continue your journey with empiren/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Well, at least until she had a conflict with the volleyball club this year. After all, who would have thought that a freshman would have the guts not only to disregard her beauty but also to treat her like a normal girl? He had bantered with her, thrown sarcastic remarks her way, scowled at her, and even had heartfelt conversations with her in the past.

No one had dared to get close to her before, and while Arina Sugawara found this strange, she somehow enjoyed her interactions with him as time went by.

"So, when will we go?" Yuki asked, having already put on a blindfold to help him sleep better.

"Well, it should be soon," Arina Sugawara said, checking her watch. "All 16 members of the club are already here, after all. The only one missing is Miyazawa-sensei. And – ah, speaking of the devil, there she is!" She pointed at the presence of their sensei outside the bus.

Realizing that their sensei had arrived, Yuki grunted something that both girls couldn't quite catch. He then put his blindfold back over his eyes, leaving both girls smiling helplessly at each other. Fortunately, the seats Yuki had saved for them were near the back row, so his presence wouldn't be noticed by Miyazawa-sensei.

Five minutes later, the bus finally started moving. Their destination was in South Tokyo, and it would take about thirty minutes to arrive. Initially, chatter could be heard all around the bus as everyone was excited about the tour. However, after becoming trapped in traffic, their spirits began to diminish, and the situation inside the bus grew quiet, even without the teacher needing to raise her hand.

After an agonizing hour stuck in the weekend's terrible traffic, Kato suddenly leaned over and gently tapped his shoulder. Yuki jolted awake, his eyes dazed and bewildered. He squinted as he peeked out from under his blindfold, the sun shining straight into his eyes, and asked in a grudging tone, "What happened?"

Yuki was confused for a moment when he saw Kato and Arina Sugawara staring at each other, the atmosphere on the bus suddenly becoming lively again with excited chatter. When he regained his composure, the older girl finally answered, "We've arrived at our destination. Wake up and wash your face first, we will start the tour in the next ten minutes!"