The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"What the hell is your problem, you brat?!" Yoshi scowled heatedly. "You think mocking your senpai like this would make you look good?!" It seems he was unhappy with Yuki's words.

"Oh, yes, it is funny indeed," Yuki answered with the same intensity. "You think you are the only one who can talk trash to me? Don't be naïve! Your captain has already done so a lot of times in the first set, keep calling me Golden Boy whenever he scores. And now I score the first time, and you snap immediately, what are you, a baby?!"

Yeah, Yuki had been receiving a lot of banters from the senior team, and while he hadn't said anything about it yet, that didn't mean he was willing to let that slide. No, he just waited for the right moment, for when he was able to score against their defense to do that. After all, only the winner had the privilege to look down on his opponent.

Yoshi's face turned red as he was furious right now. He wasn't the calmest person in the first place, so after hearing Yuki's provocation, he snapped. He crossed the net immediately to the other side of the court before pushing down Yuki's body until his junior fell to the floor, and after that, the commotion erupted immediately like wildfire.

All the players suddenly rushed to join the commotion, yet not everyone was there to soothe the situation. Some just joined the fun, adding more oils to the fire.

"Kill them, Yoshi! Don't let your kouhai make fun of you!"

"Yeah! He is just a brat! Show him how to respect his senpai!"

"Beat him!"

Hearing the encouragement from the crowds around him, Yoshi got more excited. He rushed forward immediately to land his second blow, ready to make things bigger. But just as it seemed like a full-blown brawl was about to erupt, Akira finally stepped in, his glare freezing the players in their tracks.

With a stern expression, he yelled "Enough!" and the players slowly backed off, still seething but momentarily defused.

The referee's glare turned to the two players who started the commotion, then turned again to the entire team as everyone wilted under his eyes. Then, when after a few seconds nothing was heard from the coach and all of them started to sigh in relief, thinking that Akira wasn't that angry, they were proven to be wrong immediately.

"You're all acting like a bunch of children!" Akira thundered, his voice echoing across the court. "This is a game, not a playground! You're here to play volleyball, not to engage in petty squabbles and childish behavior. I've seen more maturity from a group of kindergarten students!"

The players from both teams looked at each other in shame, yet they still glared at each other, trying to put the blame on their opponent.

"Are you not ashamed of the guests here that spare their time to play with you all?!" Akira continued, pointing his fingers at the Silvestri family. The parents were at the front, shielding the twins from the commotion as the girls looked at the crowds curiously.

Apparently, the moment the chaos started, Mattheo pulled his family out of the crowd immediately,didn't want to get dragged into the commotion.

"They are here not just to help the freshman, but also to share their experience as professionals with you! And you show them this shameful behavior! Never have I been so embarrassed in my life before today!"

Yuki, still on the floor, grunted a bit, using his knee to support his body as he tried to get up from his position. "Sorry, Sensei." He murmured.

Usually, Yuki would be calmer than this, handling the situation wiser under such a provocation. However, he didn't know why, but there was something in Yoshi's tone that always irritated him. It wasn't just today, but even in the past, Yoshi's loudness and fiery temper were always able to get under his skin.

Akira's features softened a bit, knowing that Yuki was probably the least to be blamed for this commotion. Banters and trash talks were always a part of the game, and all the players here knew about that.

Hell, he could hear so much banter directed at Yuki whenever the first-year failed to protect the ball, and that kind of pressure wasn't something that a player with two weeks of experience should endure.

The fact that Yuki didn't react at all for so long showed Akira that the freshman had the patience of a saint, and even a saint had the period when he snapped and wanted to vent out all of his emotions, so Akira understood why Yuki reacted like that.

He was more disappointed with Yoshi's behavior, though. The opposite hitter had always had his volatile temper whenever he played, and it wasn't the first time Akira saw him creating a ruckus after being provoked by the opponent.

Akira had already talked and scolded him several times to control his emotions, yet based on what happened today, it seemed his words still couldn't get through Yoshi's thick head.

Still, Akira had to make a decision here, and he had to be impartial here. After thinking for a while, he finally said, "I know the stakes here are big for you both. Your dignity is on the line in this game. But that doesn't mean you can do anything you want like this. So, I will have to punish you both."

After that, he took a yellow card from his pocket and gave it to both players, eliciting gasps from the crowds.

"A yellow card for Kobayashi and Aoba!" Keisuke Hori shouted from the commentary box. "What do you think about it, Hisashi-senpai? Is it fair?"

The whispers from the crowds died down a little, wanting to know Hisashi's opinion. For some of them, this incident only made them believe more in the rumor that Yuki disrespected his senpai. After all, if he was alright, there was no way the senior players would gang him like this, right?

"I think it is a bit unfair for Kobayashi-kun." Hisashi gave another hot take again, making the crowds frown. "Banters and trash talks are parts of the game, and the senior team had already done the same in the first set. It is unfair for Kobayashi-kun to be punished for the same offense that his opponent got away from before."

Those who played competitive sports all nodded, knowing Hisashi was right. Unfortunately, the majority of the crowds here were regular students, especially from sophomore and third-year, so they didn't care about his opinion. They knew the rumor was right, Yuki did the senpai wrong here.

"Unsportsmanlike!"

"Shame!"

"Yoshi, no matter what happened, never apologize!"

"Yeah! Kill that brat!"

As the boos grew louder from the crowds, Yuki sighed, knowing all the imagination of an ordinary school life he had at the beginning of the term had gone to the trashcan by now. Still, he didn't care, walking toward his teammates and bowed deeply.

"I am sorry, everyone!"He exclaimed. "I lost my cool and my rash behavior made this a terrible experience for you all."

The Silvestri family glanced at each other before Mattheo chuckled. "Don't worry, Kobayashi-kun! That is how a youth should react facing such a humiliation!"

"To be impulsive and pick up a fight against his senior? Don't give him a bad example, Dear."Maria chided her husband. "But I am glad you can be calm even after being pushed down like that. It takes maturity to not retaliate against everyone who provoked you. I am so proud of you." She praised.

Hearing the praise, there was a slight blush on Yuki's face, yet his face beamed in delight. The last person to say she was proud of him was his mother, and Maria's words reminded Yuki of her. He got teary for a moment before the feeling disappeared with the squeal coming from the twins.

"Kobayashi-san, you are so cool!"Gabriella gushed.

"Yeah! You just stared at them coldly and said one sentence, and everyone lost their temper immediately! You are like a villain in the story!" Isabella added.

Yuki had a sweat drop on his face when he saw the twins who were so shy whenever he was around suddenly turn into fangirls, looking at him with shining eyes as if they were ready to worship him. He glanced at Riku who he believed had more experience in this regard, just for the blonde boy to shake his head in amusement.

Cursed 'traitor' inwardly to his blonde friend, Yuki could only chuckle awkwardly at the twins.

"Thank you, Gabriella, Isabella. Your support means a lot to me." He said it genuinely.

Hearing his words, the girl blushed furiously before running away, still giggling while whispering with each other in rapid Italian, confusing Yuki more.

"Girls…" He muttered, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

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