The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Our club room?" This time, it wasn\'t just Riku, but Yuki also stopped walking, looking at their senpai in disbelief. "We have our own room?!" They both had their face flushed red when almost all the students around there turned their heads at them. It seemed their voice was enough to attract everyone\'s attention.

"Since when did we have a room?" Riku hissed, his voice was much lower than before.

"Since today, obviously," Kaede said. "You will know about it too if only you checked the group." He added. Yuki and Riku could only scratch their neck sheepishly, forgetting the existence of the group chat.

Kaede didn\'t bother with them and continued, "After the game, Akira-sensei asked the headmaster to borrow a room, and since the room that usually was used by the science club was empty after that club was dissolved, it was decided that the room would be ours temporarily. At least until our tournament is over."

Yuki and Riku nodded together like a good boy as they listened to their senpai\'s explanation.

"So, how do you know about that, Senpai?" Riku couldn\'t help but ask. Yuki was also curious about that. By the look of Hirano\'s expression, it was clear that only Kaede was privy to the last information. So, how?

"Oh, I got that from the canteen lady," Kaede said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You don\'t know how much confidential information the canteen lady knows, since everyone tends to ignore her presence. Just like earlier, she has the privilege to listen to the meeting although just for a moment as no one stopped talking when she went there to bring the food.

And when I went to the canteen earlier, she told me about that."

Yuki was speechless when he heard Kaede\'s words. He didn\'t expect the harmless old lady in the canteen to be so dangerous like that. He suddenly remembered an anime about a ninja, that said the best spy would always come from a common profession. It seemed there was some truth in that story.

"Hey, what are you talking about?" Ogawa suddenly chimed in. His appearance was messy and he also had a similar exhausted expression on his face.

"Oh, Jimmy-senpai!" Riku greeted. "We are talking about Kai-senpai\'s story, which he just heard from the canteen lady."

Ogawa froze for a second, then stared at Kaede in disbelief. "You are still going to that crazy old bat?"

"Hey, that\'s rude!" Kaede retorted. Yet there was a slight blush on his cheek. "Chiyo-obaasan is not crazy, you know?"

"Of course, you will say that." Ogawa rolled his eyes.

Hearing the conversation between their senpai, Yuki and Riku couldn\'t help but feel curious. "Is there anything we don\'t know here?" The blonde boy asked.

"Oh, yeah. I forget you both are freshmen." Ogawa patted his forehead. "Well, to put it short, when she is not cooking, the old woman in the canteen would always go crazy. She would either talk to herself or just sit on her chair while rubbing her cat for so long that it scares the shit out of everyone here.

I heard the rumor that in the past, someone wanted to ask her why she did that, just to get scolded by that crazy old bat mercilessly until she cried."

"She is not bad, you know?" Kaede defended the canteen lady.

"Of course, you will defend her." Ogawa rolled his eyes and then explained to the two freshmen. "Somehow, Kai is the only one who can get along with her, and we have given up thinking of the reason behind it a long time ago."

Hearing the story, Yuki tried his best to remember the canteen lady they were talking about. Unfortunately, he was one of the rare breeds that always liked to bring a bento instead of buying food in the canteen, so he had no impression of those who worked there. He was about to ask, when suddenly, a fragrant smell hit his nostril, arousing his hunger.

"What is this smell?" Riku was the first to react. Yuki could see Ogawa, Hirano, and Kaede exchanging glances for a second, then to his surprise, the three senpai rushed immediately to one of the rooms nearby. "Wait, Senpai! What are you doing?!" He shouted, trying to chase them.

Riku also followed him from behind his nose wiggling to figure out the source of the smell. When he realized it came from the room the three senpai just entered, he rushed just like those three, leaving Yuki speechless.

However, Yuki\'s expression changed when he heard the sizzling sound coming from inside the room, and when he entered the room, he was greeted by the sight of all the players there sitting in a circle with four small tables put together in the middle.

It seemed the source of the smell before was there, as he could see Megumi boiling some kind of broth while arranging vegetables, noodles, meats, mushrooms, and many more ingredients inside the pot.

"What is going on here?" Yuki asked, his eyes went wide in surprise.

"This is a celebration party!" Koji chirped. "Akira-sensei said that today is a tough game, so he arranged a sukiyaki party for us! Ouch!" He winced when Megumi whooped his hand to prevent him from taking a slice of meat from the pot.

"Wait until it is cooked!" The girl glared at Koji. "You are going to have a stomachache if you keep nicking the uncooked one!"

"Yes, Megumi-senpai!"

Seeing the lovestruck expression on Koji\'s face, Okamura who sat next to him snorted. "That is why you don\'t have any fangirls like any of us, Koji. You are whipped here."

"Hey, I am not whipped!" Koji cried, followed by laughter from everyone.

Yuki could only shake his head as he took a seat next to Hirano, offering his senpai a single nod before his eyes roamed all over the room. Based on the poster hanging on the wall and the experiment tools inside the shelf, it was clear the room was used to be used for the science club.

However, Akira – and whoever they were who came here first – did a good job of transforming the room into a comfortable one, as the room was filled by warmth atmosphere now with everyone chatting and laughing with each other.

"Where is Akira-sensei, by the way?" He suddenly remembered the lack of authority\'s presence here.

"He is still in the teacher\'s office, but will be here soon," Megumi answered without even looking at him. "Ah, speaking of which…"

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The moment the girl finished talking, someone opened the door, and when everyone turned their head around, they saw Akira standing there with a smile on his face. "Oh, so everyone is here already." He said.

"Akira-sensei!" Everyone tried to stand up and greet him, yet the coach just waved his hand, telling silently that they didn\'t need to move.

"So, how is it, Megumi?" Akira asked. "Is everything ready?"

"Give me five more minutes, Sensei," Megumi answered, her eyes still focusing on the pot in front of her.

"Good, then let me talk first before we start the party." Akira nodded. Hearing that, everyone straightened their back, looking at the coach carefully. "First of all, you all did a good job, winning the game and advancing to the next round. So, congratulations."

Everyone clapped their hand politely, yet there was still excitement on their face.

"That doesn\'t mean you are perfect though, as there are several points that need to be evaluated. However, it could wait for the other day." Akira smiled when he heard some of them groan. "As for our next game, unfortunately, we will have to go away, and this time, it is against Teiryo High."

"Teiryo High?" Just like usual, Yuki and Riku were the two clueless people when everyone had at least some idea about the next opponent. "Are they strong?"

"If you talk about five to seven years ago, yeah, maybe," Asahi said. "But their strength plummeted drastically in the last few years, that their best achievement in the last five years was when they entered the top 16 two years ago."

"So, a fallen giant, huh?" Riku mused. "Then, that should be easy. Ouch! What the hell, Senpai!" He glared at Asahi who slapped him on the back.

"Don\'t underestimate your opponent!" Asahi chided. "Don\'t you hear what I said before? Their best achievement in the last five years is the top 16, and we will face them in the top 16. That means they are going to have the motivation to defeat us, which is to enter the top 8 for the first time in so many years."

"Moreover, we are going to play in their home ground," Koji added solemnly. "It wouldn\'t be so easy there."

Akira nodded, satisfied that the win today didn\'t get through his players\' heads. However, it wasn\'t good to worry about the opponent all the time, so he added, "This is also another topic for the future. For now, let\'s relax and enjoy the food here! Come on! I buy so many things for you all! Don\'t be shy!"

Seeing the coach wasn\'t worried, all the players relaxed unconsciously, then took a plate for themselves while looking at Megumi eagerly. When the girl finally gave a nod, they grinned, shouting in unison.

"ITTADAKIMASU!"