The Birth of A Volleyball Legend
Chapter 78: Yuki Out!

"It is not that bad." Sekine checked Yuki's forearms. "No broken or cracked bones inside, just bruises from receiving powerful spikes consecutively, something any volleyball player should be familiar with." All the players surrounding them sighed in relief when they heard the news.

They all had been worried about Yuki's condition since the moment the glasses boy had a painful expression after receiving Nitta's spike. Akira who saw that also reacted immediately, asking for a timeout to check his condition. It wasn't just a concern for their teammate, but also for the best player on the team. Without Yuki on the court, they would crumble soon against the opponent.

"If it is normal, how could it hurt so much?" Yuki hissed when Megumi pressed an ice pack to his forearms. "A bit gentler please, Megumi-senpai!"

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"Oh, Sorry!"

Even though he was in pain, Yuki couldn't help but have a sweat drop on his face, especially when he noticed the hostile gaze from his senpai. It seemed they would always react like this whenever someone received Megumi's tender care. Well, it wasn't his fault that he got hurt the most out of all of them.

"It is because you are still a newbie in this game," Sekine answered his question. "You have only been playing for what? Two months?"

"One month." Yuki corrected.

"Yes! Only one month! That is not enough time for your body to build a pain tolerance. The fact that you have never felt this way until now is something incredible, but sooner or later, you will also be on this spot. Just ask your teammates. Feeling the pain of forearm bruises is a rite of passage for a new player at this point."

The other players nodded in unison at Sekine's words, especially Okamura and Kaede who were the defensive specialist on the team. They were not unfamiliar with that kind of pain, but still looked at Yuki sympathetically. Just like the old saying, the first time would always be the worst one.

"So, can he still play the game?" Akira asked what he was concerned about the most. However, it wasn't Sekine or Yuki who answered that question, but Megumi.

"No, way!" The girl glared at Akira while shielding Yuki from the coach. "Don't you see how much in pain he is?! He should be sent to the school clinic immediately!"

Yuki couldn't help but feel touched by Megumi's action to defend him. He realized why the other players were so crazy about the older girl. It wasn't just because of her pretty face and elegant demeanor, but also because Megumi was probably the one who cared the most about their well-being on the team, especially when Akira tried to push his luck like this time.

Akira sighed helplessly, knowing Megumi was right. Still, Yuki was the key player for this game, so to sub him off for the rest of the game would be a stupid decision for the team. He turned his attention to Sekine, asking the old man silently how to deal with the girl's demand.

"Don't worry, Megumi-chan, Yuki-kun is okay." Sekine took over the conversation. "It is just because he hasn't gotten used to the pain. Give him time to adapt and he would be back on the court and kicking everyone's asses. Trust me."

Megumi bit her lips at his words, and after a tense silence for a moment, she finally relented and nodded reluctantly, making everyone sigh in relief too.

"But not right now!" Megumi suddenly said, still not giving up on fighting for Yuki's well-being. "Can you see how bad his bruise is? His forearms need to rest a bit! Let me bring him to the school clinic first and compress it with another ice pack so it could get better. It wouldn't take more than 10 minutes, so it should be okay, right?" She asked while staring at Sekine and Akira challengingly.

Akira stared at Sekine for a moment to ask for advice, but the old man just shrugged, feeling that it was a reasonable demand. The coach finally couldn't deny the request and nodded, giving her his approval.

"Make sure you bring him back immediately when his condition is better."

"Yes, Sir!"

-0-

"Oi, he is gone!"

"Will the team be okay?"

"Idiot! One player cannot influence the outcome of the entire game! No matter how good he is, the team is not that vulnerable!"

"But you cannot deny that he is our best player today, right?"

"This…"

Amidst the pessimistic chatters from the crowds that could be heard from their side, all the Kyoei players on their bench also saw Yuki was being dragged outside of the building by Megumi. It would be a lie if they said they weren't surprised, but Yuki's departure was good news for them.

"Finally, he is gone." One of them sighed. "A little bit quicker than I thought, but I am glad it happened soon."

"Yeah. His defense is good, and his stubbornness is annoying." Nitta nodded in agreement

"Good?" Saito snorted. "He is more than good. His game-reading ability and reaction alone are enough to put him into Konan's starting roster as a defensive specialist. You did a good job by forcing him out this early."

Yeah, unknown to Tsunemori, it wasn't Nitta who had a sadistic side, but the coach. Tsunemori didn't know about it since they only watched Kyoei's game in the second round against a weak team, but whenever Kyoei played against a decent or a rising team, he would always use this kind of strategy; destroy the opponent's best player to kill their morale.

If it was against a defensive team, he would send Nitta to destroy their best defender, while if it was against an offensive team, Haruo would do the job to kill their ace. While it was a dirty strategy, since no one banned it, he took the leisure to use it all the time.

And the strategy itself worked pretty well for such a long time, only failed when they played against Matsukita two years ago and Shimoyawata a year ago, when Matsukita's ace at that time was in an abnormal state that even their best blockers couldn't stop it and Ezaki was stubborn enough to keep attacking them without getting tired.

However, two failures were not good enough for Saito to give up on this strategy. That was why he kept using it until now.

"Well, since the opponent loses their best player, it is our time to take over the game." The coach spoke. Then, his expression turned dark and intimidating as he added threateningly, "Before the game is over and you bring back the win to the school, I don't want to see any of you slacking off, understand?!"

All of his players gulped in fright as there was only one word that was appropriate to answer his threat.

"Yes, Sensei!"