The Birth of A Volleyball Legend-Chapter 383: Intermission

"OH! Nobu, you sneaky bastard! That is an awesome dump!"

"S-Senpai, please don’t mess my hair like that!"

"Don’t you agree with him, though?"

"Well, yeah. That is a nice sneaky attack."

"I know, right?! Who would’ve thought that our shy setter is capable of such a deception?"

"S-Senpai!"

The atmosphere inside the building improved astronomically as Konan won this set pretty comfortably. At first, all the people who came to support them were worried after the defeat in the first set. They didn’t want to see the invincible record the team had for more than five years to be broken here, and doubt started to spread during the intermission before the second set began.

But now that the team won the second set, even though the score was still tied, the worry dissipated slowly, replaced by optimism shared by everyone else in this building. They all finally remembered that Konan High wasn’t the best team in the country for nothing, and adaptability was also the strength point they were very proud of.

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Meanwhile, the completely opposite atmosphere could be seen on Kyoei’s side. The confidence built after the successful first set disappeared instantly, replaced by anxiety and frustration. Not only did they lose the precious advantage no other team had ever gained against Konan High, but the harmony inside the team was also cracked since the two important players there, Nitta as the ace and Ito as the captain were in a cold war.

Nitta was so frustrated in the last set that he started blaming Ito for being too slow to support, and Ito as the captain was dissatisfied by Nitta’s attitude and threw back the blame to Nitta for not being able to cooperate with the others. In the end, they both were too stubborn to resolve the conflict immediately and moved forward to focus back on the game, leaving their teammates staring at each other awkwardly.

Kuniyama Saito, the team’s head coach also had a headache because of this. If the two players who had a conflict with each other were ordinary, he wouldn’t hesitate to put them all on the bench instantly. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do that right now. If he subbed off the team’s ace and captain at the same time, the team would crumble instantly, and that was the last thing he wanted for this game.

"Saito-sensei!" Haruo’s voice suddenly snapped him from his thoughts. When Saito raised his head, he was surprised to find the tall middle blocker was just one step away from him, looking at the coach with eyes burning in determination. "Please, let me play for the rest of the third set and exclude me from the rotation."

His request was so sudden that all the heads snapped in his direction. Haruo himself just ignored that, still meeting Saito’s eyes daringly, waiting for the coach’s answer.

"… Can you tell me why do you want to play full? Would it be a waste to your stamina later?" Saito asked cautiously.

"Sensei, you underestimate me! Just because I am a middle-blocker doesn’t mean I am that fragile! You know I can still play for two or even three more sets, right?" He joked, trying to lighten the mood. He was glad at the snort response Nitta gave. "As for why… Well, even though I know I cannot play in my best position from the back row, I can still take command from there. Nitta-senpai is not satisfied with the slow support and Ito-senpai also feels the same from the lack of command, right? I think I can be the commander even from the back."

The confidence in his tone surprised most of the people on Kyoei’s bench. Even though they all knew Haruo was their best player, usually, he would have this ’I don’t care’ attitude. This was the first time they heard him taking the initiative to help the team, and it would be a lie if they weren’t moved by it.

’So, he finally feels like he belongs to the team, huh?’ Saito smiled, satisfied. "Okay, since you thought you could do it, I will allow you to stay on the court. Kusuda, I am sorry, but you will be the one who gets subbed off when the rotation comes. Is that alright?"

"No problem, Sensei!" Kusuda, the opposite hitter nodded firmly.

Then, Saito turned into the two most troublesome players who tried their best to avoid his gaze before saying, "So, is there anything you both want to say?" Experience tales at novelbuddy

There was an awkward silence on the bench as the captain and the ace of the team squirmed under his gaze. They all knew what the coach wanted them to say, yet their stubbornness wouldn’t let them say that first.

After a while, though, realizing he was the more mature one and he was the team’s captain, Ito finally relented and let out a deep sigh. "Fine! I won’t make a fuss about it again. But! Once he acts almighty and starts telling me shit again as if I owe him something, I will retaliate!"

"Well, I won’t act almighty if you just move your fat ass quicker, Cap!" Nitta retorted back.

"Oh well, it is still better than getting shut down in the entire first set! We won back then even without you, right? Maybe, it is you who is the problem here!" Ito scowled, returning the insult.

"Oh, why, you?!"

Even though it looked bad, everyone could see that the heat was not there anymore. What left between those two was just a playful banter between two teammates, and this was not something the others had never seen before. In fact, something like this was pretty common to happen, what with Ito who was always the adult on the team and Nitta who always acted like a little rascal.

Still, even though they fought pretty often, everyone knew that those two had the best relationship in the team.

"Don’t hold me back again, okay?" Nitta asked solemnly.

"Just make sure you won’t get blocked again, Bastard." Ito retorted back calmly.

Looking at the two important players resolved their differences quickly like this, Saito sighed in relief. Then, he turned around at his players, saying, "Okay, the wind might be back on Konan’s side right now, but that doesn’t mean we have no chance at all. If we can beat them once, we can beat them again! Just make sure to play solidly, always support your teammates, and don’t let them get any easy points again! Understand?!"

"Yes, Sir!"