The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

The game continued after that, and Ishida's presence completely changed the direction of the game. Not only did the libero solidify the defense, but his new role as the emergency also caught Keihin off guard. However, it wasn't just his presence alone that gave Tsukiji High the advantage here. Neito – the setter – also did something incredible by joining the front line, overwhelming Bato and Keihin's blocker line with him being another hitter in Tsukiji's synchronized attack.

However, what Tsunemori players were concerned more was the connection formed between Ishida and Neito, and how familiar it was for them to see it.

"Yuki, Riku, that should be your combo attack, right?" Kaede asked hesitantly.

"Yes, it definitely is. Ishida seems to take inspiration from our attack in the training camp, Riku." Yuki said solemnly.

Riku wasn't worried, though. He just waved away the concern nonchalantly and said, "While that was a good imitation, they cannot be as dangerous as ours, so don't worry about it."

"Oh? How so?" Almost all the Tsunemori players turned around, looking at the blonde boy curiously.

"Well, Ishida is the libero here, so no matter how good he is to set up an attack, he would never be able to join the front line. His new role only adds the number of attackers and intimidates the opponent, but that is still easy to handle. Just keep your eyes carefully on Ishida and everything should be alright." Riku explained. "On the other hand, me and Yuki's combo attack relies on us both switching as the setter and the hitter, so the opponent would never know who will set up the play and who will hit the ball. This unpredictable factor is the biggest reason why our attack is dangerous."

Honestly, if it didn't come from Riku, Yuki would blush in embarrassment at the praise. However, since it was Riku who said it, this was like the blonde boy was boasting about their combination attack.

"Oh, I am not boasting here." Riku seemed to notice Yuki's expression. "You will see it later when Keihin's middle blocker was able to focus back on the game again, of how easy it was to handle their new attack."

Even though Yuki and the other were not sure, they still decided to trust their blonde friend. They didn't have to wait for too long though, to see the truth behind Riku's statement. After losing two more points from the new attacking scheme by Tsukiji High, Bato seemed to wake up from whatever slumber he was in before.

In the next play, when another one of Keihin's attacks met the wall set by Tsukiji's players, Bato turned his attention immediately to Ishida, staring at him intently to figure out where the ball would go.

'It doesn't matter how many players rush forward to join the front line, but as long as I can read the setter, I could stop it easily.'

With that thought in mind, Bato moved quickly, rushing to the outside left-wing where Kiyotake tried to use Neito in front of him as a distraction to get away from Keihin's wall.

"WHAT?!" Kiyotake widened his eyes in shock when he saw Bato was already in front of him. Ishida also had the same reaction, and in this play, he exposed himself to be a rookie setter as he didn't know how to adapt to this situation. "SHIT!"

BAM!

"YEAH!" Bato punched the air, celebrating the point he just scored from the block. "Eat that, Bastard!"

Meanwhile, almost all the Tsunemori players had their jaws slacked, turning around simultaneously just to have to hold back the urge to smack Riku's head as the blonde boy had the smuggest smile they had ever seen. Of course, the classic 'I told you so' was left unsaid here.

"Just you wait, the momentum will shift back to Keihin after this." The blonde boy stated confidently.

Unfortunately, Riku was never so wrong about something volleyball-related topic like what he just said before. When all the Tsukiji players were lost in their thoughts after even their new attacking scheme didn't work for too long, all the supporters suddenly rose from their seats. The group of Tsunemori players were confused for a second, yet also followed the action to not attract more attention to them.

That was when they witnessed something incredible.

Unlike the powerful beat used to intimidate their opponent before, the drum was played gently now, forming a soft, beautiful melody. Then, one by one, all the people in the building took out their phones, turning on their flash before waving them softly, following the command from someone who suddenly stood in the front row.

Walk on through the wind

Walk on through the rain

For your dreams be tossed and blown

The song was sung in English, and while Yuki understood what the lyrics meant, that didn't mean he was familiar with it. Most of the Tsunemori players also had a similar reaction, with Okamura and Riku in shock over what was currently happening here.

Walk on, walk on

With hope in your heart

And you'll never walk alone

You'll never walk alone

"Okay, I don't know about you guys, but listening to more than a hundred people singing a song together gives me a goosebump." Ogawa shuddered a little/ "Also, does anyone know what they are singing here?"

"That's 'You'll never walk alone' from Liverpool fans," Riku stated matter of fact.

"…. Bless you."

The blonde boy's lips twitched in annoyance at the blank gaze and stupid reply he got from his teammates. Honestly, even though not a lot of Japanese people are proficient in English, should they at least make an effort to understand anything about it at all? How could only Yuki and Okamura understand what he was saying?

"Okay, here is a quick lesson," Riku grumbled. "I don't know who is the one who created or sang it for the first time, but the song's title is 'You'll never walk alone' and it was also used as the anthem for Liverpool's supporters. That is a football club from England, by the way."

"Ah… Is that so?" The others nodded, starting to understand. "So, what is the big deal with this song?" Koji voiced the question everyone had in their mind. After all, not a single one of them was football fans here. Well, not one, except for Okamura.

"The song is a big deal because there is something magical about it." The libero answered the question, attracting his friends' attention. "My dad is a big Liverpool fan, and let me tell you how crazy he is about the song. Just from his story alone, I know that this song was sung by more than 10,000 Liverpool fans in the final of the Champions League in 2005 when they were behind by three goals in the first half. In the end, they managed to level the score and won everything in the penalty shootout, and most of the players acknowledged the role of this song to raise their morale in the middle of the game."

All of them had their jaws slacked from the revelation. The highest number of people who watched their game was when they played against Kyoei Gakuen in the last Inter-high, and even with only about 300 students supporting them, they felt that they could beat everyone in the world. They couldn't imagine how it felt to be the one receiving support from more than 10,000 people.

"So, the song represents a miracle?"

"To be exact, it represents that whatever happens, the crowd will always be there and have their back, so the players could go all out and make them all proud."

That was honestly a point that they had never considered before. Having no other words to say anymore, they all decided to put their cous back on the court, waiting for how the miraculous song would impact the game.

As the crowd kept singing, all the Tsukiji players also started regaining their spirit again. Reiki became faster, Ishida was guarding their area everywhere, and Neito became more clinical in his decision-making. However, not just them, but Keihin players were also affected by the sudden lively atmosphere. Even Bato also made some mistakes due to the nervousness of this current situation.

BAM!

"Shit! Sorry, Hori! A bad block!" The genius boy cursed when he realized the ball he blocked flew into a bad spot for his teammates to cover. It wasn't often that he created a small mistake like this on the front line.

"I got this, I got this!" Hori – Keihin's defensive specialist – moved quickly while his eyes were tracking the ball. Even though it flew outside of the court, Hori still followed it through, and before the ball could touch the floor, he swung his arms quickly to save it. "TAIYO, GET THIS!"

"Oh! Nice receive, Hori!"

Taiyo was about to set up a new attack when he suddenly felt his body tense for a second. The crowd was getting louder for a moment which caught him off guard. However, he was still calm enough to pass it to the captain.

BAM!

"SHIT!" Morita cursed when Reiki blocked his shot.

"One touch!"

"I got this, Captain!"

Just like what Hori did earlier for Keihin, Ishida rushed quickly to pick up the wild ball, sending it to Neito who was ready to attack. All the Keihin players didn't know how, but before they could even realize it, all the Tsukiji players – even Reiki who just got involved in the last block – took a quick step back, starting to run up in unison to overwhelm their opponent.

Bato could feel his shoulder tense. He could see where the ball would go. Unfortunately, a tiny part of his mind suddenly whispered a doubt about whether this was a distraction play or not, and that moment of hesitation was enough for Tsukiji's captain to take advantage of it to launch an unexpected quick attack.

"OH! Nice pass, Neito!"

BAM!

And before Bato could even realize it, the ball had already flown past his ear, leaving the loud bang sound of it slamming the floor mercilessly, sealing the first set to Tsukiji High's win.

Tsukiji High 25 – 21 Keihin Industrial High