It only took fifteen minutes of walking for both Yuki and Riku to arrive at Tokyo Thunder''s home court, and fortunately, they were notte. When they arrived, only a few yers were already there, and some of them hadn''t even changed into their training shirts yet. When everyone finally noticed their presence, all of them stood up and greeted the two boys excitedly.


    "Wee back, Brat One and Brat Two!" one of them said, dapping them up.


    "Hey, don''t call me a brat!" Riku said, affronted.


    "Yeah, and why would I be number two?" Yuki also shared his thoughts.


    "Because we see Agostini more often than you, Brat!" the other yer answered, yfully messing with Yuki''s hair. "After all, he was still here even when you had to be out for two weeks after that disaster at the pharmacy factory, and this is your first time back since then, you know?"


    Yuki cringed for a moment at the harsh truth spoken by the older boy in front of him. Indeed, it had been about a month since the incident at the Maiko Pharmacy Factory, and he hadn''t joined the training with Tokyo Thunder since then. Fortunately, he hadmunicated with Kawaki-sensei, and the coach understood his situation, so he wouldn''t be kicked out of the team due to his absence from practice.


    "Anyway, who are we going to y next week?" Yuki asked, trying to change the topic.


    Suddenly, the atmosphere turned solemn, and Yuki and Riku stared at each other in confusion. "The team we have to y in the next game is Tokyo Great Bears U-19, our rival team," one of the yers answered.


    "Wait, you mean to tell me that Tokyo has two professional teams?" Riku blurted out a question before he blushed at the ''are you an idiot'' stares from the other yers. "What?! You know that I grew up in Italy, right?" he defended himself.


    All the older yers nodded, epting the exnation. Yuki sighed in relief as he somehow dodged a bullet. Just like Riku, he didn''t know about that fact, and if he had been the one to ask the question, he wouldn''t have had any valid excuse to defend himself.


    "Well, yeah, Tokyo has two representatives in the V. League: us, Tokyo Thunder, and Tokyo Giant Bear," one of them exined. "Unlike us, who are a rtively new team, Giant Bear is one of the oldest teams in Tokyo. While their achievements have dropped in thest few years, their fan base is still one of the craziest in Japan."


    "So, they are a strong team?" Yuki inquired.


    "Strong? Hell, no! They are rude and annoying, though," some of the older guys snorted. "Just because their team is older than ours, they think we are nothing because we don''t have a ''rich history'' like them." The boy added air quotes for the ''rich history'' part with a sarcastic tone. "Their fans are the same. They always attack ours because they think that anyone who supports a new team is a fraud and a glory hunter just because our team owner is wealthy. Honestly, the audacity."


    Yuki and Riku had sweat drops on their faces at the unexpected rant. "So, to put it simply, they are our annoying neighbors who think they are better just because they are older?" Riku concluded.


    "Well, that is basically correct."


    They chatted for a while until almost all the yers of Tokyo Thunder U-19 had arrived. That was the cue for Yuki and Riku to change into their training shirts. Five minutester, they came out of the dressing room to find that most of the yers were lined up, with Kawaki in front.


    "Sorry, Sensei, are wete?" Riku apologized.


    "Don''t worry, I know you both have been here for a while. Go back to the line and wait until everyone is here too," Kawaki waved off the apology. Read exclusive adventures at empire


    Riku nodded and joined the line, followed by Yuki behind him. They waited for a while as new yers continued toe from the dressing room and join the line. When a yer Yuki was familiar with, Tondo—who was the one responsible for testing him to join the team—appeared, the coach finally greeted them all, "Good afternoon, boys!"


    "Good afternoon, Sensei!" all the yers replied in unison.


    "Well, first of all, it''s good to see some familiar faces back here, especially Agostini-kun and Kobayashi-kun. They are back after a week at Sato-sensei''s training camp, so I''m sure they learned a lot during that time."


    Those words were enough to spike the tension among the yers as all eyes suddenly turned to the two youngest boys in the room. It seemed the training camp they attendedst week had a reputation, and everyone—even yers who had never shown interest in them—looked at the two boys withpetitive eyes.


    "Okay, save the hostility forter. Now, we still have training toplete, okay?" Akira pped his hands, easing the tension. Yuki and Riku released a deep breath they hadn''t realized they were holding as the hostile atmosphere dissipated. "Instead of targeting our two youngest boys here, let''s direct thatpetitive spirit toward the team we have to y next weekend, our annoying older sibling, the Giant Bear."


    "Older sibling" was an apt description considering they were from the same prefecture. Still, no one cared about the coach''s analogy. Right now, all that upied their minds was how to beat their rivals in the next game. Everyone was pumped up and couldn''t wait for the weekend toe.


    "Unfortunately, due to Satoshi-kun''s injury, we will have to face them without our main setter. While this isn''t ideal, I need Agostini to step up his game," Kawaki continued.


    "Wait, me?!" Riku eximed in surprise.


    "Yes, Agostini, you," Kawaki nodded in confirmation. Not only was Riku surprised, but everyone else was as well. "I know this is a shocking decision. Ideally, I wouldn''t put a rookie in the spotlight directly at his first game and let him adjust to the new atmosphere slowly. Unfortunately, we don''t have that luxury since Satoshi-kun is out, and you know full well that Yamamoto-kun was called up to the senior team two weeks ago, so we are short on setters right now."@@novelbin@@


    Everyone nodded in understanding at the coach''s exnation. Riku was the happiest of them all. After all, there was a huge chance he would make his debut next game. Yuki could only look at his friend in envy, unsure of when his opportunity would arise.


    Kawaki''s next words effectively answered his silent question. "Depending on how the game goes and how Riku adapts during the next training session, I will also probably give Kobayashi a chance to y. Before youin!" He raised his hands immediately before anyone could say anything. "You all know how dangerous his serving arsenal is and how reliable he is in the back row. Moreover, based on the notes sent by Sato-sensei, he improved a lot during the camp, so it would be silly of me not to consider him. Of course, I''ll assess whether he is ready or not first, but I''m telling you right now, he will probably have a chance to y in the next game. Do you understand?"


    "Yes, Coach!"


    Yuki clenched his fists in excitement as he heard the news. Although he knew that, unlike Riku, he would have toe off the bench, the bespectacled boy was still satisfied with the decision. He didn''t want to be left behind by Riku, so he had to work harder in the next training session to show he was ready for the game.


    ''Damn, I am on fire right now! Come on!''