lank_0z

2011. That was when earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, changing thousands of lives. 

And Kobayashi Yuki is just one of them.

A month ago, he was just a normal boy, graduating from a small middle school in Fukushima and was excited to go to the high school. However, the disaster changed his life. He lost both parents, not because they died, but because they were still missing until now. 

He lost his home. He lost his friends. He lost his school. He lost everything.

Having no choice, he moved to Tokyo, to a small, new orphanage to accommodate victims of the disaster who didn't have any home or wanted to change their lives in the biggest city in Japan. In his mind, all he wanted to do was enter a normal high school, do a part-time job, make some money to help the orphanage, and maybe if he were lucky enough he could be admitted into a good university with a scholarship.

However, one challenge from the volleyball team and one half-Italian blonde boy turned everything upside down. Now, he was trapped inside the crazy team, being dragged into the mess.

Inter-High.

National Tournament.

Volleyball.

Those three words kept spinning around his life as he entered a crazy high school life. Can he strive in the place where he was unfamiliar with? Would he be a good volleyball player? And what does the future hold for him?

The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Come on, young man! Buy the corn dog, don't let yourself starve!"

"Orange juice, orange juice! The best around here!"

"Buy the Castle's latest jersey! Show them your best support!"

Yuki had to stiffen his yawn as he waited outside of the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium for his friend, trying his best to ignore the uncles in the stalls around him. The sky was pretty dark by then, but the crowds seemed to get bigger. He even started to feel that coming here was a mistake.

Fortunately, the boy he had been waiting for finally appeared. "Kobayashi-kun, here!" It was Yuuji Tanaka who greeted him, his partner during the training camp in Konan High. "Come on, we need to exchange our ticket first!"

It might seem strange for Yuki to hang out without Riku or Kato. However, this was the prize Daiki Sato gave them both for being the winner of the mini-tournament during the training camp back then.

A Forgotten Prize