The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Stop! Wait a minute!" Yuki raised his hand quickly, thinking the conversation moved a bit too fast. "What do you mean by the student council is over? Does the school disband you too? Was there something big happening in the last few days?" He barraged the girl with questions.

Even though Yuki had never seen the student council's work, he knew they were like a heart inside the body. The students would only know their work occasionally when they tried to notice it, but when the student council disappeared, all the students would know about it immediately.

So, to disband the student council like any other club was definitely a big move that the higher-ups had already thought about it carefully.

Arina Sugawara sighed before suddenly asking, "You have already known about the Maiko group's involvement in this muddy situation, right?"

Yuki nodded, remembering the last time Arina Sugawara explained it to the team. Maiko Group was the conglomerate group rumored to fund the new clubs just to train cheap laborers they could recruit once the students graduated.

Some rumors even said that this wasn't the first time they did this, as Maiko group had already paid several schools to do the same operation by paying the school to dissolve all the clubs there and build new ones that were suitable for their business.

To sum it up, the Maiko group was definitely a leech that would do more harm than good for the students.

"Well, we – me and the other student council members, I mean, tried to collect some evidence about their shady business and provide it to the headmaster, hoping him to support our cause here. He nodded and asked us to give him time to think about it. As a result…"

"As a result…" Yuki leaned his body forward, having had a guess on what happened already.

Arina Sugawara sighed one more time before finishing the explanation. "The headmaster put us on probation for 'disrupting school harmony' and said that he would form another organization similar to the student council but with people who care about the student's success more than us."

Hearing that, Yuki couldn't help but sigh, staring at the girl who suddenly seemed to get older by seconds with a sympathetic gaze. Inwardly, he had to give a hat-off to the headmaster.

Not only did he remove the most troublesome variable that could unite the entire residents of the school to fight against him, but he made sure to replace them with his own people while still under the same banner as the student council organization.

That was a shrewd political move by the headmaster that Yuki would give applause if only the one who suffered from the end of it wasn't his friend.

"What about the support from the students? You should still have some, right? Especially after you sacrifice our volleyball team." Yuki asked, suddenly remembering that aspect.

"Yeah, I had the support from most of the clubs' leaders." Arina Sugawara said. Then, she sighed helplessly. "But some of them swayed to the other side after the headmaster approached them. Now, not even half of the students here supported our cause while rumor started to spread that Maiko Group is here to help the students prepare for their future."

'Another deadlock, then.' Yuki sighed.

He didn't expect, though, that the volleyball team's sacrifice would be rendered useless. It seemed the headmaster and the higher-ups worked quite efficiently to ensure that they stayed under six feet.

Yuki racked his brain, trying to find another perspective here. Then, he suddenly remembered something. "What about the teacher who is appointed as the middleman between you and the headmaster? Can you talk to him too? Who is he, by the way?" He asked, remembering that the girl had said in the past that the school put a teacher inside the student council as an advisor.

"Oh, him?" Arina Sugawara suddenly sneered unladylike, startling Yuki for a moment. "He is Tachi-sensei, our geography teacher. While yes, he is appointed as the middleman, he is more inclined toward the school's side. All he did during our meeting was either to shut down our idea or to praise the Maiko Group as a saint, a philanthropist group that would benefit the student most in the future."

'Another deadlock. Damn, I didn't expect the headmaster would be so difficult to deal with.' Yuki cursed inwardly.

For as long as he could remember, the headmaster was always kind and understanding toward the students. But it seemed it was just a façade here, or maybe it was because the only interaction he had with the headmaster was when he was with the volleyball team, and the headmaster tended to be a bit biased toward them.

As the girl's voice trailed off, an uncomfortable silence descended around them, thick with unspoken words and unaddressed emotions. Yuki shifted in his seat, his mind racing for the right response, but all he could muster was a feeble smile that felt more like a grimace. He just realized that other than asking a bunch of unimportant questions, he hadn't said anything helpful to the girl.

He cleared his throat, feeling the weight of Arina Sugawara's frustration hanging heavy in the air. The awkwardness wrapped around them like a fog, and Arina Sugawara finally realized the awkward situation here as they both tried their best to think of something—anything—to break the tension.

"So, what are you going to do next?" He finally asked

"I don't know." Arina Sugawara said with an uncertain tone. "Maybe, I would try to see whether the new clubs would work or not first before making any judgment. I would also consolidate with the other 'former' student council members and try to communicate with the newest one that the headmaster just appointed to see whether we can work together or not. But aside from that, I have no idea at all."

Yuki nodded, thinking that it was a solid plan. It was good to take a step back and see from the distance to gain more perspective, and who knows? Maybe, the enemy would make a mistake she could exploit in the near future.

"Well, good luck with that. For what it's worth, I hope for your success, as I also miss my time with the boys on the volleyball team." Yuki grinned widely, trying to lift the mood. "Anyway, I will have to go first. If you need any help, you can ask me. While my reputation isn't that good, I have a particular blonde friend who is very popular among our peers.

So, don't hesitate and keep me in touch, okay?"

Without even waiting for Arina Sugawara's answer, Yuki rose from his spot, leaving the girl stunned in a quiet evening. After a moment, she giggled a little, then it turned into full laughter that would make anyone who saw that surprised to see the elegant Arina Sugawara act like that. She just shook her head amusedly, wiping a single tear on the corner of her face.

"Yuki Kobayashi, what an interesting boy. I am looking forward to our cooperation in the future."