The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

The day passed quickly, and without Yuki noticing, it was already time for lunch. Fortunately, everything was provided by the school, so he didn't need to worry about it. The menu included a portion of rice, chicken teriyaki, stir-fried tofu, sliced apples, and a bottle of water. While it might sound too simple, everyone enjoyed it since they were starving after spending their morning there.

Yuki had to admit, though, that although it was exhausting, the activities were quite interesting. Here, he learned so much about the pharmacy industry, such as the generic medicines produced there, the production costs, and the market analysis. He even had the opportunity to observe how all the cutting-edge technologies worked, from the initial stages to the final product.

But the most interesting part of the tour was the fact that the factory gave them a chance to conduct their own experiment. The concept was to use something common that they encountered daily to create something, and although it was a simple project that cost almost nothing, everyone was satisfied. In the end, Yuki learned how to make a pain relief gel from aloe vera.

"Unfortunately, aloe vera isn't that common here, so this isn't something I can make very often," he muttered.

Lost in his thoughts, Yuki was suddenly brought back to reality when the two girls who had been with him all day walked in his direction and took a seat next to him silently, without even asking for permission first. He took a glance at them for a moment, then allowed himself to return to daydreaming, ignoring their presence. By now, he was used to it; unless he was included in their interaction, he would just act as a good listener for both of them. Find more to read at empire

"So, Senpai, what did you and the other third-year students do?" Kato asked, curiosity evident in her voice.

"Us? We are trying to extract caffeine from dried tea leaves and observing its properties," Arina Sugawara responded while picking up her food with chopsticks.

"Wow, that sounds interesting," Megumi said genuinely. "For us, we were making a simple pain relief gel from aloe vera, and most of the time was spent waiting rather than doing anything productive."

"Well, who are we to complain about the free time we have?" Yuki chimed in lazily.

Kato rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Of course, you would say that. But not everyone is as lazy as you, you know?"

Arina Sugawara giggled slightly before adding, "While our activity sounds interesting, I would rather be with you two than with my peers. It was so awkward in our group," she sighed. Her two kouhai exchanged sympathetic glances, with the younger girl offering a comforting pat on her back.

Yeah, to ensure that everyone participated equally in the hands-on activities, Miyazawa-sensei decided to create three groups based on their current year. Fortunately, Yuki had Kato by his side, so he didn't feel awkward around the others. Arina Sugawara, however, didn't have that luxury and had to endure the 'fake' interactions with her usual poker face for the past two hours.

"So, any idea what we are going to do next?" Yuki asked while chewing his food.

Kato and Arina Sugawara frowned in unison — a gesture that creeped him out — and simultaneously slapped his shoulder. "Don't talk with your mouth full! It's so rude!" the older girl chided.

Yuki rolled his eyes sarcastically, swallowed the food in his mouth, and asked again, "So, do you have any idea what we are going to do next?"

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be an open class with Narita-sensei as the lecturer. As for the content, I'm not really sure," Arina Sugawara replied.

At the mention of the young genius who had greeted them earlier, Yuki couldn't help but frown. While everyone else looked at the professor with admiration, he sensed that there was something off about him. Unfortunately, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't piece it together, which left him frustrated.

"Are you okay, Yuki?" Kato's gentle question snapped him from his thoughts. When he regained his awareness, he saw the concerned gazes of the two girls in front of him. "You've been zoning out for a moment. Are you feeling alright? Maybe we could ask Miyazawa-sensei to let you rest."

Yuki shook his head in amusement, reminiscent of the girl's older sister. It seemed that overthinking and worrying about a friend was a family trait.

"Don't worry, I was just thinking about something silly," said the boy with glasses. "By the way, don't you smell something strange in this room?" he asked.

This wasn't an attempt to change the subject; he genuinely sensed something amiss. While the odor was faint, he noticed a smell reminiscent of alcohol and antiseptic, which reminded him of a hospital. He would be lying if he said he enjoyed it. While some people found such smells soothing, the memory of him lying in a hospital bed after an earthquake disaster was enough to trigger his PTSD.

"It's the smell of medicine, right?" Kato said, sniffing in the direction he indicated. "I don't think it's strange. After all, we're in a pharmacy factory right now."

"Kato-chan is right. Maybe it's just the scent of the newest medicine that just came out of production," Arina Sugawara nodded in agreement.

Yuki could only furrow his brow at that. While he didn't know the protocols here, shouldn't the production room be isolated from the outside world? Even earlier, they hadn't been able to observe the medicine production up close, so that should be the case. But if that's so, how could the smell leak so far outside the production room?

As time passed, his survival instincts screamed louder, urging him to leave the building immediately. His body tensed, and his eyes scanned the area to comprehend what was happening. Yuki knew that trusting his instincts wasn't scientific, but ignoring them completely would also be a foolish decision. After all, the last time he felt something like this was during the earthquake disaster in his hometown, so he knew his instincts could be trusted.

It didn't take long for his instincts to be proven right. Although, in all honesty, Yuki hoped he was wrong, but when he heard the sound of the emergency alarm blaring from the large speaker on the wall, he realized that hell had just broken loose.