12 Chapter 12: Face and Smile

Yang stared at the ball with all his attention. There was an unexplainable warmth in his chest, he was both happy and nervous at the same time. In this match, his determination to win shall be tested while his school janitor position is at stake.

Inevitably, time seems to slow down on his perception. He took a deep breath and recalled the moments when he could only look up at sepak takraw players from the distance. A flood of flashbacks rushed at that moment...

Paang!~

There was a loud sound from a ball that managed to bypass an opposing team's defense. It was the game-ending spike.

"Score! Game set! Blue team wins!", the referee declared and the team who just scored started to jump in celebration.

"Wooooh!~"

"Yeaaah! We did it!!"

"Nice spike! Well done hahahaha!"

The team that lost could only scratch their heads in defeat while the spectators were clapping their hands at the exhilarating performances of both takraw players. Yang was one of those spectators, it was his first day as a school janitor and it was his first time seeing the sepak takraw game despite being fifteen years old. He could not help but think about kung-fu as he watched the players executing dangerous summersault kicks.

It was scary but fun. It was thrilling but beautiful. The exchanges were brief but full of style. It was a sport that caught his mundane eyes.

It was indeed a fun but difficult sport to master. The magnificent teamwork, the tempting energy of every player, and their flexible bodies made him envious, it was truly like watching a Shaolin kung-fu sport. And as a half-Chinese himself, Yang felt like the sepak takraw sport was in some way, connected to him.

Unfortunately, for him who is a cursed Aswang, playing any public sports and acting like he was a normal person is like a distant wish for him.

Once the general public will found out about his curse, getting banished will be the least that could happen. The worst could be death by human persecution. As for why he chooses to risk and trust Chiko and Gantes, it was all a gut feeling. The moment he would feel suspicious and his secret gets revealed, he would just run away as far as he can just as he did in the past.

However, it was not enough reason for him to stop his passion for this sport at the moment.

Despite his condition, Yang started to play and practice. But without any playmates and a proper ball, he had to make use of the walls and trees to play against.

For a ball, he used anything that is round and can bounce even if just a little bit. Be it a dried coconut, a pomelo fruit, a worn basketball, a lost tennis ball, and sometimes a small rock. It was tough to play with, but he managed to adapt over time. Though it hurts his feet, the fun he felt was stronger than the pain.

Yang would play sepak takraw alone every time he got a break from work. During the day, he would watch sepak takraw matches at the gym and learn as much as he can about the sepak takraw rules, the different terminologies, ball control, and eventually the proper way to executing crazy spikes.

It was his favorite place indeed. With his passion and interest, Yang did not realize how much he has actually improved. It was unfortunate but no one has actually seen him play and tell him how good he was.

For more than three years, Yang has been playing all by himself. All he cared about is to learn and enjoy the feeling of being a normal human.

But now, he finally found a couple of friends as a teammate. Yang does not want to waste this chance.

Shing!~

His mind returned to the present and his eyes sharpened like that of an eagle - locked on the sepak takraw ball before him.

"Hyaaah!"

PAAANG!~

Yang's right leg swiftly swung and perfectly executed a beautiful spike serve. There was a crispy spiking sound that sent the ball rushing towards the opponent's side like a small RC plane.

"What!?"

"Huh!? Did our janitor just performed a spike serve?"

"No way! Was that real?"

Rino's team was too shocked at the school janitor's spike-serve. It was too beautiful, strong, and perfectly executed.

it was too surprising that they forgot their purpose to defend against the ball - or one could say it was too late. Their brain stopped functioning properly for a while after the realization.

"Score! hahahah!", Yang shouted in joy at his first successful spike serve. Little did he know how he just shocked the opposing team.

"Did we score!? Nice nice! hahahaa!" Chiko, also finally realized that they scored base on Yang's reaction and he celebrated too.

"That was a good kick. I wonder if I can do that too. Can I do the service next time?" the huge Gantes was seriously thinking to replicate Yang's spike serve kick. He was inspired by Yang's performance and wanted to show off too.

While Chiko's team was celebrating their first sepak takraw score, Rino's team on the other hand was trying their best to regain their composure. There is no way they would lose to this makeshift team composed of a fat baldy, a balut vendor, and a school janitor. No way! It would be a shame to their years of sepak takraw experience!

Rino's gaze found the ball and it indeed landed well on their side of the court. It was a legit kick and a legit score. It was an ace-serve by Yang - the school janitor whom they have been bullying all these years.

Who would have thought that the pale-looking school janitor actually has these absurd sepak takraw skills? Was it just a fluke? But his execution was flawless and it says otherwise!

"He must be just lucky. I doubt he could do it a second time." Rino immediately told his teammates and they both quickly agreed with a nod. It was their only acceptable explanation at this moment.

"Don't get caught off guard and keep your eyes sharp. Kurt, don't just watch the ball, fend it and let's show this noob who's the real boss here." Rino added as they repositioned themselves for the second incoming serve.

On the other side, Yang was preparing for the next toss.

"Alright Chiko, just do the same exact toss as before."

"Copy that!" Chiko enthusiastically replied.

"This is boring. Am I just gonna watch you both the entire game? huhhhh..." Gantes mumbly complained.

After settling his concentration, Chiko took another deep breath and tossed the ball to Yang's direction. Yang's gaze was as sharp as before, he bent his right leg to gain enough momentum before whirling into another spike serve.

"Hyah!"

PAAANG!~

Skrrreeeet~

Unfortunately this time, the ball did not make it to the other end after hitting the net in the middle.

"Hah! I knew it. It was just luck." Kurt quickly exclaimed with an arrogant smile.

"Does he think perfecting a spike serve can be done in a day? It takes years of practice! To someone who was having a date with a broomstick every day, does he think defeating us would be that easy?" John added mockingly.

However, Rino their tekong was just silent. There was a complicated look on his eyes and a couple of sweat drop was starting to roll down his face. Behind his silent facade was a mind that was shouting in anxiety.

"How come he has a more profound style than me? He is just a janitor! It may have been resulted to a fault but his execution was still flawless. To perfect a spike serve, it also takes a good eye, a good reflex, and a well-trained body! Else, he should have succumbed to the pain of overly stretched leg muscles. But the way he acted after performing the spike serve was as if it was just another normal kick to him. This guy.... No. I must not get intimidated. There is still more chance to destroy him. I will make sure to break this guy's hope today!"

For the first time, Rino was getting intimidated by a sepak takraw newbie. His swollen pride was has clouded his real purpose of scouting a new player.

"Darn it." Yang gritted his teeth.

"My bad Yang. It was probably because my throw was a little off this time. I will do better!" Chiko quickly took responsibility.

"I think he's right. The ball was tossed a little bit lower this time. " Gantes agreed based on his honest observation.

"It's fine. I believe it is also my task to adjust according to your toss. Let's do better next time!"

"Yeah!"

"Uhm.. When can I hit the ball?" Gantes asked a little bit worried that he will be useless throughout the game.

"Your position is a spiker Gantes. Just wait and you will have your time to shine later." Yang explained patiently.

"Alright. Alright. The secret weapon is always reserved until the final showdown huh. Got it hahahaha!"

Despite his huge body, Gantes was actually extremely energetic compared to everyone's expectations.

"Alright, one more serve before it's their turn. Let's do our best!" Yang declared and the other two quickly repositioned themselves.

In the current sepak takraw rule, every team has three consecutive chances to serve whether it resulted in a fault or not. In the previous rules, the moment a team commits a fault, the other team gets the chance to take over the serve.

"I can do this. Just like the first one. Just like the first one. Whew..." Chiko took a deep breath and slowly recalled his first throw. He recalled the weight of the ball in his hands, the position of his foot and the strength of his throw. Then gently, he tossed again for the third time.

"Nice!" Yang bellowed promptly the moment the ball was tossed. With the same formation, his body bent slightly while his right foot hit the ball with the perfect timing.

PAAANG!~

The ball swiftly landed at their back corner and before Rino and his team realized it, they were already one point behind the team they called noobs a while ago. Two aces and they could not even react on time!

"Yes!"

"Another score!" Yang and Chiko shouted cheerfully.

"No Way! Another luck!?" Kurt insisted while gritting his teeth.

"Of course it was luck. How could we get aced two times right away?" John agreed as well but the face of Rino, their Tekong, was contorted with a complicated look. His faced showed great disbelief at the performance of the school janitor.

"It was not luck. That bastard janitor has been hiding his skills all this time!" Rino thought, but he refused to tell both John and Kurt, afraid that they might get pressured just like him.

"Does he think he could fool me? Does he think he could intimidate me with just that?" Rino glanced at the weird-looking trio who are doing their awkward cheer to each other. He grabbed the rolling ball and threw it to John.

"Relax, we got this. Just do your thing and let's crush them." Rino said while giving John and Kurt a wicked smile.

"..."

"you mean..."

Rino nods his head. They both immediately knew what that smile means, they too started smiling.