The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Yuki had the corner of his lips twitched in annoyance as he stared at the girl in front of him who didn\'t even try to address what happened. Hell, her presence alone here was a big question, since Yuki was sure he didn\'t invite Kato to come.

"So, what happened here?" He finally asked.

"Well, it started with Hiko-kun accusing Hina-chan of stealing something, which to her credit she admitted to, but it was in retaliation for something he stole last week. That set them off and Hiko was losing, so he roped Taro into it, and it backfired because he decided to take them both on and now, it is a free-for-all."

"Well, at least they are using pillows here," Riku commented, catching one of the small pillows that flew into his head. "And why are you here? No offense, but Kobayashi has never told me you are a regular visitor here."

"Of course, he has never told you, I bet he himself didn\'t know about it." Kato rolled her eyes. "Aiko-obaasan asked me to watch the children whenever she has to work at Grandma\'s place, and considering I don\'t even have anything to do at home, I accepted her request. Poor the children, having to rely on strangers because their big brother is neglecting them for volleyball." She sniffed.

Yuki just rolled his eyes, knowing the girl was teasing him. "So, Obaasan is still in Sachi-baasan\'s place?" He asked instead.

"Yup!" Kato nodded. "Anyway, I banned them all from expanding the mess into the kitchen, so, do you want to go there?"

Yuki and Riku nodded at the same time, didn\'t want to get involved in the pillow fight. They eased their way around the melee and walked into the kitchen, just to be greeted by the savory smell that tickled their nostril.

"Damn, what are you cooking, Kato-san? It smells amazing." Riku licked his lips hungrily.

"Just a normal curry with normal ingredients, nothing more and nothing else," Kato answered. "And no, Kobayashi-kun, you are not allowed to add anything to it, no matter how healthy you think it is for the kids." She added sharply, catching Yuki who grabbed lettuce from the fridge.

"Why?" Yuki furrowed his brows. "It is healthy and good for the children!"

Kato rolled her eyes in exasperation while muttering, \'That is why the children didn\'t want to go near your food at all.\'

Riku chuckled merrily at Yuki\'s antic, decided to ignore the outrageous thing the glasses boy wanted to add to the food. He stepped forward, wanting to see by himself the curry Kato made. However, he forgot to close the door, and one wild pillow suddenly flew into his head.

*Thud!*

"Oh, no!" One of the children gasped, horrified.

Everyone stopped their doing and stared at the blonde boy too, wanting to see his reaction. Riku looked at the twins with eyes wide open in shock and affront before they narrowed with sheer indignation.

"It is him!" Hina shrieked immediately, throwing the blame on her twin brother.

"Don\'t point at me!" Hiko said, smacking her hand. "You threw it!"

"You ducked!"

*Thwack!*

Everyone stared in horror as an errantly chucked pillow hit Hina clean in the face, knocking the girl over. A silence fell over the area as the children gasped with shock and horror at her being hit and all action stopped immediately.

"What?" Riku chuckled. "If you don\'t want to get the end of it, don\'t start the war!"

Then, the children had this gleam of mischievousness in their eyes as they nodded at each other, and each one suddenly grabbed the pillow on the ground.

"Ready?"

"Wait a second!" Riku widened his eyes when he saw everyone staring at him. "No, don\'t do it! Don\'t do it here!"

"Attack!"

The children threw the pillows and shouted happily, and soon, they chased the yelling and laughing Riku out of the orphanage with pillows in their hands. Yuki and Kato followed after them sedately, shaking their head and smiling fondly at the sight of another pillow duel forming between Riku and the children.

"I forgot that he is also a child, sometimes," Yuki muttered lowly.

"Yeah." Kato nodded in agreement. "But at least, it is never boring around him, right?"

-0-

"So, let me get this straight," Aiko smiled amusedly. "There is a pillow fight broke here, and somehow, you were dragged into this mess and managed to turn the game to everyone against you, and the moment it was over and everyone finished their dinner, they were too exhausted and go back to their room immediately, is that right?"

Riku\'s face flushed in embarrassment while Yuki snorted at him, muttering, "Children, all of them."

"Are you saying I am a child?" Riku glared at him.

"Yes, you are a child!" Yuki snarked back. "And you have proven it earlier!"

"Children, all of them." Kato rolled her eyes, just to receive the glare from two boys.

Aiko giggled merrily as she saw their antic, smiling fondly at the three of them. "I am glad you can be friends with Yuki-kun." She said softly, gaining their attention. "Honestly, from the first time he stepped into this orphanage, Yuki-kun was and still is the most responsible child here. He is so mature that I am afraid he wouldn\'t have friends in the new environment.

I am glad I was proven to be wrong."

For a moment, silence befell that small kitchen, only the sound of the clock tickling could be heard echoing all over the room. They stared at each other awkwardly, didn\'t know how to handle such an emotional conversation like this.

"Eh…" Riku rubbed his neck awkwardly. "You don\'t need to say that, Obaasan. I should be apologizing for dragging him into the club, making it harder for him to help you take care of the others."

"So, you know what you did is wrong, huh?" Yuki muttered, eliciting a glare from his friend.

"Why, you?!"

"Anyway!" Kato coughed, trying to break the fight before it could start. "Why are you here, Agostini-kun?" She asked the blonde boy.

"Oh, yeah!" Riku suddenly remembered something. "My parents want to invite you to the Hanami festival!"

"Hanami festival?" They all stared at each other.

Hanami festival was the time when people took their time to go for an outdoor activity in the warm temperature after a long winter while enjoying the Sakura flower that started to bloom. It was the festival that happened in every spring season in Japan, and this year was not an exception.

"Isn\'t it a bit late, though?" Kato asked hesitantly. "I mean, we are in the middle of May, already. People had already started to prepare for summer, so is there a place that still holds a festival right now?"

"Don\'t worry! We can do that in my home! You will be amazed by the view of it!" Riku exclaimed excitedly. Yuki had a sweat drop on his face, somehow forgetting that the blonde boy came from a wealthy family.

"Just go." Aiko smiled, encouraging them both. "You haven\'t had the chance to do that this year, right? This will be the best opportunity to relax."

"Why are you saying like you wouldn\'t go with us, Obaasan?" Riku tilted his head confusedly. "You and the other children are also getting the invitation!"

"Really?!" Aiko was taken aback.

"Yes! You should come too!" Riku gave a pleading look. "Come on, this would be fun! The children would be able to enjoy it too!"

Being subjected to those puppy-dog eyes from the boy and not having a good reason to refuse the invitation, those three finally relented, smiling helplessly before nodding their head. "Okay, you got us here," Yuki said. Then, he frowned before asking, "Wait, you haven\'t told us when, right?"

"Yosh!" Riku clenched his fists excitedly. "Don\'t worry about the date. It is on Sunday, two days after our game against Kyoei Gakuen, so it will not disturb our preparation. Akira-jiisan will also be there too, so you don\'t need to worry." He bounced excitedly on his seat. "Man, I cannot wait for that day to come!"

Yuki and Kato smiled fondly as they saw Riku\'s excitement. This bubbly personality was probably why his friend had so many friends in the school. Still, it would be a lie if they weren\'t interested in the invitation, especially in the prospect of meeting Riku\'s parents. In their mind, a question suddenly popped there.

\'What kind of people can raise such a bundle of joy like Riku?\'