The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

\'Ordinary my ass. No ordinary family should be able to charter three luxurious cars just to pick up the children from an ordinary orphanage and have a private driver who called him a young master, right?\'

Yeah, by now, it was clear that those cars in front of the building came from Riku to pick them up. The old man explained his identity as the Agostini family\'s butler and he was here to pick them up. They all were surprised when they heard that, thinking it was a bit too exaggerated. Before this, they thought they would have to walk and maybe use the local train if necessary to go to Riku\'s place.

However, all the arrangements they made could be thrown into the trash can now.

\'Damn, I know he is wealthy, but this is ridiculous.\' Yuki shook his head as he entered the car. \'This is something that only rich people in the movie could enjoy. There is no way his parents are as ordinary as he is talking about. What kind of secret does he have?\'

While Yuki was still cursing his friend inwardly, the others gathered quickly to arrange how they should go. Since the car could only fit five passengers including the driver, they had to think quickly about how to separate themselves. After a few moments, it was decided that there should be at least one adult in each car, with Aiko, Yuki, and Kato acting as one.

In the end, he was going to one of the cars with the twins Hina and Hiko and Aina, the oldest girl in the orphanage.

"Wow, this is so beautiful!"

The three of them had their eyes shining brightly as they marveled at the interior design of the car. The driver\'s seat was wrapped in soft, supple leather, and the rear seats were trimmed in rich, velvety fabric, providing ample space for five passengers to stretch out and relax.

The cabin was illuminated by ambient lighting and accented with subtle wood trim, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere that made long road trips feel like a pampering experience.

Yuki himself was in awe too, never thought even in his dream that he could sit in this kind of car.

\'Damn, what kind of people are his parents?\'

By now, Yuki couldn\'t wait to meet Riku\'s parents. Even with this kind of wealth, he had never seen Riku flaunt it over the other people, and with how easy-going his personality was, the blonde boy never had the aura of a son of a super wealthy family. So, yeah, he was curious about what kind of people his friend\'s parents were to be able to raise such a fine young man like Riku.

"We have arrived already, Yuki-san." The driver\'s voice snapped Yuki from his thought. He didn\'t realize he had been dozing off for the entire journey. Fortunately, the children he was responsible for were busy admiring the car and not making trouble.

When he got off the car and saw the house though, Yuki felt he was slapped straight on his face. He thought he had an idea of how wealthy Riku was, but after seeing the building in front of him, he knew he was in a rude awakening.

The building in front of him wasn\'t an ordinary rich people\'s house. It was the perfect combination of modern architecture and the elegant touch of traditional Japanese style, giving off the majestic vibe as it was an aristocrat\'s house. Well, instead of a house, the building should be called a mansion because of how massive it was.

"Wow…" The children next to Yuki also stared at the majestic building in front of them in awe. "Does Riku-nii really live here?" Hiko asked, starting to feel nervous. While usually, he was close to Riku as the blonde boy would always accompany him drawing or doing something artsy, that was when he didn\'t have the \'rich people\' aura.

Now when they were in front of Riku\'s house, they couldn\'t help but feel intimidated.

"Don\'t worry, even though Riku lives here, he is still the same goofy boy who helps you color your draw. Nothing will change." Yuki patted his back – well, his wheelchair, technically – reassuringly. Hiko nodded blankly, then gave him a weak smile that said he was okay.

A few minutes later, the other cars finally arrived, and the other children also had a similar reaction. They stared at the massive building in front of them in awe, not knowing how to react.

However, Aiko and Kato\'s reactions were not as Yuki expected.

While he could see the sign of nervousness on the matron\'s face, she still maintained her composure, looking elegant as if she was used to coming to this scene. That was when Yuki realized he didn\'t even know Aiko\'s background story and her past at all.

\'Maybe, after this, I could ask about her youth.\' Yuki thought.

As for Kato, the girl blinked for a moment, then before he could even ask a question, she suddenly muttered lowly, "It is way more ordinary than I thought."

Yuki twitched his mouth speechlessly at her reaction. With how easy it was for him to exchange conversations with her, Yuki often forgot that Kato was just like Riku, a child from a wealthy family. Of course, she would be used to this scene, already.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Aiko suddenly asked.

Yeah, the three cars stopped in front of the gate of the building and left them alone there without even saying anything. Now, they didn\'t even know what they should do. At first, Yuki flipped the phone quickly from his pocket and wanted to reach Riku.

However, before he could even do that, the blonde boy appeared from the front door with an appearance that was so contrast to his usual goofy one. The vibrant colors of the kimono he wore seemed to shimmer in the sunlight, and the way Riku\'s eyes sparkled with confidence was unlike anything Yuki had ever seen before.

His jaw dropped as he took in the sight of his friend, who looked like he had just stepped out of a traditional Japanese painting, and he couldn\'t help but wonder what had happened to the goofy, carefree blonde boy he knew so well before.

It seemed everyone also thought the same, as all the children looked at him as if Riku was a stranger they had never met before. It was finally Hiko who broke the silence around, asking what was inside everyone\'s head.

"Riku-nii, is that really you?"