The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Well, you cannot blame me for doubting you! You look so different here!" Hiko retorted, defending himself. The other children also nodded in agreement.

"Well, yeah, I cannot blame you here." Riku hummed slightly. "Anyway, this is my father\'s idea. Even though I want the event today to be more casual, he insists that I use formal attire, and he always loves a traditional one. That is why everyone inside would also wear the similar attires. However, don\'t worry, and don\'t be intimidated. No one will bite you there."

Yuki could only chuckle wryly when he heard Riku\'s nonchalant warning. Of course, it was easy for Riku to say that since he knew all the people inside like the back of his hand. However, for him and the others, they felt awkward and nervous right now.

Having to enter a strange, unfamiliar building knowing that the people inside would wear something formal while they seemed to be so casual was pretty intimidating.

"Riku-chan, have your friends arrived already?" Suddenly, a soft, angelic voice came from behind, calling the blonde boy. All the children couldn\'t help but peek, wanting to know the source of that nice voice that just knocked softly into his ears.

"Yes, Mom! They are here!" Riku shouted back. Then, he turned at him and the children and said, "My parents would be here. Let me introduce them to you. Don\'t worry, even though my father looks intimidating, he just doesn\'t like to communicate for too long. However, he is still a nice person."

His words only made the children more nervous. Suddenly, they were busy with themselves, some tried to fix their already neat hair while the others looked at their clothes to see if some dirt was still stuck in there. They all thought the same, didn\'t want to give a bad first impression toward Riku\'s parents.

When the parents finally appeared though, Yuki was stunned by their appearance.

The mother – or so that was what Yuki thought – looked so young, that if Riku didn\'t give a hint that it was his mother, Yuki would mistake her for the blondie\'s older sister.

Even though, unlike Riku, she had dark hair, but the shape of her face, the eyebrows, the jawline, and the way her eyes were twinkling when she talked with the others were so similar to her son that it made Yuki believe they were twins. Also, she had the liveliness and the hint of mischievousness in her eyes that Yuki was so familiar with and made him glance at Riku for a second.

\'Wow, he inherits so much from his mother.\' Yuki thought.

As for the father, Yuki knew instantly that he was a foreigner. He had a high face and prominent nose, something that wasn\'t common in Japan. Moreover, his blonde hair also told a lot about his identity. However, it seemed the mother sucked all the liveliness inside him, as his expression was cold as if he was about to scold someone.

All in all, Riku was the perfect mixture of both his parents.

"Mom, Dad, these are my friends. This is Yuki, and that is Kato. They both are my classmates. As for the other, that is Aiko-obaasan, the matron of the orphanage, and the children are Hiko-kun, Hina-kun, Taro-kun…." Riku introduced them one by one, with all of the children nodding nervously at the couples when they heard their name was called.

"And everyone, they are my parents. She is my mom, Misaki Agostini, and he is my father, Andrea Agostini."

"Nice to meet you!" All of them bowed at each other in unison.

After finishing the formality, it seemed the mother couldn\'t hold it anymore. He rushed forward to Mei who was the smallest and suddenly hugged her – and the children closest to her – and gushed immediately.

"Oh, you all are so cute!" She squealed, frightening the children around. "I have already heard so much about you all from Riku-chan, but this is the first time we have met, right? I cannot believe my dear Riku-chan would make a lot of friends so quickly!" She pinched the children\'s cheeks full of excitement.

Yuki couldn\'t help but have a sweat drop on his face, then thought, \'Yeah, she is Riku\'s mother, right? There is no doubt about it.\'

Experience tales at mvl

After watching his wife greeting the children warmly, the man of the house suddenly coughed, gaining everyone\'s attention. "Misaki, it is rude to keep them outside. Let\'s go to the backyard."

"Oh, yeah! Sorry, Dear." Riku\'s mom smiled apologetically at her husband. Then, she turned back to the children and asked, "So, who is excited to see the cherry blossom here?"

It seemed the hook she threw was successful in gaining the children\'s attention. They all perked up immediately with their expression lightened up at the mention of cherry blossom.

"Me, Misaki-neechan!"

"Hey, don\'t be rude!"

"Yeah! She is so mature that you have to call her Obaasan!"

"But she is so beautiful, though! She should be a neechan, right?"

Hearing the children squabbling over how to praise her only made Misaki happier. However, she still brought everyone to the backyard, which left them speechless once again. The lush green backyard looked alive with the gentle rustle of leaves and the sweet scent of blooming cherry blossoms.

In the center of the garden, a majestic tree stood tall, its branches heavy with delicate pink petals that swayed softly in the breeze. A small stone lantern, adorned with delicate carvings of cherry blossoms, sat at the base of the tree, casting a warm and inviting glow over the serene landscape.

This was the scenery Yuki thought would only come from a fairy tale.

While they were admiring the scenery in front of them, Misaki herself was found communicating with the maid outside of the yard. A few minutes later, a full course of meals suddenly arrived, with a lot of delicacies from Italy and Japan in it. The smell was so good that even if they had done their breakfast before going there, their stomach made a rumbling sound again in front of everyone.

"I know you will be hungry, so I have already prepared the food for everyone here." Misaki giggled a little at the embarrassed look of the children. "Well, come on! Sit down and enjoy the food! No need to be shy, okay?"