The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Yuki groaned when he felt something heavy hitting his stomach. He opened his eyes slightly, narrowing them a little, just to see from the window that the sky was still dark outside. Realizing that, he rolled his body toward the other side of the bed, knowing full well it would make whoever sat on his stomach fall.

"Yuki-nii!" He could hear the child was fuming. "Wakey, wakey!"

"Five more minutes…" Yuki groaned.

"No, you cannot sleep again! Come on, wake up!"

Still sleepy, Yuki finally tried his best to regain his consciousness. He blinked his eyes a few times when he saw a chubby face so close to his nose, and after another few seconds, his brain finally recognized the child in front of him.

"Isn\'t it a bit too early to wake up, Mai-chan?" He asked, his voice was still hoarse. "This is Sunday, you know?"

Instead of answering his rhetorical question, the little girl huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest cutely. "Yuki-nii, don\'t tell me you forgot what day is it?"

"Uh… What day is it?" Yuki repeated her question, his brain still running slowly.

"Mou, Yuki-nii! This is Sunday! We are going to go to Riku-nii\'s house!" That was when Yuki finally woke up and remembered Riku\'s invitation.

Yeah, it was Sunday already, and three days had passed since the game against Kyoei Gakuen. Even though he would never admit it loudly, Yuki indeed forgot about the invitation as his mind was so full in the last couple of days. The game he had three days ago seemed to take a toll on him as he still felt the soreness in his body.

"Okay, okay, I will wake up. Please, keep your voice lower, Mai-chan." He coughed, then asked, "Also, can you help me bring a glass of water, please? Thank you." He drank all the water in the glass in one sip, then checked the time on his phone.

"It is still 5:30?" Yuki groaned. "Mai-chan, even Riku would still be on his bed right now."

The girl just scratched her neck sheepishly as she was caught offhandedly. Yuki could only sigh, knowing the girl\'s feelings. It was something he noticed a few days ago, that since he lived here, he had never seen any other children bring their friends over like he always did.

It might be because they were embarrassed by their status as an orphan or because they weren\'t close enough with their friends, but it happened. That was why everyone was so excited whenever his friends came over, and as this would be the first time they got invited to his friend\'s house, they also felt some sort of nervousness.

"Come on, let me wash my face first. I will join you in the kitchen."

Yuki patted the girl\'s head before walking to the bathroom. After finishing his morning routine, he went to the kitchen, just to find Aiko and some of the children were already there.

"Good morning, everyone."

"Morning, Yuki-nii." The children there greeted him back.

"Morning, Yuki-kun." Aiko gave him a small smile. "Want a cup of coffee?"

"Yes, please." Yuki nodded, sighing as he threw his body to the closest seat here. "So, is it a bit too early for anyone here to wake up? Taro-kun, I have never seen you wake up this early in the holiday?" He said casually.

The boy whom he mentioned blushed before saying, "Well, today is the day of Riku-nii\'s invitation. It would be rude if we arrived late."

Yuki chuckled, knowing it was a lie. The time Riku invited them to come over was 11 a.m., and it was still 6 in the morning. However, Yuki took pity and didn\'t expose it, knowing this would make Taro more panic. It seemed the boy was nervous too for today\'s event.

The morning went so slow for the residents of the orphanage. After Aiko finished cooking, they all went to call those who were still in their bed and went to have breakfast together. One hour before the time, Kato arrived too, as they would go together to Riku\'s place.

Yuki\'s heart skipped a bit when he saw the girl\'s appearance. She wore a semi-casual, bright color floral dress that was modest and not revealing, yet still highlighting her beauty pretty well. While Yuki knew Kato was pretty, when he saw it by himself how gorgeous his friend was outside of the school uniform she usually wore, his face flushed red while he turned his head away to avoid her gaze.

Kato who noticed his gaze also blushed, feeling embarrassed. However, maybe because they were familiar with each other already that even when she was embarrassed, she still dared to come forward and tease the boy. "So, cat got your tongue?" She smiled playfully.

Even though Yuki scowled, the appearance of the red-tinted shade on his cheek was enough to contradict it, making Kato giggle a little. When he saw how good the girl was with her attire, he suddenly felt underdressed even with his best trousers and shirt.

"So, how should we go to Riku\'s house?" Yuki coughed, trying to change the topic. "Also, something that we should\'ve considered a long time ago, do any of us know his address?"

Yuki and Kato stared at each other for a second, somehow feeling a bit stupid at that moment. Indeed, one of them should\'ve asked about the address when they were invited, as not knowing the place where they were invited was stupid. However, it completely slipped through their mind, making them feel like idiots.

"Call him! There are still 30 minutes before the invitation time, maybe we could catch the time if we are quick enough!" Kato asked urgently.

"Okay!" Yuki nodded, flipping his phone quickly. The children who saw the panic on their faces started to feel concerned, couldn\'t help but ask.

"What\'s wrong, Yuki-nii?"

"Is there anything we should know before we go?"

Yuki was about to explain when suddenly, he could hear the low yet powerful rumble of a car engine coming from outside of the building. When he took a glance from the windows, his jaws dropped comically when there were three massive, luxurious cars parked there, as if going to pick them up.

Then, from the car on the front, a man with a formal suit suddenly came out, taking off his sunglasses to show his sharp gaze. The children gulped unconsciously, thinking that the man was going to create trouble here. However, surprisingly, the man was polite, giving a bright smile to the children there before turning his head to Yuki and Kato who were still shocked by his appearance.

"Are you both Yuki-san and Kato-san, Riku-sama\'s friends?"