The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"So, you are finally discharged from the hospital?"

asked a voice from the phone.

"Are you sure there won't be anything wrong with you anymore?"

Yuki felt warmth in his heart when he heard the concerned tone of the woman on the other end of the line. However, he chuckled lightly, knowing her worries were unnecessary.

"Just as you heard from Baasan, Maria-san, I'm okay! It's all just an adrenaline rush—nothing more, nothing less. And you know I can't promise to stay out of trouble, right? It's not like I ask for trouble, after all."

There was a moment of silence, and if Yuki had been able to see the older woman, he would imagine her biting her lip upon realizing his argument was valid. After a few seconds, he finally heard a deep sigh as the woman said,

"You're right. But please, be careful, okay? I thought I was having a heart attack when Aiko-san informed us about the incident."

"Yeah, I understand. I'll be more careful, so don't worry about me, Maria-san."

It was nighttime, and after playing with Aiko, all the children had already fallen asleep, leaving Yuki alone in the kitchen, accompanied only by the moonlight. He could still see the light from Aiko's office, indicating that the matron was still working and hadn't taken a break yet. He decided to wait until she left her office while he called the Silvestri family to update them about his condition.

"So, how are Bella-chan and Ella-chan? Are they still arguing about whether to go camping or swimming for the summer?"

Yuki asked, trying to change the topic.

"Oh, them? They're in the middle of a fight right now, and I don't know what to do,"

Maria sighed.

Yuki raised his eyebrows slightly, surprised that the twins were fighting. As far as he could remember, they had always been close and did everything together, so it must be something significant if they were fighting like this.

"Mind if I ask what the problem is?"

he inquired, intending to help her. Unfortunately, what she said next was beyond his expertise.

"They're fighting over a boy!"

Maria moaned.

"They're at the age when they start developing crushes, and unfortunately, since they've done almost everything together, it's no surprise that they like the same boy! That poor boy decided to run away when Ella and Bella asked him to choose between them, and now they're blaming each other for making him uncomfortable. So, I grounded them both, and they won't leave their room until dinner is ready if they know what's good for them."

Yuki could only smile wryly, too speechless to respond. If he didn't even have a girlfriend, what made him think he could give advice about teenage relationships?

"What about Mario-san? Where is he?"

Yuki decided to change the topic once again.

"Oh, him? He's busy with the local volleyball team, starting to take over their youth team. Good for him! Mario was starting to lose his patience by doing nothing at home,"

she said cheerfully.

They chatted for a while, jumping from one topic to another. However, they didn't touch on the volleyball subject. Even though Yuki had shown interest in volleyball, Maria didn't want to push him to follow in her or her husband's footsteps; she wanted him to explore his interests before deciding what he wanted to do in the future.

After a while, Maria finally ended the call, leaving Yuki alone in the kitchen. Fortunately, it wasn't long before Aiko emerged from her office holding something in her hand. "Here," she offered.

Yuki raised his eyebrows slightly, and they went higher when he realized what she had handed him. "A mug full of hot chocolate in the middle of summer? Really?"

"Yes. It's good for keeping your body warm," the matron replied firmly.

They stared at each other for a moment before Yuki shrugged and began enjoying the drink in front of him. Since Aiko had prepared this for him, who was he to refuse?

"So, you just had a call with Maria-san?" Aiko asked casually.

"Yes," Yuki nodded. "I needed to inform her and Mario-san about my condition," he said softly.

"Good," the woman nodded in approval. "Even though your school doesn't have a volleyball team anymore, it doesn't mean you can slack off. Remember, even though the money isn't much for them, it's a lifesaver for you. So, make sure you always make them proud, okay?"

-0-n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The next two days were the weekend, so it passed quickly as Yuki only spent his time at the orphanage. It had been a week since the incident, yet he was still not allowed to join the training sessions with the Tokyo Thunder. Since the midterm exams would be held in a week or two, rather than do nothing, he decided to review the lessons he missed during his time in the hospital to keep up with the class.

Speaking of school, Yuki couldn't help but frown, knowing he would be in the middle of the rumor mill again. The only comfort he had was that it was due to something positive he did, not just a bad thing spreading with malicious intent like before. Still, if he could choose, Yuki would rather have a quiet school life, as everything that had happened since the beginning of the term was a bit too much for him.

"To think that all I want is a quiet year. Oh, the irony," he chuckled wryly.

"What are you laughing at, Yuki-nii?" a pair of big, round eyes stared at him, full of curiosity.

"Nothing, Mai-chan. Just thinking about school," he smiled, picking the little girl up from the ground and placing her on his lap. "So, what are you doing here? Where are the others, by the way?"

Mai's cheeks puffed in annoyance—something Yuki found adorable and had to resist the urge to pinch it—before she said, "They're busy searching for a beetle, but it's so disgusting! I don't want to get near them while they're playing with the bugs!"

Yuki couldn't help but chuckle, gently rubbing her hair. What Mai said was probably the most common thing shared by boys all over Japan during the summer—they would go outside and search for rhinoceros beetles to make them fight each other. He knew this was considered animal cruelty in other countries, but it wasn't like he could stop the boys from doing so.

Before he could say anything though, his phone rang again, and Yuki couldn't help but sigh. He knew that if he answered the call, his peaceful weekend would be over instantly. However, after thinking for a moment, his curiosity won out, and he finally accepted the call.

"Yes?" he said in the driest tone he could muster to convey his annoyance. However, the girl on the other end of the phone didn't seem to care about his tone; he could hear her shouting in excitement. "We got this! We finally found a way to chase away the Maiko Group from our school!"