The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Ping!

Ping!

Ping!

Yuki groaned weakly as he rolled over in bed, his hand scrabbling around to find the source of the annoying sound that had been ringing for a while. After finally managing to reach his phone, he muted the notification that had interrupted his sleep. He stretched for a moment, shaking his head as he tried to regain his consciousness. Somehow, the room felt a bit strange yet very familiar to him.

"Ah, I forgot that I am back at the orphanage already," Yuki muttered as the realization sank in.

It was the day after camp had ended, and somehow, Yuki had thought he was still sleeping in Konan's dormitory. Not that he missed that dorm, of course, especially considering how he had to share a room with three other players. While he didn't mind that, he still liked having his own privacy here, and having three roommates definitely made that impossible.

"Urgh… I really miss having a room of my own. Who thought it was a good idea to cram four teenagers into the same room for a week? Hell, even in a small orphanage like this, we have a room for each child," he grumbled, annoyed.

He shook his head, trying to banish the thought. It was still pretty early, and the glasses-wearing boy didn't want to start the day with negativity. After picking up the glasses from his desk, he opened his phone again and groaned when he checked the time.

"5:30? Really? Who is messaging me this early?" That was when he saw that someone had invited him to a new chat group. "Campers? Really?" He raised his eyebrows slightly at the group's silly name.

Haruo: camp_picture.rar

Haruo: These are the pictures taken by everyone during the camp. If you want to use them to brag on your social media, feel free.

Yuki raised his eyebrows slightly at that, realizing that this was the group for the players from the camp yesterday. He checked the group's members and found that almost everyone was already there. "So, that's why he asked for everyone's contact information yesterday," he murmured to himself, realizing.

Ping!

A new message suddenly arrived, and when Yuki checked his phone, he saw the others had already replied.

Aizawa: Isn't it a bit early to chat?

Agostini: Hypocrite. You've already changed your profile picture to one of the pics in the file.

Koda: Oh! Busted!

Haruo is typing…

Yuki didn't pay too much attention to the chat; he just noticed Aizawa's profile picture that Riku mentioned before. He immediately recognized the picture from the game between Team A and Konan High, as he was also captured in the background. Whoever took the photo was professional, considering how they caught Aizawa's fierce expression just as he was about to spike the ball.

Intrigued, Yuki extracted the file to see the photos documented in the folder sent by Haruo. Fortunately, while his phone was a cheap model, it still had the feature to extract files, allowing him to view them without any issues. As he browsed through the collection, it wasn't hard for the glasses-wearing boy to admit that the photographer was indeed skilled. Every picture captured the players' emotions, telling a story to the audience without them even having to be there. Hell, there was even one pictures of him roaring after he scored a point from his serve. The picture was so epic that he saved it for his phone's wallpaper.

As he scrolled through the collection, someone knocked on the door. Yuki frowned for a moment, confused about who would visit him this early. Having no idea, he shrugged before calling out a bit louder, "Come in!"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Right after the words left Yuki's mouth, with a quiet countdown of "Three, two, one!" whoever was in front of the door flung it wide open, bursting into his room like a whirlwind of giggles and energy.

"Yuki-nii! I miss you!" one of the children exclaimed, her eyes shining brightly as she hugged him tightly.

"Yes, Yuki-nii! We miss you!" the other child chimed in while clinging to him. "Why did it take so long for you to arrive yesterday? We waited for so long, you know?" She pouted slightly.

Yuki could only awkwardly rub their backs, as it was impossible for him to explain that the reason he came back late yesterday was that the camp suddenly decided to hold a barbecue party before they left. He hadn't realized the children would wait for him until late at night.

"Okay, that's my fault! I'm sorry about that," he admitted. "Anyway, what are you doing up so early? Shouldn't you still be asleep in your rooms?" he asked the two girls in front of him.

"We can't sleep!" one of the girls answered quickly. The others nodded in confirmation, supporting her argument. "I've been awake since four!" she added, proudly displaying her four tiny fingers as if it were something to be proud of.

"Oh?" Yuki arched an eyebrow slightly. "Did you wake up your sister, Mai-chan?" he asked, trying to sound stern.

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"What?! No!" the little girl, Mai, immediately denied the accusation, looking affronted. "Hina-nee even woke up earlier than me!"

"Yeah, Yuki-nii! I woke up at three!" the older girl confirmed.

They engaged in a brief staring contest, with Yuki trying to ascertain whether they were lying. After a while, he finally sighed, deciding to trust the girls. "Well, since you say so, I'll believe you for now. Just don't let me catch you staying up late, okay?" he warned them both.

"Yes, Yuki-nii!"

"Now, how about you go back to your room first? I haven't taken a shower since yesterday, so I'd like to do that before meeting everyone." He laughed at the sight of the two girls wrinkling their noses at him in disgust.

"Ew, you stink, niichan!"

"Yeah! Go away!"

Without a second thought, they spun around and sprinted back to their room, their giggles trailing behind them. Yuki could only shake his head fondly before getting up from his bed.

It was still early in the morning, with the sun half above the horizon. However, the air was already quite warm, as summer wasn't over yet.

After taking a quick shower and tidying his bed, Yuki checked his phone one more time before heading down to the kitchen to greet everyone. He ignored the new group chat filled with 38 new messages, knowing that Riku would fill him in if there was anything important. He raised an eyebrow slightly when he saw a particular message from an unexpected person pop up at the top of the list.

"Hey, Kobayashi-kun! This is Arina Sugawara. I got your contact from Kato-chan. Do you mind if I come over with her later?"

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