"Kato-neechan! You are here!"
"Riku-niichan too! Come inside!"
"Are you going to cook for us again?"
Yuki let out a deep sigh as he saw two friends of his come to the orphanage once again, greeted by the happy squeals from the children. Not that he was unhappy with their presence, of course, but he knew other than visiting and bringing the stuff he requested, they wanted to talk about his announcement two days ago. And honestly, he had a hunch this was going to be a topic he had to repeat over and over again for the next few days.
Still, Yuki was grateful those two were kind enough to spare their time to visit him, even bringing books, food, and some toys for the children here.
"What do you bring here, Kato-neechan?" Hina asked, taking a peek at the bag Kato carried. Hiko, her twin brother also wanted to peek, yet he couldn't see anything from his wheelchair.
Noticing their curiosity, Kato smiled before putting her bag on the floor and took out the things inside one by one. The children's eyes shone the moment they saw what was inside. The girls squealed happily when they noticed soft stuffed animals while the boys grabbed the robot stuff handed to them with delight.
"I want the dolphin one!"
"Hey! That's mine!"
"I want the bear one! It is so cute!"
"Look over here! This mecha is awesome!"
The room was filled with children's squabbles as everyone wanted to show off what they just got. Riku smiled for a moment before noticing the two children who weren't as enthusiastic as the others and waved at them. Curious, those two kids came to Riku just to find out they also had something prepared for them.
"Well, I know you are already in middle school and wouldn't be as interested as the others, so I brought something different for you." The blonde boy grinned brightly at them. "Fortunately, Kobayashi said that you both have the same interest, so it is easier for me to prepare this. Here!" He gave another bag to Taro and Aina, the two children who were always responsible for their little siblings whenever Yuki was not around the orphanage.
Those two had their eyes shining brightly the moment they saw what was inside. It wasn't just a toy or something similar that their siblings received, but full of books and some drawing tools that looked pretty new. Megumi took a look at the books there and shook her head in exasperation when she read the title.
"'How to draw a manga'? Really?"
"Hey, Kobayashi said they are interested in it!" Rik defended himself. "And it is not a bad thing to have a hobby! They like it, right?"
"Um!" Taro nodded eagerly, his eyes were locking in the drawing tools in his hand. "Thank you, Riku-nii!"
"Yes! Thank you, Riku-nii!" Aina echoed the sentiment before they both were busy with their package.
Yuki could only shake his head helplessly, yet the big grin on his face told his two friends that he was pleased with the children's reaction. "Thank you for helping me buy all of this, you two." He said it with a genuine tone.
"Bah! Why are you so polite?" Riku waved his hand, dismissing his gratitude nonchalantly. "We bought most of it with your money, after all. Kato and I just added a little more for the children."
Yeah, even though it was Riku and Kato who brought the packages, they did it at Yuki's request. Yesterday was his first time receiving his salary, and he was excited to buy his siblings a gift to liven up the orphanage. Still, since he didn't know where to buy it, he asked his two friends who were kind enough to even contribute too.
"Are you not afraid you will spoil them too much?" Kato asked teasingly, still watching the children playing with the new stuff animatedly.
"Spoil them too much?" Yuki snorted. "I don't have to worry about that. In fact, I want to do that someday. God knows they have already suffered enough up to now."
The atmosphere turned somber instantly at the children's situation right now. All these children were orphaned after the earthquake disaster two months ago, and some even had permanent injuries that would haunt them for the rest of their lives. And to make it worse, not even one child here was a native Tokyo, having to live in a small orphanage that didn't even get funds from the government as they had to survive with so little they had days after day while keep thriving for a better future life.
That was a messed-up situation that even full-grown adults wouldn't be able to survive easily.
"So, are you ready to go?" Riku asked.
"Sure." Yuki nodded, grabbing his ransel before turning his attention to the two oldest kids here. "Taro, Aina, I will go out with them first, keep your eyes on the others and don't let anyone play outside until Aiko-obaasan arrives okay?"
"Yes, Yuki-nii!" The two kids relied, yet they didn't even glance at him.
Yuki sighed helplessly, yet still glad that the others were busy with their new stuff. While the children were always good and obedient, he knew it was hard for those between the ages of 7 to 12 to just stay at home without anything to entertain them. Yuki knew about it from his experience in the past, that was why he bought them so many things the moment he received his first salary.
And now, with the children busy inside, he could go out to buy the thing he had already had his eyes on for the last few days. Together with Riku and Kato, they walked for about twenty minutes to the Shinjuku district, probably the most crowded place in Tokyo, and went to one of the stores there with its name written big on the top of it.
NTT Docomo.
"Oi, Agostini, are you sure the price here is within my budget?" Yuki asked hesitantly, getting intimidated by how fancy the store was.
"Don't worry, I have already checked it beforehand. Come on!" He waved his hands, asking Yuki and Kato to follow him.
Those three entered the store together, greeted by sleek devices and shiny screens being shown on the display case. Yuki gulped, a bit nervous looking at so many phones here that the price was something he could never afford in his life. While glancing around curiously, he also walked cautiously, didn't want to have any accidents that would bring him to his grave within a second.
Noticing his awkward walk, Kato giggled before saying, "No need to be afraid, Kobayashi-kun, the display case here is bulletproof, so no accident will be able to knock it down."
Yuki blushed, embarrassed at getting caught by Kato. He turned away, decided to change his focus on the shiny phones in front of him, looking around to see which kind of phone he could buy today.
Yeah, he was here to buy a phone. It wasn't for the entertainment purpose, of course, but for his convenience to communicate with the others. At first, he thought it wasn't that urgent, seeing the only thing he had to get in touch daily was the volleyball team. But after two weeks of school, he noticed he was always the last one to get the news in the class, and when he asked Riku, he finally realized everyone here was in the same group to share information, and even Handa-sensei was also there.
That was what urged him to buy a phone as soon as possible.
After looking around for a while, Yuki's eyes caught a teal flip phone displayed there, and he didn't hesitate to grab it. While it was the latest model, the price was still within his budget. Still, he cringed a bit when he got the receipt.
'20,000 yen in one go? I hope this is worth the money I spent for.' He murmured lowly.