"Pardon me, but what?" Yuki blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to process what he just heard.
It was a new day for him in the school when in the break time, Yuki was called suddenly, being asked to meet Akira in the teacher's office. When he was there, he was greeted by not just the volleyball coach, but also by the two foreigners he was familiar with, Mattheo and Maria.
Although Yuki was confused as to why the couples were there too, he still greeted them politely, especially since they had helped him deal with the conflict against the senior team a few days ago. To his surprise though, it wasn't Akira who asked for his presence, but Mattheo and Maria, and those two offered something big that he didn't see coming even in his wildest imagination.
"You heard us right, Kobayashi-kun," Maria said softly. "We want to sponsor your education, at least until you finish high school."
Yuki's mind went blank as if he was just hit by a lightning in this broad daylight. Question after question kept popping up inside his head, like was this really happening? Did he just mishear their words? Was this some sort of a new prank?
But as he turned around to face the couple, their expression told him that it was not a joke.
"Why, though?" Out of all the questions spinning around his head, this was what finally came out of Yuki's mouth.
Mattheo and Maria glanced at each other for a second before Maria patted his shoulder reassuringly, then to Yuki's surprise, she hugged him fondly. "I have heard about your circumstance from Akira-sensei, and I am so sorry about your family. No child should have ever suffered that."
Yuki's body stiffened for a moment as he tried to send a glare at Akira. While he was grateful for the Silvestri family's help, they weren't that close for him to be comfortable sharing this story. The volleyball coach himself turned his head away quickly, walking away from his spot as he didn't want to take any responsibility for what he told the Silvestri couple.
"That still doesn't explain why you want to help me, though." He murmured lowly.
Mattheo sighed, taking over the conversation. "Have you ever heard how I met Akira-sensei for the first time?" He asked.
Yuki shook his head quietly, didn't quite understand the relation between Mattheo's past and this situation. And honestly, he didn't even care. Outside of the last volleyball game when they were teammates with each other, the only time Yuki exchanged conversation with him was a night beforehand, and their conversation had never touched anything personal there. Let alone how Mattheo met Akira, Yuki didn't even know how old the Italian man was until the commentator of the game announced it publicly.
Still, out of respect for people who had a good heart to help him – and wanted to do more here, he decided to listen to Mattheo's story.
"Well, to put it shortly, my situation in the past was so close to yours right now it gave me a shiver when I heard it from Akira-sensei, an orphan desperate to help keep his new home alive."Mattheo hummed. Yuki was surprised to hear the Italian man was an orphan since teenager like him. "I will not go down into the competition of who has it worse, since while I was lucky enough my orphanage still received funds from the government, there were too many children to be fed, forcing some of the oldest ones to drop out of their school. And as you can guess, I was one of those unlucky children."
Maria patted his shoulder when she saw her husband started to get emotional.
"Thank you, Honey." Mattheo smiled gratefully at his wife, his voice was thick. "Anyway, after that, I spent the three years I should have been in high school working hard in construction, gathering every penny I could to help keep my home alive. At that time, I didn't mind working crazily like that, thinking as long as it could help my orphanage, everything would be okay. It wasn't until that time when I was invited to play in a volleyball game between my company and the neighborhood there that my fortune changed. That was the first time I met Akira-sensei."
-A little flashback-
"Oi, Little Mattheo! Someone from the neighborhood wants to talk to you!" One of his co-workers called him after the game.
"Stop calling me little, Fabio!" He retorted back, eliciting laughter from his co-workers. Still, Mattheo was curious about who wanted to meet him. And when he saw the person, it would be a lie if he said he wasn't surprised.
'Oriental face? An Asian?' He mused inwardly. Still, he offered a handshake to the man.
"I am Mattheo. I heard you want to talk to me?" He said the last part in a questioning tone.
"Yes, my name is Akira, and as you might think in the beginning, I am Japanese." Akira chuckled richly when he saw Mattheo's embarrassed face after he read his mind like an open book. "As for why I am here… Here, let me show you my business card."
Mattheo furrowed his brows when he saw a small card just given to him, reading it slowly.
Akira Shinji
Volleyball Scout
"I… Don't understand…" Mattheo said slowly, still confused about what was going on.
"Well, I saw the game you have just played, and I could see a potential to be a great volleyball player inside you. I myself am a scout working for Farmitalia Catania, and I am here to invite you to join the trial for the team in the next three days. What do you think?"
-End of the flashback-
"That was the meeting that changed my life." Mattheo sighed as he finished his story. "Honestly, when I heard about your story for the first time, I saw a lot of myself in you. We've got the same drive to keep our new home alive even if we have to sacrifice ourselves in the process. And while I am happy now as a retired volleyball player, I regretted not going to high school when I was young, and while I don't think your case would be like mine, I don't want you to have no choice if the worst situation came."
Yuki just stood there, frozen in a mix of shock, bewildered, and maybe a little of gratitude. To get offered like this meant Mattheo could really understand his situation because even though Yuki had never told anyone about it, he was ready to drop out of the school any time the orphanage was in a bad situation. Still, he knew things weren't that easy.
"What is the catch?"He asked quietly.
"We don't ask too much from you," Maria spoke softly. "Just maintain your grade to the top ten in your class and maybe help Akira-sensei with his team. Oh, and I demand you to contact us on a weekly basis so that we can at least know you are okay."
Of course, they could just give everything freely. However, if Yuki was anything like Mattheo in the past, they both knew he would be too proud to receive it, so by demanding something, they changed everything from a charity to some sort of scholarship, and Yuki appreciated that.
After what felt like an eternity, I managed to find my voice, albeit barely above a whisper. " I... I don't know what to say," I stammered. "This is... this is incredible. I just need a little time to think about it."
It wasn't like he was ungrateful for the offer, but this came too suddenly, overwhelming his rational mind. Fortunately, the couple were kind enough to understand his feelings right now.
"Take all the time you need, Dear. We are not going anywhere. You can talk to your friends or the matron of your orphanage to give you a second thought. Just remember that this offer is open-ended, and you can say no whenever you feel ready." Maria paused, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "But if you're willing to take the leap, we will be here to support you every step of the way."