"Urgh…"
As the bright sunlight streamed through the window, Yuki groggily opened his eyes to find himself tangled in a mess of sheets and blankets. He rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the lingering exhaustion that had been plaguing him all week.
The first week of school had been a whirlwind of new classes, unfamiliar faces, endless homework, volleyball club, and a part-time job, and it seemed like his body was still trying to recover from the marathon. Yuki yawned, feeling the dryness of his mouth and the weight of his eyelids, which seemed to be anchored to the pillow. He stretched out his arms, feeling the stiffness in his shoulders and the ache in his head, and slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed.
As he sat there, rubbing his temples, he couldn't help but wonder if this was what they meant by 'adjusting to school life' Aiko had told him about before the term began.
As his gaze drifted across the room, Yuki's eyes landed on the familiar frame on his desk, a cherished reminder of his childhood, and Yuki suddenly chuckled, full of bitterness. "Damn, can time really make me forget all the wounds?" He mumbled to himself.
The photo showed him sitting on his parents' lap, beaming with joy, surrounded by the warm glow of a sunny afternoon. His eyes lingered on the smiling faces, his heart skipping a beat as he felt a pang of nostalgia wash over him. It was a moment frozen in time, one that he cherished deeply, but lately, it had been easy to forget.
The first week of school had been overwhelming, and amidst the chaos of everything, he had started to neglect the memories of his parents. The guilt and shame crept in like a thief in the night, stealing away the joy and warmth he once felt when looking at the photo. Yuki's eyes began to sting as he felt a lump form in his throat.
"Yuki-nii! Are you awake?!" Suddenly, a small, cute voice came knocking on his door excitedly.
Yuki wiped all the traces of tears on his face quickly before shouting. "Come in!" To the little girl outside.
He hated the shakiness he couldn't hide in his voice right now. Fortunately, the girl didn't notice that, jumped excitedly to his bed for a cuddle. She giggled merrily the moment she was under his arms, snuggling closer to his chest.
"You haven't taken a bath, Mei-chan?" Yuki smiled, asking with faux disgust as he pinched his nose playfully.
"No!" The girl, Mei giggled more, shaking her head to make her messy hair wave around. "Aiko-baasan is still preparing for breakfast. The others haven't woken up yet, so I come here!"
Yuki shook his head in exasperation, smiling fondly at the girl. For a moment, gone was all the sadness and the negative feelings inside, replaced by a sense of peace settled over him as the boy kept listening to his little sister babbling about anything.
"Well, since Aiko-obaasan is preparing for the breakfast, what about we give her a hand?"
The girl's doe eyes lightened up as she jumped from his arms and dashed outside quickly. "Sure! Come on, Yuki-nii! Quick!"
The boy chuckled fondly, staring at the girl who was giggling all over the corridor. For a moment, he stared at the picture on his desk once again, and after praying for a moment for his parents, he mumbled, "Sorry, Dad, Mom, I have to go first. But I promise I will bring your favorite later. Bye!"
-0-
"Come on, everyone! Keep moving!"
"Noriyuki, don't stop!"
"Okumura, where is your voice?!"
"Yoshi, one more turn!"
Yuki blinked his eyes in astonishment when he entered the school's gymnasium. Although it was Saturday, all the volleyball team members were there, no one was absent from the morning practice. Under Akira's devilish torture, he saw his senpai keep running and diving forward to save the ball their coach threw in any random direction.
"Oh, Yuki-kun, you are here!" Megumi suddenly noticed his presence and greeted him with a bright smile.
"Good morning to you too, Senpai." Yuki greeted back, yet his eyes were still locked on the court. "Am I late or what?"
"Don't worry, you are on time. Riku-kun hasn't even arrived yet." She reassured him. "This is just Akira-sensei's punishment for their bad performance in the sparring game before. And don't worry, you will be included in this kind of training too in the future if you decide to join the team." She said the last part with a giggle, sending a shiver down his spine.
Yeah, even though Yuki came to the training session, he hasn't joined the team yet. The boy promised to the coach that he would consider it after the first week doing his part-time job and he felt he could adapt to the tight schedule. For now, his status was just a helper and an unofficial member, always ready to fill up the blanks when the team needed it.
"By the way, are you going to Obaasan's house after this?" Megumi suddenly asked.
"Yeah. I promised her I would be there in the evening for at least three hours before going home." Yuki answered casually. Looking at Megumi's meaningful gaze though, he grew suspicious immediately. "Why?" He narrowed his eyes.
"Nothing." The older girl replied immediately, schooling her features to look innocent.
"Don't give me that, Senpai. You are too easy to read." Yuki snorted.
Megumi pouted slightly, slapping his arms playfully. "You are so rude, Yuki-kun." She sniffed. After a while, a smile formed on her face as she explained, "Well, Kato-chan would be here, so I hope you both can have some fun together!"
Yuki groaned immediately after he heard that, and Megumi giggled harder at his reaction. Kato was the name of her little sister who coincidentally also sat behind him in the classroom. She was super shy though, and she would always avoid his gaze even in her grandmother's house. It was super awkward for Yuki whenever he met the girl.
"Oh, Kobayashi-kun, you are already here?" Another voice suddenly greeted him from behind, and when Yuki turned around, he saw Riku yawned widely, wearing a casual attire that enhanced his appearance more.
"You are going to play volleyball or go on a date?" Yuki asked sarcastically.
"What is wrong with my clothes?" Riku asked confusedly when he realized Yuki was talking about what he wore. "It is good and comfortable! It is not my fault that my handsomeness increased ten-fold with just a simple modification like this!"
Yuki rolled his eyes while Megumi giggled once again at Riku's narcissistic comment.
"Oh, you both are here!" Akira finally noticed their presence and greeted them warmly. He furrowed his brows immediately when he saw his nephew's attire. "Are you going for training or a date?"
That was when the giggle from Megumi broke, howled as she held her stomach due to the excessive laugh she had. Riku pouted slightly, unhappy with his uncle's comment. "That's why you don't have any girlfriend until now. You cannot even appreciate a good-fashionable attire at all." He mumbled.
Yuki winced when he noticed Akira heard the blonde boy's mumble. Even if he didn't know his coach's personal life at all, mentioning relationship to a single middle-aged man like this was a low blow. The coach just smiled sweetly at his nephew, yet the dark aura surrounding him was enough to intimidate all the people inside the gym.
"So, which punishment do you want, Riku-kun? Twenty laps of running around the gym or a full set of calisthenic basic workouts with 20 repetitions for every move?"
Riku's face grew pale as he straightened his back, shouting immediately, "I apologize for any offensive comment I made, Ojii-sama! Please, forgive this humble Italian boy for his foolishness!"
Riku had a sweat drop when he saw this, his mind went back to the first training he joined when the pair of uncle and nephew acted like a samurai out of sudden.
"Hmm…" Akira hummed, rubbing his chin gently. "Well, ten laps running around the gym and I will forgive you."
"Yes, Sir! Thank you for your mercy!"
After that, Riku ran immediately to do his punishment, leaving Yuki and Megumi alone with their head coach. Yuki gulped nervously, didn't know what kind of mood the coach had right now. Fortunately, all the dark aura earlier vanished immediately as Akira turned around and looked at him kindly.
"Well, Kobayashi-kun, you can start warming up first while waiting for the others to finish this session. I have to watch the boys first so they wouldn't dare to slack off their training. Megumi-chan, please accompany him for a moment, okay?"
"Yes, Sensei!"
-0-
Twenty minutes later, the physical training session for the senpai was finally over, which coincidentally happened right at the same time as Riku had done his punishment. They sat together in the middle of the court, panting heavily while drinking the water they brought to relieve the dryness inside their throat.
"Man, it's been a long time since we didn't do this," Kaede said with a wry expression. "I have forgotten the despair feeling as the session is about to end! Damn, I am rusty now!"
"That's why Akira-sensei punished us." Yori smiled wryly.
"Would this kind of training be a regular thing?" Yuki suddenly asked.
"Not really. It usually varies from physical, technical, to a game simulation. But Akira-sensei is pissed right now, so the physical torture would be increased for the next week."
They chatted with each other for a while, using the break Akira gave to replenish energy as much as possible. The moment the coach coughed though, they all straightened their back immediately, knowing the next training session would come.
"Well, let's do a small tournament here." Akira suddenly announced, confusing all the players there. "What we are going to do today is two-on-two games. Does anyone know why we are doing them? Yes, Yori-kun?" He pointed his finger at the setter who raised his hand first.
"Because you want to see how good we are at everything, right?"
"That's right." Akira nodded. "With only two of you on a team, all of your weaknesses and strengths are going to be exposed here. Are you good at receiving? Setting? Blocking? Let's find out today."
Yuki furrowed his brows immediately, finding it strange for the coach to arrange this event. While the purpose was good, Akira should've known about his team's strength for a long time. This wasn't his first year training them, after all. If anything, he felt this activity was prepared to observe Yuki and Riku as the newcomers on the team.
"You have twenty minutes per game, and when the alarm sounds, the team with the most points is the winner and the losers have to do five sets of diving drills. Megumi-san will record everything in case you guys want to see it later today, is there any question?"
"No, Sir!"
"Great! Now, Riku-kun and Kobayashi-kun, you are the first team! Anyone want to challenge them?"
Yuki smiled wryly, knowing his guess was right. Inwardly though, he cursed the coach for pitting the two freshmen against the entire team, and he didn't even hide his intention to do that.
Unlike him though, Riku stood up immediately, his eyes were full of excitement. "Come on, Kobayashi-kun! Let's destroy everyone here!"
Hearing that blatant provocation, fire burning in the senpai's eyes, all they wanted to do now was to let Riku eat his words. Yuki just shook his head, knowing that with Riku's simple mind and loose mouth, this provocation would happen sooner or later.
"So, who will volunteer themselves to be the first team to challenge them?" Akira asked once again.
"I will do it, Sensei!" Kaede rose from the floor. He was a short-tempered guy, so it was expected for him to confront the provocation before. "I cannot let my cute kouhai stomp on our pride like that. Asahi-kun, come on!"
A boy with a messy bun sighed from the crowds, rose from his spot, and went to the court together with Kaede.
"Okay, your twenty minutes are starting from now! Good luck!"
After a quick coin toss, the luck was on the newcomer's side as they won the first ball. Riku took it without hesitation, wanting to start the game with a bang. His strong serve was enough to pierce Kaede's defense, scoring the first point for his team.
"Yosh!" Riku clenched his fists in celebration.
"Come on, Kaede! Don't just stand there like a bloody statue!"
"Yeah! Do you really want to do the diving drills so bad?"
Hearing the teasing and mocking tone from his teammates outside, Kaede growled in frustration before shouting, "Shut up! Come on, give it to me again!"
Receiving such a hot-blooded challenge like that, Riku grinned excitedly, throwing a strong serve one more time.
*BAM!*
Kaede winced the moment he saw the ball zoomed into his direction with an incredible speed. That was when he remembered how Yuki did it for the first time a few days ago. He bent his knees a little to find his balance, then relaxed his forearms to absorb the impact of the serve. Unfortunately, he forgot to aim where the ball would go, letting it go back to the other side once again.
"Sorry for this one, Ogawa!"
"Don't worry! Prepare yourself!"
"Chance ball!"
Honestly, everyone was surprised at how Kaede adapted so quickly and learned how to stop such a strong serve just after watching it twice. However, since the ball flew high to Riku and Yuki's side, all the players there were waiting for what their kouhai would do.
"Kobayashi, here!"
Riku was already running to the spot close to the net, ready to set a ball for him. Yuki himself was calm, observing his opponent's move while waiting for the ball to come down. When he noticed they took a step back and were ready to receive the attack, he suddenly let out a small smirk as a devious idea suddenly popped inside his mind.
'Well, let's see…'
Without hesitation, he jumped immediately, shocking everyone who thought he would pass the ball first to Riku. Not giving the opponent time to react, Yuki wiped the ball gently over the net, letting it fall into the front side of the other court. The moment Yuki jumped, Kaede and Ogawa reacted, yet it wasn't quick enough to cover their front side as Yuki executed the ball easily without any blocker bothering him.
Silence dropped on the gym as all eyes were looking at him in disbelief. Yuki himself just smirked, turning at his coach, and asked, "It is not an illegal shot, right?"
-0-
*BAM!*
"Shit! Sorry for that one, Kobayashi!"
"Don't mind! Keep running!"
*BAM!*
"Damn!" Riku cursed out loud as he went back to his position, ready to receive another attack as his spike a second ago was blocked perfectly by Hirano.
This was the fourth game he played today after beating the pairing of Kaede-Ogawa, Yori-Asahi, and Koji-Okumura. In total, he and Yuki had been playing for more than one hour non-stop, and their movement started to get sloppy. And to make it worse, currently, they were playing against Hirano-Ren, the two tough middle blockers who could run their money up against even the best hitters in the prefecture right now.
However, no matter how exhausted he was, Riku had the time of his life right now. Partnering with Yuki was proven to be enjoyable, especially the moment something clicked between those two, making it easier for them to understand each other.
Yuki himself was probably not the best hitter he had ever met. In fact, his strength was just average, couldn't generate enough power to break down the easiest wall the middle blocker set in front of him. However, Riku was convinced Yuki was probably the smartest player he had ever met.
The glasses boy covered up his lack of strength with his dynamic movement, always running around to confuse the opponent about where he would go. And to make it better, he could understand where Riku wanted him to be just with a single glance as if he could read the blonde boy's mind. He was also very creative with his spike; from a dump, a good cross, hitting on the ugly spot, to deliberately hitting straight to the opponent's middle blocker to give him another chance to set a better offense play.
This was the type of hitter that Riku enjoyed the most playing together with.
"Agostini, jump! They are going for a quick attack!"
Hearing Yuki's shout, Riku didn't hesitate to jump and extend his arms high to cover the sky. This was also something he admired from Kobayashi, the ability to read the game and take command to decide what would be the best action to take just in a split second.
*BAM!*
"Chance ball!" Riku shouted the moment the ball flew behind after he deflected it with his hand.
"Shit! Hirano, be ready!" Ren, the third-year middle blocker cursed when he saw another one of his attacks was blocked.
Yuki ran to the back side of the court to pick up the ball and send the ball high to give Riku time to recover first. After that, he started to run forward, ready to jump and attack. Unfortunately, Riku was too exhausted to set the ball perfectly as it went too low for Yuki's liking.
"Shit! Sorry, Kobayashi-kun!"
"Hirano, get ready! He won't be able to hit it perfectly!"
Seeing Hirano in front of him, Yuki still jumped, gritted his teeth as he used every last ounce of energy to spike the ball. And then, in a flash of brilliance, Yuki adjusted his trajectory mid-air and hit the ball straight into Hirano's waiting hands. Everyone gasped in shock as the ball deflected off Hirano's fingers and sailed far outside the court, out of bounds.
All the players who watched the game were so stunned that they couldn't even react. They stood there, mouths agape, staring at the ball as it bounced away from the court. While they knew Yuki was capable of doing a lot of things, they didn't know he could pull something like that out of nothing. And by the look of the boy himself, it seemed he also didn't have any slight idea of what he had done a second ago.
The players on both teams were equally stunned, frozen in place as they watched the ball roll away from the court. The silence was palpable, broken only by the sound of the alarm ringing, signaling that another twenty minutes had gone.
And after that, claps of appreciation suddenly echoed all over the gym, as Akira nodded in appreciation at Yuki.
"You really are one hell of a player, Kobayashi-kun. Damn, with you on the team, Tokyo preliminaries would be a hell lot easier for us."