The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

The old man – which no one seemed to remember to ask about his name to their shame – got off the bus in a small city called Otama about forty minutes from the final destination. After wishing the old man good luck, the journey continued in silence as they were the only passengers on the bus.

They spent the rest of the trip in silence, with Riku and Kato pondering over what the old man told them before. Even though they just met on the bus and got to know each other in only three hours, those two ended up admiring the old man when he left the bus. The sheer determination to find his wife even though everyone told him that it would be meaningless, hell, the ability to bounce back after the devastating loss of his better half alone was enough to leave them in awe. Those two couldn't imagine what would happen if they were in the old man's shoes.

Meanwhile, Yuki was still in the same pose as before, eyes staring at the scenery outside of the window. However, he was in a deep contemplation right now. Even though he didn't say a word, he still listened to the old man's story thoroughly, and after the old man left, Yuki suddenly realized that the story was a slap on his face to remind him that he wasn't the only one who lost families on that day.

His head suddenly dragged him back to the memory of his first time arriving at the orphanage, of how Hiko's spirit was broken as he couldn't use his legs anymore, or how Hina kept staring at everyone with eyes full of hostility as she protected her twin brother while disregarding a long, ugly scar on her face. The other children also had a similar story. Jiro had to suffer from nightmares, Aina who had to give up her dream of going to the best middle school in Fukushima, or even Mai who asked innocently 'Where is my mom?' when she first came.

Compared to them, Yuki was lucky since he managed to survive the disaster unscathed. No permanent scar or career-ending injury here, just the trauma of losing family. Well, losing a family is not a little thing that could be diminished with the word 'just', but you get the point here.

Remembering how the children's smiles even after the tragedy and the old man's laughter before, Yuki sighed, finally getting over his 'attitude' episode. "Sorry." He mumbled.

Riku and Kato turned their head immediately. "Eh?"

"I am sorry for acting like a jerk," Yuki repeated the words through his teeth. "I know it is not justifiable, but I still find a hard time grasping everything on my mind. So, I hope you can bear with me just for today, okay?"

A small, fond smile grew on Kato's face while Riku just showed his usual grin. "Eh, don't fret over it! I know this is hard for you, so take your time, okay?"

Yuki nodded gratefully at his friends before his eyes turned back to the window. The next thirty minutes were still spent in silence, but unlike before, the heavy atmosphere around them was gone already. The tension built on Yuki's shoulder also disappeared as if someone just lifted it up from his body, and the glasses boy sighed in relief as he started to relax once again.

'The old man is right. It is good to have friends like them.'

-0-

"So, where should we go?" Riku asked after they got off the bus. "Should we have lunch first or search for a place to take a rest?"

It was noon already when the three teenagers arrived at Fukushima Bus Station. Even though they didn't do something exhausting, sitting on the bus for about five straight hours while also listening to a tear-jerking story from the old man was enough to make their stomach complain of starvation.

However, Yuki was distracted immediately after he saw the scenery outside of the bus station.

His house wasn't that far from this place, and honestly, this was the route he took when he had to go to school a year ago. He could still remember vividly the market district next to the station, how crowded it was at noon, and the sound of ladles hitting the wok from the nearby restaurant. The laughter from teenagers after school was over, the sigh of tiredness from the middle-aged man taking a rest from their arduous work, the old lady in the vegetable stall greeted him with a genuine smile…

'Why is it that everything is so familiar, yet foreign for me?'

Without him noticing, his legs suddenly brought him to the route he was familiar with. Riku and Kato stared at each other before they shrugged it off, deciding to support his friend first. As they got close to his old house and passed through the familiar building – no matter if it was fixed already or still suffered from the damage after the disaster – memories started to feel Yuki's head.

"Oi, Kobayashi! Why are you so early?!"

"Senpai, can I have a photo with you?!"

"Prez, the headmaster wants to talk."

"Do you want to join us playing basketball after the school is over?"

"Kobayashi-kun, don't forget about the homework!"

"Kobayashi-kun…"

"Kobayashi…"

"Yuki-kun…"

"Yuki-chan…"

As the last memory flashed through his head, Yuki stood in front of the building he was very familiar with. It wasn't fixed completely yet, with the roof still missing and the broken fence still there. However, this was the place where he lived for fourteen years, and seeing it so empty was so strange. His hands touched the well, looking at the faded colored crayon that he knew full well the culprit behind it.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Yuki-chan, what do I tell you about drawing on the wall?"

At the yard that had no grasses anymore…

Your next read awaits at empire

"Yuki, let's play catching again!'

At the old paint that started to peel…

"Yuki-chan, don't forget you promise to help your father repaint the wall later, okay?"

Then, finally, to the door its knob was rusty. As Yuki grabbed it, the familiar feeling came back to his head as memories flooded through his brain. Of how she always smelled sweet pastry, of how he always sat relaxedly while reading the newspaper, of how calm and peaceful their day was, and most importantly, of how they would always smile as he arrived from the school, greeting him warmly, "Welcome home, Yuki!"

As his hand trembled, tears flowed down his cheek, and with a small whisper, he finally said it, "I am home, Mom, Dad…"