" - zumi! Izumi!"
Hinata's voice cut through the memory like a knife, jolting Ryu back to the present. The bike had stopped moving, and he found himself gripping his gym bag so tightly his knuckles had gone white. They were in front of a small park, children's laughter echoing from the playground equipment.
"Hey, are you okay?" Hinata had turned around completely on his bike, orange hair catching the afternoon sunlight. "You kind of... zoned out there. And you're making this really scary face."
Ryu blinked, forcing his grip to relax. The system interface flickered at the edge of his vision, showing a status effect he hadn't noticed before:
[Status Effect: Emotional Processing - Enhanced empathy and emotional awareness for 22 hours remaining]
"Sorry," he managed, his voice coming out rougher than intended. "Just thinking about... the past."
"The past?" Hinata's expression shifted from concern to curiosity. "What kind of past? Like, elementary school volleyball or something?"
If only it were that simple. Ryu looked at the children playing on the swings, their carefree laughter a stark contrast to the memories still echoing in his head. "Something like that."
But his mind wasn't ready to let go of the flashback yet. As Hinata started pedaling again, talking about practice spots and basic techniques, Ryu found himself pulled back into that first day at Sunflower Children's Home. The day everything that remained of his old life had finally, truly ended.
Sunflower Children's Home looked exactly like what it was - an institution trying very hard to pretend it was something warmer. The building was newer than he'd expected, all clean lines and cheerful yellow paint that was probably meant to live up to the name. Cartoon sunflowers decorated the windows, and a hand-painted sign by the front door proclaimed "Where Every Child Blooms!"
The exclamation point felt like mockery.
"Now, remember what we talked about," Ms. Sato said as they sat in her car in the parking lot. "This is just temporary while we work on finding you a permanent placement. Everyone here is very nice, and there are lots of children your age to play with."
Ryu nodded without really listening, clutching his father's volleyball against his chest. The leather was worn smooth in places where his dad's hands had gripped it, and if he pressed his nose against it, he could still smell the faint scent of gym floors and competition.
"Are you ready?" Ms. Sato asked gently.
No. He would never be ready for this. But he nodded anyway.
The lobby was aggressively cheerful - bright primary colors everywhere, educational posters about hand washing and sharing, a bulletin board covered in children's drawings of stick figures under rainbow skies. Classical music played softly from hidden speakers, the kind his mother used to listen to while cooking dinner.
"Good afternoon!" The woman behind the reception desk had the kind of smile that looked painted on. "You must be Ryu! I'm Mrs. Hayashi, and I'm so excited to meet you!"
Everything about her was too much - too bright, too loud, too enthusiastic. Her hair was dyed an unnatural shade of brown, and her cardigan had tiny embroidered bears that seemed to watch him with button eyes. The bears looked friendly, but Ryu didn't feel friendly back. He didn't understand why everyone was being so happy when nothing was happy anymore.
"We've heard so much about you," she continued, coming around the desk to kneel at his eye level. "All the children are just dying to meet their new friend!"
The word 'dying' made Ryu flinch. Adults weren't supposed to say that word around him anymore. He'd learned that from the way everyone got quiet and changed the subject whenever someone said it by accident. But Mrs. Hayashi didn't seem to notice, just kept smiling her big, too-bright smile.
"Why don't we get you settled in your room first?" Mrs. Hayashi stood, brushing invisible dust from her bear cardigan. "You'll be sharing with some wonderful boys your age!"
The hallways were lined with more cheerful artwork and motivational posters. This felt scary and wrong, but all the adults were smiling like it was something good. He pressed the volleyball tighter against his chest and tried to stand up straight like Mom always told him to do when he was scared.
"Here we are!" Mrs. Hayashi stopped in front of a door marked with a construction paper nameplate that read "ROOM 7" in glittery letters. "Your new home!"
She opened the door with a flourish, and Ryu's heart sank even further.
The room was bigger than his bedroom at home but somehow felt smaller anyway. Two bunk beds took up most of the space, leaving narrow walkways between them and a small area by the window that had some books and games scattered around.
It looked like it was supposed to be fun, but it didn't feel like home. Nothing felt like home anymore.
"Boys!" Mrs. Hayashi called out in her too-bright voice. "Come meet your new roommate!"
Three boys emerged from various corners of the room like they'd been waiting for something to happen. The first was taller than Ryu, with messy dark hair and eyes that reminded him of the mean kid from his old school who used to take lunch money. The second was shorter but looked stronger.
The third boy hung back near the window, and he looked sad in a way that made Ryu's tummy hurt. Like maybe he'd been crying but was trying to hide it.
"This is Takeshi," Mrs. Hayashi said, gesturing to the tall boy, "and this is Hiroto." The sneering one gave a mock-friendly wave. "And our little Koji back there." The youngest boy didn't move.
"Everyone, this is Ryu! He's going to be staying with us for a while."
"Hey there, newbie," Takeshi said, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. "Welcome to paradise."
"Don't mind him," Hiroto added with false cheer. "Takeshi's just jealous because now he's not the newest kid anymore."
"Where am I sleeping?" Ryu asked quietly, still clutching his volleyball.
"Oh, how exciting!" Mrs. Hayashi clapped her hands together. "You get the top bunk right there!" She pointed to the bed near the window, where Koji's few possessions were scattered on the bottom bunk. "Koji's been waiting for a bunk mate, haven't you, sweetie?"
Koji just stared at the floor and didn't answer.
"Well then!" Mrs. Hayashi's smile somehow got even brighter. "I'll let you boys get acquainted while I finish Ryu's paperwork. Dinner's at six, and then we have group activities in the common room. So much fun!"
She practically bounced out of the room, leaving Ryu alone with his new roommates.
The silence stretched for exactly five seconds before Takeshi spoke.
"So, what happened to you?" he asked, sitting on his bed like he owned everything in the room. "Why are you here?"
Ryu didn't understand why that was the first question. At his old school, kids asked about your favorite color or if you liked Pokemon. But Takeshi was asking like being here was something bad that happened to you.
"Takeshi," Koji said quietly, the first words Ryu had heard him speak.
"What? Everyone here has a story, right?" Takeshi's smile looked fake, like when adults pretended everything was okay. "We're all here for some reason."
Ryu hugged the volleyball tighter. Mom had always told him not to talk to strangers about family business, but these boys lived here now. Did that make them not-strangers?
"Car accident," he said, because he didn't know what else to say.
"Both of them?" Hiroto asked, and his voice sounded almost curious, like he was asking about the weather.
Ryu nodded, not trusting his voice. Dad had always said crying was okay, but Mom had taught him to be brave in front of people he didn't know yet.
"At least it was fast, right?" Takeshi said, and the way he said it made Ryu's stomach feel funny. "Better than being sick for a long time. My mom just decided she didn't want me anymore, so really, you're lucky."
"Takeshi!" Koji's voice was louder this time, but Takeshi just shrugged.
"What? I'm just saying! At least his parents didn't choose to leave him here."
Ryu felt something hot and angry bubble up in his chest. "Don't talk about my mom and dad."
He tried to sound grown-up and serious like his dad did when he was really mad, but his voice came out squeaky instead.
"Ooh, he's getting mad." Hiroto's fake smile got bigger. "Takeshi, I think we made him upset."
"What's with the ball?" Takeshi had noticed the volleyball Ryu was holding. "You play sports or something?"
"It was my dad's." Ryu hugged it closer to his chest, the way he used to hug his stuffed bear when thunderstorms made him scared.
"Was?" Takeshi leaned forward, suddenly more interested. "As in, he doesn't need it anymore because he's - "
"Stop it." Ryu's voice came out smaller than he wanted. He tried to make it sound stronger, but instead it just sounded like he might cry. "Just stop."
"We're just trying to be friends," Takeshi said, but the way he said 'friends' didn't sound friendly at all. "Mind if I see it?"
"No." Ryu took a step backward until his back hit the wall.
"Come on, don't be selfish. We share everything here, right? That's what they're always telling us."
"I said no." Ryu tried to sound brave like the heroes in his cartoons, but his voice was getting shakier.
"Guys," Koji tried again, but he said it so quietly that Takeshi and Hiroto just ignored him.
"What's the big deal?" Hiroto said, getting up from his bed and walking closer. "It's just a ball. It's not going to bring your daddy back or anything."
The words felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. Ryu actually stumbled backward, his shoulders hitting the wall harder this time. His eyes started to get hot and watery, but he bit his lip hard to make them stop. Mom always said big boys don't cry in front of strangers.
"Oh, look at that face!" Takeshi laughed, and it wasn't a nice laugh. "Hiroto, you made him want to cry!"
"I was just being honest," Hiroto said with a shrug. "That's what grown-ups always want, right? Honesty?"
They were both getting closer now, and Ryu felt trapped against the wall. He clutched the volleyball tighter, remembering how his dad's hands had held it during practice, how it smelled like the gym where Dad played with his team.
"Look, we're not trying to be mean," Takeshi said, but his voice sounded like he was definitely trying to be mean. "But nobody gets to keep special things here. Everything belongs to everyone eventually. You might as well hand it over now."
"It's not a toy," Ryu said, his voice wobbly. "It's all I have left of my dad."
"Aw, that's so sad," Hiroto said in the voice adults used when they were pretending to care. "All you have left of Daddy. Tell me, when the car crashed, did he - "
Ryu didn't let him finish. He pushed off the wall and ran at Hiroto, still holding the volleyball in one arm while he tried to hit him with the other. He wasn't very big and he wasn't very strong, but he was really, really mad.
His small fist hit Hiroto in the arm, not hard enough to really hurt but enough to surprise him.
"You little - " Hiroto recovered quickly, his fake smile replaced by genuine anger. "Takeshi, hold him down."
"With pleasure."
They moved with the practiced coordination of bullies who'd done this before. Takeshi grabbed Ryu's arms while Hiroto went for the volleyball, trying to pry it from his grip.
"Let go!" Hiroto grunted, pulling at the ball. "It's just stupid leather!"
"No!" Ryu thrashed against Takeshi's hold, terror making him stronger than he should have been. "You can't have it! It's mine!"
"Nothing's yours here, newbie," Takeshi said, his voice taking on a harder edge. "The sooner you learn that, the easier this'll be."
They were stronger than him, bigger than him, and they worked together like they'd rehearsed this. Ryu felt his grip on the volleyball starting to slip, his father's last gift being torn away by boys who thought his pain was entertainment.
"Please," he gasped, hating how weak his voice sounded. "Please don't - "
"Oh, is the baby going to cry?" Hiroto's face was flushed with exertion and excitement. "Are you going to cry for your dead daddy?"
"Maybe we should put it somewhere safe for him," Takeshi suggested with false kindness. "Like the trash can. That's where dead things belong, right?"
That's when they heard the footsteps in the hallway - not the clicking heels of Mrs. Hayashi, but the solid, deliberate steps of someone who meant business.
"Let him go."
The voice was quiet but carried the kind of authority that made everyone freeze. Takeshi's grip on Ryu's arms loosened, and Hiroto stopped trying to pull away the volleyball.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
[Current Status:]
[Host: Yukitaka Izumi (Soul: Ryu Miyamoto)]
[Level: 1 (0/100 XP)]
[Skill Points Available: 0]
—
[Stats:]
- Serving: 2/100
- Receiving: 1/100
- Setting: 3/100
- Spiking: 0/100
- Blocking: 0/100
- Stamina: 15/100
- Jump Height: 28/100
- Game Sense: 15/100
—
[Abilities:]
- Empathic Connection (Level 1) - Active
- Critical Strike (Level 1) - Locked
—
[Active Quests:]
- Daily: Complete 1 hour of focused volleyball practice (Deadline: 21 hours)
- Tutorial: Successfully receive 10 serves in a row (No deadline)
- Main: Find Your Team (Deadline: 30 days)
—
[Status Effects:]
- Emotional Processing - Enhanced empathy and emotional awareness (21 hours remaining)
- Memory Integration (10% Completed) - Traumatic experiences being processed and contextualized (72 hours remaining)