Chapter 5: Meeting Kenichi
Standing in the doorway was a boy who looked to be around twelve or thirteen, with dark hair that stuck up at odd angles and a face that had already seen too much for someone his age. But what struck Ryu most wasn't his appearance - it was the way he commanded the room just by being there.
"I said let him go," the boy repeated, his voice calm but carrying an undercurrent of steel that made Takeshi immediately release Ryu's arms.
"Kenichi," Takeshi said, his earlier bravado evaporating like steam. "We were just - "
"Just what?" Kenichi stepped into the room, and Ryu noticed he moved with the kind of controlled grace that reminded him of his father during volleyball practice. "Just terrorizing the new kid? Just making him feel welcome?"
"It wasn't like that," Hiroto protested, but his voice had lost its earlier confidence. "We were just trying to teach him how things work here."
"By stealing his stuff?" Kenichi's eyes moved to the volleyball still clutched in Ryu's trembling hands, and his expression softened slightly. "That how you want to be welcomed when you first got here, Hiroto?"
Hiroto looked down at his feet, suddenly finding his shoes fascinating.
"And you, Takeshi?" Kenichi's attention shifted to the taller boy. "You remember your first day? How scared you were? How much you needed someone to be kind to you?"
Takeshi's face flushed red, but not from anger this time. "That was different - "
"No, it wasn't." Kenichi's voice remained level, but there was something in it that made both bullies shrink back. "The only difference is that instead of learning compassion from your pain, you decided to pass it on to someone smaller than you."
The silence that followed was thick and uncomfortable. Ryu pressed himself against the wall, still clutching his father's volleyball, not sure if this new boy was actually helping or just establishing a different kind of dominance.
"Get out," Kenichi said quietly.
"This is our room too," Takeshi started to protest.
"Not right now it isn't." Kenichi's tone brooked no argument. "Go find something useful to do. Help in the kitchen, clean the common room, I don't care. Just get out of my sight before I decide to have a conversation with Mrs. Hayashi about your welcoming committee."
The threat hit home. Both Takeshi and Hiroto scrambled for the door, muttering half-hearted apologies that fooled no one. The door closed behind them with a soft click, leaving Ryu and Koji alone with their unexpected rescuer.
For a moment, nobody moved. Ryu stood against the wall, his heart still hammering from the confrontation, while Koji remained curled up on his bottom bunk like he was trying to become invisible. Kenichi just stood near the door, his earlier commanding presence deflating slightly now that the threat was gone.
"Sorry about that," Kenichi said, running a hand through his messy hair. "They're not usually that bad, but new kids..." He trailed off with a shrug. "Fresh meat, you know?"
Ryu didn't know, but he nodded anyway. His grip on the volleyball was still white-knuckled, and he could feel tears threatening at the corners of his eyes despite his best efforts to hold them back.
"You okay?" Kenichi asked, genuine concern in his voice.
"They wanted to take it," Ryu whispered, his voice barely audible. "My dad's ball. They said nothing here is mine."
"That's garbage," Kenichi said firmly. "Everyone here gets to keep something that matters to them. It's like an unspoken rule." He glanced toward the door where Takeshi and Hiroto had fled. "Those two just forgot their manners."
He walked over to the window and sat on the edge of what Ryu now realized must be his bed - the bottom bunk where Koji had been staying. No wonder the younger boy had looked so uncomfortable; he'd been sleeping in someone else's space.
"That your bed?" Ryu asked Koji, feeling guilty about taking the top bunk.
Koji shook his head quickly. "Mine's broken. Kenichi said I could use his until they fix it."
"And I meant it," Kenichi said, settling back against his pillow. "Though I guess with the new sleeping arrangements, we'll need to figure something else out."
"I could sleep on the floor," Ryu offered immediately. The last thing he wanted was to cause more problems on his first day.
"Like hell you will," Kenichi snorted. "Mrs. Hayashi would have my head if she found out I let the new kid sleep on the floor. No, we'll make it work."
There was something about the casual way he said it - not like he was doing Ryu a favor, but like it was just the obvious solution - that made some of the tension leave Ryu's shoulders.
"Is that really a volleyball?" Kenichi asked, nodding toward the ball in Ryu's arms.
Ryu nodded, then hesitantly held it out so Kenichi could see it better. "It was my dad's. He played professionally."
Kenichi's eyes widened. "Professionally? No kidding? What team?"
"NEC Red Rockets," Ryu said, pride creeping into his voice despite everything. "He was their middle blocker. They won the championship last year."
"Holy crap," Kenichi breathed, leaning forward with sudden intensity. "NEC Red Rockets? Your dad was Miyamoto Takeru?"
Ryu blinked in surprise. "You know him?"
"Know him? Dude, I watched every single one of their games this season!" Kenichi's entire demeanor had changed, excitement replacing his earlier calm authority. "That spike against the JT Thunders in the semifinals - when he broke through their triple block? That was insane!"
For the first time since the accident, someone was talking about his father not with pity or careful sympathy, but with genuine admiration. Ryu felt something warm and unexpected bloom in his chest.
"He was teaching me," Ryu said quietly. "We practiced on the roof of our apartment building. He promised he'd show me how to spike like that."
Kenichi's expression sobered. "I'm sorry, man. That sucks. Really sucks."
It was such a simple response, but somehow it felt more genuine than all the carefully worded condolences from adults who didn't know what else to say. Kenichi wasn't trying to make it better or find a silver lining - he was just acknowledging that it was terrible, and that was enough.
"Can I...?" Kenichi gestured toward the volleyball. "I mean, if you don't want to, that's totally fine. I just - I've never touched a professional player's ball before."
Ryu's instinctive response was to pull the ball closer, to protect this last piece of his father from anyone else's hands. But something about Kenichi's tone - respectful, almost reverent - made him pause.
Slowly, carefully, he held the volleyball out toward Kenichi.
Kenichi took it with the kind of gentle care usually reserved for newborn babies, turning it over in his hands and examining the worn leather. "You can tell this thing's been used," he said softly. "Look at these scuff marks - probably from thousands of spikes and serves."
"He said the wear patterns tell a story," Ryu said, watching anxiously as Kenichi explored the ball's surface. "Each mark was from a different match, a different play."
"That's beautiful, man." Kenichi looked up at Ryu with something that might have been awe. "Your dad sounds like he really understood the game."
"He did." Ryu's voice cracked slightly. "He loved it more than anything. Except maybe me and Mom."
Kenichi was quiet for a moment, still holding the volleyball with careful reverence. "You know," he said finally, "there's this manga I've been reading. It's called Haikyuu. It's about volleyball, and it's..." He paused, seeming to search for the right words. "It helped me a lot when I first got here. When everything felt impossible."
"What's it about?" Ryu asked, curious despite himself.
"This short kid who wants to play volleyball even though everyone tells him he's too small. He's got this incredible passion for the game, and he never gives up no matter how many times he gets knocked down." Kenichi's eyes took on a distant look. "Reminds me that sometimes the biggest heart can overcome the biggest obstacles."
He handed the volleyball back to Ryu, who accepted it gratefully. The ball felt warmer somehow, like it had absorbed some of Kenichi's respect and understanding.
"I could teach you," Kenichi said suddenly. "If you want, I mean. I'm not nearly as good as your dad was, but I know the basics. We could practice together."
Ryu stared at him in shock. "You'd do that?"
"Course I would. Your dad was an inspiration to a lot of people, you know? Including me." Kenichi's smile was genuine and warm. "Besides, everyone needs someone to practice with. And volleyball..." He gestured vaguely toward the window, where they could hear other children playing in the courtyard. "Volleyball's about teamwork. About having people you can count on."
From his corner, Koji spoke up quietly. "Kenichi's really good. He taught me how to serve."
"You play too?" Ryu asked, turning to the younger boy.
Koji shook his head. "Not really. But Kenichi says everyone should know the basics. Just in case."
"Just in case of what?"
"Just in case you need something to hold onto," Kenichi said softly. "Something that's yours, that nobody can take away from you no matter where you end up."
The words would make sense to Ryu later on, but for now, he could only recognise that they were filled with deep sorrow so he simply nodded.
"So what do you say?" Kenichi asked. "Want to learn some volleyball?"
Ryu looked down at his father's volleyball, then back up at Kenichi's encouraging face. For the first time since arriving at Sunflower Children's Home, something that wasn't fear or sadness was stirring in his chest.
"Yeah," he said, his voice stronger than it had been all day. "Yeah, I'd like that."
"Awesome!" Kenichi grinned. "We can start tomorrow after classes. There's a court behind the building - it's not much, but it's got a net and everything."
"Really?"
"Really. And hey - " Kenichi's expression grew more serious. "That thing Takeshi said about nothing being yours here? That's bullshit. This place... it's not perfect, and some of the kids have forgotten how to be decent to each other. But your dad's volleyball? That's yours. And if anyone tries to take it from you again, they'll have to go through me first."
Ryu felt his eyes getting watery again, but this time it wasn't from fear or sadness. "Thank you," he whispered.
"Don't mention it," Kenichi said with a casual wave. "We look out for each other here. That's how it works."
As if summoned by the mention of dinner time, the sound of a bell echoed through the building, followed by Mrs. Hayashi's cheerful voice over the intercom: "Dinner time, children! Please make your way to the dining hall!"
"Come on," Kenichi said, standing and stretching. "The food here's not terrible, and you look like you haven't eaten in a while."
Ryu realized with surprise that he was actually hungry - the first time he'd felt anything resembling appetite since the accident. He stood up, still clutching the volleyball, and followed Kenichi toward the door.
"Hey, Kenichi?" he said as they reached the doorway.
"Yeah?"
"What's your story? I mean, why are you here?"
Kenichi's expression darkened slightly, but not with anger - more like old sadness that had been worn smooth by time. "Maybe someday I'll tell you," he said. "When you're ready to hear it."
"And when will I be ready?"
Kenichi considered this seriously. "When you stop asking because you think you should, and start asking because you actually want to know."
It was a strange answer, one that Ryu couldn't quite understand yet. He nodded and followed Kenichi out into the hallway, where the sounds of other children heading to dinner created a comfortable backdrop of normalcy.
As they walked, Ryu felt his grip on the volleyball loosen slightly. Not enough to risk dropping it, but enough that his knuckles stopped being white.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
[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: 20 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 (20 hours remaining)
- Memory Integration (15% Completed) - Traumatic experiences being processed (71 hours remaining)