Chapter 10: Chapter 10: A New Friend
(TW: Panic attack, implication of past abuse/torture)
JEWEL-LIKE EYES STARED LISTLESSY AT THE BEAUTIFUL SKY-finding peace in solidarity. The male had found himself on the school's roof during the lunch break, needing a bit of a break from everything. His emerald eyes focused heavily on the evermoving clouds, daydreaming about what would happen if he got closer to the volleyball team. Next to him sits a half eaten colorful bento box full of plenty of vegetables and onigiri rice balls, that took a fair hour to create. Far too lost in his own head, Li Wei misses the sound of the door to the roof slowly opening up.
By the time awareness flutters into Li Wei's eyes, a large shadow looms over him. Startled and frightened, Li Wei brings his knees directly into his chest, before lifting his arms up in a defensive position. The shadow far is far too reminiscent of his father, who often promised pain whenever in a similar position. Now, instead of knowing he's on Karasuno's rooftop, Li Wei believes he is back in his father's dreadful office, with monochromatic colors and large bookcases that hide the way to a very special room. Why hasn't he escaped? Why is he back?! Too far gone, Li Wei is unable to hear the frantic words full of worry from the male now crouching directly in front of him.
Azumane Asahi had never been in a situation such as this. Yes, he tends to scare people unfortunately simply because of his larger stature and looks, but never had he gotten such a terrifyingly extreme reaction. All he wanted to do was find a peaceful place to eat after having his day disrupted by persistent first years who wanted him to join the volleyball club again. Now, he's faced with a possible first-year student whose a complete shivering mess, acting as though he would hit him. Baffled by what to do, he crouches down quickly and attempts to calm the male down, who has hidden himself in his knees. "H-hey, i'm not going to hurt you." The brunette's voice comes out gentle and soft, as if speaking to a hurt animal. Slowly, but surely, the frightened male in front of him begins to unravel himself. The male's face suddenly comes into his peripheral vision and Asahi has to rapidly will away his blush, having not expected such beauty. Beautiful emerald wide eyes blink straight at him, as confusion is visible on the male's face, who has finally stopped shaking.
Li Wei confusedly stares at the brunette in front of him, who has dark brown eyes and a bit of scruff on his chin. He kind of reminds him of that one religious figure, Jesus. It takes a few seconds but Li Wei quickly realizes why the male has worry written all over his face. Completely and utterly embarrassed by his moment of weakness, the male ducks his head down. "I-i'm so sorry for that." The once powerful voice Li Wei always relied on during his life in Beijing has long disappeared since his arrival at Karasuno, with his voice becoming far more soft. However, at this very moment, his voice is nothing but a mere whisper.
Asahi quickly waves his hands, "Ah! Don't worry about it. I tend to have that effect on people." His large hand rubs the back of his neck, a sliver of embarrassment evident on his face. The entire encounter has felt awkward thus far and he wishes Suga was here instead. The silver-headed male often knew how to deal with situations that required comfort of some sort. "You don't look scary..you just reminded me of a bad memory." Asahi whips his head straight back towards the male, whose voice came out quickly. It was strange for someone to not be scared of him the first time around because of his rougher looks per say and yet, the gorgeous male in front of him admitted to not being scared of him because of his looks. It warmed his heart a bit, as most people often misinterpreted him. Unsure of how to answer the male whose name he has yet to know, Asahi decides to introduce himself. "My name is Azumane Asahi. I'm a third year and used to play volleyball."
Li Wei is surprised by Azumane's acceptance of his answer, as others would surely badger him with questions surrounding his clearly terrified reaction. Softly smiling to himself, Li Wei answers back a bit more confidently this time around, with his voice reflecting his sudden burst of confidence. "My name is Li Wei. I'm a first year and one of the volleyball managers. Which position did you play?" Following up with a question is not something Li Wei often did, as he still was nervous about making friends with those who would see him for him, rather than as his parent's creation. However, he realized that he can't whine or bicker about not being close to many people if he doesn't put in the effort. Sometimes, it feels like his best friend's ability to easily make friends is slowly rubbing off on him and the male finds joy in that.
"Ah, I used to be the ace of the team and an outside hitter." The answer intrigues Li Wei, who remembered how the mention of an ace, despite the importance of the role, was not a thing when he learned of every member's position on the team. He doesn't ask Azumane why he quit, because that would be intrusive and the jesus-looking male deserves the same treatment that he got after his panic attack. Instead, he decides to take an initiative towards making another friend. "Would you like to stay with me for the remainder of the lunch break?" He asks, patting the space next to him as means of an invitation.
Eventually, the taller male agrees and two make small talk here and there throughout the period, mostly talking about their interests. The emerald-eyed male learns that Azumane is a pretty big fan of Tonkotsu Ramen, something he had yet to try. When Li Wei admitted to that, Azumane became outraged and promised to take him out sometime to try 'the most amazing dish to exist'. The peaceful atmosphere calms Li Wei down completely, who still had minute fears from the earlier encounter. When the period ended, both males exchanged numbers and walked together to their classes, before splitting off to go to their respective floors.
A smile stayed upon Li Wei's face throughout the rest of the day, unknowingly attracting plenty of attention from his classmates and other students as he often kept up his emotionless/arrogant-king like mask around them. It was a breath of fresh air for the students, who often felt the beautiful male was far too unapproachable for the common person.
On his way to practice, Li Wei is introduced to a most interesting character upon his arrival to the gym. A male, shorter than Hinata, with wild black hair and a tiny tuft of bleached blonde hair whose energy rivals that of Hinata's brings a sense of newfound life to the team's atmosphere. Somehow, he must've missed the new arrival when he slept in this morning. Swiftly walking towards the male, Li Wei takes the initiative to introduce himself, as his earlier confidence has continued to stick around. "Hello, my name is Li Wei and i'm the other manager for this team." Bowing down, Li Wei awaits a response and gets nothing. Confused, he slowly gets back up, before noticing the deep red hue on the other male's face, paired with excitement. "C-could it be?!? ANOTHER BEAUTY?!?" The short male seems to vibrate in place, as a large grin fills their face.
"Nishinoya Yuu at your service! I'm a second year and the team's libero! I'm also known as Karasuno's guardian deity." Nishinoya puts up a peace sign, before rapidly spitting out questions about plenty of unrelated topics. "Ah, Nishinoya-senpai, please slow down. I cannot answer your questions that quickly." Similarly to Tanaka, the use of the word senpai sets off a very interesting reaction. "Yes yes! I am your senpai. I'll make sure to get you ice cream too!" The short male grins, before hopping on over to practice with the rest of the team. A bit overwhelmed by the male's positivity, Li Wei stalks over to Kiyoko, who gently smiles at him. Her calming aura always seems to help him out.
Li Wei turns back towards the team and greets them, receiving a warm hug from Hinata who acts like a puppy whose owner just came back from work. Practice flows by like a soft breeze, with no issues really appearing. Eventually, Takeda-sensei pops into the gym with exciting news. Apparently, the team would go against their supposed rivals, Nekoma. Covering up a small snort, Li Wei wonders how the schools picked their names. 'The crows and the cats, how silly", the long-haired male thinks to himself. As time goes by, Li Wei feels more and more a part of the team and the family it's slowly creating. By the end of practice and subsequently the day, Li Wei thinks back on how the day played out.
Li Wei wonders if fate played a part in today's encounters, as he came across not one, but two different volleyball players. One a former player and another who is a necessary pillar for the team. He also wonders if this is meant to be a turning point of sorts.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Floofybirb
Floofybirb The hangout between Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and Li will be happen after season 1 but before season 2. The next chapter may not be uploaded within a week because I just went through my first week of classes and I am already fairly swamped. I'll do my best, however, in getting the next chapter uploaded in time. I hope you enjoy this chapter as it's somewhat filler-y but also establishes another friendship/possible relationship for Li.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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