Bab 6: Chapter 6: The First Day and Officially Becoming a Manager pt.2

(TW: Implied/mentions of abuse)

PERSONALLY, LI WEI WOULD LIKE TO BE AS FAR AWAY FROM KAGEYAMA AS POSSIBLE-not really enjoying the seemingly violent male's company. He knows that Kageyama won't necessarily do anything to him, but the idea of possibly anything happening makes him nervous. Leaning against the vending machine, the jewel-eyed manager stares up at the bright blue sky, forgetting all his worries for just a second.

Sadly, that second ends too soon for Li Wei. "Oi, why is the boke practicing during his lunch break?" Kageyama stares at Li Wei, as if he had all the answers. Sighing, the manager thinks of the best way to describe Hinata's reasoning without possibly setting the guy off, still uncomfortable being around him. "Hinata-kun wants to be the ace of the team and a powerful pillar to the team, but he currently lacks the skills to do so. He especially wants to be good enough for you, even though he shouldn't have to prove anything. Therefore, with all his excitement regarding volleyball, of course he would take any opportunity he has to get better, especially if the help is offered to him." He finishes off, before walking away. The lunch break is about to end and Li Wei hasn't eaten anything, but he has no time to dwell on that now as he makes his way to class.

When class is over, Li Wei packs up all his belongings slowly, not seeing any reason to rush as he isn't a team player, just the manager. Yachi, on the other hand, packs her belongings as if she is being held at gunpoint, shivering every two seconds. It's not a great feeling for Li Wei, knowing he's somehow the cause of her fear. He never wanted to be similar to his parents in that regard, so he thinks on how to get her..less fearful of him. Unknown to Li Wei, his thinking face sends shivers into the spines of every member of the class, Yachi especially. The emerald-eyed man looks as though he's a king about to execute an unruly subject.

Just as he is about to use his plan to make the girl less scared of him, she has already left the classroom in a hurry and Li Wei wants to cry a bit, feeling like a failure for not easing her fears. Biting his lip, he makes his way towards the gymnasium with a despairing atmosphere, scaring many of his male classmates yet looking hot to his female classmates. Far too lost within his own thoughts, Li Wei doesn't notice how he makes the other students feel at the moment.

The sound of squeaking from multiple shoes and count-downs fills Li Wei's ears as he makes his way into the gym, noticing how all the boys are doing their exercises before practicing. Not wanting to disturb any of the boys, Li Wei walks over to the side of the gym and simply waits for his chance to speak to both the captain and Hinata, who he has tried to see all day. He finally thinks his chance is upon him when it comes to speaking with the captain, but notices how Hinata has yet to arrive. Understandably worried, Li Wei quickly texts Hinata but doesn't get a response as fast as he usually does. "Sawamura-san!" He calls out, watching as the captain quickly walks over. "Yes Li-san? Is something the matter?" It warms Li Wei's heart a bit knowing the captain, who has only known him for a day, already worries for him. "Ah, I have officially become a manager. I just wanted to let you know." The newest manager bows down and smiles at the captain's hearty laugh. "Well! Now that we're officially teammates, call me Daichi instead. Sawamura makes me feel as though i'm in trouble." Li Wei is caught off guard by the request, still getting used to calling the other manager by her first name. He nods, flustered, not noticing the subtle blush resting upon Daichi's face.

Time slowly passes by and Daichi stares at both Sugawara and Tanaka as they yawn. "You guys sound sleepy.." He says suspiciously, causing the two to shiver and jump at the sound of the captain's voice. They try to play it off. "Oh, y-you think so? Maybe I studied too much." Sugawara nervously laughs, rubbing the back of his head. "M-me too. I studied…" Tanaka trails off, which causes Sugawara to yell at him in a small voice. "Nobody will buy that from you!" Tanaka is surprised, but is luckily saved by the arrival of two new faces.

"Excuse me." A tall blonde with golden-browns eyes and glasses says. Next to him is a smaller guy who has dark grayish-green hair and freckles. Daichi doesn't seem surprised by their arrival whatsoever, "Hey, you made it. These are the first year students who'll be joining us. New club members were supposed to be introduced next week, but we're having a match this Saturday.." Daichi explains, while Li Wei hears a small voice from a group of 3 members he also hasn't been introduced to. "They're big." The tallest of the 3 states, who has a shaved head that is darker. The one in the middle, with medium-length dark brown hair and slightly down-turned eyes, agrees.

Li Wei turns back towards Daichi, who finishes off with, "That'll be the true test of your skills." The shorter boy bows down, "Pleased to meet you." Li Wei finds the politeness very sweet, as that was something always ingrained with him. He walks up to them, with the intention of introducing himself, but stops. "Ah, D-Daichi-san, would you bring everyone over so I can introduce myself officially?" The captain agrees, grabbing the attention of all the members. Leaving the stage for him, Li Wei swallows his nervousness away. "Hello, my name is Li Wei. I'm a first year in class 1-5 and the newest manager of this time, I hope to get along with all of you." He quickly bows down, hoping his formality doesn't turn anyone away.

Luckily, everything goes fine. He is formally introduced to the 3 upperclassmen he hadn't seen before. Kazuhito Narita, Chikara Ennoshita, and Hisashi Kinoshita. All 3 are very sweet, especially Ennoshita. He reminds him of the captain a bit. Practice moves on from there and Li Wei is saddened by the notion that Hinata still hasn't responded to him. His deteriorating mood is noticed by the vice-captain, but he tells Sugawara that he'll be alright. By the time practice is over, Li Wei is fed up.

It sounds clingy, but he had told Hinata his fears of having a similar experience to the one he had in Beijing, so he thought his friend would at least see him before he left the school. A sigh leaves his lips as the moonlight shines upon him. If a model scout passed by at that exact moment, Li Wei would've been scouted in a flash.

The walk home is lonely, but that all changes when he passes by a nearby park. He notices all 4 other first years, including Hinata, seemingly in a confrontation of sorts. Quickly walking over, he tries to break the clear tension visible in the air. "Is everything alright over here?" Li Wei's voice surprises all present members, with Hinata looking at him as if he were a savior of sorts. "Don't you worry your pretty head, manager-kun." Tsukishima taunts, "I'm simply talking to the simpleton idiot and the king, all in good nature. Just a little rivalry." He turns back to both Hinata and Kageyama. "It might be an important match for you two, but it doesn't matter to me at all. I'm not worried about winning or losing, so if you two really need to win, I can go easy on you if you'd like." That statement pisses Hinata and Kageyama, with Li Wei uncomfortable by the tension that has returned full-force. The most tension is between Kageyama and Tsukishima, the latter of whom keeps taunting him with his past title.

When it finally escalates to the point where Kageyama grips the collar of Tsukishima's uniform, Li Wei wants to take Hinata and run far away. Memories begin to unfold before him, all of which highlight the fists he'd constantly be beaten down with. Phantom pains appear all around his body, as if he was currently being beaten up. He doesn't notice when only Hinata remains, worry written all over his face, as he re-lives some of his most painful memories. "-kun, LI-KUN! HELLO!" Finally, Li Wei is broken from his thoughts, sweat running down his face and back. Heavily breathing, Li Wei holds onto Hinata as though he'd disappear otherwise.

"I..sorry Hinata-kun, today hasn't been all that amazing." Slowly, Li Wei uses the tree near him to fully stand, feeling awful. It feels as though a train has hit him at full force. "It's okay!!!" Hinata quickly reassures him, before leading Li Wei to his bicycle. The two don't speak much after that, with Hinata asking if he's alright and himself just nodding, too tired to speak.

Once home, Li Wei cooks himself a hearty soup full of vegetables to get his mind off things, before retiring for the night. The next few days pass by with not many notable things happening, aside from Hinata overworking himself to the point of vomiting all over the gym floor and Yachi finally becoming more comfortable with him. They even had a sentence long conversation! It feels silly to be proud of that, but Yachi doesn't fawn over him, similar to Kiyoko and is pretty interesting. Everything honestly feels better, with Li Wei forging bonds with his team that will forever exist. He also spoke with Hinata, having forgiven him for unintentionally ignoring him due to his obsession with getting on the team.

Finally, Saturday is upon them and Li Wei awaits for the beginning of the match, noticing that all members are finally present.