บท 14: Chapter 13: #1 Ace and the Start of the Training Camp

(TW: Small panic)

LI WEI TIGHTLY GRIPS HIS FIGURE SKATING GEAR- as he stares up at the Shiratorizawa ice skating rink. It was the most convenient location for him to practice, yet showing up at the academy he was technically meant to attend made him weary. All he wanted to do today was get in some practice before going over to the training camp with his team.

Currently, it was four in the morning, but the male manager had found the perfect time slot to practice, as he was meant to show up to the training camp by 5:30am. That gave him plenty of time to practice a new routine that he hoped to unveil at the next Grand Prix, which he had already qualified for. This year, he wanted gold to show the world that he could do it all on his own.

As he walked inside the building and towards the massive ice rink, Li Wei found that not a single soul was in sight. He took out a card that was for members, which he happily signed up for, and signed himself in, finding that the lights around the rink turned on.

Li Wei rapidly hid his eyes from the blinding light, allowing himself a second to adjust. Surprise filled his features as he took in the state of the art facility, noticing how pristine the ice was. Excited by the quality, the male manager went straight towards the left bleachers and changed into his skates, glad to finally be back in his comfort zone.

Now that he could skate for himself and practice competing at the same time, Li Wei felt free. He got into the ice rink and simply glided, allowing himself some time to just relax a bit before beginning his new routine. His phone lay innocently on the left side of the rink's rail, with his choice of music waiting to be played.

Born to Make History was his song of choice, as it made the male feel a sense of happiness and brought him plenty of happiness. As the music began, Li Wei began dancing to his heart's content, performing a variety of moves that were on the more difficult side. He wanted to incorporate a quadruple axel jump and a triple salchow lutz during the routine. However, sometimes those moves were harder to nail depending on when they were incorporated into the routine.

As Li Wei continued to skate to the music, he never noticed the intense eyes following his every movement.

Ushijima Wakatoshi had noticed the lights turn on in the ice rink as he walked to practice, making the ace curious. The figure skating team at Shiratorizawa practiced around 6:30 in the morning and not at 4:30am. Unable to sate his curiosity by simply walking by, the dark olive-brown haired male walked into the building and stared at the figure on the ice.

He was sure he had just seen an ice fairy, gracefully flying amongst the ice. Ushijima could tell the male wasn't a student, as one with that level of beauty would surely be widely known. The long dark hair and emerald eyes created a sense of beauty that the ace had never seen before.

Unlike his own teammates, the elegance oozing from the stunning male was enough to keep his eyes glued to the figure. Ushijima had never really been attracted to anyone, finding that he would rather focus his time and energy on volleyball. However, his heart skipped a few beats whenever the fairy would jump into the air and fly high above the skies.

As the music finally finished, Li Wei was heavily panting, having gotten an amazing workout and left him feeling refreshed. He truly missed skating around and doing his own thing, instead of doing something just to win. Yes, he wanted the gold, but he loved having creative freedom.

Leaving the rink, Li Wei squeaked in surprise at the tall male standing across from him. His large stature, compared to that of Li Wei's, made the male manager frightened as he was never any good with someone much larger than him. Those on the Karasuno team were more lithe than massive muscles, while the male in front of him was full of muscles.

"H-hello there." Li Wei did a quick bow, wincing at his small stutter. It was never a good thing to show any form of fear or weakness to someone who could hurt him badly. He waited with bated breaths as the dark olive-brown haired male slowly opened his mouth, before uttering words in a deep voice. "Ushijima Wakatoshi, ace of the volleyball team and a third year. You should've come to Shiratorizawa."

Li Wei blinks, confused. Come to Shiratorizawa? Does that mean the guy in front of him knows who he is?? Panicked, Li Wei grabs his figure skating bag, changes his shoes, and runs out of the building, fearful that the male will somehow alert the school to the truth. He refuses to be caught because he will never go back to that hellhole.

Ushijima watches as the fairy runs away from him, wondering why he scared him off. Unable to come up with a reason, the ace leaves the building as well and makes his way towards the gymnasium. He promises that if he ever sees the emerald-eyed fairy again, that he will learn his name.

~~~~~~~

Li Wei stares up at the rickety brown training camp building and walks inside, knowing he is sadly late. He had to take a bus back to his home to pick up his notebook and a few other necessities for the trip. That took some time as the male manager was a bit frantic as he packed, unable to forget his sentence conversation with the tall male.

Eventually, the manager finds himself in front of two grey doors, smelling amazing scents coming from the room directly in front of him. He can also hear the chatter from his teammates, who all arrived together. As he pushes the door open, a loud "LI-KUN!" filters through his ears as a tangerine barrels into his arms.

Frozen in place for a second, Li Wei wraps his lithe arms around Hinata, enjoying the affection. As time has passed on, Li Wei has become more aware of his touch-starved state and only really allows Hinata into his personal space. "Hello Hinata-kun. Hello everyone, I would like to apologize for being late." The male manager does an awkward bow as Hinata is still within his arms, but luckily none of the members seem to care that he is late.

"It's great to see you, Li-san. Come join the rest of the team and eat. The camp will be starting later." The advisor says, which prompts Hinata to drag his arm towards the table. He's sat in between Asahi and Hinata, both of whom are happy to see him. A small pink blush begins forming on his cheeks as he takes a look at the delicious food.

Putting various pieces of food onto his plate, Li Wei engages in small talk with his friends, enjoying the warming atmosphere surrounding the area. He laughs freely at Hinata's accidental milk snort, which causes the tangerine to splutter. Li Wei hasn't felt this light in quite some time and he thoroughly enjoys it.

"Li-kun!! I'm gonna be the best player by the end of this camp!!" Hinata proudly proclaims and Li Wei just giggles before quickly clamping a hand over his mouth. "Oh yes, I believe that. You'll be the absolute best, Hinata-kun." The sincerity behind his words causes Hinata to become a tomato, before rapidly covering his face.

"Li-san, you're dangerous for the soul." Sugawara states in complete seriousness, causing the other members at the table to break out into laughter. Li Wei, being the oblivious male he is, did not understand the statement. "I do not believe I am dangerous. I would never hurt anyone."

"Of course, Li-san." The gentle smile on Sugawara's face continues to spurn on the others, who can't help but enjoy the innocence of their male manager. It brings a bit of diversity to the already overwhelming set of personalities on the team.

As the team finished eating all of the food, Li Wei looked up at the ceiling, knowing that the next week would be grueling for Karasuno. He may not be an actual player, but he had spoken to the coach before they were due for this trip about possibly participating. He told the spiky-blonde about his plan of becoming a player next year instead of a manager and that he needed more practice to become an all-rounder. With a nod of agreement, Li Wei would now be working his limbs to the extreme with the rest of his friends.

He hopes he can survive before the end of the week, as he doesn't want to miss any part of the match against Nekoma.