Where there is Love (Asahi x Reader)

F O U R

Over the past few weeks at Karasuno, my friendship with Azumane-san grew and he's even introduced me to his other third-year friends. Sawamura Daichi, Sugawara Koshi, and Shimizu Kiyoko were some of the nicest people I have ever encountered and have made everything about moving easier. Now, we eat lunch together every day. At least, Kiyoko and I do. The boys are constantly tossing volleyball to each other. I tried to join but Azumane-san, or Asahi, as he insists I call him, makes me sit.

"It doesn't even hurt that bad, lemme just receive a few," I whined as tried to give my best puppy dog eyes to Asahi.

"It's broken, sit down." Asahi said, holding strong.

"But the cast will be off soon, so I am basically healed!" I insisted. It was true, The cast would come off in the next week at my next appointment.

"Then why risk it when you are so close?" The logic he provided was sound but that didn't mean I liked it. 

"Whatever," I grumbled under my breath as he laughed at me. 

"Don't worry, you'll be able to play with us soon." He smiled before going back to his game.

"So what will you do once you get the cast taken off? You can't play on the girl's team because you are still healing," Kiyoko questioned from beside me while enjoying her lunch.

"I don't even know. My dad and physiotherapist said I can't play but I need to be involved. I'll go insane if I just have to sit and do nothing." I sigh, trying to come up with ways to enjoy the sport I loved.

"Why don't you join me as a manager then?" She suggested. Immediately I perked up. Not only would I be involved in volleyball but I could still sneakily play. 

"That's perfect! Kiyoko you absolute genius!" A blush formed on her cheeks as she gave me an excited smile. 

"Guy's guess what? Kiyoko came up with the best idea ever!" The guys started to gather around us, curious looks on their faces. 

"I am going to be your second manager when I get my cast off!" I beamed while Sawamura-san and Sugawara-san beamed back at me. 

"That'll be great! Two managers will definitely make things easier." Suga said encouragingly.

"You know what would make things even easier? Getting our ace back as well as a second manager," Daichi said, looking at Asahi pointedly.

"We know you still love volleyball, just come back. We barely won our match over Aoba Johsai, we need our ace." The mood between the five of us instantly turned tense. 

"I don't know if I can even be the ace if I can't get past a row of blockers," Ashai's guilt was written all over his face. He had told me a bit about why he doesn't play volleyball now. The match against Date Tech sent his confidence plummeting, leading him to stop calling for balls. The guilt from that match led to a rift between him and his teammates, Sugawara-san, and Nishinoya. He had just recently started speaking to Suga again, and even then, he is still a little awkward. 

"You can't let this guilt eat you, Asahi," I spoke to him gently as I tried to move closer to him. "You have nothing to feel guilty about. You did what you could and despite what you may think, everyone is proud of you. They need you, Asahi." He looked up at me with that statement and smiled slightly. 

"I'll think about it and see." He conceded before getting up again. "We should get back to class y/n, lunch will be done soon." He helped me stand and grabbed my crutches while everyone packed their stuff up. 

"Meet me in front of the gym after school, y/n. We should talk to Takeda-sensei and get you introduced to the team soon." Kiyoko said as she headed towards her class. 

"Ok, see you then." I smiled at her before following behind Ashai.

"Bye Sawamura-san, bye Sugawara-San!" I called over my shoulder.

"Bye Y/n and Asahi. And just call us Daichi and Suga." Daichi waved over his shoulder while Suga smiled at us. I sped up a little to be in line with Asahi, who was still looking a little tense.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly. He came to a stop and turned to me. He immediately wrapped his arms around me in a hug, burying his face in my hair.

"Thank you, y/n." He said before moving away, a rose tint covering his face. I felt my own face warm as I tried to collect myself from the sudden contact.

"No problem, what are friends for?" I smiled at him before walking again.

We reached class and lessons continued for the day until 3:30 when lessons for the day are done. Before I could even say anything to Asahi, he rushed out quickly with a look of determination in his eyes. I shook it off and quickly gathered my stuff to get ready to meet Kiyoko. 

I could hear the sound of squeaky shoes and shouts before I even saw the gym. Kiyoko stood outside, notebook in hand ready to meet me. When she saw me, she immediately took my bags and opened the door. It seemed that almost all at once the noise stopped as the second and first-year boys took me in. Kiyoko came up from behind me and two boys were already screaming. 

"KIYOKO-SAN!" A bald guy and a short guy with a small patch of blonde hair cried. They seemed ready to run and tackle her and probably would have if it wasn't for Daichi holding them by their shirts. 

"Can you two behave, we have a guest. Sorry, y/n-san." Daichi said apologetically while keeping a firm hold of the two.

"It's ok Daichi, it seems like nobody can contain themselves around Kiyoko," I said with a wink as Kiyoko and I moved towards the side of the court. Daichi got the boys to get back to practicing while he brought me a chair to sit on. Looking around the gym, there certainly was a variety of players on the Karasuno team, especially the short red-haired boy who seemed to be able to just ten feet into the air. Soon Takeda-sensei came in with a man with blonde hair. Even Kiyoko was unsure who he was. Sensei came over to the side court beside Kiyoko and me, so I got up to introduce myself.

"Hello Takeda-Sensei, I would like to become the second manager to the Karasuno team. I used to play volleyball myself before my injury so I believe I can be helpful." I said bowing as much as my crutches would allow me to bow.

"Of course. It will be so nice to have an extra set of hands and eyes. Plus having someone with experience close to the boy's age will be wonderful." He said to me then turned towards the gym. "Alright, boys gather around. This is Ukai Keishin and (l/n) (f/n), Ukai will be your couch up until your practice match against Nekoma, and (L/n)-Chan will be your second manager.

"Aren't you the guy that runs Sakanoshita? And how did you break your leg?" The blad-headed guy questions. 

"He's the grandson of the famous Coach Ukai and don't be rude Tanaka," Takada-sensei answers smoothly.

"The store comes from mom's side of the family. Now that's enough. I want to see how you guys play so you have a match at 6:30 against the Karasuno Neighbourhood Association Team." Ukai smiles. The boys immediately go and get on with some practice before their opponents show up while Kiyoko tells me about the boys on the team. Though I am paying attention to her and what she is telling me, I can't help but let my mind wander to Asahi. He left in such a hurry that I thought he would be getting changed for practice. I couldn't help but wonder where he is now.

"Y/n, are you listening? You seem to be lost in thought." Kiyoko says, noticing my lack of focus.

"Yea I am. Sorry, Kiyoko, I was just thinking about Asahi, I thought he'd be here." I said dejectedly. Kiyoko smiled at me with a knowing look on her face. 

"Maybe you miss him?" She said teasingly as I felt my face warm. "I'm just teasing. Today might not be the day for him. I don't think he will give up on the team but he took the loss to Date Tech pretty hard. Give him time, I'm sure what you said to him today was plenty of inspiration." She winked at me before looking back at the boys and their practice. 

Kiyoko was probably right. I pushed the thought aside vowing to talk to Asahi later and focused on my new team in front of me.