Another day of school had gone by and a few more confessions were thrown at Hitomi. She went through it all with no problem and plenty of apathy. The one part she did look forward to, however, was her time in the school's library.

While most kids either went off to their after-school club activities or hung out with friends, Hitomi studied. Isolating herself and having loads of free time, one of the few things she could do to occupy so much of that time was to study. It wasn't that she really liked to do it or anything. It was just something she could do with all this time.

She didn't particularly like being cooped up in her house all day though, so she signed up for prep schools. On days that she didn't have prep school, she would opt to stay in her school's library to browse the endless array of books.

She read all genres, from science fiction, to horror, to biographies, and anything else. There was a nook in the library that was a bit sectioned off from the rest of the room and hidden by the shelves. Of course, her many admirers and stalkers eventually found her little spot, but it was rare nowadays for her to be bothered here.

Most students chose to stay away from the library since many didn't have too much interest in using their free time to study. Those that did, tended to keep to themselves as this was one of the few quiet places they could study in. Although, some of them would eye Hitomi from afar every once in a while. It didn't matter to her, so long as they didn't actually try to talk to her.

As always, some people didn't have that kind of self-restraint. Coming to the library with no intention of studying and every intention of catching Hitomi's attention, these people caused a huge disturbance in the quiet place. As such, they would be sternly escorted out by the head librarian.

So, the school's library very quickly became one of Hitomi's precious places to relax.

Today was one such day to do so. Walking along the aisles, she searched the shelves high and low for any books that may interest her. With how many books she's read and with the pace that she does, Hitomi probably read through half of the books already.

With a stack of about three books, she was ready to head into her little nook of the library when a certain title caught her eye.

Volleyball Fundamentals: A Better Way to Learn the Basics

"I'm Karasuno's libero and Guardian Deity!"

Hitomi blinked, her thoughts on the memory disappearing. She stared at the spine of the book, and then to the stack of books in her hands. Her eyes going back and forth a few times, she ultimately decided to place the volleyball book on the bottom of the pile. It wasn't like she didn't have the strength to carry everything.

Well, she doubted she would get through all of these other books before she got to the volleyball one anyways. It was just a simple curiosity.

Going into her little nook, she took the book on the top of the pile and started her mental journey. It was at the middle of the second book when she got a text on her cellphone from her personal maid.

From: Chiyo-san

Subject: When will you be home?

Text:

Good afternoon, Hitomi-sama. I can assume you are at the library, as you do not have prep school today. Approximately when will you arrive home?

Best regards, Chiyo.

She didn't have a specific time she would go back, but she replied with a time that she thought she would be back by.

Not that it really mattered. Hitomi always had a few bodyguards around her somewhere. They basically knew where she was at all times. So, the time she texted wasn't of much consequence to her.

She returned to her book, immersing herself in the world of words. After finishing the three books she had, Hitomi stood up from her seat and stretched. She stacked them into a neat pile to return them when she noticed the forgotten fourth book. The one about volleyball.

She stared at the book for a moment, contemplating on whether or not she should start it. She glanced out the window, noticing the deep reddish-orange of the sunset. Looking at her watch, she realized that she still had a bit of time before her self-imposed curfew.

Well, it wouldn't hurt to take a look at it, right?

Setting down the stack of books and sitting back down, Hitomi flipped to the first page of Volleyball Fundamentals: A Better Way to Learn the Basics.

Although the books titled implied that it would be suitable for beginners, the author still wrote it assuming that the reader would have at least a little more knowledge about the sport than a complete novice like Hitomi and left many things to be explained. For the things that she was still unsure about, she turned to her phone to search them up. She even came across a few helpful videos, plugging in her headphones so that she wouldn't disturb anyone.

This became a process. Reading through a bit of the book, coming across something that wasn't explained more in depth, and looking it up on her phone. After reading much of the basics of the game, she came across the section about player positions and her mind flitted back to him.

"I'm Karasuno's libero and Guardian Deity!"

She flipped through the pages, looking for the word 'libero.'

'The libero plays a special role in team defense and stands out on the court, usually wearing an opposite colored jersey. Playing only the three back row positions before substituting back to the bench, the agile libero handles shots from the other team. A digging and passing specialist, he or she controls the ball back to setters and hitters. The libero rarely ever comes close to the net and is usually the shortest player on the team.'

Hitomi almost laughed at the end. She didn't know about the rest, but Nishinoya certainly seemed like he could fit the last part.

She smiled, internally apologizing to him because she knew that he had a complex about his height from his interaction with Ueda-san, the convenience store manager. She then wondered, her brows furrowing slightly and her index finger tapping the middle of her bottom lip.

Why was it that the libero was usually the shortest player on the team? It obviously wasn't a rule, but a trend that seemed pretty common. Was it because shorter players would never have the benefit of height? So, they worked especially hard at a position that didn't need it? But then, wouldn't a tall libero be beneficial too? Their longer legs could certainly get them across the court and to places that shorter players could never reach. Then again, if they really were so tall, they'd probably be playing one of the other positions.

Shrugging her shoulders, Hitomi continued reading about the libero position.

'Other than the basic underhand and overhand receives, the libero is usually the best at other special types of receives like the 'pancake' – An emergency defensive move where a player anticipatorily lays his or her hand on the floor (palm facing down) with the intention of having the ball bounce off his or her hand instead of the floor.'

Hitomi looked at her hand in slight awe, spreading it open and slowly turning it to observe it. The human palm is about two and a half centimeters thick, so it seemed rather amazing to her that volleyball players could receive the ball in such a way.

Her thoughts went back to him.

Every time he had grabbed at her wrist to stop her from leaving, she always noticed how thin and almost bony his hands were. She surmised that, just like the rest of him, his hands were probably a little smaller than most others. A somewhat hidden advantage for his position.

As she was examining the size of her palm, she noticed the time on her watch. Her eyes widened as she nearly jumped out of her seat. Was it really this late already? Her head swiveled to look out the window, her reflection looking back at her with how dark it was.

She sighed and texted her personal maid that she would be later than her previously specified time. Thinking a bit, she decided that she would stop by the convenience store. It was already late, and the store was on the way to her house. Her stash was also in dire need of restocking, seeing as she bought so little last time so that she could get away from the manager.

Returning the books back to their rightful shelves, Hitomi stared at the last book in her hands.

The volleyball book.

The girl blinked a few times, debating on whether or not she should check it out and bring it back home. She shook her head, ultimately deciding against it and hastily put it back where she found it.

She had gotten lost deep in a book plenty of times before, but they were always books that heavily interested her. Not one that she picked up off a whim.

It seemed like Hitomi was thinking about Nishinoya Yuu a lot more than she thought she would.

As much as she would like to stop doing that, it would be very difficult to do so when he was squatting outside the front of the convenience store when she arrived.

As always, he was sporting a simple outfit composed of a mono-colored T-shirt and black shorts. As he was squatting, his arms were planted straight on top of his knees. He had a tell-tale white bag from the convenience store dangling from the fingers of his right hand.

The big difference was that he didn't rush up to Hitomi as she walked closer to the store like a dog would when its owner finally came back home.

She tilted her head, finding that strange despite only having met Nishinoya a grand total of three times. Upon closer inspection, Hitomi realized that his eyes were closed. It wasn't until she was right in front of him that she heard light snoring.

She would have laughed at that if she weren't so amazed first. Someone could fall asleep in this kind of position? She wondered if he could sleep standing completely upright like a horse. She almost laughed at that too. Seems like she was comparing him to animals a lot.

Hitomi chose to squat in front of him, keeping her legs together and making sure to tuck her skirt behind her knees so that it would get trapped in between when the back of her thighs met her calves. She placed her briefcase book bag on top of her thighs, her elbows leaning on it as she placed her chin in the cup of her hands.

She observed the snoring boy, noticing that the bruises on his arms and legs had healed significantly from the last time she saw him. The previously dark blotches of skin were reduced to a very faint yellowish color.

Hitomi wondered if he had used the aloe vera gel she gave him, and she smiled a bit when she remembered how excited he was that night.

She flinched and immediately looked back at his face when his head shifted a bit. Her brows furrowed in confusion when she saw that he was wriggling his mouth in an odd way. The boy was still asleep, but his mouth seemed to have a mind of its own.

Hesitating for a moment, Hitomi lifted her hand to gently poke at his cheek. She quickly drew back her hand when the wriggling of his mouth became more intense. Her hands flew to her mouth, trying to stifle her giggling.

He was eating in his sleep! Perhaps he was dreaming about eating. She had heard of sleepwalking but not sleep-eating! To test this theory, Hitomi whispered a bunch of foods at him. "Rice…Tonkatsu…Soba…Mackerel…Yakiniku…"

The girl had to cover her mouth again at the last one. She almost let her giggles slip through when she saw a bit of drool coming out of Nishinoya's mouth at the mention of grilled meat. With each food, his 'chewing' grew bigger and bigger.

Hatching an idea, Hitomi tried to see if the opposite effect would happen if she started whispering foods that were commonly disliked. "Celery…Sea cucumber…Cilantro…Natto…" When none of those foods had the desired effect, the girl tilted her head and frowned a bit.

Her index finger tapped the middle of her bottom lip as she looked up in thought, trying to come up with more foods that people commonly disliked. She gave a small gasp when she thought of something. Leaning closer to him, she whispered, "…Onions."

This time, she couldn't hold it in and her laughter burst through. At the mention of onions, Nishinoya's face had contorted itself. His brows drew together, his lips turned into a deep frown, and it almost felt like a gloomy aura had surrounded him. Despite the clear displeasure of the food, he was still 'chewing' in his sleep, albeit much slower this time.

Nishinoya's eyes slowly opened as he woke up from Hitomi's laughter and also quite possibly from the nightmare of having to eat the greatly loathed onions.

He was initially very groggy, but he snapped out of his daze almost immediately when he realized Hitomi was in front of him. He would have shouted out in excitement at seeing her if he wasn't so busy admiring her beauty.

In her bout of laughter, Hitomi had yet to notice that he had woken up and was now staring at her in awe.

Nishinoya wondered if he was still dreaming. If he was, he hoped that it would never end. She was just so beautiful, and her smile was even better. He didn't know what she was laughing at, but he didn't care. He just hoped that she would always be able to smile like that in front of him. Better yet, he hoped that she would always be able to smile like that because of him.

She was in her school uniform too! Man, was she pretty! He chose to go to Karasuno because the girls' uniforms were cute, but damn, he should've gone to Hitomi's school! She made the Karasuno girls' uniform pale in comparison.

As she calmed down, Hitomi finally noticed that Nishinoya was awake and staring at her. It was unsettling, but not necessarily in an all bad way.

She was used to getting stares from people. Curious stares from strangers on the street wondering if she were some sort of model. Heated glares from girls that were envious of her. Unwanted ogling from men undressing her with their eyes.

Nishinoya's stares, however, didn't make her feel uncomfortable like all those other stares. He didn't look at her like the rest did. Just like how she thought about the rest of his personality, his eyes held an air of childlike innocence.

He wasn't looking at her with contempt. He wasn't looking at her in a vulgar way. He was looking at her.

Just her.

Like how a child would see their favorite cartoon hero appear on television. Like how a person would look at the floating cherry blossoms during the spring season.

Like how someone would look at the person they love with complete admiration and longing desire.

Unable to meet his eyes any longer, Hitomi looked away in embarrassment and cleared her throat awkwardly. "Um…Are you alright…?" She tentatively called out to him, causing the boy to flinch and snap out of his reverie.

Finally realizing that this wasn't a dream, the libero shouted out in surprise. "H-Hitomi-chan! What are you doing here?!" He noticed that there was still some drool left on his lip. He quickly used the collar of his shirt to wipe at his mouth, hoping that he hadn't made a fool of himself in front of the girl he likes.

Hitomi felt a bit guilty at his action, seeing as she was the one to blame by whispering different foods to him while he was sleep-eating. She pulled out a handkerchief, handing it to him.

Nishinoya frantically waved his hands about, refusing to accept the handkerchief. Something about 'not having the right to taint Hitomi's belongings.'

When he was done collecting himself, he screamed again, causing the girl to jump. Looking at him with confusion and worry, she followed his eyes to the white shopping bag in his hands.

"The Garigari-kun! Noooo!" He shouted in despair as Hitomi looked into the bag. There were a couple of Garigari-kun popsicles, but the packaging looked very misshapen. Instead of the rectangular block that they should have been in, the ice cream was reduced to a soppy mess from having melted.

The girl looked back at him when he suddenly clapped his hands together and bowed his head behind them. "I'm sorry, Hitomi-chan! These were supposed to be for you, but I let them melt! Please feel free to punish me in any way you want!"

He seemed truly remorseful, but he also seemed a little too excited after saying that last part. Deciding to let it go, Hitomi asked, "For me?"

The libero nodded eagerly. "To repay you for that aloe vera gel! It really worked! Look!" He raised his arms and one leg to her, showing off the healing skin excitedly.

Hitomi slightly grimaced. "That's alright. You really don't have to do that. It wasn't that expensive anyways." Suddenly, her brows furrowed as she thought about his statement. "…Wait…Have you been getting extra Garigari-kun popsicles every day since then…?"

"…Yes?" The boy replied uncertainly, causing Hitomi to sigh when her suspicions were confirmed. "Then…what did you do with all of those popsicles when I didn't show up?" She was hesitant to ask, but she needed to know.

"I ate them! I would've done the same today, but then I fell asleep!" Nishinoya sheepishly laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

Hitomi looked at him with clear disgust. "Every day? You ate all of them? That's really unhealthy."

The boy just laughed it off. "But it'd be a waste if I didn't eat them! And I couldn't bring them home in time before they melted because I was waiting for you the whole time." Hitomi felt slightly guilty again, but she soon brushed it off because it wasn't like she knew he was doing this. She wasn't deliberately avoiding him and causing him to waste his money on popsicles.

Nishinoya looked back into the bag. "Aw man! What a waste!" He quickly looked up in realization. "Wait! You're here this time! I'll just buy some more right now!" He got up to run into the store, but Hitomi pulled him back down.

"No…that's okay. I'll just take these." Hitomi quietly suggested, taking the bag from his hands.

The boy tilted his head in confusion. "Whaaaat?! But those are all melted! I couldn't possibly give you that!" He exclaimed, fully determined to give her a proper gift of appreciation.

Hitomi just shook her head, smiling gently. "These are fine. They're not leaking out of the wrappings, so I can just refreeze them when I get back home. Thank you…Nishinoya-kun…" She didn't meet his eyes out of embarrassment, choosing instead to look at the tuft of dirty blond hair covering the middle of his forehead.

Even so, she could still see the very distinct shade of red growing on his face.

They both jumped at the sound of her ringtone. Pulling out her phone, Hitomi read the caller ID.

Chiyo-san.

It was late, and it was far later than the time Hitomi told the woman she would be back by. Quickly standing up, Hitomi bowed to Nishinoya, wishing him a good night.

The boy was still love struck, unable to react in time before she ran off.

He watched her go, his hand clutching at his shirt, right above his heart.