"We'll be up against Seijoh, one of the top four in the prefecture! But we're definitely taking them down! It'll be even better than seeing us get revenge on Datekou! You definitely should come see it!"
Hitomi's hand twitched, the pencil making an unwanted stroke on the paper. Why had she suddenly thought about yesterday? Looking down at her notebook, she realized that the last couple of words she wrote were just plain gibberish. Sighing, she took an eraser to correct her mistakes.
She had no intention of going to see his match, no matter how much he begged her. Besides, even if she wanted to, it was too late now. It was already night time, and the match surely would have been over by now. So, why had she thought about it?
She was never really interested in any sport, much less volleyball. In fact, she barely knew much about it past that book she read on a whim in her school's library.
There was no reason for her to suddenly think about Nishinoya's match, and yet, her fingers were already typing up a search on her smartphone. Clicking on the first result, she was brought to an article on the Miyagi News website.
Powerhouses Aobajohsai High School and Shiratorizawa Academy Set to Face Off in the Inter-High Final!
"Hitomi-sama, where are you going?" The girl flinched as she heard her personal maid's voice. When had she reached the front door to her home? It appears her body had moved on instinct, and she had no idea why.
The maid, Chiyo, looked on curiously as she saw Hitomi's face contort with confusion. Her tenseness slowly relaxed as she dealt with her inner conflict. Although, the relaxation seemed a bit forced. "This is around the usual time that you would visit the convenience store for your snacks, but I am aware that you went yesterday. Would you perhaps be going again tonight? Did the store not have a particular snack of your liking yesterday?" The older woman asked.
Hitomi furrowed her brows slightly, biting the inside of her cheek. "I…no, it's nothing. I don't know what I was planning on doing. Thank you, Chiyo-san." The girl closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to get her bearings together. She turned around, walking towards the stairs.
Chiyo watched her silently with a bit of concern, never really seeing Hitomi so disoriented. The girl always took everything in stride, no matter how absurd the situation was like being proposed to or blackmailed by various men of power with their eye on her. The maid continued to watch as Hitomi stopped walking up the stairs at the fourth step. She saw the girl's hand tighten on the side railing before she turned to walk back down.
"Have you decided to go after all?" Chiyo asked tentatively. Hitomi paused at the door again. After a moment, she nodded. Chiyo then moved to open the door and bowed respectfully. "In that case, please do have a safe trip."
Hitomi nodded to her in acknowledgement as she walked out. As the door closed behind her, she breathed in the night air. She released the breath as a heavy sigh. "What am I doing…?" She whispered but trekked forward anyways.
There was no reason for her to go to the convenience store tonight. She had already bought her weeks-worth of snacks yesterday, and her maid assumed incorrectly that she was going for another snack that wasn't in stock. She had bought her usual favorites with no trouble yesterday.
Therefore, there was no reason for her to go. Yet, she was still going. Although she would have liked to deny it, she knew the real reason for going was to see if he would be there.
She had no idea why. It was completely irrational. Just as she had no reason to go to the store, he had no reason to be waiting there either. He never knew what day of the week she would come, but they both knew by now that Hitomi only went to the store once a week, if at all. The fact that she went yesterday meant that she wouldn't be there for a while and most certainly not tonight.
Yet, here she was. Standing within sight of the familiar convenience store, seeing Nishinoya out front.
He was squatting by the entrance, slightly leaning against the wall as his arms lay atop his knees. His hair was down again, covering his eyes as he looked at the ground in front of him.
Hitomi's brows furrowed. The air around him was somewhat…gloomy. Something that was unfamiliar on him. She had seen him upset before like when he got annoyed at the manager Ueda or when he visited her at her school and heard the people talking badly about her, but she hadn't seen him so downcast before. Of course, she hadn't known him for long, but the striking thing about him was that his cheerfulness never dampened even when Hitomi was at her coldest towards him.
Nishinoya shifted when he heard the sound of footsteps growing closer. When he lifted his head to see if it was the girl he was waiting for, Hitomi saw that his eyes were slightly red and puffy. Sure signs of recent crying.
"Wait here." She ordered before he could even get up to greet her. His eyes followed her form in confusion as she quickly went inside the store.
Within a few moments, she returned with a plastic bag filled with whatever she bought. Once again, before he could get up, Hitomi squat down next to him with her knees together and leaned back against the wall. She placed the bag in front of him.
"For me?" Nishinoya questioned. The girl nodded, not looking at him. Nishinoya just tilted his head in confusion, but ruffled through the bag nonetheless. In it were two bottles of the sports drink Pocari Sweat, a few instant hot packs, the same number of instant cold compresses, a couple of protein bars, and a small packet of tissues.
The libero looked back at Hitomi for an explanation. She had the lower half of her face buried in her arms that were crossed over her knees as she spoke softly, still not looking at him. "A sports drink with lots of electrolytes is good after a workout. So is a protein bar and keeping your muscles warm with hot packs…"
Nishinoya felt the tears coming back up. He thought he was done with all that crying with the team earlier, but he was wrong. "Hitomi-chan…" He breathed out in disbelief, a few sniffles being let out as well. He was trying hard not to cry in front of the girl he likes, fearing that she might think him less of a man for doing so.
Her next words, however, made all his efforts useless. "You can cry as much as you want. There are tissues and cold compresses in there too. You can put them on your eyes later to reduce the swelling from crying."
Nishinoya's tears flowed freely, a heavy stream down his cheeks and chin. He tore open a protein bar and popped open the cap of a Pocari Sweat. Slapping on the hot packs to his legs, he chomped on the protein bars and nearly chugged the sports drinks.
Hitomi glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Slow down. At this rate, you'll end up choking yourself." She admonished, but there was really no threat in her voice. She continued to look at Nishinoya, a slight frown on her lips as she saw how distressed he was. She noticed his momentary happiness when he realized her intentions, but it was completely overshadowed by his low spirits from losing his match today.
She silently waited beside him as Nishinoya ate and cried. When he finished, he used the tissues to wipe his eyes and mouth. The tears had stopped flowing, but he still felt the sting in his eyes. "…We lost today…" He breathed out in a voice much too soft for him.
His hands tightened on the nearly finished bottle of Pocari Sweat, his knuckles turning dangerously white. "If I could've just saved a few more balls…Gotten a few more of his serves…Next time…I swear I'll be the best libero next time and save every single ball that comes my way…"
Hitomi stared at him as she thought about what to say. "I…don't really do well with other people, so I've never played a team sport before…" There was a faint sadness there but it was gone as soon as it came, returning to a more blank face. "…but I'm sure the feeling of not wanting to lose is the same for everyone. I would imagine that, being in a team, that feeling gets even worse because you've been working so hard with other people to achieve the same goal."
The girl turned to look forward again, as if she were searching for something in the distance. "Even though I say the feeling of not wanting to lose is the same for everyone, I don't think it's particularly strong for me. I've played some solo sports before, but I only ever got good enough to satisfy my parents' expectations. Eventually, when someone better than me came along, I would just say 'Oh, well' and go on my way. I was never passionate about much of anything really."
She looked back at Nishinoya, her eyes connected with his. His breath got caught in his throat at her gaze. "Seeing you being so passionate about volleyball, to the point that losing only makes you want to play more to improve yourself…I think that's something pretty amazing, no? Your team is lucky to have a teammate like you, and despite whatever happened in your match today, I'm sure they don't blame you one bit. In fact, I think they're grateful to have such a dependable teammate like you to watch their backs. So, don't beat yourself up about it so much that you end up becoming this gloomy mess. That's not who you are." Hitomi finished with a gentle, sympathetic smile.
Nishinoya could feel the sting of tears at the back of his eyes again. He mentally swore at himself for showing such a pathetic side to himself in front of her. He furiously rubbed the tears away with his shirt, having run out of the small package of tissues she bought. "I really, really like you, Hitomi-chan…"
She flinched, the small smile dropping form her face instantly as her brows furrowed slightly. "Wh—Are you serious, now is not the time to be bringing that up." Her voice returned to its coldness, but it didn't seem as cold as she could have made it.
Nishinoya laughed. "It's true though! I really do like you, Hitomi-chan! And…" He gave her a thousand-watt smile. "We won't lose to them again. I'll show you just how cool I can be, so come watch my game next time!"
Hitomi just sighed. She wasn't quite sure if it was an exasperated one because he was back to his old antics or if it was one of relief because he was returning to normal. She paused in thought, wondering just when she had gotten so used to him. Enough that she knew how he usually was and was even perturbed if he acted differently. Her thoughts were interrupted when he spoke again. "It really was a good idea to come here…"
The girl raised an eyebrow at him, questioning him. "You should know by now that I only go to this store around once a week, if at all. What would you have done if I didn't end up coming here?"
Nishinoya hummed in thought. "Yeah, that's true. I didn't think you'd be here today, but I was feeling really down about my game. I just really wanted to see you. I didn't have your number and I don't know where you live either. Next thing I knew, my legs already took me here!" He laughed boisterously. "I was right to come here though. Seeing you instantly made me feel better!"
Hitomi's eyes widened at seeing him staring at her so lovingly. Her gaze flew forward as she buried the lower half of her face into her arms again. Thankfully it was night time because she felt the strangest tinge of heat on her cheeks. "You're ridiculous…"
The boy laughed again, his heart full of warmth. He eventually stopped, tilting his head in confusion. "Hey, wait, why are you here then, Hitomi-chan?" He questioned her curiously.
Uh-oh.
Her eyes widened again, realizing her mistake. There's no way she would say that she came here to see him. She hadn't even admitted that to herself yet, and there's no telling how he would react at that. "I…came back because I wanted to buy a snack that wasn't in stock yesterday…" She hesitated in coming up with a believable excuse.
Nishinoya ruffled through the single shopping bag in front of them, seeing only the instant cold compresses left. He tilted his head in confusion again. "Eh? I don't see any other snacks in here though?"
"…They didn't have what I wanted again…" Hitomi mentally pat herself on the back, relieved at being able to lie her way through that. She could tell that Nishinoya was genuinely curious and she was ever thankful that he wasn't bright enough to figure it out.
"Eh? Really!? Tell me what you want! I'll get it for you next time!" He leaned towards her excitedly.
Hitomi leaned away from him. "…That's okay. It was just a simple craving. It's not a big deal."
Nishinoya just shook his head adamantly. "No way! Whatever you want, I'll get it for you! It's the least I could do to repay you for all the kindness you've shown me!"
"I said it's fine! Just think of it as payment for always making you wait out here." Normally, she would have just brushed it off because it was always the boys' choice to follow her around. She never asked for any of their attention, but they gave it to her regardless. That's why she never felt the least bit bothered. With Nishinoya though, she really couldn't shake off this slight guilt that she felt. Who knows how many times he's been here just to be disappointed at her lack of appearance?
"Of course I'd wait for you! I'd wait anywhere to see you, Hitomi-chan!" He shot her that blindingly bright smile of his again. The girl buried her face further into her arms, feeling that weird small heat in her cheeks again.
"You really are an idiot. Why don't you ever wait inside the store? You're lucky that it's the start of Summer and it's getting warm. What are you going to do once Winter comes? You'll freeze to death waiting out here all night." Hitomi quickly covered her mouth, realizing her mistake. If she was talking about Winter, then she was insinuating that she would still be willing to see him even after that long. She was making a lot of mistakes today. She silently admonished herself for such a dumb blunder, but she strangely didn't feel that bothered by it.
"I wait outside because I want to see you just that much sooner! When it's Winter, I'll just wear two…no, three…no, four! I'll wear four more layers to keep myself warm! I'll come to see you even in a blizzard, Hitomi-chan! When you smile at me, I'll warm up instantly!" Nishinoya's smile never faltered, his eyes blazing with determination.
Hitomi felt that small spark of guilt again. Her brows creased as she frowned, her thoughts bouncing on how to absolve herself of this strange guilt. "Wait here." She said as she suddenly stood up and went back into the convenience store. Nishinoya called out her name in question but the sliding doors already closed behind her.
Within moments, she returned with a sheet of paper in her hands. She handed it to him without looking at him. Taking it, Nishinoya skimmed the paper. It was a small calendar for this month with several dates circled in pen. He looked back up at her, tilting his head in confusion. "The days that are circled are the only days that I'll come to the store. Not all of them, but if it's not circled then I definitely won't be here that day." She explained still not making eye contact with him.
Nishinoya's eyes and mouth widened as he released a sound of awe. Just like when she gave him that Garigari-kun popsicle yesterday, he held the paper as if it were a map to the world's greatest riches. "Hitomi-chaaaaan!"
The girl held up her hand at him. "Don't go thinking that I'm doing this for you! I just don't want to be held responsible if you keep coming here and end up with a heat stroke or freeze to death."
The boy just laughed again, going on and on about how beautiful and amazing the girl he likes is. Hitomi rolled her eyes, but there was an unmistakable upwards tilt of her lips.