In the following week, Hitomi instantly regretted her actions. She stood some ways away from the convenience store, close enough to see Nishinoya Yuu squatting outside the entrance but far enough to not be detected by the boy.
He sported his usual black shorts and brightly colored t-shirt with a random four-character idiom printed on the front. His hair was back to its swept-up style that added about ten centimeters to his height. There was a white plastic shopping bag next to him, the ones typically used by the store. He appeared to be reading from a notebook, worry lines creasing his forehead as he struggled with the content.
Hitomi blinked a few times, weighing her decisions. Why, just why had she given him that schedule? She really didn't need to encourage him. No matter how she was feeling at the time and despite the spark of guilt that spurred her actions, Hitomi should have just left him to his own devices. If he got a heat stroke or frostbite waiting outside for her, that should be his fault. She really shot herself in the foot this time.
The girl released a heavy sigh, wondering for the umpteenth time just what was wrong with her. She justified her actions with the idea that Nishinoya probably would have kept waiting for her regardless. Schedule or no schedule, he surely would be stupid enough to come here every day in the hopes of seeing her. The thought helped a little in easing her feelings of regret.
She rolled her shoulders and sighed again, mentally preparing for her encounter with him. As she drew closer, Nishinoya's ears perked up. He instantly got up to greet her, the worry lines disappearing from his forehead and his smile as vibrant as ever.
It really made her wonder how he could always be this happy to see her. It also made her realize just how important volleyball was to him if a simple loss could make him so depressed. She then wondered what he was looking at before to make him frown like so.
"Hitomi-chan! I missed you!" His booming voice greeted her. She was glad that there weren't any houses close enough to be disturbed by his volume.
"I have a feeling you would say that even if we had met yesterday." She accused with a raised brow.
Nishinoya just beamed at her, his smile blinding. "Even one second away from you is unbearable!" Hitomi rolled her eyes, wondering how many of those cheesy lines he has in reserve and how many times he's used them on other girls before. He's probably used them on that 'Kiyoko-san' before, whoever she is.
Other guys had used those types of lines on her before, but to no avail. For some reason, she wasn't bothered as much when Nishinoya said it.
Suddenly, he thrust the white shopping bag in front of her. "I got these for you! To repay you for all your kindness!" Nishinoya's eyes gleamed with excitement, entirely eager to please her.
Hitomi raised an eyebrow in question, cautiously reaching out to take the bag. She studied his face, seeing how eager he was. He looked like a puppy looking up at its owner, wagging its tail and waiting for its owner to get ready for their long-awaited walk. She glanced down into the bag, seeing copious amounts of snacks. Way more than she would usually buy.
Upon further inspection, her eyes widened slightly in surprise. There were some Konpeito sugar candies, Kasugai assorted gummies, various Kit Kat bars, bottles of Calpis, cans of Mitsuya Cider, as well as many other snacks. Some of the flavors he chose were questionable at best, but most of the snacks he chose were some of her favorite brands.
She supposed he wasn't only looking at just her beauty.
Nishinoya really didn't seem like the observant type, but he was surprising her a lot lately. Even though he got some of the flavors wrong, he managed to remember her favorite snacks just from a few short encounters. She had even told him many times that he needn't do anything to pay her back. Yet, he still chose to anyways.
It wasn't like Hitomi hadn't received gifts before. Flowers, jewelry, designer clothes, and more. She had received them all, but she hardly had any interest in those gifts. They didn't have an ounce of thought in them.
Even though Hitomi had received many gifts before, Nishinoya's gift of snacks was the first that made her feel differently. Every other man was always just hoping to impress her with money and material possessions.
Nishinoya's gift, on the other hand, was actually quite thoughtful even if it didn't cost as much as any of the other gifts she's ever gotten. Even if he got her some disgusting flavors like the wasabi and soy sauce flavored Kit Kats, he still remembered a little of what she liked.
Honestly though, who actually buys these flavors to the point that they're still in production?
At Hitomi's continued silence, Nishinoya fidgeted in place. He was eagerly awaiting a reaction that didn't seem to be coming. As she continued to stare into the bag of snacks, he grew a bit nervous. "D-Did I get the wrong ones?" He questioned tentatively. "I can go back in and get the right ones! Just tell me whatever you want!"
He turned around to dash back into the store but he felt her thin, soft hand grasping at his wrist to stop him. "That's really not necessary. These snacks are fine, aside from some of the flavors, but I suppose I could always try something new." She reassured him with a small smile.
Nishinoya's vibrant smile returned in full force, happy to see that she had accepted the snacks. A thoughtful look appeared on Hitomi's face, causing Nishinoya to tilt his head in question. "You do know that by getting me these snacks, you have less time to spend with me because instead of having you following me as I shop, I can just go back home now." She explained.
Nishinoya blanched at that as Hitomi continued explaining. "You also got way more than I usually get. I could probably go a whole month without coming back to the store because you got me so many snacks."
"…"
The girl stared at his blank face slowly contorting into one of despair as he processed what she said. "NOOOOOO! I DIDN'T THINK OF THAT!" Both of his hands went up to each side of his head, gripping his hair as he shouted out.
His moment of anguish was soon interrupted by a faint giggle. He turned to see Hitomi giggling into her hand, her eyes closed with her shoulders shaking. When she opened her eyes to look back at him, his breath caught in his throat.
Ahh, she was just too beautiful.
"I was only teasing you because I know you'd be stupid enough to forget about something like that." Hitomi said as she calmed down. "It's true that you bought way too much though. I really won't need to come back to the store for a while. I know you got these snacks for me, but care to join me in eating some?"
"Yes!" Nishinoya responded with glee, wildly nodding his head. She chuckled softly once more before squatting down and pulling out some snacks. Reading the labels, her brows furrowed as she hummed in thought. "You really need to work on picking out good flavors though. Soy sauce flavored Kit Kats? Really?"
"I thought it'd be fun to try because it was so weird!" He laughed. Hitomi couldn't argue with that logic, having known he would say something along those lines. She handed him one of the wrapped soy sauce flavored Kit Kats. As he tore his open, Hitomi gently peeled the wrapping.
Opening it, she was surprised to find that the wafer was covered in a white chocolate. "Ehh? It's not black like I thought it would be…" Sniffing it, her brows furrowed further in confusion. "And it smells oddly very sweet. Sort of like maple syrup." Taking a nibble from the wafer, her eyes widened. "It is sweet. Not salty at all like real soy sauce." As she swallowed, her tongue moved around inside her mouth. "It really does taste more like maple syrup, and the flavor lingers…" Picking up the packaging, she read the flavor label again just to make sure it was actually supposed to be the soy sauce flavor.
Nishinoya laughed beside her, catching her attention. "You should be some sort of snack critic, Hitomi-chan! You look so serious just eating snacks!"
His mouth was full with three of the soy sauce Kit Kats and Hitomi noticed a couple more empty wrappers by his feet. When had he eaten so many of them?
"I can be very particular with my snacks." Hitomi joked. "This is actually quite good though. Maybe a little too sweet to have multiple at a time, but I think it'd go well with tea. I never would have tried it on my own." She turned to Nishinoya, flashing him a gentle smile, probably the most real smile she had shown him yet. "Thank you, Nishinoya-kun."
The boy swore he had died and gone to heaven. It was most definitely an angel in front of him, sent down to guide him to the afterlife. A fierce blush appeared on his cheeks as he stared at her. She finished her Kit Kat bar, ruffling through the snack bag to see what other interesting flavors he had bought.
"So beautiful…" He whispered lovingly. Her head slightly turned towards him but her gaze was still fixated on the snacks as she ruffled through the bag. "Hmm? Did you say something?"
Nishinoya flinched, not realizing he had said it aloud. "Y-You really love snacks, huh?" Why was he getting embarrassed now of all times? He had told her she was beautiful nearly every other time he had seen her. What had changed? She was beautiful even when she was cold to him, but her smiles directed at him were just so much more beautiful.
She had smiled at him before though, however small they were. So, why was he feeling shy about it now?
Slowly, but surely, she was opening up to him. She didn't have to stay. She didn't have to make conversation with him. She didn't have to share with him. She didn't have to thank him. She didn't have to be so kind to him.
Yet, she still did all of these things no matter how bad of an impression he left on her initially.
Her smile though. Oh, her smile. What he wouldn't give to just have that smile forever imprinted in his mind.
He felt his heartbeat quicken just from thinking about it. His hand felt the area around his chest, his heart pulsing underneath his palm. Not even Kiyoko could have this much of an effect on him. He continued to stare at Hitomi as she placed another soy sauce Kit Kat in her mouth, nibbling on it hands-free so that she could thoroughly look through the rest of the snacks.
Beautiful, kind, thoughtful, pretty, cute…What wasn't she?
Suddenly she turned to him, surprising him. In his shock, he had almost dropped one of the already opened Kit Kat bars. Hitomi raised in eyebrow at him in question as he fumbled with the candy. "By the way, what was it you were looking at before? You seemed really troubled by it."
Nishinoya saw the flash of concern in her eyes, and it warmed his heart. "Uh…I was studying for the final exams coming up. My worst subject is modern literature…" He revealed sheepishly.
Hitomi looked up, her finger tapping the middle of her chin like she usually did when she was thinking. "Modern literature? Most of the time, they're just testing your reading comprehension. If you read closely the answer is pretty much always plainly written right in the text."
She looked back at Nishinoya, surprised to find him so glum. He was a bit depressed at how she explained it so simply and ashamed that he couldn't also find it just as simple like Hitomi or Ennoshita did. That spark of guilt returned to Hitomi, seeing him so upset.
"I need to avoid the makeup exams so that I can go to the training camp…" The libero muttered. Hitomi nodded in understanding. Of course, he was more concerned about volleyball than about the actual grades.
"I just hate studying so much! Especially modern literature! Once I start reading, it gets so boring! And there's just so much to read! How am I supposed to remember where the one sentence they're looking for is?!" He bemoaned, releasing a frustrated shout.
"Do you mind if I have a look?" Hitomi offered. The boy nodded, handing over his crumpled notebook filled with previous pop quizzes in the subject. Hitomi grimaced at the grades, seeing the low scores and red markings littered throughout the pages. Picking out a random quiz, she glanced quickly at the passages and the questions.
Leaning towards him, she pointed at several parts within the passages. "Sometimes the passages can be quite lengthy, but most of the time, you don't really have to read the whole thing. I usually read the questions first and then just skim the passages. A lot of the times, the questions will use words that are found in the passages. So, I skim until something similar shows up and then I read around that area. It's a lot faster and much less boring that way." She explained thoroughly, using his pencil to circle and underline words.
Honestly, Nishinoya couldn't pay attention. She was leaning close to him in order to show him what she was talking about, and it was close enough that he could smell the shampoo from her hair. It was a nice and light floral scent. He thought it really suited her.
As she looked down at the pages, her hair fell forward. She gently tucked it behind her ear, still focusing on the paper.
She was so close. He didn't think he'd ever seen her beautiful face this close before. He had admired her before, but he always had to look up at her to do so. Now that they were both squatting, their faces were level with each other and he had a perfect view of her.
Instead of her finger, she used the pencil to tap the middle of her chin as she thought. Suddenly, she turned to him, catching him off guard yet again. "Are you even listening?" She demanded sternly.
Nishinoya blushed and laughed sheepishly. Hitomi just rolled her eyes and sighed, handing his notebook and pencil back to him. "Forget it. I shouldn't have offered to help you."
The boy flinched. Of course, he needed all the help he could get, but this was the perfect opportunity to spend more time with the girl he likes! "No, wait! Please help me, Hitomi-sensei!"
The girl stared at him with a reprimanding look for a few moments before sighing. "Fine, but you better pay attention this time." He nodded emphatically. He intently listened to her every word as she explained things as simply as possible for him. Though very difficult at first, he was slowly starting to get it.
After successfully managing to answer three questions correctly without her assistance, Hitomi clapped excitedly. "You did it! See, it's not so bad once you really try." She dug into the snack bag, pulling out another soy sauce Kit Kat and placing it in his palm. "A reward for your efforts." She tilted her head. "Well…I guess it's not much of a reward when you remember that you're the one who bought it." She laughed, the sound tickling Nishinoya's ears.
He stared at her laughing face, almost melting at the sight. "Hitomi-chan…I—" He was interrupted by the loud ringing of his phone. Quickly answering it, his mother's loud voice bombarded his ear. Hitomi, without meaning to, caught a few snippets of the conversation. She smiled to herself, finding humor in the situation. Now she knows that his loud and energetic nature ran in the family.
She heard something about getting home quickly because they were having guests for dinner. Nishinoya frantically apologized, assuring that he would make it home in time. After ending the call, he clapped his hands together and bowed to Hitomi. "Sorry, Hitomi-chan! I have to go back home! I'll definitely be back next week though!"
The girl raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't count on me being here next week, what with how many snacks you bought." She raised the bag of snacks to emphasize her point.
"No way! Please!? I really could use your help in studying again! Plus, I really want to see you!" He nearly begged her.
Hitomi sighed, but it was more for appearances than it actually was to show annoyance. "I'll think about it." She curtly responded.
"Yes!" The libero jumped up in joy. "I'll see you next week, Hitomi-chan!" He shouted and waved back as he ran off.
Hitomi's eyes followed him until he was completely out of sight, unknowingly smiling to herself.