Nishinoya Yuu was currently checking himself out in a store window's reflection.
Today, he didn't wear his standard bright T-shirts with their four-character idioms. With the summer heat, he decided to wear something light while still being a bit more stylish than his usual outfits.
He had on a tank top, the top half of it white and the bottom half of it orange. It was paired with a casual, black, open front vest. Since everything was sleeveless, his arms were bare, allowing him to flex in the reflection as he admired his biceps. He nodded in approval to himself with a large smirk, earning a few strange looks from others passing him on the street.
The tank top was loosely tucked into simple, dark gray shorts with a belt looped over the side of his leg on top of his outer thigh. Nishinoya rearranged the single trap of his usual bright red messenger bag that he used for school. He rummaged inside, checking for the nth time today that he hadn't forgotten anything at home.
Notebooks? Check. Pencil case? Check. Supplementary books? Check. Keys? Check. Wallet? Check. Library card? Check.
It seemed like everything he needed was there. Not that the contents of his bag had really changed the past nth times. He looked back up at his reflection, returning to checking himself out and leaning forward for a closer look.
His face was nearly pressed up against the window, his hands carefully fixing the stray strands of hair in its regular swept up style. It was particularly hot today, and he worried that the humidity mixed with his sweat might ruin its perfection. Not that he really had any cause to be concerned though, since he was always sweating with this hairstyle during volleyball practice and it never looked out of place.
It was just that this date was making him extra cautious. Well…it wasn't a date date, but it was kind of like a date! He could even call it a study date! Yeah, that's it! A study date! With his beautiful Hitomi-chan! Well…she wasn't really his…but he could dream! In fact, maybe she really could become his at the end of the day!
Nishinoya pulled out his phone, checking the time. It was a couple of minutes before the designated meetup time. He had been anxiously waiting for the love of his life for the past twenty minutes, continuously checking himself out and checking his bag to distract him.
He wondered how Hitomi would look for today. He'd only seen her in her uniform once, and all the other times were just casual wear. Mostly just over-sized T-shirts and regular pants. He fidgeted in place, growing even more anxious and excited. Would she dress up for today? After all, it wasn't just a simple errand that she was going on. They'd be spending a lot of the day together!
He started fantasizing about it. Today, they were planning on going to the public library so that she could help him with his summer homework. Nishinoya looked up in thought, imagining Hitomi as a teacher.
In his mind, he saw her with a crisp, white dress shirt tucked into a tight, black pencil skirt. Below the skirt, he could see her sheer stockings hugging her long legs, disappearing underneath high heels. This Hitomi was even wearing fake glasses to complete the look, her hair tied up into a bun with a pencil threaded through the middle of it to keep it together. She was holding a ruler in one hand, gently hitting the end of it into the palm of her other hand.
"What a bad student…If you get this question wrong too, I'll have to punish you." She said, emphasizing her last words with a harsher slap of the ruler into her hand. Nishinoya shivered with pleasure, his eyes becoming half-lidded in bliss and his lips turning into a stupid grin.
"You look like a pervert…" Hitomi's beautiful accusatory voice invaded his ears. She didn't even want to know what he was thinking about just now. "…and in broad daylight too." Nishinoya's eyes opened wide, excitedly turning to the voice. She was observing him with clear disgust, but the boy was focused on other things.
She really did dress up for today. For him? What an honor! He felt his heart thumping against his chest. Much harder and faster than when he was fantasizing about a teacher version of her.
Hitomi's outfit was also light and casual, yet stylish and it seemed to suit her perfectly. In all honesty, this was far better than what he could have ever imagined.
Today, she was wearing ripped denim shorts paired with a white, V-neck shirt half tucked into them. On top was a thin, olive green cardigan with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. A sleek necklace rested in the space just below her collarbones.
Even more striking was that her long hair was tied up into a ponytail, exposing the nape of her neck.
An exposed neck, or rather specifically, the nape of the neck held a certain amount of sex appeal. Although, this is more of an old-fashioned view from the prominent age of Geishas. Of course, there are still some people that find this part of the body particularly attractive, but it seems uncommon or out of place in current society where skin is shown much more freely and in greater abundance. Nowadays, it's more likely for people to focus on other things.
Nishinoya was one of the types that never quite understood that elevated level of appeal…until now, of course.
The boy was completely speechless, not even processing what she had said to him. He didn't even dare to blink, fearing that this beauty, far exceeding all of his imaginations, would disappear right before him. It was like he'd never even seen a girl until today. Like he'd never truly experienced beauty until now.
He felt blessed.
It wasn't until Hitomi snapped her fingers directly in front of his face when he came to his senses. "Hello? Anybody home…?" She asked, waving her hand at him.
Nishinoya flinched, a deep blush rising through his cheeks. "H-Hitomi-chan! Y-You're absolutely glowing today!" He shouted a little too loudly, attracting even more attention from passerby. His voice was already loud normally, but the sudden erratic beating of his heart was making him feel strange. It was like he was yelling even more in the hopes that she wouldn't be able to overhear the deep thumping in his chest.
Hitomi looked at him incredulously, raising an eyebrow at him. "Isn't that just because we're meeting when the sun is out?" She surmised with doubt. It was true that they had always only seen each other at night when she came to the convenience store. The only other time was when he surprised her at her school, but the sun was already partially setting then. Today, they were meeting during the day when the sun was shining brightly.
The libero furiously shook his head, standing by his statement. "No way! You look beautiful no matter what time of day it is, Hitomi-chan!"
She smiled awkwardly at him, eyebrows still furrowed with skepticism. "Then what makes today so much different?" She chuckled, shaking her head a little and noticing the many stares that they were getting. "Anyways, you're being really loud. I hope you remembered that we're going to a library. Try not to get us kicked out." She teased, but there was a very clear glint of warning in her eyes.
That look was enough to whip him into action. Nishinoya immediately straightened up and shut his mouth, almost tempted to salute. Hitomi nodded in approval, walking off towards the public library first. Nishinoya still stood behind her, his eyes trained on the back of her neck.
His heart began rapidly thumping again. To him Hitomi's beauty shone even brighter than the sun. So, of course it wasn't the sun that was making her glow! No words could even begin to describe how beautiful she was to him, and it wasn't just because of his poor vocabulary either.
When she realized that he wasn't following, Hitomi turned around and gave him a confused look. Nishinoya jumped, quickly running to her. Once he caught up, Hitomi started walking again.
The boy anxiously tugged at the strap of his messenger bag, glancing every now and then at Hitomi's hand next to him. His fantasies ran rampant again, imagining what it would be like if this were a real date. He imagined how soft her hand would feel against his and his face returned to the one of bliss from before.
Suddenly, he felt her poke his shoulder, knocking him out of it. "You're looking like a pervert again…" Hitomi muttered out, avoiding eye contact. Nishinoya just apologized while laughing, realizing that they had already made it to the library.
They found a few empty seats in the middle of other students and Hitomi wasted no time in getting to work. She knew that Nishinoya was more excited at the prospect of being with her on a potential date, but she certainly wasn't going to let him slack off on his summer homework.
She was a tough teacher, indeed, but she was also patient with him. Thank heavens for that, because Nishinoya was really struggling with just about everything. Of course, Hitomi took her job as a tutor seriously. She didn't give him the answers outright. She explained the base concepts of the problems, letting him figure out the rest once she helped enough. While he was doing his best to solve things on his own, she took the time to catch up on some reading.
While he was grappling with an especially hard question, Nishinoya's ears perked up from hearing some guys around them whispering.
"Hey, you see that chick over there? The one reading, in the green and white with the ponytail? Isn't she just smoking?"
"Dude, where have you been? I've had my eye on her since she walked in! She could be a model or something!"
"I know, right? But who's the guy sitting with her? Her boyfriend?"
"Naaah! There's no way! He's so small, like a little kid or something!"
"Haha, you think? Maybe she's tutoring a junior high school student."
"Yeah, or even an elementary school student!"
The more he heard, the angrier Nishinoya got. Once again, he was being underestimated because of his size and stature. Even worse, they were leering at Hitomi just like that creepy manager guy from the convenience store!
He tightly gripped his pencil, nearly breaking it. More and more veins were popping up on his forehead and temple as he gnashed his teeth together in order to hold in his wrath. His aura grew more and more menacing as his eyes looked as if they were replaced with flames. Just when he was about to pop, his angel's voice broke through the haze of rage.
"Nishinoya-kun…" Hitomi tapped her finger against the question on the page. "For this question, I remember reading a book that explained it really simply. If I recall, it should be in this aisle." She commented, jotting down the name of it and the section it was in on a sticky note.
"Uoohh! You're so helpful, Hitomi-sensei! I'll find it right away!" He exclaimed with a sort of whisper-shout as she handed it to him. Hitomi watched him walk off until he was out of sight. She then immediately turned to the boys who were whispering earlier with a fierce glare.
It had been a while since Hitomi had to use such an icy glare with this intensity. Of course, she was cold to any guy that approached her, but there hadn't been too many persistent types that annoyed her enough to use this look. The last time she used such a cold look was probably the first time she met Nishinoya.
Even so, it seems she hadn't lost her touch because the boys flinched, a cold sweat coming down on them. She slowly walked over to them with calculated steps, the scowl on her face never easing up. When she reached their table, she looked down at them menacingly.
Hitomi was already considered quite tall compared to the average Japanese female, but she seemed even more intimidating standing right in front of them and because they were still seated so they had to look up at her.
"The library is a place for studying and reading, not gossiping. If you insist on doing the latter, I would appreciate it if you would either keep it down or kindly leave." Her voice was just as icy as her glare.
The boys gulped, shakily nodding their head. "S-Sorry!" They apologized, but it meant nothing to Hitomi.
"I didn't come here fishing for an apology, just to issue a warning." She told them bluntly. The girl flipped back around, promptly returning to her seat.
"Geez! That was harsh! And she was pretty too!"
"Yeah, let's go! That completely killed my mood!"
Hitomi rolled her eyes as the two boys gathered their belongings and left. She watched them, shaking her head with disapproval. She soon heard others whispering around her. No doubt about her attitude just now. She turned to them with a glare as well, effectively shutting them up. Everyone hurriedly looked down at their books or papers, avoiding meeting her icy eyes.
The girl sighed, propping her head up with her chin leaning into her palm. She was used to this, to the point that it was normal. People talking about her behind her back was nothing new. She'd gotten that pretty much her whole life. No matter what she did and no matter where she went, she was judged.
Of course, that could be because of the way she handled things, but regardless of this situation, why did she have to give people kindness and respect even in times where the other person definitely didn't deserve it? What, she had to be nice because she was pretty? Because this cold personality 'didn't suit her' or something ridiculous like that? Because this didn't fit their warped image of her?
What utter nonsense.
The whispers didn't bother her. Hitomi couldn't care less what strangers were saying about her. What bothered her was that they were also harshly judging Nishinoya. If she weren't here, there's no way he would be getting this treatment.
Sometimes, he would get looks from others because he was being loud, but those looks were understandable. They were looks of annoyance at his volume, not looks of criticism for absolutely nothing like today. Any other time, nobody would have bat an eye at his height or even notice him at all.
Everyone would have normally gone about their own business, but just by simply being next to her, Nishinoya was subject to all these judgmental gazes. From doing nothing but trying to learn and having her tutor him, he was being gossiped about.
Why? Because 'someone like him' couldn't possibly be around 'someone like her'? Because 'a guy like him' wasn't their idea of the kind of person that she would hang with? So, people had to make up some ridiculous situation that would explain his presence around her?
People really are disgusting.
That fact was something Hitomi had been slowly forgetting the past few months, but this day was a very clear reminder to her. It was just like…in the past…with…
The girl gently shook her head, as if to try to rid it of these thoughts. Maybe coming out here with him was a bad idea after all. Not that it was any of his fault, just that people really are terrible.
Hitomi looked up when she heard a pair of feet shuffling towards her. Nishinoya had finally found the book that she was talking about. He excitedly held the book in his hands, his arms sticking straight up as he held it over his head. He was rushing towards her with a bright smile. It was like a little kid who had found a rare trading card and was eager to show it off to his friends. She chuckled, hiding her smile behind her hand.
Well, at least her direct company wasn't all that bad.