According to Nishinoya and the tournament bracket that she saw in the hall earlier, Karasuno's first opponent was Ohgi Minami High School.
Hitomi heard the harsh blow of a whistle, seeing a flurry of black and orange rushing onto the court. On the other side was a less hasty flurry of white and dark blue. They were starting their official warm-ups.
She saw a boy with a shaved head, wearing a jersey with the number five on it, doing his run-up for a spike. "HNGRAAAYYYAAAAH!" He shouted out as he slammed the ball down over the net. It was so sudden and loud that even his tall, blond teammate behind him had flinched.
"Nice kill, Tanaka!" Hitomi heard someone shout. She vaguely recognized him to be one of Nishinoya's friends that was in the photo he sent her during his training camp. He was the one making that weird funny face along with the boy with the mohawk.
Looking around, she tried seeing if she recognized the other people that were in that photo. Just as she found another slightly familiar face, she heard the roar of Nishinoya.
"ROLLLINNGGG THUNDERRRRR!" He shouted, performing this strange rolling movement while holding one arm out to receive the ball. While it was admittedly impressive since Hitomi was a novice when it came to volleyball, she couldn't help but be amused by how ridiculous he sounded.
What was he shouting? Does he name the types of receives he uses? As if they were some sort of super move or something?
Hitomi would have laughed if it weren't for the fact that, immediately after, Nishinoya jumped up and turned around to see her reaction at his 'amazing' receive. The girl quickly brought up a straight face with all of her strength. She held up her hands and softly clapped them together three times.
Apparently, that was enough to convince the libero. He had a small blush of excitement, his broad smile displaying his pearly whites as he beamed up at her. He deftly turned around and shouted, "Asahi-san! Spike me another!"
As soon as he wasn't looking, Hitomi snorted. She brought a hand up to suppress her laughter again, completely forgetting her previous discomfort.
With Nishinoya and his antics, she didn't need to worry about being bored or uncomfortable.
Soon enough, another harsh whistle blew and both teams lined up to bow to each other. The match started with Karasuno serving first.
Hitomi kept her eyes on Nishinoya. As soon as he stepped onto the court, it was like his whole aura had changed. His happy-go-lucky facial expressions were exchanged for ones of somber concentration.
The girl blinked in shock, for she had never seen this look on him before. It was already strange enough not seeing his normally elated expressions, but this level of focus was even more bizarre to her. Even when they had gone to the library to do his summer homework, his face wasn't nearly as serious as the one he had right now on the court.
She had assumed that he would have had a face more like one that would show he was having fun, knowing how much he loved volleyball. It was weird to see him like this, and yet…it oddly suited him as well.
Hitomi's train of thought was interrupted by the high-pitched whistle. A tall boy with his hair up in a bun was up to serve. He was the one that she heard Nishinoya calling 'Asahi-san.' He threw the ball up and jumped to hit it. The serve slammed right down at the back of the opponent's court, wholly untouched. The sound was almost as loud as Tanaka's first spike during warm-ups.
Nearly all of Karasuno's members shouted for joy, commending him for the service ace. She was a beginner for sure, but even Hitomi could tell just from the opponents' shocked reactions that it was a good serve. She saw Nishinoya's serious face disappear into his usual bright one as he jumped up to congratulate the server.
That was the face she had expected from him. The athletes soon recollected themselves and returned to their positions. She saw Nishinoya's face and aura change back to one of serenity. The shift seemed fluid, like it was only natural, and it surprised her once more. It was almost captivating to watch.
The rest of the game largely went in their favor, with a few hiccups from Karasuno here and there. Notably, a majority of the points they lost, if not all, were when Nishinoya was not on the court.
While it seemed obvious to her that Nishinoya's skill in his position was exceptional, by no means did that overshadow the rest of Karasuno's strength. The set ended 25-16 and 25-13 with Karasuno's win.
Hitomi had never followed volleyball before, but she was sure that those margins seemed a bit wide by normal standards. Even remembering the tournament bracket she saw in the hall earlier, the scores from other teams were much closer together.
She wasn't entirely certain if it was due to Ohgi Minami being a weak team, Karasuno being a strong team, or a combination of both. If she had to wager a guess, she figured it had more to do with Karasuno being a strong team, seeing how they performed in this match.
What was most jarring to her though wasn't Karasuno's strength or even Nishinoya's incredible plays.
It was the fact that throughout the entire match, whether it was between sets, timeouts, or him being switched in and out, Nishinoya hadn't looked up to see her. Not even once.
After the official warm-ups, all of his attention was dedicated entirely to the match. He didn't waste any of his focus on other matters. Other people might have been a little miffed that they had essentially been ignored after the other party took the liberty of purposefully inviting them out, but Hitomi didn't mind one bit.
"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?"
At the time, Hitomi had mostly said that to comfort him after his team's loss against Aobajohsai High School. Now, she understood why Nishinoya had taken so much pride in this sport and in this team.
Watching him today…he really was amazing.
His intense focus. His determination to do the best for his team. The way he'd have this frustrated expression whenever he couldn't bump the ball perfectly back to the setter. How he'd congratulate his teammates for a good play with a wide smile. His look of utter excitement whenever he was about to be subbed back in.
Hitomi noticed every single little thing and she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from him. It didn't matter what type of incredible play was being made. Her eyes saw him and only him.
She was softly clapping while the boys bowed to the audience after the match. As he lifted his head back up, Nishinoya's eyes flew right to Hitomi. She saw a small blush of excitement adorn his cheeks as his irises sparkled up at her. The girl gently smiled back at him, causing his smile to widen even more.
As soon as the formalities were over, Hitomi watched him sprint through the crowd and up to the second-level balcony where she was. "Hitomi-chaaaan! You made it!" He shouted as he nearly ran into her. She was about to greet him back, but her words got lost in her throat as she saw him up close for the first time today.
Thankfully, Nishinoya was too distracted by his excitement at her mere presence to notice her staring. "Did you see how cool I was!? Did you?! Was I cool enough to make you fall for me?" He shot question after question, like he would forget his next question if he didn't ask the one before fast enough.
Suddenly, he gave a small gasp. "I need to introduce you so you can meet the rest of the team!" Hitomi was snapped out of it when she felt his thin hand on her wrist, gently tugging her toward the team that was now coming up the balcony.
She quickly jerked her hand back, surprising him. At his large, questioning eyes, Hitomi blushed in embarrassment. "N-No! I…um…I need to…go to the ladies' room." She barely managed to utter an excuse.
"Oh! I'll take you there!" Nishinoya offered, already turning to head in the direction of the restrooms.
"No, that's okay! I can find it myself!" Hitomi quickly interjected, waving her hands about.
The boy's eyebrows furrowed. "But what if some guys try something with you!?" He worriedly asked.
"They won't! I'll be fine by myself! You have another match really soon anyways! Go back to your team so you all can watch your opponent and plan for your match. I'll be back!" Hitomi finished and ran off before Nishinoya could object.
The libero tilted his head in confusion but didn't think too much on her odd behavior. She must have really needed to go if she was being that urgent!
Hitomi's body nearly slammed through the door of the bathroom. She went right to the sinks and pulled her hood down, leaving her face in full view in front of the mirror. She raised a single hand to gently touch her pink cheeks, the unmistakable heat transferring to her fingertips.
Thinking on it, she had never seen Nishinoya like that before. She mostly saw him in his brightly colored t-shirts with four-character idioms on them and regular shorts. She'd never seen him in his volleyball uniform.
In something that fit him.
Not the fit, as in suiting him like she thought earlier when the glaring orange suited his boisterous personality. Fit, as in, it fit his body.
The sweat from the match caused some of the fabric to cling to his skin, revealing a little more to Hitomi than she realized. The uniform showed that he had some slightly toned muscles. Despite his rather small stature, his body was…
Hitomi shrieked, her hands coming up to cup her face. Her palms weren't cold, but they certainly felt like so, pressed against her warm cheeks.
"Hitomi…what in the world are you thinking!? I must be out of my mind…" She muttered to herself. She promptly turned on the sink, her hands cupping underneath the faucet to catch some water. She splashed her face, but the cold water did little to neutralize the heat from her cheeks.
When she finally collected herself enough to go back, Karasuno had already started their official warm-up for their match against Kakugawa Academy. Hitomi went back to her place leaning against the wall.
Her eyes gravitated to Nishinoya's form, a small blush appearing on her cheeks. She sighed, feeling them heat up again after all of her efforts earlier.
She watched the rest of the match in this state. Paying enough attention to understand the basics of what was happening, but not being able to truly focus.
Just as they did in their previous match, Karasuno won against Kakugawa Academy in straight sets which sealed their ticket to the qualifier rounds in October.
As expected, Nishinoya was the first to dash up to the second-level balcony to greet Hitomi. "Hitomi-chaaaan! We made it to the qualifiers!" He exclaimed, bouncing up and down in elation.
"Congratulations…" Hitomi said in a soft murmur, still trying to collect herself from her earlier thoughts.
Nishinoya peered up at her. "Hitomi-chan, are you feeling sick? Your face is a little red." He tried to get a closer look, but the girl quickly backed away from him.
"I-It's just hot in here. It is still summer after all." She explained, using a hand to fan her face in order to make the excuse more convincing.
The libero was about to respond when Ennoshita called out his name. "Noya! You can have your phone back!" The fellow second-year said, lobbing the phone over.
Nishinoya easily caught it, but he followed it up with a gasp. "Hitomi-chan! Let's go meet my teammates!" The girl flinched but knew she couldn't get out of anything this time, so she let him gently tug her along.
"Guys! Remember the girl I told you about and the one I sent our group selfie to during the training camp? This is her! Hitomi-chan!" He introduced her, spreading his arms and hands out in enthusiastic presentation.
"Nice to meet you." She softly greeted, bowing slightly.
"Uooohhh!" Tanaka and Hinata both made sounds of amazement, bowing respectfully back.
"So she's the one you're always shouting about, huh?" Narita commented.
"It's nice to meet you! I'm Hinata Shoyo! How did you meet Noya-san? Do you go to our school?" Hinata eagerly asked, reminding Hitomi a bit of Nishinoya. They both seemed to be little balls of energy.
"Ah…No, I don't." She answered his last question, her hands coming up to the edges of her hood. She appeared to be readjusting it, but it was really just a subtle way for her to pull the hood down further over her face. She was beginning to grow uncomfortable at all the attention from his teammates.
"Alright, let's stop bothering her and pack up! We don't have all day." Daichi intervened, getting the team back on track.
Nishinoya turned to the girl. "Do you have any bags, Hitomi-chan? I'll carry them for you!" He offered. She shook her head. "Okay! I'll get changed and pack really quick and then we can get going!" He continued.
He proceeded to take his shirt off right at that moment, causing Hitomi to flinch and instantly turn to have her back facing him. Her blush had returned in full force as she took a few controlled breaths.
Of course, Nishinoya hadn't noticed since he was hastily cleaning up, nor did he think anything of it. It was normal for the boys to change their shirts on the spot. Looking back up after putting everything in his bag, he called her name. "Hitomi-chan?"
She jumped again, turning back to him. "I'm ready!" He declared. She nodded, following him and the rest of his team out of the gym.
Thankfully, Nishinoya was occupied with teasing Hinata along with Tanaka. They were making fun of the middle blocker's odd 'HOGYAA' sound he made during the match when he received a ball to the chest.
"Come to think of it, you two are making progress on your summer homework, right?" Ennoshita interrupted.
"HOGYAAAAA!" Tanaka and Nishinoya both screamed the same sound that they were just making fun of Hinata for making. Hitomi would have giggled if it weren't for her realizing what his question meant.
"You remember how I said I wouldn't rescue you this time…right?" The don of the second-years continued without remorse. In the background, Hinata shouted something about forgetting his lunch box.
Hitomi looked down at Nishinoya. "You didn't finish your summer homework yet?" She asked pointedly. The boy avoided her eyes, feeling a cold sweat run down the back of his neck.
"Didn't we finish most of it when we went to the library? If I remember correctly, there were only one or two worksheets left. I remember you also said that you'd be sure to finish it right away because I was 'such an amazing teacher.' What happened then?" The girl calmly attacked him with questions, each of which made him sweat even more.
By then, they had already made it outside of the school. "Guys! I'm walking Hitomi-chan back home, so we'll be going first!" Before anybody could object, he swiftly turned around and grabbed Hitomi's wrist to pull her along. The rest of the team heard her sounds of protest, but Nishinoya simply laughed it off.
Noticing that his fellow second-year was still staring after the pair while everyone else had already moved on to another topic while they waited for Hinata and Kiyoko to come out, Kinoshita curiously asked, "What is it, Ennoshita?"
The boy didn't answer right away, blinking in thought a few times. He eventually shook his head and said, "Nothing much. Just a little surprised that Nishinoya didn't even think to wait for Kiyoko-san to come out first before leaving."
Kinoshita's eyes widened in realization, looking around for the team's manager who had yet to arrive along with Hinata. He and Narita looked at each other with equal bewilderment.
They both turned to look at the direction Hitomi and Nishinoya headed off to, wondering what exactly their relationship was.