Blessed Beauty

Chapter 27

Nishinoya stood in the middle of the street in front of the school gates in shock and disbelief. His heart was racing like it usually would coming from practice, but his mind was blank. His eyes stared vacantly in the direction that the car drove off.

It wasn't until another car honked its horn behind him that he snapped out of it. The driver yelled at Nishinoya as the boy jumped to the sidewalk. He dug into his pockets for his phone, frantically scrolling through his contacts for Hitomi's.

The number you have dialed is currently unavaila–

He ended the call and tried again, only to be met with the same error message. He pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at the screen.

What happened? Why did she leave so suddenly? Why did she cry?

The libero tried going through all the events of today from when she arrived at his school. He thought everything had been going so well, so what happened!? A million questions ran through his head, not realizing that he had already made it back to the gym.

"Nishinoya!" Sugawara called out with several other members of the team looking his way with concern. "Did Fukumoto-san leave? Is she okay?" The vice-captain asked with a bit of worry.

Nishinoya looked up from his phone, glancing at his senior and then back down to the screen stuck on Hitomi's contact information. "I...I don't know..." He hesitantly responded back.

Before his teammates could comfort him, the libero surprised them with a respectful bow. "I'm sorry for interrupting practice! I'll do one lap of diving receives!" He rushed off, immediately going into the familiar motions of the penalties from the Tokyo training camp days.

It seemed as though he was trying to keep some semblance of normalcy in spite of what had just happened.

His team members looked on, seeing the frustration on the boy's face as he did a lonely set of diving receives.

.

.

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"Welcome back, madam." The lines of servants greeted Hitomi's arrival. She didn't acknowledge them as she hastily removed her shoes.

Chiyo stepped forward with a bow. "Welcome back, Hitomi-sama. You are unexpectedly early, since you had informed me previously that you would be visiting..." The older woman trailed off as the girl continued towards the stairs without so much as even a glance at her direction.

The other servants looked at each other as Hitomi disappeared upstairs, a feeling of unease spreading among them at this unusual behavior. While Hitomi was often cold, she rarely outright ignored them.

The head maid sternly looked back at the entrance where the chauffeur was standing. He was fidgeting in place, preparing to report what he had seen at Karasuno, as he was sure that Chiyo would ask.

After hearing his account, Chiyo stood at her charge's bedroom door. Her knuckles gently tapped on the wood as she softly called out, "Hitomi-sama?"

"Don't come in."

The maid paused at her near instant icy reply. She blinked in thought, deciding it would be best to proceed as if nothing were out of the ordinary. "Is there anything in particular that you would like the chefs to prepare for dinner?"

"They can make whatever they want. I don't care." Hitomi answered, completely aloof.

Chiyo furrowed her brows in concern, but didn't let it show in her voice. "Understood. Shall I have your dinner brought up to your room when it is ready?" Her question was met with silence, Hitomi seemingly done with talking. The maid took her cue and left with a small sigh.