Shy

Chapter 20

          Gulp.

This was worse than his first ever volleyball game. This was worse than his sister embarrassing him. These nerves were far worse than anything he had ever experienced before.

He thought about his sister sending him off at the high school gates his first year and embarrassing the hell out of him. He thought about Daichi's scary, scolding face whenever he got too loud. He even thought about that time Hinata mistakenly took his jersey and he rushed out of the club room to catch him, only to be seen in his underwear by a member of the girls' tennis club and being called a pervert.

Yet, none of those moments could even come close to how he was feeling now. Nervousness, anxiety, fear. Nearly any unpleasant emotion you could think of, Tanaka was feeling at this very moment.

He'd always wanted to act like a senpai and impress all of the underclassmen girls. He'd always thought about getting confessions from the cute girls. He'd always thought about having a girlfriend and getting an omamori charm from her, wishing him well on his volleyball tournaments.

Of course, he also thought about going on fun dates with her. Now that it was actually happening, however, he was panicking.

He was grateful to Nishinoya - that is, after the whole shock of it - but this was completely new to him. Although he definitely would not like to admit it, Tanaka wasn't exactly the most popular guy around, and he'd never been on a legitimate date before.

Not only this, but did Tsukiko even want to go on a date with him? It wasn't actually her on the phone, and Tanaka was mulling over this the whole weekend.

There were countless times where he thought about messaging her, saying that Nishinoya was just playing around and that she didn't have to go on a date if she didn't want to. He even wrote out the message in a draft on his phone, but the boy couldn't bring himself to press the send button.

He didn't want to force her into anything, but would he ever get this kind of chance again? Also, she hadn't messaged him either, so maybe she was at least okay with this happening? He felt bad about not talking to her directly about this, but even more than that, he was ecstatic.

He was going on a date...with a girl...with a cute girl. Was this even real?

Oh god, he was not prepared for this. Not even in the slightest. He looked down at his clothes. His outfit was rather simple.

Covering his head, Tanaka was wearing a black beanie. He had on a plain orange t-shirt with a black jacket over it. He wore simple black jeans with his chain looped on the side of his belt. Was it too simple? Maybe he had time to go back and change into cooler clothes.

He checked his phone for the time. 10:06 AM. He was a couple feet from the fountain, their meeting spot, but he was also two hours early for their date. He'd spent at least an hour at home deciding on what to wear. This was probably the earliest he had ever woken up on a weekend. Although, it's not like he slept much the night before anyways. Like he was now, he was fretting about today too much to sleep.

Thinking he had plenty of time to go back and change, Tanaka stuffed his phone into his pocket and was about to turn around when he heard a loud jingle coupled with a familiar surprised yelp. His head turned so quickly to the sound that his neck hurt a little after.

There she was.

Being a Sunday, the shopping plaza had much more people milling about. Even so, every person around just blurred into the background. Even the surrounding shops and trees faded from his vision.

He could only see one thing. One person. One girl.

Kita Tsukiko.

It was his first time seeing her in clothes other than the school uniform. She looked cute then, but he could barely handle her now. It was like she was glowing and sparkles surrounded her.

She wore a short, pleated skirt that reached her mid thighs. It was a light orange - almost a cream like orange. The rest of her legs were covered by black leggings tucked into light brown boots with slightly raised heels. She wore a white, lace blouse underneath a cardigan matching the color of her boots. A pastel pink, shoulder bag was draped over one of her arms. Her normally flowing long hair was tied into a loose braid and draped over her shoulder.

Even out of school, she was modest. Even out of school, she was proper.

Even out of school, she was beautiful.

"H-Hello, mother!" The shy girl quickly answered the phone. There was a short pause, letting the person on the other side of the line speak. "I-It's okay! I-I can wait f-for him. I-I like people-w-watching a-anyways. Th-The time will p-pass..." Normally she wouldn't stutter so much with her mother, but she was still in a public area. She was conscious of her voice, even though nobody was listening to her.

Nobody except Tanaka, that is.

He gulped. He began having a nervous sweat, beginning to somewhat regret wearing this unbearably warm beanie.

Long after Tsukiko ended the call, the wing spiker remained frozen in place. His eyes couldn't look anywhere but her. His mind couldn't think of anything but her.

This is nice...

Of course, it may seem rude that he was making her wait when he knew she had already arrived, but the second-year couldn't help himself.

Just seeing her there...waiting...for him. It made him all giddy on the inside and out. Tanaka gasped. Quickly, he covered his mouth with his right hand in embarrassment. Even without directly touching his cheeks, he could feel the heat emanating from them.

When he walked her home the second time, it was him that was waiting for her at the gates. Now, the roles were reversed and she was waiting for him. The fact that she was even waiting for him meant so much.

Just seeing the girl he likes had this effect on him.

...The girl he likes.

Tanaka had plenty of girls that he "likes." The beautiful manager Kiyoko-san, the cute third-year on the girls' volleyball team Aya-senpai, the pretty idol Mayuyu. Yes, he "likes" many girls but...

None of them made him feel like this.

Nishinoya really was a Guardian Deity - a god. He definitely needed to thank his friend for giving him this opportunity.

But first, he needed to get through this day without turning into a puddle of goo.