Blessed Beauty

Chapter 7

Hitomi reached the convenience store for the first time this week. She went there in just the same way that she normally would. She had returned from school, washed and changed into more comfortable clothes, completed her homework for the day, ate a lavishly prepared dinner, and walked to the convenience store with several hidden bodyguards surely following her every move.

As she entered the store, she greeted the elderly Fumio-san behind the counter as she always would. Taking a shopping basket, she travelled to the candy and chocolates aisle first, as per usual. She picked out her familiar favorites and then moved to the next aisle to do the same.

Everything she was doing was routine and regular. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Yet, something felt...off. When she reached the ice cream freezers and saw the Garigari-kun brand, it dawned on her.

This was the first time she had come to the store and hadn't seen Nishinoya waiting for her.

She tilted her head, thinking on her encounter with him yesterday. He had basically ambushed her at her school, drawing a large crowd and unwanted attention. "We have a day off to rest our muscles right before the Inter-High! So, I decided to come see you!"

She nodded to herself, remember his words yesterday. So, the Inter-High should be today. Surely, he would be tired from his match or matches then.

Thinking back, Hitomi remembered the time that he had fallen asleep in front of the store while waiting for her. He must have been training and practicing extra hard for the upcoming tournament if his fatigue and constant new bruises were any indication. It was no wonder she didn't see him today when all the other times he had been so vigilant.

Her hand paused as she picked up a Garigari-kun popsicle, soda flavor.

Since when had her thoughts been so filled by him? When had she become so accustomed to his presence? Why was she even rationalizing why he wasn't here? She should have been overjoyed that she didn't have to deal with another flippant boy! Things were back to normal for once!

The girl gently shook her head and sighed, as if to collect herself. She should be enjoying this peace and quiet while she had the chance.

Unfortunately, this didn't last long because the doors to the store opened with a chime, welcoming Nishinoya Yuu. "Hitomi-chaaaaaaan!!!!"

She flinched at his sudden loud voice, dropping the popsicle back into the ice cream freezer on accident. Speak of the devil and he shall appear, or rather, think about him in this case.

Hitomi slowly turned around, her eyes falling upon the libero. She noticed that yet another thing was unusual today. Instead of his normally swept-up hair, his hair was down in its natural state.

She blinked, wondering why he seemed shorter than usual. She realized that it was the hair. His swept-up hairstyle added illusionary height. Looking at it quickly, the style seemed like it would have added around ten centimeters to his height.

She held her tongue and decided not to comment on it, knowing full well how sensitive he was about that topic.

The boy dashed up to her with his usual bright eyes. "I'm so glad I managed to catch you today!! I was super tired after our matches so I took a nap, but then I really wanted to see you to tell you about it!!"

Hitomi almost laughed. He really did have the pure excitement of a child, but it wasn't exactly childish per se. It was just a wonder how he could always be so positive about everything. Hitomi didn't think she got so excited about anything like that since she was child. Compared to her constant cynicism, it most certainly looked like an amazing feat. "I take it the first day of the Inter-High went well then?" She asked him as she returned to picking out popsicles from the freezer.