Blessed Beauty

Chapter 19

As she got closer and closer to the convenience store, Hitomi kept pulling out her phone to use the camera and check that her hair was still okay. Her fingers threaded through her hair to comb it, checking it for the umpteenth time.

It wasn't the least bit windy and she was walking at a leisurely pace, but she kept checking nonetheless.

With every step, her actions became a sort of ritual. She'd take out her phone, use the camera to make sure she looked just as presentable as when she left, put it away, smooth down the wrinkles in her dress, push up her sunglasses, and so on. Rinse and repeat.

It was strange. She'd never worried about her appearance in this way so much before. Making sure she wouldn't bring shame to her family at business meetings and such was the furthest extent of her worries. If a few small things were out of place, she wouldn't have minded at all. In fact, it might help to deter her suitors but would not completely jeopardize business deals.

That's how it always was. Doing just enough so as not to be rude and doing the minimum so as not to attract too much attention. Even when she put minimal effort, it didn't stop people from fawning over her beauty.

Even though she didn't need to care as much about her appearance, it was exhausting. Always having to keep herself in check. To constantly consider her words with the utmost care. To observe and analyze everyone's actions in order to appropriately respond. To find the critical point where everything was 'just enough, but not too much.'

So, having to worry so much about how she looked for today was so strange. Despite that, she didn't feel the same exhaustion she always felt. It was actually quite invigorating. There was a sense of excitement she never felt before.

She gently placed her hand over her heart, feeling it pulsing.

When Nishinoya's form gradually came to sight, Hitomi felt a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

He was bent over slightly, his face nearly pressed up against the store's glass. His fingers messed with his little tuft of dyed hair, seemingly unsatisfied with the way it fell over his forehead.

Hitomi chuckled to herself, subtly ignoring the beat of her heart. It seemed that the both of them were constantly checking their hair, worried that a single strand would be out of place and it would somehow make them unpresentable.

The libero was so focused on 'fixing' his hair, that he still hadn't noticed her arrival. Hitomi's smile grew when she saw his small frown of annoyance and the furrow of his brows as he continued to fiddle with the dyed strands.

She cleared her throat to get his attention. "Good morning, Nishinoya-kun." She greeted, looking down to see a rather large cardboard box at his feet.

The boy nearly jumped at her melodic voice, immediately spinning around to greet her back. "Good morning, Hitomi-cha—!!!" He stopped short when his eyes laid upon her.

With the amount of times that his heart skipped a beat around her and how often his breath got caught in his throat, he was beginning to think that this wasn't good for his health. He'd be damned if he ever stopped seeing her though.

Hitomi continued looking at the large cardboard box on the ground, curious of its contents and oblivious to Nishinoya's awestruck reaction.

Along with the rapid beating of his heart, he felt the pumping blood rush to his face, coloring it a deep red. The color resembled that of Hinata's face the first few times the spiker met Kiyoko. Nishinoya's face may have been even darker than that.

Hitomi had asked what was in the box, but she received no answer. At the silence, she looked back at him to witness a deep red coloring his entire face. Her eyes widened in surprise. She'd seen him blush before, but not like this! It was almost as if he was sunburnt! "Nishinoya-kun...?" She prodded.