From: Weirdo
Subject: Good Morning!!!
Text: Good morning, Hitomi-chan!! I hope you slept well last night and I hope that you're feeling better! I really want to see you! Let me know if you want to come and see me at practice when you don't have prep school! My mom was also asking if you wanted to come have dinner with us again! I'd love it if you did, but only if you want to!!
Hitomi sat at the long dining table, staring at her phone screen. Her eyes were glued to the most recent message. It was one of the many that Nishinoya had sent to her after she had effectively ghosted him, following the incident at his school.
There were so many. Initially ones displaying concern and gradually changing back to the way he usually texted her. As if everything were back to normal, but there was that sense of desperation for any response from her.
And she had failed to give it.
Despite all of the 'good morning,' 'good night,' and other messages, Hitomi couldn't bring herself to respond to a single one. She had tried before, only to immediately delete what she had drafted.
Once again, her fingers hovered over the touch screen, her thumbs just barely over the keyboard. Eventually, she sighed, locking the phone and placing it face down on the table. She stared down at her plate, her untouched breakfast already having gone cold.
The servants stationed in the dining hall gave each other worried stares. The past several days, Hitomi had barely eaten any of her food. Eating only a few bites at the most while listlessly staring at her phone or into space.
It was clear to everyone that she wasn't in the right state of mind. It went far beyond her previous aloof nature, and it was far different from her recent spirited disposition. Things had been looking positive, a return to a happier time, but her temperament had plummeted in the past few days.
"Is your breakfast not to your liking, Hitomi-sama?" Chiyo asked out of obligation, knowing once again that it had nothing to do with the food. She had been asking questions like these far more often lately in order to get any response from the girl.
Hitomi shook her head. "Sorry...I just don't have much of an appetite this morning. I'll eat more later." She added reassurance, knowing her maid would say something concerning her nutrition. "I'll be heading to school now." She stated before Chiyo could get anything else out.
The servants all watched the young girl leave. Her feet almost seemed to be dragging.
Hitomi pulled out her phone, staring at the same message. She tapped on his contact, her eyes staring at the call button. She flinched when a car honked at her, the driver promptly pressing on the gas.
She had stopped at a small crossing but the driver had yielded to her, expecting her to cross the street. Seeing as she was distracted by her phone, the driver grew impatient and pressed on the horn as they passed.
The girl gave a long sigh, putting her phone back in her school bag. Even without the physical distraction, her mind was still wandering to him.
She wondered if he was walking to his school too. Then again, he probably had morning practice and was already at Karasuno by now. Speaking of practice, he was inviting her to come see it again in his text.
Would it be too weird to just up and say she wanted to go? To finally respond after days of nothing? How could she message him as if nothing happened? There's no way she could when she was still dealing with these turbulent emotions.
Before she knew it, Hitomi had already made it to Tohoku Academy. As always, she could hear the whispers of some students as others veered away from her direction to let her pass.
It wasn't anything she wasn't already used to, but it seems that the whispers were more about a boy walking towards her. "Fukumoto-san!" He shouted out, as the girl opened her shoe locker.
Hitomi glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She gave no acknowledgement, continuing to nonchalantly exchange her shoes for the ones in her locker. "Please go out with me!!" The boy continued, undeterred.
"I refuse." She responded instantly and easily, so accustomed to this order of events.
The boy flinched at the harshness of her tone, but he stood his ground, determined. "I know you've rejected every guy in this school that's asked you out, but I'm different! I can prove it to you!" He declared, his hand over his heart to display his sincerity.
"Is that why you're doing this in public rather than in private like most other guys? What, did you think I'd become flustered at all of the eyes around us and would accept? That's incredibly manipulative." She asked rhetorically, derision clear in her voice.
By now, the boy was taking notice of the many eyes pointed at him with their hands covering their mouths as they gossiped with the people next to them. Even so, he could hear the giggling and he could see the eyes of sympathy. He felt his face starting to get hot. "Th-That's not wh–"
Hitomi relentlessly interrupted him. "Sorry, but I'm not that easy, and I'm not so nice that I would say 'yes' in public just to save you from your own embarrassment and then say 'no' in private. If you weren't ready to get openly ridiculed and pitied by other students, then you should've thought about that beforehand. If you already know that I've rejected everyone else before you, then you should've saved yourself the trouble."
"It seems to me that you and everyone else is aware of just how often I'll reject a confession. If that's the case, I don't understand why you people keep coming to me. Do you think that you can 'whittle me down' with your persistence? That eventually I'll accept if somebody has bothered me enough times? Seeing as we're already in public, I'll take this chance to let you and everybody else watching know that it doesn't matter how many times you ask me or how you ask me. My answer is and always will be rejection." Before getting any reply, Hitomi slammed her shoe locker shut and turned around.
The groups of students moved away from her path in waves, avoiding all eye contact after seeing her ferociousness. As soon as she passed, they all began whispering again.
They always talked after a confession but unbeknownst to them, it had been a while since she had been so cruel. Hitomi, herself, was the only one aware of that.
"Do you think that you can 'whittle me down' with your persistence?"
She thought about what she said as she sat down in her classroom. By no means did she regret it, but she was feeling a bit guilty because she knew she was just projecting her anger out and he happened to be the poor fellow in the line of fire.
She would've rejected him regardless of her current circumstance, but that one question weighed on her mind. Surprisingly, or maybe unsurprisingly, she knew that her anger wasn't all directed at that boy, if at all.
She almost felt like she was berating herself. The idea was so absurd and she knew that's not why he or most of the other boys in the school had confessed to her. Of course that's not what they were thinking, but the problem was that she could never be too sure.
She knew one boy who thought that way, and that was all that mattered. That was all it took to make her skeptical of every single person.
Her anger wasn't exactly completely unwarranted, but she knew it was unnecessary. She hadn't been that cruel since her first few meetings with Nishinoya.
Thinking about how ridiculous her statement was, she got angry at herself for treating him so unfairly out of nowhere. If even the boys at her school weren't that ridiculous, there was no reason to think that Nishinoya was.
Seeing how hurt the boy was reminded her of Nishinoya's own pained face. While she was unfazed looking at her peer, she couldn't stay the same when thinking of Nishinoya.
Hitomi sighed, shutting her eyes tight to try and get the memory out of her mind. She slammed her notebooks on her desk, opening them to a blank page to prepare for the coming lesson. She didn't want to think about it anymore, so she used notetaking to distract herself.
.
.
.
Unfortunately for Hitomi, she was unable to focus on any lesson at all today. Luckily there weren't any quizzes or she certainly would have been in trouble. As she slowly packed up her books, she felt her phone vibrate.
From: Weirdo
Subject: Practice
Text: Classes just ended and I thought of you, Hitomi-chan! I really wanted to come walk you home from school, but I still have volleyball practice. I also remembered that you didn't like me coming to your school from last time, so maybe you can come to my school!
I asked the coach and Daichi-san if you could come visit again! They were totally fine with it so don't worry, you can come watch me anytime you want, Hitomi-chan! You won't be a bother at all! I'm off to practice now! Get home safe!!!
Hitomi bit her lip and her grip on her phone tightened in frustration. She was ignoring all of his messages, but he was being nothing but kind. He was so considerate, asking permission from his team and not coming to her school purely because of what she said the first time he did.
The girl almost wished he wouldn't be so thoughtful. That he would be his usual self in that he would just do what he wanted without too much thought. That he would just visit her because he felt like it. That he would do something like waiting outside the convenience store for so much as a glimpse of her even if it was raining or snowing. That he would be his regular ambitious and idiotic self.
She wished he would do all that...because she knew she didn't have the courage to face him first.
She knows she's in the wrong, but she's too much of a coward to make amends. To see his face and to explain to him why she's like this. Why she's so cynical, so spiteful, so guarded.
She should've just let him in that night, the same day she ran away from him. It was too late for that now though. Nishinoya was still reaching out to her, but she didn't have the guts to reach back. Not unless he was right in front of her.
Hitomi hated herself for that.
There's no excuse for her behavior. It doesn't matter what she went through. There's no reason to treat him this way. She doesn't know how many times she's told herself this, but she's just a coward through and through.
Hitomi resigned herself to these thoughts as her chauffeur drove her back home. Upon reaching the estate, her servants welcomed her back as usual, taking note of her continued downcast mood.
Chiyo was about to address the girl when Hitomi said, "I'll be in my study." With the monotonous tone and impassive expression, her statement was a very clear sign that she wanted to be left alone. The maid bowed and backed away to let the girl pass.
Once again, Hitomi took to studying in order to have something other than Nishinoya to focus on. Taking out her books, she went through her notes to fix the numerous mistakes she made today.
After several torn pages and many eraser shavings, she heard a knock on her door followed by her maid's voice. "Hitomi-sama, I've brought snacks for you. Would you like to have some?"
The girl checked the time on her phone, seeing it was already close to her regular dinner time. Chiyo probably knew that she wouldn't have an appetite for a whole meal again, so she was attentive enough to bring snacks even though it was quite late already.
Hitomi sighed, feeling a bit guilty for worrying the maid as well as the chefs. She called her in and Chiyo wheeled in a small trolley cart. "My apologies, Hitomi-sama. I wanted to prepare more of your favorites, but it has been a while since your last visit to the convenience store and these were the reserve snacks." Chiyo explained after seeing her scanning the rather small array.
The girl looked up at the older woman, knowing exactly what she was trying to do. Going to the store was the one thing that Hitomi never let anybody else do for her. Her walks to the convenience store and buying whatever snack she wanted was the closest thing to being 'average' that Hitomi could ever do. Despite how mundane people might think it is, it was a small luxury that she had found and didn't want to give up.
She looked away from Chiyo's expectant eyes and stared down at her desk strewn with crumpled papers. She reached into her school bag for her wallet. Pulling out a few bills, she handed them to the maid with a list of snacks to buy.
Chiyo was definitely surprised by the action, but she tried not to show it. She waited for any command from her charge, but nothing came. The girl even refused to look back at her, reading her notes. It was as if she was ashamed and was using the notes as an excuse to avoid everything.
The woman looked at the young girl with sympathy in her eyes. Of course, she was worried, but it was technically none of her business with her current position. All she could do was support her silently and discreetly as much as she could.
Chiyo bowed and left the room without another word. She changed out of her uniform into more casual clothes. Before leaving, she gave out instructions to two other maids for anything that Hitomi might want. She wouldn't be gone for long, but it was always safer to be prepared for anything.
Upon arriving at the store, Chiyo was ready to quickly fulfill her duty before hearing a loud "AH!!!" She turned to the source of the surprised noise, her own eyes widening at the sight of Nishinoya.
He pointed at the woman in disbelief. "It's you!! You were there when I went to Hitomi-chan's house! Was it Chiaki? No wait...Chiharu...Chie...Chiyo!!! Chiyo-san! I almost didn't recognize you in those clothes! Do you remember me? I'm Nishinoya Yuu! Is Hitomi-chan with you?!?" He asked, his eyes lighting up while his head swiveled to frantically search the rest of the store.
Chiyo smiled, a mixture of endearment for the boy's actions as well as pity for him. "Of course I remember you, Nishinoya-sama. Unfortunately, Hitomi-sama is not with me at the moment. She has tasked me with buying snacks in her place." She explained, noticing the immediate disappointment in the boy's eyes.
"Oh..." He breathed out softly, the sparkle in his eyes diminishing along with his volume. The excitement soon returned though when he remembered the bag in his hands. He almost shoved it towards Chiyo. "Then, could you give her these!? I bought her some snacks! I've been waiting at this convenience store, but Hitomi-chan hasn't called or texted me back. Could you tell her I hope she feels better?" His excitement deflated again.
Gently taking the bag from him, Chiyo smiled at the contents, knowing these snacks were some of Hitomi's favorites. "I will be sure to give these to her and to also relay your message. Thank you, Nishinoya-sama." She bowed to him.
"No need to thank me!! I just want to make sure she's okay! I should be thanking you for doing this, so thank you!" He bowed back to her, not realizing that the older woman was thanking him for far more than just the snacks.
With one last bow, Chiyo headed back to the Fukumoto estate, Nishinoya waving behind her.
.
.
.
The maid didn't even address the other servants when she returned, rushing to change back into uniform. Her quick steps took her in front of Hitomi's study, her knuckles tapping the wood of the door urgently.
Despite her haste, Chiyo made sure to collect herself properly before entering the study. "Here are your snacks and your change, Hitomi-sama." The maid stated as she handed the girl the bag and money.
Hitomi looked at the bills in confusion. Rather than change, it was simply the same amount that she had given the maid beforehand, indicating she hadn't spent any of it. Judging by the weight of the bag, there was far more inside than what she had asked her to buy in the first place. "What is the meaning of this?" She questioned.
"I had gone to the convenience store like you had requested, but I had a brief encounter with Nishinoya-sama while there. He wishes to convey to you his well wishes for your health. He also entrusted me with this bag of snacks that he had intended to give to you. As such, I decided it was unnecessary to buy anything. Please pardon my impertinence." The older woman explained with a soft smile and a bow.
The bag rustled a bit as Hitomi's grip on it tightened. "...I see. You may go." She ordered, her voice beginning to strain. The maid nodded and quietly left the room.
Hitomi placed the bag on the desk in front of her, peering in to see the contents. Konpeito sugar candies, cans of Mitsuya Cider, Kasugai assorted gummies, Garigari-kun popsicles, Kit Kats, and various other snacks.
It was like the other time he bought her all of her favorite snacks. Except this time, he remembered all of her favorite flavors as well. The peach konpeito sugar candies, original flavor of Mitsuya Cider, soda flavored Garigari-kun popsicles, soy sauce Kit Kats, and more.
Just like last time, there was way more than she would have bought for herself. Hitomi released a heavy sigh, falling back into her chair. Staring at the snacks, she remembered something he said from their first ever meeting.
"But how could anybody not like Garigari-kun! They have the best ice cream! The best popsicles! Especially the soda flavor!!!"
The girl pulled out the soda flavor Garigari-kun popsicle, carefully tearing the wrapper. She gently nibbled at the ice cream, but the taste barely registered. With her thoughts rushing, she began taking larger and larger bites until her head hurt from the ensuing brain freeze.
Taking in a hiss of air from her aching head, one hand reached up to cradle her temple. After the pain subsided, she sighed again. She folded her arms onto the table and her head flopped down to lean atop them.
"...What am I doing..." She whispered to herself as she turned her head to the side, looking at the lone popsicle stick. Her thumb aimlessly brushed against the flat wood as her mind wandered. Her fingers twirled the stick around, her eyes widening to see some writing on the back.
Winner!