A Thousand Cranes for a Wish (USHIJIMA X OC)

Butterfly

"Woah, woah, you can't go out looking like that!" Tendou hastily stood in front of the door stopping Ushijima from exiting the room. Thankfully he managed to stop his bestfriend just in time, who knows what would have happened if he didn't.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing now?"

"You like you are going for a jog and not a date!" Tendou exclaimed. He managed to usher Ushijima further into the room till they were at the wardrobe. It was twenty to ten and they didn't want to be late. Tendou rummaged through Ushijima's clothes trying to find anything that didn't look like exercise clothes, unfortunately that proved to be a rather difficult task.

"Aha!" Tendou pulled out a burgundy crew-neck t-shirt. It was hidden close to the bottom of the clothing pile that he almost missed it. At this point the image was starting to form, Tendou handed Ushijima a black bomber jacket and navy jeans. "Try these." Ushijima did as instructed then stood still for Tendou to inspect him. After a few subtle changes Tendou burst out in mad cackling. "I have done it! Now go forth! You are ready!"

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Umeko examined herself in the mirror and groaned. It was the fifth outfit she had tried, and she just wasn't feeling it. She had ten minutes to choose but she couldn't find the 'right' one. She paced around her room with her clothes spread on her bed, she didn't want to over dress but at the same time she didn't want to just wear her usual clothes. It was a date and Umeko wanted to look her best.

Once Umeko had taken off the last outfit she rummaged through her closet. "When did I get this?" Umeko took out a simple muted seafoam colored dress. She figured there was no harm in trying it on. She finished pulling up the zipper then twirled in front of the mirror. It was a flare dress with a double layered hem. The bottom of the dress reached her mid-thigh and the sleeves belled outward to stop at her wrist. What Umeko didn't expect was that instead of having a V or U cut, the top of the dress ended in a low turtleneck.

It didn't take very long before Umeko decided that this was the dress for her. It was a little different compared to her usual style, but she liked to think it was surprisingly cute on her. She grabbed her small white shoulder bag that she prepared the day before she practically ran out to the entrance of the dorm.

Umeko brightened up further when she saw her date waiting outside. "Ushijima!" Her excitement levels were off the charts.

"Ume." It took a second for him to take in the scene before him. He could have sworn that Umeko's smile almost blinded him with how bright it was. "You look very cute." Before Ushijima could even think his words through, they escaped with no restraint. It seemed that recently it became harder to keep those thoughts to himself.

"T-Thank you. You look really good too" Umeko looked up at him, her face unabashedly pink. She fiddled with her fingers as she attempted to change the subject. "So, um. Where are we going?"

Umeko's reaction to his compliment was enough to make his heart squeeze. That reaction had to be illegal with how adorable that was. He felt the urge to just scoop her up in his arms and not go anywhere. Mustering up as much self-control as he could he pushed that desire down and began to walk side by side. "It's a surprise. I won't tell you till we get there."

In a moment of bold confidence Ushijima gently held Umeko's hand in his own. Her hands seemed so delicate in his as if just a little pressure would break them. Her hand had a small palm and slender fingers that seemed to suit her perfectly. "I..uh, so you don't get lost."

Umeko blushed and but didn't let go, the pair knew that his excuse was flimsy and completely baseless but neither brought up the fallacies in his reasoning. "Ok." Umeko could feel the calluses on his hand and smiled slightly. Now that she had seen firsthand how hard Ushijima worked, the meaning seemed so much deeper. His hands were from continuous hard work that he has put in for himself, for his team and for his passion. But those thoughts aside Umeko really hoped that her hands wouldn't get sweaty.