AN: Hello once again everyone! Before we jump into the story, I wanted to give a little forewarning on this chapter, there is a bit more swearing in this chapter than in the others. If that's something that bothers you I apologize for that. Hopefully you'll still be able to enjoy the chapter though! Please leave any thoughts, suggestions, and opinions you have in the comments!
Naoto sat in his last class of the day. If he thought the day was dragging on before Hayase invited him to the Judo club, now it was almost at a standstill. Minutes felt like hours as he waited for the clock to cooperate with him. Naoto had managed to survive Hayase's attempt to deal another mental fatality on him, but only barely.
He wondered to himself if this whole 'Saying his name during good-byes' thing would be a common occurrence now. Despite his original hesitantance with the idea, he did like the thought of it. "Maybe, I should start too?" Naoto wondered to himself. He himself had also used her first name more in the last few days than he had within the last year.
Finally, after losing himself in thoughts of Nagatoro, the bell rang. Naoto began to gather up his things and waited for his classmates to shuffle out of the classroom. Naoto was doing his best to avoid the initial flood of students into hallways. As the classroom began to empty, Naoto finished gathering up his belongings and pulled out his phone.
Typing up a quick message to Hayase he sent, "Hey, I'm gonna swing by the art club to grab an extra eraser before coming to Judo. Mine is almost spent."
A few seconds later Hayase replied with, "Okay sounds good Senpai~! Don't be a loner and ditch the club or else I'll drag you here myself!"
Naoto smiled, despite the fact he was pretty sure she was just having him show up to tease him. He liked the excuse to spend time with her. Shaking the thought from his mind he sent back, "Don't worry I won't."
Placing his phone back into his pocket, Naoto began to make his way to the art club. Despite his best efforts, the crowds of fellow students were moving excruciatingly slow. Finally making it to the art club he slid the door open and stepped in.
The art room was left untouched since his quick departure after lunch. He walked over to the drawer with extra art supplies and began digging around. He was usually better about keeping these drawers sorted properly, but due to recent incursions of certain underclassmen he hadn't kept up with it.
Naoto, finding the eraser he had in mind, placed the tool in his bag and closed the drawer. Naoto walked to the art room door and just as he was reaching to open it, it slid open. On the other side was the only other member of the art club, Sunomiya.
"Ah, hello Hachiouji Senpai. Were you leaving?" Said Sunomiya in her typical emotionless voice.
Naoto, startled from the door suddenly opening in front of him, quickly recovered and said, "Yeah, sorry I should've left a note or something, but this works too. I'm gonna go to the Judo club to sketch Nagatoro."
A gleam appeared in Sunomiya's eyes, a common occurrence when Naoto mentioned spending time with Nagatoro. Sunomiya seemed to have a weird investment into Naoto's relationship with Nagatoro, often encouraging him to spend time with Hayase.
"Well done Hachiouji Senpai, I expect you'll create an excellent piece observing Nagatoro Senpai." Sunomiya said, she then stepped aside and pointed in the general direction of the judo club and said "GO HACHIOUJI SENPAI! PURSUE YOUR LOVE!"
Naoto flushed with embarrassment at her words and said, "I-It's not like that!" but Sunomiya heard none of it and continued pointing. Naoto sighed, knowing she wasn't going to stop, he walked out of the art room and said "T-Thanks Sunomiya." And began walking in the direction of the Judo club.
Naoto walked through the mostly empty hallways towards the direction of the Judo club. As he made his way down the final staircase into the hallway, he pulled out his phone to look at the time. He was running a little late but nothing major, Naoto placed his phone into his bag, he still had plenty of time to-.
"Well look who it is!" said a loud voice.
"You're kidding, not these guys." Naoto thought to himself, recognizing the voice's owner.
The voice continued, "It's the stupid turtle himself guys!"
The voice belonged to a ringleader of 'delinquents' that had been bullying Naoto for as long as he could remember. Naoto thought he'd finally be done with them when they got suspended his first year of highschool, but it seemed they'd finally made it back into the school.
"I almost didn't recognize Mr. Manga Master without his glasses! Too bad you can't get rid of that stupid nerd look even without glasses." Said the ringleader again, the group sniggering at his comment. The group sat by the doors out of the school. Whether or not they'd been waiting for him or if it was just coincidence he wasn't sure.
"C-C'mon guys, I really don't want to do this right now." Naoto said, looking at the ground the whole time.
"If I wanted your fucking opinion I'd ask turtle." Said the ringleader. Then the ringleader, taking notice of Naoto's bag, said, "You still drawing your stupid Manga?"
Naoto instinctively tightened his grip on his bag and said, "That's none of your business. Now please move, I have a friend waiting."
The ringleader got a stupid grin on his face and said "You? Have a Friend? Fucking as if!" And then stepped towards Naoto, and extended his hand. "Give me your bag."
Naoto sized up the boy in front of him. He had the stereotypical American Football player build. Naoto, while being pretty tall himself, even stood a few inches below him. This neanderthal could pumpel him within an inch of his life without breaking a sweat. That didn't even mention the entourage behind him.
Naoto sighed, he knew what was about to happen, he gritted his teeth and said, "No." Then, fast as lightning, a blow from the ringleader landed on Naoto, catching him in the lower sternum. Naoto crumpled to the ground, his breath knocked out of him. Naoto clutched his chest in pain as the ringleader took Naoto's bag from him, his entourage now laughing at the sight.
"Fucking dumbass, you've gotten dumber since the last time we were here." Said the ringleader. The ringleader then began to unzip Naoto's bag, throwing notebooks, textbooks, and Naoto's phone to the ground. The ringleader then pulled out Naoto's sketchbook and said, "Here we go, this is the stupid shit I wanted to see."
The ringleader began to look through Naoto's sketch book, and grinned stupidly as he looked through it. "Man all you draw is stupid pots and shit." Said the ringleader, he then continued with, "Here I'll do you a favor." and began tearing out and crumpling the still lifes of Naoto's sketchbook.
Naoto, finally managing to catch his breath, was firmly set in his old defense mechanism. He was turtling, he would just sit there quietly until they went away. They alway did-
"Hold on, maybe I spoke too soon! Look at these guys!" The ringleader held up a sketch of Nagatoro for his entourage to see. A few whistled at the drawing and others simply laughed, the ringleader then continued with, "Now this is art! She's a little small in the chest region for my tastes but I'd still hit it!" Which got a roaring laughter from his group.
Naoto heard their words and he felt pure rage building in his chest. Naoto was used to getting angry during their bullying, but this was different. It was one thing to talk down about him, but Hayase? No fucking chance.
Naoto began to stand up, none of the group taking notice as they ogled at the different drawings of Nagatoro, some making crude jokes and the like. Naoto rose fully to his feet, a hand on where the ringleader had struck him.
"Give. It. Back." Naoto said, his teeth gritted in both rage and pain.
The group turned, most of them adopted a stunned look as they realised 'turtle' wasn't turtling this time. The ringleader had a stupid look of confusion on his face as he processed Naoto's words. His stupid look was replaced by anger and he took a step towards Naoto saying "The fuck you say to me?"
Naoto stood his ground, he wasn't backing down, consequences be damned. "I said. Give. It. Back." Naoto repeated, this time louder.
The ringleader's anger only grew with Naoto's words, 'Turtle' had never fought back, and that was the way he liked it. "Your parents are gonna be scraping you off the sidewalk when I'm done with you." said the ringleader.
Naoto braced himself. This was going to hurt and he knew it.
The ringleader grabbed Naoto's collar and slammed him into the nearby wall, again fast as lightning. The ringleader raised his fist, about to knock Naoto's lights out. However, Just before he could throw the punch he heard the most intimidating voice of his life.
"The fuck do you think you're doing?"
The ringleader and Naoto both turned their heads to the source of the noise. It belonged to none other than Hayase Nagatoro. She was fully dressed in her Judo uniform, and looked mad as hell. Naoto looked at his Kohai and he couldn't tell if he was relieved, or terrified. Naoto had seen Hayase mad before, she had on more than one occasion gotten angry with her friends for overstepping the boundaries she'd had set for them with him. This however was completely different. Hayase radiated intimidation, a dark aura hanging over the hallway as she shot daggers of pure ice at the ringleader. The ringleader on the other hand had a stupid look of confusion on his face. He couldn't figure out how the Turtle's drawing had come to life, and why she was so scary.
Nagatoro began to rapidly approach the two boys, "I swear to god, if you don't let him go, I'll personally attach your jaw to that wall." she said, gesturing to the opposite wall of the one Naoto was pinned to.
Naoto felt the grip on his collar loosen, but not fully release. The ringleader sized up the short girl who rapidly approached him and concluded she was all bark. There was no way someone that small could take him.
"Pfft. You and what army-" was all the ringleader could manage before Nagatoro made good on her promise.
With extreme precision, and faster than lightning, Nagatoro replicated the kick she'd demonstrated for Naoto the day they met. This time however there was a face on the receiving end of her strike. The ringleader flew jaw first into the opposite wall, slamming into the lockers with a loud crash. He was knocked out cold. Naoto sat stunned, considering how close Naoto was to Nagatoro's target he would've bet money a move like that would never work. Considering the knocked out boy on the other side of the hall, he would've lost that money.
The ringleader's entourage sat completely stunned. Not a single one of them even moving an inch. Nagatoro came up to Naoto, her expression completely different to the one she had moments ago.
"Naoto are you okay?!" Hayase said as she inspected every inch of him. Noticing him holding his hand to his chest, she moved his hand and quickly unbuttoned the area of his shirt he was clutching.
Naoto flushed and said, "Nagatoro, what are you-" but she quickly cut him off.
"Shut it, I asked you a question." Hayase said sternly as she inspected the skin underneath his shirt. In any other situation she'd be redder than a fire hydrant.
Naoto flinched as she touched the area, but said "Y-Yeah I'm okay. He only got one hit in."
Hayase made no acknowledgment of his statement, but once she was convinced nothing was broken she redid the buttons and said, "Okay, nothing looks broken but we should get you home."
"O-Okay." Was all Naoto managed to say before Hayase turned and looked at the remaining entourage with the same death glare she'd sported earlier.
"You assholes listen here, and you listen well. If ANY of you so much as breathes on MY Senpai, I'll personally make sure you end up french kissing the pavement like Douchebag here." Nagatoro said, gesturing towards the still knocked cold ringleader. "GOT IT!?"
Naoto had never seen a group of heads nod up and down faster.
"Good, now get the hell out of here. Take the douche with you."
The entourage scattered like mice, a few of the bigger ones grabbing the ringleader and carrying him away.
Once the area was clear, Naoto saw Hayase visibly decompress. She then turned and looked him in the eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Naoto looked down, looking at the torn pages of his sketchbook that littered the hallway. Most of them were still lifes, but more than a few were of Nagatoro. His heart sank as his hard work, his passion, had been destroyed.
Finally, Naoto said, "No… No, not really."
Hayase followed his gaze and noticed what he was staring at. She then said "Oh Senpai… I'm so sorry." Her voice was sorrowful. She then crouched down and picked up one of the papers. It was the sketch Naoto had made over the weekend with her. Naoto let out a shaky breath, a combination of frustration and mourning.
Naoto stood motionless, looking down at the ground, his arms at his sides. His chest hurt, his heart ached, and he was so damn angry. Was this really the best he could do? He couldn't defend himself or what he loved. Tears welled in his eyes, he fought every impulse to break down. Just as he reached the pit of his despair, he felt arms wrap around him.
Hayase hugged him, giving him a gentle squeeze. Naoto sat stunned. While he was by no means 'okay', he couldn't help but begin to feel better against Hayase's warmth. Naoto tentatively wrapped his own arms around Hayase and returned the hug. Hayase didn't tease, she didn't wiggle, she didn't pull away. The couple held each other, taking comfort in each other. Hayase spoke up.
"It'll be okay, Senpai."
Naoto sat quiet for a moment, his heart still heavy. Finally, after a few moments, he said, "Thank you, Hayase." Naoto could feel the heat coming from Hayase's face after the comment, but she said nothing. Instead, giving him a slight squeeze.
After a few more moments, the two of them finally separated and Hayase said, "C'mon, let's get you home."
The trip back to Naoto's was admittedly pretty painful. Being the string bean he was, Naoto ached from the punch the ringleader had given him. He was thankful that Hayase had shown up when she did, otherwise he wasn't sure he'd be capable of walking right now.
When they arrived, neither of Naoto's parents were home, both were still at work, it wouldn't be long before they got home though. Naoto would've sent a message explaining the situation but his phone had been destroyed while the ringleader had pillaged through Naoto's bag.
The two of them sat down next to each other on the couch in the living room, neither having really said more than a few words since leaving the school. As they sat there in silence Naoto felt a pang of guilt as he again noticed that Hayase was in her Judo uniform. She'd skipped the club to get him home safely.
"Sorry about Judo…" Naoto said, his voice quiet.
"Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong, Senpai." Hayase said back, "It's not your fault those assholes attacked you."
Naoto knew logically that she was right. But still couldn't help but feel guilty. "If I wasn't so weak. You wouldn't have had to leave Judo." Hayase shook her head in disagreement.
"No, you're not weak. Just because you're not a meat head like them doesn't mean you're any lesser than them." Hayase said back.
Hayase's words brought warmth to his chest. While still upset, being here with her made it all seem irrelevant.
Noticing his change in demeanor, she grinned a little. Seeing she'd finally got through to her sad Senpai.
"Don't let it go to your head though, Senpai~." Hayase said. Despite her words, there wasn't even a hint of maliciousness in them. It was said almost lovingly.
Naoto smirked at her comment and said, "Wouldn't dream of it."
The two of them sat quietly with each other for a few more minutes, enjoying each other's presence. Naoto now taking notice of their proximity to each other, their legs almost touching as they sat on the couch.
"It is a shame though. I was gonna rematch Orihara today." said Hayase, her tone lightly teasing.
"O-Oh…" said Naoto, blushing a bit.
Hayase giggled a little and said "You didn't forget our deal did you? You know… the one where you have to kiss me if I beat her?"
Of course Naoto hadn't forgotten. Technically however, he'd never agreed to the deal. He thought for a minute, considering the events of the day. With what happened in the art room, how furiously she'd defended him, and her apparent interest in the notion, Naoto found a courage he didn't know he had.
"I-I remember the deal." Naoto said. He continued with, "But… if… if you want to kiss me that bad…".
Naoto turned and faced Hayase, his face a deep scarlett, Hayase also flushed a deep red as she now also noticed their proximity to each other.
"You can… If you want." Naoto finished. His face burned with the blush he was supporting.
Hayase's face somehow managed to burn an even deeper red than before. And she quickly faced forward, away from Naoto, she didn't expect that answer at all. Naoto tensed at her movement, he began to have an internal panic attack, "Oh now I've done it." He thought. He quickly made an attempt to backtrack.
"S-Sorry I didn't mean to make you uncom-" Naoto didn't get the chance to finish as Hayase quickly faced him and planted her lips on his, shutting the stupid boy up.
The couple held the kiss for a few moments. Hayase's eyes closed tightly, Naoto's eyes wide with shock. Hayase pulled away, and looked at Naoto. Hayase couldn't help but laugh a little at the stupid look of shock her Senpai had.
Hayase's laugh brought Naoto back to reality, his brain short circuited. Her laughter confused him, was this all a big elaborate tease? "Wait… this is just more teasing isn't it?" Naoto said.
"Oh my god." Hayase said, rolling her eyes before she kissed him again, this time more aggressively. They held it again for a few moments when she pulled away and said, "Do you get it now?".
Naoto's brain clicked as he realised exactly what Hayase was trying to tell him. He stammered out "Y-Yeah, I get it now."
Hayase giggled at his answer and said "Good, because you'd better get used to that, Gross Senpai~."
Naoto could barely believe his ears, slowly he mustered the mental acuity needed to ask what she meant by that, but before he could ask. He heard the front door of his house open. His parents were home.
And that's chapter 5! Like I said at the beginning please leave a comment if you have any suggestions or ideas! Preferably though, if you have a negative view on the chapter(s), please leave some suggestions for what you would do differently! I'd love to hear them!