AN: Hey guys! Hope your week has been going well so far! unfortunately Chapter 9 won't be as long as 8 but hopefully you guys will still like it. If you don't, let me know what you disliked! Seeing all the comments you guys give is really such heartwarming experience. Anyways, before I ramble too much, I hope you Enjoy the chapter!
Naoto sat at his desk in his bedroom, his mind running a million miles a second. This day had quickly become one he would never forget. Hell this week would be burned into his memory for the rest of time if he had anything to say about it.
In a relatively short amount of time, his relationship with Hayase had progressed exponentially. A week ago, Naoto never would've imagined that in such a short amount of time, he'd have not only hugged and kissed Hayase Nagatoro, but confessed his feelings for her. The one thing that he couldn't get over, no matter how many times he relived the memory in his head, was the fact she'd done the same. Hayase had gone out of her way to make explicitly sure that he knew she felt the same.
Naoto looked over at his phone and saw no new messages. His anxiety slowly began to build. "Hayase should've been home by this point…" Naoto said to himself. Naoto tapped his foot nervously, his imagination starting to get the better of him. Rather than letting it run wild Naoto grabbed his phone and sent,
"Hey, did you make it home okay?"
Naoto sat and waited for a response for about five minutes, still nothing from Hayase. Naoto took a breath and tried to calm his mind. "She said she was running late, so she's probably just talking with her parents."
Despite the logical statement, Naoto's anxious mind didn't feel any better. Just as Naoto was about to send another message asking if Hayase was okay, there was a knock on his door, causing him to jump a little.
Quickly standing from his chair, Naoto walked and opened his bedroom door. On the other side was his mother, her hands behind her back.
"Hey hun, how'd everything go with Nagatoro?" Asked Naoto's mother.
"Oh it went… okay." Naoto said, underselling the day's events.
Naoto's mother grinned a little and said, "Just okay huh?" Causing Naoto to blush a little. She continued, "I figured that based on how good this sketch is," she pulled Naoto's sketchbook out from behind her back, "and how much movement I heard when your Dad and I got back, maybe things were going a little bit better than 'okay'." Naoto's mother finished, still grinning.
Naoto's blush grew as he realized he'd left the sketchbook in the living room downstairs. He accepted the sketchbook from his mother and nervously said, "It went a little better than okay, I guess."
Naoto's mother nodded and said, "Thought so." After a moment or so she spoke up again. "Now, I'm sure this goes without saying, considering we've had 'the talk'. But if things are moving in that direction. Make sure you two take the appropriate precautions."
Naoto blushed wildly at his mother's words and said "Mom!" embarrassedly. "Doesn't that seem like jumping the gun a little?!" Naoto's mother laughed at her son's embarrassment and said, "Maybe just a little. But based on the looks she was giving you, it's better to be safe than sorry."
Naoto's blush grew even more. Calming a little he said. "O-Okay. Can we not talk about this anymore?" Naoto's mother laughed and nodded. "Before I go, one thing." She gestured towards his sketchbook, which he handed over nervously. She looked over it one more time and then flipped it so Naoto could see it. "This is really, really good Naoto. Both your Dad and I are really proud of you."
Naoto blushed wildly with both embarrassment and gratitude. "T-Thanks mom." He said. Naoto's mother smiled at him and handed back the sketchbook. Once Naoto had taken it from her she said, "No problem hun, love you." To which Naoto said, "Love you too."
Naoto closed the door to his bedroom as his mother walked away. He still supported a deep blush, but was grateful for the interaction. Naoto looked at his phone across the room. To his relief there was a flashing light indicating a message.
Approaching his desk Naoto tentatively picked up his phone, hoping the message was sent by Hayase and to his joy it was.
"Hey sorry for the slow response. I got home just fine, my parents wanted to have an awkward conversation." Hayase had sent.
Naoto wondered if the awkward conversation she'd had was similar to the one he'd just gotten out of. Dismissing the thought he quickly sent a reply.
"That's okay, I'm just glad you're okay."
A few seconds later Hayase's sent, "Don't worry Senpai~. Your precious Kohai is safe and sound."
"Anyways, I think I'm going to head to bed now. Even with the nap at your house I'm still pretty tired." Hayase sent.
She followed with another message saying, "I'll swing by the art room tomorrow at lunch and we can talk about when you'd like to draw your next art piece."
Naoto nodded to himself and replied, "Okay, sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow then, goodnight Hayase."
Hayase quickly replied with,
"Gross.~ Senpai typed my name." Quickly followed by. "Goodnight Naoto~."
Naoto slowly walked down the path towards school. Naoto let out a deep sigh. The last thing he wanted to do was go back to the regular drawl of school, especially after the day he had yesterday. The only thing that motivated him to go was the notion of seeing Hayase.
Naoto couldn't help but grin a little at that. He knew he'd liked Hayase for a while now, but usually the thought of seeing her gave him a sense of both dread and joy. However, due to recent events the joy he felt eclipsed whatever dread her teasing could elicit. As Naoto walked, daydreaming about Nagatoro, a scheming Hayase was waiting for just the right moment to pounce on her 'prey'.
Hayase waited at the intersection where their route to school aligned. While a little risky if Naoto had an early start, she'd bet correctly that her Senpai would be dragging his feet to school today.
Once Naoto had walked past where she had been waiting, she slowly began stalking Naoto. With the instincts of a cat she slowly closed the distance on her daydreaming Senpai. Slowly but surely she readied her strike. She was going to poke him right in the sides and get a reaction out of him that she was sure would be hilarious. Just as Hayase reared up to strike, Naoto spoke,"Hayase…" he muttered, his tone happy and daydreamy.
Hayase froze, a warm blush on her face as she heard her Senpai say her name so contently. He hadn't noticed her had he? She waited for some indication that he was aware of her presence, but it never came. Hayase suppressed a giggle as she realized he was daydreaming, and not about just anything. He was daydreaming about her. Hayase resumed her stalking and slowly regained the distance she'd lost, a new plan of attack in mind.
Once Hayase was close enough, she slowly leaned in from behind, getting inches from Naoto's ear. Pouring as much seduction into her words as she could manage, she whispered sweetly into Naoto's ear, "Naoto…"
Being as close to him as Hayase was, she saw the goosebumps appear on his neck. His whole body went rigid as he reacted to the word.
Naoto turned around quickly, both to see the origin of the voice and to make sure there was an origin. He was worried he'd been so caught up in his daydream he'd started hearing things. Once Naoto fully turned, he noticed the wildly blushing Hayase standing behind him, she was unbelievably close. "How did she get that close without me noticing?" Naoto wondered.
"H-H-How long have you been there?!" Naoto asked, clearly embarrassed by his Kohai's sudden appearance
Hayase, still supporting a wild blush, said, "Long enough to hear you moan my name like a creeper." Her face in a wide grin.
Naoto flushed, his face a dark crimson red. He quickly stammered out "I-I-I didn't moan it! I was just…" Naoto's voice trailed off, he had nothing he could say that would convince her he wasn't being 'gross'. Because admittedly, he was.
Hayase giggled at Naoto, knowing very well she'd backed him into a corner. "I don't know Senpai… the way you said my name was pretty… gross~."
Naoto, nervously pushed up his non-existent glasses and said, "I-I mean, you're one to talk. The way you said my name was way worse." Hayase put a fake pout on her face, feigning disappointment. "Does that mean you didn't like it?"
Naoto, being about as dense as tungsten, fell for the trap. "W-What? N-No… I didn't say that…" and Hayase was quick to pounce on the opportunity. "Eww, what's that supposed to mean Senpai? Are you saying you like it when I talk seductively in your ear? You really are such a gross virgin."
Naoto literally facepalmed, he couldn't believe how easily he'd walked into that one. Before he could say anything Hayase giggled and quickly walked alongside him and grabbed onto his arm, gripping it tightly with affection as well as intertwining their fingers.
"You're so gross Senpai~!" Said Hayase, her cheeks a rosey pink. "C'mon gross Senpai, we're going to be late for school." Naoto, despite the flirtatious teasing, managed to recover relatively well and allowed Hayase to pull him in the direction of the school.
As Naoto and Hayase approached the school, Hayase felt a disturbance in the force and quickly released Naoto's arm and hand. Naoto, confused by the sudden movement of his Kohai, was about to ask what was wrong when he spotted Nagatoro's friends Gamo and Yoshi rapidly approaching the two of them. Naoto, while disheartened by Hayase's sudden release, understood why, and was in a way grateful. He wasn't sure if he was ready for the friend group to know about Naoto and Hayase's recent developments.
Once Gamo and Yoshi had gotten close enough, Gamo said, "Paisen! How are you doing, ya bean sprout? Hayacchi told me what happened." Despite Gamo's teasing tone, she did seem genuinely concerned about his well-being.
Naoto, a little confused, took a second to realize what she was talking about, "O-Oh hey Gamo. I'm doing okay." Due to the events of the previous day, the significance of the attack had faded to him.
"Just okay?" Gamo asked, she continued with, "I'm surprised to see you here. From what Hayacchi said it sounded like you took a beating!" Naoto nervously answered, "I'm okay really. It would've been worse without Hay-, without Nagatoro." Naoto internally cringed at his close call, and hoped it was missed by Gamo and Yoshi. It of course wasn't.
"Don't worry Paisen, Hayacchi already let it slip you two are on a first name basis now. It's so friggin cute!" Said Gamo, her tone teasing. Quickly followed by Yoshi saying "So cute!" In agreement with Gamo. Naoto heard Hayase audibly growl in annoyance at Gamo's teasing. Gamo, also noticing she was treading the line with Hayase's patience, quickly followed up by looking at Hayase and saying, "Hey don't worry! I have news you'll like too! I found some dirt on those guys that attacked Paisen."
That quickly dissipated Hayase's irritation with Gamo, and then Hayase quickly asked, "Really?! What did you find out?" Just as Gamo was about to respond, Naoto uncharacteristically interrupted saying, "They're just a group of Assholes that have been bothering me since elementary school." Naoto said, anger bleeding into his words, he quickly followed up with, "They're not worth the effort or the trouble."
Gamo and Yoshi were silent, caught off guard by Naoto's uncharacteristic anger. Hayase however, understanding where the boy's anger was coming from, quickly said, "They might not be, but the drawings they ruined are." Naoto, about to continue, still upset with the idea, was quickly shut down by Hayase. "And so are you."
Naoto's face lightly flushed with Hayase's words and his anger was tempered. Taking a second to compose himself a little, he finally said, "O-Okay. If you say so…" he shyly looked at Gamo and said, "S-Sorry. I shouldn't have interrupted."
Gamo raised her hand up in a gesture of dismissal, saying. "Don't worry about it Paisen, it's totally understandable that you'd still be upset about the whole thing." Quickly followed by Yoshi saying "Understandable!" Once again in agreement with Gamo.
"Anyways, before I was so rudely interrupted-" Gamo gave Naoto a friendly wink, causing Hayase to raise an eyebrow at the redhead, "The guy that attacked Paisen is in juvie for getting caught trying to rob a store the other day."
Naoto and Hayase were taken aback by Gamo's words. "What?!" They both said simultaneously. Gamo had a big smile on her face with the reveal. "Yeah, apparently, from what I heard, he was so pissed about getting his ass kicked by a girl three-fourths his size, he tried to regain his 'street cred' by robbing a store in front of his friends." Hayase and Naoto, still dumbfounded, eagerly listened. Gamo continued, "Stupid bastard went in there and started threatening the clerk without realizing there was an off duty cop in the store at the same time." Gamo couldn't help but snicker as she finished, clearly finding the whole situation hilarious.
Naoto and Hayase stood quietly, processing what Gamo had said. "Well… that's convenient." Naoto finally said. Hayase however, still had an axe to grind. "Wait, what about what they did to Senpai?! They still have to pay for that!"
Gamo grinned, knowing her friend well enough to predict that Hayase would be unsatisfied with that answer. Gamo then said, "Way ahead of you, I asked Sakura to get one of the Game club guys to get the security camera recording of the fight. She'll have it by the end of the day and we can turn it in to the cops to really drive the nail into that prick's coffin."
Hayase scowled over the situation. After a few moments she finally relented and said, "Wow. That is really convenient."
After the group arrived inside the school, the four of them had to quickly get to their respective classes. As Gamo and Yoshi sped off to reach their class on time, Naoto began to walk away, still dazed over the whole situation. However, before he got anywhere, he felt Hayase's hand tug on his sleeve.
"You're not going to leave for class without saying goodbye are you?" Hayase said, her voice sounding rushed but teasing. Naoto shook off his daze as best he could and said, "S-Sorry. Bye Hayase. I'll see you at lunch."
Naoto noticed Hayase roll her eyes, playfully irritated, "Not like that silly Senpai~." Naoto gave Hayase a confused look causing her to giggle a little. Hayase followed up with, "Like this~." Hayase then leaned in and lightly pecked Naoto's lips with her own, causing both of them to flush red.
Naoto let out a little "Oh…" as Hayase pulled away, causing her to giggle again. Then faster than lightning Hayase sped off saying, "Later Senpai~!" Leaving the boy to stand awkwardly in the hallway.
And that's chapter 9! Like I said above, if you have any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions, I'd love to hear them! The comments you guys leave truly make this whole thing worth it, I was on the Nagatoro subreddit the other day and noticed some people talking about the fic, which was a crazy head-trip. Thanks you guys all for all the kind words, they truly mean so much to me! I hope you guys have a good rest of the week and I hope to see you guys in Chapter 10!