🌸Cherry Blossom Palette🎨
🌸Chapter 62: Dummy Run, Part Two🎨
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
ED: Yoshi is best girl, and Sakura is a cutie pie-rate (my editor called her that), but I think Gamo-chan as Marin from the Zelda series is my favorite cosplay Joaquin drew of the three. Just look at her!
joaquinthatboi/art/Gamo-chan-in-a-Marin-cosplay-929580814
With Nagatoro out sick, missing her modeling session with her senpai, Naoto finds another way to occupy his Friday afternoon.
For those of you on Reddit, stop by and say "hi" to my editor when he posts a story promo. He's really been coming through for me in the last few weeks. Also, it might help get some attention, seeing more activity in the comment sections. I know several readers tried reading a couple chapters because they heard things on Reddit, and they ended up binging the story up to present in a weekend. It's great to find a fic like that, but then it's a waiting game. I shouldn't beg for comments, but I do enjoy reading them and do consider them when I work, whether on Reddit or on fic sites. Feedback, positive and negative, helps.
Call me when Nanashi cashes the Nipple Ticket he's sitting on, or Naoto tells his fellow virgin to die or shut the fu** up about HIM being one.
In general, you've got to love the double standards and hypocrisy of pornographers, in basements and in high places.
Please look at the Q&A section I set up at the end of the chapter. Ask us anything, and we'll add another section in the next chapter. I would be happy if you ask questions.
Please enjoy what I wrote.
Friday, July 19, 2018
Naoto Hachioji always felt a little better when he created art.
He wished he'd taken a few minutes here and there the last few days to work on some; he'd barely touched the subject in over a week.
"…" He raised his head from his work for a moment, eager to keep a solid sense of perspective.
It had been nice having Sakura Inori in for a visit…
The tea she made them had been nice, but they'd had no choice but to go with green tea, both forgetting that they'd steeped the last of the chamomile on Saturday to go with Hana Sunomiya's lemon bars.
Neither had minded though.
Hana had left a bottle of real honey with the tea, and hot green tea with a squirt of honey kicked ass.
That said, Sakura had gone home, leaving him alone again.
Naoto missed her but reminded himself that he couldn't think much, much less work on what he currently was, with the gal there.
He also mulled how thoroughly he'd readied for the modeling session with Hayase Nagatoro that had fallen through.
He didn't want to admit—and he never would—to how much time and energy he'd spent on researching, preparing for his afternoon with Nagatoro.
Hands and feet and hands and feet…!
He'd looked over art samples, references, the anatomy, structure, genetics, history, shapes, and "astrology" of hands and feet.
The head and face had respective terms, and so did the rest of the body, so it paid to learn other parts too.
He'd added quite a bit to his vocabulary, taking in the terminology of the human extremities!
It had been quite informative, everything he'd been looking over, having had plenty of spare time the latter half of that week.
Be that as it may, his nights since Tuesday had each been "delete internet history" kinds of nights, having visited some categorically sketchy sites in his pursuit of podiatrical knowledge.
And he wasn't even trying to get off!
He couldn't just visit medical websites or internet art galleries to get a big picture view of his subjects.
Even the "hand" sites had been weird!
Naoto had hidden his handwritten notes, of which he'd taken many, in the recesses of the club's prep room.
He didn't want to have to explain any of it, the thin chance someone came across them.
He didn't want to feel ashamed of what he'd been preparing to do with Nagatoro, but he knew the kind of grief that was in store for him if anyone found out what they'd been about to get up to.
The fact that he was doing all of it for the sake of art and his future wouldn't hold up to those with half a mind to view it as anything else.
And he'd gone through all of that for nothing!
Or so he'd thought…
"…" Blowing it off, he got back to what he was doing.
Yes, he always felt a little better when he made art…
This, however, was an exception.
…
Not only did Naoto's foot still hurt from Nagatoro driving her heel into it, he was forcing himself to look at it.
The awful bruise he sported wasn't a pretty sight.
He would've enjoyed not staring at that mustardy-looking contusion, but it was impossible for a man to draw his own foot if he wasn't looking at it.
However, it was proving easier to sketch that foot than the other.
He'd tried to set up the mirrors he had and had attempted a few tricks, but the way his eyes worked and the fact he was righthanded made sketching his "good" foot a lot more cumbersome.
"…" For the umpteenth time, he paused his efforts. What the fuck am I doing?!
You're sketching your own foot, you asshole!
Naoto was indeed sitting on the floor, pants rolled up, both legs in front of him, doing just that.
Grumbling, he leaned back onto his elbows. "…"
Once Sakura bade him a good weekend, he'd been quick to jump to this new endeavor, setting up his lights and mirrors.
He'd loved having the gal around for a while, but he'd started to think she'd NEVER leave!
And as soon as he'd set up, he'd begun his own shameful session.
He found it beyond pathetic but not beyond contempt…
Or maybe it was the other way around? Maybe it didn't matter.
He did need to practice this, and he'd be more ready for doing this with Nagatoro if he took a crack at it himself… sketching himself.
And if a sketch was good enough, he COULD slip it into his "potential for portfolio" stack!
"…!" The very thought nauseated him. Fuck me…
THAT was just a part of the "pathetic" thing!
Still, Naoto kept on sketching, finding the mirrors were helping in getting the angles he wanted.
He'd so carefully set them up for that!
…
As much as he didn't want to focus on his foot—it was impossible, obviously, not to, it being his subject—he couldn't STOP looking at it!
Currently, he was rendering the top of his foot, and the time had come for shading.
Should he pretend that significant blemish wasn't there, or should he honestly sketch what was right in front of him?
Despising himself for more than one reason, he went with the former.
He'd done it already, skipping such integrities, and he'd left a couple renderings "incomplete" for it…
"…" It pained him, and he knew a pang, somewhere in his trunk, reminiscing about everything surrounding that wretched yellow/brown discoloration atop his foot.
Nagatoro did this to you, Naoto! There was no escaping what he'd been through. She did it without even thinking about it! Like it was NOTHING!
…
Naoto shook his head, trying to free himself of that.
This is good practice! He knew it was!
He was really picking up on a few things as he went along, and he saw many aspects he'd researched the last few nights presenting themselves in applicable ways.
So, huddling up for a new angle, bending in ways he didn't enjoy, he stubbornly kept at it. I'm not gonna put this crap in my portfolio! But I'll be ready when I do this for real!
He'd show Nagatoro! He'd sit her down and render her footsies with professionalism and determination! She wouldn't be ABLE to make fun of him, not when he showed that he knew what he was doing!
…
And, yes, he'd sketch her hands too!
…
Naoto was more amped up than any man should've been in his position, but it was short-lived.
Wrang! His foot cramped up.
He winced, dropping his sketchbook and clutching his foot with both hands.
Again?! He suffered a fresh tingle emanating from some portion of the bruise. This kept happening!
Over the last few days, as the swelling had continued going down, blood and matter going back to where it was supposed to be, his foot had begun doing this as it healed.
It was the nerves or something being pushed around…
Giving the injury a good, hard stare, the pang in his gut returned, and it found its way up his esophagus. "Urp!"
He could taste a mixture of his lunch and stomach bile.
"…!" Gulping it back down, he averted his eyes, all twisted up in his own limbs.
What am I doing…?!
…
… …
… … …
The Art Club's door, sliding open, contributed a rattle to the otherwise silent art room…
Naoto jolted, almost as if someone had punched him in the throat, seeing who he was greeting. "…?!"
It was a challenge to picture a worse situation cropping up…
Sakura blinked. "Uh… Senpai-kun… what in the world are you doing…?"
He couldn't move!
"You look like a pretzel…" She cocked her head, not amused in the least but perplexed.
It was as if he was STUCK in his awkward position!
"…! …! …!" It had been some time since had Naoto faced such mortification.
"What are you…?" She gawked, her mouth twisting up in confusion.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK! An unpleasant sensation rolled down his spine, the blood rushing from his head, he collapsed into himself.
"ACK!" Naoto fell to his side, caught up in his "pseudo yoga".
"Senpai-kun!" Sakura darted to his side.
The gal helped her senpai sit up.
It was a bit of a chore, the deadweight he was being.
Naoto's eyes blankly glanced about, dazed.
"What are you…?" he asked weakly. What are you…?
She'd gone red as a cherry, not even sure what she'd just walked in on. "I forgot my magazine again. I wanted it for the weekend, so I… turned around at the ice cream shop and came back for it."
You could've called! He might have not even been there anymore, and he wished he wasn't now!
His head clearing, Naoto gradually came to terms with what was happening.
And he wished he was dead, more than he had in at least a few weeks…
The headrush started right up again, and he felt that invisible, heavy hands were pulling him down by his shoulders. "…!"
And at the same time, a third hand was roughly depositing his head nearer and nearer the floor!
It was painfully obvious to Sakura that Naoto was little better than mush at this point.
She came in closer, steadying him as he reeled, barely able to keep his back straight. "Senpai-kun, try to breathe…"
Naoto heard it somewhere, in his mind or wherever.
Great idea! He guessed he wasn't doing much with his respiratory system. I'll try that~…!
Sakura patted his back, whispering, "Just relax…"
Within a couple moments, he was no longer on the edge of fainting.
Steady enough to be let go, Sakura released him, moving from kneeling to sitting beside him on the floor.
She kept close. "Senpai-kun… you okay?"
He didn't even know how to answer that!
"Say something, would you?" she pressed.
He didn't say much, merely mumbling and pointing blindly at nothing in particular. "…Er…"
"…?!" Her eye was caught, and she peered past him. "What's that?"
No! Naoto wanted to reach out—to pull her away—but he was too bewildered to do anything of substance.
Sakura picked up the sketchbook he'd been working in, not even a meter out of reach.
And her face screwed up at what she saw…
"Senpai-kun…" She took in the pad's contents. "What is this?"
It's not obvious? He thought she'd seen exactly what he'd been doing. My whole setup and sketch pad and bare feet don't add up to obviosity?
…
…
…
"That's what you two were gonna do, Senpai-kun?" Sakura gaped, her back to the wall. "Seriously?"
She wasn't shooting him down, and he knew it; it was just unsuspected, certainly.
"I was gonna have her model her hands too…" Naoto weakly added, of Nagatoro, not displeased to have something to support his own back, side-by-side with the blonde.
The term "mortifying" undersold the experience of telling Sakura what he and the farm-tanned cutie had been planning on!
Sakura didn't seem too pleased with herself, prodding him. "And since it didn't happen, you decided to practice on yourself."
"…Yeah…" His lack of enthusiasm could not be overstated. "It worked too… Good practice, actually…"
"…"
"…"
Sakura sighed, "So, this is why you and Hayacchi were making such a big deal about this… It's… different… isn't it, Senpai-kun…?"
Big deal? He figured she wasn't wrong about the magnitude of that cacophony.
And he knew it was different, not just to the intended participants.
"…" Sakura's expression was one of sheer pity.
Naoto didn't enjoy seeing that face on her…
"Please don't tell anyone!" he cried out, unable to hold it in. "Please keep it secret."
"…?!" She recoiled.
He hadn't meant to say that so forcefully. "…Sorry…"
"…"
"…"
"I won't tell anyone," Sakura returned, slightly affronted. "I promise. Really, do you think I would?"
And Naoto knew he was a faithless pig for doubting her…
"No…" Bending his legs and pulling them in, he hung his head between his knees. "No, I don't…"
"…" She wanted to be of comfort. "Hey, I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of… what you were doing here…"
"…" Comfort seemed far away for him. You have no idea…
She didn't know the half of it!
"…"
"…"
Steeling herself, Sakura began, "I guess I can understand why you feel this way… Asking someone to do that doesn't seem easy in the first place."
It sure wasn't!
"That… must've hurt a lot…" she expressed, tucking up her own legs. "You put all that out on the table, and when it mattered the most, Hayacchi just made fun of it all…"
Hot tears didn't seem far off, and he blew out a breath. "Yeah…"
Sakura glanced down and around Naoto's knees.
She sadly took in the damaged view. "That's where she stomped on you?"
Naoto didn't even want to think about it! Did she really need to ask?!
But he replied, voice strained, "Yeah… The swelling's finally gone down, though I have no idea how long the color will be there…"
Why be so rational about it?!
"It still hurts?" she asked softly.
He acknowledged, seemingly too drained for tears to form, "… Yeah… It still hurts…"
"…"
"…"
She offered, "Could I get you some water?"
He could use some water! He hadn't realized it, but he was thirsty.
And he'd been afraid that she'd say she was sorry about his misfortunes that week, and he DIDN'T want to hear that!
Ordinarily, he might refuse such a motion, but Sakura was anything but ordinary.
Water?
"I'd love some." He came close to smiling. "Please."
"Glad to." Getting her legs under her, Sakura stood up and strode across the room.
Naoto was content to stay put for a while.
He had very little ambition to move, though, he knew a modicum of reprieve. "…"
He'd rather have had nearly anyone on EARTH walk in on him while he was shucking-the-corn over discovering him doing what he'd just been doing!
It was a cocksure thing that all Hell would break loose, but at least masturbation was normal!
If he had to be caught skulking about, doing something as weird as he'd just been doing, at least he'd been caught by his friend, Sakura!
…
…Weird…
…
"…!" He rethought. No… it's ME that's making this weird!
Artists rendered images of themselves all the time! They were called self-portraits!
And it wasn't unlikely that some asshole in some lifetime had drawn his own foot at one time or another!
He was making a big deal out of nothing! It was normal enough, using one's own likeness and form to practice art!
…
However…
Naoto couldn't help but make it a big deal…
Sure, he was sketching himself—not much odd about that—but that wasn't the issue.
The issue was where it would lead him!
It led to Nagatoro, and there was no way to minimize the excruciating knowledge that—in addition to imaginings of pretending at the Little Dutch Boy, plugging her hole with his "lower finger"—he dreamed of sucking her toes two or three nights a week!
"…!" It sounded awful to him when he thought about it so concretely!
He had a leg-fetish—and by extension, a foot-fetish—and nothing to do with Nagatoro's tootsies would EVER be "normal" to him.
…
He'd prepared the last few days, doing research for this venture, but that hadn't been his only "preparation".
Since Tuesday night, including that very morning, he'd jacked off seven times. And he'd been planning to fire one off during lunch too, but that was before his afternoon activity with Nagatoro saw cancellation.
He'd been trying to get as much horniness and carnal energy out of his system as was humanly possible!
There were multiple schools of thought when it came to "excessive" skinning of the sausage.
Many thought it just riled up a man, compelling his mind and body to run with it, essentially conditioning him to NEED it.
Others believed that it diminished the sex-drive, sedating a man.
Naoto knew a man could get addicted… overtime.
He knew a man wasn't (usually) nearly as raring to go right after… in the short-term.
These and many other institutions were all true! A lot of it mattered on the man in question.
Whatever, all Naoto knew for sure was that a lady's parts—whatever body part one wanted to want—seemed a lot less interesting after a man had unclogged his progenitive pipes.
He thought he'd be able to keep a lid on it when the time came, no pun intended, and not even be fazed by the whole thing!
Now, he wasn't so sure, but it didn't matter anyway.
He was shit out of luck for the moment, and he knew it!
But he'd have another chance with Nagatoro, once she got over that stomach flu.
…
Despite all that, the only person he could imagine being even close to okay with catching him in the pallid act of sketching his own foot had indeed been the one to catch him in such a pallid act.
Naoto had no way of knowing how anyone else would react… if they'd freak out… mock him… laugh…
He hoped his friends wouldn't laugh, but he was overjoyed that he wouldn't have to find out!
He hadn't known if Sakura would laugh or not, but she hadn't.
Who knows?
Maybe it wouldn't seem all that weird to a one of them…
…
Hearing Sakura clatter around the makeshift "kitchen" on the end of the room housing the glasses, pitchers, mugs, and teapot, Naoto was fully aware of what a friend he had in her.
"…~!" He really was.
Raising his head, he beheld her from the corner of his eye, his mind meandering.
… … …
… …
…
I was really happy to see you earlier; I didn't mean to seem like I didn't want you around…
I was really happy you were here…!
I… I'm really glad you were willing to listen to me… and tell me a few things I was too stupid to realize.
Things… really sucked a few times this week… If it wasn't for you…
…
I… was kinda freaking out about doing this with Nagatoro, but I think I was ready, and it was prolly the only reason I got through the week! So, when I found out she was sick this morning…
But then I found out we all did pretty good on our exams~! I mean, I was expecting you and Sunomiya to do fine, but Gamo-chan and Yoshi did well too!
You should've seen how much fun Sunomiya had with them at lunch! I was so happy I wanted to open the window and fuckin' YELL it out!
Even after Monday… after ALL THAT SHIT… things just seemed perfect!
You should've seen the goodbye Sunomiya gave us!
…
But then… after ALL THAT… I had to go and do something stupid like this… drawing myself because I was angry about my plans falling through. I told myself I was practicing for when I did this with Nagatoro, but… I think that's partly bullshit…
Really, I'm kinda pissed off at Nagatoro for crapping out on me…
I know she's sick, but I'm still pissed off! I don't care! She blew it off… after ALL THAT…
I… just wanted to show I could do it without her, I guess…
…
I'd been planning to do this since a little after lunchtime, but I was SO glad to see you…
I thought I'd wait for you to leave… I only started painting that bust as an excuse! I'd wait until you left and do what I'd REALLY been planning to do.
Still, I was REALLY glad to see you… and not just because I was glad to see you, but because I wasn't able to do THIS shit!
I thought about NOT doing his stupid stuff, and thought I might just leave when you did…
But when you left, I stayed here and just went for it…
…
I wish I'd gone after this WITH THE RIGHT MINDSET! I learned about all sorts of stuff this week, and I GOT TO SEE IT IN ACTION, even working on myself!
I should really practice on myself more often.
This was actually seriously helpful!
But I just can't help keeping the "wrong mindset"… If I could get away from that, there wouldn't be a problem, but I just turn it into something else!
I…
I…
…
Then…
When you walked in here just now, Sakura-san, I was SO embarrassed I wanted to die!
But… it's okay now… I think it is…
It's okay…
…
Thanks… for not laughing at me…
If you laughed, I'd…
If you laughed…
… … …
… …
…
"Uh… Senpai-kun…?"
He wasn't looking, but he could sense Sakura in front of him.
"Thanks, Sakura-san…" Naoto reached for the water he expected.
She didn't hand him anything. "…"
His eyes half-shut, he pawed at the air. Where's the glass of water…?!
The gal repeated herself, "Senpai-kun…?"
What's going on…? Slightly annoyed, he let his eyelids finish sagging open, and, looking up, he went about searching for his H2O.
She had the water, but that wasn't what caught his eye, and he glanced lower.
Filling his field of vision were Sakura's bare legs, stripped from the hem of her skirt down.
& #*!%!
"…?!" Naoto physically rode up the wall a half-meter, and he'd been sitting flat on his ass.
Holy fucking dogshit!
"Eek!" Sakura backed off a step, nearly dropping the glass of water.
Some water still hit the floor, and Naoto's eyes followed the splat, falling between her feet.
He saw the late afternoon light glint off her toes, but it wasn't like he hadn't seen the color already.
She'd come in on Wednesday with her fingernails painted a shimmering indigo.
It stood to reason her toes would match, knowing what he knew about her!
Grounding herself before her senpai did, Sakura fussed, "Are you okay…?"
He really wasn't.
"What are you doing?!" Naoto yelped, falling back to his rear. Why are you all barefoot and stuff?!
She was scandalized. "What am I doing? What are you doing?!"
"What do you mean, what am I doing?" he retorted.
She told him, "You were sitting over here muttering for, like, two minutes straight!"
He'd said that aloud?!
Oh, cripes! Shit-mountain fell onto Naoto's head. "What did I say?!"
Dumb question, man!
"I really didn't understand any of it…" she said, looking more than a little perturbed. "You were just spacing out again…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
For all in the world a man could conjure, one thing came to the front of Naoto's mind. "Uh… could I please have the water?"
She didn't balk this time, thankfully, but had nearly forgotten what she held. "Oh, right… Here."
Mundanenous often followed preposterousness!
Handing it off to him, he took it.
Taking a grateful drink, Naoto gave a satisfied sigh, "Thanks…"
"You're welcome," she answered.
"…"
"…"
Glug… glug… Naoto's eyes drifted past Sakura.
Her floppy socks were lain out at the edge of a couch cushion, her indoor shoes on the floor beneath them.
Naoto, his mind moving in a thousand different directions, couldn't decide where to point his eyes, much less his thoughts.
"So, uh…" He tried to focus on Sakura's face. "What's up?"
It seemed obvious to her, though she was the one in the know.
She said coolly, "Practice on me."
"…"
"…"
For whatever reason, it hadn't clicked.
"Huh?" Naoto's brain sharted.
With the same coolheadedness, Sakura declared, "I'll model for you."
…
Outside the window, a little birdy chirped away.
A jet plane stirred up the clouds high above their little city, passing over Yokohama way.
Some bank in Tokyo was being robbed.
On a train in Kyoto, some schoolgirl in a sailor uniform was being felt up by a 45-year-old salaryman named "Hisoka".
A baby boy was born in the backseat of a taxicab in Okinawa.
And Sakura Inori had just offered to model for Naoto Hachioji.
…
Naoto couldn't have heard that right, his brains presently shitting themselves inside out. "…Huh?"
Q&A Section
What inspired you to begin writing this absolute beast of a fanfic? Did you expect it to be this successful?
ED: I've shipped Naoto and Sakura since they had their fake date, and I'm not the only one. About a year and a half ago, I got tired of Nanashi jerking us around and wasting his characters that are actually good, so I wrote a loose chain of events that I think would be interesting to see happen.
To streamline the story of the story, I bounced ideas off P. serrulata, who later became my editor, and he suggested I organize my chain of events into a solid outline. It's funny because I only wanted to share some ideas, but he thought I wanted advice. He told me about his experiences in editing and prereading fan fiction, which I'd already heard about, and I guess I was sort of inspired. I used to do a lot of creative writing and saw an opportunity to get back into writing. I decided to make the outline and decided I wanted to write a story around it.
I could go onto the next steps, but I could write a book on this, and I was asked about the beginning.
I think the story has seen modest success as far as overall readership, but I wouldn't tout it as highly successful in a numbers game. I know people that like it really like it, and that matters the most. I'm just saying that numerous other Nagatoro fics see a much higher rate for readers and views.
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading! Questions and comments are welcome!