🌸Cherry Blossom Palette: Summer by the Sea🎨
Chapter 27: To Be a Senpai [Part Two]
Sunshine Arc
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
ED: First, I asked my editor back in the spring for some good romantic short stories/poetry/essays/love letters to help me in my "craft". I feel the story has been lacking in good "visuals" and descriptions when it comes to the writing lately, which I think I was doing better with earlier on. I've been trying to rely less on PS to pretty up my writing, and that's part of the issue I think.
It hasn't been coming to me as easily as it usually did.
Over the last months, he's been sending romance material to me in a trickling fashion instead of sending "info dumps". (Thanks for that, PS~!)
PS is something of a romantic, which his cynicism somehow doesn't overpower, and even if he wasn't, I was still sure he'd have a treasure trove of ideas to share with me.
Here's something he shared just in the couple weeks with me that stood out, a letter written by a Union soldier during the American Civil War to his wife:
"My Very Dear Wife" - The Last Letter of Major Sullivan Ballou
watch?v=78SOjurJkHk
I guess PS went on some sort of "rampage" where he just posted this all over Reddit and other places. I can see why he might think it's important.
It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. If you need to sit down and have a good cry, find somewhere you feel safe and listen. It's only a few minutes.
The actual letter is much longer, but the documentary this is from edited it for aesthetic reasons.
I highly recommend it.
…
Regarding my new chapters, I'm sorry they've been taking so long.
I decided to rewrite nearly the whole thing, which I've never done before in this series.
I just didn't like how Chapter 27 was going, so I pretty much scrapped it and started again.
I don't like the new one very much either, but I'm calling it for now.
It's surprising how long it sometimes takes to flesh out a convo between Naoto and Sakura.
Usually, it comes easily, but sometimes, it doesn't. It's something I never want to force.
I need things to be fluid and natural if I want a believable dialogue between an arty senpai and a weird, wonderful gal.
This time, Naoto and Sakura chat a little more.
Since this section of the story was ready, here it is.
I need to work more on what's turned into Chapter 28, meaning the beach stuff will be Chapter 29.
I know I keep doing this, but I wasn't satisfied with what I had written. With all I've already invested in the beach stuff and its aftermath, I need to cover now what I'm trying to cover.
Next time, Sakura drops a truth bomb on Naoto, and that will finish "To Be a Senpai".
I'll try to not be so long with the next one, but PS and I have been very busy.
…
I appreciate readers remaining loyal to the story, even when it occasionally details Naoto's "onanistic tendencies" and "overpowering appetites".
I know it can be a little much, but after talking with PS, I was totally set on hitting those aspects of being a teenage male. He didn't "encourage" me to occasionally go blue with the story, but I was convinced after we discussed the topic.
It adds a little grit and comedy (horror comedy) to the story, IMO, and it helps with the flippant "devil may care", "not give a f*ck" character of the whole thing I want to accomplish.
…
Apparently, a company makes restraints in the shape of a cross that keeps kids from touching themselves. You Velcro down their arms and legs and head, and they can't move.
I still think it's a joke, but I've seen many stranger things IRL, so who knows.
I found a picture, but the sites I upload to might not like that. I don't think the mods on Reddit would like it either, but I don't think they pay attention anymore.
Maybe Naoto should build himself an adult sized chastity cross, but then he'd have to ask his mom to tuck him in at night.
Yikes!
…
I finished Metalocalypse the TV show and even found the opera TV movie, so I just watched the new movie.
I begged PS for his digital copy, and he gave it to me (ha ha!), so I'm grateful for that. If you want to watch it legally or own the movie, it's still pretty expensive, but it's not going for $50 anymore.
I was hoping for more for a finale, but it was a movie that worked as a conclusion to the series.
It gave more of a conclusion than The Venture Bros. movie, though Venture really ended in true Venture Bros. fashion.
…
I was ready to send out this chapter before the most recent canon chapter but decided last minute that it wasn't ready and needed rewriting, so I'd already written most of my intro.
Since nothing of substance happened in the newest canon chapter either, I can still hold onto my prediction.
This is what I wrote when I was about to release my new chapter, two weeks ago:
**Looks like canon Naoto will be okay. He didn't fall apart. He may even come through (on his end).
Now, we get to see how Nagatoro fails HER side of the deal, how badly she reacts, and how far Naoto has to physically chase after her to get her to listen, because she's scared/stupid/not sure what to do/has no respect for him.
The ticket might also come into play, unless it went through the wash or something.**
It was nice to see Gamo-chan beat that arrogant, brain damaged, sniffer sicko though.
And no surprise that Nagatoro had always been a lazy slacker and a quitter, despite all her talent, even when she was a little kid.
I also can't believe that Mr. Gamo let Taiga anywhere near his preteen daughter, truly.
What's more, I think Orihara has an eating or weight disorder. She's A LOT bigger than Nagatoro in every way but still in the same weight class. Doesn't work that way, Nanashi, but you are sloppy with proportions.
…
Since I had extra time to add to this intro:
For another series, all Luffy had to do was hold Admiral Kizaru under a little water until he drowned. He had him in his grip, and Kizaru wasn't getting away, not from Nika. The ocean was RIGHT THERE, there had to be a few mud puddles around, and he certainly could've used the kitchen sink.
Throwing a man made of light energy as far away as you can probably isn't going to get rid of him.
Also, Luffy and co. should've just killed off CP9 back in the Water 7 Saga. It would've been easy, once they'd beaten them, and they wouldn't be around causing trouble now.
I know that goes against Oda's story and philosophy for the most part, but there was no good reason to keep CP9 alive. Just evil people taking evil orders from even more evil people.
…
Ask us anything, and we'll add a Q&A section in the next chapter.
It's good to know that you keep reading, so I would be happy if you drop comments and ask questions.
Please enjoy what I wrote.
Friday, July 27, 2018
Sakura Inori, reclining against the big lounge pillow at the head of her bed, yawned, "Oh, I'm a sleepy girl…"
"Yeah, you look it, Sakura-san…" Naoto Hachioji, from his side of their video call, could see that she was decidedly beat.
The two of them were still chatting about their afternoon with Hana Sunomiya, clothes-shopping in downtown Hayama.
Naoto continued, "I hope you and Sunomiya had fun after, but I'm still kinda glad I went home. I just haven't been getting the best sleep."
"Everything okay?" Sakura inquired.
In a pig's ass he'd tell her that lil' Naoto—and big Naoto's dreaming—had been the problem…
"I'm okay, Sakura-san." He was okay, mostly. "Just tired. I've been getting up the same time I wake up for school… or earlier, but I'm not going to bed any earlier. Staying up too late, I guess."
It felt odd…
Only 14 or 15 hours had passed since Naoto had spurted himself awake, though—to him, the day had seemed to last for weeks~, his morning adventures already obscured by the sands of time.
But it HAD been a long day…
Sakura wondered, "No nap when you got home?"
"I thought about it," Naoto said. "But then I'd probably be up half the night, trying to get back to sleep. I want to be rested for tomorrow."
"Yeah, I s'pose." She smacked her lips, the yawn's traces extant. "That's the same reason I didn't conk out right after I got home."
"Hmm," he offered.
"Hey, I'm still here, but hold on a sec…" Sakura visibly set her phone down, and Naoto got a view of her ceiling, just as uninteresting as his.
"…"
"…"
Naoto, waiting for a good 10 seconds but able to hear her moving around, asked, "What's up?"
"Oh, I'm just putting my friendship-anklet back on~!" she chirruped. "And… all done~! I took it off for my shower."
"Didn't you say you "never want to take it off~"?" he imitated her chirpishness, her face coming back into view.
She snarled, "Aw, bite me, Asshole-kun~…"
It'd be pretty wack if he responded with, "tell me where, and I'll do it!"
That was yet beyond him, and he settled on, "Yeah, I know what you meant."
"I do love it~." She twisted about with mirth. "I'm so happy Hana-chan liked hers~."
"That was a really nice gift, Sakura-san~."
"Oh, thanks, buddy~. I can't believe I was afraid she might've thought it was childish or something."
"I don't think Sunomiya would think that." Naoto was closer to being sure than "thinking", but he'd hold with it.
Rather than rebound this notion, Sakura stretched luxuriously. "Mmm~! Hey, did you actually get a look at the anklet? I know I kinda rushed through presenting it."
As a matter of fact, he hadn't.
"Uh, no," he replied.
"I do wanna show you." Grabbing her foot, she lifted it over her opposite knee. "I think it turned out great. Check it out."
Naoto had little other choice than to follow, her camera zooming in towards her shapely ankle. "…!"
"Here~." She centered the anklet, rotating it for a better view at the beadwork.
He got an eyeful:
…
"?Flower Girl? ﾟﾏﾼ ❤️ ? ﾟﾏﾻ"
…
"Wow~…" Naoto was quite impressed. "You even found an emoji matching you two."
He wanted to ask about the cool weave-pattern she'd done with the hemp, though he had no idea how to begin…
"Yeah~, but I'm pretty sure the emoji was meant for a lovey-dovey girl couple—not just friends, though it served my purpose." Sakura was quite proud. "Hana-chan's anklet is the same, except the bead on hers, that's a cherry-blossom on mine, is a hibiscus."
"That really is nice~."
"You want one, Senpai-kun~? We'd have to figure out something besides 'Flower Guy', I think, but they do make these neat little paint palette emojis~."
"…?!"
"…~"
"I, uh… prolly wouldn't wear it," he said truthfully (and with a little regret). "It's not my thing… But if you did make one, I'd—"
"Hey, chill, pal, I'm pullin' your leg~," Sakura simpered. "I understand."
Would it do well to say he'd be "honored" to wear it, even though…?
'Naw, I don't think so…' He wouldn't say it.
But it happened to be true…
Naoto recalled something, and it had been irking him for a couple minutes, not that it was any big deal. "Sakura-san…"
"Yeah?"
"You told me a while ago you usually do your nails after a bath or whatever. You did it before instead?"
"You remember that, do you~? I'm surprised you do. That was just me when I was running my mouth~."
"Yeah, besides the 'running your mouth' part; you weren't…"
"My senpai is generous~."
Naoto reasoned, "Anyway, there's no way you could've done that just before calling me. I imagine it takes some time, switching between colors, even if you do everything red before you move onto everything orange."
"It can, but Hana-chan and I both did our nails earlier today."
"You did?"
"Yeppers, together."
'So, THAT was their "girly" activity…' He reasoned that going home and missing out was okay; he was better off staying away from that sort of pastime. "What salon did you go to?"
Being stuck in a salon, while his gal-pals had manicures and pedicures done, with other women undergoing the same or waiting their turn, was another of those things NOT on his bucket list…
"Yo, I didn't say 'we had them done'," she giggled. "I said we did them; we did them ourselves~."
"Oh…" Naoto realized he'd misunderstood. "Okay."
He'd assumed the ONLY reason Sakura would do her nails before bathing was if she had them done professionally… at some place with normal business-hours…
"'Okay'?" the gal replicated. "That's all?"
'What's your…?' Naoto didn't see an issue. "Yeah."
Notwithstanding, he'd raised his guard.
He wasn't getting sucked into more "footy-teasing" needlessly…
"Tee-hee-hee," Sakura laughed humorlessly. "I guess I never did tell you what Hana-chan and I were getting up to today."
Okay, maybe he NEEDED to address it…
"Yeah… it's funny how we never touched on that…" Naoto rolled his eyes, not even pretending to hide the action. "Another setup? So you could bring it up now?"
She was scandalized. "A setup?! Well, I never~!"
"Yeah, yeah…" he dismissed.
"If anything, I was sparing you~."
"Sure, you were…"
"Wanna see what we did now~?" she ploughed through.
"You call that 'sparing' me…?"
"Hey, we did a lot more than just do up our nails, Senpai-kun," she claimed. "We made a whole thing out of it—a whole late-afternoon/early-evening thing~."
Naoto wasn't about to allow himself to be duped. "Oh, sounds nice…"
"I know you wanna hear about it~. Maybe we even went somewhere special for it~."
"It's alright. I don't need to know everything you and Sunomiya get up to."
"What would it take for you to say 'yes'~?"
"…" He had to be careful. "Do you have a spare mini-fridge for the Art Club's room?"
Probably not…
"C'mon, buddy~! You'll wanna hear this."
"I'm good."
"Open your mind~…" Sakura compelled.
"I'm fine." Naoto was beginning to soften.
She entreated, "Open your heart~… OPeN iT~!"
"It's enough to know you two had fun~." He was in danger of smiling.
That couldn't happen…
"Ooh, stubborn, are we~?" Sakura moped. "Don't make me pull out the big guns, Butthole-sama~."
What could she possibly have? And "Butthole-sama"…?!
"Like what~?" Naoto dared, falling right into it. "You got nothing~."
He just HAD to go there~…
So, she went there, "Hana-chan said she wanted you to see all the fun we had~."
Dorp!
"…?!" Naoto's fortifications fell like the 1920's German economy.
Sakura would've crossed her arms in self-satisfied success, were they not busy with her phone.
She snickered, "Yeah~… That's what's up~."
"…" Naoto stared back, listless.
The gal was in a "charitable", sporting mood, her senpai so out-of-sorts.
"How 'bout this?" she proposed. "We can play a game. If I win, you gotta listen."
"…?" He couldn't fathom what she was doing.
She probably could. "…~"
"And what if I win?" Naoto ventured.
"You gotta listen regardless~!"
He scoffed, "What's the point then…?"
"You know that game 'Simon Says'?" She was moving.
"Everybody knows that game, Sakura-san." He'd played it many times. "We did it in pre-school, kindergarten, and the first few years of elementary school…"
"Good~! I don't have to teach you how to play~!"
"I never said I'd play."
"But you like when we play games~."
He did…
Still, there was an issue. "How would I win a game of Simon Says? You're 'Simon', so you can't lose, and you win the second I screw up."
"I'm not 'Simon'; I'm 'Sakura'~. And your inability to win isn't important~."
"Yes, it is. There has to be a way you can lose. Otherwise, it's not a game."
"Very well, Mr. 'I'm a picky, picky Senpai-kun'," she accursed. "I lose if/when I get bored of the game, before you foul up~."
This was getting ridiculous …
Naoto determined, "If you wanna tell me about your afternoon and junk, just tell me. I'll listen."
"But I wanna pla~a~ay~," Sakura whined.
"…Do we really have to?"
Of course, they didn't…
"C'mon~!" she begged, her bottom-lip jutting out. "Pwease~…"
Fuck! She's resorting to babytalk…!
And her lip began reciprocating, eyes all expectant. "…~?"
Damn it! She was pouting mightily powerfully…!
"…" Naoto folded. "Okay…"
"Eek~!" Sakura's pretend frown turned upside-down. "Awright~!"
He wanted to get this over with. "So, how do we—"
"Sakura says… touch your nose." She didn't even wait, booping her own nose.
"Start…?" Naoto completed.
The gal grinned. "…~"
"Isn't the game 'Simon Says'?" he made this point.
She puffed her cheeks. "I told you: I'm not 'Simon'; I'm 'Sakura'."
Of all the…!
But, with a sigh and another eyeroll, Naoto complied, touching his nose.
Looking very contented, the blonde put forth, "Sakura says… wink at the camera~.
So, following her example, he did, knowing he was already starting to blush.
"Sakura says… stick out your tongue~." She did so.
So did he. "…"
"Sakura says… scratch your back." She gave herself a good one.
She didn't need to tell him…
He'd been looking to get at an itch anyway.
"Sakura says… thumb your nose~." She even gave him a little "nyeh-nyeh~".
He thumbed his nose, though he added nothing to it.
"Puff up your cheeks!" She did this for the second time in less than a minute.
Even so, Naoto didn't, because she hadn't said the "magic words". "…"
Sakura scowled. "Don't you smirk at me, Senpai-kun; I'll get you~!"
He was smirking…?
He hadn't realized~.
Sakura wasted little time, jumping back in with, "Sakura says… say 'I'm a silly, silly Senpai-kun'~."
"…" He knew he could be. "I'm a silly, silly Senpai-kun."
Without letting him catch another thought or breath, she quickly said, "Sakura says 'what'."
"What?"
"Ha-ha!" she rejoiced. "I gotcha~! And so quickly~!"
"Hey, no, you didn't!"
"Sure, I did~!" Sakura would take none of his guff. "I didn't follow the format! I needed to say, 'Sakura says... say "what".' Accordingly, you weren't supposed to say 'what'~."
"That sounds like a dumb technicality."
"Technicalities can win any game, buddy o' mine~!"
He had to admit that she was correct, "You're right…"
"Tee-hee~," Sakura flaunted, pulling a funny face. "La-de-da~."
Naoto had tolerated enough of her malarkey. "Aww, man! That is so not cute!"
"Says you!" she denounced. "I'm completely, adorably cute, so nyeh~!"
And she stuck her tongue out at him.
He gave it right back (sans the tongue part), "Nyeh, yourself~!"
"Poop on you~!" she disputed, grinning ear-to-ear.
He wasn't going to repeat THAT …
"Anyway, does it matter?" Naoto perplexed. "Didn't you say it didn't matter if I won or lost…?"
She chortled, "Are you being a sore loser~?"
He'd already submitted. "It's fine."
"Still, you look so gloomy…" Sakura egged.
He really wasn't. "I'm good."
She must've not "bought" it, because, "Fine. If you don't wanna hear about and see mine and Hana-chan's super-duper fun time, I got something else for you, you big jerk~."
It was cringe-worthy, her performance…
"I never said that," Naoto meh'd. "Hey, it's fine. Show me what you're gonna show me."
She proceeded regardless, "I can tuck my leg behind my head. Wanna see~?"
"…?" He blinked. "What?"
With slight difficulty, she pried her right leg up, tucking her ankle behind her neck.
Naoto had seen some bizarre stuff out of her, but this was bizarrer than normal.
"Are you crazy…?!" he spouted.
"I should've done 'Sakura Says' for this~!" Sakura rejoined, wiggling her toes beside her left ear. "If you can't do what Simon/Sakura says, you lose automatically."
"That doesn't seem fair… Not everyone can do that."
"Simon/Sakura's word is law~! You're just pissy 'cause you can't do it."
Wait…!
"Yes, I can!" Naoto proclaimed.
Sakura giggled, "Nuh-uh~! No, you can't~."
"Oh, yes, I can!"
"I doubt it, buddy~…"
"Fine, I'll show you!"
With that, he set down his own phone and—with a notable struggle, lasting a good six or seven seconds—tucked his right leg behind his head.
He couldn't get it quite as far as Sakura, and he was hunching his back, but he'd done it!
"Ha~!" retrieving his phone, he let out a strangled bark of laughter, bringing himself back into frame. "I got it…"
"Oh, geez, that looks awful…" Sakura couldn't believe it. "Maybe you should let up on that."
Naoto would take this advice with great happiness, grunting, "I tol' you I coul' do it…"
"You're all red, Senpai-kun…" she fussed. "I don't think you're supposed to bend that way."
He'd un-pretzeled himself. "I still did it, Sakura-san~."
"You have pretty flexible hips, I see." Sakura brought her own leg down, far more gracefully.
"Yeah…" he breathed heavily. "A lot more than in my hamstrings."
"I'm the same way," she commented. "Yoshi and Hayacchi are a lot more limber than I am, but I know I got Gamo-chan beaten. I work on my hammies most days, but I just can't go as far as I want."
It surprised Naoto very little that Yoshi Yamazaki was more flexible than Sakura… and that Maki Gamo was less so. "Yeah."
Sakura swiftly took an impish bearing. "You know what they say about people that can tuck their legs behind their heads, right~?"
"I can only do one at a time," Naoto revealed, feeling a bit of deja vu.
"Same here~! But ya know what they say~?"
"I think it's just that they have flexible hips, Sakura-san…" he tried to avert this disaster by bringing it on faster. "I don't think possessing 'monstrous genitals' has anything to do with it."
It might've been expected that she'd reference Tohru Hijikata's joke from the other day…
"Hey, you guessed it~!" she squawked.
"Of course, I did… We were both there on Wednesday, all the times Tohru 'bested' Gamo-chan."
"It was great seeing her have so much fun with him~," Sakura spoke of the Maki. "I think Gamo-chan and Tohru-kun could turn out to be pretty good friends~. It seemed like it, at least."
Naoto shared the feeling. "Yeah…"
"…"
"…"
"So, uh…" Sakura namby-pambied. "…~?"
A smiling Naoto shook his head at the goofballery they shared. "If you wanna show and tell what all you and Sunomiya did, go right ahead."
"Kickass!" she said in turn. "Let's get started~."
'Oh, boy…' He wasn't sure what was on the way.
But…
Something had him hesitating. "Are you sure Sunomiya's okay with this…? With what she said at the pool yesterday…?"
Her terms had seemed clear to Naoto:
It roughly translated to "you're a creep, and I won't model a part of the human body that you lust after, so don't let me catch you staring either"…
He knew he might've been a little harsh on himself there, but he'd almost certainly be seeing the girls' nail-painting, and—
"Yeah, it's okay, so don't sweat it," Sakura recapped. "Definitely, Hana-chan said she wanted you to see all the fun we had. We did a lot more than our nails, like I said."
'Yikes!' Naoto surrendered to the experience, allowing Sakura to guide him. 'Whatever…'
"…Okay…" he took this small leap-of-faith. "Like what?"
"Well, I might as well pull off the Band-Aid right now…" she decided. "We went out to her grandparents' shrine. They were having a grill-out, and… we had steak. If you'd accepted our invite, they'd have been over-the-moon to have you join them. I got to meet Hana-chan's mom and dad, aunt and uncle, and her grandparents too~."
Naoto knew she wasn't bragging, but it stung a bit. "I'm suddenly feeling a little left out…"
It had been a couple years since he'd seen the rest of the Sunomiya family.
They were very supportive of their girls, Sana the Prez and Hana, and he'd met them a few times, mainly through their middle school Art club…
"Aw, it's not like that," Sakura remedied. "I didn't know how things would turn out, and neither did Hana-chan. I was just planning on us doing our nails together, but—like I said—it turned into a whole other thing."
"Are you telling me you two did your nails at the shrine…?"
"Yep."
He wasn't sure of it, but, "Isn't that kinda… sacrilegious or anything?"
"Not at all. Her grandparents have a perfectly normal house out there, if a little old-fashioned in its architecture. We did it there, on the porch."
"Okay." Naoto didn't see any spiritual ramifications in that.
Sakura flexed her storytelling-muscles, "Guess I'll start from the beginning~."
"Sure." He was already wishing he'd gone along. "Shoot, Sakura-san."
She shot, "Once we got back to our part of town, we split up, agreeing to meet up at her grandparents', right after we dropped off our new clothes and stuff at each of our houses. I had to grab my manicure supplies anyway, and I wanted to wear my new slides too, knowing I'd have freshly-done nails, so I left the Toms at home."
"Makes sense," Naoto put forth, imagining the gal, still mildly upset over the fact that she'd had to purchase men's Nike slides.
It was conceivable that she probably didn't care at the end of the day though…
"I'm gonna start sending you pics, Senpai-kun," Sakura breezed. "It'll give you something to look at while I narrate~."
"Oh, boy…" The Sword of Damocles hovered overhead.
"Hey, don't be like that. This'll be fun~. But you sound like you're being marched to the executioner, getting ready for an extra-close haircut~…"
How morbid…!
Naoto wasn't marching anywhere. "Go ahead… I'm good."
"Aw, you can't be a little more excited for it~?"
"I'll try… It's just that I'm getting sleepy too."
"Well, this'll wake you up~," Sakura promised. "First pics are headed your way."
'Oh, joy…' He steeled himself. "Gotcha."
The foremost only took a few seconds to arrive, and he opened it.
He might've known…
Sakura had taken a picture of Hana and herself—of their legs, that is. The two were sitting with crossed-ankles, barefoot, at the edge of what must've been the large, wooden deck attached to the house.
"Get 'em while they're plain~!" the blonde warbled.
'Damn it, Sakura-san…!' Naoto knew she'd pull this.
The girls' toenails were indeed plain, and he had a solid gander of the tan-lines they'd picked up the day before.
He'd never seen Sakura with plain nails, though he supposed he'd seen her hands a few times, and she'd had plain nails that day, downtown.
He just hadn't thought about it…
"Yeah…" he sighed.
Why did he let her do this to him…?!
Sakura steamrolled through his monosyllabic rebuff, "Hana-chan went with something pretty awesome, once we got to painting."
"…Right…" It felt like he was an elementary school kid lined up for vaccinations.
"Relax, Senpai-kun; I promise you'll like this."
Would he…?
"You know the dice-game, craps?" Sakura asked.
Naoto saw the next image coming through. "Yeah."
"Really, I think you'll like this," she assured. "We took our sweet time with this… prepped and everything."
And… Naoto wasn't sure what to make of it, once the picture had arrived.
He saw, the pic up close, that both girls had on their anklets, but…
Alongside Sakura's, in the rainbow he'd seen, Hana's nails were… ivory… and her big toes were…
They were painted like DICE…!
Though the rest of her nails were plain ivory, the big toes showed the three-side and four-side of a pair of six-sided dice.
"Ha~!" Naoto did think that was pretty great. "That's sorta neat!"
"Yeah, buddy~! Lucky number-seven!"
"How'd you come up with that…?" He wondered.
"There's more," she said. "You'll really like this~!"
The next image showed up on Naoto's phone, and—
Hana's fingernails had the other 10 numbers, making for 12 "sides"…!
He'd never seen anything like it. "Cool~!"
"How excellent is that~?" Sakura yammered. "We randomized the numbers for the fingers."
"Really?"
"Yeah~! Lucky us, if she flipped you the bird with both hands, that'd be 'snake-eyes', just like when Lady Luck does it for realsies~!"
"That had to have been intentional." Naoto didn't think they could be that "lucky".
"Nope~," Sakura insisted. "And there's more too."
Another two images showed up, and…
"What…?" Naoto balked. "Who's that?"
The first pic was another of the girls' feet, painted, but this time, there was a third pair, painted hot pink.
An OLDER pair… much older…
"That's Grandma Sayo~," Sakura informed. "After Hana-chan painted me, she asked if we could paint her grandma's~. I said 'yes' of course, and Grandma Sayo thought it was fun too~."
Grandma Sayo…?!
"…!" Naoto had only ever called her "ma'am".
"Scroll to the next one~," Sakura instructed.
He did so, and he was rewarded by a selfie that she'd taken, Hana and "Grandma Sayo" flanking her, all three showing their painted fingers. "…!"
That was unexpected…
"Yeah, I have two bottles of that same pink, so I did Grandma Sayo's hands, and Hana-chan did her feet. Hana-chan's grandma said it was the first time she'd had her nails done since she was a kid~.
"She even remembers the last time she did it. She and a bunch of her schoolgirl friends were on one of their porches, and they were watching the 1964 Olympics—the ones hosted in Tokyo, y'know. They had this old black-and-white TV, rabbit-ears and all. She remembers how hot it was that day."
"…!" Naoto thought that was a fun story. "That's cool."
"Sure was, Senpai-kun~!"
He wasn't sure that he'd heard right. "I thought you each did yourselves… but Sunomiya did yours?"
"Yup, and I did Hana-chan's." Sakura smiled. "It was the first time I ever did another girl's toes."
"…How was it?" He wasn't about to forget the gal mentioning that sort of thing was a bit uncomfortable for her, not a fan of her feet being touched and somewhat creeped out over touching another's.
"It was weirder than shit~!" she declared. "But it was a lot of fun~!"
"…~" Naoto was happy for her.
And as she'd said, they'd done a lot more than just mani/pedis.
The Sunomiya family had been excited to meet Hana's friend, and they'd asked her to stay for dinner, not taking "no" for an answer.
There'd be plenty of meat and everything else…
Naoto didn't doubt it, having been fed days of leftover barbecued meat, the Sunomiya family having done up enough meat for Grandma and Grandpa's anniversary to feed an army.
"So, you had steak two days in a row…" He was slightly jealous, her dad having grilled some up the previous evening too.
Sakura chuckled, "If Hana-chan and I knew they'd be grilling and that senpai were welcome, we'd have dragged you along~."
"It's alright… s'just I ate leftover fish again… just like I did yesterday." Having been forwarded a few more snapshots, Naoto was scrolling through.
The images showing platters of steak and various picnic goodies had him feeling hungry again…
About the time he'd come across a pic of the whole family (plus Sakura), Hana's dad or uncle having been the one to take the photo (Naoto thought the two men looked very similar and couldn't tell them apart), Sakura set about saying something he'd never heard out of her.
"Hana-chan's family is awesome, but they're… really normal," she opined. "I didn't expect that."
Naoto had a few more years under his belt. "It kinda surprised me too, the first time I met any of them."
"How is it the Prez turned out to be like she is?" Sakura wasn't about to call her "crazy". "I'd wonder the same about Hana-chan, but I think most of it rubbed off on her from the Prez."
Her senpai had wondered the same things. "Dunno… I never figured that one out…"
"Well, never mind," she slid past. "After dinner and stuff, Hana-chan and I swung by my house, and she got to meet my parents~… They got a kick outta meeting her, I tell you~. But Yoichi was out, so she didn't get to see him."
"Yeah?" Naoto was aware that Hana might've been the first friend she'd brought home from Kazehaya High School.
"Yup, she wanted to borrow some manga. We chatted with Daddy and Mom for a while too, and Daddy gave Hana-chan a ride home, and I also went along. It was a fun time~."
…
So… by not accepting the girls' beckon to join them for "girly" stuff, he'd missed out on:
More time with Sakura and Hana…
Steak…
Seeing Hana's family again, most of whom he hadn't seen since he was in middle school…
Meeting Sakura's dear old Daddy for a second time…
And… meeting Mrs. Inori…
…
Naoto could've met Sakura's mother… and he'd missed the opportunity.
"Now, I definitely wish I had gone with you two," he finally gave proper words to his longing.
"Don't sweat it, buddy," she cheered. "There'll be other times. They said they wanted you to come by sometime, Hana-chan's family and mine, so… there's that~."
"…!" Naoto was touched. "I'd like that~."
"Sometime~."
"Yeah… sometime."
"…"
"…"
This was nice and all, but there were other things to touch upon…
"I tell you, Senpai-kun, I'm so happy with what Hana-chan and I bought today. It was a good day shopping, that's for sure~."
"Mm…" he agreed.
"Wasn't Hana-chan so pretty in her beach ensemble? The bikini and skirt~?"
"…!" He'd said so… and he still thought so. "…Yeah…"
"I figured you'd go for the 'Nekoba' look, buddy~."
She wasn't wrong…
"Hey, I like that kinda thing…" Naoto advocated, feeling his cheeks heat up. "And it… suits her… Sunomiya, I mean.
Why had he come clean on that…?!
Sakura tittered, "Hey, it's okay; there's nothing wrong with saying that. I like it too~. I was originally planning on getting something really head-turning this summer, but… once Hana-chan said she wanted to try out a bikini, I decided to go for something tame, so we could have something similar."
"I'm just glad you both found something you liked," Naoto yielded.
Not that the "head-turning" thing went unmourned…
Sakura conceded, "I totally hadn't planned on going for the 'practical, conservative look', but I'm happy we went that route~. To be honest, I was afraid we wouldn't be able to pull it off so well."
"What do you mean?"
"Just about how Hana-chan and I are shaped," she said plainly. "I just think slimmer girls have always been able to pull off the 'beach-skirt' look better, especially when they have a little height to them… like Nekoba."
To his own astonishment, Naoto wasn't overly perturbed by her statement. "Yeah, I can totally see that. Hmm…"
Height could really alter how ANYTHING looked on a person…
Sakura moved along, "Onto something else, did you recheck the train schedule for August 11?"
"The convention is still two weeks away," Naoto told her. "We have time to finalize."
"But I like to know ahead of time~." She wouldn't be deterred.
He supposed he liked to know too. "I'd have to look again for the specific time the train leaves, but we'll for sure all meet at Zushi Station at 7:00 a.m. that day. It's not a big con, so it's not like we need to line up while it's still dark. The ride to Yokohama shouldn't take more than an hour, and we'll probably make the convention doors by 9:00."
"Yeah, I thought it was 7:00; I think that's what I have written down." Turning her head, she peered across her room. "I'm so happy that your guy-friends are fine with me coming along~."
Those two should've felt BLESSED that a pretty girl wanted to tag along with them to a videogame event…
Naoto noted her eyestrain. "You okay?"
"Sorry… I'm looking at my calendar." She blinked hazily. "But I can't read my own writing from here. I don't have my contacts in…"
"…?!" He couldn't have caught that right. "I didn't know you wore contacts."
Sakura gloomed, "Well, most girls don't like to advertise their eyes aren't perfect, buddy o' mine."
"…" He supposed not.
The gal exhaled, once more setting her phone down, "Cripes, I was hoping you wouldn't ever see these…"
"…?" Naoto perked up. "See what?"
A few seconds later, Sakura reappeared onscreen.
Perched low on her nose were a pair of square, black-framed eyeglasses.
"…!" He thought he'd seen a lot.
But he'd never fathomed that Sakura might wear glasses…
She apparently finished her "task" of reading her calendar. "Yup, I got it written down…"
Naoto gaped in fascination. "…!"
She… looked pretty good~, he found.
He'd noticed the mild indentations on the bridge of her nose, but he figured she wore sunglasses, like she had in town, or maybe reading glasses at home…
He—
"Do you really have to stare, Senpai-kun…?" Sakura grimaced, though with a great lack of enthusiasm.
He didn't mean to. "Sorry."
"Eh, no biggie…" she mumbled, shifting the glasses higher on her face. "You're the only one outside my family that's seen this pair."
"You have another pair?"
"Doesn't everyone? It seems kinda dumb to not have a spare pair around. You bust a pair, it can take a while to get new ones, especially if you have a weird prescription."
"Yeah, I have a second pair too." He'd never worn them, the cheap, clunky plastic crap they were.
"Hana-chan's seen my other pair. Wire octagonals…"
'Woot!' Naoto's interest was piqued.
Sakura in a pair of wire, octagon frames~…?
He liked the mental visualization that inspired.
How awesome would it be, "scholarly" Sakura, pretty and proper, her school uniform in perfect order…?
For some reason, Naoto was confronted more powerfully by the notion of "naughty teacher" Sakura, the lovely, learned lass schooling a bunch of hapless morons, using her ruler to give a good smack to the next dumbass to—
"Senpai-kun, quit imagining weird things over there," the gal said with great surety. "You're turning a small offense into a big one."
He wasn't sure himself, returning in a daze. "Was I…?"
"Yeah, you were."
"…Yeah, I was…" He was sure now.
"Pfft… Yeah, laugh it up…"
"I wouldn't do that…" He blushed a little. "I think they look alright."
Her cheeks took on a rosiness all their own, and she looked away. "…Thanks…"
He rather liked a good-looking girl in glasses. "…~"
Though the point was probably made already…
"You really didn't know I wear contacts?" Sakura's eyes returned to him.
"Nope," Naoto avowed. "Didn't know."
"I only started wearing contacts just before I started high school," she shared. "I was a four-eyes too, since I was nine."
"I thought I was the only one, Sakura-san. I mean, the Prez wears contacts, I guess."
If he remembered correctly, she'd said that glasses negatively affected her state-of-mind regarding nudism or something along those lines.
It made sense to him, oddly enough…
"It's not just us, Senpai-kun," Sakura exposed. "Gamo-chan and Hayacchi also wear contacts, but Yoshi somehow keeps acing the vision tests. Hana-chan has perfect vision too."
"Gamo-chan wears contacts…?!" This stood out the most to Naoto.
"Yes." The blonde nodded. "Ever notice how much Gamo-chan squints? She hates wearing contacts (and only wears them half the time) but probably doesn't want to be seen with glasses."
"Huh…" He had little else.
"She'd probably do better in school if she tolerated her contacts more or just wore glasses." Sakura rubbed at her nose. "She can see well enough to walk around and exercise, so glasses wouldn't be that big of a deal."
"I thought the 'squinting thing' was her acting out a character…" Naoto imparted.
Sakura snorked, "Yeah, I can see how you might thing that~."
"But Gamo-chan in glasses…?" This didn't properly compute for the young artist. "Do you think she owns a pair?"
"I'm sure she does, Senpai-kun."
"You're probably right."
"Oh, and I mentioned Yoshi too. Yoshi actually has 20/10 vision. She could be an airplane pilot~.
Yoshi? Captaining a plane…?!
"Wouldn't you rather take a train?" Naoto smirked grudgingly. "I think I might take a boat… or swim…"
"Heh-heh-heh~," Sakura joined in. "But she has better-than-perfect vision, and we don't."
Naoto was faced with a revelation.
He thought aloud, "I had no idea Nagatoro wore contacts. I knew her brother has them… and used to wear glasses."
He hated bringing up that worthless Taiga, but so struck was he that Nagatoro would mock her senpai's eyes, when she was perhaps also a fucking four-eyes at home, where he couldn't see her.
It irked him…
He tried to picture lil' Hayase saying the same sorts of things she had to her brother, not that she would dare.
Would he have knocked her block off…? Or her teeth out…?
…
"—I heard Hayacchi say her big sister had laser-surgery done," Sakura spoke right through Naoto's disgusting mental diatribe. "I think her parents had it done too. Must be nice, getting your eyes fixed…"
He had opinions about the procedure, "I'd never have it done. I have a relative that's an eye-doctor, and he'll tell anyone that'll listen that you don't damage an otherwise healthy eye with an invasive surgery. Too many things can go wrong."
The procedure itself was nauseating, bringing to mind notions of razor-blades and grapes…
"…!" He shuddered, always sickened by the mere thought.
"Yeah, I don't think I'd wanna have it done either," Sakura said. "I've heard of too many people messing up their eyes."
"Mm." Naoto was choir to her preacher.
But in his head, relating to Misaki—
He'd never played the game, only seeing a video, but there WAS that scene in Dead Space 2, where if you didn't do the "eye surgery" part right, then BAD ENDING~…
…
As before, Sakura unknowingly paved her way over his asshole-ish mentalities.
"My mom and brother wear glasses, but Daddy's lucky… 20/20 vision," she touted. "Don't know about Gamo-chan's or Yoshi's family, but I'm sure not everyone's eyesight is perfect."
Naoto ho-hummed, "Wouldn't surprise me."
Sakura assumed, "If someone isn't wearing glasses, it's not unlikely they have contacts or had the surgery. Not many people have uncorrected, perfect vision."
Naoto didn't want to be a wet blanket, but, "Could we talk about something else…? All this talk about eyes is…"
"Oh, yeah, it gives me the willies too…" Sakura shivered. "We can talk something else. No problem~!"
What a relief…
"Great," Naoto exhaled in respite.
"So, what else is going on~?" she twittered.
He chose to touch upon it, "I guess it's been a whole week since you modeled for me… and since I got in trouble."
"But all's well, isn't it~?" Sakura buoyed.
Naoto had no qualms. "I suppose."
"Why'd you bring that up?"
"I, uh… was gonna ask you if I could do another portrait of you. I kinda want to try something in watercolor."
She burbled, "You were 'gonna'~? You 'kinda' wanna try~?"
He reformed, cracking a smile, "I want you to sit for a portrait. I saw something I want to try with watercolors—after basing it with pencil, of course. Would you… be willing? Sometime?"
"Oh, Hell yeah, bud~!" she squeed. "We can talk about it this weekend, whaddaya say there~?"
"Thanks, Sakura-san~…"
That was painless…!
And as he had before, he gave a feeling tangibility, "I dunno why I was kinda scared to ask…"
"A lesson learned, we see~."
Again with Naoto's big britches, "Maybe I should better retain that which I learn~."
"Heh-heh~…" Sakura rained on his parade.
"Hey, I'm gonna try…" His pants shrank like wet wool in the sun.
"Sure~."
"No, really…" And they pinched his balls.
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading!
Questions and comments are welcome!