🌸Cherry Blossom Palette: Summer by the Sea🎨
🌸Chapter 4:Fyodor Dostoevsky Wrote a Book About It, Part Three🎨
Doorway into Summer Arc
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
ED: Behold the new art by Joaquinthatboi of Sakura and Hana, looking great in their new outfits and Birks on a shopping trip~! How will Naoto react to this?! It might be fun to see! Thank you, Joaquin! It's so cute!
Art courtesy of Joaquinthatboi:
joaquinthatboi/gallery/all
…
I've got another super-sized chapter for you all!
Despite most things looking up, Gamo-chan's karaoke party and the group's beach trip about to happen, Naoto must clean the school pool as punishment for his and Sakura's "sins".
But for now, all he wants to do is quietly work on his oil painting of that plaster bust in the art room.
I binge watched Moral Orel over the weekend, and all I can say is "Wow!". I'd never even heard of the show, so I didn't know what happened, the series suddenly going from mostly silly to profound. The hunting trip episodes were messed up. And the third season was very good.
I watched the first episodes of "Tomo-chan Is a Girl" to see if the manga was worth looking at or if the anime is worth following. But it's all been done before, and the series just repackages stuff we've seen a hundred times in a thousand places. It's stock material. All the characters come off as awful caricatures. Every last one of them. Not a single character is likeable. It's like "Komi" but with fewer characters (and even a few of the "Komi" characters have a FEW likeable traits).
There's even a brain damaged China doll character for some reason.
And if Tomo-chan wants to be "treated like a girl" by her childhood friend/crush, maybe she shouldn't go around hitting people (sometimes for no reason) and acting the way she does. That's coming from a young woman who wasn't a teenager so very long ago. It's not rocket science, and she has bad taste to begin with, her low IQ crush being mean, careless, and stupid. It's not a funny premise; it's just dumb.
I know this: I wish all the money "Spy X Family" makes would funnel into my bank account. It's another series where I don't get the appeal, but people were eating it up for a while. My local Barnes & Noble had a literal TABLE with nothing but the first manga volume stacked five high when the anime came out.
I know some of my stuff has clichés, but I'm just a fic writer making no money. I TRY to put a unique spin on things instead of just repackaging, but most things have been done in some shape or form.
That's why PS sometimes drinks or works while exhausted when he goes through my writing. It helps open the creative avenues for the nutty stuff he's so good at pulling out of his a$$.
Okay, that sounded wrong…
Ask us anything, and we'll add a Q&A section in the next chapter. I would be happy if you ask questions.
Please enjoy what I wrote.
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Naoto Hachioji didn't regret running the day before, but he hadn't really been able to do it this morning.
He'd wound up primarily walking the same route he'd run, but he'd finished, and he didn't feel too badly once he was done, giving himself a little cooldown and stretch.
The hot shower, opening up all his pores, had been great, and he'd even gotten a kick out of ending it with three minutes of tap-cold water, nearly causing him to hyperventilate.
That sure as Hell woke him up! And lil' Naoto even played a fun game of "turtle"!
He'd been a new man, hungrily devouring his breakfast and having set off to school before 8:00 a.m.
If he could do this every day, running a little more and more each time, maybe he could improve!
He knew it was a journey.
Thankfully, he wasn't the same shaky mess he'd been the morning before; his hands were steady, and he was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!
With the air conditioner set nice and low, he was ready for work and relaxation in the art room!
When art went well, work and relaxation were one-in-the-same!
And with a packed lunch, a couple bottles of juice, and some snacks, he could stay the whole day—literally—if he wanted.
It wouldn't be a terrible way to spend Tuesday!
…
Set on seeing the oil painting of the plaster bust through to fruition, he'd donned the old paint shirt, prepared a nice palette of blacks, grays, whites, and whatever else he might've needed for the immediate background, and had set to work.
It was coming along nicely… really beginning to take shape~…
He didn't even bother playing music. No one else was in his part of the building, and the quiet did wonders for is concentration.
"…~"
…
*rattle…*
Naoto had pulled the Art Club's door shut, though he hadn't bothered locking it.
He didn't need to cool the hallway too…
Wishing whoever had just pulled him down from his art-high had at least knocked before entering, he came to attention, and –
What's SHE doing here…?
Caught with his "creative pants" around his ankles, he hadn't had time to think about who might be looking for him this early, not that he wasn't expecting Maki Gamo to possibly cruise on by at some point.
So, the fact that Orihara, the Judo Club's ace, was standing in the doorway in her gym clothes was as surprising as anything.
He'd barely said more than a sentence to her the whole time she'd been a student there.
She sounded as flustered as she looked, opening her mouth, "Hachioji-kun, are you the only one here?"
What kind of question was that?
He was compelled to gawk about, the query so out of left-field.
Maybe he'd missed something!
"Uh, I guess," he replied. "I haven't seen anyone this morning, Orihara-san."
Her unease wasn't alleviated in the least.
Naoto, still surprised to see her of all people, asked, "What's going on?"
"I can't find Gamo-chan, Hachioji-kun," Orihara fussed. "I thought she might be here…"
Checking the time, he saw it was already 9:30 a.m.
The Judo Club had begun working on setting up for the Thursday tournament at 8:30 a.m., if the schedule was being followed…
Naoto became alarmed. "She didn't show up?"
"It's not that." Orihara shook her head. "She was the first one here, even before our sensei, and we started moving stuff, but she suddenly disappeared when no one was looking, and we don't know where she is…"
What…?
"She's usually really good about helping with everything, so I don't know what's going on," Orihara troubled. "We were already short on help… Now, it's just Sensei, our club president, me, some of the first-years, and two other second-years…
"She's not answering her phone or messages or anything. No one can get ahold of her…"
Naoto had nothing.
"Sorry, I've got no idea where she might be…" he said, puzzled.
This seemed odd…
Orihara seemed even more upset. "…"
Since she didn't speak again—
Naoto promised, "I'll try getting ahold of her. If I see her or hear from her, I'll make sure to let her know that you're looking for her."
There wasn't much else he COULD do!
"Okay…" Orihara settled, morosely on the move again. "Thanks, Hachioji-kun."
"Sure."
And was it too much to ask she close the door on her way out?!
She'd left it open, forcing Naoto to get off his duff and shut the door himself.
Whatever…
Sitting back down, he briefly vexed over what he'd just come to know.
Where WAS Gamo-chan?!
He didn't have the slightest clue.
Since he'd promised to do so, and he was mildly concerned himself, he tried calling.
No answer…
No ring…
No voicemail…
No nothing…
Her phone was possibly off, or she'd silenced everything, ignoring it all.
"Shit…" he muttered.
He sent a message:
…
Gamo-chan, is everything okay? Orihara-san came by the Art Club, and she said you disappeared on them. Where are you?
…
…
…
At his easel, Naoto went about his morning.
He tried to, at least…
Unfortunately, his mind was no longer clear.
Gamo-chan had shown up at school—just like she said she would—but she'd taken a powder from her duties as laborer and split on the whole scene of setting up for that tourney she couldn't compete in.
Seriously, what was going on?!
It wasn't like Gamo-chan to walk out on a promise or a responsibility, and he knew it.
But he also knew—probably better than anyone, besides Mrs. Serizawa, the school's lady counselor—how bent out of shape his friend was over the whole situation.
She was unhappy about the prospect of working an event that not only SHE couldn't be a part of, but that Hayase Nagatoro probably wouldn't be a part of either.
Naoto reasoned she'd just stomach it, but if she was told straight-up that Nagatoro wouldn't be allowed to compete, Gamo-chan might just turn her back on the whole thing and split, simply fed the fuck up with the present state-of-affairs.
He hoped she hadn't done it, if that was the case, but could he blame her?
"…" He couldn't… and he was almost positive that Nagatoro wouldn't be allowed on the mats on Thursday.
…
It sucked that the Judo Club was shorthanded, their labor-pool lazy, but it wasn't like HE'D volunteer…
"…"
Still…
In the unlikely event Gamo-chan asked him to help… he probably would…
He might even OFFER if she hinted at it, not that he'd expect such a thing!
Otherwise, it was just a lot of hot, heavy lifting for something he didn't really give a crap about, considering his friends wouldn't be participating.
He wouldn't stick to the idea of Gamo-chan "selfishly" fucking off.
She might've had something else (better?) to do, or something had suddenly come up…
But he was leaning heavily in the direction of "something happened Gamo-chan didn't like, and she's pissed about it", and he tried to get back to his painting.
…
Naoto had been rather bothered by the dudgeon in which Gamo-chan criticized the club she was a part of.
He knew she'd been frustrated, and he took that into account, but she'd REALLY let the venom drip…
Before Gamo-chan telling him, he figured the girls of the Judo Club got along well enough, but if what his friend said was true, Nagatoro was an outsider in her own club.
And so was Orihara…
…
If there was truth to Gamo-chan's words, he doubted she'd be happy to know Orihara was currently seeking her out.
He hadn't been pleased to see Orihara, lost in his work.
He knew enough about her to know he didn't care for her.
It was Nagatoro's own fault that she rage-quit judo when the dope beat her in ONE match, but it was reason enough to keep Orihara off his VIP list…
She'd known Nagatoro for years, sparring with her and sucking balls at it for most of that time, but she hadn't known Nagatoro's surname.
He'd had to use her nickname, Hayacchi, for Orihara to place her, when he'd once sought her out!
It spelled "idiot".
And he was pretty sure Nagatoro didn't want to be called "Hayacchi" by Orihara.
She didn't even like her FRIENDS calling her that, in the end…
He knew Nagatoro didn't like Orihara, even when they were little.
Even he always hated that one kid every class seemed to have, the one stuck on believing that everyone was friends with everyone.
And that kid was not only too clueless to know that NO ONE liked them, but that they were at the bottom of the totem pole to boot…
Every class Naoto had ever been in had at least one kid like that.
"Amusingly", he himself had always been one of the "weird, nerdy kids"! But he still wasn't the asshole at the very bottom of the social ladder!
So, Orihara—with her dirty mop-water hair and the muddied eyes of a dullard—barging in without knocking, pulling him out of the zone, hadn't been the highlight of his day!
"…!" Naoto caught himself.
Maybe he shouldn't be generating so much negativity in his own head…
He was a bit on edge, and he was slightly upset with the status quo, but he couldn't let the shit pervade.
It wasn't doing him any favors, focusing on the pessimistic…
…
"…" He thought about the eyes of Yoshi Yamazaki.
The golden orbs of the Yosh were deceptively vacant, but at least they were interesting.
They reminded him of his dad's favorite unfiltered beer! Much better than mud~!
…
…Ack…!
Naoto was having trouble concentrating, to say the least.
Seemingly out of nowhere, his painting suddenly and only reminded him of his attempt to fake out Sakura Inori on Friday, waiting for her to leave, set on working on a "special" project, himself as the subject.
But that hadn't worked out, SAKURA becoming the subject!
And the two had a most interesting night, culminating in the police showing up to the school.
He'd made sure that the gal escaped, but he'd had to tell her about the punishment he was facing…
He hoped that she wouldn't bring it up again, the "unfairness" of him having to clean the school pool by himself.
Considering he might've gone to jail, he'd been let off pretty easily!
…
And speaking of his friends of the fairer sex, there were other dilemmas among the girls, and Naoto was torn over a few things.
The night before, he'd messaged Nagatoro again, and—again—he hadn't seen a reply for a while, in this case, that morning.
He'd told her of his excitement for Gamo-chan's Wednesday karaoke party, and she'd responded that she was still pretty sick.
She'd been rather evasive, but she probably wasn't in the greatest of moods, almost certain to miss out on the judo tourney and perhaps karaoke too…
But he'd wished her well, hoping she felt better.
…
He still worried, the karaoke party looming…
And he wasn't worried that there would be a problem—he was worried that there wouldn't be a problem!
It was weird, but he just felt that way!
Gamo-chan had relayed the news the night before that Hana Sunomiya—and the rest of the Sunomiya family—was staying an extra night in Tokyo, and they wouldn't be back until late Wednesday night.
Hana would be unavailable for the party altogether!
This wouldn't answer the question of Hana's willingness to be around Nagatoro, the younger girl now at serious odds with her farm-tanned senpai.
All those "in the know" knew was that Hana wouldn't be going to sing karaoke with them, no matter what…
Hana had even told Gamo-chan to round up a ninth person, not wanting her spot to go to waste and not wanting Gamo-chan to have to take a bath at ¥2,500, stuck with the payment.
Naoto knew it wouldn't be Rabi-chan!
Gamo-chan may have gone looking for a ninth, but she wasn't about to look for an eighth.
She was confident that Nagatoro would be fine to go by Wednesday, even if she was still a little out of it.
Naoto wanted Nagatoro to go; he knew she was probably dying to get out of the house.
Though the issue of Nagatoro vs. Hana wouldn't be solved this time, he'd decided to pin it on Hana if she didn't want to go to karaoke because Nagatoro would be there.
If the younger girl refused to show, even when available, that was her choice…
The more pressing matter for him was the thought of Hana refusing to spend time in the art room if/when Nagatoro was around.
It was too fucking much! Karaoke was one thing, but the Art Club…?!
He'd have to figure out something…
And then there was the BEACH, and Sakura had already elected to "side" with Hana… if everyone's kohai struck out and declared cold war on the girl he was in love with…
If he was expected to take sides, he had no idea how to go about it.
It was easier to not think about it…
…
Barely progressing in his still-life oil painting, Naoto's head-brain returned to Gamo-chan.
Despite her sharing and revealing some very unpleasant thoughts and feelings to him the day before, he'd been excited at the chance to see her during or after the judo tourney setup.
Now, even THAT seemed shot!
He hadn't been able to get ahold of her, and he certainly hadn't gotten a reply to the message he'd sent her earlier.
It seemed he might not be seeing her that day…
Naoto had already decided to just stay at school the rest of the day. His painting was finally beginning to go smoothly again, he hadn't touched his snacks, and he wasn't even hungry enough to tackle his bento yet.
…
…
…
But as noon approached, Old Man Hunger was just a-gnawin' at his belly…
Thus, Naoto slipped off his paint shirt and sat down to eat his lunch.
Pulling out his phone, he opened the latest podcast that had shown up—the one with the comedian he'd come to enjoy in the last month—and he played the episode.
No one else was around, so he didn't even bother with earbuds and used the phone's speaker!
It was nice… not having his ears full of screaming plastic whilst he chewed.
It was a nice lunch, and the podcast was some funny stuff!
About the time a man with a toothpick would start poking around where floss could do better, the podcast dropped out, his phone notifying him of a new message.
Swallowing the final, gamy gulp of orange juice, his bottle tilted back, he righted the empty receptacle and capped it.
"…?" He spun his phone, righting its orientation so he could read.
The first thing he noticed was the time was 12:07 p.m.
The second thing he noticed was the sender.
It was Gamo-chan, replying to his message!
Thoughts of fresh cookies flashed across his mind's eye, but he set himself straight, sure that Gamo-chan was just returning his message, and he wouldn't be seeing her.
At least he'd figure out what was going on…
He resignedly opened the message:
…
Are you in the art room?
…
"…?" Naoto was surprised.
Hadn't she gone home?
He wanted to be happy, the prospect of seeing her, but something weird was going on.
That she'd deserted on the Judo Club was plenty weird!
She indeed might've just been returning his message, not even in that part of town anymore, but something weird was going on!
All the same, he responded:
…
Yes. What's up?
…
Within seconds, she replied:
…
Are you by yourself?
…
"…?" It didn't click immediately, but he realized she had to have been close by.
What was going on…?
Regardless, he sent back:
…
Yes.
…
Not five seconds later, Naoto heard rapid footsteps from somewhere far down the hall.
Tep! Tep! Tep! Tep! Tep!
They weren't loud like the police officers' shoes on Friday, marking up the school's floor…
But the steps came louder—and closer—and another few seconds saw the noise increase to "ground-pound", even through the closed door.
TEP! TEP! TEP! TEP! TEP! TEP! TEP! TEP! TEP! TEP! TEP! TEP! TEP! TEP! TEP!
Before Naoto sorted this out any further, Gamo-chan burst into the art room.
"…?!" He almost slid off his chair.
Then—just when he had enough wits to comprehend much of anything—he saw her slide the door shut and lock it.
This bewildered him, but fear took over when she turned back his way.
Pink in the face, chest heaving, her visage was wild, and her eyes were wide. "Huff… Huff… Huff…"
Naoto almost scrambled under the table. Holy damn!
She'd changed her mind!
He thought they were good, but he was shit-out-of-luck!
She WAS pissed at him, and this time, she WAS going to tear out his voice-box, punishing him for his assholery the Monday prior!
…
And—just as quickly—he realized how stupid his rapid-fire thinking was.
Something was wrong… REALLY wrong…!
Gamo-chan was in excellent shape, but she was winded.
As Orihara had been, she was wearing her gym clothes, but that wasn't what stood out.
She had on her indoor shoes, clean, white, and bright, but her socks underneath were filthy, and so were her calves.
Had she been running outside without shoes?!
Whatever was going on with her, she realized she'd come across her senpai.
Breathlessly, she gasped, "We… need… to talk…!"
"…?!" Naoto floundered.
Gamo-chan walked up to the table unsteadily.
Naoto didn't respond well. "…?!"
Apparently, he hadn't wiped the "scared shitless" expression from his face, and to his increasing fear, it did piss off Gamo-chan.
"What's wrong with you?!" she got it out in one breath, nearly coughing.
That was how she reacted?!
Naoto's voice came out higher-pitched than he wanted, "You just scared the fuck outta me!"
Gamo-chan didn't even bother pulling out a chair at the table.
Collapsing to her butt, sitting Indian style, she tried to slow down her breathing, "Sorry… I didn't want anyone disrupting us…"
Disrupting…? Disrupting what?!
"Where'd you come from?!" Naoto dropped the question without running it through the check-valve.
Her forearms across her thighs, she expelled, "I was in the girls' room down the hall…"
She was?!
Naoto still must've had that "scared shitless" look, and Gamo-chan didn't like it any more the second time.
She lashed out, her temper suddenly flaring, "Stop looking at me like that!"
What the Hell's HER problem?!
"Shut up!" Naoto wouldn't take that—not over this. "You scared the fuck outta me!"
He was so startled, that he didn't think about the consequences of such backtalk, but she was just as out of it as he was.
Something was wrong!
Again, Gamo-chan tried to find her center, and she mewled, frustratedly bobbing her head, "Sorry, sorry, sorry… We need to talk… now…"
"…?" Naoto tried to find his meridian too, his panic not raising him to any sort of enlightenment.
"…" She continued regaining her wind.
And Naoto came to an awful conclusion. "…!"
Even as she attempted to calm down, he could tell just by looking at her…
He knew at once:
Gamo-chan wasn't out of breath from running…
She was freaking out!
Those red flags and alarm bells raised in his head, and he joined her on the floor.
Mirroring her posture, directly across, he tried to meet her eyes. "Hey…"
She stared at the floor. "…"
"…?"
Finally, she looked up.
Her face no longer red, she'd blanched.…!
Their eyes did meet, and Naoto saw something awful in Gamo-chan's:
Despair…
It was the only word for it.
He had the urge to take her by the shoulders, but his hands were shaking too much, and they wouldn't obey him.
"…"
"…"
"What's wrong…?" he asked weakly.
He wasn't to be kept waiting long.
Her face distorting, Gamo-chan became even paler as she rifled through the front pocket of her gym shorts.
With her hands just as unsteady as his, Naoto reached for the partially crumpled sheet of paper she tenuously held out.
It was handwritten, and he couldn't see what it said.
A sense of dread found its way into him…
It took more than one attempt to grab the sheet, his nerveless grasp missing the clutch.
But grab it he did.
And he knew at once what he was looking at, even without the official title or formatting of a proper Kazehaya High School document:
…
Nagatoro Hayase
Japanese 46 (64)
English 42 (70)
Science 37 (52)
Math 39 (57)
Social Studies 45 (68)
Total 219 (311)
…
It was Nagatoro's final exam grades.
Naoto might've given any sort of reaction, but the first wasn't the most obvious.
"How did you get this?!" he spouted, looking at Gamo-chan in shock.
She was just as stunned by his response.
To her, that she'd intruded on another student's privacy seemed the LEAST of their concerns…
"I know someone…" she eked. "Just got it 10 minutes ago… They wrote it out for me…"
Holy shit! He didn't want to know!
That she had this information was more shocking than the info itself.
She'd had someone hack into the school's computer system!
"You can't have this!" Naoto whisper-screamed, horror stamped on his features. "Do you know how much trouble you could get in for just having this?!"
She would've had some difficult questions to answer, but BIG trouble…? For some handwritten thing?
A proper document—something traceable—would've been real trouble…
He'd probably be in LESS trouble if he and Sakura had been caught naked together—not just screwing but committing full-blown "unnatural acts"—on the art room's big table!
Even so, whether big trouble or small trouble, this notion didn't seem to be at the top of Gamo-chan's list.
"Paisen…?" she whimpered, color returning.
He'd been through some rough stuff with her, but this… "…!"
This was otherworldly, the face she was showing him…
It was of despair, and it didn't matter if his own hands were playing at palsy.
Dropping the sheet of paper between them, he gripped her shoulders.
The paper had told him PLENTY, but he still didn't know…
"Gamo-chan…" he quavered. "What's going on…?"
Her sad eyes had an aspect of disarray, and his touch cleared that up.
"Paisen…" She shivered from her scalp to her toes.
He kneaded her upper-arms. "Gamo-chan, what's happening?"
"…!" She squeezed her eyes shut.
He waited. "…"
Gamo-chan let it out, and it came rapidly, "I found out last night… Hayacchi's been dodging me since yesterday afternoon, and I couldn't take it anymore…
"When she stopped messaging me back, I called her parents… I was really worried… And they told me… that Hayacchi blew all her exams… She passed them, but she pretty much tanked them…!"
Naoto had seen that plainly, the sheet of paper telling him, but hearing it out loud made it real. "…!"
"Hayacchi was never sick, Paisen…" Gamo-chan moaned. "At least not with the flu or even a cold… It was stress… She got sick from stress…"
He knew what that was like, being stressed to the point of illness…
"It was weird for her to not share her scores, but I wasn't too worried about it," Gamo-chan sniveled. "I knew she was having a harder time than normal this semester, but I didn't have any idea things were going this bad…!"
"…!" Naoto's stomach soured.
"Her parents didn't wanna tell me anything, but I knew something was wrong… and I finally got them to tell me.
"They wouldn't tell me much, but I think they've grounded Hayacchi, Paisen…! They were even gonna take her phone away! Her access is restricted… I think they were expecting her to tell us all this herself… They seemed really angry that she hadn't told me about it on her own…"
Yikes!
"This has never happened before, Paisen…!" Gamo-chan garbled, her glistening eyes driving into his. "Hayacchi has always been above average, so her parents are losing it. They don't know what's going on! They think there's something really wrong with her, like, she… like, she had a breakdown or something! I think they might send her in for a psych-eval!"
That sounded extreme, even to Naoto, bass-ackwards as he was…
He only let go of the perturbed girl because she abruptly tried to stand up.
Agitated as she was, he knew standing wasn't in her best interest. "Gamo-chan, hey, you gotta sit down."
But in her addled state, she seemed to be against returning to the floor, though he coaxed her into one of the chairs at the table.
Sitting beside her, just as he had the day before, he kept a hand at her back.
Leaning forward with her hands knitting in her lap, Gamo-chan's face was centimeters from the table.
She quivered nonstop, and Naoto was reminded of the time he'd petted the neighbor's Chihuahua.
Geez-a-ree!
Gamo-chan turned slightly. "I… think she just couldn't balance everything… and kinda fell apart…"
Her tone was detached, like she wasn't even invested… but she was…
…
This was surreal… and at the same time, it was as concrete as basic arithmetic.
Naoto wanted to do something… say something… to comfort Gamo-chan—and himself—but it was impossible.
…
"…!" It hit Naoto like a metric ton of shit falling out of the sky.
This was real…!
He lurched.
This was REAL!
Gamo-chan perked, "Paisen…?"
The gloves dropped, and before Naoto knew it, his very brain-cavity seemed full of ginger ale.
He could hear the fizzing, just as clearly as he'd heard the hydrogen peroxide lifting wax from his ear-canals, all the times his mother had poured it down there when he was younger for a good cleaning…
It linked right into a buzzing, moving from his jawbone to the right-hemisphere of his brain to the base of his skull to his left shoulder to the other hemisphere of his brain, settling somewhere in his neck, but it didn't stop there for long.
All Naoto could see were spots and—why?!—his own guilt, and the fizzing joined the buzzing in another round across his perception…
…
Paisen…?
…
Paisen!
…
"Gamo-chan…?" Someone or some… thing far away was calling his name.
Who else could it be? She was the only one to ever call him "Paisen"…
"Paisen, c'mon!" She frantically invaded his space. "Snap out of it!"
His eyelids fluttered. "Gamo-chan?"
What was she talking about?
"Paisen, what's going on with you…?!" she fretted.
Naoto shook off his daze, not very successfully. "What do you mean?"
"Whaddaya mean, 'what do you mean?'" Gamo-chan's lip drew back in a befuddled sneer.
All he'd done is fizzle about his own consciousness for a while. "…?!"
Now, she seemed to get it. "You don't remember?"
"Remember what?!" He still didn't.
"You were blanking out… You didn't hear me…?"
"What did you say?"
"Seriously?!" She balked.
He wailed, "Yeah, I'm 'seriously'! I don't know what's going on!"
"I was yelling your name!"
"…?" He supposed she had been.
His name wasn't "Paisen", but…
"Paisen…?" Gamo-chan drew out. "What is it?"
Naoto's topsy-turvy cognizance didn't have much to piece together:
His brain had been floating in carbonation!
His hand pointed at the offending object between them.
"This is real…?" he forced out, able to see the contents of the fallen sheet of paper.
"…!" Gamo-chan cringed.
Naoto's awareness came slightly clearer. "…?"
"Yeah…" Gamo-chan sighed. "This has been going on all semester…"
…
…
…
Naoto was heading down to the vending machines.
He'd had the last of his juice during lunch, and he wanted a cold one.
But that was just secondary…
He'd given Gamo-chan all of the snacks he'd brought, having come to learn she hadn't eaten anything all day.
She'd been too preoccupied to eat or even feel hungry, but she needed SOMETHING…
All he had left ready-to-drink was tap water, and she'd grumbled at the suggestion of green tea with honey—which would've taken moments to prepare—but she'd brightened at the idea of a cold juice.
Though, at the suggestion of his going to get them some bottles, Gamo-chan had been against him leaving for some reason.
She'd been weirdly clingy about it…
Anyway, he'd reasoned she'd be okay, that no one would bother her, especially when he locked the door on the way out, and he'd gone regardless.
She'd immediately begun to feel better after a little something to eat, the fresh orange and a few granola bars, and he was sure a nice, cold juice would revive her further…
Truth be told, he'd also left to be alone for a little while and process what had just happened.
Man, he hoped to not run into any of the judo girls… not that they knew he was harboring a "fugitive", not from justice but from labor…
He had told Gamo-chan that Orihara had come looking for her—he'd promised he would.
Possibly, he hadn't NEEDED to, the sad-eyed girl having received his earlier note, once she'd stopped ignoring her calls and messages…
But, verbal or digital, the Maki hadn't given a black-and-blue fuck about that.
He hadn't really expected her to…
She seemed to be done with that.
And as upset as she was, he wouldn't put too much stock in her words and actions, knowing she was hurting.
Be that as it may, he was matter-of-factly glad she hadn't begun crying like she had the day before.
It wouldn't be difficult to buy the idea that she'd cried herself dry, getting it out of her system…
The points weren't fully joining in the game of connect-the-dots playing out in Naoto's frontal-lobe.
This was all going by in a blur…!
"…?" He felt as if he was watching a foreign movie, and he was only seeing one-third of the subtitles.
This was confusing… Maybe he'd missed something…
He was disappointed too, knowing that Nagatoro had popped her happiness-bubble and would be attending summer school.
But if this was hard for himself and Gamo-chan, he knew it must've been harder for Nagatoro.
She was the one who'd crapped the bed with her exams and was now in trouble with her parents…
Naoto wasn't sure why he felt so calm about it; once he'd overcome the initial shock and brain-frizzies from seeing her dismal grades, he'd galvanized.
Gamo-chan was struggling with that; she'd gotten worse, just as he'd gotten better…
He had to remind himself that she probably knew more about the situation.
That said, she hadn't told him much, but the more she told him, the less he wanted to know.
…
The vending machines had been hit pretty hard during finals, so many students loitering around campus, and the options were limited, really picked-over.
None of the machines had been restocked over the weekend, and they would see less frequent stocking over the break.
No fruit punch was to be had.
That was Gamo-chan's preferred beverage…
Naoto thought about taking a chance on mystery but went with two apples, stunned that kind wasn't out.
And he was short on cash…!
He'd forgotten his wallet and money in the art room, lightening his pockets to sit down more comfortably.
There were a few stray coins in his pocket, and it was enough to… not even buy one juice!
He needed ¥40.
He didn't want to run back upstairs…
So, he scrounged around on the ground.
A coin here… a coin there… another coin…
"Shit…" Naoto cussed.
He was still short ¥5.
And he'd been around the machines and scanned the courtyard…
He didn't want to leave Gamo-chan alone for too long, but he didn't feel like going back without a cold drink for his kohai!
He didn't care if he failed to get something for himself; he was set on getting Gamo-chan an apple juice!
Handily, the staff parking lot was only a hop, skip, and a jump away.
Any money lying around the parking lot would glint in the sunlight!
Almost shockingly, Naoto found nothing but a little broken glass.
It was a rare parking lot that didn't have at least ¥50 lying around…!
Just when he was about to go looking somewhere else, something caught his eye.
It shined dimly in the gutter…
"…~" Naoto was pleased and strutted over.
It was most DEFINITELY a coin, and it appeared silver!
If it was anything besides a measly ¥1 coin, he'd be in business.
To his astonishment, it wasn't any small sum that greeted him.
Heads-up, a ¥500 coin lay there.
"…~!" Naoto wouldn't complain about this!
He picked it up.
Holy shit, was it beat up!
Scratched and dinged and ragged on its edges, it had been run over by who knows how many cars.
Damn it! He didn't see this thing going into any vending machine.
Some machines were notorious for not liking older ¥500 pieces to begin with, so…
But he'd had no luck finding anything else.
He'd try it!
Even if the machine didn't take the coin, he'd have a nice, big coin riding in his pocket, one he could spend anywhere else!
He could probably find another few yen with a little more searching anyway…
However, someone in the great "Up There" must've had a yen for him, because the machine took the battered coin with no issues.
'Kin A!
Naoto even got some change out of the deal, and he reentered the school, dual-wielding tasty beverages.
…
…
…
"—I mean, how lucky was that, Gamo-chan?"
Naoto felt like something of a rube, but finding enough yen in a gutter to buy lunch—in this case, get two cold drinks—was a small thing to be pleased about.
One of those little things that occasionally and pleasantly happened!
Gamo-chan morosely shrugged off his mild enthusiasm. "Hrrn…"
Oh, boy…
She was rife with sullenness, but Naoto couldn't judge her too harshly.
Her best friend would be stuck in remedial classes for a good chunk of the break, all but killing the mornings they might've shared, spoiling much of the promise of fun the two had been savoring…
The sullenness, Naoto could understand if not condone, but he was struggling with the "subject matter".
Having gratefully but rapidly sucked down the apple juice, Gamo-chan continued circling the drain, grieving over the situation.
Keeping her away from the sewer beyond that drain had been reason enough to share the story of his small stroke of fortune, found in the gutter, corny as it was…
It did little to halt the spiral.
"…I saw some of her other grades, Paisen… but I didn't take the info down." She wrung her hands. "The whole semester, she pretty much blew even Japanese, and that's always been her best subject…"
She'd even gone looking at Nagatoro's OTHER grades?!
She certainly had. "Her parents hinted at that, but I wasn't sure until I saw the results of a few other tests and quizzes…"
This was worrisome to Naoto.
While Gamo-chan could get a little wild, she'd NEVER been in trouble at school, following the rules quite diligently…
She'd never gotten so much as a uniform violation, always keeping her dress spick-and-span while at school, so it bothered him that she'd go to such extremes, even if she was desperate, not just breaking a few school rules, but having someone break the law to get what she wanted.
He didn't know how she'd gotten this sucker to do the dirty work! She hadn't said, and he didn't want to know!
She droned on, "As winter semester went on, Hayacchi started getting the kind of grades I normally get… and I think it just… snowballed out of control for her…
"I really didn't notice anything being all that wrong. I was kinda worried the whole semester, but I just kept convincing myself that things were fine. Even when I thought there was maybe trouble, I didn't do anything about it…
"I guess I was just too wrapped up in my own bullshit to see what was right in front of me… Some friend I am…"
Yikes!
Naoto wracked his brains for a way to pull her out of her slump, but she seemed set on riding that watery corkscrew into a world of shit.
What could he do?!
Whatever it might be, Gamo-chan wasn't slowing down.
"I still have trouble believing that things got so crazy on Monday, Paisen…" she brooded.
He didn't want them following this route…
"I just had to lose my temper…" she said of herself. "I just had to scream and throw stuff and chase Hayacchi across the room…"
Don't do this to yourself, Gamo-chan!
"I just had to egg her on…" she said of Nagatoro. "And she wound up doing that…"
Naoto again felt he'd missed something, like skipping a transition between subjects in an essay…
"What you did wasn't crazy, Paisen…" Gamo-chan conveyed of him. "Anyone might've lost their cool, getting treated like that… It's not entirely your fault… It happens… What Hayacchi did was unforgivable…"
Naoto gulped. "…!"
"Hayacchi really asked for that tongue-lashing you gave her…" she felt.
HE felt he never should've done that…
She unexpectedly detailed, "I gotta tell you, Paisen… I was sure you were gonna take a swing at her…"
How could he ever dream of doing that?!
It was enough to get him to talk, his voice nearly breaking, "I never wanted to do that… I just wanted her to stop…"
Gamo-chan snorted.
"Yeah, you sure as Hell got her to shut her mouth…" She showed a twisted little smile. "You did, sure as sunshine…"
And he'd give a lot to take that back…
He hadn't known how much Nagatoro had been struggling…
And those tears she'd shed, clinging to him, hadn't been false…
For some reason, he kept forgetting about her crying into his shirt.
It seemed strange, unforgettable as it was…
Gamo-chan's nasty smirk fell away. "And what you said to me? I can't fault you for that. You weren't wrong…"
Naoto still hadn't forgiven himself for this.
All Gamo-chan had done was try to calm him down after he'd blown up at Nagatoro's antics, and what had he said?
He remembered it well, and he'd screamed it—loudly enough that it was faintly heard on the other side of the school:
"You stay outta this! All you've ever done is encourage this garbage! Stay outta this!"
…
Naoto tried not to burst, but he blurted, "I shouldn't have done that…! That was messed up…"
"I still don't wanna hear you say that you're sorry again…" she murmured lowly. "You didn't need to prostrate yourself… not to any of us…"
"…!" But he'd meant it; he'd been so sorry that it pained him.
Gamo-chan tilted her head back and sighed, "How mad you got, Paisen? That scared me."
And he hated himself for it, cringing at the memory. "…"
The heartbreak was clear in her tone. "I never wanna see that again… Never…"
"…!"
"…"
"I…" Naoto struggled. "I—"
"You don't need to say anything, Paisen…" Gamo-chan exhaled. "You really don't…"
He took her advice on the matter. "…"
"…"
"…"
Gamo-chan clenched at her stomach. "…!"
"What?" Naoto bustled.
She looked miserable. "You got any antacids, Paisen…?"
Her heartburn didn't surprise him.
She eaten an orange on an empty stomach and poured an apple juice on top of it, and some granola bars wouldn't be enough to soak THAT up…
Naoto didn't have any antacids, but he'd overlooked, "I know you said you didn't want any tea, but I could make you a nice big cup of peppermint. That should calm your stomach."
"Peppermint?" she repeated.
He'd put a couple of teabags in his bag a while back, and he'd JUST remembered!
A little peppermint tea did wonders on a sour stomach, he found.
Naoto set about to making some tea. "…"
"Aw, you don't have to…" Gamo-chan watched him cross the room.
He wouldn't take "no" for an answer. "I'm making it for me too."
That wasn't a lie…
His own stomach was feeling a little off.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
Seeing her senpai work, mostly for her sake, Gamo-chan's attitude didn't improve.
She bowed her head, staring at her hands, loosely clenched on the table. "I can't tell you how happy I was when I knew for sure that you and Hayacchi patched things up… That you were willing to make up with her, after that…"
Damn it! Naoto had been positive that she was moving on.
He didn't want to talk about this stuff anymore!
But he didn't want to yell, and that was the only thing he could think to do.
"…" He held his tongue.
Gamo-chan didn't, "I really fucked up on Monday, Paisen… I was pissed, and I took it out on Hayacchi… and even Hanacchi…
"I was pissed… upset… about everything Rabi-chan had been doing… So, when Hayacchi started saying those things… I pushed her until she snapped on us… I don't think she would've done any of that if I hadn't provoked her… She wanted to hit me where it hurt, and I took the bait…
"I just saw blood, and I went for it… Anything to get her to stop talking about me… and all the stuff Rabi-chan spread around… I was so embarrassed… and pissed off about it, I let it take over…
"I've been so angry about how Hayacchi's been treating you lately, Paisen… calling you a pervert and all that… I mean… it's not funny anymore, not when it's just so mean. It went from just being something stupid we could all laugh about to that…!"
"I mean… you're a good guy, Paisen… It was horrible to watch Hayacchi tear into you like that… to see you that hurt… It hurt to hear you talk about yourself that way…
"I know we've done some bad stuff, Paisen… and I'm sorry for it… for all the trouble we've caused you… We could've got the Art Club shut down last year…! You wouldn't have it… and Hanacchi wouldn't have it…!
"I mean—"
Naoto couldn't take it anymore and came over.
He reached and took her shoulders, opening her up. "Hey, stop it…"
"Huh…?" She blinked, raising her gaze.
"Please stop this, Gamo-chan…"
She saw the hot tears brimming in his eyes. "…?"
He let her know, "Hey, it's not your fault, Gamo-chan… really."
"Paisen…?" she eked.
He was partly relieved; she wasn't crying, even now.
But she was unhappy…
He hoped she'd finally "cleared out the pipes". "C'mon, Gamo-chan, just stop hating on yourself about all this. Just sit for a while, and I'll have the water hot enough for the peppermint tea in a few minutes."
"…" She was visibly embarrassed for saying as much as she had, but she knew she was in a safe place.
Naoto suggested, "Why don't you go sit on the couch?"
Nodding dumbly, a little weak in the knees, she went along with his thinking.
Keeping watch from the corner of his eye, Naoto checked the burner and noted the temperature of the water in the little kettle.
Gamo-chan was taking full advantage of the backrest and not lying down…
Opening the two packets containing the premade teabags, he appreciated the pepperminty smell, and he began to look forward to a fresh cup of soothing tea.
Gamo-chan seemed to be evening out…
He'd hoped that sitting somewhere that was more comfortable would relax her.
…
What she'd said just a moment ago, prior to him cutting her off…
Naoto had been listening.
Her words had touched him…
He knew what she said was from the heart.
But agonizing over all that had happened didn't do her any good…
He knew nobody was really at fault.
Things had just… taken a bad turn, and a lot of painful stuff they'd been collectively burying had gotten the better of them…
…
A moment of pondering had given the water almost enough time to heat up, and the little bags would steep nicely.
Naoto went for one of the wooden trivets he, Sakura, and Hana had scrounged up.
He'd be washing the pot anyway, so he'd just soak the bags in the pot itself as it rested on the trivet…
There was no need for the water to boil, so he'd just keep an eye on it until it was the right temperature.
Taking a few seconds, he checked on his absconding guest.
Gamo-chan presented a curious sight…
Her head tilted back at the sofa's headrest, her arms were crossed as she lounged, her legs stretched out.
And he'd been right in thinking she'd been running around outside without shoes.
She'd kicked off her indoor shoes but kept her socks on, her heels resting on the uppers, her toes pointed up.
Her socks were FILTHY! The bottoms looked like she'd been walking in coal-dust!
Naoto couldn't help but be amused at the whole sight of her.
She looked like some dirty old farmer/delinquent/slob, loafing there!
Despite not wanting to, he snorked, trying to stifle his laughter.
She heard him, and she opened one eye. "Whatcha laughin' 'bout, Paisen…?"
Her tone was better…
Naoto risked it, "Sorry, you just look kinda funny, sitting there."
And thankfully, Gamo-chan was a girl able to laugh at herself!
She righted her head and looked down at herself, examining her socks.
She laughed!
"Aw, yuck!" she exclaimed, chortling. "I didn't think they were that bad."
While it might've been fun to address her manner of sitting, Naoto decided to focus on her focus, the dirty socks.
The laugh and half-smile she'd given up was promising enough!
"How'd that happen?" He knew how it happened, but the humor she'd let out over it might hold a path to something better.
Gamo-chan sandwiched her feet, cringing at the mess. "It was just dumb, Paisen… When I 'escaped' setting up for that stupid tournament, I left my gym shoes behind. I saw an opportunity to vamoose, so before anyone noticed, I ran to the main school building in my socks~."
"Yeah?" Naoto snorted.
"Yeah~…" she reveled, giggling.
"…"
"…"
That was rather anticlimactic…
Naoto had expected more.
But, hey, she was smiling! And laughing!
…
At least, for a moment, Gamo-chan was smiling and laughing.
Her cheer took a nosedive. "But, really, Paisen… I ran away from the setup about 9:00… They came looking for me, but they never bothered looking under the equipment in the storage room. I didn't run away as much as hide…
"I just couldn't take it anymore…! The noise… the running around… the other girls, I couldn't concentrate or even think straight… Y'see… I was waiting for my contact to get ahold of me. They told me they might not have the info about Hayacchi until 11:00 or even later, but I just couldn't stand all the noise and junk… I just waited… I waited, under that tarp, until almost 11:30…
"When I finally got the message, I just ran to the school building without my gym shoes… I almost forgot to put on my indoor shoes on the way in… and I met my source where they said to come to…
"Seeing Hayacchi's grades… learning how badly things had turned out, I had to go hide again. I thought I'd start crying, so I went to hide in the girls' room. I wanted to come straight here, but… first, I needed to find out if you were even around…"
…
Naoto was horrorstruck, so taken aback by the sudden downturn, all he could do was stand there, numbly taking in what he was hearing.
Gamo-chan just kept talking, arms no longer crossed but folded loosely in her lap, "If you hadn't been around, I might've just had it out—right there—in the stall…!"
But Naoto was coming back…
"Gamo-chan…" he beseeched. "That's enough…"
She didn't hear him, not really. "That's not a sight to be proud of, Paisen, but it's not like it hasn't happened before…! Sitting on the can in a sports bra, crying into my shirt, scared to death that someone would hear me…!"
"Gamo-chan." Naoto was near to begging. "Stop…"
"But I dunno if I can even cry anymore, Paisen… I—"
It only took a few strides to close the distance, and Naoto knelt beside her.
He cupped his hands around hers, enveloping them. "Gamo-chan, cut it out!"
He hadn't meant to bark at her, but she hadn't responded.
This time, she did.
She jerked a little, surprised he'd shown up at her knee. "Eh…?"
He couldn't take that lost-looking expression of hers!
"Gamo-chan, I'm asking you… Please… stop beating yourself up."
How many times would he have to do this…?!
She grimaced, not angrily, and hung her head again.
"Sorry…" she uttered.
Deja vu…
Notwithstanding, it seemed Gamo-chan was blessed with a resilience that Sakura didn't have, because Naoto could tell she'd already come to her senses.
He wouldn't have to sit there, his hands caught in a viselike grip, while she cried herself out.
Gamo-chan certainly cried, but she never did it for long, it seemed.
And that was a relief!
He patted the back of her hand. "Okay?"
She nodded. "Okay…"
Feeling her decompress, Naoto decided it was safe to stand up.
He wasn't even worried by the shaky breath she took…
"Thanks… Paisen…" she breathed.
"It's alright…" Naoto assured.
With that, he went back to the counter.
Another minute, the tea kettle would start shrieking at them!
But a few seconds wouldn't hurt, and he realized he'd set the trivet somewhere stupid.
He'd rather find the one he misplaced than grab a different one…
Still, Naoto wasn't sure how much more of this he could take:
He didn't want to hear any more about how she'd gotten someone to overcome the school system's security to steal Nagatoro's grades…
He didn't want Gamo-chan to put herself down anymore…
He didn't want to hear about how much the Judo Club sucked…
He didn't want to hear about ANY of that stuff…!
He just wanted to have some hot peppermint tea and walk Gamo-chan as far as he could take her on their way home.
The day was shot! His desire to paint was gone, his food was gone, and he felt, well, TIRED mentally…
He wouldn't even bother cleaning the teapot properly; the moment they'd had their fill, he'd dump out the dregs and squirt a little soap in the pot and fill it with warm water.
He could wash it the next time he was in… probably tomorrow…
It was a sure thing that Gamo-chan would feel better getting away from the school and getting some rest and maybe a proper meal.
The next day was karaoke!
Hana wouldn't be there, and Nagatoro probably wouldn't be there, if she was in the kind of trouble he suspected, but they'd have at least seven participants, more if Gamo-chan rounded out the spots.
And they'd have fun!
He knew Gamo-chan would recover from this disappointment, Nagatoro would make it through summer school, and they'd still have all the fun they could!
He just needed to keep anything else from happening NOW…
…
Now, where the Hell was that trivet?!
…
But Naoto's search for the chunk of wood meant to keep a hot pot from melting a hole in a synthetic countertop temporarily ended, because he saw Gamo-chan picking at one of her socks.
What was it this time…?
She seemed in better spirits, so he tempted fate, "You okay there?"
She unhappily stretched out the toe, pulling the fabric away from her skin. "Socks got wet outside… Shoes are wet too… Gonna prolly get a blister…"
Naoto was flummoxed he hadn't thought of her potential discomfort.
She'd come into the art room, muddy from the knees down, and he'd left her like that?!
He'd LAUGHED about it?!
He wasn't about to let her stew in soggy shoes and socks any longer.
He'd loaned Sakura his gym shorts the other night, but he kept more than those stashed away…
"Gamo-chan, I've got some clean socks in the prep room," he said.
She looked up from her latest inconvenience. "What?"
"I'll lend you a fresh pair for the day. I keep a bunch of spare gym clothes in the prep room."
He was glad he did; he'd been needing them lately…
"You do…?" She blinked.
He was already moving. "The prep room used to be a custodial closet, so you've seen the mop sink we have in there. It has hot water, so you can wash up a little. I've got a couple of fresh towels too, so don't worry about that."
"Paisen…" Gamo-chan said softly.
It was sort of rude to do so, but he kept talking as he went along, entering the smaller room.
She could hear him clearly, even if he WAS in the next room…
"I think you'll feel a little better once you're clean and dry," he hoped. "Then, we can get you home."
Gamo-chan parroted from the other room, "Home?"
Naoto DID see a way out of this bind he found himself in, but more than that, he DID want to help his friend…
"Yeah…" He went digging around in his spare clothing. "I don't think I could get your gym shoes from the martial arts building without being noticed or anything, and I don't have anything to fit you here."
Even if the Prez, Sana Sunomiya, had left any spare shoes behind—which she had until recently—he was sure they'd be too big for Gamo-chan…
"But I can go downstairs and try to find you a pair of those indoor shoes they keep around for guests. I'm sure there are a few pairs. You give me your shoe size, I could prolly round up a clean pair."
Aha! There they were! The clean socks he was looking for! He'd become afraid he DIDN'T have any…
With something clean and dry he was sure would make Gamo-chan feel better, Naoto exited the prep room.
"And if you came here today in your street shoes and not your gym shoes, I could grab them from your locker, and we can sneak you out, once—" He stopped at what he saw, just a couple paces short.
Gamo-chan was standing up, staring at the floor, her fingers tightly entwined with the fabric of her gym shorts.
She was trembling…
"Gamo-chan…?" Naoto trepidated, an unpleasant sense of apprehension making itself known in the near-reaches of his mind. "Are you…?"
"…!" She inhaled shakily. "Paisen…"
What…?
The hair stood up on the back of his neck. "…?!"
Gamo-chan pleaded, "Don't be so nice to me…"
She raised her eyes to face him, and Naoto saw the tears running down her cheeks, her whole appearance reddening.
"Huh?!" he spouted.
"It's not fair…" Her lip quivered, her eyes hopeless. "Why are you so nice to me all the time…?"
Fweeeeeeeeeeeee!
The tea kettle began whistling on the single burner.
Neither noticed…
"Duh…" Naoto nearly escaped his higher brain-functions.
"Stop being so nice to me all the time…!" Gamo-chan broke, her countenance folding like it had a crappy hand in a game of cards.
With a choking cry, she was on him in a second.
Smoosh!
She latched onto him and began to wail, "Paisen…!"
Naoto lost his composure. "Gah!"
"Bweh~…" Gamo-chan wept into his button-up shirt.
His arms free, he flailed around. "…!"
Head going fuzzy, he just… reacted.
He couldn't help it!
"Gamo-chan!" Recoiling away was enough to break her grip, and he gawked at her, terrified of what was happening.
She gawked right back, eyes streaming and face magenta. "…?!"
Oh, no…
"…!" Naoto might've expected what came next.
Gamo-chan's legs pretty much gave out on her, and she crumpled to the floor.
The only thing that kept her from a hard landing was that they were right next to the sofa…
Draped over the cushions, she began to sob harder into the crooks of her arms, crossed at the elbows, "Goddamn it…"
About the time her hands squeezed shut, contorting from her wrists, Naoto properly snapped back to reality.
Maybe it would've been easier to just stand there, but—
"Oh, Gamo-chan…" He crouched down to join her.
Not hesitating any further, he took her hands.
Gently prying her arms away from her face, he tried getting a look at her.
She didn't resist, but she wasn't overly eager to meet his eyes.
But she did clutch his hands, sitting up a little higher…
Naoto debated whether to apologize for losing his nerve when she'd clamped onto him.
And he decided not to…
He tried to stop his own tears, but he couldn't, and they trickled down. "…"
They just came…
"…"
"…"
Gamo-chan hiccupped, "Oh… I'm sorry about this, Paisen…"
"Hey, hey…" He snuck one of his hands free, the other being crushed. "It's alright…"
He gently rubbed her back.
To think he'd been pissing himself over laying a single hand on her shoulder… just the day before…
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading! Questions and comments are welcome!