Cherry Blossom Palette: Summer by the Sea
Chapter 36: Beach Episode! [Part Eight]
Sunshine Arc
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
PS:Hey, just thought I'd say "howdy". I've been quietish for a while. EDew's busy with school and real life, and we're rethinking a number of things for the story, but we're steadily working. I'm getting a lot of reading done… and watching a lot of anime.
I got back from a business trip last week. I saw my share of dirty syringes, empty Scope bottles, turds, pee-pee, and soiled underwear (on and off of the lovely citizenry, stoned to the B'Jesus Belt on the sidewalks).
I won't mention what lovely city I visited, but it was good to get away from Minnesota for a week.
Despite that, I'm back on the prairie and getting a little stir-crazy, just swinging dick out on the farm. Harvest was good, hunting was good, but ice fishing is a big, fat, old dud this year. We did well as far as the fishing goes, but the conditions are abhorrent.
It was too mild up until the New Year for good ice-formation, and while it got cold as death for a couple weeks in January, it wasn't enough to get good ice coverage ANYWHERE. And now, we're seeing record-high temperatures, well above freezing.
I've been out twice, and I didn't feel safe out there either time, even with only a hand-pulled sled and a little tent to stay out of the wind. In a pig's ass was I gonna drive out onto a "frozen" lake, and the Ice Castle has been sitting in the big shed since I took it camping last year.
Literally hundreds of people have fallen through the ice on Minnesota lakes, even more have needed to be rescued—sometimes from ice-floes (literally large sheets of ice breaking away from larger areas of ice) on some of the bigger lakes.
I don't even know how many vehicles and how much equipment have fallen through the ice statewide. Lake of the Woods is a nightmare for these things. We drove up there, took one look at the ice, and said "NOPE! We're not going out there!"
Rock on! We'll be moving on from the beach stuff soon enough, but it'll be a bit until then. I'm excited to see the next arc released.
ED: I guess I haven't mentioned it yet, which is dumb since I normally would, but the reason the beach chapters are so many is because it's actually material for TWO DAYS of beach episode stuff.
This wasn't supposed to be the only time the group goes to the beach, and it still won't be, but there was going to be another beach day occurring soon after the summer festival chapters.
I just decided getting all of this material out now would advance the story in a way I like better.
…
Today—
Kind complements for a kohai!
The roster fills out!
Hana makes a bold statement!
…
I've been throwing my editor more ideas for Naoto's special dreams that he sometimes has.
Not that I ever made a goal of it, but I have yet to "weird out" my editor with anything I've given him to work on.
Some of the dreams, ones that have already happened and some yet to come, are so bad that I'm embarrassed to show my face to him, and he's STILL unfazed.
I don't know why PS tolerates me sometimes, but I'm grateful, LOL.
…
I definitely finished The Fractured but Whole game. It wraps up quickly, once you hit the end.
Here's how it went:
You find out that Mitch Conner is putting mind altering cat urine in all of the drugs and alcohol moving through South Park, hoping to raise crime, causing the citizens to vote the mayor out of power and him INTO power, allowing him to make every day Christmas.
You put a stop to it.
The adults in town resolve to "get 'clean' drugs and alcohol from the next town over."
It was classic South Park "we didn't learn our lesson"/return to normalcy stuff. That happens a lot.
…
Grad school is going well so far, though the new year is only a few weeks in.
I'm taking a couple classes this semester, one of which involves necessary concrete reinforcement in different environments and how it affects regionalized laws and building codes and another class about methodology of building steel structures in different environments.
It's cool stuff!
…
As all readers should know, PS primarily edited MLP fics until FIM concluded in 2019.
I mention that he did that quite a bit, but he and I never actually talked about FIM before, even though he was a brony and I was a pegasister.
We didn't ARGUE per say, but we discussed who the most powerful characters were in the series.
I guess it's kind of pointless to include it here, but I just can't believe that we never talked about it before.
We restricted it to the top five living characters with physical bodies and not "forces of nature" like friendship or the various other trump cards the six ponies had at their disposal. We also discounted Grogar, because he didn't turn out as we expected and actually know very little about him. And we didn't include Queen Chrysalis or Tirek, because the great bulk of their power comes from feeding off the energy of others.
My list: Discord Celestia Luna Twilight Sparkle Starlight Glimmer
PS's list: Discord Celestia Starlight Glimmer ≥ Luna Twilight Sparkle
He thinks that Glimmy is as powerful or more powerful than Luna. Look at the "greater than or equal to" sign.
I think that a unicorn CAN'T be more powerful than a princess alicorn, because they're an entirely different level of magical being.
But Princess Cadance is DEFINITELY weaker than Starlight, though I think she's an EXCEPTION to the rule. You'll notice that neither of us have her in the top five. Even so, Cadance has access to higher powers that Starlight can't access.
As far as raw power goes, Cadance can't be any more powerful than the average unicorn.
…
I didn't even realize that a canon chapter came out on New Year's. Nothing happened.
And nothing happened in the chapter out on January 15th either.
My editor used the words, "nothing NEW happened". That's more accurate than me saying "nothing happened" as if literally nothing happened. Nanashi slothfully scribbled out a new chapter, which is something, if little.
I'm surprised that PS bothered looking, but he still knows what's going on in the story.
If Naoto confesses, whatever, but if he doesn't call out Nagatoro for the legitimately terrible things she's done to him, letting her know how much it hurt him, I'll consider the series a complete failure.
But if the series is over soon, Nanashi can go back to his porn or snuff or scat or whatever it is he'll do next.
I think he's in a rush to finish the story. The hallmarks of it have been evident for the last 10 to 15 chapters.
Considering the amount of respect that Nanashi has for his readers, we may get a TIME SKIP following the cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 143 and not learn how Naoto managed things until the very end of the series or never.
…
Please look at the Q&A section I set up at the end of the chapter. Ask us anything, and we'll add another section in the next chapter.
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.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Nekoba—though rosy and a bit twitchy—had managed to keep her wits, even in the face of Naoto's earnest (but innocuous) complements.
Innocuous or not, he really HAD liked seeing her in her floral bikini and sarong, back in June (hence the staring)!
She'd heard from Yoshi that Naoto had been paying her some serious attention, and it made her very happy.
It had TOTALLY been worth "calling him out" for his eyeballing her, just a moment ago!
Nekoba knew she was a rather good-looking girl, but this came from other girls, and she rarely experienced boys approving of her… or what she wore.
Even alongside girls like Sakura and Yoshi—easily categorized as "bombshells", Naoto had left on the stoop something pretty marvelous for the cat to lap up!
That analogy sucked ass, but it was more accurate than "throwing the dog a bone", that allegory better suited to the Yosh…
To wit, Naoto had enjoyed seeing Nekoba in a two-piece, and he was telling it to her~!
She didn't want to seem "greedy", but that was probably the wrong word for it, pressing Naoto for more.
She gambled, trying to still her fidgety fingers, "…My new suit… Do… do you like it?"
GOINK!
"…!" Somehow, being asked was worse than being "accused".
Nekoba beamed, leaning in closer. "Do you~…?"
Did he? The modest-ish, olive-colored bikini and the bright, paisley sarong?
"…?!" Naoto was taken aback by the sheer earnestness that she offered him.
The girl didn't back off, lighting up like a forest fire. "…~!"
There wasn't any sense of expectation or entitlement in her, but… she truly wanted to know…
"…?" Naoto questioned the logic of that.
But that was just particulars!
He steeled himself; he could do this.
And he did, more than a hint of apprehension plaguing him, "It looks good on you."
"…!" Nekoba's unusual eyes bugged.
'Oh, now, I've done it…' Naoto jilted himself.
And he hadn't even used stout words.
With that, Nekoba took a half-step forward, her hands laced at her sternum. "You mean it~?"
"…!" Naoto's bell was rung quite soundly.
It wasn't just her elated expression, those sharp features he rather admired!
He'd used the term "striking" to describe her—especially in the face, and he maintained that, but she was gifting him with an awful lot of appealing visuals to boot, both now and when she'd had her back to him.
Her hands plumping up her unobtrusive breasts, just enough to prove that she still had PLENTY going on…
The trim torso they were attached to…
Her well-built shoulders… and toned arms… and attractive hands~…
And those long LEGS of hers~!
The left leg exposed to just above the knee, jutting between the sarong's union…
The silhouette of the RIGHT leg…
The right heel, elevated slightly from her flip-flop~…
The unmistakable Achilles tendon~~…
The shapely ankle~~~…
The defined calf muscle, peeking past the hem of her skirt~~~~…
Sadly, at any of the most recent angles—at least in the last few minutes, nothing much could be seen BELOW the ankle, not that she didn't have it in spades there too, sharing the somewhat bony, angular form that largely defined her~!
"…!" Naoto shook it off.
And, yeah, the rest of her was pretty awesome too—like her upper-back and elegant neck and stuff…!
…
It wasn't just the SWIMSUIT to cherish; there was a decidedly swell girl wearing it!
He could've told her she looked good (again)… that she looked pretty… or that she did indeed look awesome, and any of these would be true.
Nekoba… she really did have her own brand of beautiful…
"…!" Naoto could only shake it off so much.
And here she was, euphoric at his complement~!
Naoto saw no arrogance here. "…"
She was simply flattered, and it was obvious. "…~"
Since she could take a complement with grace and gratitude, he'd go with a "neat" equivalent.
"You look lovely," he espoused, his heart in his throat.
Nekoba matched his "hand behind the neck" thing with something equally as awkward, backing off with a gasp and covering her mouth.
"Oh…" She was stunned, in a word.
How had they gone so long without disruption?! Especially in given company?!
Naoto didn't have any occurrence to referee which of them had a better hue of scarlet going. "…"
"…" And Nekoba didn't have any more time to process this, because a disruption was on its—
"Trying to woo Nekoba, are ya~?" Gamo-chan sprang "to the rescue", appearing at their flank. "Oh, Paisen, you stud, you~!"
"…?!" "…?!" The skinny pair of students freaked, leaping backwards from one another.
"Stud muffin!" Yoshi broadcasted, materializing at the other flank, essentially boxing them in. "Banana-nut or chocolate chip! Players' choice!"
"Why not banana-nut with chocolate chips~?" Gamo-chan stimulated.
"Heresy!" Yoshi was scandalized. "They must never be joined! That only works for banana bread!"
Naoto's composure took a shit.
"…?!" All he'd been trying to do was complement his friend, so—
So, yes, he was probably in for it~…
"…!" Nekoba fretfully glanced between Gamo-chan and Yoshi, the both of them Gamo-grinning.
How would they deal with this~…?!
Thankfully, someone was a little more equipped.
"What are you two doing now?!" Sakura demanded of Gamo-chan and Yoshi.
Naoto and Nekoba jarred. "…!" "…!"
The gal drifted into their midst, saving the day and in fact performing a rescue… or making a brave attempt at one.
It was hard to come in at full-force, wary after having seen what the Amazon and the Yosh had done to Hana earlier… and herself having had two close calls with the "tickle monster"…
Gamo-chan leered. "Don't gimme that; you're on my shit-list~."
"Her list is the shit!" Yoshi validated.
Sakura knew that she wasn't at "maximum power", but she hazarded anyway and scowled, "Just leave 'em alone, would you…?"
Gamo-chan would do no such thing. "But Paisen's puttin' the moves on Nekoba~."
"You know that's not true." Sakura rolled her eyes.
"I didn't hear what he said, but they're both being all demure though, and they're blushing too~," the Maki oozed.
"Yes!" Yoshi augmented. "Blushy and demure! They indeed are those two things!"
"Guys…!" Sakura exasperated, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Naoto checked on the rest of their party.
'Uh-huh…' He might've guessed.
Hana, Shuu, and Tohru were keeping their distance, content to keep out of it, and he didn't blame them.
Naoto considered the situation. "…"
There was no way it would work, but…
He began to edge away~. "…"
"…!" Nekoba looked after him, dumbfounded that he'd try such a stupid tactic.
But it was apparently working, Gamo-chan, Yoshi, and even SAKURA too distracted to notice, caught up in their puerility …
"…~" Naoto would soon be able to bolt, and he could make it back to the three on the sidelines.
It was SO close—
"Wree!" Yoshi, a mere glance enough to catch Naoto trying to sneak away, pulled off another Donald Sutherland à la Body Snatchers howl, pointing his way.
"Ack!" Now, he did run.
Gamo-chan wasn't about to tolerate such shenanigans. "Yoshi! Sic 'em, girl~!"
"Bark! Bark!" Twin-tails took after him like a rocket.
Gamo-chan was hot on her heels. "Hey, Paisen~! We're not done yet!"
"…?" "…?" Sakura and Nekoba were left in the dust, somewhere between stupefied and shaking their heads at the goofiness of it, this being just another day in their circle of friends.
What a world!
…
…
…
The brief hunt for Naoto had ended predictably.
Yoshi had chased him down, reminiscent of a well-endowed greyhound overtaking some poor sheep, restraining him for the third(?) time.
And upon catching up, Gamo-chan had taken over his internment, putting him in a headlock.
It hadn't been bad… other than the noogies on his fluffy head…
Gamo-chan and Yoshi both had given him a robust round of necessary noogies for "trying to outrun his Paisen-ous fate" and "thinking he could escape", the girls' reasons listed respectively.
BUT~!
This was indeed standard fare, given the group's history, and the incidents—both of them, the praise for Nekoba and the ferreting of a senpai—didn't hold precedence for long.
Shuu and Tohru were beginning to comprehend the zeitgeist of things, and they simply hoped that the girls wouldn't become chummy with them, the way they were chummy with Naoto.
But they'd settle for just being friends~…
Hana and Nekoba already got the zeitgeist, but a healthy reminder furthered their fluency.
Sakura was just glad to bequeath the horseplay to the annals of history, having seen it all before.
Even Naoto, sort of off in his own little world, didn't care that much, because something a lot more important than a few laughs at his expense was soon to happen!
"…" He at least hoped so.
Gamo-chan was still in her shirt and shorts, the only one of them not down to a swimsuit.
And Naoto so wanted to see what she was packing that day!
He was also slightly afraid of facing this inevitability, given what the girls had put him through the year before.
That black bikini Gamo-chan had worn~… Wowza!
Naoto had never seen a girl—much less one he knew—in such a getup, at least not up close or in real life.
Would she wear something to top it?
He hoped so… and yet he'd settle for something a little tamer, not that the black bikini was that extreme.
And "topping" last year's two-piece didn't automatically mean her swimwear of choice WOULD be skimpier…
He had Nekoba as a living, breathing example of this~.
…
Tohru bonked the back of Naoto's head. "Hey, Nao-kun, you're going all 'zombie' on us."
"Wha—" Naoto startled.
"Relax, man…" Tohru grimaced.
Naoto retook his bearings, finding only Tohru and Shuu at hand.
Yes, he was still at the beach, milling around the exterior of the base he'd established, and he'd zonked out of reality for a minute.
Tohru chuckled, "Don't let any of the girls catch you like that, getting all fevered."
Good luck with that~! It was bound to happen…
Naoto wouldn't deny the term "fevered". "…"
"What's the problem, Tohru?" Shuu asked.
The other replied with a smirk, "Nao-kun keeps spacing out, eyeballing Gamo-chan."
"Oh…" Shuu acknowledged. "But even you're ogling her."
"And so are you." Tohru shot back.
"Well, yeah~!" The young man of median height among the three wouldn't repudiate it. "But we're not vegging out."
Tohru wasn't fully comprehending, "Nao-kun, you just chatted up Nekoba about her bikini, so what's the issue with Gamo-chan? Sure, it's Xena we're talking about, but really…"
Was he for real?! And he had NO idea how amped the young artist had been to see Nekoba's beachy offering!
Naoto broke his silence (regarding the Maki), "You guys didn't see her last year… It was… Oof!"
"You got a picture~?" Shuu pestered.
Tohru laughed, "Ha!"
Naoto was less than obliged. "Shut up…"
"…" "…" It occurred to Shuu and Tohru that their comrade Nao-kun wasn't playing.
It wasn't a normal thing for him to do, so they tended to take him seriously…
"Just settle down," Tohru advised. "Though, yeah, I don't see why she hasn't stripped down to her bikini yet."
"Maybe she's not going to," Shuu considered. "Maybe she's just gonna bum around on the beach."
"Don't say that!" Tohru was almost offended at the notion that she'd deny them the Gamo-gift of some eye-candy.
Shuu was just being realistic (and he made sure none of the girls were anywhere near earshot). "Hey, I mean, if it's… her time of the month or something, maybe she won't."
'Urk!' Naoto hoped this wasn't the case, nor did he enjoy when Shuu got so candid.
Tohru doubted it, "For the pool, I can understand, but for the ocean?"
Shuu shrugged. "Really, she'd probably avoid the water altogether… if that was the case. But she seems fine today; she's not dragging or anything."
"When girls have been living with something like their monthlies for five or six years, most of them get used to it," Tohru reasoned. "She might not show it, if she's feeling crappy."
'Geez-a-ree!' Naoto was ready to duck out of this conversation.
The boys sometimes talked like this, and a certain main character wasn't always a fan when things got too involved…
Naoto walked away (as casually as possible) and went to see what else was going on.
He found Sakura, Yoshi, and Hana in a rough semicircle, sitting by the snack cooler in the shade, each of them with a piece of fruit.
It would be a wonder if anyone had an appetite for lunch…
"Yo, Senpai-kun, what's up~?" Sakura chirped, working on her apple.
He said, "Nothing, really… But… where's Gamo-chan?"
Not 30 seconds ago, she'd been visible in the heart of camp…
Yoshi pointed to the changing tent, inhaling a banana. "Metamorphosizing."
Naoto did a take. "…!"
Gamo-chan had needed the changing room?
Hana, also banana'd-up, caught his "take". "She actually has to change; she wasn't wearing her suit underneath her clothes."
"She didn't wear it underneath?" Naoto recited (and rather stupidly, at that).
Sakura jumped on it, "Yeah, you won't get to see her publicly disrobe~."
"Peeling it off for 'Paisen's pleasure'!" Yoshi piled on too.
Naoto flinched. 'She didn't say THAT, did she?!'
"I can hear you all out there!" boomed a voice from the tent.
All four of them flinched. "…!" "…!" "…!" "…!"
"Once I get out there, the first one of you within arm's-length of me is gonna get it~!" Gamo-chan trilled.
Naoto, Sakura, and Yoshi believed the warning to (possibly) not be idle.
"…" Hana didn't care, already on-level, enjoying the perfectly ripe banana.
What else could Gamo-chan do to her~?
Before anything else happened, Sakura's phone dinged.
She smiled at what she found. "Ah, good~. Nekoba just met up with Rabi-chan."
Naoto puzzled, "Huh? Nekoba?"
How had he forgotten about HER?
He supposed that she wasn't there, and he wasn't in the dark for long.
"Rabi-chan messaged Sakura a few minutes ago; she was dropped off with the cooler," Yoshi enlightened. "Nekoba volunteered to run and help her."
Hana amended, telling Naoto, "That's not true at all, Hachioji-senpai. Once we decided someone needed to go help, Sakura-senpai called '1-2-3-NOT IT!', and Nekoba-senpai was the slowest. Gamo-neechan barely beat her out."
"Details, details~…" Sakura waved it off.
"But you were the fastest, Hanacchi," Yoshi said, almost in awe. "You knew what Sakura was doing before she even finished talking."
Hana was perfectly open about it, "I'm enjoying the shade… and Shuu-senpai's fruit. I'm not about to get up, not unless I must."
"…!" Naoto was surprised.
Hana had been RIGHT THERE, poised to beat out the other girls at a "normal" teenage thing~…
But he reminded himself that Hana was normal, and—
"Hey, uh, where're Gamo-chan and Nekoba?" a male voice sounded behind Naoto.
"Ack!" Naoto jumped like he'd been goosed, and he turned around.
His absence must've left a void in their hearts~!
Shuu and Tohru were back.
Sakura filled in Short-pai, who'd asked, "Gamo-chan's changing in the shelter thingy. Nekoba went to help Rabi-chan with the cooler of water."
'Woot~!' While Shuu's heart leapt at the first report—
Tohru had other ideas, "Why didn't you tell us Rabi-chan showed up?"
"Why?" Sakura saw no issue. "No reason to bother you. Two girls can handle the cooler."
"I dunno about that," Yoshi entered. "Wasn't Rabi-chan moaning that the cooler must weigh 50 kg?"
"She's just exaggerating…" Sakura dismissed. "And why would she bring that much water? Even so, we're not that weak~."
"Me an' Gamo-chan could run back here with it!" Yoshi touted.
Sakura giggled, "I don't doubt it~."
And it was probably true…
Tohru crossly stated, "Hey, that's not funny."
"…?" Sakura wasn't digging his tone. "What's your problem?"
"…?" "…?" "…?" "…?" Four other young people didn't get it either.
Why was Tohru so bent out of shape?
None of them would find out now, because—
"I'm going." Tohru donned his sandals and began to jog up towards the boardwalk. "Be back in a few."
Still, they puzzled, but Naoto had an idea.
There was that thing about Rabi-chan's knee, and if that WAS the issue, then it WAS no laughing matter…
Any further conjecture died, because a certain the Maki unzipped her way from the tent.
Shuu's generic, legally distinct version of "Spider Sense" titillated, and his eyes were the fastest, the mere hint of the *zip* flagging down his sentience.
And he was met with something he didn't expect… something rather disappointing.
No one expected it; even Yoshi hadn't known.
"Done," Gamo-chan said, stepping out of the shelter.
Naoto… was disappointed as well. "…?!"
The other girls probably were too.
Gamo-chan stood before them. "…What?"
The burly girly wasn't exactly wearing a proper bikini.
She had on a wetsuit, a two-piece; it exposed her midriff, but its legs ran to mid-thigh and its arms to just above the elbow.
NOTHING was left to the viewer's imagination, but still…
"What… what are you wearing…?" Sakura couldn't hold her peace.
Gamo-chan, her self-possession beginning to fall from strength, pinkened. "I needed a new wetsuit this year… so I figured I'd break it in today. I mean, the water's colder than usual for this time of year, so I thought it might be a good time."
The group as a whole nodded, ready to accept the lack of sparseness, the big girl usually never missing a chance to show off some skin. "…"
Naoto wasn't about to criticize her.
Neither was Shuu.
Hana and Nekoba certainly wouldn't.
Sakura didn't wish to pursue this end either.
But Yoshi—
"Eureka~!" She remembered something from earlier, pointing at Gamo-chan with a goofy expression. "If you thought you were receiving the gold medal, then—"
"…~!" Gamo-chan noiselessly took off after her, but Twin-tails was faster.
"Squeep!" Yoshi squawked, booking it.
Sakura was the only one to laugh at the sight.
The others merly looked on. All of them had been there for Gamo-chan's joke(?) about Hana out-bikini-ing Sakura.
However, not all of them had heard Gamo-chan's promise to go after one of those talking "behind her back".
The target wasn't at "arm's reach", but the verbal-jab had been a good enough goad to close the gap…
…
Nothing really awful happened to Yoshi, unless one counted the two or three pressure-points Gamo-chan had employed, once her oldest chum had finally been cornered.
It HAD made for easier running, the wetsuit offering more support for a pair of bouncy boobs than a string-bikini…
Whatever way, the whole fiasco had settled down by the time Tohru returned, two girls and a cooler of water in-tow.
Leading the way, he held one end of the cooler, and Nekoba and Rabi-chan had the other.
They'd reached the end of the concrete walkway, giving way to sand.
"Okay, here's the curb," Tohru let the girls know, stepping over it. "Just a small step down, but watch it."
"Yup," Nekoba cleared the obstruction as well.
So did Rabi-chan. "Yeah, got it…"
Naoto, among the six bivouacked under the retaining wall, watched them trudge up. "…"
Judging by the way they hefted the cooler, maybe it WAS in fact heavy, but it might've been more an issue of it being cumbersome…
"…" Either way, he was glad that Tohru had gone out to help the girls.
It was a more gallant act than anyone else had performed, the girls having JUMPED at the opportunity to stay put…
Naoto had never been the sort to view girls as physically weak or in constant need of assistance—he was the weak one needing assistance, and Tohru was the same way (as in never viewing all women as damsels-in-distress, not the self-deprecation part).
Shuu was the one most likely to make such oft-stupid assumptions, but he wasn't as bad as some, and he usually didn't act on them.
"Thanks, Tohru-kun, you're a lifesaver~," Rabi-chan expressed, the lift-detail moving closer.
He nodded. "Glad to help, Rabi-chan. It sounded like it might be a hassle."
"I was kinda ticked-off when I told Sakura the cooler was heavy, and she sent Nekoba to help, all by herself," the girl replied.
Nekoba scowled at her. "…?"
"…What?" Rabi-chan was shoulder-to-shoulder with her, so it was impossible not to see it.
"No offense meant~?" Nekoba called her out. "You're not gonna say it~?"
"I'm not dissing you," Rabi-chan clarified. "It's just too much for us two to carry alone."
"Hey, you're not wrong…" Nekoba admitted. "I thought you were exaggerating too."
"I didn't," Tohru emphasized, reminding the girls that he was still propping up his end by himself.
Nekoba sighed, "Yes, yes, Tohru-kun… Our hero~!"
"…~" Rabi-chan giggled.
"…!" Tohru was quick to hide his face, turning right the fuck back around. "J-just a little further. Careful not to trip over the blankets."
"…?" Naoto rarely saw this; Tohru was typically never awkward, but he could pick up a trace of it.
But it wasn't like Tohru was infallible…
More than a few girls had caught him off-guard like that, making him blush.
It was a wonder that he'd kept it together so well on Wednesday, considering that Gamo-chan had tried so very hard to discomfit him…
Naoto supposed that a lot of it had to do with how disarming Rabi-chan could be, something that Gamo-chan was not so capable of.
Tohru had REALLY been on his game with Gamo-chan, but he tended to slip up around certain types of girls…
"…" Naoto had never figured out Tohru's "type" when it came to girls.
But! That was of little consequence…
"Hey, Rabi-chan~!" Sakura lambasted. "I was starting to think you maybe walked here backwards~."
"With a blindfold!" Yoshi attached.
No one else was about to attack the girl's "tardiness"…
Naoto wondered how things would go, considering that Rabi-chan had hurt Gamo-chan so badly.
And the entire school knew it!
"…" He supposed he'd have to wait and see.
Gamo-chan HAD invited her…
Despite what was or wasn't, Rabi-chan shot back at her assailants, "Screw you."
"Don't strip the threads!" Yoshi advised.
Rabi-chan's mind ground to a halt. "…Wha…?"
"Ha!" Sakura bawked.
"Hey, I told you the roads sucked," Rabi-chan focused on Sakura, rather than Yoshi's… innuendo, or whatever it was.
"Hey, hey, we're just joking~," Sakura defused.
Rabi-chan nodded. "I know… Sorry… Whatever, it's good to see you~."
"No worries, and it's good to see you too, Rabi-chan! How are you~?"
"Good." She wasn't going to let whatever it was that Yoshi just said bog her down. "Do we have a spot for this heavy thing?"
Once the cooler was resting on the blankets in the shade, the thirsty beachgoers fell upon it.
It really WAS quite full…
Naoto had used up his "secret" stash of water, so a fresh bottle was welcome. He was first to finish and took it upon himself to shake open a fresh plastic bag for their recycling, along with the one they already had for garbage.
With that out of the way, he decided to evaluate their newest arrival. "…?"
Rabi-chan sported a button-up shirt and denim short-shorts. She had a beat-up straw sunhat and wore rose-tinted sunglasses.
'Whoa!' Naoto didn't hate this.
She looked pretty good~…
He also figured, looking downward, 'Expensive!'
Figure nothing, he knew that Rabi-chan's sandals were expensive; she had the exact same Adidas slide that Hana had, only baby-blue instead of pink.
Sakura had been looking at the Adidas slides, finding Hana's pair cute, at least until she saw the ¥5,000 price tag!
Still, that was just the gal being thrifty, something quite admirable in the resourceful girl~!
Naoto knew that Sakura's family had money.
All of the girls he knew came from at least upper-middle-class means!
He reckoned that Gamo-chan's family was the richest, but he didn't know for sure, and he didn't care enough to dwell on it.
What was more definite was that Rabi-chan looked pretty great that day, and he'd never given her much thought before. "…~"
And this day at the beach, it was two girls for every boy~!
That was just the ratio though, Naoto never having any illusions/delusions about anyone pairing off with anyone.
He turned his attention back to the group as a whole.
Most of the girls had greeted each other, and even Shuu had introduced himself to Rabi-chan, but Gamo-chan had remained silent.
Until now…
"H-hey, Rabi-chan…" she attempted.
"…" Rabi-chan was about as receptive as Gamo-chan was eager. "Hey…"
"…" "…" -Chan looked at -chan for a few seconds, neither doing much more than that.
Six warm bodies were on the edge of their collective seats. "…!"
One warm body, however, used the brain in her kohai-cranium.
Hana approached Rabi-chan, standing alongside Gamo-chan.
She bowed. "Hello, Sakurabi-senpai."
'Sakurabi-senpai?!' Naoto mused.
Rabi-chan took a few seconds with this interaction too.
"Hey… Hanacchi." She faced the younger girl. "It's been a while."
"Yes, it has."
"Uh… good job… on your exam results. You got fourth. Wow…"
"And a good job to you too, Sakurabi-senpai," Hana said pleasantly, far more at ease. "I believe you got sixteenth place in your class."
"Mm-hmm, top-20 for each of us," Rabi-chan acknowledged.
Hana credited, "Hachioji-senpai and Sakura-senpai helped me a great deal."
"…"
"…"
"…Your summer good so far, Hanacchi? I saw a little about your trip on Line, but we haven't talked."
"It's been nice, Sakurabi-senpai. The trip to visit Sana-neechan in Tokyo was fun, we held an Art Club 'activity' this week, and I went shopping with Sakura-senpai yesterday. Your summer?"
"It's been… relaxing… S'been nice…"
"…"
"…"
"Sakurabi-senpai?" Hana cocked her head.
"Hey, I'm cool with you calling me your senpai." Rabi-chan seemed to be reaching to say something—anything, really. "But please just call me 'Rabi-senpai', like I asked you."
"As you wish."
"…"
"…"
Naoto's eyes darted from another -chan to the other -chan. "…!"
Hana wasn't budging, and Rabi-chan was very clearly being put on-the-spot.
He wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but it was getting a little intense for him.
And he wasn't the only one to feel that way.
Thankfully, one of them was reliably proficient at breaking the ice.
Sakura proposed, "Hey, hey, since everyone's here, why don't we open up the picnic baskets? Hana-chan and I put a lot of love into those PB&Js~."
Naoto thought a couple of PB&J sandwiches, some potato chips, and some fresh-cut veggies sounded pretty good.
Nobody else was opposed, even after snacking on fruit and granola for the last hour.
Plus, the sudden distraction wasn't minded…
So, the picnic baskets were declared fair game, and whatever was going on between Hana and Rabi-chan—if there was something—fell off.
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading!
Questions and comments are welcome!