🌸Cherry Blossom Palette: Summer by the Sea🎨
🌸Chapter 2: Fyodor Dostoevsky Wrote a Book About It, Part Two🎨
Doorway into Summer Arc
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
ED: Please remember the special announcement I made in the first chapter! Submit questions and ideas for the roundtable being held by Nagatoro fic authors and artists.
Here's another big chapter to help kick things off! It's kind of wordy, but Naoto has a few things on his plate.
After Gamo-chan serenades him with a bluesy session, Naoto must obey the summons given to him by the school.
How will the girls' senpai fare?
I know a couple of readers have taken issue with the "thesaurus level" vocabulary my editor likes to put in the series, but I like it, even if I have to sometimes look up a word.
He says "Write smart, but don't shy away from the least common denominator."
It's just so funny that he'll use the word "nonagenarian" and "tw*t" in the same sentence. I knew "centenarian" was a word, but I never knew the other decades had their own too. LOL
A reader commented that Nanashi's work has given way to Flanderization. I think the Simpsons inspired word describes the situation well. Naoto and all the rest are just caricatures at this point. What he's doing with Hana's character is quite worthless.
In honor of me completing South Park, my editor added a little easter egg in this chapter. I don't think anyone will miss it, even if you never watched South Park.
PS also posted on Reddit last week, asking people what Yoshi might do for a job when she's older. His ideas were a lot more thoughtful and creative than mine.
He had addiction counselor, physical therapist, and sensitivity trainer as his job ideas.
I was just planning on making Yoshi a gym teacher in the future.
He does that a lot, fishing for peoples' thoughts on characters, and sometimes, people give serious answers, which is good. There are also some very stupid comments, which is unfortunate.
PS does quite a bit of outreach, trying to expand on the characters we work with. Several traits I introduced to some characters came from ideas people gave him, and I think they serve the characters well.
Please look at the Q&A section I set up at the end of the chapter. Ask us anything, and we'll add another section in the next chapter. I would be happy if you ask questions.
Please enjoy what I wrote.
Monday, July 23, 2018
Walking through the hallways of Kazehaya High, Naoto Hachioji checked his phone:
12:55 p.m.
That was fine… the less time he had to stand there in the staff office and wait for his 1:00 p.m. "trial" to begin, the better…
The soreness from his morning run was back.
The stress he was experiencing wasn't helping with the pain…
Upon her visiting him earlier that day, he'd been slightly surprised that Maki Gamo hadn't mentioned his physical discomfort, if she'd even noticed. He hadn't made a fuss about it, but he'd been self-conscious of his sluggishness.
Not expecting her to show up—even to collect the money he owed her for their Wednesday karaoke party—she'd treated him to a pretty terrible plethora of woes.
Once she'd gotten the ugliness out of her system, he felt he better understood what was going on with her, the two having talked afterwards until about 11:00 a.m.
Much of her upset could be chalked up to how lousy certain things had gone for her in the last week, but there was a lot of anger to account for:
Being loudly and publicly dissed—for weeks—by a girl who was supposed to be her friend…
Her altercation with Hayase Nagatoro the previous Monday and all that went with it…
Having to face her anger in a constructive way, using the school's counseling…
Her viciously badmouthing the Judo Club…
Her best friend likely too sick to participate in a major tournament put on by said club…
The other problems brought on by her sometimes-explosive temper…
And… something that especially hurt for the both of them… a thing he already knew…
It was something that had never truly left him, not since the reality of it set in, coming pretty clear on Friday.
…
The last thing was pretty much all they'd talked about, after Gamo-chan had cracked and stopped fuming… and once she'd finished crying.
But she'd made it through, and after their chat, she'd wanted nothing more than to loaf on the Art Club's sofa until she had to leave.
The air-conditioning was nice, and she must've needed that hour-long nap she'd taken on the sofa, her senpai quietly painting…
She knew he had something to do at 1:00 p.m., though she didn't know what it was, and having thanked him for letting her crash his party-of-one, she'd headed home at 12:30 p.m.
But she hadn't left before telling him her plans for the next day…
She planned to help set up for the judo tourney coming up on Thursday, and given that he would be around, and she could "only take so much of the Judo Club girls", she wanted to stop by the art room during her break to enjoy some air conditioning.
She'd even bring a snack and juice to share…
Naoto wasn't expecting anything, but he'd be pleased to see her… more so, if she left her ire at the door.
…
Naoto wished he could do something to help Gamo-chan, but he knew he was no professional, and that's why counselors like Mrs. Serizawa existed.
He wasn't ready to brush off what he'd just been through with the girl, but he did reason that things would be nearer to okay for her, knowing what he now knew.
However, he couldn't think about it now, focusing on whatever impending disciplinary actions he was facing for being caught at school past 11:00 p.m. on Friday night, the final day of the spring semester.
The devil was in the details, but the staff didn't need to know that his friend Sakura Inori had been there for a hand/foot modeling session with him, and they CERTAINLY didn't need to know she'd been hiding in a toilet stall in the girls' room while he was to possibly be arrested!
…
…
…
"Hachioji-kun, this really isn't like you…" Naoto's homeroom teacher exhaled. "You've never been in trouble with the school, even when your Art Club got a little out of hand last fall, and now, it's happened twice in one week. I can't help but think something is wrong…"
"…" Naoto, soaking his shirt-collar, stood mute; he hadn't been asked a question or told to respond, so he waited.
Whether it was good or bad, only four staff members were taking part in his disciplinary hearing.
His homeroom teacher didn't worry him much; he was a reasonable man and knew his student was usually a good student.
He was even standing, casually leaning on his desk, despite the rest being seated!
The principal didn't greatly worry him either. He was the principal, but he was fairly easygoing, and he seemed to think this whole thing was being overblown.
He'd definitely seemed that way when he had to show up at the school in the middle of the night to meet the police!
The vice-principal was the wildcard, and the man was eating his lunch while they were deciding the young artist's "fate".
It seemed a little rude…
The one that bothered Naoto was Mr. Yamaguchi, the stickler, bent on bringing the hammer down on any and every student stepping out of line.
And Naoto WAS a little scared… but only so much…
Seeing all the girls show up at the Art Club, looking for mischief, sharing wide, toothy Gamo-grins was a scarier prospect.
But the girls didn't have as much say in his educational future!
Despite that, he might've been a lot more scared, but he knew he wasn't going to get in that much trouble.
Suspension—which might keep him from the art room for a while—would suck, but even THAT probably wouldn't happen. And expulsion?
He wasn't going to be expelled over something stupid like this.
Given the small number of staff slapped together for this, he might only get a chewing-out, so that was probably good, but he wasn't keeping his hopes up.
The first Monday of vacation, four might've been all that were available! They may have even shown up specially, and that wouldn't inspire much magnanimity!
His homeroom teacher went on, "I thought you'd watch it after that small uproar you caused last Monday. We could hear it here—in the staff office…"
And that was a hike!
Mr. Yamaguchi wouldn't agree, but Naoto's teacher said, "Even if you were caught violating school closure that late, we'd give you a verbal reprimand, given nothing else was amiss, but the police showed up, and they had to break a couple of locks to get in."
Naoto gulped.
He didn't know the cops had physically broken into the building!
Didn't the police, fire department, and other emergency services have KEYS for these situations?!
So far, only the principal and Naoto's homeroom teacher had spoken. Mr. Yamaguchi was festering off to the side, and the vice-principle seemed more interested in his bento.
To Naoto's relief, the principal spoke again, "Yes, yes, we know that already… What we don't know is the rest of the story."
The young man reasoned his time to speak had come. "…!
The principal, sounding quite rational, turned to Naoto. "Hachioji-kun, please tell us about Friday night."
Oh, boy…
He'd practiced this, but he was dreading it.
He'd likely have to admit to some embarrassing things, but…
Sakura was not going to be punished over this.
If the principal and his teacher dominated the goings-on, he might be better off, but he'd see…
Naoto sighed and began, "I was planning on spending a couple hours after school with a kohai of mine in the art room. I was planning on sketching her in several poses. I'm currently building a portfolio for when I apply to art school this year, and she agreed to help me earlier in the week.
"She wound up getting sick with that virus that started going around the school last week, so she cancelled our session and went home during first period on Friday."
"I'd already called off my other plans for the afternoon, so I went to the art room to work on something else."
"And what was this 'something else'?" the principal wondered.
Naoto had prepped for this!
"I spent some time doing an oil painting of a plaster bust we keep in the art room," he replied. "I also did some self-portrait work."
The principal raised his eyebrows. "'Self-portrait work'?"
"Yessir," Naoto said crisply. "A 'self-portrait' is when someone sketches or paints their own body, often using a mirror or photo."
"I see…" the presiding member of this "tribunal" responded.
This wasn't going so badly…
"So, you drew your own face?" the vice-principal sprayed, chewing with his mouth open.
Ugh… Naoto wasn't the only one disgusted.
Fulfilling Naoto's prayers, the principal said, "Put your lunch away, Mr. Vice-principal. Please give this student your courtesy and attention."
The vice-principal didn't seem to mind, putting his boxed lunch aside and wiping his hands, bearing witness to finger foods, on a napkin.
"So, you drew your own face?" he asked a second time.
Fuck!
Naoto hadn't wanted things to go down this road, it being dangerous, uncomfortable territory.
But he countered, "No, sir. I wasn't sketching my own face."
He made a point of using the term "sketch".
"What did you draw then?" came the dreaded query.
Shit, shit, shit, a million times, shit!
This was a double-edged sword, but the nature of such a sword means both parties might get hurt, and Naoto had a chance of walking away more intact.
He had pride, but he didn't have too much pride.
He'd thought about this too, the power of honesty.
If he could cause a little discomfort in these four, they MIGHT go easier on him… merely because they were EMBARRASSED for him!
Naoto knew this sometimes worked, so he gave it a try.
"I was drawing my own hands and feet." By hook or by crook, he managed this line as casually as he might tell the vice-principal the temperature outside.
"…?" "…?" "…?" "…?"
The four men looked at him as if he was a soiled rubber adhered to an otherwise clean park bench.
Yikes!
Naoto could tell at once they weren't embarrassed for him; they were just put-off.
"Come again?" the vice principal asked.
There was still the possibility of glancing over this.
Naoto would try, "I drew… well, my left hand and one of my feet… the one I hurt a week ago; it was easier to sketch from my perspective."
"Really?" the veep pressed.
"Yes, really," the young man replied. "I could only do so much with my hand, so I concentrated on my foot. It's not an uncommon practice. First off, it's right in front of you, so it's easy to see. It exercises the skillset pretty well, and you have to use a lot of different techniques to portray it. It's a very unique and detailed part of the body, and it's challenging, so it's good practice."
He'd just rattled all that off, and he hoped his four-panel of judges would be "thrown off" by him rifling off things that sounded… fitting.
This time, his homeroom teacher brought up, "Is that what you were planning to do with your model?"
Oh, damn it!
Naoto was praying they wouldn't bring that up.
Despite that, he had a plan for that too. "Yes. Human anatomy is important to practice… all of it. No portfolio for anyone serious about getting into art school is complete without samples of the human body and its parts."
He'd considered saying that people rendered nude models for the sake of studying the human body, but that seemed like opening a can of worms…
Naoto asked the room, "Have any of you ever heard anyone say it's difficult to draw hands and feet? I hear it a lot."
All of them but Mr. Yamaguchi—still quiet—ho-hummed, and the principal even shrugged, nodding to himself.
That was a "yes"!
Naoto kept it up, "They are difficult to draw, and it's just part of what an artist needs to know. I've worked with my kohai for a year, mostly on full-body portraits, but I've also done detailed work… face, eyes, ears…
"I just decided I needed to work on sketching what I was planning on doing. It's part of the process. Since my kohai was unavailable, I decided to try it on myself… I'd never used a live model for reference, and it's more appropriate than just using a flat image, so I practiced. I wanted to feel more ready for the 'real deal'."
Naoto thought he was saying a whole lot of nothing, but MAYBE this was getting across.
In the end, either they did get it, or they were just tired of him yakking, because his teacher and the principal exchanged glances.
The principal waved Naoto down. "Okay, let's move on."
Alright!
He picked up where he figured he'd left off.
"I realized it was about 6:30, and I didn't know how late it had gotten." He was breathing a little easier. "No one came by to check the doors, and when I looked in the hallway, the lights were off, and the school was empty."
Usually, Mr. Yamaguchi would perform the rounds…
"Why didn't you leave then?" The principal challenged.
"I didn't think it would be a problem if I kept working on my art."
"But you know it was against the rules."
"I know. My work was going well, and I didn't want to leave."
"Why were you in the art room past 11:00 p.m.?"
"I lost track of time."
"You lost track of time?"
"Yes… my work was going so smoothly, I barely thought about the time after a while."
"You worked on art for almost five hours?"
He had! And more!
"Yes," Naoto stated, omitting that he'd—in truth—been working since before 4:00 p.m.
He didn't want to sound like a smartass…
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
The air… changed…
Naoto could feel it, but he did his best to not show it. "…!"
The principal adjusted himself in his chair.
"Is there anything else you'd like to add?" He leaned forward slightly.
Without turning his head, Naoto glanced around the room.
The four knew something.
Mr. Yamaguchi was even coming to life, opening a laptop computer.
Why…?
Naoto wanted to say 'no' to the principal, but he hadn't actually lied yet.
He didn't like lying, and he wasn't good at it…
Nevertheless, it wasn't a sure thing what they did know, though an educated guess might be taken.
Once more, the principal questioned, "Do you have anything else to add, Hachioji-kun?"
Naoto knew there were gaps in his story, ESPECIALLY in accounting for the long hours, but he also decided simplicity was best, so this was a struggle…
Weighing his options, he saw his homeroom teacher looking serious, the vice principal looking bored, Mr. Yamaguchi looking excited, and the principal looking at him intently.
He took perhaps too long to give some sort of answer.
There must've been a time limit!
The principal sighed.
With some reluctance, he called, "Alright, Mr. Yamaguchi…"
Naoto knew it was curtains, and what else could they possibly have on him?
Be that as it may, he decided to hold out hope.
…
And his hopes were dashed like birds' eggs falling 10 meters to the sidewalk.
Mr. Yamaguchi's voice, about as unwelcome as 50 screaming babies in a movie theater, not for its tenor, but for its source, sounded off, "The police didn't review the school's security camera footage, but the four of us did."
Fuck! Shit! Cock! Ass! Titties! Boner! Bitch! Muff! Pussy! Cunt! Butthole! Barbara Streisand!
Naoto had previously thought about the security cameras, dotting the school's passages.
He'd just been desperately yearning this wouldn't enter this equation, keeping the possibility at bay!
It had seemed a sure thing the police would've gone through the film Friday, but they didn't.
He thought it was a miracle!
And he'd been begging whomever might've been listening in the vast, vast Universe that these four hadn't bothered either.
Shee-yoot, was he wrong!
The four sensei had him by the balls!
His stomach somersaulted…
He'd been deluding himself, and he knew this was coming the second he was asked if he had anything—anything at all—to add.
Mr. Yamaguchi set the laptop on the desk the principal occupied and turned it, showing Naoto the screen as proof of his words.
There it was, in black-and-white! Strolling through the shadowy hallway, he and Sakura carrying their dinner, entering the art room!
Naoto was so done, that he could almost feel the fork in his right ass-cheek!
The infamous Yamaguchi, voice still about as welcome as six hours of diarrhea on a hot, crowded airplane, followed up, jumping to a new video, "Not only were you here—long after school hours—with a female student, the two of you ordered in, using the staff door."
Yup, that was on the screen too!
"And not long after, you left the school, leaving the female student to keep the staff entrance unlocked, returning soon after!"
That video also was shown!
"Finally, when you realized the two of you were caught, this female student left the art room and hid in the adjacent girls' restroom!"
The final piece of damning evidence played, she of the cherry blossoms making a hasty getaway to the ladies' crapper.
Mr. Yamaguchi barked, "What do you have to say for yourself, Hachioji-kun?!"
Naoto had nothing to say, not to that!
He wasn't even all that stunned; he just knew his goose was cooked, and he had no way to defend himself immediately come to mind.
An eerie calm had taken over…
The only saving grace was…
The strict son-of-an-old-French-whore Yamaguchi kept referring to Sakura as "female student"…
Naoto couldn't be sure, but maybe Sakura's identity was still a secret.
The camera footage looked like shit, and in the mostly dark hallways, all that could be seen were a male and female walking in and out of a few doors!
He took heart in this, but it only bolstered him so much.
Before Mr. Yamaguchi could open his mouth again, the principal did.
"Now, Hachioji-kun…" He looked right at Naoto. "Please tell us again about Friday night."
So, Naoto did, glancing over some of the details of their exact activities, especially the embarrassing parts, and leaving out one thing entirely.
… … …
… …
…
The "one thing" was a stickler for the stickler Yamaguchi.
Since the security footage was so lousy, they couldn't identify Sakura as, well, anyone.
They could tell she was (almost undeniably) a girl, but it was so dark, and many of the angles were so bad, her features were obscured.
The daytime visuals weren't much better, never getting a clear look at her face.
And she wasn't the only girl in school with a tan and dyed hair…
Good… Naoto was happy for this.
Conversely, it was quickly dawning just how much trouble he might be in.
Maybe he should've taken up his parents' offer to attend…
The pressure started to mount, Mr. Yamaguchi spearheading it.
"Tell us who this other student is," he necessitated.
Even fairly recently, Naoto might've fissured, even under such mild pressure.
He wasn't the same though. "…"
After a few seconds, Mr. Yamaguchi repeated, "Tell us who this other student is."
Daring to shift his eyes, Naoto tried to decipher the rest of the room.
He couldn't tell anything… the other three gave him nothing…
"…" A coldness ran from the base of his skull, going all the way to his knees and slightly further.
This was getting rough…
Mr. Yamaguchi didn't like having to tell Naoto a third time. "You will tell us who this other student is, Hachioji-kun."
Would he?
Half the reason Naoto was sweating in the staff room, riding at a cool and dry 22°C, was because he didn't know what to do.
He hadn't made up his mind!
If he were to examine the situation, Sakura was just as guilty as him. She'd had as many chances as him to leave earlier as he had, but they'd just kept pushing their luck. Neither had forced the other to do anything.
If they'd just gone home—any of the times they'd considered it—this never would've happened!
The reason Naoto told Sakura to leave him behind was because they'd both get in trouble, and the trouble would've been one Helluva lot worse than anything these four could do to him.
He was possibly in some very deep shit…
But he couldn't make it worse than if Sakura was involved.
Thus, when Mr. Yamaguchi demanded to be answered, pressing Naoto a fourth time, Naoto had made up his mind.
Swallowing hard, he stated, "No."
His voice cracked in a way reminiscent of puberty, but he'd said it!
Mr. Yamaguchi didn't seem to register. "What did you say?"
It wasn't that he hadn't heard… he just couldn't fucking believe it!
Naoto said, his voice under new management, "I won't, sir."
A thing few people—even his colleagues—had ever seen occurred.
Yamaguchi-sensei was flummoxed!
"You won't…?" Maybe it wasn't clear to him.
Naoto fixed this, "I refuse."
As the old woman, Swiss cheese brain and all, calling in and busting Naoto the other night, Mr. Yamaguchi didn't know whether to shit or go blind.
And it hadn't even taken that much!
It was the most unsettling thing he'd seen since… that morning…
This was novel, but it didn't quite top Gamo-chan breaking down in front of him.
Mr. Yamaguchi behaved as a badly broken thresher, sending out monosyllabic noises, "Uh… Eh… Wh..."
This couldn't be right… the guy crumbling over nothing… like a thing out of a cartoon!
Naoto took in the feel of the room again, and it was different this time:
His teacher looked surprised, and the vice principal gave off the same general vibe.
The principal had his eyebrows riding high again, and Naoto could see his teeth weren't interlocked, his lips closed but his jaw "free-floating".
"You won't? He eyed the student in front of him.
This was more jarring to Naoto than anything Mr. Yamaguchi had dribbled out, but he stood firm(ish).
He shuddered. "No, sir, I won't."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Hachioji-kun…" the principal spoke clearly. "Do you know what kind of trouble you could get in for this? For having a female student locked with you in the school—alone—at night?"
Naoto was aware of some of the possibilities:
Legal problems, being 18-years-old…
Complications in the face of college entrance exams…
Being ACCEPTED into a college…
Suspension…
Expulsion…
Not finishing high school… at least not THERE…
"I have a pretty good idea, sir."
At this, the principal's eyes narrowed. "…"
Naoto braced to hear out loud what had just run across his senses, but…
It didn't come…
He expected to hear them, the potential penalties for his actions, but maybe this was still on the way.
His teacher and the vice principal seemed even more stunned. Mr. Yamaguchi was done.
So, Naoto thought for a few seconds.
They'd shown nothing when Mr. Yamaguchi was trying to grill him… none of the other three…
He doubted they were trying to gauge him or feel him out, but maybe…
Just maybe, they didn't think it was as big a stink as Mr. Yamaguchi…
He wouldn't bet on the principal feeling the same as he'd felt on Friday night, but the introduction of the security footage hadn't seemed to make things much direr, and he hadn't been threatened yet.
As if confirming this inkling, the principal said, "Hachioji-kun, what did you do with this female student? Besides ordering in?"
Naoto wasn't sure if he was being given a chance to explain or merely being thrown a shovel to dig his own grave.
Maybe they were just screwing with him!
But he went with "chance to explain".
He'd done nothing wrong beyond working on art until all hours (and using the staff entrance for chow delivery)…
He hazarded, "She volunteered to model for me that afternoon… after she found out what I was up to…"
"She volunteered?" the principal questioned, not accusingly.
Naoto, driven by a notion he couldn't place, asked, "Could I explain, sir?"
Four sets of eyebrows shot up, some again, and some higher.
"…" "…" "…" "…" The four men observed Naoto.
The observed was serious.
"Very well, Hachioji-kun," the principal offered him the talking-stick, so to say. "Go ahead."
Naoto hadn't quite expected to be given the floor like this, but he'd take it.
He wouldn't say the principal—or a one of them—was impressed by what he'd asked of them, but they seemed invested.
Maybe this WOULD help…
Maybe it would only delay the inevitable…
Maybe he was just tossing them a nicer rope to string him up with…
Naoto didn't enjoy taking leaps of faith, but he'd say what his brains, heart, guts, and balls told him.
…
He started at the beginning, "The hand/foot modeling thing was something I've been wanting to do for most of the semester, but I wanted to wait until the semester was over to avoid all the drama. What I wanted to work on? Believe me when I say most people think it's weird. I wanted to wait for everything else to finish up."
That was all they needed to hear; his proclivities were between him, his Maker, and his right hand…
"I asked my friend—the kohai I usually work with—to help me with it. She… was reluctant. It's weird, and it's understandable.
"But she agreed to help me… so I was upset the next day when she made fun of me about it. That's why I was so angry on Monday. I lost my temper and yelled. It was my own fault; I just wasn't able to do anything better, I guess…"
That whole exchange STILL made him sick…
"We made up, and we were ready to work on Friday, but she got sick. That was disappointing, but I felt a lot less disappointed when we spoke last night. She made fun of me and what we were going to do again, and I… don't plan on her doing that kind of modeling after that… I think I told you I'd try to get her again, but… no."
But Friday wasn't a lost cause…
"On Friday, I was planning on just… sketching myself, like I told you, and I did. But I couldn't start right away. Another friend showed up with no other afternoon plans and wanted to sit around and read a magazine for a while. I started painting that bust in the art room—just to do something while she was there.
"She finally left, but she came back and caught me in the act of drawing myself. I was so embarrassed I wanted to die… But we talked, and I told her about what my usual model and I were planning to do. She… knew about the trouble between my normal model and me…
"It was weird for her, but she modeled for me… and it went really well. Then we realized it was 6:30, but we wanted to finish what we were working on."
And things changed…
"I guess… deciding to order in udon was what did it. We stopped caring what time it was. Even after we'd done all the modeling I'd planned on, she did something funny, and I wound up doing a portrait of her… for fun."
He was sharing too much…
"We just had so much fun, we didn't care what time it was, until we noticed it was after 11:00. We were cleaning up and planning to leave, but I heard the police sirens outside."
He was REALLY sharing too much…!
"I knew what would happen if we were caught together, and I panicked. I told her to hide, and… she did. I put away the work we did, and I sat down to a sketch I'd given up on a while back… and worked on it, so it would look like I was doing something artsy when the police found me. Then, the principal showed up, and…
"That's about all there is to it."
…
Naoto's words, uninterrupted for a couple minutes, were met with silence.
Still, he felt fairly serene—even lighter—just telling them the truth…
The principal was the first to speak again, "Why did your friend agree to help you?"
Why? It seemed an odd thing to ask to Naoto.
He could think of a lot of reasons, but they boiled down to a few:
She felt she owed him for his help the last few weeks…
She felt sorry for him, catching him in such a miserable position, pretzelled on the floor and delineating his own feet…
She just felt SORRY IN GENERAL for him, the born, ever-fucking loser he sometimes thought himself to be…
But one reason stood above the rest:
He wanted to believe she'd done it because she was his friend…
What he said was, "I don't know, sir…"
"…" The principal appraised Naoto. "And you didn't tell us about the girl because you didn't want her to get in trouble?"
He didn't want EITHER of them to get in trouble, but it was Sakura who mattered more!
Naoto could say, balls like lead weights between his legs, "Yessir."
The two of them viewed the other, the other three in the room basically not existing. "…" "…"
Where this might wind up was anyone's guess…!
"She must be pretty special to you…" the principal commented, leaning forward slightly.
Urk! Naoto experienced a pang in his heart. "…!"
He almost lost his footing, losing his soft, metallic ballsiness along the way.
The principal displayed the ghost of a smile. "I can see that she is."
"…"
"…"
Naoto didn't even think about getting further into trouble or even getting out of trouble.
He didn't even really think.
He spilled, "Yessir… I've known her for a year, but we didn't really become friends until this spring."
"Is that so?" the principal stimulated.
"Yessir!" Naoto's filter proceeded to pull a Sakura.
In this case, pulling a "Sakura" meant he pretty much lost it!
…
He espoused, "She's pretty… and funny… She's the weirdest girl I've probably ever known, but I can't get enough of it! Some of the stuff she comes up with is gonzo! She's smart too! And not just in books…"
She wasn't BAD in books… she was just smarter in a lot of other ways that mattered!
"I… sometimes feel like I could do anything with her on my side…!"
He only experienced that sensation every once in a great while!
"I… really felt inspired, working with her… It just seems right… Something about her just… it just speaks to me!
He didn't know exactly what it was, but he didn't care all that much either!
"I dunno about you, but I think the greatest things on Earth are a pretty girl laughing and the way it looks when women move!"
He didn't give a fuck!
"Just seeing her laugh…! I love it!"
The chill rushing through his body almost doubled him over!
"Every time she waves to me or runs to me (bouncing all over the place) or calls out to me, it's like… wow~…!"
There was no stopping this train!
"And when we were in the park… seeing her winding around, barefoot in the grass, it was like… watching water flowing, the way she moved~! It was a vision! Like something out of a dream! It's always like that, watching her, her whole body shifting with every step~!"
He was getting lightheaded!
"It scared the shit outta me when she offered to model for me, but I SO wanted to have her do it~!"
And he'd wanted it even more as the night wore on!
"Even when I made a fool of myself, telling her all this, she still wanted to keep helping me…"
And that's why…!
"And that's why…"
…
Naoto "came to" only when his knees began to buckle.
He'd become so worked up, his body was giving out on him!
Groping for the nearest empty chair, he pulled it out and sat down heavily.
And looking at the floor, his hands shaking like Parkinson's, he blushed so deeply, he could've sworn it was a sunburn.
WTF had he just done…?!
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Mr. Hachioji," the principal forwarded.
Naoto didn't know what was coming, but he knew he'd just said what his everything had been screaming.
He could hopefully live with that…
He breathed, "Sir?"
"You're telling us the truth, Hachioji-kun?"
"…?!" Naoto was anticipating the ax.
The principal was stiff as starch. "Nothing untoward happened? You were working in pursuit of this portfolio you're assembling?"
It didn't compute right away to Naoto, but he processed quickly enough.
A lot HAD happened!
Some weird, tense, and very graceless stuff happened, but none of it had been "untoward", not really.
Had ANYTHING bad happened? Really?!
Naoto had an answer to that.
Fuck, no!
He sat up straight. "Yessir!"
"On your honor, Hachioji-kun?"
"Yessir!" Naoto thundered.
With more confidence, he eyeballed the room.
Other than the principal, remaining quite even, his teacher, the vice principal, and Mr. Yamaguchi were waiting with bated breath.
This was something else!
Whatever break in decorum it might've constituted, the principal plainly stated, "I wish to believe you, Hachioji-kun."
Naoto's ears perked up. "Sir…?!"
"What you tell me is very convincing, Hachioji-kun. I'm inclined to go with your words."
"…?!" He could barely fathom this!
No one else could either.
Naoto's homeroom teacher and the vice principal were baffled, but Mr. Yamaguchi bounced back.
"Mr. Principal!" he exclaimed. "You can't be serious!"
The dickhead hadn't given up on seeing blood, not yet…
"I'm quite serious!" the principal stated.
Oh, shit! Naoto wasn't expecting fireworks.
"You can't just buy everything a student says!" Mr. Yamaguchi protested. "He's presented us no proof!"
"Of course, he hasn't." The principal fine-tuned his ass-placement in his chair. "But do you really think I'd just take his word without proof?"
Mr. Yamaguchi blinked. "Well… no, sir."
"And what sort of proof do we require?"
Grudgingly, Mr. Yamaguchi uttered, "The drawings, I imagine."
"You took the words right out of my mouth," the principal replied; he faced Naoto. "I want to believe what you're telling me, but I can't take your word alone."
They wanted to see his art?! Naoto floundered. Was this really necessary?!
He… supposed it was…
If it could possibly get him out of this… or even soften the blow…
With even more reluctance than the stickler had just shown, Naoto complied, addressing the principal, "I understand, sir."
"Where is your work?"
"It's filed away in the art room, sir."
"You have nothing to hide?"
Naoto had a SHITLOAD of stuff to hide, and a lot of it WAS squirrelled away in the art room and the prep room!
However, what he and Sakura did—sans the portrait—wasn't among this shittiest of loads.
"I don't, sir."
"Prove it to us."
…
…
…
Naoto would've rather slit his nostril than let them see it, but he didn't have a razor-blade, and he wanted to finish high school at Kazehaya and go to college the next year!
"It's the fourth book from the left… the one with the blue and green cover…" He pointed it out on a shelf.
Why Mr. Yamaguchi wanted to see the sketches he'd done of himself, he didn't want to know!
But it was surely because he wanted to catch Naoto in some lie.
Naoto insisted on handling the material himself, "I'm grabbing it. I didn't use fixative on any of the images, so they'll smear if we're not careful."
He'd pointed out exactly where and what it was, so they shouldn't complain!
Bringing the sketchbook to the table, he opened it, and the four staff members watched as Naoto flipped the pages.
And they saw it alright!
Naoto hoped they were as mortified as he was, viewing that shit!
They looked it!
Upon their collective recovery, Mr. Yamaguchi, the asshole he was, attempted to lead this "expedition". "Point out where you hid the Friday sketches you claim to have done of your kohai."
Naoto didn't like the use of the word "hid" or any form of such concealment, but… it was true…
Sakura's stuff was in a very specific place.
Dutifully, he directed Asshole-sensei to these. "They're filed in the two manilla envelopes at the back of that gray file cabinet."
"You treated these with your 'fixative'?"
"I did." Naoto went up to the "hiding" place, but—
"Oh, no," Mr. Yamaguchi went for it. "I'm checking."
Motherfucker!
But he didn't refute.
When Mr. Yamaguchi pulled out the two envelopes—just where he'd said they'd be—all Naoto could do was beg, "Be careful with those!"
He SO wished the principal or even his teacher would grab the reigns of this situation…
Mr. Yamaguchi opened the first envelope, and gently (thanks, asshole~) slid out the stack of paper.
His eyes bugged.
Yeah… Naoto knew precisely what everybody's least favorite sensei had just come across!
That last sketch had some elbow grease put into it~!
But something happened.
The vice principal, for whatever reason, reached for the sketches, "Lemme see those…"
Nope!
"Keep your dirty hands offa those!" Naoto burst.
Everyone in the room jarred, Mr. Yamaguchi almost dropping what he was holding.
And the four sensei looked at him like they'd just caught him screwing a mailbox.
Whoops!
Naoto quickly bowed. "I'm sorry!"
He'd just snapped.
He raised his head.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Vice Principal… I just realized you hadn't washed your hands since eating," he regretted. "Please… wash your hands before handling those."
The second most powerful man in the room was floored, but the most powerful man in the room said, "Everyone wash your hands, please."
The envelopes were set on the table, and they did so, even Naoto.
…
"I apologize for that…" Naoto humbled himself a second time.
The vice principal, blessedly, understood. "Try not to worry about it, Hachioji-kun… I didn't even think about it, but I can't blame you… The amount of work you've put in here…"
The many sketches done of Sakura's distal portions were set out neatly on the table.
It couldn't be said that all doubts about Naoto's Friday night activities were quelled, but most of them were cast aside.
"This is practice?!" His homeroom teacher couldn't conceal his amazement.
Naoto had tossed around the word "practice" to describe what he'd done, but since he wouldn't be "doing the real thing" with Nagatoro…
"…No, Sensei," he replied. "A lot of it isn't up to snuff for what I need, but some of it might be good enough to use for the portfolio."
Mr. Yamaguchi went from piece to piece. "This is why you stayed so late…?"
Naoto had never expected him to be interested, but he was captivated enough to ask a few questions…
"Yessir, I did say things were going well." He knew it wasn't the best idea, being a smartass, but he wasn't trying to be.
It was actually flattering that Mr. Yamaguchi was giving his art a chance!
The principal noticed, "You sign and date all of your work, Hachioji-kun?"
"Yes, sir. Before I hit anything with fixative, I sign and date it."
"Tell me again," the principal requested. "What is fixative?"
"It was the smell you noticed on Friday," Naoto explained. "It's used to 'fix' the surface of paper or other media. It makes the surface more durable. Without fixative, anything done with pencil and especially charcoal smear very easily."
"These all have the same date," the principal discerned.
Naoto nodded. "I did all of them on Friday."
Mr. Yamaguchi sputtered, "How could you do this in one evening?"
It wasn't all that hard… and Yamaguchi DID know how late he'd been working! Even the sketches Naoto had done of himself were dated!
"Could he have added the dates later?" the vice principal wondered.
The principal scoffed, "That's ludicrous. He had no idea we'd be looking at his work today… and believe me, if he'd used it today, you'd be able to smell his fixing spray."
It surely didn't smell the same as oil paint!
It went quiet for a moment.
Naoto sensed the Sword of Damocles hovering nearby.
But the sword must've had another head to cleave in another place, because—
"Hachioji-kun…" The principal considered him.
"Sir?"
"You're building a portfolio. Show us some of the work you're adding to it."
"…!" Naoto wasn't out of the woods, but it didn't seem like he'd be crucified!
…
Naoto didn't have a lot selected for his portfolio—he didn't have instructions because he hadn't formally applied anywhere—but he had candidates that would likely fit in anyplace:
The sketch of the ride-on horse at the park that Sakura liked…
The sketch of Sakura and Hana in the low-light of the American-style diner…
A few still-life renderings…
A portrait of his mother…
Some of the better depictions of Nagatoro, portraits and up-close…
Several still-life paintings in oil, acrylic, and watercolor…
And, of course, the four paintings of Nagatoro done for the last culture fest…
The principal remarked of the four paintings in particular, "This is your 'usual' model, I take it?"
Naoto could see this wasn't meant to harm. "Yes. She's the one who was going to work with me… the one who got sick."
Calling to attention the other staff in the art room, the principal said, "I think we've seen all we need to see."
They weren't going to demand to see Sakura's portrait?!
"…" Naoto gave that some thought.
Of course not! That would've defeated the whole purpose of protecting her, and they didn't seem to be after her anymore…
"Hachioji-kun," the principal targeted.
Naoto's butthole puckered. "Sir?"
"I want you to listen to me carefully."
"Yessir."
"I can see the passion you have for your work. I think we all can. I did believe you, Hachioji-kun, but I did need proof."
Naoto nodded, and the weight he'd been feeling began to drop off.
"Since you've shown us your work and we can't prove without a doubt that you've broken any school rules besides staying late with a student of 'unknown' gender, using the staff entrance, and having food delivered, we can only punish you for these certain things.
"But please know how serious this might've been if you had been caught afterhours with a female student. You need to be more careful, and you need to make smarter decisions.
"We have no intent or desire to ruin your educational career—much less your life—over something done in the legitimate pursuit of college entrance, but you need to think harder about the things you do.
"Seeing as the police did become involved, you need to face the consequences. You will not be suspended, but you will be disciplined."
It seemed better to Naoto than crucifixion!
The principal said to them all, "Let us return to the staff room."
…
…
…
By now, Naoto's homeroom teacher, the vice principal, and Mr. Yamaguchi had left the "quintet".
Only Naoto and the principal remained, ensconced in the latter's office.
The principal, the "trial" over, laid down the law.
The school's well-disposed head honcho still had a job to do…
"Mr. Hachioji, the school pool is in need of repairs, and they'll be done on Wednesday. But they need to work on the grounds too, so the pool will be closed for a couple of weeks. Before the grounds are touched, you will be cleaning the pool itself."
"By myself?!" Naoto yipped.
He should've been grateful they weren't nailing him up on the Cherry Blossom Path, but…
The principal would brook no interruptions or inane commentary and began to hand over a few documents. "You're to be done a week from yesterday. I suggest you begin Thursday morning.
"You have until the end of the day on July 29th. Swimming Camp starts on August 6th. You will receive all the materials you need; you just need to supply the labor.
"Here's a copy of the contractor's schedule. They can't begin until July 30th, next Monday, so you need to finish by Sunday night."
Naoto, centering himself, wondered with reason, "With all due respect… wouldn't it make more sense to wait until after the contractors are done to clean the pool?"
It would just get soiled again, and the schedule was clear the work on the grounds would be done by August 1st…
"The schoolboard and an inspector are coming the morning of July 30th to view the completed repairs prior to the other work beginning," the principal closed the matter. "It needs to be clean for them."
Great, all that work, and it'll be clean for less than a day!
…
…
…
"Senpai-kun!" Sakura rubbished from the other side of Naoto's screen; her face was drawn into a skeptical smirk. "You can't be serious…!"
He and the gal were having a video chat on their phones, a first for them.
The gal was exuding a remarkable sultriness, lounging in the sun, nestled in the hammock in her backyard~…!
Naoto was quite serious (and quite satisfied with being indoors). "I'm not joking, Sakura-san."
His kohai had insisted quite strenuously that he contact her as soon as possible, and he hadn't wanted to keep her waiting.
She'd agreed to let him be until HE contacted HER, and she hadn't "pestered" him the whole day, so he felt especially obligated!
But he did wait until he was home, cooling down in his room, his parents out shopping together for the afternoon.
Sakura had only heard of such in anime and manga. "They're making you clean the pool? Really?"
"Yes."
"That sounds like a lot to make one person do…"
"I just have to clean up the dust the contractors left. It shouldn't be too bad."
Bullshit, he KNEW it might be a lot…
The school pool wasn't some kiddie pool at a waterpark after all.
Sakura surrendered to the situation pretty quickly.
"So, that's how it is, huh…?" she sighed.
Naoto blew out a breath of his own, "Yeah, that's what it's gonna be…"
"I think it blows…" she grumped.
He tried staying positive, saying, "Hey, at least the contractors are cleaning the whole place before Swimming Camp starts, so I don't have to do that…"
"…"
"…"
She injected, "So… when do we start?"
We?!
"What do you mean 'we'?" He didn't mean to scowl.
"Don't you give me that look, Asshole-kun…" She sneered right back at him. "I'm helping you. Half of this is my fault, you know."
"Sakura-san, we talked about this all weekend…"
"Well, that was when we thought you'd just be getting a good 'talking-to'!"
Naoto adored her for her willingness, but, "It hasn't changed. In fact, it's worse. They know a female student was there, and they have the security footage to prove it. If you show up, they will probably make the connection that you're the one.
"You gotta see what's going on. They're looking the other way, Sakura-san. They're purposefully overlooking you being there, and the only trouble I'm in is I was at school afterhours, I ordered in dinner, and I used the staff entrance, all without permission."
The logic deflated Sakura's drive, but she didn't like it. "It's not fair, Senpai-kun…"
He thought it was fair enough.
If the police HAD seen the security footage, there would've been no hiding this shitshow!
If all he had to do was clean up a "little" dust, he had it made!
Certain people with positions of power in their educational system knew a student had broken the rules, and that student was being punished by doing something both constructive and unpleasant, so it would all come out in the wash~!
"Don't worry about 'fair', Sakura-san…" Naoto expressed. "Just be glad we got away with it…"
"You didn't get away with it…" she countered.
He snorted, "Oh, believe me, I did."
The gal's humor took an upswing.
"I can't believe you got busted by a little old lady, Senpai-kun~," she trilled.
Naoto owned it, "Yeah, that wasn't on my bucket list…"
"…"
"…"
"Hey, did you really show all four sensei the sketches you did of yourself?" Redness crept into Sakura's cheeks… and a friskiness too.
This info hadn't left her unamused…!
Naoto resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and he blushed. "I showed them. I told you…"
He'd told her pretty much everything, though he'd downplayed the fact he'd given the Four Horsemen the same spiel he'd given her, about art being alive and how gorgeous women's bodies were and such…
The blonde snickered, "You didn't happen to take a picture or slap out a quick sketch, did you? I'd have loved to see their faces when you showed them some of that stuff~!"
They'd definitely given Naoto some memorable expressions…
He laughed, maybe the only one he'd had since morning, "It was kinda funny~…"
"I'll bet~," she giggled. "You got the mighty Yamaguchi-sensei to falter~!"
He had…!
To their knowledge, no one had done that before.
Naoto beamed. "…~"
"…~" Sakura mirrored it.
They were unsure of themselves, absolutely, but at least they could laugh now.
They hadn't been laughing at the start of the call…
Although, their merriment over the situation petered out.
"…" Naoto could read Sakura well enough to know they weren't done.
"So… uh," she contemplated. "What are you gonna tell Hana-chan?"
This jostled Naoto!
He might've missed a few of her words. "What about Sunomiya?"
"You need to tell Hana-chan."
"She doesn't need to worry about it. She's completely innocent; she has nothing to do with this."
"Should I tell her?" Sakura asked.
Hell, no!
Naoto gave in, "Just… just wait until after she comes home. I'll tell her then."
Sakura tutted, "Will you?"
"I think I need to…" He just wanted this day to end.
And it wasn't even dinnertime yet!
Not overly convinced, she let it go. "You look beat, Senpai-kun… why don't we talk about this tomorrow?"
He had no quarrel!
"Thanks, Sakura-san…" he respired. "I just kinda wanna stare at the wall for a while…"
"Why don't you get some sleep instead~?" she chirped.
He promised, "I'll do that too…"
"See you later, Senpai-kun~."
"See you, Sakura-san…"
Cutting him a wink, she blew him a kiss, "Mwah~!"
And she hung up before he could react!
That knocked the tired right out of him. "…!"
At least for about 10 seconds!
His eyelids heavy since lying down on top of his bedcovers, they grew heavier yet, a nap imminent.
Wow, that Sakura…!
Daydreaming about the interesting Friday night they'd shared would've been a nice way to go, but another matter, other concerns put to rest, floated to the surface, before sleep came.
…
The last thing he and Gamo-chan had hashed out that morning… something he'd spent the rest of the day trying to forget.
…
…
…
Earlier that day…
"Hanacchi looks like she's having a lot of fun on her trip, eh, Paisen~?"
Naoto had seen Hana's chronicling of her weekend in Tokyo, posted on Line, and there was no denying the Sunomiya family was having a pretty swell trip.
Gamo-chan was trying to keep conversation light, but Naoto had been watching her fail at this for a while.
She was gripping her mug, dregs of chai long-cold, like a security blanket, the tabletop littered with crumbs and a few half-eaten chocolate chip cookies.
The girl was so driven to distraction, she'd started in on fresh cookies before finishing the previous…
"She does, Gamo-chan," Naoto said, not wanting to humor her, but it was about all that was accomplished.
How long she'd been alternating her mood up-and-down, Naoto wasn't keeping track, at least not by minutes, but the tall girl was sharing her blues as much as she was gleaming over the good times had with Hana the previous week.
She was acting "normal" again, at least trying to, and this was abnormal.
It was a sad thing to see…
"I was pestering her about when she's getting back," Gamo-chan said of Hana. "I hope I'm not annoying her. I just really want to know when she'll be back~."
She'd mentioned just a moment earlier how much she was looking forward to a chance of singing a duet with Hana on Wednesday.
Naoto hadn't the heart to tell her that Hana was unlikely to attend karaoke, even IF she made it back in good time.
Though, he was reasonably sure she didn't believe her own words, and that was the saddest part.
Her eyes seemed glazed over, and the layers only became heavier in times of "optimism".
He'd never seen Gamo-chan in such a state.
It seemed most out-of-character, so fitfully jumping back-and-forth between attempted positivity and a melancholy she DIDN'T need to force.
However long this had been going on, it had started after Gamo-chan fell apart and began to cry.
The tears hadn't lasted long, but he hated to see her so upset…
…
As miserable as this was for Naoto, not all of it was so terrible.
He knew how Gamo-chan felt about the kohai he and his friends were so fortunate to have, not that he needed to hear it out loud.
Needed or not, she'd said a few things.
Naoto knew he'd never forget the goodbye Hana had given Gamo-chan, Yoshi, and himself, thanking them from the bottom of her heart for little more than being her dear senpai…
Or that sisterly, new nickname she'd given Gamo-chan…
Or the peck on the cheek she'd given HIM, promising to give her cousin, Sana, and probably her whole family, his love…
And no one could deny Hana was a most interesting girl, full of her own particular brand of fun and a powerful affection for her growing relationships and the people attached to them.
Naoto took great joy in seeing her blossom as she had, as open and welcoming as a friendly electronics store the day some highly-anticipated game was being released.
…
Soon enough, even Gamo-chan's false positivity went the way of the dodo.
Sucking down the very last of her milk-tea, she lamented, "I can't believe it, Paisen… Why did I have to make such an ass of myself in front of her…?"
"Her" meant "Hana", at least this time…
Naoto wanted to tell her to not worry—that Hana wasn't upset about Gamo-chan's behavior on Monday—but he would never claim it to be completely true.
"I was just so pissed off last Monday…!" the Amazon muttered. "Hanacchi said one thing I took wrong, and I snapped at her…"
And Hana had brushed it aside and shared her leftover meat with her, and the two talked about the BBQ pit her father and uncle had built for Hana's grandparents' anniversary…
Naoto did feel secure in saying, "Sunomiya knew you were having a rough time, Gamo-chan. She gets it, believe me."
She believed it, but it only did so much in helping her feel better. "I was sorta worried the Friday before finals week… I thought we were all a little rough on you… I thought Hanacchi might get pissed off at us…"
"Oh, she had a great time that Friday." Naoto was cocksure of this. "I liked it too. That was a really fun lunch."
And it was… until Nagatoro stormed out, affronted by the other girls' friendliness to Hana… and the sort of ribbing she gleefully doled out, facing it HERSELF with indignance…
"…"
"…"
"I don't get it, Paisen…" Gamo-chan mumbled.
Naoto was perhaps too sure. "Sunomiya doesn't just jump to conclusions. She's not the best with first impressions of others, but she'll give anyone a chance."
Now, if only he could convince Hana to give Nagatoro ANOTHER chance… and vice versa…
He really was in over his head.
If only he knew what was on the way, he might've taken a fresh chance to end the tea party, something he'd already failed in doing that day, even with many opportunities seemingly presented…
"…"
"…"
"I'm sure you know how much Hanacchi loves you, Paisen…" Gamo-chan's voice was as wrung-out as the rest of her. "I know how much she cares about you…"
Naoto wasn't ready to hear that. "…?!"
He'd been ill-prepared to hear it from Sakura!
"I think we're really lucky to have a kohai like her, y'know, Paisen…?" She sounded as if she might cry again.
But she was all dried-up, having already gotten it out of her system…
The two had reached the Hana-affiliated crux of the matter—why Gamo-chan was feeling so upset—but there was nothing left for her to cry out.
She was almost numb by now…
There was nothing Naoto could say; he was just along for the ride at this point.
"Even after all the rotten stuff I've done, she's proud to have me as her senpai," Gamo-chan remarked. "Even after how awful I was last Monday, even after all the bad shit I've done to you, she still wants me to be her senpai… even if it's just because I've been before where she is now… but I know it's because she likes me…"
Naoto winced, more and more tongue-tied by the second.
She took heed, "I'm sorry, Paisen… I know I'm just dragging you down again here…"
He hated to think she was…
"I'm just sad…" She clasped her hands.
Sad?
"I'm sad that Hanacchi will skip out on karaoke… even if she does make it back in time…"
"…?!" Naoto felt like he'd been punched in the gut, but this wasn't unexpected, hearing the truth out of her.
Gamo-chan was through with faking it…
She hung her head.
"What happened, Paisen…?" she asked the air as much as she asked him. "I've been a real piece of crap lately, but Hanacchi wants to be my friend anyway… She wants to be friends with all of us…
"If I'm good enough… even after losing my temper like I did, attacking Hayacchi and all the other stuff that's happened, then how bad is Hayacchi…? For Hanacchi to blow her off like that… what happened…?
"Why'd she fail so badly…? Why'd she blow it…?"
Naoto would've loved to be in another time and place. "…!"
"What is it about you, Paisen…?" Gamo-chan pleaded for an answer.
Even if he knew, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to tell her properly. "…"
"Paisen…" she bemoaned, her eyes full of sorrow. "I don't wanna have to choose…"
Her favor might fall one way… and it wouldn't leave anyone unhurt…
All Naoto could do was get a grip on Gamo-chan's shoulder, which she seemed to take to, gratefully patting his hand where it lay.
It was all he had at the moment…
"…"
"…"
"Hey, Paisen…?"
"Yeah?"
"I know you have something to do at 1:00. I won't bother you or make any noise… I just wanna stay here a while… Please?"
"You're not a bother, Gamo-chan…"
She lay down on the sofa, planning to relax with a minigame or surf the internet on her phone.
Not thinking she'd fall asleep, she regardless accepted the blanket Naoto offered, the air conditioner running at full-blast.
And she did fall asleep… in seconds and as if hit by a tranq dart, joining the short list of girls to drift off in front of her senpai.
This particular senpai soon enough had somewhere to be, but he'd gladly let Gamo-chan sleep as long as he could, and he painted peacefully for a while.
Q&A Section
What are your favorite "weird" lines or crazier parts of the story? You write some really wild lines in your story. I don't know how anyone could come up with the idea of Sakura making a joke about throwing a baby shower when Naoto went number 2.
ED: A few of the more insane lines and ideas in the story are ones that I came up with. More of them are ones my editor and I came up with together. Most of them came from his head, when he was seemingly inebriated, having what he jokingly calls a dissociative episode, or just really, really tired. He is WAY more "creative" than me when it comes to crazy, and I love him for it.
Not all of the things I like are messed up, but I'll stick to the ones that are. If anyone wants to hear the not insane stuff I like, someone can ask that question.
My favorite thing I came up with on my own is Sakura not always having a filter around Naoto. I had the idea of this "fault" in Sakura, but PS supplies many of the "filtration breaches".
My favorite thing we came up with together is probably the "Eek! A mousy!" bit from Chapter 32 of CBP and the line about the sticky, white mouse running away with the pickled plum from Chapter 43. PS might've been a little too prepared for and comfortable with how disgusting girls can be when they don't have to impress anyone. I can thank all of his younger sisters for that. I'm sure they're very lovely people.
We went down the rabbit hole together, and he'd never heard the term "cotton mouse" for a tampon before (he thought it was hysterical), and we kept on bouncing ideas off of each other, and we somehow wound up with what we did. Some of it had to do with that episode of South Park where Mr. (Mrs.) Garrison decided to transition back to being a man, and the mouse with his new penis grafted to its back was running around, scaring all the women in town. They'd jump up on furniture, raising their skirts, screaming "Eek!"
My favorite thing my editor came up with—and maybe my favorite overall—is the story that Sakura told Naoto in Chapter 25 at the noodles restaurant the day after he'd been out with Nagatoro. I can claim credit for a few portions of it, but it was pretty much all him. It was the second time we video chatted that he came up with it, so we already knew what each other's faces looked like when we met IRL back in July.
When I heard him refer to a woman's intimate areas as "meat and dairy", I laughed until I cried. It was one of those things where you laugh for several minutes straight and can't stop. I was seeing spots. By then, we'd mostly moved past being awkward about "dirty stuff", and we could talk about almost anything. But the "meat and dairy" thing raised the bar, like James Cameron did in that South Park episode, Cartman and Honey Boo-Boo locked in combat, fighting in a ring made of spaghetti, butter, and ketchup.
I also think the stuff about the racoon dog with rabies making a mess in the snowy parking lot was pretty nuts too, for something more recent.
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading! Questions and comments are welcome!