🌸Cherry Blossom Palette: Summer by the Sea🎨
Chapter 19: The Afterparty [Part Five, Act Two]
Doorway into Summer Arc ️
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
ED: Have a nice, beefy chapter to close out the "Doorway into Summer" arc!
We're going to be starting a new, much briefer arc before moving onto "Dreamer's". Next chapter will begin the "Sunshine" arc!
Like I've said, the "Doorway" arc got to be too long, but I included what I wanted. This will serve as its conclusion.
PS and I had another disagreement on the use of the word "that". I haven't brought it up to readers in a while, but some of you might remember that I use "that" everywhere it fits, and he prefers the word "that" to be used as little as possible. If it's not absolutely necessary, he finds it to be "stilting", leading to a "hinderance in flow".
I like the clarity of what I like, and he likes the poetry of what he likes.
We both studied technical writing, but that's his inner poet at work, I bet.
…
Forgive the awkward, unpleasant wall of text at the chapter's beginning, but Gamo-chan DID ask Naoto a question, and he's going to answer it.
…
I've finished The Venture Bros. Season 5 and Season 6, even the "Gargantua" special.
Poor Gary (Henchman 21) just couldn't get a break in Season 5. All the good things he tried to do fell apart on him, and he wound up just going back to the Monarch and Sheila.
I do enjoy how he's become real friends with the Monarch and his wife though. And Season 6 brought a whole new thing for the Monarch and co.
Poor Dean took his fallout with the b*tch Triana pretty hard, and he and his brother Hank drifted apart even more, both of them burning their "learning beds" and becoming actual adults.
We got to see more world building too, especially within the Guild of Calamitous Intent.
I also learned where my editor came up with the concept of "sad boobs", in a scene when Brock Samson and his paramilitary group were onscreen.
Season 6 took things in a different direction, and I hear Season 7 continues this, but I like it so far.
I'll be good and ready for when the movie comes out.
…
On another personal note, I don't like tiny men in positions of power who use their self-diagnoses of the day to excuse their terrible behavior.
I especially don't like when those further up the ladder allow these little boys to do whatever they want, when they know better.
It's a happy day to see them go away, even when it's a couple years late in happening.
…
Something I don't understand. PS told me that "Yosuga no Sora" was a better love story than Twilight and Naoto/Nagatoro.
I'm not going to look up whatever Yosuga no Sora is. I'm sure that it's a not good thing, and I didn't need him to tell me that it's "something bad" for me to guess that it is.
…
Ask us anything and we'll add a Q&A section in the next chapter. I would be happy if you ask questions.
Please enjoy what I wrote.
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
When Maki Gamo had advocated to Naoto Hachioji that they should "try to be chill about stuff", he'd told her to not concern herself with that sort of thing.
She'd hoped for more relaxed relations between them, meaning less awkwardness, tension, and blushies~…
Now…
Naoto had told Gamo-chan to not worry, but it didn't mean he'd personally shitcanned the idea.
He liked the idea; he just didn't want her fretting over it.
It wouldn't hurt for him to not overthink things with the Maki… to go for a casual atmosphere… which he thought was going okay, in the first place…
So, he wasn't against it; he just didn't want to make an official goal of it.
However, with or without such a pledge, Naoto ran into difficulties immediately, Gamo-chan throwing him curveballs, almost as if she was sworn to put his off-the-record ambition through a trial-by-fire.
Even so, curveballs were manageable, if one knew how to deal with them…
His batting average was nothing to be proud of, but he was getting a piece of the ball.
Still, it was impressive enough, considering some of those curveballs might appear as beanballs to an outsider.
…
Hearing that Gamo-chan thought Tohru Hijikata was cute, even with no goal past friendship, had been a solid knock to idle senses.
He could see it, regardless:
It wasn't like Tohru was a bad-looking guy, not in the least; he had a handsomeness to him, though not quite like their friend Shuu Aisho…
Tohru was short, only 160 cm, but that worked for Gamo-chan, surprisingly enough, revealing to her senpai that she held a certain propensity towards the vertically-challenged specimens of the male species.
Whether or not she still thought Tohru was cute, exclusive of his small stature, Naoto would leave between the big girl beside him and the Big Guy upstairs.
…
And speaking of propensities…
Gamo-chan had sent a pitch dangerously close to Naoto's noggin, asking him about his… the one having to do with the distal portions of the human female shank.
Although, she wasn't asking about HIM, not specifically, though she knew of his "affliction"…
She'd candidly asked how and why, apparently nothing else behind it, other than she couldn't make heads-or-tails of it.
So, Naoto had told her.
He'd explained to Sakura Inori some of what he'd uncovered, researching the subjects of hand and foot, anatomically, astrologically, and pseudo-scientifically.
He'd talked casually with Shuu and Tohru about their collective enjoyment of one of those subjects.
Although, he'd never talked with anyone about the "how" and "why" of it, those of fetishes.
Gamo-chan didn't need to know about the "research" side of things he'd conducted, but he didn't plan to tell her anyway… nor did she EVER need to hear about him getting off on the involved shank with enough thrust to hit one-quarter of the speed of light…
Notwithstanding, Naoto had told her what he did know, openly admitting most of what he knew was from the internet, though with reliable sources.
She'd said she trusted him more than the internet, but it was inferred that her own research on the matter had led her nowhere good, leaving her gun-shy and more willing to let someone else do the legwork, no pun intended.
He didn't scoff at her failure, but he wanted to, considering he'd never accidentally come across bondage or food-crushing videos, while trying to pinpoint and figure out the mental-gymnastics behind a foot fetish.
That which was theorized wasn't difficult to find…
But he could understand her unwillingness to go looking again, considering he'd—in the strict pursuit of knowledge—looked up 2 Girls, 1 Cup, only to unluckily stumble across the real video, when he'd meant to merely read about how disgusting it was.
He could've/should've turned it off, but he didn't, and he didn't need to look into the topic ever again.
Despite this, the REACTION videos of other people watching the video were a scream…
He'd seen worse anyway, with some of the things Shuu and Tohru had gotten him to watch.
And not a one of the three boys would ever forget The Pain Olympics, Tohru's asshole cousin, Eikichi, tricking them into watching it.
It couldn't be said they were terribly heartbroken that Eikichi couldn't make the videogame convention on August 11, especially when they'd filled his spot with the lovely Sakura~…
…
Setting aside such unpleasantness, Naoto had explained to Gamo-chan what he knew scientifically, and she liked science, right~?
She'd scored the best on it in finals, at least…
At any rate, she'd handled it with the same maturity that Sakura probably would.
The same might be said of Hana Sunomiya, but Naoto would rather sit on a toilet, the plunger still sticking out of it, than hold such a tête-à-tête with her…
He suspected Yoshi Yamazaki would be aghast… and that Hayase Nagatoro would shit on him, the force of a Sabre jet engine behind the defecatious discharge, so maturity was welcome, faced with such an embarrassing topic.
…
Blessedly, it hadn't taken him long to rattle off and parrot what he'd read:
Maybe, men went for "that sort of thing" because feet were a semi-private part of the body, mysterious and often covered up…
Perhaps, it was because some "wires were crossed" in the portion of the brain where the numerous parts of the body underwent certain processes, relays, and integrations, feet and genitals being in close proximity to one another…
There was also the possibility that feet served as a "naturally erogenous" zone, the sheer amount of nerve-endings present lending itself to this…
Then, there were the massive sexually-transmitted disease epidemics throughout history, leading to humans experimenting with OTHER parts of the body, less pock-ridden with God-knows-what, giving them the first safe-sex alternatives…
Definitely, one couldn't forget the media and the fashion industry, erstwhile and contemporary, sexualizing women's feet…
The only bit of pseudoscience he'd touched upon was that thing about a foot being like a woman's body, which probably had as much substance behind it as some of the above explanations.
…
Specifically, she'd asked about men liking women's feet, and that was fine by him, because he hadn't actively gone looking for anything about people liking men's.
He didn't want to know, and there was no reason for it, as far as he was concerned…
Sakura had said, not so long ago, that men's bodies were generally ugly, and he agreed.
But he didn't "like them anyway", the way the gal did…
…
In the end, Naoto had told Gamo-chan that nobody really knew for sure, that such proclivities, all those lying outside of "normal sex", were yet unsolved.
She was certainly welcome to go looking again on her OWN 10-yen piece…
Red as cherries they'd remained through the conversation, but they'd gotten through it.
It struck Naoto as odd that he'd never talked with Sakura or even Shuu and Tohru in this vein, but he'd talked to Gamo-chan.
It was WEIRD, man…
…
…
…
With what was hopefully the last bit of awfulness they'd find themselves wading through that night over and out of the way, Gamo-chan had them trudging through something less disagreeable.
But there were still a lot of sharp, little rocks hiding in the murky water~…
"Paisen, you don't need to fake it… seriously, you don't…" the pretty Amazon reluctantly chided, some longing in her voice. "I don't care if you liked Sakura's outfit the best…"
Well, that wasn't wholly true… that she didn't care… not at all…
When she'd told the other girls to dress like the 1980's, she hadn't expected Sakura to show up in a tube-top and leather miniskirt, showing as much skin as a modest-ish bikini would.
There was no way she'd say this out loud though… that she was Hella-jelly…
Naoto denied this, getting more rattled than he ever wanted to get in front of any of the girls.
"H-hey," he flustered. "I never said that!"
She was the one jumping to that conclusion…
He wasn't sure if he was more bothered that Gamo-chan immediately assumed he went for skin first or that she was getting down on herself (yet again), not that the former actually bothered him.
The latter did bother him (yet again)… and it seemed the awfulness wasn't going to dutifully die.
Gamo-chan was wrong but not unreasonable in concluding that most—if not all—guys would go for Sakura's outfit over the more reserved plumage the other girls had paraded.
Sex sold, and it sold better than fresh air, clean water, wholesome food, and solid shelter, even as Creation fell in on itself.
Naoto would never debate this, certainly not for Shuu, though Gamo-chan hadn't brought him up.
Shuu had liked Sakura's sexy outfit almost as much as he liked the girl wearing it, and he was possibly happier to have been able to hang out with her for the afternoon than EITHER of the previous…
And Naoto saw nothing wrong with it.
Tohru proved more difficult in figuring out—to Naoto, and probably to everyone else.
He rarely lost his pokerfaced expression, but he'd probably enjoyed Sakura's outfit~…
Naoto had enjoyed Sakura's outfit too, but…
Gamo-chan sulked around, convinced she wasn't wrong.
"Didn't you say my outfit was 'goofy'?", she chunnered away. "You even complemented it earlier, and then you say it's goofy. Were you even being serious?"
Why's she hurt over this…?
"Hey, I was just agreeing with you, since you said it was goofy," he fortified. "Wasn't it supposed to be funny? Wasn't that why you wanted to wear it? For fun?"
"You weren't supposed to agree with me…" she bitched.
Lordy, was she bent out of shape…!
Naoto kept pleading his case, "You and Yoshi-san wore outfits 30-some years out of date… It was silly…"
"Mmbrl…" she grr-and-growled. "Prick…"
'Bwah…!' He felt the edge of the world at his back.
He could do better than that…!
"I mean, they looked good, but it was just for a laugh, right?" He became more desperate, though desperation wasn't essential, not in reality. 'You've got it all wrong, Gamo-chan…'
"…"
"…"
"Meh, it's not like I could ever pull that sorta thing off…" Gamo-chan roiled, submitting to her own demons. "If I wore something like that, I'd just look like some big jasper…"
'What the fuck is a "jasper"…?' Naoto flummoxed.
He supposed it might've been a tall girl wearing an outfit that didn't suit her…
More importantly, she'd pretty much admitted to being envious of the gal…!
He so wanted to steer her away from that, but trying to do so was a terrifying prospect.
Why was she punishing herself…?! She knew she'd just be making herself miserable, comparing herself to other girls…
…
But Naoto knew better than that, at least over Gamo-chan's reliably-habitual belief that she didn't stack up to the other girls in their ken.
She was her own girl, and she was a VERY PRETTY girl…
It was merely that each girl had her own charm.
Had he not been telling her that for the last day-and-a-half…?
…
Okay, maybe Gamo-chan could never pull off a neon-green tube-top with a black leather miniskirt and hot-pink vinyl high-heeled boots, but Naoto didn't care.
Maybe it WASN'T her…
He couldn't picture her wearing all that.
He didn't WANT her wearing all that…
Gamo-chan was her own girl, and she had a charm neither Sakura nor any other girl on Earth could ever hope to replicate.
And Naoto loved that~…
…
He couldn't decide if Gamo-chan was upset because she was jealous of Sakura's ability to pull off such a look or because she was staunchly and wholeheartedly convinced that he—and just about every other male in the world—flocked towards what Sakura had to offer, faced with all else.
What HE was convinced of is that Gamo-chan didn't give a crap if HER outfit wasn't his favorite of the day…
She was upset for those other reasons.
…
"…" Naoto pondered.
The Maki moped. "…"
"…"
"…"
Finally, Naoto had organized his thoughts.
'Fuck me, am I really gonna say it…?' He was second-guessing himself.
He supposed it wouldn't hurt anything, if he was able to get his point across.
It probably wouldn't fall flat… probably …
"I dunno why you're so pissed off about it," he took a shot in the dark. "It's not like Sakura-san's outfit was my favorite anyway…"
Gamo-chan jumped as if someone had pinched her backside. "Gurk!"
She'd almost tripped too…
"…" Naoto let it sink in.
The big girl eyeballed him. "W-wha…?"
Now came the "dangerous" part…
"That's what I was trying to tell you," he stated, going for an aloofness. "Hey, I liked Sakura-san's outfit… and I liked yours and Yoshi-san's, but none of those were my favorite."
As aloof as he sounded, his cheeks betrayed him, going as pink as Sakura's squeaky, pleather boots.
Gamo-chan blinked, and something was going on behind those intense but melancholy eyes.
It was as if she was running numbers…
'Okay… there was Paisen, Tohru-kun, Shuu-kun—those were the boys…' she calculated. 'Then there was me, Yoshi, Sakura, and—!'
"…" Naoto allowed her to reach the conclusion on her own.
"N-N-Nekoba?!" Gamo-chan sputtered.
Naoto shied away from her mouth-spray, but he wasn't disgusted, because she hadn't laughed at the deduction she'd unraveled.
She just couldn't believe it…
"You thought Nekoba had the best outfit today…?" she shat. "Are you for real…?"
He did, and he was for real.
And he said so, "I thought her outfit was really cute today…"
Gamo-chan could only gawp at him for a few seconds, color entering her own cheeks, though not to the degree her senpai had colored his own.
"You're not…" she attempted. "You're not kidding, are you…?"
Naoto would forgive her skepticism.
If you put Sakura and Nekoba on a stage with 1,000 "normal", thirsty men in the audience, the curvaceous cutie would wipe the floor with the humbler honey…
But Naoto wasn't a normal "normal" man, not that he went for the modest, innocent look in particular.
He didn't consider a man that only went for modesty and innocence to be "normal" anyway.
That was just another fetish…
Sex sold, and it certainly sold him; it just wasn't the only thing.
That was "normal" to him, and standing against the vacuum wouldn't see him changing his mind.
He just thought that Nekoba wore it well… just as she'd worn her unobtrusive bikini and beach-skirt well… and she'd hopefully yet wear the latter well, come Saturday~…
"No, I'm serious…" Naoto assured Gamo-chan. "I really liked her outfit."
The fact that his favorite thing about Nekoba's body was that she was built like a less brawny, less buxom Gamo-chan was something he'd keep closer to the chest~…
Be that as it may, Nekoba had her own charm too, and her strabismus-affected eyes were not a turnoff to him, not that he didn't enjoy her personality before that… and her other sharp features too.
She really was a neat girl…
…
Naoto hadn't been trying to hamper Gamo-chan, hoping to shut her up, and he certainly wasn't tricking her into thinking he was noble, but he was pleased to see her ease off of her own pity-parade.
He had wanted that, to have her stop tearing herself up.
It was even more pleasurable, Gamo-chan smiling a bit to herself, saying, "Yeah, she really was pretty~…"
Naoto smiled too, gladdened she'd steered from such dreadfulness. "…~"
…
…
…
About a block from the bus stop, Naoto's brain was working overtime.
Walking on the street-side of the pavement, he glanced inward, toward his companion, Gamo-chan.
She'd been quiet for a moment, in much better spirits, and she was floating along, a great peacefulness extant, her serene eyes focused on the concrete a few squares ahead of them.
"…~" she hummed a happy little melody, not quite intelligible, but it wasn't some tuneless noise either.
Naoto gulped, taking in the blissful little smile she was wearing. "…!"
Fortunately, she was oblivious to his goggling…
He turned forward.
What he was thinking about, it had only hit him that afternoon, upon meeting the girls outside of the karaoke club.
And while this idea had been sitting on the very back-burner of his mind's kitchen, being alone with Gamo-chan saw it beginning to bubble over, fewer distractions ruling him.
He'd been able to suppress it for the last hour-and-a-half, since the party had concluded, but it was finally unignorable.
…
He wanted, more than anything he'd known in the last few days—and there'd been some shit he really wanted, to ask her to model for him…
…
There'd been more than a few times that Naoto sketched the Sunomiya cousins, Sana and Hana, even asking them for their help, but those had been out of convenience, holding membership in the same club, and they'd reciprocated, sketching him too.
Naturally, he'd sketched his mother a few times.
It was Nagatoro, she was the first female he'd ever felt DRIVEN to ask model for him, though she'd wheedled/forced her way into the position too…
And Sakura had offered her services, catching him in a situation most uncool.
…
Thus, this was only the second time that Naoto really wanted a girl—a woman—to serve as his model, one that he dared to ask.
He was somewhat disgusted with himself:
If Gamo-chan hadn't shown up that day, in bare legs and 100 mm pumps, it's unlikely this whole mental-morass of his would be overflowing, reminiscent of some fiberglass outhouse, its drunken, music festival-level of unspeakable content too long unremoved…
To wit, he felt like a piece of garbage, this new yearning brought on by the (not so) mere sight of those calf muscles of hers…
All the flexing and twitching as she altered her stance or shifted her weight~… and the—
"Paisen!"
Naoto felt some longish thing, possibly a human arm, crudely barring his path. "Der…?"
Clearing his glazed-over sight, it was an arm—Gamo-chan's—and he'd been saved from running face-first into a lamppost.
"Ack!" He backed off a step, the metal only about 30 cm in front of him.
She'd JUST caught him…
Watching her space cadet senpai take a calming breath, Gamo-chan shook her head.
"You're lucky I looked over, dude…" she tried to not chuckle, but she did, though in mild horror. "You gotta stop spacing out like that."
He'd been guilty of it HOW MANY times in the last month…?
"Thanks, Gamo-chan…" he breathed out. "That would've sucked."
"A broken nose at the beach? You bet…" she gave into a bit of freer laughter. "Would've sucked ass~…"
Naoto was still getting his bearings. "…"
"You okay?" Gamo-chan cocked her head. "You've been drifting off into 'Paisen paradise' a lot tonight."
He had been distracted, here and there, though not to the degree he'd nearly flattened his face…
He had to get it together.
It was imperative that he pull himself out of the muck, his less than pure thoughts probably leading him to disaster…
Conversely, he could say truthfully—with great mellowness, "Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry, just a lot going on. I'll try to focus better."
With the day he'd had, he had very little to complain about…
He may well have been the happiest he'd been in well over a week.
It was hard to beat having brunch with Sakura and Hana… and placing the omamori, all three of them contributing…
For him, it was a tough call. "…~"
Had he been in a more fragile state, which had been a recent problem, he probably would've broken down crying, the sheer joy he was experiencing flooding out of him…
…
"…?!" As concerned as she was that her idiot senpai might fall into an open manhole or meet a similarly stupid fate, Gamo-chan was astonished at the serenity he'd gained, upon "waking up".
He marched on, oblivious. "…~"
So much for focusing better…
As much as she liked seeing him achieve a zen-ish state, she couldn't let him go to the beach in a wheelchair, so she jostled him.
"Hey, Paisen, cut it out," she bade, touching his shoulder. "C'mon!"
"Ey-gyuh!" He startled, stiff as starch.
She recoiled. "Heek!"
Naoto shook it off. "What is it?"
Gamo-chan lowered her arms, having raised them automatically.
"You were spacing out again!" she scolded. "Stop it."
He shut his eyes tight, worked his face, and reopened his voyeurs. "Right…"
"…"
"…"
"What, do I have to keep talking? So you won't run into something?" she asked in all seriousness.
Naoto pinched the bridge of his nose; the indentations from his glasses' nose-pieces had never gone away. "No, no, no… I'm good."
Doubtful…
"What's this you got on your mind?" Gamo-chan knew entangling with it might not serve her well, but she was more than interested in whatever had Naoto pretending at a zombie. "What is it?"
He knew—for cocksure—what was on his mind, and being compelled to properly answer should've sent his balls ducking for shelter, but it didn't faze him, at least not that badly.
He dearly wished he could say it without turning red, but maybe he'd get there someday.
"There's something I wanna ask you…" he said. "But I'm not sure how to do it."
It wasn't a proper response, but the two of them had been through enough in the last month, he could, at a minimum, tell her what the problem was.
"…!" Gamo-chan hadn't anticipated this… or for him to say much of anything.
Naoto hadn't slowed down, even when she'd surprised him. "…"
He wasn't overly keen on making eye contact with her…
Neither was she, yet a part of her longed for it.
She leaned in, not wholly mirroring his crimson complexion. "Paisen?"
"…" He gave pause.
This really shouldn't have been difficult, given what the two of them had shared…
Irrespective, he had other things on his mind too, and it wouldn't hurt to voice them.
If starting elsewhere was leading her into a "trap", then…
He dismissed this. It wasn't like he needed to ask her the question; it could wait if it had too.
He wouldn't force it… just like he didn't wish to force the development of the "chill" he and his friend wished to improve…
…
'Oh, what the Hell…?' he resolved. "I… I was thinking of asking you to model for me."
He'd said it! Sort of…
"You what?" Gamo-chan yelped.
He was "thinking"…?
'Fuck that…' He chose honesty. "I want you to model for me, Gamo-chan… sometime… if you're okay with it."
"I-I-I…" she blathered, now surpassing the sort of blush he carried. "Uh…"
"You don't have to answer right now." Naoto was stunned at how painless that had been (for him). "If you wanna think about it, there's no rush."
"…!" She gaped. "P-Paisen…"
"Please, do think about it," he implored. "We can talk about it some other time."
"…?!"
"…"
"…" Gamo-chan shivered. "Okay…"
The redness in Naoto's face faded a good deal, and he smiled. "Yeah… it's no rush."
"…Okay…" The same couldn't be said for the young lady, fingers winding into the power suit jacket she carried.
…
Naoto's mother had said it hurt less if you pulled off the bandage quickly.
This wasn't always true, but it was in this case, going in with little preamble…
He knew a weight off his shoulders, but he felt decidedly… consistent, though that probably wasn't the best term available.
If only he'd known what an obstacle he'd just negotiated… like, ACTUALLY realized it…
He didn't give it much more thought though, relieved and satisfied with leaving that behind them.
There were still the OTHER things on his mind…
And he'd gladly share them with her, the lot of it being pattycake in comparison.
If they helped her loosen up and level out some, then all the better…
Naoto was rather "loosey-goosey", riding the wake of his small triumph.
But, as with his other machinations, he didn't want to make a goal out of it.
Gamo-chan was a great girl… and a great friend…
He wouldn't play stupid games with her, but he'd go with the flow, full of helium, mixing metaphors of air and water..
If only he'd noticed she was gawking at him, like he'd fallen out of the sky, stood up, dusted himself off, lit a cigarette, and told her he was Mark Twain…
She wasn't sure where this Paisen had come from. "…?!"
…
Naoto did go with the flow, uncharacteristically so, not really thinking where it might take him.
"Gamo-chan…" he hailed.
She peeped, "Y-yeah?"
"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything yesterday…" He'd been wanting to say this to her. "I think I said too much yesterday."
She happened to disagree, "Uh, no… I don't think you did… saying too much…"
The line wasn't an easy one to define though…
"I was worried I did," he expressed. "I didn't mean to."
"…"
"…"
"Well, maybe you did." She wasn't entirely against it.
He ho-hummed, "Yeah… sorry about that…"
"…~" Gamo-chan didn't hate that he had. "I'd be lying to you if I said it wasn't kinda wack, but… it did make me happy~…"
"Zoinks!' This may have been the closest to breaking he'd been that night, barring how worked up he'd gotten back at the sandwich shop. "Uh…"
Gamo-chan beamed in a benign direction. "…~"
It was odd for her.
By no means could this be called easygoing, what she was going through.
But she felt… safe.
She felt safe with her Paisen…
This was a prerequisite, if she were to remark, "Other than my dad and the family… and my friend Satoru I told you about, you're the only guy that ever told me that… that I was pretty…"
"…!"
"…~"
Naoto could've done anything, but instead of thrashing in the water, he went with the flow, not fighting the current.
He knew a warmth, a thing he'd felt with Sakura, the times she'd mentioned her father… whom he'd had the pleasure of meeting once… whom she loved very much.
"You seem pretty close to your dad," he opined.
She offered a bubbly grin. "You think so?"
"Yeah, seems that way…"
"What makes you say that?"
'Fair question…' Naoto reasoned.
Some of it was simply that Mrs. Gamo had told him so, over beef stew and carrot cake.
Although, he could TELL how highly she thought of her old man, how much she adored him, just by listening to her…
He saw no reason to hide his motive, his comment partially spurred by what she'd said, his having picked out that one thing. "I was just thinking about Sakura-san… how she talks about her dad. They're really close."
"You've met him?" Gamo-chan wondered.
Naoto had never told her; she'd merely guessed.
He provided, "Yeah, once, when they were out on a walk."
"He's a pretty cool guy…" She happened to know from experience. "I've met him a couple times, same deal. They really like walking together, it seems."
The way Sakura doted and hung on him struck him as such. "Oh, yeah."
"She's a true daddy's girl, Paisen~… not that I'm not…" she simpered. "I think you'd like my dad~."
"Would I?"
"Prolly…"
"…"
Rather than continue with her own father, "You've only met Sakura's dad? Not her mom? Or Yoichi?"
"Nope, just her dad… It sounds like they have a fun household, her dad being so handy and stuff."
She felt the same. "Most definitely, not that I've been to her house or anything. And I've never met her mom either, but I have met Yoichi. Sakura's definitely met my family… and she's visited a bunch of times. I'm pretty sure that Riko has a massive case of the old puppy love for Sakura~. He can join the club, right~?"
No doubt there's quite a list, unwritten, as it likely was…
Naoto was curious to know more about Yoichi; he knew next to nothing about him, other than he was in his sixth year of elementary school.
He always came up blank when he tried to envision the boy…
But Gamo-chan rolled along, and he didn't pursue.
It seemed just a BIT off to him… talking so much about another girl, when he was already entertaining one…
She said, "If you hang around, Paisen, I'm sure you'll meet Riko and Himari; I'd like that~…"
When he thought about it, he didn't really know anything about them either, other than Riko was a first-year in middle school and Himari was a fifth-year elementary school kid.
No more than he knew of Yoichi…
"I think that'd be fun," he matched, changing his tune, unsung to her.
The day before, hadn't he been overwhelmed enough, just meeting Mama Gamo…?
And the thought of meeting her father?
Big, tough, 185 cm, gym owner/operator PAPA Gamo…?!
He didn't doubt Mr. Gamo was an interesting man, but maybe he wasn't ready for that.
"…~" Eldest daughter Gamo seemed pleased to hear the words he had said. "If we weren't getting together the big group on Saturday, I'd prolly drag them along to the beach, but neither of them are big on the outdoors…"
Naoto didn't consider the beach to be the outdoors, but it did strike him as odd, compared to their big sister.
"They don't?" he propelled the dialog forward.
"Ohhhhhh, no," Gamo-chan chortled. "All Riko seems to wanna do is build models… and all Himari wants to do is draw art and read books."
"Your mom did say Himari liked art…" Naoto afforded.
"She sure does…"
"What sorta models does Riko build?" He'd only ever had the patience to do a few snap-together Gundams.
Gamo-chan shrugged. "Name it. You name it, he's built it. You oughta see his room. It looks like one of those hobby shops you see in the otaku part of the big city. I think it looks cool, and he really likes it, but I really don't know a thing about it."
He remembered, "Your mom said Himari might be going to my old middle school, and not the one you and the others did."
Even Riko went to their old school…
"She said that?" Gamo-chan raised an eyebrow, a leer cropping up.
"…?!" Had he said something wrong? "…Yes…"
For a few seconds, she observed him, but she went back to eyes front. "Yeah, she might be…"
Naoto didn't know what was up, but he wouldn't push it.
The air smelled of danger…
The apparently innocuous question had riled something in the tall girl, but he couldn't imagine the "what" or "why" of it.
What had just happened…?
…
Whatever it was, the atmosphere didn't last.
*Beep!*
Naoto checked his phone, the source of the noise.
He'd set up his phone to chime every hour, on the hour, barring when he was at school or overnight.
It helped give him a sense of perspective…
As he stared at his phone, Gamo-chan saw the same thing he did:
It was 8:00 p.m.
"Fuck, the buses!" Naoto swore. "We're missing them!"
But Gamo-chan was no longer beside him, and he found he was talking to thin air.
"C'mon, Paisen," she called from over her shoulder, trotting in place, her bag and suit jacket bobbling about. "Hurry up!"
He didn't need to be told.
"Shit!" Pocketing his phone, he hefted his own bag and took off after her.
…
…
…
"Hurry!" Gamo-chan panted, ahead but not leaving Naoto behind.
He wheezed, moving about as fast as he could, "I'm… hurrying…!"
His lungs were already burning, his shins already splinting, despite the short run.
When they'd realized the time, they were only a half-block away from the bus stop.
They could still make it, the buses usually waiting an extra moment or three, because all the city's routes reduced to one stop per hour, and it would be 9:00 p.m. before the next scheduled stop.
And it seemed they did make it, the city's buses lined up on the street, waiting for their passengers to begin boarding.
Gamo-chan's bus was there, but it was still in the queue, sitting in the no-loading zone, waiting for a couple buses ahead to pull away, allowing for it to move up.
She had a couple minutes yet~…
"Phew… good." She really wasn't keen on missing the bus.
Sadly, the same couldn't be said for Naoto's.
His bus wasn't in the line, but a bus was disappearing around the corner, having already left.
"…!" He'd missed the bus… again!
"Oh, damn…" Gamo-chan was seeing the same thing he did.
Seriously?!
The only reason Naoto had missed the 6:00 bus was because it had left two minutes early, passing right in front of the karaoke club.
The night had been far from a bust, but he'd nevertheless missed the first bus…
And now, the 8:00 bus had left "on time", meaning the driver had broken the unspoken rule of waiting a couple minutes before driving off.
"…!" Naoto festered at his lousy luck, though it wasn't bad luck that led to this. "Crap…"
This time, it was his own fault; he hadn't been paying attention…
"Oh, Paisen, I'm sorry…" Gamo-chan regretted. "I wasn't thinking about the time."
He was pissed, but it wasn't the end of the world.
Heaving a sigh, he tried to let it go, "Hoo… It's not your fault, Gamo-chan; I wasn't thinking about the time either…"
"…"
"…"
"So… what are you gonna do?" Gamo-chan asked.
'I could call my dad or something… maybe my mom…' he figured.
He could've, but he didn't want to.
They were probably taking their baths or sharing a bottle of wine, the Wednesday they'd just completed a long one…
He wasn't about to burden them, and he didn't feel like springing for a taxi. "I'll just wait here, I guess…"
He had bought the latest volume of Paradise Harem before dinner, and he could run into the closest store for a cold beverage, if he liked.
Keeping himself entertained for an hour wouldn't be difficult…
"…"
"…"
"Hey, Paisen…" Gamo-chan said.
He turned. "Yeah?"
"…" She picked at a piece of lint on her pencil skirt. "Why don't you come with me to my house?"
Was he hearing things…?
He must've been. "Huh…?"
A redness having nothing to do with the brief dash to their goal shown on her. "Come with me to my place. I don't think my parents would mind."
He couldn't…
He couldn't trespass two days in a row. "Naw, I'll just wait."
That was the first thing he had to say…?!
"Why not?" she asked, in all seriousness.
Naoto tried to illustrate his point, "I was… yesterday… don't wanna impose…"
"You weren't imposing yesterday…" Gamo-chan was able to read between the lines.
"…!" He didn't have much else against the idea, but…
"You could watch a movie with us…" she suggested. "I guess I never said, but my dad had a home theater built… with those recliners you see in real theaters. Riko and Himari are home too. We were gonna watch something together. Just got a message from Riko, saying they wanna start about 9:30."
"…!" This… was tempting to him.
She wasn't bragging about her family being rich as shit; she was inviting him…
"We just picked up a new Blu-ray of Incredibles 2," she sweetened the deal. "That's what we were planning on. I never got to see it in the theater, but Riko and Himari liked it. You could watch it with us."
Naoto ruminated, "…"
He'd sweated a little, running to where they were, and it only increased, the situation building.
If he went, that might mean meeting Mr. Gamo…
Gamo-chan continued, "My mom doesn't drink or anything, so I bet she'd be able to give you a ride later… I think she'd be fine with that…"
"…" He pictured himself, lounging in one of those sweet recliners, sharing a bucket of popcorn with the girl currently appealing to him. "…!"
And he'd meet her siblings too.
Was Himari a Gamo-chan in mini…? Was Riko already tall like their father…?
"We could call you a cab too, if that's what it came to," Gamo-chan amended her previous statement. "I could pay up front…"
Naoto forced himself to meet her gaze.
It was that hopeful sort of look, the sort she'd given him before, each time she'd asked him to come to some event she was "catering"…
'Holy…' He wasn't impervious to her pleading eyes.
She really wanted him to come…
And he kind of wanted to go.
He really—
*Hiss! Choo! …Roooooaar…!*
Naoto's head spun at the sound of relieved airbrakes and the gunning of a diesel engine.
It was his bus…! He could see it on the sign by the windshield…!
"Oh, nice…" he breathed, so pleased was he.
He hadn't missed the bus; the driver had just been a few minutes late.
The bus would be at the back of the queue, so…
He'd be home in 20 minutes, if traffic wasn't bad, once he got aboard the bus.
Gamo-chan's bus was about to pull up in the queue.
She needed to get moving…
Naoto couldn't forget that he had an early Thursday, the stupid school pool and his gym teacher waiting for him to show up at 6:30 a.m., ready, willing, and able to clean said stupid, everfucking pool.
As great as this sounded, movie night with the Maki, he'd have to take a raincheck…
He shifted, rotating towards his bus, supposing it was finally time to say goodbye.
He'd swivel back Gamo-chan's way and see her off…
But before he could, two fast hands, smaller than his, wrapped firmly around his nearest wrist.
"Paisen, wait!" Gamo-chan cried.
"…!" His blood ran cold, her clammy grip enough to stop a man in his tracks.
Completing his aforementioned swivel, a meek-looking girl came into his sight.
She shrank, stunned and dismayed at her own outburst.
Naoto's mouth worked, "G—"
She didn't wait for him to speak.
She'd seen his bus pull up too…
Doing her best to recover her brief loss of control, she took a more measured run at it.
"Hey…" unable to meet his scrutiny, she murmured, developing a renewed "boxing glove" red. "If you wanna come, the offer still stands."
"…!" Now that he thought about it, he hadn't given her any sort of answer.
She'd been doing all the talking…
Naoto found this wasn't some "soup or salad?" situation.
Staring down at her, all he could see of her face was obscured by her hair, straight and fragrant.
She no longer clung like a limpet, but she hadn't let go, her palms sticky with a cold sweat.
…
He wanted to go, and she wanted him to go, and he hated not having a moment to think it over.
However…
…
Until just 15 seconds ago, he'd been ready to say "yes"…
But… something was different, now that the bus was there.
Now that… that THIS had happened…
…
It was impossible to place, but a little voice, somewhere, deep inside, shouted… "danger".
It must've been his gut…
He trusted his gut more than he trusted his heart—certainly more than his balls—but not as much as his brain.
Unfortunately, his brain didn't have a whole lot to say, not now.
…
If he went, then…
…
What his gut told him didn't always mesh with reality, but…
He'd listen to his instincts, even if it left her sad…
And his instincts told him, "Uh, sorry, Gamo-chan. It sounds great, but I've been up since before 7:00 a.m., and I have to be up at dawn tomorrow… Got some work I need to help with… I'm tired… need to sleep…"
To his relief, Gamo-chan's face didn't fall, but her hands fell from his wrist, and she slowly stood to full height, drying her palms on the hips of her skirt.
She merely sighed, brushing her hair from her eyes, a defeated smile raised, saying, "Yeah, I guess I can understand that. Too bad though…"
If anything, she was happy that her senpai had given her an out, letting her down easy…
"Sorry…" Naoto said. "Today just got to be long…"
"Hey, it's cool…" she excused. "Speaking of getting up early, that sounds like a good idea. I have to be at school, first thing tomorrow, for that stupid tourney. I think I'll turn in early too."
Naoto was beyond well aware of the judo tournament.
She'd been complaining about it since Monday…
"Some other time…" he recommended. "We could watch a movie some other time."
It came out with a smile, and he was rewarded by hers increasing.
"Yeah~…" she burbled. "Sounds good."
"…"
"…"
"You good?" Naoto might've known better than to ask.
"Yeah…" She was good. "Sorry about… that… I got excited…"
"No problem," he replied. "Not like I haven't done the same…"
She had been on the receiving end. "Yeah… You know it~…"
"…"
"…"
"You'd better get going," he advised. "Your bus is starting to load."
"Yup, yup." She adjusted her cargo. "Just make sure you're on Line tonight at 9:00, okay? Sounds like everyone else will be."
They were planning on divvying out their "assignments", what each member of their group was supposed to supply for the beach trip…
"I gotcha," he promised. "Were you able to get ahold of Sunomiya?"
She playfully smote her own forehead. "Right… I forgot to tell her earlier… Now, she's not getting back to me… Prolly busy… I'll make sure she has something to do."
"Cool~…" he responded.
She told him, "I think me or Yoshi can bring a grill… Whatever, we'll talk about it in an hour~."
With that, Naoto watched Gamo-chan board her bus, and a moment later, she was down the road, rounding the corner.
…
"Phew…!" he wheezed, knees suddenly wobbling.
He'd JUST BARELY held it together…
'What the eff was THAT?!' He did not like what was happening to him.
It was that shitty… "GINGER ALE ON THE BRAIN" nonsense again…
It was barely noticeable, but it was there.
Everything was kind of… tingly…
His senses did swim, but they could "reach the bottom".
…
Naoto hadn't felt any anxiety, really, since the previous Monday. He certainly hadn't had any sort of attack.
Why now…?
…
He knew what it was to freak out; he'd done plenty of it, in his day.
Somehow, this was… DIFFERENT…
…
This WAS anxiety… but it was… not the "evil" sort…
He'd known it before, but he'd never felt it with anyone, other than—
…
Gamo-chan's offer had caught him off-guard.
The last couple minutes of his life had seemed to take forever, yet at the same time, they'd taken no time whatsoever.
It even seemed FRAGMENTED, like portions of it were missing…
He felt almost… cheated… like something had been cut short.
…
Why now…? What was wrong with him…?
…
He knew why, and he knew what, not that any of it was readily distinguishable:
Something… had just felt off.
If he'd said "yes" and gone with her…
He had trouble putting it into concrete terms.
…
It really was what he should've done, healthy and responsible, electing to go home and get some rest, but that wasn't why he'd declined her invitation.
After she'd grabbed him, something had just… felt off… like something… would CHANGE… if he went with her…
…
Naoto felt like a coward.
But it wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last.
…
In spite of, DEEP DOWN, he knew he wasn't so chickenhearted…
He was a senpai, and he had some wonderful kohai, and he hoped to do his best by them.
He just wished for more consistency.
He'd keep working on that…
…
Per contra, he'd just get on his bus and go home.
…
…
…
Thursday, July 26, 2018
Present Day…
Naoto's eyes shot open, a pressure behind his prostate, and it wasn't because he was having a wet dream.
'Gotta pee!' His lil' Naoto might've said the same thing.
He stood up and headed to the can.
Why hadn't he just gone to the bathroom, one last time…?
'Because you were too lazy, and you KNEW you could pee again, but you didn't have to pee THAT BAD…' was his comeback.
No matter, he took a leak, noting that both of his balls were in their proper place, and once he was back in his room, he flopped onto his bed.
He grasped that he hadn't checked the time, so he looked:
11:30 p.m.
"Shit…" he whispered to himself.
He'd been rather beat after a day of cleaning the pool, so he'd gone to sleep rather early, and now he was wide awake.
He hadn't gone to bed THAT early…
If he went to bed at 6:00 and woke up at midnight, he could understand that, but this was ridiculous…
At least he'd removed his contacts…
…
As wide awake as he felt, Naoto could tell he'd be able to fall back to sleep, and it would be soon enough.
It was a few minutes after midnight, and his attempts to occupy himself hadn't really worked.
He'd tried finishing a chapter of the new Paradise Harem volume, but he just couldn't get into it, so he'd been lying on his back for the better part of a half-hour, reflecting on whatever showed itself before his consciousness.
…
First, his thoughts had drifted to one of his earlier conversations with Gamo-chan, the night prior.
He wondered IF Gamo-chan would be able to forgive Rabi-chan, at least enough to invite her to the beach…
He reasoned this was something she could deal with on her own.
It had been for the best that he'd kept that from Sakura and Hana, though it was never far away, the thought…
…
Speaking of Sakura, he rather wished he'd congratulated her on her coinage of the term "cry truck", the one that had plowed into Gamo-chan.
Then again, he DID laud her the night before…
They'd spoken every day of the week, save Tuesday.
Or HAD they spoken Tuesday…?
It melted together in Naoto's head, and he wasn't sure.
…
And speaking of Hana, learning that Gamo-chan had literally begged her to not hate Nagatoro should've sent him into a tailspin, but after a little more living and learning, it was "just one of those things".
It was a PRETTY BIG thing, but…
He supposed he'd have to live with it.
It would be a miserable business if Hana was against Nagatoro, but he wasn't as worried as he probably should've been, even if it was what it was.
"…" he turned it over a few times.
Another wise tidbit from Sakura was the simple yet profound idea that not everyone needed to be friends.
What she'd said gave SOME comfort, but if Hana DID hate Nagatoro, and Nagatoro hated her back…?
He couldn't imagine anyone benefitting from that, but a part of him reasoned that Gamo-chan would've done well to have heard Sakura's words as well, if only because it might've been all there was.
…
Naoto recognized he'd largely done his best with the lousy Monday they'd all suffered through, the first day of final exams.
One thing that ate at him, he'd discovered, was how easily he kept forgetting the blatant disrespect Nagatoro had shown Hana that day.
Hadn't he asked Nagatoro to try and be friendly with Hana?
That hadn't done much, so it seemed…
As far as he was concerned, Hana had done nothing wrong, not explicitly.
But demanding that Nagatoro leave them—and leave the art room entirely—had been a jump…
Still, he needed to remember why Hana had done what she'd done.
It was impossible for him to forget the initial deed, Nagatoro stamping his foot, especially when he took a step.
It no longer hurt, but every step, he was aware of it, that something still wasn't quite right down there.
…
What WOULD happen, if Hana decided that she and Nagatoro couldn't be in the same room…?
What if Hana decided that Nagatoro was no longer ALLOWED in the art room…?
Naoto could see Hana taking either stance, and if she did, he doubted he'd be able to do much about it, discounting anything ruinous. The power for the latter was in his hands, probably, but the former was up to Hana.
Sakura had said that Hana would go along with what HE wanted, but he'd known Hana a lot longer than Sakura had…
Hana might not be "above" such decisions, and he was sure of it.
He liked to think he respected Hana enough to know he had no right to expect her to do whatever he wanted, just because he was her senpai.
The messed up part was that she'd probably TOLERATE whatever he decided, even if she hated it with a silent, homicidal rage…
…
Did he not respect Hana enough…?
…
Did he just want Nagatoro to look better…?
…
"…!" He was aware that tormenting himself over this wouldn't get him very far.
He'd go back to sleep, hopefully sleeping WELL, and he'd do some homework in the morning…
There was only one time that he'd finished all of his summer homework before August, and he wouldn't mind having as carefree an August as possible, it being his last summer in high school.
Before that, he'd go for a walk.
After cleaning the pool for a bulk of the day, he was too sore for a productive run, but he'd make sure to get some exer—
*Chirp!*
Naoto didn't jump at the noise, but it did pull him from "Paisen paradise", or whatever Gamo-chan had called it.
He unlocked his phone, and—
Speak of the Devil…!
The message was from Gamo-chan.
Why was she contacting him at this hour…?
Rather than complain or overthink this, he opened his phone, eager to see what she'd sent him.
…
G. Hey, Paisen, you awake?
…
He wondered the same thing.
…
N. Yes. Why are you awake?
G. I was tired as Hell after the tourney, so I went to sleep as soon as I was done with dinner.
N. That's what happened to me. I was wiped from today, so I went to sleep a few hours ago, and now I'm up again.
G. Seems we're each other's spirit animal tonight. Sucks it's not something better~.
N. What's up?
G. Just wanted to talk with someone. I wasn't sure if you were sleeping or not, so I didn't call.
N. Much appreciated, but I'm very much awake.
G. I realized we hadn't touched base since last night, so I just wanted to say "hi".
N. It's fine. How'd the tournament go?
G. You have to bring that up? That's seriously the first thing you dive into? It sucked big, fat, ugly cock, what do you think~? I had to waste a whole day at school.
N. It wasn't the first thing.
G. You know what I mean.
N. You are a club member, Gamo-chan.
G. How about you eat what the tourney nursed upon~?
N. I'll pass.
G. Not hungry~?
N. I'm not thirsty either, so don't ask.
G. Ha!
N. But seriously, how did everything go today?
G. I guess it wasn't so bad. All I had to do was stand around in my gym clothes and move a few things. They fed us a nice lunch and gave us lots and lots of snacks.
N. That's good.
G. Hey, got a question.
N. What?
G. First, sorry for making fun of wanting to borrow your harem series.
N. Don't sweat it. No big deal.
G. Seriously though, I would be interested in reading some manga. I haven't done it much lately, other than when I steal Riko's Jump every week for a couple of series. It's kind of a hobby of mine~.
N. I hope you let him have first crack at it.
G. I do. What, you think I'm some sort of monster~?"
N. Never said that.
G. It's just that there's nothing I want to watch on TV this summer, so I'll have time. Can you think of some series I might like? I might ask Tohru-kun and Shuu-kun too.
N. I think they'd both be happy to recommend something. I'll think of something too. I've definitely got some stuff you could borrow. Message me tomorrow, and I'll have a few ideas.
M. No kinky stuff, please~.
N. I think I'll be able to find something you like.
G. I'm looking forward to it.
N. Kuwge
G. WTF was that?
N. Sorry. Hand fumbled and hit the send button.
G. Okay. Hey, I got something you should check out. watch?v=sfn5tmTLixI&list=PLrFuHJgrjqU-xLBTdJKK-FzpIq3ljpfxk&index=52
N. What is it?
G. Something adorable~. Check it out once we're done.
N. I'll look.
…
He didn't want to watch it for a while though.
This was a perfectly fine way to lull him back to sleep~…!
He'd been about to ask they turn this into a video call, but he liked this too.
…
She wanted an interesting manga…?
Maybe, he'd lend her Berserk. He was sure she'd enjoy it.
There was some messed up stuff in it, so he'd be sure to warn her.
But he'd think about it…
There were a few things she might like. "…~"
…
Summer vacation was already a week in…
And with the prospects of the beach… the festivals coming up… whatever else August held in store, it felt like summer really was there.
The next day would be an easy one for Naoto:
It was Friday, and he had nothing to do but tackle his homework and prepare for the beach trip (and pick something out for Gamo-chan to read).
But for now, he'd chat with Gamo-chan for a bit.
…
Maybe he SHOULD ask for a video call…
He wouldn't mind seeing her face~.
…
Yes, Naoto was in no rush, having the whole Friday to do what he needed… and what he wanted.
He'd get back to sleep, eventually…
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading!