🌸Cherry Blossom Palette: Summer by the Sea🎨
Chapter 26: To Be a Senpai [Part One]
Sunshine Arc
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
ED: I'm having my editor post the promo for this chapter on Reddit on Nagatoro Monday, so stop by and say hello to PS if you're on that platform.
…
I'm a bad girl, readers. I (yet, yet again) moved a couple of story elements forward, almost last minute, but PS didn't disagree with my choices. When I do this now, things will be smoother in the future.
If you've become familiar with me, this means the chapter got to be huge, and I decided to divide it into two. I could drop one giant chapter, but I'd rather do two.
Even if this gets us just one week ahead of schedule, I'm good with that.
In Chapter 28 (sorry again), Naoto and his friends will hit the beach! Prepare for sun, fun, shenanigans, and even a surprise cameo or two.
…
THIS time and next time, Naoto mulls a few things over and learns anew some of the ins and outs of being a senpai.
He has a little one-on-one time with a couple of the girls, and that's usually good reading.
He also must contend with a small nighttime problem he's been dealing with since the beginning of this sequel story.
If you enjoy my editor's twisted terminology I make him embellish stuff with, you'll find a few things to like.
…
*If anyone is interested in creating art for this story, me or my editor would love to hear from you. We can't pay you, but we'd love to have you.*
…
Ask us anything, and we'll add a Q&A section in the next chapter.
It's good to know that you keep reading, so I would be happy if you drop comments and ask questions.
Please enjoy what I wrote.
Friday, July 27, 2018
Though he'd been asked, Naoto Hachioji had passed on Sakura Inori's and Hana Sunomiya's invitation to join them for "girly stuff", whatever that entailed.
He trusted it was nothing TOO out of this world, if they both saw fit to invite him…
They'd split up just before 4:00 p.m., their shopping trip over, and Naoto had gone home, though one more significant event had played out before he'd hopped on his own bus.
That little elephant in the room could wait…
He hoped it was the right decision, that is, the one about parting ways with Sakura and Hana, but there wasn't much point in fussing over it.
He'd decided, and that was that…
There had been only two other decisions he'd wanted to make the rest of the day, and one of them was whether or not to jack off before going to bed.
He'd decided NOT TO, thank you very much~…
Lil' Naoto, under pressure of seemingly unprecedented nocturnal emissions—and all the conscious beating of the meat performed, had been pounded to shit over the past week.
He'd barely thought about it, spending the afternoon shopping with the girls, but wow, had he rubbed his pecker raw, and boy, did it ever sting.
…
It was ABNORMAL, what he was going through…
Even at the pinnacle of his teenage wet-dreaming, a couple years earlier, he hadn't had so many at any given time than he'd had in the last week.
He had no idea what had come over him…
And to combat their increasing frequency, he'd been choking the chicken more than he ever had, and despite the logic that feeding the geese during the day would alleviate his sleepy-time problems, it had apparently done diddly-doo in diminishing the off-white wave, his own nightly tide faithfully rolling in, as if it had been doing so for eons.
Maybe a week was too short a time to make a claim of such a "personal best", but it WAS unparalleled, as far as he could tell.
In any case, his desire to not wake up with another handful of goo was so strong, he'd resolved to take precautions.
Armed with a heavy application of petroleum jelly, a pair of shorts he didn't care about ruining, and a pair of old socks to restrict his hands, he'd be ready to face the sandman.
He fleetingly thought of chastity-belts, and if such garments were still obtainable…
…
The other decision he'd been up to making was how he was going to spend the rest of his Friday of loafing, and he'd done a couple things.
He'd read a few chapters of Paradise Harem, gotten together the stuff—including the volumes of Berserk for Maki Gamo—he'd be bringing to the beach, and he'd been about to watch a couple episodes of anime he'd recorded or pop in a video game, but he'd received an unforeseen call, which he'd just answered.
"Hey, Gamo-chan," he greeted. "You doing okay?"
"I'm good~," she responded, her smile visible due to their video call. "A little zonked though… To make up for not being around tomorrow, I spent most of the day at the gym, helping out the part-timers."
"Must've been a long day…"
"Aw, it was okay, Paisen. I was able to get some stuff done, and it freed me up for the weekend~.
"Nice," Naoto said. "Sunday too?"
"Well, Sunday is part of the weekend~. We're usually open for a while on Sunday afternoons, but it's usually just a skeleton-crew watching the place."
"Sure."
"Oh, hey, did you see that video I sent you~?"
"Which one…?" Naoto didn't want to roll his eyes, but it was a close call.
"The bat one," she replied.
Which SPECIFIC bat video…?!
Since he'd reached the same consensus on most of the bat videos, he nodded. "Yeah, I did. Tell me, do fruit bats do anything besides argue with each other…?"
"Well, they also eat, sleep, make whoopie, and go to the bathroom but not much else. Apparently, they argue and fight more than any other mammal… y'know, besides humans…"
"I can see that." Naoto wasn't getting tired of all the cute animal videos Gamo-chan kept sending him, but there sure had been a lot of them.
He supposed she might've not been used to having someone to share them with, and she may have just been excited.
Maybe he was wrong, but he couldn't picture Gamo-chan sending what she'd been sending him to Yoshi Yamazaki.
He could've been very wrong, but he just couldn't see it.
Either way, she had him~…
He remarked, "What I really thought was funny was the one of that raven messing with that eagle."
watch?v=M02_0Dn3hcA
"Oh, I love that one~!" she gleed. "It's so cute~."
It HAD been cute… and risky for the corvid…
A raven at a zoo had perched beside an eagle—which was many times larger than it—and it pestered the bigger bird, nipping at it, mocking it, and even imitating its proud posture.
If Naoto didn't know better, the raven was purposefully putting on a show for the zoo-goers…
And he wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.
Ravens were the most intelligent birds, as far as he knew.
In fact, they were SO intelligent, they were known to make stupid decisions, plausibly knowing better in the first place…
…
"You ready for tomorrow?" Naoto asked Gamo-chan.
She simpered, "Oh, you know it~. I was gonna bring our portable grill, but the one Yoshi's family has is easier to move, and it's better than ours. It should grill up Tohru-kun's kabobs nicely~."
Tohru Hijikata had generously volunteered to make and bring steak-kabobs, as was well-known to the soon-to-be beachgoers.
"Yeah, that'll be good," Naoto shared in her ethos. "I've had them before. I think everyone'll enjoy the marinade he uses."
"Sweet~," Gamo-chan burbled. "As far as me though, I'm gonna bring a few balls—including a volleyball and net, a Frisbee or two, and a few games. You ever play beach-football~?"
"Like, American football beach-football?"
"Yeah~!"
"Uh… no…" He'd seen it in Eyeshield 21 though.
She snickered, "Well, we'll see what tomorrow brings~. We'll definitely do a little ultimate Frisbee. If we can find space to set up my net… we'll maybe even play a little volleyball."
"Alright…" Naoto wasn't good at it, but he thought the game was fun, especially since he didn't have to worry about breaking his glasses anymore, having switched to contacts.
And playing it with a bunch of pretty girls in bikinis~…
"Oh, and I'll make sure to bring you that manga I just messaged you about," he added. "And so will Sakura-san and Sunomiya, what they want to lend you."
"I appreciate it~."
"Uh… sorry about that, Gamo-chan… asking them about manga you might like… It just came out."
She shook her head. "It's fine. I don't mind those two knowing, not that some others don't. Hanacchi and I talked about it before. I never heard of a kid that doesn't read any manga over the summer."
"There can't be many…" Naoto figured. "I think you'll like what we picked out. The girls thought you would."
"Yeah… and still, don't tell me what you have, Paisen; I wanna be surprised."
"Sure…" He smiled. "I knew you read One Piece, but I wasn't sure about anything else."
"Oh, I have a few series I follow," she shared.
"…~!" Naoto was attracted like a moth to a flame. "Like what?"
"Well, I told you I talked with Hanacchi. We both read Perfect World."
"I… don't think I know that one."
"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me, unless you read the monthly Kiss."
"Uh, no, I've never read it. I've never really looked at anything josei…"
"I've never met another girl my age that reads Kiss, so I was surprised Hanacchi did. And Hanacchi buys it. I just read my mom's copy~. She's been reading it and other ladies' comics since she was a kid, and it's still a guilty pleasure for her, she says. I got curious about it a few years ago, so I started reading too."
"Oh…"
"Whoops, we went off on a tangent there… I was gonna tell you about Perfect World."
"Alright."
"It's about a 20-something-year-old who, years later, meets a senpai she had a crush on when they were in school. She meets him at one of those work mixers, like, where two companies socialize over a joint project."
'That's how MY parents met…' Naoto remained silent. "…"
Maybe he'd tell her that story someday; he'd told Sakura…
"And what happens, is her senpai had an accident during college she didn't know about, so she finds out he uses a wheelchair, 'cause he's a paraplegic."
"Hmm…" It didn't sound too interesting to him.
"It's about them reconnecting and dealing with everyone around them that don't think they should be together."
Naoto wanted to be interested, but he just wasn't. "Okay."
She must've picked up on this, because, "Yeah, I know it doesn't sound too exciting, but I like it~."
"That's what's important, I guess."
"It ended last summer, but Hanacchi and I both read Princess Jellyfish. You had to have heard of that one."
"I have. I saw a few episodes of the anime, but I never read it."
"We really liked that one. Maybe you should give it a chance. Hanacchi has all of the collected volumes, and I'll bet she'd lend them to you. A story about a bunch of girl otaku living together in a house where menfolk are forbidden~? Doesn't that sound fitting for a Paisen like you~?"
"Maybe…" Naoto turned his nose but allowed this, not about to deny it.
His fiery friend was often funny, so it was easier to laugh than stay sore…
Gamo-chan exuded, "But what I'm really looking forward to is this new series called Sweat and Soap~!"
"I… definitely haven't heard of that one."
"It only started at the end of spring, so it's really new," Gamo-chan said. "Hanacchi and I agreed to read it together so we can talk about it."
"That's nice."
"The premise sounds a little weird, but I think it'll be good, from what we've seen. Y'see, there's this mousy office lady, and she has some sort of condition where she sweats too much, and the only things that seem to help are the soaps and deodorants and cosmetics the company she works for makes."
"That does sound kinda different, Gamo-chan…"
"It gets weirder~. She meets this one guy when he literally 'sniffs her out', and he gets all obsessed with her scent~."
"…What…?!"
Gamo-chan chortled, "Yeah, he's a product developer for the company, so she serves as his muse~, and they become fast friends and then a couple too. It's sounds interesting, so we think it'll be fun. I've never read a seinen series before it."
'You're about to read Berserk too, so…' Naoto really hoped she'd like both. "What magazine is it in?"
"It's in D Morning," she answered.
"Oh…" He knew of it. "I've never bought that one, but you should be able to find it anywhere."
"Hanacchi already has the copies we'll need to start~!"
'Shit…!' Naoto tried picturing that, little, peculiar Hana standing in line, buying a stack of seinen magazines, surrounded by older men of varying status and repute. "That sounds interesting…"
"I'll buy the next couple issues, and we'll switch off-and-on. Should be a good time~."
"Cool."
"…"
"…"
"…" Gamo-chan squirmed.
Naoto wasn't sure why. "…?"
What had they gotten stuck on…?
Whatever was up, Gamo-chan suddenly and visibly cocked her head, her attention turned elsewhere.
"…?" Naoto wasn't stumped for long.
He could faintly hear Mrs. Gamo saying something, somewhere in the background, but all he could make out was Gamo-chan's given name, though her mother was obviously calling for her.
"Thanks, Mom, be right down!" Gamo-chan projected; she got back to Naoto. "Well, uh… I gotta go now, Paisen. Sounds like Yoshi just got here."
"Oh, right… it's Friday."
She did a little fist-pump. "Oh, yeah~! Friday night Disney Renaissance movie time~!"
"You're watching Aladdin and The Lion King tonight, right?"
"Yup~! Sorry to cut this short."
"That's alright. I'll see you tomorrow… Yoshi-san too."
"See ya, Paisen~!"
And with that, the Maki was gone, and Naoto's phone went back to main menu.
'Damn…' he scolded himself.
He sort of wished he'd asked Gamo-chan to give Yoshi and her mom his greetings.
It seemed a little too familiar, but…
…
"…" Naoto wasn't sure what to make of it.
That had been… odd…
He wasn't sure why Gamo-chan had called, but it had been welcome, seeing her face, hearing her voice, and knowing she was in good spirits.
Her week could've been better…
Odder to him—rather than the sudden call—was the subject matter.
He'd been struck with the whole "if someone had told me a couple months ago that (insert situation)" a great deal as of late, and…
Really, if he'd been told a couple months back that he'd be talking about cute animal videos and manga with Gamo-chan, he wouldn't have believed it…
This was the same girl who'd laughed at his crappy comic… and had been ready to shave his fluffy head… and had forced him to touch her "anpan-boob"… and had rubbed sunscreen all over his body, using her feet… and had put a "slave-collar" on him, crossing paths with him on a summer festival night…
More had happened since, but all of that had happened before last year's fall semester.
Granted, she hadn't acted alone…
He wondered if there was some sort of lesson to take away from all this.
There had to be…
No matter, he was absolutely happy that Gamo-chan and Hana had become pals—more so than he'd even thought they had—and had found something they could both enjoy.
Maybe he should just be happy that his friends are happy…
Deciding that was the easiest—and possibly the truest route, he'd try to adhere.
…
With that bit of skull-sweat out of the way, Naoto inserted a game that Shuu Aisho had lent him.
He could've viewed the anime he'd been raring to watch before Gamo-chan called, but a solo video game sounded more fun at the moment.
There were a few things he could've accomplished in the co-op game he was playing with both Shuu and Tohru, but it was nice to just do something for himself~.
So, sitting on the floor, he contentedly lounged against his mattress and played for a solid hour.
…
…
…
And play Naoto did, but there was always a small distraction in the eaves, visible with a glance and never far from the vanguard of his cognizance.
It was no detriment to his playing, but his eyes kept straying to the little scrap of paper, the one lying on his nightstand.
He constantly felt the urge to pick it up and read it again; all he had to do was hit the pause, set down the controller, stand up, pick up the paper, and read.
"…" Despite his insistence on sticking to two vital decisions that evening, there was that "one more significant event", having befallen him in a brief span between the girls boarding their bus and him boarding his.
Thus, there was a third decision that required his consideration:
He had to decide what in the world to do with that scrap of paper and all that went with it, but he could only do that after making out exactly what it was, because he straight-up didn't know exactly what it was.
It was a sound head-fuck…
"…" He had ideas, but this was revolutionary, at least for him.
Maybe he should increase the difficulty of the game… to better concentrate and not assault his Naoto-noggin with all that noise surrounding this third decision…
…
Thus, it was very welcome when a certain, agreed-upon time rolled around, and his phone went off again.
"…~!" With a rapture filling his senses, his unsteady hands halted his game.
He went for his phone.
He tried to keep his voice level, "H-hey, Sakura-san… how are you?"
"I'm doing fine, buddy o' mine~," she sounded from the other end. "Just took a shower~… and I made sure to finish up on time, just so I could make the date~."
'Don't say "date"!' He reeled. "You mean the time…"
"Tee-hee~," she trundled right along. "You good, Senpai-kun? You end up having that relaxing afternoon/evening you've been dreaming of?"
"Yeah, it's been nice~." He'd play with her a bit, swaggering in place, not that he could see her in this regular phone call. "Mom was home early and made a light dinner for us… I read a little manga… sat down to a game Shuu lent me… S'been good~."
"Heh-heh-heh~…" Sakura chortled. "So~!"
Naoto's insides writhed. 'Oh, what are you gonna do now…?!'
"What'd you think of the photobooth pics I sent you~?" she cackled.
He thought something about them, that's for damn certain…
…
…
…
Earlier that day…
Sakura prodded Naoto and Hana. "Get along, little artists~!"
"Seriously, Sakura-san, what are you doing…?" Naoto was getting tired of being herded. "I can move without you poking me."
Hana didn't seem to care, but she wasn't the one getting poked. "…"
She just went where she was told, at least in this case…
The bus stop was a 10-second walk away, and they had time, but Naoto had no idea what Sakura was up to.
They still had to get their purchases and stuff from the rented locker a storefront down too…
Before he could ask any more unnecessary questions, the gal steered him towards a photobooth.
"A photobooth…?" He stared at the small cubicle.
Sakura nudged him. "Well, it's sure not a soapland~."
It certainly wasn't…
"I thought we were done with pics," Naoto said.
"But you're not in any of them~!" she warbled. "We're taking some with all three of us~!"
"Yes, Hachioji-senpai, join us," Hana added. "Please do this with us, at least, since we're soon to part."
He wasn't really against it, but he'd never really liked photobooths, never getting what he wanted out of the machine.
Why they didn't just take a selfie on one of their phones, he didn't know…
"Sure, sure… I'll do it," he agreed.
If Hana wanted a picture with him, he wouldn't say "no"…
"Yay~!" Sakura cheered. "Just let me take care of everything."
Naoto would readily do that.
If she knew how to better work one of these things…
He was hustled into the booth and put in the back, standing up.
Sakura moved in beside him, and she sat down Hana on the bench in front of them.
Naoto wasn't a fan of the cramped conditions, but this would only take a moment.
However, he knew he was in for some sort of ridiculousness, suddenly finding a giggly Sakura whispering in Hana's ear.
'Oh, what now…?' he dreaded.
Hana looked up. "Really, Sakura-senpai…?"
"Yeah~, it'll be funny~!" She was digging around in her wallet.
Naoto was destined to never know what this was specifically, but it might've been a couple different things, as he'd soon find out.
After inserting the coins, the blonde got to work on the controls.
Naoto speculated as to what they'd do, not that Sakura kept them waiting long.
She declared, fiddling with the interactive screen, "First, we do a serious one… and then, we'll go from there~!"
That sounded dubious…
"Okay." Hana wasn't in conflict with the situation.
And Naoto didn't want to be, so he'd deal. "Okay."
"Great~!" Sakura was all smiles. "First—Senpai-kun, put a hand on Hana-chan's shoulder. I'll do the same. Let's make this a nice one~… something nice to remember the day~."
Naoto could go for this. "Sure thing."
He placed a hand on their kohai's shoulder, and Sakura followed suit.
The three of them facing the countdown, Sakura chirped, "I won't say 'smile', 'cause not all of us like to grin big~, but look… natural and happy~. Yeah~!"
Naoto chuckled, "Okay~."
He offered a pleasant smile, and he was sure the girls looked great~.
*click*
Sakura wasted little time in explaining the next.
"Another serious one," she said. "Same pose. One might be better than the other."
No problem…
They watched the timer and—
*click*
"Now, we do a silly one~!" Sakura broadcasted.
'Uh-oh…' Naoto was at the mercy of the Great Unknown.
The countdown for the next photo began.
Naoto wasn't sure what Hana would do, and he wasn't sure what he'd do, but he'd since removed his hand from Hana's shoulder, and—two or three seconds before the time was up—Sakura, giggly afresh, wrapped herself around his whole arm.
"Ack!" he yelped, plausibly giving the camera quite a face.
"You can't escape me~!" Sakura hung on him, squeezing his elbow between her lovely lady-lumps. "Senpai-kuuuuuuuuun~!"
*click*
…
…
…
Back to present…
"Man, I gotcha pretty good with that third pic, Senpai-kun~," Sakura chortled.
He had no words against this. "Yeah…"
She was laughing, but she said in all seriousness, "Thanks for doing that with us. I really wanted us to do photobooth pics today, and I know Hana-chan liked it~."
"I… liked it too," Naoto succumbed. "Today was a lot of fun~."
"Sure was~!" Sakura thundered. "I printed off a few sets of the pics, so we have copies. I'll get you yours soon~."
"Thanks~." He wasn't aware she'd done this.
He was pleased at the prospect of getting prints of what they'd taken, though he was at slight odds with a couple of said images.
The first two pics looked great, a senpai and his two kohai, well-fed, happy, and satisfied with a pleasant afternoon on the town.
Hana hadn't smiled, but she looked like she wanted to be there, so that was a win.
Sakura was beaming, and Naoto had the easygoing smile he thought didn't look so bad on him.
…
The third pic, the silly one, ended with him resembling the bride of Frankenstein, Sakura pretending at a limpet, and Hana doing "the shocker", gesturing with both hands, totally straight-faced, which made it all the funnier, Naoto had to admit.
He'd been worried the next one, another serious one, would have him looking a fright, but Sakura had doctored this one up, something he hadn't seen.
In fact, when the time came to edit the images, Naoto had been shooed out of the booth, allowing the girls their privacy to do whatever it was they'd be doing with the shots.
And he'd learned why Sakura had insisted on sending him pics of the pics when she and Hana were already safely down the road, wishing to "surprise him".
She had…
This other "serious" shot, in which he worried about looking awful, had been the only one modified.
"I wasn't ready for that one, Sakura-san," Naoto said of it.
It had been quite the modification.
Naoto had been given a bald head with a terrible mustache, Sakura appeared to have suddenly gained 50 kg, and Hana, between them, wore a baby bonnet on her head, sucking on a pacifier.
An Art Club (and friend) "family portrait"…
"Aww, I thought that one was oodles of fun~!" Sakura bolstered. "I thought it'd be a good laugh~."
He HAD laughed…
"Yeah~…" He grinned.
Sakura assured, "Don't worry. Hana-chan's not gonna put any of those on Line, and I won't post 'em anywhere either, but we might tack up a few in the art room~. And maybe my new BFF pics with Hana-chan~."
Naoto sighed, mostly amused, "Yeah, I guess that's okay…"
It was just some fun with his kohai…
And he genuinely wanted to see a physical copy of the last picture they'd taken together on display.
That one had been special~…
In this one, Hana sat, blushing and barely containing a smile, while Sakura huddled up, hugging around Hana's neck and nuzzling her; Naoto knelt down to join them, a faithful hand on Hana's shoulder and a happiness rarely evident clear in his expression.
It really was something~…
…
"Hey… Senpai-kun…" Sakura turned solemn.
"Uh… yeah?" He wasn't sure why.
"Those pics you took of Hana and me…" she breezed. "Thanks for that… They were really good, especially for off a phone~."
Woot!
"…!" Naoto sensed an invisible hand squeezing his heart. "Yeah, I… I'm happy for that."
"Really, buddy, I love how they turned out~!"
"Thanks, Sakura-san… I'm glad."
She quickly reverted to playfulness. "I gotta say though… I'm lookin' pretty fly right now too~."
"Are you~…?" He could stand a little banter with her.
It was awfully easy to joke around with her… and fun too~…
Sakura regretted, "I'd love to have a video-call again, but I'm not exactly decent at the moment~."
It could be REALLY fun…!
"This is fine." Naoto figured she was kidding around… but maybe she wasn't. 'I got to see plenty today anyway!'
"Oh, poo…" she chided. "Not even gonna offer a witticism, Senpai-kun~?"
"This is fine," he went for it. "I got to see plenty today anyway."
"How vulgar~!" she giggled. "You colossal asshole, you~…"
"You wanted a joke, Blondie." He shrugged, though she couldn't see it.
She exclaimed, "'Blondie'?!"
"You keep calling me an 'asshole', so I thought I'd come up with something of my own."
"Well, I guess that's fine~… but that wasn't a joke," she hee-hawed. "You did get to see this cherry-blossom deflowered~."
"It was at least humorous…" He liked to believe he was getting better at this sort of thing. "I think."
"Yeah~… Yeah, it was…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Sakura-san?" Naoto spoke up. "You still there?"
"Hey, Senpai-kun…"
"Yes?"
"Seriously, I am decent," she confessed. "Wanna change this to a video-call?"
'Yeah~!'
"Sure, that'd be nice." He held his horses, at least as far as the exterior went. 'Whoo-hoo! Two video calls with two girls in one night~!'
They made the switch.
And there she was~, no makeup, hair scraggly and damp, looking all sultry, lying on her back, on her BED~…!
'Wow…' Naoto was never not wowed by her natural beauty.
At least, HE thought she was beautiful, if a little rough-looking, the habitual tanning having that effect on her…
With a pleasurable countenance, a towel cradling the back of her head, Sakura gifted him a little smile. "Hey, sorry for giving you a little crap there… I should be more grateful, I suppose, you giving up your 'day off' to help a couple of girls shop~…"
Naoto could usually tell when she was joshing him, and she was half-serious, which might've been his favorite Sakura "default".
"It's alright, Sakura-san." He had no idea how many times he'd told her things were gravy between them. "I think I'll sleep well tonight~. I got everything ready for tomorrow. I'm gonna head out to the beach early, get a little exercise, and find us a good spot. I talked with Gamo-chan earlier. She said she's gonna bring a volleyball net, so I'll see what I can do."
"I kinda doubt we'll have the room to play a proper game; it's not like you can just stake out a giant rectangle in the sand and say, 'Stay away, ye space taker-uppers!' We might have better luck if we get in line for one of the nets the city put up."
He'd thought the same thing, though, "I'll see what I can do."
"Oh, speaking of Gamo-chan, Mom gave the okay for me to lend her Slam Dunk~. She just wants her to be careful with them."
"I'm sure she will be. I've already got the first two Berserk volumes packed up."
"Yeah, Volume 2 leaves off with Guts in a pickle with the Count, so I bet she'll wanna see more after that~."
"I imagine she will," Naoto reasoned.
"And Hana-chan has her Living Room Matsunaga-san books ready~." Sakura rearranged her towel, propping herself up a bit.
Naoto figured to just tell her, "I told Gamo-chan that we were bringing her some manga to read."
"You did?"
"I, uh… didn't want her to be surprised, y'know, if she wanted to keep it secret… or if she got steamed that I told you and Sunomiya about her search for a little summer reading."
"I'm sure she was good with it."
"Yeah, she was, thankfully."
"Hey, uh, totally off topic, but how's your sunburn?" Sakura rubbed the towel behind her left ear. "I didn't really think about it today… Any better?"
"It's about the same as last night…"
"So, not great, I take it?"
He switched the camera on his phone, showing her the tops of his feet, everything not covered by the straps of his flipflops a splotchy pink.
Doing so didn't seem like a big deal…
"Oof…" Sakura cringed. "That happened to Hana-chan, but she actually did tan fairly well. I mean, you saw it too, when she had her Birks off."
"Yep…" He'd seen that, but as with a lot of other things he'd seen that day, he'd made no goal of it.
"Does it hurt?" she tendered. "It looks like it does."
"It's not so bad." He'd been taking care of it. "It just really itches… It was driving me crazy today. My socks were like sandpaper…"
"Phew…" she whistled. "Sorry if that was a dumb question…"
"It's not. I've been using aloe since I got home."
"Just keep applying aloe, keep them aired-out, and you'll be fine in a few days."
"Yeah… been doing just that since yesterday."
"And for Godsakes, wear plenty of sunscreen tomorrow."
"Gladly."
"…~" Sakura took on a positively devilish mien.
'Aw, fuck…' Naoto knew he was in for something. "What is it?"
She pursed her lips. "Y'know what~…?"
The "what", whatever it was, stank of discord …
"Nope…" He was sure he was about to find out.
"Since you showed me yours, I'll show you mine~!"
"…?!" Naoto knew what that meant.
He experienced mild whiplash, meeting her next action.
He couldn't see the whole movement, but he suffered the rollercoaster ride.
Kicking up her legs, her knees reaching her ears, she rolled forward with the momentum, sitting herself up.
It was enough to put a crick in Naoto's neck. "…!"
She must've flipped the camera on her own phone, because the next thing he saw were her feet, resting at the foot of her bed, her legs stretched out.
"Here, check 'em out~!" She splayed her toes, giving the camera a few angles.
As with her face—and the other parts of her body, Naoto was never not wowed by how pretty they were, but things had changed from the day before.
"R-rainbow…?" he stuttered.
Sakura yukked, "Oh, yeah! The whole 'ROYGBIV', buddy~!"
Naoto… he could see that…
From the left, little toe to big toe, her nails were painted red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and it continued to the other foot, big to little, indigo, violet, red, orange, yellow.
"Whoa…" He didn't wish to sound like he'd been stunned, but it was quite a view~.
"Yeah, and here's what I did with my hands~!" she exalted.
She showed him her right hand, and its nails, little finger to thumb, were colored green, blue, indigo, violet, red.
"Ha~!" Naoto was positively tickled.
Sakura switched the camera back to her face. "The other hand just continues the pattern, but I don't have the final violet, 'cause, y'know, I'm not a circus act or anything~. I only got 20 digits, y'see."
Bemused, he had to say it, "That's pretty awesome, Sakura-san~."
"Yeah, I thought it was an awesome idea~." This gratified her enormously, his praise. "I'm glad you like them~. I hoped you would. Heh-heh~…"
Holy—
'Bwah!' Naoto wasn't prepared for that. "Aw, Sakura-san…!"
How had he been cozened into this…?!
"What's the problem?" She refocused.
Oh, WHY did he have to react that way…?!
"Uh…" He was at a loss.
The atmosphere of this whole exchange had shifted, inverting the entire thing…
Sakura cocked her head. "What is it?"
Her mild confusion saw an equal amount of guilt course through Naoto.
He hoped to salvage this… though he had something he needed to say…
"Do you… have to do that kinda thing…?" He didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but she had been hitting him pretty heavily the last couple of days, touching upon his penchants. "It gets sorta…"
It was like she was leading him into these "footy-traps" on purpose, and she doubtless knew what she was doing…
Sakura eyed him, her face a blank slate. "…"
She didn't have to ask "what", knowing very well what was eating him.
"…!" Naoto gulped; he knew he'd opened a can of worms.
And HE'D likely be the one eating…
The gal continued to gaze back. "…"
Naoto managed to get his head straight, and he began, "I, uh—"
Sakura, whether it was new or she'd been sitting on it—
She strove, "Senpai-kun."
"Y-yeah?" He came to full-alertness.
She sighed, "Just listen for a minute. It might save you some embarrassment, if you keep quiet, but… prolly not all of it. Okay?"
"Okay…" Naoto wouldn't argue. "…?!"
It was harsh, but he knew whatever she was about to say, it was most likely worth taking note… however mortifying…
"This is… kinda embarrassing for me too, so…" a reddening Sakura ho-hummed, eyes focusing on that which wasn't Naoto. "Please just listen… I don't wanna have to say it again."
Naoto's blood chilled, and it shot up to the base of his skull, causing him to shiver. "…!"
"You get me, Senpai-kun…?" she tested.
"…" He nodded dumbly. "Yeah…"
"Okay, here's how it is…" she started off. "When I do that… kinda thing, I'm not trying to hurt you or anything, I just think it's sorta… fun."
'Fun?'
"I know it gets to you a little bit, but… I know you get a kick out of it too… or at least a rise out of it. It's… kinda weird for both of us, but… I like it~."
'Ack!'
"I know I screw with you about it, but I… really don't mind that you look sometimes, not when it's you. It's just something you like, but it's not like you're a creep about it. I feel… pretty, knowing you appreciate what I have. I like that—a whole lot, you making me feel pretty."
'…!'
"I mean… us girls, we paint our nails because it's fun. It's cute. And… if you think we don't like when guys pay attention, well, you're wrong. We like it. We want you to look; it's one of the reasons we… decorate ourselves, just like when we wear makeup. We wanna look good for you. We wanna feel pretty and stuff."
"…!"
"I know you won't hurt me or do anything bad, Senpai-kun, that it won't 'set you off' or whatever. I trust you. I really trust you."
"…!"
"…"
So… it's THAT…?
…
Despite her plea for quiet, Naoto opened his mouth, attacked with a powerful sentiment, "I dunno if I should feel good or bad about that…"
"…!" Sakura balked. "What…?"
He wasn't sure how to explain it. "…"
Men… could be inclined to feel emasculated, when they were told they were "harmless"… or THOUGHT that's what was happening…
He didn't like it, but he was a man, and part of him took it as such.
It was terrible, fearing to be less than—
"Feel bad?" Sakura perplexed, positively pained. "No, you shouldn't feel bad about that! Are you kidding me?!"
"…!" Naoto jerked at her stout declaration.
She wasn't letting that go, voice wavering, "Hey, it's not like I don't think you're a man, like you're ineffectual or something. I really hope you don't feel that way. Please don't think that, 'cause it's just not true. It's not true, Senpai-kun…"
"Sakura-san…" he uttered.
Again, the whole "can Sakura read minds?" thing landed in his lap…
Naoto, of course, didn't believe she could; no one could read another's mind, and that was a fact.
But she could read HIM pretty accurately…
"It's only that I trust you!" she emphasized. "I really do, and I… I can't say that for everyone. You're my friend… You're my senpai…"
Naoto, he…
Nothing…
He had nothing.
Sakura blushed a bit redder, having been well on her way for a minute.
Centering herself, she worked her jaw. "…"
"…Sakura-san…?" Naoto rendered.
"Sorry…" She wasn't looking at the camera.
He was floored, but he wasn't lost.
"Hey, it's okay…" he returned.
"…"
"…"
"Oof, that was…" Sakura eked.
Naoto was down with her feelings. "Yeah, that was."
"Sorry, buddy."
"Don't be."
What made him say that…?!
Sakura smirked, emanating, "If this was a comedy or a drama or whatever, now's about the time I'd ask you to 'forget everything I just said', you think?"
"I suppose it would…" Naoto was a little short on saying much else.
She widened the smirk. "It just doesn't work like that, does it~?"
"Nope." He didn't know everything, but he knew a thing or two.
Sakura visibly lay back down, her hair going flumph on her pillow. "…"
"…" Naoto couldn't flop onto his back, but he did so in spirit.
"So, how about this…?" Sakura proposed.
"Yeah?" Naoto was all ears.
She inhaled, letting it back out in a steady puff.
"It is a lot of fun to screw with you a little bit~…" she drifted along. "But if it gets to be too much… the playing around… just say so. Really, please just tell me."
'Yes!' Naoto saw the light, and he reached for it.
"Okay…" he said, more at ease. "Sorry for making everything weird…"
"You don't need to apologize… not for that."
"Uh…" He thought that could be argued.
"Hey, it's not like it's a matter of life and death, buddy~," she positively cruised. "Don't freak out too bad over something like that~."
"Got it…" He'd take it. "Thanks."
"No prob, Senpai-kun~." Sakura smiled.
And he smiled right back. "…~"
Wowza~!
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading!
Questions and comments are welcome!