Cherry Blossom Palette: Summer by the Sea
Chapter 34: Beach Episode! [Part Six]
Sunshine Arc
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
ED:This chapter will be fun, I hope.
An artist and a gal spectate!
An obviosity is formally acknowledged!
Naoto's goat is gotten (again)!
…
I suppose what you're about to read will be the last content before the new year starts.
The beach stuff will be going on for a while yet. Lots of story to tell, but that will end this current arc.
Once the Sunshine Arc is done, we're onto the Dreamer's Arc!
The Dreamer's Arc will cover the events leading up to and including the big summer festival!
Look forward to it!
…
Oda has been going way too heavy on the "misery porn" in One Piece lately. There's so much tragedy going on that it's losing its effectiveness. By the time something happens where we're supposed to be REALLY sad, we'll just say "meh" and turn the page.
Also, Chapter 1103 is online. I thought we were getting a break before the new year.
I guess somebody let it slip. 1104 should be interesting.
…
South Park put out a new special called "(Not Suitable for Children)".
Randy and Sharon Marsh both started OnlyFans pages, and things got insane in a hurry.
If you were ever curious about whether Randy is circumcised or not, you get to find out about 15 times. It was bad.
In a related topic, I'm utterly convinced that they've stopped teaching kids to not be dumb on the internet. That's what I was told (AT SCHOOL and by my family too), and that's why I didn't end up like Jesse Slaughter. (That's another bit of internet horror I can thank my editor for introducing me to. Yuck!)
Or maybe the very small percentage of kids actually doing the stupid stuff just don't listen, because they're stupid.
The latter is probably true. I'm sure that they tell kids to be careful online.
PS started elementary school when the internet first became widely publicly available, and he was told to not be stupid as well.
That said, my editor still views the internet like it's the Wild West in a lot of ways, so he gets annoyed when "humorless pricks" and "enemies of the lulz" take down "relatively benign content" that he enjoys so much.
Of course, HIS idea of "relatively benign" is MY idea of "General Sherman's march to Atlanta, but with M60 machine guns and infinite ammo".
That is hyperbole, but you get the idea.
…
In my South Park Fractured but Whole journey, I just finished the nursing home mission, and that was somehow almost grosser to me than anything in The Stick of Truth, once the old people start throwing their "bombs" at you and your allies.
One feature of the game is that your superhero character needs a "kryptonite", a weakness. These include ninjas, Raisins girls, sixth graders, old people, crab people, etc.
I was certain that "ginger kids" would be one of the choices when I found out I had to choose a weakness, but Trey and Matt didn't go for that low hanging fruit, though it would've added to the already humongous hilarity.
My editor told me explicitly to NOT make old people my character's kryptonite, but I didn't listen, and I know why he warned me. The nursing home mission is hard enough when old people AREN'T your weakness! It's a NIGHTMARE when they are! So much for the "No Child Left Behind" achievement.
I only chose old people because they're the only one that bothers me on the actual show. That said, that episode about ginger kids was pretty wild, especially when they rounded up all the non-ginger kids in the county to throw them in LAVA. L-A-V-A! LAVA.
PS also told me not to try to pick a fight with Morgan Freeman, and I DID listen, but he is beatable, it turns out. PS did it. He showed me his "Farts over Freckles" achievement to prove it, but it's nearly impossible, judging by all of the videos I've watched on it.
Considering that I'm all about stacking my characters with special abilities to preoccupy my enemies, wearing them down and draining them overtime, I might try it once I beat the main storyline.
…
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.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
"D'aww, Senpai-ku~un~," Sakura whined. "Why won't you return the favor~?"
"I thought I was the one doing you the favor," Naoto retorted.
The gal puffed her cheeks. "Hey, would it kill you to go along with the gag?"
"I'm not throwing any grapes so you can try to catch them in your mouth," he firmed. "I can't throw to save my life, so it'd just be wasting good grapes."
"And after I'd even offered to properly feed you~…" Sakura had difficulty maintaining her "pretending at upset" aspect, especially on the heels of laughing herself to tears. "Ungrateful~…"
"An offer I didn't accept." Naoto wouldn't let her dictate terms.
She "soured" further. "Boo…! Boo, Senpai-kun."
"Pfft…" He had his own difficulty in keeping grounded. "…~"
The blonde had offered him a "lap-pillow" with "dinner included", meaning she suggested he lie on his back, his head resting on her crème-brulé thighs~, and let her drop grapes into his mouth.
And according to Sakura, THIS came with the added, touted benefit—something that was "in it for Naoto"—of actually nourishing him…
Naoto had argued that she might've offered that all-important perk when steering towards making a firing exercise of his mouth.
After a brief discussion, it had been agreed upon that throwing grapes to FEED someone was too much work to feed ANYONE, and they settled on the view that such a trick was more for the amusement of at least ONE of the involved parties…
Regardless of all the mental gymnastics—and the fact that Naoto had fun, the gal chucking the fruit of the vine at his face, he'd refused the hospitality of being hand-fed.
Had it just been the TWO of them… he MIGHT humor her~…
But with six of his other companions nearby, he wasn't about to put either of them—but mostly himself—in such a compromising position, no matter how much fun it might've been.
Sakura had known plenty of fun, merely suggesting she feed him in such a way.
In fact, she'd gotten his goat so badly, his face had turned the same shade of red characterizing the still-healing sunburn on the tops of his feet, and that was when she'd laughed herself to the formation of tears.
Blessedly, there was such a thing as waterproof mascara…
And even now, she wasn't quite ready to let Naoto fully regain his composure~.
"I'm all for doing another modeling session with you, but I so shoulda tried harder with my bathwater proposal~," she ventured. "You know how much easier that obligation would be for me to fulfill~?"
'Ack!' Naoto repressed the shakes, again hearing of her outrageous pitch.
But since SHE brought it up again~…
Naoto had—in the meantime—formed an equally terrible comeback, and he'd been sure he'd never have the chance to use it.
It could wind up being an epic dud, but he wouldn't know if he didn't try…
"Does it come with noodles…?" he questioned. "Maybe some nice udon…?"
"…?!" Sakura blundered, the corner of her mouth twitching. "H-huh, what?"
"No, thanks, Sakura-san, but 'Sakura-san soup' without noodles is just broth," he somehow said this without cracking up.
It wasn't often that the tables were turned…
She cracked up, "Pfft~!"
"…~" Naoto was now pleased that she'd brought it up again.
There's no way that should've worked…!
"Oh! Th-that's disgusting~!" Sakura sprayed.
He shrugged. "Yeah, well~…"
"…~"
"…~"
This was good times and all, but other stuff was happening too…
Hana and Nekoba had returned from their walk—Hana looking much more composed than when they'd left, and the two of them were out watching the hacky sack games still going on.
While Gamo-chan had been a cheerleading section of one, the recent spectators observed as if it were a tennis match…
As Yoshi had recently joined the three already playing, they'd just gotten another game of "Sets" going.
Shuu and Gamo-chan were taking on Tohru and Yoshi.
It didn't seem the most balanced game, but…
"Wow, look how much fun Gamo-chan's having, Senpai-kun~," Sakura considered the scene.
Naoto sighed happily, "Yeah~…"
"She really wanted to play with Shuu-kun again~," she burbled. "I wish I could've seen the game you all played."
"It was a lot of fun…" Naoto murmured distractedly.
"…~"
"…"
"She looks really happy, Senpai-kun…" Sakura said of Gamo-chan. "Eh~?"
Naoto remarked, "Definitely."
"Seems she and your two pals really are becoming friends~…"
"Seems that way…" her senpai noncommitted.
Sakura didn't seem to take issue with his dispassionate observation. "I guess I was wrong to worry."
"You were worried?"
She ho-hummed, "A little bit."
"I can't blame you," Naoto gave this a little more brio.
More than one person had been worried, and their names weren't only "Naoto" and "Sakura".
Sakura "went there", "I really hope Gamo-chan isn't hating on herself for showing us all a little bit of… defenselessness… y'know, on Wednesday."
It would be false to say the issue was the most broachable thing in their lives…
"I think she's okay, Sakura-san…" Naoto could say truthfully. 'She's getting better…'
The handful of talks that he'd had with the big girl had done a lot to remedy her misplaced feelings, he felt; he'd done what he could to show her that she wasn't alone.
Most of all, telling Gamo-chan about Shuu's, Tohru's, and certainly HIS tales of woe had been rough, but it seemed to have been a good decision… or it was at least becoming less and less regretted, considering it might've given her heart…
He'd still never tell another soul what he'd told Gamo-chan—or what she'd told him, and he had no doubts that she'd honor the reserve they'd settled on.
Sakura gave her legs another stretch, nearly bowing them backwards. "Mmm~! Hopefully, Yoshi can sorta… fall in line too~."
"She'll be fine, I bet." Naoto was mindful that there was more clout to the Yosh than was straightaway obvious.
"…~" Sakura continued to survey the footbag game, not that she had much idea of what was going on.
Naoto was wishing he had explained the game being played, but he supposed there was no hurry. "…"
So, they only watched, and they did this for a leisurely moment.
"…~"
"…"
Sakura spoke, "I'm guessing Gamo-chan and Yoshi had another nice sleepover last night, whaddaya bet~?"
"You knew about that?" Naoto was pulled away from his personal head-prison.
"Only that it'd happen," she said. "Yoshi told me they were having another one, back at the karaoke party."
"Oh."
"That's all I know though."
"Mm."
"Yeah, Yoshi wouldn't tell me what they were up to; she was quite adamant when it came to keeping her mouth shut~."
"I… I see…" Naoto writhed, as if bothered by a nasty itch.
Sakura snickered perceptively, "Yeah, I doubt Gamo-chan wants the two of you to spill~…"
To him, that she suspected he knew something about it was about as shocking as the sun coming up every morning.
"I can't imagine…" He wouldn't assume a lot of things about Gamo-chan.
"…~"
"…"
Senpai and kohai held vigil for another stint.
"…~" Sakura blissfully burbled away.
Naoto just away'd. "…"
She was gratified at the present. "…~"
"…" He decided to be a bit more proactive, never sure of where his contemplations with the gal could take them.
It might've been better to…
He'd put his hand "to the wheel", so the saying goes.
"Hey, Sakura-san?" he hailed. "You know how hacky sack's played?"
"Snrk~!" she snorted a tiny laugh. "I was hoping you'd bring it up on your own… ass~."
"Of course, you were…" He had enough "Sakura XP" under his belt that he should've assumed this.
…
*awkward, repeated dialogue related to the concept of hacky sack (and the boys' history with it)*
…
"Mm, so you guys really have been playing this stuff for a long time~," Sakura abridged.
Naoto thought that a fair summation. "It was one of those fads I started seeing in elementary school. It came and went a couple times, but there were always some people playing it, even years later. Shuu was always big into it, but Tohru had never played until we all met."
"It was never a thing out in the sticks…" Sakura remembered. "It wasn't until we came to the big city again, that I actually saw anyone playing with one."
It was easy for Naoto to forget that the gal had lived a "whole other life" apart from not only the gyaru lifestyle, but the Kanagawa prefecture as well.
"Right…" he recalled. "You said your dad took a job in the countryside when you were little…"
"Yup, soon after Yoichi was born, though we were back to being Kanagawa urbanites about the time Yoichi began school… and me for middle school," she accredited. "As we well know, it seems we have a friggin' recession at least once a decade in this great nation of ours, and not even a construction engineer is safe from one of those…"
This had been talked about before~…
It got Naoto to thinking of social boons and ills.
"I think we cover too many things in social studies each year," he opined. "Civics, law, economics, geography, history… 'social stuff'…"
"I think we cover too much crap in science each year~," Sakura complained, not without humor. "Biology and natural sciences, chemistry, physics… How great would it be if they had to pick one of them to teach us at one time, y'know, for every year we're in high school~?"
Naoto elected to be more practical. "I think it's to keep in step with our progression in mathematics."
"Prolly~," she accepted. "I'd hate to cover algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus at one time, just to get ready for physics~… I suppose we wouldn't need statistics though… not for physics…"
This idea had Naoto wanting to be less practical~, not that he was the best at it.
There may have been some overconfidence involved, "soupy" success had earlier~…
"Maybe they could teach us life/geo sciences our first year and whatever math we'd need for chemistry the next year… and in our second year, we could continue math-prep for the physics in our third year, and… they could teach us the 'worthless' math when we're seniors, and…" he haltingly suggested, though he quickly saw the folly. "Oh… fuck, that wouldn't work…"
"No, no!" Sakura savored his brain-straining efforts. "You had it~! Go on~."
"Naw, I lost it~…" He wouldn't add to the stupidity, the beaten horse already long-dead.
Still, it had her laughing herself to fresh tears, and that was something that Naoto rarely regretted accomplishing~.
"…~" Naoto loved the world.
Sakura wasn't against it either. "…~"
Wow, was it nice to be together, toes in the sand, just bullshitting around with a good friend~…
And even in the bouts of silence, they both were content to watch the footbaggers having a ball, having begun their latest game of "Sets", yet maintaining the same teams.
"…~"
"…~"
Though, not all was "well"…
"…" Naoto had been trying to ignore it, but it was right in front of him—quite literally.
It could be noted that Shuu in particular was… REALLY putting on a performance …
"…" Naoto had known Shuu for years, and he knew that his friend wasn't much for pretentiousness, but it was easy enough to exact when Shuu was trying to impress someone.
Not a single kick on his end had been missed in this game—and he'd done as well as he ever did in the day's earlier games, but he was going for trick-shots he'd never normally attempt so nonchalantly, CERTAINLY not while playing in a game with others—ESPECIALLY with a rookie like Gamo-chan for his partner, and he—
"Man, Shuu-kun really seems to be going for it…!" Sakura was just a tad awed. "He should prolly let up, or Gamo-chan'll start flubbing her returns."
'Damn it!' Naoto jolted, his lower-back going to jelly on him. "…!"
Why was he even the slightest bit staggered that his blonde friend had not only picked up on Shuu's display, but that she was also on the same wavelength as him…?!
Sakura turned towards him. "What is it, buddy?"
"Derp!" He'd caught himself on his elbows, and he'd not keeled over onto the blanket.
"…?" She cocked her head, blinking. "Something wrong?"
Naoto saw no point in denying it, and he reestablished his rear.
It was hard to deny anything to that earnest visage, containing those big, soft, brown eyes, but…
"I… don't know if I wanna…" There was something bugging him.
Since Sakura had arrived at the beach, the thought had been the second or third foremost in his mind—though it was beforehand virtually ubiquitous anyway, and he'd gladly been pushing it away…
The same girl prodded, "You might as well say what's on your mind. I know that face you're giving me."
"My face?" Naoto repeated mechanically.
Sakura sneered. "Yes, your face~… I struck a nerve with you… or maybe a chord. But one's typically more positive, while the other is more negative. I think I'll go with 'negative', so I must've struck a 'nerve'… Senpai-kun~."
"…?!" His mouth moved but nothing was coming out.
She smiled more genuinely. "How's my aim?"
It was good, as per usual…
"…" Naoto could've said that her answer to what he was (conceivably) about to ask "wouldn't surprise him one way or the other", but that was malarkey.
It would be rather SHOCKING if she didn't know…!
He was sharp enough to give Sakura more credit than that, not that he hadn't been schooled only a moment prior.
"…" He'd all but sworn to not even touch upon the subject, but…
It was probable that she knew, and she'd given invitation…
"You know Shuu likes you, right, Sakura-san?" he kicked the words out of the nest.
She caught them on the way down. "Yes. I know about it."
"Oh…"
"Yep…"
It was a relief, regardless, getting that out of the way …
"I figured…" Naoto could genuinely say. "Not like I was sure though…"
Sakura confirmed, "Oh, you can be sure of it."
"…"
"…"
Naoto wasn't disinterested. "When did you figure it out?"
"I suspected it before we were even properly introduced, just seeing him around," Sakura described. "It's not hard to tell, most of the time, when a guy's interested in a girl."
'It is for me… sometimes…' Naoto usually had to hear confirmation of such a thing, the connections rarely made otherwise. "I see."
"Yeah, he's a more open book than a lot of guys are," Sakura said.
Naoto wasn't certain why—maybe because Shuu was his friend, but he desired to defend him, and no falsehood was needed. "He's not normally a showoff and junk. He's just…"
"He doesn't seem like one, Senpai-kun." Sakura got the message. "He just has someone he's attracted to watching from the peanut gallery. If that's why he's making a spectacle of himself, people sometimes wind up doing that without meaning to… or even realizing it."
Naoto wouldn't tell Sakura how often Shuu went on about her, but he'd say, "Yeah… he's been interested for a while…"
It was a hop, skip, and a jump over the order of things, but it was the bottom-line…
"I was pretty sure of it, but I wasn't positive until the karaoke club," Sakura revealed.
Naoto would admit, "He never hid it from me or Tohru… liking you…"
"Seems he liked my pedicure too…" she added, quite unprovoked, no hint of a wheedle at large.
SHOCK~!
Naoto wasn't shocked by this either, which was shocking, in and of itself.
At least, it might've been, in a world where the two of them weren't chums, having some cognizance of the other's paces…
He mumbled, seeing spots nonetheless, "Yeah… I noticed that too… Cripes…"
"More precisely, he likes the paint, but he lo~oves the canvas~." She flexed her feet, crossing her legs at the ankles.
The wheedle was never too far out of sight, was it~…?
'Geez!' Naoto shuddered. "…Yeah…"
"And he likes the rest too~…" Sakura chunnered, outlining her own hourglass-shape.
Naoto stewed. "…"
She caught a whiff. "What is it…?"
That's what you might call a dumb question~…
But Naoto didn't believe that one bit.
There was a thing called rapport, and THEIR camaraderie wasn't held together with ticky-tacky…
"I just keep thinking it's like you can read my mind…" he admitted. 'And you say you can't though…'
"Ah… that~…"
"Yeah… that…"
"'That' again~!"
"Without a doubt, Sakura-san…"
"…~"
"…"
Sakura snorked, "Pfft~!"
Naoto dreaded her reason why, but, "What is it…?"
"You boys and your fixations~…" she muttered, an expression of not-so-mock-horror pervading her pretty, pink-in-the-cheeks face. "Ai-ya, Senpai-kun~…"
He blushed one of those blushes that'd fog up his glasses, were he wearing them. "…!"
"Heh-heh-heh~…" Sakura shook her head at the silliness of it all.
'She's gonna kill me with this stuff…' Naoto agonized, watching her have her yuks. 'One of these days, it'll just be the end of me…!'
…
But at least Tohru was still safe…!
Naoto could rest easy, knowing this, not that he actually cared if Short-pai was ever found out.
He had it on good authority that Tohru enjoyed… the sort of thing that he and Sakura were talking about… a lot more than Shuu did, and he did like to look, most definitely.
Try catching him at it though, the shifty, little bastard…
It was a safe assumption that while Tohru had seemed cold as snow, he'd likely had an internal field day, catching the show that Gamo-chan had given them all on Wednesday, sporting her bare legs and ¥40,000 blue suede pumps.
…
Ahem… back to the matter at hand…
…
In spite of everything being thrown his way, Fortress Naoto wasn't made of wet tissue-paper, and he held up well enough to Sakura's lampooning.
"Aw, whatever…" he tried moving away from the current daftness, ready to give voice to a few thoughts. "As long as Shuu doesn't start gawking at Sunomiya like a creep…"
Sakura made an effort to scowl, but she was hardly able to hide her wide, shit-eating grin. "So, you'll protect Hana-chan, but not me~…?"
In spite of thinking that he "had this", Naoto was about as prepared for her retaliation as the Hessians of Hesse-Cassel were for the Battle of Trenton.
"…!" He reeled. "Th-that's not—"
Sakura had another laugh, "I'm just pullin' your leg, Senpai-kun. I getcha. I know what you mean~."
He knew in his heart that she did, but he still hadn't had his guard up, and he'd been got.
"…Good…" He was more at ease though.
"Don't worry, I can take care of myself~…" she undertook. "But don't think Hana-chan can't."
"Huh?"
"Hana-chan's plenty insightful, bud."
Naoto didn't want to doubt Sakura, but this was Hana. "You think?"
"I'm confident of it," she espoused. "Nobody had to tell her you like legs. She'll be fine~."
Skunked again~…!
"Mrmbl…" he groused sardonic, his tissue-paper walls in tatters. "Thanks, Sakura-san…"
"Oh, you're most welcome, pal o' mine~…"
"Ha…! Whatever~…" he spiritedly spurned.
"…~" Sakura giggled a little giggle.
"…~" Naoto more than tolerated it.
"…~"
"…~"
…
But Sakura soon became more somber, her countenance falling off.
Her senpai was trained on her, so he realized something was up. "Sakura-san?"
"Hoo…" she sighed. "I sometimes don't know what to do about it, Senpai-kun…"
"About what?"
She weighed her words before saying, "About how it sucks to deal with knowing that there are so many boys that are interested in me…"
Naoto would've stopped dead in his tracks, were he walking. "…Huh?"
This wasn't some run-of-the-mill unease…
Sakura gloomed, "There are a couple dozen right now, I figure… at… varying levels of captivation… and I don't even know most of them, like, at all…"
"…!" Normally, Naoto would take this claim as the worst sort of self-importance and glorification—warranted or not, but when it was Sakura…
She was to be trusted…
Eyeing her with some caution, he asked, "Is it hard to know? When someone likes you that way?"
He didn't doubt that her answer was a definitive "yes", but he didn't have the personal experience.
"Yeah, it can be…" Sakura wasn't offended by this question. "It's mostly when they're interested for… the wrong reasons… that they don't seem interested in Sakura…"
"I see…" Naoto nodded.
"But they're interested in the gal… and what she has to offer."
"Yeah…"
"And almost all of 'em never even talk to me, much less ask me out… What's more, it's not like I'm always 'on the market', even when I'm single."
"…"
"…"
Naoto wanted to ask—badly, and he had reason for it, "Have you ever just… told some guy you knew was into you that you weren't interested, even if he didn't bring it up?"
Her mien became embittered —not towards him but in general. "…Yeah… I did once. It was very obvious, and I got annoyed with him acting the way he did."
"Ouch…" Naoto observed, not that he was judging her.
She sighed again, "I regret doing that a lot. It was uncalled for, and I hurt him. He was actually a really good guy. I would've liked to have been friends with him, but that wasn't gonna happen, maybe even if I'd handled it better…"
"…That's rough…" Naoto didn't have much more than that.
She said, "That's why I try not to worry too much about all the guys out there that won't even approach me. If they do ask me out or whatever… or if I'm interested, that's when I'll give it some real thought."
"Sorry for asking…" Naoto exhaled. "I didn't think you would, but… I guess I was a little scared about Shuu."
"I'd never blindside Shuu-kun that way," Sakura undertook, not offended by this either. "If he wants to tell me, he will… or he might. I just wanna be friends. Hopefully, he feels the same."
Naoto buoyed, "He definitely wants to be your friend, Sakura-san."
"That does make me happy~…" she susurrated.
"…" Her senpai rolled all this around in his noggin.
Sakura wished to clarify, "For the record, I don't think Shuu-kun's into me for the wrong reasons… not that I'm sure he likes me for the right reasons either. Try defining what those are; I can't~."
"…" Naoto had given very little credence as to why Shuu liked the gal.
There were a lot of things to like about Sakura, especially after getting to know her, but…
"I dunno who gets to decide what the 'right reasons' are," he mused.
It was easier to make this claim than to determine WHY Shuu liked her…
Sakura chuckled, "Ooh, how philosophic, Senpai-kun~…"
"Not really…" he dismissed. "That wasn't even a complete thought."
"You had more~?"
"Nope… not for that."
"…"
"…"
Sakura renewed, "I guess it just goes back to me wanting someone to like me for me… not that it's always and totally in the same boat with the 'right reasons'."
"I suppose not." Naoto saw no fault, though he wanted people to like Sakura for Sakura too.
He was afraid that she'd straight-up ask him why boys liked her—whether the reason was right or wrong, though he had faith that she already knew… at least why a boy would like the gyaru.
As to why someone would like Sakura for Sakura… IF they knew the real Sakura…
"…" He had his opinions, but defining them would take more than a little seaside meditation.
Conveniently, she had something else, "I can see a lot of good things about Shuu-kun though, absolutely."
"He really is a great guy, Sakura-san." Naoto was remiss to leap onto this opportunity, but he sought escape, even if none pursueth.
"I know~…"
"I mean… he can be kinda thoughtless… every once in a while say some dumb stuff… but he's very kind."
"One and all can be a little careless, Senpai-kun… but kindness is a big plus~."
"…" There was another bit of Shuu trivia Naoto wished to share, but he was leaning hard in the direction of "don't say nothin'".
To tell or not to tell…?
He reasoned that it was best to—
"Shuu's actually had pretty good luck… with girls…" he said it anyway.
Sakura perked up. "Really?"
'Welp, I fuckin' said it…' He was stuck with it now. "Yeah, he doesn't talk much about it, but he's actually pretty good with girls, y'know, when he gives himself a chance."
It was true: as nervous as Shuu could be around girls—though not as bad as Naoto, he was far from unsuccessful…
"Hmm…" Sakura considered. "I don't doubt it."
"He's dated girls (and kissed them too)," he added the second bit of info silently~. "He actually had a few really nice girlfriends back in middle school and even one in our first year of high school."
Sakura inserted, "Can't say I expected that, but I can see it."
'Tohru's dated and smooched girls too…' Naoto soliloquy'd. 'There've been plenty of girls his height and shorter that were interested…'
What he did say was, "I'm… kinda jealous of Shuu for having as many admirers as he has…"
And half the time, Shuu didn't even realize it…
Naoto didn't realize it either, that he had his share of female admirers—even if they were just his friends, but that was a whole other ballgame, and it was better touched upon another time~.
While Sakura could've torn him a new one over this (and thought about it~), something else occurred to her, and it brought a new sort of energy.
"I have to say, Senpai-kun…" she began. "Shuu-kun definitely was the life of the party on Wednesday. The girls all really liked him~."
He might've responded better, "Huh?"
"The girls—they thought he was great~," she further emphasized, fizzing up.
Naoto sort of already knew this, but hearing it from a reliable source brought it home. "…!"
"Y'know what~?" Sakura was gleeful in her rising excitement; she had to say it.
"What?"
"Nekoba thought he was charming~," Sakura hummed. "She said he was fun and a nice guy too, but that's the word she used—'charming'~."
"…!" Naoto's brain lurched. 'When was that…?'
He supposed girls talked. "Whoa…"
Sakura didn't fail to include, "Not that Nekoba would go for him, 'cause… yeah."
'Yeah, indeed…' Naoto knew what she meant, but it wasn't essential to say it out loud.
He did verbalize, "I wish Shuu would be more confident. Once he finds his tempo, if he's good at something, it's like, wow! But before that… he kinda views himself as a dud."
"That sound like another senpai we know~?" Sakura poked him in that oh-so-sensitive skin over his tricep.
He shrugged her off with a "mrmbl…", hoping in earnest to never be pinched there again.
"…!" she chortled, abandoning his upper-arm.
As for Naoto…
Confidence…
He wanted to be more confident.
It wasn't some slick change…
…
To finish up, Sakura was discoursing, "Don't misunderstand though, just because I was getting all sparkly and crap back there. Don't start thinking that I'm interested—'that way'—in Shuu-kun. I just think it's swell we've all become friends~."
"I getcha, Sakura-san…" Naoto endorsed. "I think I knew what you meant."
"…~"
"…"
"But speaking of Shuu-kun…"
"What about him?"
"Does Shuu-kun like Skittles?"
"What… the candy?"
"Yeah~."
"…?" Naoto didn't need to know how to read the stars to figure that she was up to a bit of mischief.
Sakura bubbled, presumably escorting him into oblivion, "Does he~…?"
But it didn't stop him. "They're practically his favorite—just the original kind though. Nobody likes the variations."
"…~" she tittered. "I see~."
"Oh, Gawd, what is it now…?"
"Do you think Shuu-kun would like to…" she teased, very much unable to keep a straight face. "Tee-hee-hee~…"
Naoto deduced it was a mistake, but he jumped into the fire anyway, "Would he like to what?"
Sakura broke into… well, broken English. "Would he like to 'taastu za ranebo' (Taste the Rainbow®), you think~?"
She hiked up her legs, putting her polychromatic toesies on display, just for her dear senpai.
"Oh, damn it, Sakura-san…!" Naoto reeled. "You can't go one day without…?!"
She recapped, "Hey, I don't actually care that much if you gander, remember~? I don't mind~."
"I mind!" he flustered, desperately checking that no one else had seen what she'd just done.
Tricking him into "lookin'" was one thing, but this had crossed the line and run with it…
And Sakura seemed to have no intention of stopping for stragglers.
"What's nice about Skittles is there are only five colors—no blue or indigo, so every appendage could have a complete set!" she trebled, virtually ignoring his remonstration. "I wouldn't have to worry about not having enough fingers and toes for three full and proper rainbows~."
Naoto didn't know why he'd even begun to ask what he'd asked. "I let you drag me right into that one…"
Sakura plowed on, "And you're right, saying the original is best; all the other kinds of Skittles suck balls~."
"I shoulda seen that coming…"
"You just gotta use the original flavors: strawberry, orange, lemon, lime, grape~…"
"Do you have to…?"
"I could randomize them on each hand and foot—keep it interesting~!"
"…!"
"I really should've thought of that yesterday… Maybe next time~."
"Snrk~…!" Naoto's determination to stay serious was fissuring.
Sakura furthered, "And I could have Hana-chan paint little white 'S' letters on each one~."
THAT was a funny idea…
"Stop it~…" Naoto finally gave into laughter.
"Her hands are a lot steadier~ than mine," Sakura praised. "Not that I'd let her ink me with that homemade tattoo-gun she was talking about… I'm with Gamo-chan on that one~."
"I give up…!" He couldn't stand against it. "You win…"
She twittered, sticking her tongue out at him, "Tee-hee~…"
"Tsk… Blondie…"
"Oh, 'tsk' yourself, Asshole-kun~…"
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading!
Questions and comments are welcome!