🌸Cherry Blossom Palette🎨
🌸Chapter 8: Can't Happen Here (Looking for the Future)🎨
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
The new chapter will be a little shorter. It introduces a little more "lore".
Please look at the Q&A section I set up at the end of the chapter. Ask us anything and we'll add another section in the next chapter. I would be happy if you ask questions.
Please enjoy what I wrote.
June 24, 2018
Having satisfactorily cleaned up her sad countenance, Gamo-chan led Naoto back towards the school's front door.
Naoto, his fruit punch forgotten for most of their time together, gratefully drank as they moved along.
The two hadn't stopped chatting, but thankfully, the subject matter was a little more upbeat, though Gamo-chan had a doozy to drop.
"It definitely makes me feel a little better about missing the beach, Paisen," Gamo-chan playfully ruminated. "Knowing that you would've wanted me there would've made my 'special day' a lot more special…"
"Special day?" he asked.
"You didn't know?" now lacing her hands behind her head, she considered him, thoughtful. "Well, I guess you wouldn't…"
"Know what?" he was stumped.
"I turned 17 that day," she said, the ghost of a smile showing.
Naoto gawked, stopping in his tracks, "Your birthday?!"
"Yup."
"You had to work on your birthday?!" it was the first thing that came to mind; he knew she'd been dealing with something at her family's gym that day.
"Hey, it's not like my parents wanted that…" she was more understanding about such things than many teenage girls might be. "It's just how things turned out. I knew it was coming, so I had a little fun with the girls during the week after… Y'know, when you were dealing with that sunburn?"
"I had no idea it was your birthday…" he still felt a little bad for her.
"I guess I never said anything," Gamo-chan held.
"Maybe I just need to pay more attention…" Naoto reckoned.
"Nah, I never said anything on purpose," she yawned. "And the girls know I don't like the attention that much."
"Why?"
She pondered, "I just don't like birthdays that much, I guess… Just reminds me I'm getting closer to not being a kid anymore."
He couldn't argue, "I understand… I turned 18 in May…"
"Maybe you can drive us to the beach next time," she half-joked. "It'd be nice to go somewhere else. I love our little beach, but why not go somewhere a little more exciting…? Maybe somewhere with some college students…"
"Well, that's not happening yet."
"You don't have your license?"
"I don't…"
"You can't drive?"
"I'm learning how," he specified. "It's a bit of a process to get a license, but you know that."
It's not a fun process, that's for certain, but he was planning on taking the big test during the break. Not that he'd advertise it so loudly, considering his friends' certainty to try taking advantage.
"How much fun would it have been last Saturday for all of us to pile into a van and have you drive us out to Chiba or something?" she snickered. "That would've been a birthday present to remember…"
Naoto was quite serious, "Sounds like trouble."
"Well, whatever…" she shrugged. "Friday was kinda to make up for my birthday too."
"The karaoke?" he asked, but he figured it couldn't be anything but.
"Do you even like karaoke, Paisen?" she didn't mean this dismissively, stopping a moment. "I guess I don't know…"
"It's not that I dislike it…" he explained. "I can sing okay… I got "80-something" in everything last time. I've just barely done it, that's all…"
She sighed and beamed, turning his way a little, "I really would like you to come along the next time. You'll have fun, I guarantee it."
He did want to go, "I'd love to."
"It's not like we have to spend six hours at one of those places…" she chortled, resuming walking. "Maybe we could go some afternoon or weekend, even before break."
"I could always blow off Art Club for a day," he wasn't not serious.
As the two reached their destination, Gamo-chan stretched, "You know, Paisen? I'm really glad I decided to do this."
Naoto wouldn't say he was glad about any of it, other than one thing, "I'm just happy you're feeling better."
Maybe he shouldn't have assumed, but he wasn't wrong.
"I really am, Paisen… I really am…"
"…"
"…"
After that small chunk of tranquility, Naoto managed, considering the now-empty bottle dangling from his hand, "Uh… thanks for the fruit punch…"
She did a take and scoffed, adjusting her hold on her schoolbag, "You really are a funny guy."
Spinning on her heel, Gamo-chan began to walk away.
He watched her a few seconds, and he was ready to head inside, but she suddenly turned around at the hips.
"Hey," the Sun shone behind her. "One more thing…"
"Yeah?"
"For today…" she gifted him a lovely smile, the likes of which he'd never seen upon her. "Thanks, Senpai~."
"…!"
His dumb expression amused her, and she guffawed.
"Wipe that look off your face, Paisen!" bodily turning back to him, she shook her head, gifting him with a little smirk of the more "ferocious familiarity" variety. "Don't you have some fruit to draw or something?"
He allowed a grin, recuperating, "Yeah…"
"See you later."
"See you."
They went their separate ways:
Naoto reentered the school, and Gamo-chan went home.
…
…
…
As he made his way through the school's halls, Naoto's mind was working overtime, trying to process what constituted his own personal current events.
What's going on?!
In the last several days, he'd had found himself in some pretty dire straits… Well, maybe things weren't that dire, but it beggared the imagination that Sakura would stay overnight with him at his parents' place—not to mention all the baggage that came with it—and that Gamo-chan would spill her guts to him in a place where the cool kids gave each other blowjobs, and that it would all transpire surrounding the same weekend.
This didn't happen!
It was like a poorly written anime…
Sakura-san…
Speaking of Sakura, he'd been so absorbed in his time with Gamo-chan and his afternoon up to that point, that until the last couple moments, he hadn't even thought about the gal or her problems since the end of lunch.
It undoubtedly then occurred to him that Gamo-chan had mentioned nothing about Sakura or her date, her own envy (of course she's envious), or his asking about the gal. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing or if Gamo-chan just had other things on her mind.
Naoto, however, settled on the stance that he was okay with Gamo-chan not asking him about Sakura. Answering that, whether truthfully or partially true or not, seemed quite the obstacle, no matter what she wanted to know.
Additionally, he found that the saying "things would never be the same" and its variants were pretty much bull. Even after seeing what he'd seen of Sakura and Gamo-chan, things didn't seem too different. And that was probably because all people had such complexities to them, bar none; it's just a matter of if and/or when the "monstrosity" comes out.
And another thing… Why would Gamo-chan be jealous of Nagatoro?!
Naoto had always figured Gamo-chan was jealous of Sakura, but what did he know…?
Truly, if she or anyone else knew what Sakura had been up to, it seemed nuts that any sane person would be jealous of the gal.
All this had him wondering about what Nagatoro might have to say, given she knew…
Or Gamo-chan knowing about Sakura or Sakura knowing about Gamo-chan, etc., etc., etc., and so on and so forth…
"…"
Yes… it had been an interesting few days' events.
Walking on, Naoto almost passed a flyer on one of the notice boards, but he instead stopped.
He'd read the flyer before—several times—but its message rang truer every day.
The actual contents of the flyer were about as interesting as a bag of instant concrete, but the gist of it was that the school's seniors needed to not slack off in their last year, study hard for college and university entrance exams (granted they planned on going), and to make sure they properly applied to any schools or programs they hoped to attend upon graduation.
Shit…
Naoto hadn't been thinking the hardest about this… He did know, however, he wanted to go to art school, as his senpai was.
Sana Sunomiya, the former Art Club president and older cousin of Hana Sunomiya, was thriving at college.
Naoto, though he greatly admired the old Prez, had often worried about her. She'd had few friends—if any—in school, and it wouldn't be inaccurate to say that most other people didn't get her. Really, he didn't get her, and yet he did.
He understood she was her own person and simply saw the world differently. She could see the value in all things. She had a kind heart. She had passion. She took everything, if not seriously, with seriousness; the two things were different.
So… in that, he did understand her. He also knew that she was his friend and he was hers, but he'd been rather stunned, learning she viewed him as such… and it took him some time to wrap his mind around his viewing her as such.
At college, the Prez had met people perhaps unlike herself, but they got her, and they liked her; she was their friend. That was the best of things.
Things were going okay…
Back to Naoto's current predicament, it wasn't like he was sluffing off and goofing around:
Though he might end up going, he wasn't currently going to cram school. What kind of cram school could fully prepare him for art school? But he'd been diligently studying all the subjects he needed for any entrance exam since April.
He also reasoned—and he wasn't at all incorrect in this thinking—that he also needed to practice and study the subject of art itself. He'd be presenting a portfolio, most likely, no matter what college of art he applied to.
The Prez had gotten into the prestigious Tokyo University of the Arts.
Tokyo U. A., as he often thought of it, was probably well out of his league, but it was a goal worth shooting for. He didn't need to go there; there were plenty of good art schools out there, and he might not need to go far to attend one.
Still, it was about time he put in some serious thought to where he wanted to apply… and to just start sending out applications regardless.
And… sure, he knew he wanted to go to art school, but that was a far cry from knowing what he wanted to do after college. He hadn't gotten that far…
…
…
…
Naoto reentered the clubroom and noted the clock:
4:40 p.m.
The day wasn't totally shot, at least, not that he'd been wasting his time.
He'd still be able to get a few things done, hopefully making a little more progress on his oil painting.
Sunomiya was still there, working.
She looked up, "Hachioji-senpai?"
"Hey, again, Sunomiya…" he wearily sat down at the table.
What he'd just been through… was as surreal as the night he spent with Sakura…
"Are you alright?" his kohai studied him.
He could say with honesty, "Uh, yes… I am. It's just that a lot's happened the last few days."
A hush ensued a moment, but it was easy enough to see that Sunomiya was raring to say something.
She did, "Is she okay?"
Naoto didn't need to ask who she was talking about, "Yeah… I think she is."
"When you left with her, I could see it was really bothering her," Sunomiya murmured, troubled over her prior behavior. "I shouldn't have been so blunt earlier. I think I hurt her."
Her senpai didn't need to ask what she meant either, "She understands, Sunomiya. Really, don't worry about it. Things are fine."
The notion of "not worrying" was as simple as it was challenging for the girl, but she concluded, "I'll try."
"Good."
"…"
Naoto could tell she wanted to say something more, "Yes?"
"Nagatoro-senpai and Gamou-senpai…" she looked over the baseball cap she was studying. "Those two really love each other."
"They do…" he concurred. "They've been best friends pretty much all through school, I hear."
To Naoto's liking, Sunomiya regained her normal composure—whatever "normal" was—and went back to her sketching.
And he could get back to work!
It might appear strange to just about anyone that he'd just go back to typical activities—given he'd just sat with his formidable friend as she wept and bared parts of her soul to him—but normalcy is often the best medicine to incomprehensible ailments.
Pulling back on the paint shirt he'd used earlier, he uncovered his palette of oil paints, and dove into his subject, the wax fruit.
He sketched the outlines on his canvas, began painting a section of background, and proceeded to depict a fake peach, for a start.
And for some time, he was able to more or less turn off his brain and just paint…! MAGIC!
Then, for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day, the door again slid open.
Naoto heard this, but he was concentrating on a small detail that couldn't wait, unlike his checking to see who'd just showed up at the clubroom.
"Hey, uh… your name's Hachioji, right?"
That voice…?! Naoto nearly dropped his paintbrush.
He turned, forgetting his work, and he beheld possibly the last person he wanted to see.
Standing in the doorway was Sakura's erstwhile date, Nobuo Takata.
Q&A Section
Do you plan to explore more characters in dedicated chapters like (chapter 7)? E.G., a chapter focusing on Yoshi, a chapter focusing on Hana, etc.
ED: Not all of the characters will have dedicated chapters, but you can bet Nagatoro's three friends will each see some. Most of the characters will find their place in the sun.
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading!