🌸Cherry Blossom Palette🎨
🌸Chapter 12: The Upswing🎨
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
ED: With this chapter, I have "established" the story to my satisfaction. Things will move a little quicker with this out of the way. I shouldn't call my editor a slave driver, but I will. But I'm very happy with how the story turned out so far, and I give him credit for keeping his (and my) eye on the prize even when I got stuck or discouraged.
This chapter ran longer than anticipated, but it didn't cut it as two separate chapters.
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.
June 24, 2018
While most people were on the commute home or already sitting down to dinner, two teenaged students were "rediscovering their youth" in the children's park across from the ice cream shop.
The sight of Sakura forlornly putzing about on the kids' swing—far too low to the ground for the average high school girl—spurred Naoto into asking her a simple question.
"Want me to push you?"
She jumped a little—lost in her thoughts—and looked to him, "What?"
Unable to suppress the foolish grin beginning to show, he repeated, "Want me to push you?"
"…!" her eyes lit up.
On Friday night, Naoto had asked her a question consisting of five words:
What would your dad think?
It had been more than unwelcome, but it started the two of them down a path leading them to where they were now.
Things were… complicated… but things were better… maybe…
What Naoto had just asked would kick off another path.
Want me to push you?
Five little words!
Sakura beamed, ecstatic, "Oh, Senpai-kun, would you?"
Infected by her palpable joy, he jumped to his feet and got behind her.
No matter how old someone gets, there will always be the desire to occasionally fall back on "childish" things… Sometimes that's not such a bad thing!
Needing no further prompting, Naoto positioned himself and gave a little push behind Sakura's shoulders as she made straight her legs.
She began to pendulate, and he backed up, allowing room for both of their roles.
Naoto didn't see her face fully, but he caught a glimpse of it on an upswing.
She was elated.
He could spot it plainly, and it made him feel great…
For a few minutes, the two of them continued in this fashion.
"…"
"…"
"Senpai-kun?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry you never got back to painting today…" Sakura expressed.
"…It's okay," Naoto dismissed. "I can get back to it tomorrow."
"…"
"…"
"Senpai-kun…?"
"Yeah?"
"…What is it you like about art so much?"
He was a little "caught with his pants down" on that!
But he took a moment, still pushing her steadily, "Well, uh… A lot of things, I guess."
She hummed, "Like what?"
"Well, I dunno…" he thought. "I guess it's relaxing… and stuff."
"And stuff?!" she chuckled, turning her head to look at him. "What kind of 'stuff'?"
He blushed, "I guess… Ah, give me a minute."
She tittered, "Take your time~."
"Well…" Naoto considered. "It's nice to create something."
"Okay," she acknowledged.
"Still life stuff is nice because it just sits there. It doesn't move or get tired or distract you…"
"Mm-hmm…" Sakura chimed.
"Clay and sculpting are nice… You get to really get a feel for your work, and I mean literally. I don't do it much, but it's good when I can."
"What about a living subject~?" she sang.
He felt heat rise in his face, and a lot of it had to do with the gal reverting to her "come hither" voice, "I have… mixed feelings…"
Sakura's own cheeks glowed, and she observed, making eye contact, "You sure put on a good showing at the culture fest though."
He flinched at the far from untrue statement (and her eyeing him), and he couldn't disagree, "I like working with Nagatoro…"
That came out weird! It was like the punchline before the rest of the joke! Right to the marrow!
"What is it you like about drawing her?" a small amount of impishness came out with her query.
He was… unsure, really, "Huh… Why do I?"
Because she…
"…That's kind of personal…" he settled on that. "And it's hard to put into words."
"…~"
"… … …"
"Hmph~," Sakura felt the desire to push a little further, but she chose not to.
Instead, she…
Essentially, she wasn't sure what she wanted…
But she went with the first thing that popped into her head.
"Gimme an under-doggy, Senpai-kun!"
He never knew what she'd say next!
"What's an 'under-doggy'?" he'd never heard the term.
"That's when you push all the way through, and you pass under the swinger!"
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, you can do it!"
Well…
"I dunno…" he was doubtful.
"Oh, please~," she cooed. "Please, Senpai-kun~!"
Naoto wasn't a dupe, but it was hard to say "no" to Sakura when she addressed him with such affection, even if it was just mostly playful.
Why not?
He became… uncharacteristically motivated.
"Okay," he increased his effort, trying to get more elevation; his smile returned.
He had this!
"Yeah, c'mon!" she laughed. "Let's go!"
Soon, he felt he'd be able to get underneath with no problems; he put his weight behind it. "Oooh!"
"C'mon, Senpai-kun!"
Careful to not touch her inappropriately, he caught her lower back on the backswing, nearly lifting himself clear of the ground.
"Here we go!" he shouted.
Fully contacting the ground, he ran and pushed for all he was worth, following through.
"Whee!" she squealed, propelled forward.
Naoto definitely made it, but he tripped himself up and landed in the sand well ahead of her.
"You did it!" the gal shouted.
He was just glad she didn't boot him in the head.
Putting his hands under himself, he flipped into a seated position.
Oh, crap…! Naoto immediately felt embarrassed, but…
He saw a pleasure in her unlike that he'd ever seen… It was… magical… like all her cares and worries and regrets caught the last train out of town.
Wow!
She was on cloud nine and in seventh heaven, cackling, "Ha-ha! You did it!"
Laughing, his pants now full of sand, he gave her the "okay" sign.
"Higher, Senpai-kun!" she cried out.
Higher?! Well-
He'd try!
Scrambling up and behind her again, he continued.
To greater and greater heights, the gleeful Sakura rose, and the indefatigable (not really) Naoto just kept pushing, not caring about how sore he'd wind up being, unused to exerting much physical effort in anything. But for some reason, he didn't want to stop.
…
…
…
Out of breath, Naoto ultimately fell on his butt, sweating like he'd run a race.
"I can't do anymore!" he wheezed.
They'd been at it for 15 minutes straight…
Why he'd just kept at it, he couldn't answer.
It made no sense…
Sprawled out on the sand, he watched Sakura skid to a stop, her heels digging into the divot under the swing as countless children had before her.
Her hair was a mess!
"I'm a little dizzy!" she shook out her windswept locks, only making it worse.
Naoto chuckled, seeing her walk up to him.
She plopped down next to him, tucking her skirt under her posterior, "I feel like I'm still on the swing, Senpai-kun…"
He couldn't remember what that sensation was referred to as…
His breathing settling out, he lay flat on his back. It didn't matter… the sand; he was a filthy, sweaty mess anyway.
"And I feel… really tired," he complained. "I can't lift my arms… It's like jelly…"
He tried, and though he was exaggerating, they felt heavy, as if his hands weighed 5 kg apiece.
A giggle sounded next to him, and he felt the nearest sand heave up under his arm. Looking to his left, he was face to face with Sakura, now lying down at his side, red-faced with a little smile.
"Ack!" he squirmed away, jarred at her closeness.
"'Ack!'?" she pretended to be hurt, trying very hard but not quite succeeding in holding back her laughter. "Is that what you say to the girl you just made all wonky? You gave me motion sickness, Senpai-kun~."
Slightly incensed, he grumbled at her "scolding" tone, "You're the one that kept on saying 'more, more, more'…!"
She pouted, "Ah, you can't even play along…?"
"I don't really like 'playing along'…" he expressed, lying back down in the sand as she was.
Geez… He kept on forgetting that Sakura was supposed to be scary…
I'm fine one minute, and I'm a nervous wreck the next… Naoto bewailed internally.
Sakura sighed, realizing she'd spooked him a little, "Oh, I'm sorry, Senpai-kun… Are you okay?"
He brushed it off; he was just squirrely, "Hey, don't worry, Sakura-san… It's… just been a crazy few days…"
"Yeah…" she'd been there for a lot of it. "It has been."
"…"
"…"
Naoto spoke up suddenly, "That was fun, wasn't it?"
"…!" Sakura snorted; she shuffled closer to him, and to her gladness, he didn't jump like he'd been goosed this time. "That was. Wanna switch?"
He knew she was half-joking, "Nah… I'm okay with just lying here for now… Think I've had enough fun today."
"…That was fun for you?" she wasn't sure.
"I guess," he kind of shrugged, as much as he was able to, given his current stance.
"…"
"…"
Sakura scooted even closer to him, tugging on his left sleeve with one hand, "Senpai-kun?"
"Yes?"
"…Thank you," she said. "For… …"
"Everything?" he half-joked, tired and loopy; he didn't expect much of a response.
She was still on that? A lot of it was a blur, and he'd sooner not think about it.
…
"Yes…" she butted up against him, and he wasn't repelled this time either. "For everything."
Oh…
He hadn't meant to be an ass…
"Sorry for being weird there," Naoto conceded. "I guess you surprised me. I shouldn't have said that though… I'm… I'm just not sure what to say here, Sakura-san…"
"No, Senpai-kun, I mean it," still holding his sleeve, she leaned her head into his shoulder.
"…!" he felt a shock of something course through his body, more at what she'd said than her closeness.
"Nobody…" her voice wavered, but same as earlier, she was all dried up… all cried out. "Nobody's ever done that for me before…"
"I'm sorry," Naoto knew full well she was referring to his meeting with Nobuo Takata—her erstwhile date—and convincing the other boy to sit down and speak with her; he had trouble with words. "I didn't know what to say back there…"
"It's okay…" Sakura exhaled. "Neither did I…"
But it seems you figured it out… at least something… Naoto thought.
With his right hand, he reached over, resting it on hers; he patted it.
Sometimes… he just forgot that Sakura was supposed to scare him…
"…"
"…"
"…Senpai-kun?"
"What's up?" he surprised himself with the casual response he'd made.
She fidgeted, "Uh… can I have your email and stuff?"
Naoto perked up.
That came out of the blue!
He indubitably had Nagatoro's—had for more than a year. He'd received Gamo-chan's in the winter, needing to touch base with her about Nagatoro's birthday. Why, he'd even picked up Yoshi's at some point.
But he'd never gotten Sakura's, or her, his.
"That's right…" he figured. "I never thought about it."
"I can't believe we haven't already…!" she scrambled about. "Lemme see your phone. Take mine!"
Naoto, taken aback at her enthusiasm, complied.
Still on their backs, they switched phones, dialing in their own information.
Ping!
Beep!
And that's all it took.
Naoto considered the new contact:
Inori Sakura
Reading it… pleased him.
"Aww…" his new contact whined. "What's this crap, Senpai-kun?"
She held her phone over his face:
Hachioji Naoto
"That's my name, Sakura-san," he mumbled.
"Oh, poo…" Sakura puckered, pulling her phone away. "You're clueless."
He didn't like that—he didn't even know what was going on, "What's the problem?"
In lieu of a verbal response, she began typing.
Before Naoto could ask what she was up to, she flashed the phone before his eyes again.
Senpai-kun🎨
"…!" he internally jerked.
"There, that's better~," she crooned, a giddiness more than evident. "Much better~."
…
"…" Naoto began thinking.
Less than two hours earlier, Naoto had dismissed the notion that "things would never be the same", even after seeing what he'd seen of Sakura over the weekend and Gamo-chan that same afternoon.
Then, of course, some other things had happened that day!
Maybe the old phrase wasn't always such bullshit after all…
…
…
…
Naoto, having shaken out his pants, checked the time:
7:20 p.m.
He should've been home almost an hour ago!
But it wasn't like he was in some great rush: his parents were out late, dinner could wait, and he still had plenty of time for a little studying, a shower, and maybe a chapter or two in the new manga book he kept meaning to read.
Regarding the reason for his lateness, Sakura, he watched, wincing along with her as she wrestled off one of her loafers, seated on a bench. It was one reason he preferred shoes with laces.
Brushing off her sock and shaking the sand from her shoe, she griped, "There's no way I'm wearing these again tomorrow!"
She hadn't been blowing smoke when she said dealing with shoes sucked so much; her bandages probably added a few sizes, and the loafers didn't leave much wiggle room.
Yep… laces… Naoto's resolve in the matter strengthened.
At the edge of the playground, Naoto stood, waiting for her to finish with her sandy problem.
Seeing her blonde hair bounce about as she attempted to pull her loafer back on, Takata's words popped into his head.
She really likes you, Hachioji. I wasn't sure if you knew or not…
He tried to clear his mind of such thinking.
No way!
That was impossible.
All the same, he determined to stop viewing whatever was going on in "anime terms". That thinking just seemed silly. It had to be a fluke, finding himself at the center of all this. It had just been an unusual four days.
All a fluke…
As her senpai ruminated, Sakura, having finished with her disagreeable shoddish chore, crabbed, "Screw this…"
Naoto heard her, "Think you'll be okay home?"
"There's that bus stop a block up the road," she reasoned, stumbling back onto two feet. "I'll just hop on the next one. Won't get me home any quicker, but I won't have to walk as much."
He knew the stop.
The route stopped near that restaurant they enjoyed… Near Sakura's house, which he'd never seen…
His mind moving elsewhere, he asked, "Are you going to get any grief for coming home so late?"
"Probably, even though I messaged my mom I was with a friend…" she ruffled her hair, still out of sorts. "Aren't you?"
Until very recently, hearing himself referred to as "a friend"—truthfully or as an excuse—would've phased him, but those days were being left behind; he casually said, "My parents are home late most nights… especially tonight."
"…"
"…"
Sakura pondered, "…When I was younger, I'd say 'that's nice, you get to have the house to yourself for a while—you can do what you want', but now I just think it's kind of sad…"
"It's okay, Sakura-san," Naoto meant it. "We just don't get to eat dinner together most weeknights."
"…My mom makes a homemade meal every night…" Sakura said without unhappiness. "And my little brother and I need a pretty good excuse to miss dinner."
Right… he'd heard mention of a brother a few times…
She went on, somberly, "I guess… I'm pretty fortunate."
He silently agreed.
It wasn't that he was unfortunate.
Their lives were just different…
"Senpai-kun," Sakura said.
"Yes?"
She glowed, "How about in the next week or two we stop somewhere on the way here and have a bite to eat?"
…!
It wasn't supposed to be a difficult question, but he froze up, and she took note.
Sakura cracked up, shaking with a brief bout of the giggles; she eyed him warmly, "Well, maybe dinner's too much. How about a little ice cream again?"
Naoto had recovered to the point he'd have been able to respond to dinner with a "yes", but going with the flow seemed like the smoother path.
He nodded, being as cool as was possible, so not very, "I'd like that."
Suppressing more laughter at his posturing, she managed, "Me too."
"…"
"…"
"I guess I'd better be-" "Well, I think I'll-"
They stopped, eyed the other, and while Naoto reddened, Sakura had a chuckle.
She cocked her head to the side, beaming, "So… see ya later."
Naoto flinched at her presentation, and she just snickered as he made to adjust his nonexistent glasses, flushing.
But once her little peal of merriment wore off, he collected himself; he said, "Yeah… see ya. Have a safe trip home."
"You too, Senpai-kun," she replied; then, all at once turning somber, she visually gulped, and her next words came out a little choked. "Thanks for… spending a little time with me."
Whoa… Naoto was knocked for a loop, feeling the full gravity of her words.
…
"Well, I'd…" he stumbled. "…"
"Yeah, you'd better," she shone again, pulling herself up a tiny bit. "See you tomorrow, probably."
Taking that as an excuse/pardon, he faced left and began to walk.
He'd walked a few steps… and he decided to turn around.
Sakura wasn't there.
Naoto sighed. He well recalled a similar instance with Nagatoro, when—after calling him a pervert and everything else in the book—she'd waited for him to walk away, before sending him embarrassing texts. He'd turned around that time, and the girl had been half-hiding in plain sight, mocking him to his face.
And that same kind of thing had happened more than a few times. He'd grown tired of it pretty quickly.
But… it seemed Sakura was a different kind of girl.
He knew that already though…
He shook his head, mentally beat from the day.
Yes, they're just different, let's leave it at that!
As he walked, he kept on having to peel his grimy shirt from his skin, which kept sticking. It was cooler than normal but still warm, and it wasn't helping matters, especially with the Goddamn humidity.
When he got home, he'd planned on eating first, but a lukewarm shower and a visit to the washer/dryer seemed priority one. He hadn't been sure of a lot of things that day, but this wasn't one of them.
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading!