🌸Cherry Blossom Palette🎨
🌸Chapter 28: "Reverse Ghost" Membership🎨
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
ED: A "ghost member" is a member of a club that is officially a member, but they are rarely seen and don't participate very much. They often show up when there's food or fun or profit to be had, but otherwise, they don't seem to exist, and they certainly don't help with much of anything when there's work to be done. A "reverse ghost" member is the opposite, I suppose (but they'll still join in on the food and fun). Three guesses who this person is.
And to borrow one of my editor's words he keeps wanting to incorporate (when he really wants to make a point), I think the dub of the anime is "cancerous". Crunchyroll hates its audience, but they've already given plenty of reasons for me to believe that.
Ask us anything, and we'll add a Q&A section in the next chapter. I would be happy if you ask questions.
Please enjoy what I wrote.
Wednesday, July 10, 2018
In the art room, over lunch, a certain gal asked a certain kohai for a little assistance.
"Hana-chan, would you please quiz me with my English vocab cards again~?" Sakura Inori implored, rather spiritedly, having finished eating. "I wanna do just the nouns. I can get it this time."
"A perfect score?" Hana Sunomiya was through with her bento and cleaning up. "Another attempt?"
"I got it this time~!" The blonde twinkled. "I know I do!"
"If you'll test me on my Edo Period history, I will." Hana put away her empty container, a minuscule but discernable playfulness to her voice.
"But you're so good at that already!" Sakura reasoned. "Social studies is by far your best subject, so why keep going with this stuff?"
"Well, you're doing quite well with your English vocab."
"I wanna get a perfect score in nouns!" The gal was adamant. "I've never gotten a perfect score—even studying! I'll just feel better when I have it! Plus, it's fun!"
"And Edo Period history is the only subject in social studies I've not perfected while studying. Shall we?"
Sakura smiled, "Dealsies~! Let's do your stuff first."
"It's alright, Sakura-senpai, you first," Hana offered. "You asked first. History can wait until after school."
Sakura wouldn't argue.
"Let's go!" She handed Hana the thick stack of English terms she'd been building all term. "This time, show me the side of the card in Japanese, and I'll spell the word in English."
Hana withdrew the nouns and shuffled the flashcards. "I wouldn't mind going through a couple of these stacks myself in the next day or two. I want to work on verbs and adjectives."
"I can handle that~," Sakura burbled. "It's so easy to sort them out now because Senpai-kun color-coded all the cards by parts-of-speech~."
"Thank you, Hachioji-senpai." Hana angled her head to look at him. "That was very helpful."
Sakura added, turning his way, "Thanks, Senpai-kun~! I know that took a while."
Yup, Naoto was there too.
The girls' senpai smiled bashfully, saying, "You're welcome… But it wasn't that big a deal."
"Not a big deal?!" Sakura was scandalized. "I won't let you talk like that. You've been a real lifesaver to both of us. Now, let's practice! When we say… 'thank you', you say… 'you're welcome; I'm glad I could help.'"
"Do we really have to do this?" He was polishing off his own lunch.
"C'mon, Hana-chan," Sakura incited, poking the girl. "One, two, three—!"
Naoto was already blushing.
The girls spoke over the other. "Thank you, Senpai-kun~." "Thank you, Hachioji-senpai."
He hunched over, heavily embarrassed, but he couldn't wipe the grin off his face either. "Y-you're welcome… I'm happy to help, girls."
"He improvised~!" Sakura giggled.
"That he did." Hana had finished randomizing the flashcards. "Ready, Sakura-senpai?"
She was. "Ready, willing, and able, Hana-chan~!"
"First word." Hana held up a card, the kanji side facing Sakura.
"This is… 'pillow'." Sakura remembered this one easily enough. "P-I-L-L-O-W, 'pillow'."
"Good," Hana said.
Naoto laughed to himself, his two kohai getting right to it.
Now that he was done eating, it would be best for him to spend some time going over his own materials.
Today was the day he was going home right after school. His parents were coming home early, and he was going to cook dinner.
The girls would be on their own that afternoon, but they had plenty to work on, and it's not like both weren't capable. They'd discussed this, and they were good to go.
But instead of going right for his math notes or one of his workbooks, Naoto watched Sakura and Hana go back and forth another moment, an affection seizing him at his very core.
What had he done right in his life to be allowed near these two wonderful people?!
He couldn't stop asking himself that question!
It seemed he'd been doing better the last few days about not viewing himself as a turd baked onto the sidewalk, but how was it that these beautiful, funny, fantastic young women would even give him the time of day, much less want to be his friends and care about him?!
Sakura… just… wow! He felt sorry for anyone that didn't know how great a girl she was… or didn't know her at all. She was… something.
And Hana, he'd known her since before she went to middle school, meeting her for the first time in his second year of middle school, during the culture festival; as a sixth-grader, she'd visited her cousin at the Art Club's display. It hadn't taken long to realize what a lovely young woman she was, especially when he'd had the privilege of working with her once she'd moved up a grade. He regretted not seeing more of her in the two years previous they'd gone to separate schools. And for some reason, she viewed him as a senpai in the truest sense.
What had he done right?
"…N-G-U-I-N, 'penguin'!" Sakura articulated.
Hana turned the card over. "That's it, Sakura-senpai."
"I got it!" she cried. "I finally got it! I remembered how to spell 'penguin'!"
"Good job, but don't let your guard down," Hana warned.
"Right!" the gal affirmed.
Naoto could feel his warm, stupid grin dimpling his cheeks, the girls carrying on across the room.
"Uh… 'table'." Sakura named the next card.
"Correct," Hana granted. "Now spell, it, and remember how the letters 'e' and 'l' operate."
Sakura nodded. "'Table'… T-A-B-L-E, 'table'."
"Good." Hana flipped the card, showing Sakura her correct answer.
"Sweet~!" The gal prepared for the next one.
Naoto couldn't help but notice Hana's hands as she held the flashcards.
Her nails were painted a soft, warm, inoffensive pink. He thought it was cute on her, if not pretty. What's more, the color matched what Sakura was wearing, and the older girl's nails had been blue on Monday.
…
…
…
One day earlier
After yet another stimulating day of more information piled upon what he was already expected to know for the exams beginning on Monday, Naoto walked up the clubroom at school's end.
Still, he was pleased, for he had yet another afternoon to study alongside Sakura and Hana, and Sakura's mother had baked a whole batch of chocolate chip cookies—with a little memo of encouragement—for them to share that day.
Gotta send Mrs. Inori a note! Naoto set himself a mental reminder.
But, perhaps, he could just verbally pass along his and Hana's thanks to the assuredly lovely Mrs. Inori. Sakura would see that she got it.
What's more, Hana had brought in an old single-burner electric stove and battered teapot with cups! Her parents had been willing to cut these loose for keeps, and the Art Club officially had a tea set to add to its sparse furnishings.
The Sunomiya family would also need to be thanked.
It wasn't much, but it was welcome.
Since Naoto kept tea handy in the clubroom for the occasion he brought in some hot water, they were more than set for snack that day.
Nice…
Entering the part of the building leading to the art room, he noticed a distinct and pungent, almost fruity odor.
The whole premises stank of acetone.
Sunomiya! Naoto reasoned. Damn it! She knows we're not supposed to do any obvious club activities!
It wasn't difficult to hash out what must've been going on.
Hana had broken out the oil paints.
Crap!
The worst thing about oil-paints—besides the mess they made—was the fact one normally had to wait until a mistake had dried before anything could be done to fix it.
However, a while back, Naoto had showed Hana a technique to clean up oil-based paint before it dried. With a little acetone, a misapplication of paint was pretty easy to deal with, even immediately.
Hana had made a goof, and she was trying to fix it. That was all well and good, but it was the week before finals!
He knew the kind of trouble they could get into. Very technically, they weren't even supposed to be using the clubroom to study. The only reason the sometimes-lax "overlords" let it go was because (besides the rumors about Sakura and Hana) they'd drawn no attention to themselves.
They also let it go because it was so prevalent throughout the school.
Almost all the clubs—besides the ones under especially close supervision—were still using their rooms, and some totally ignored the "no club activities during finals week and the week leading up to finals" rule.
That was still no reason to totally flaunt the rules! Naoto wouldn't let this fly.
However, there was no cause to for him to get too bent out of shape. He'd just tell Hana to pack it up and not do it again until they were safely into summer break.
Sliding open the clubroom's door, he prepared to calmly lay down the law.
Instead, he was greeted by a curious view.
"Hey, it's Senpai-kun~!" Sakura trilled.
Hana turned towards the door. "Good afternoon, Hachioji-senpai."
The girls were sitting across from one another at the table, one of Hana's hands was held in one of Sakura's, and in Sakura's other hand was a small, pinkened brush. A small pink vial, another vial, and makeup bag sat nearby.
The acetone Naoto had smelled was actually nail-polish remover.
Sakura was giving Hana a manicure!
"Sorry, Senpai-kun," Sakura apologized, her eyes darting between their "illicit activity" and her senpai. "I didn't have time to do my nails last night, and Hana and I talked after lunch, so…"
Hana was repentant. "I'm sorry, Hachioji-senpai… I asked her to."
"We won't be much longer," Sakura assured. "Please don't be upset."
They were acting like they'd been caught shoplifting!
Naoto was quick to notice that Sakura's fingernails were now plain, hence the nail-polish remover.
Maybe he should've been displeased that the two weren't already hard at work, but he couldn't bring himself to feel that way.
He smiled, "So, does Sunomiya get to do your nails next, Sakura-san?"
Hana's eyes widened, and Sakura's lit up.
The gal oozed, "Yeah, that's the plan~! We were gonna do that when we took a break a little later."
Hana murmured, "Though I've never done it before…"
"That's why I'm showing you!" the older girl said. "You gotta start somewhere. You can practice on me all you like~."
Their kohai almost smiled, blushing slightly.
Naoto just let it go. "How about I get the tea started? You two finish up."
The girls were delighted, and they went back to Hana's nails, Sakura explaining the process.
"I've found the best way to go is in layers," Sakura illuminated. "It dries faster, and multiple layers of light coats look better and are more durable than just globbing it on. Gives you a lot more control too."
"That's how a lot of art is, Sakura-senpai," Hana replied.
"Is it?" She dabbed the brush in the vial of pink polish.
"You're really good at this," Hana declared.
"Years of practice, Hana-chan!" Sakura puffed out her chest. "I'm no artist, but I'm an okay nail-artist~!"
Naoto, laughing to himself, prepared the tea and set out the cookies.
The next thing anyone knew, a giggly Sakura, going through her literature notes, was hand-feeding Hana cookies, the younger girl's hands drying flat on the table.
Hana, for her part, was reviewing a portion of her science workbook. "Sakura-senpai, could you please turn the page?"
The gal snickered benignly, and she flicked the page on Hana's workbook, quickly and diligently returning to her own materials, taking a sip off her cup of tea.
Naoto was having trouble concentrating, but he was eternally pleased to see his kohai get on so well.
He couldn't get enough of these two!
…
…
…
Present Day
Hana flipped to the subsequent card, and her eyes enlarged. "Huh…"
Sakura wiggled excitedly. "Oh, this is a crazy special one. 'Computation'. C-O-M-P-U-T-A-T-I-O-N."
"Correct." Hana stared at the word, reversing the card, taking in the term. "I've never even seen this word. Does it have something to do with computers?"
"Uh-huh~!" Sakura chirped. "A 'computation' is 'the act or process of computing'. Every day, my teacher likes to show us an interesting word of the day. It probably won't be on any test or anything, but I create a new flashcard for every unusual word he gives us."
"That explains all these strange nouns showing up alongside everything else…" Hana surmised. "Some of these are quite frivolous, Sakura-senpai."
"Don't think that way, Hana-chan," Sakura advised, putting on airs. "You never know when you might come across one of these words."
Whoa… Naoto had never heard the term "computation" either.
And he so wished he could again see the exaggerated, "wizened" expression Sakura had just given, astutely alerting her kohai to the benefits of frivolous words. It was hysterical!
He wished he'd been able to take a picture! Maybe even a video!
But he could…
Yes, he could…!
Perhaps he'd never again see that exact same face, but Sakura threw out numerous funny faces daily.
Her smiles were always his favorites though.
In this case, Sakura's smiles contrasted with pokerfaced Hana's dour look, but they were both having fun, knocking it around between them, and it was a joy to witness.
He wanted to capture this, so taking a step into fresh territory for him—and barely aware he was already doing it—he'd pulled out a sketchpad and had by now drawn the girls' outlines and their rough surroundings. It was somewhat rushed, but it had some potential.
With the foundation formed, Naoto proceeded to add in details.
…
"Okay, 'vacuum-cleaner'." Sakura knew this one. "That's V-A-C-C-U-M-C-L-E-A-N-E-R."
"Incorrect."
"Ah, damn it all!" the gal cussed.
Hana acknowledged, "That's a difficult one… V-A-C-U-U-M."
"And I got that one right last time…!"
Naoto, eight minutes into his work, was disappointed for two reasons:
Sakura had blown her chance at a perfect run of the cards, and he wouldn't be able to finish his borderline-voyeuristic depiction of the two gal-pals.
But he'd made it pretty far, he supposed—
"Keep going, Sakura-senpai," Hana directed. "You might as well."
"…?!" Naoto's heart seized.
Were they…?
Sakura sighed, "Oh, I guess."
"Good." Hana moved onto the next card.
Yippee-Ki-Yay! He could keep sketching.
But his elation was short-lived, for not two minutes later—
"'Cemetery'… C-E-M-A-T-A-R-Y."
"Incorrect, Sakura-senpai."
"Crap, I never get that one!" Sakura blustered. "It must be C-E-M-E-T-E-R-Y"
"Yes, that is the correct spelling."
Sakura, pouting, crossed her arms. "Oh, I so wanted to make it to the end without another flub!"
"Well, it seems you've missed two, Sakura-senpai," Hana heralded. "Do you still want to keep going?"
"Yeah, I wanna keep going!" she burst, unwilling to just quit. "It's not perfect, but this is still about the best I've ever done!"
Naoto smiled from ear-to-ear! It seemed he might be able to finish his sketch after all.
…
…
…
Not that it would've likely been a big deal, but the girls hadn't noticed the fact Naoto had rendered their interaction over the last 20 minutes of the lunch hour.
He was quickly visiting the boys' room prior to his afternoon classes, freshening up.
Washing his hands, it occurred to him that besides Nagatoro, the Prez, and his mother, he'd never really used another female subject in his art.
And here he had two new ones.
What am I doing…? It wasn't like him.
Yes, he'd sketched Nagatoro without her knowledge at the beach the year prior, but he'd worked with her a few times by that point.
This time, he'd just pulled out his stuff and started scrawling down the enchanting vision before him. It really was new territory for him. He'd never done that before, covertly sketching two people.
He'd do a little bit of touching up later when he took the time to give it a good look.
Man…
It seemed… kind of creepy, just sketching the girls like that.
Nah… Naoto shook his head. Don't overthink it! You didn't do anything that weird.
…
Just… wow!
Things had really changed the last couple of weeks.
Sakura was enjoying the clubroom, and she'd spent so much time there of late, she was pretty much an unofficial member of the Art Club.
She'd only been hanging around for a week, and Naoto could—with the greatest of ease—recall when she wasn't there every day, but in a way, it seemed she'd been there the whole time.
As it happens, he didn't want to remember a time without her. He loved Hana, but having Sakura around too was otherworldly.
He'd been having more fun with her there than he'd ever expected.
He'd made a friend into a better friend, and it was probably sheer chance they'd crossed paths the night of that storm.
Sakura had really turned his head!
But next semester…
Maybe the gal wouldn't be around much in the fall with no study group to keep them together.
Hopefully, she and Hana would remain close, and maybe they'd hang out in other places too. He felt they would, but he couldn't help but wonder where he fit in the equation.
He felt a tightness in his stomach… contemplating that he'd be seeing less of her. "…!"
They'd still be friends, and she'd never be all that far away, but all the same…
The tightness in his stomach moved up, encroaching upon this throat.
"…!" He stopped, pushing it away, swallowing hard.
Don't start in on that crap! Naoto steeled himself, scolding his feelings. Don't start!
Yes, he'd absolutely miss her if she didn't come 'round much, but he'd worry about that later. The end of the semester was pretty much upon them all, and they needed to keep going.
Eyes on the prize!
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading! Questions and comments are welcome!