🌸Cherry Blossom Palette🎨

🌸Chapter 36: The Sakura Puzzle, Part Five🎨

Written by EmtenDew

Edited by P. serrulata

Author's note:

ED: Another piece of the puzzle.

I'd like to give another shoutout to all the readers on Reddit! Thank you for your kind words and your readership!

So much for people being excited about Chapter 100. Nothing surprising or of worth happened. Naoto should've told the girls to go to Hell when they decided to hijack his art tour in favor of inane tourist trap rubbish. They could've joined another group if they wanted twaddle, but they know they can use Naoto. I figured Nanashi would disappoint or troll or pull a fast one. That's how he operates.

I'm saddened that at this stage of the story, Naoto still hates himself so much. He has no self-respect. If he did, he wouldn't spend so much time with a bunch of girls that not only disrespect him, but treat him like they want him to jump in front of a train. He's infatuated with a little troll that is smitten with him, but she has NO actual respect for him. He's a thing to use and abuse for all of them. I don't think Nanashi knows how such things work. Realistically, Naoto will have a breaking point, and it'll be ugly.

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.

Thursday, July 11, 2018

Sitting together on the swings at the park on the way home, to Sakura Inori's mild annoyance, Naoto Hachioji wasn't picking up what she was laying down, unable to wrap his mind around the concept that it was both normal and okay (and maybe even healthy) for a young man to appreciate a young woman in a swimsuit (and other various articles of clothing, undoubtedly).

Nagatoro certainly wouldn't ever say something like that!

Sakura smirked, stirring her feet in the sandy pool she'd raised under her swing—courtesy of the groundskeeper's hose—ready to "edumacate" the hapless, young artist in this seemingly illogical stance.

"I'll clue you in, Senpai-kun~," she announced, her continence a suicide cocktail of "come-hither" and undomestication.

"Wha…?!" Naoto nearly jumped out of his skin, the suggestiveness he'd just heard perturbing him.

There it is again! The "Gamo-chan feral grin"!

It didn't seem possible that his backdoor could constrict any further, but it did!

His discomfiture was as obvious as a volcano zit in the center of the forehead on school picture day.

Sakura couldn't leave him blowing in the wind anymore, and the gal's toothy leer broke into goofy laughter.

Huh?! Naoto felt like he'd been hit by a sock full of shit, and he looked like it, minus the brown/green residue and the stench.

She laughed all the more, taking in his aspect.

"Oh, let's not be so dramatic~!" She flicked her foot-fingers, sending little jets of dirty water at his pantleg. "I'm just screwing around."

"Cut that out!" It wasn't the first time he'd raised his legs in defense, trying to keep his pants as clean and dry as they could be.

Sakura's boisterous laughter fell off into a tamer giggle, and she ceased shooting mud at him; she imparted, "Apologies, Senpai-kun~…"

"…"

"…~"

"No more kicking your 'swamp' at me?" He eyed her legs, at rest.

The fact he was looking with such intensity at her lower extremities jarred her slightly, and she rotated away from him. "No more kicking… Now, could you stop ogling my legs like that?"

"I wasn't ogling anything…" He hadn't been staring at them because they were about an 8.6 on the 10-scale.

Naoto's gaze turned up to face Sakura, and she revolved back to center.

The gal sighed wearily, but she couldn't help but smile, "Now, in all seriousness, I'd like to clue you in on something."

"Clue me in?" he repeated.

"Yes," she said.

"On what?"

"You know what…" she groused. "We were just talking about it."

"…Right," he remembered, having been thrown off a little.

She instructed, "Now, I want you to listen."

"…" He was.

"There is something I wanna tell you." She prepared herself. "It's this: the girls might give you a hard time for checking them out, but they like that you're interested."

Doink! The statement hit Naoto like a truckload of compost.

"Gah…" was about the only noise he could make.

But he'd absorbed what she'd just said!

In response to his shock and awe, she counteracted, "Senpai-kun, there's a big difference between you gawking at us a little and some asshole looking at a woman like she's a piece of meat or something."

Was there?! Naoto wasn't sold.

"It's okay when you ogle us a little, really," she tried selling it. "We know you like us and respect us, Senpai-kun."

He was grateful she hadn't said, "love us," but that was far from the first thing on his mind. "Uh…"

She gave a sullen half-smile, chuckling, "You don't get it, do you?"

Part of him was relieved that she'd said it. "I… don't."

Sakura's demeanor changed at that, going from fairly laidback to solemn.

And yet, she seemed to relish telling him what she did.

"Senpai-kun, listen…" she exhaled, delicately skimming her toenails across the surface of her sandy puddle. "Some women—some people—would completely disagree with what I'm about to tell you, but trust me."

Naoto nodded dumbly, ready to hear what she was about to say.

She disclosed, "As long as it's genuine… or maybe I should say especially when it's genuine, as long as it's done with love and respect… we girls love when guys pay attention to our appearances. It makes us feel pretty, knowing our looks are appreciated. It's flattering, knowing that a man can look at us that way. We adore it. Don't think that doesn't include me~…"

Sakura, at least pink in the cheeks, went a shade further.

Her friend sat, mesmerized, reddening himself. "…"

She concluded, first clearing her throat, "Yes, girls might give you a lot of guff, but they love that you approve of them… that you think they're pretty. There's no girl that doesn't want to feel pretty, Senpai-kun. None. You can bet on that~."

Naoto could've been knocked over by a feather, slack in the face. "…"

"Eww…" Sakura recoiled slightly, bringing her hands to her chest and tucking her legs up under her butt. "Now that is kinda gross… your jaw's all dropped…"

As if zapped with a few thousand volts, Naoto righted himself, checking his chin for drool, of which there wasn't any. "Sorry!"

She broke up, giggling into her hands, "I think you get it now. I hope you do."

"I get it," he responded with the snappishness of a soldier.

"I'm glad," she blew out a breath, trying to halt her laughter, settling back into the water. "It's not that easy to say all that…"

"…" He could tell.

"But there's something…" she preceded.

Oof… Naoto wondered what else she could possibly say.

"They say nice guys finish last… but it's not always true." She knew the old adage. "Some get first, some place, some wind up in the middle, some… whatever."

Probably last for me, either way… Naoto supposed. What are you getting at?

"It doesn't really matter where you finish," she kept going. "What matters is that there's someone at the end who'll be blessed to have you… and you, her."

"…?!"

"…"

"Why tell me all this?" Naoto couldn't stop himself from asking.

Sakura pondered, "I… dunno, really. I guess that didn't make a whole lotta sense."

I've got no idea where she's going with this. He hadn't stopped trying to get it straight.

She took another moment to verbalize.

"The word 'nice' doesn't mean anything, Senpai-kun…" she alleged. "'Nice' is an act. What matters is kindness. And… you're a kind guy. That's why I told you."

"…?!

"…"

Naoto barely realized he was even opening his mouth, saying, "Uh… thanks, Sakura-san…"

It was then that Sakura came to recognize the worth of what she'd just told him.

She wasn't sure it had been of any value!

It had.

"I'm feeling a little less self-assured now…" She twisted about, writhing up a storm. "That was Hella awkward. I think I had a brain fart there."

"Maybe." He didn't dare confirm this. The last part made sense, at least… if it's true...

"Also, I'm pretty sure I just violated the Girl Code, telling you that stuff before…"

"You call it 'Girl Code'? Not 'Woman Law' or 'Sister Code'?"

"I guess the name is a little less inflexible than your 'Man Law'."

Naoto saw an opening; he could steer them out of the "awkward waters".

"Some call it the 'Bro Code'," he said. "I prefer 'Man Law'. Sounds less… douchey."

He so wished to find a better word, but it didn't seem to bother Sakura.

"I've read some funny Man Laws on the internet." She idly churned the mucky water, creating swirls. "One was that if it makes for a good story, you gotta do it."

Okay! We're steering in a better direction! Naoto was pleased.

He chuckled, "One of my favorites is that if you're buddy dies, you are required to delete his internet history."

Sakura snorted, "That's kinda sick~… But isn't it against Man Law to discuss Man Law with womenfolk?"

"I don't care." He didn't. "It's all over the internet, so it's not like you can't find it. There's no set list, but there are things it does forbid discussing with women."

"Girl Code's the same," she held. "A lot of it's for fun, but there are some iron-clad rules."

"Yeah, Man Law's got some serious rules."

"Like what?"

"Never fight naked… unless you're in prison~."

Sakura sputtered, and Naoto was treated to cloud of spittle spraying out of her mouth, causing him to shield himself.

Gross! But he thought that there was nothing like getting a pretty girl to wholeheartedly laugh, and she was doing plenty of that.

"That's funny~!" She wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her blouse, hiccupping laughter. "I wish there were more funny ones for Girl Code… Most of them are actually just good things to follow."

"Mm?"

"If you arrive together, you gotta leave together; that's one…" she began numbering them off. "Then, never let a gal-pal go to a public bathroom by herself."

Naoto shared, "If you've known a man for more than one day, his sister is off-limits forever… unless you actually marry her."

"You gotta help another girl—when necessary—send angry texts to her man~!" she chirped. "That's a good one!"

"Men are not to smell one another on purpose." Naoto thought that was an odd one, but he'd seen it.

"Oh, I have another funny one," Sakura spouted. "Always ask for permission before hitting on your friend's relatives~!"

Her senpai recalled, "There's always the one that men have to maintain at least one urinal gap between them when taking a leak, unless there are cordons or no other option… as in every other standing toilet."

Sakura scratched her chin in contemplation. "Another more serious one is that you tell another girl when she's having a wardrobe malfunction or if her outfit looks bad."

Naoto snorked, not at her, but due to his own wildly contrasting response, "Man Law dictates that if another man's zipper is down, you keep quiet… 'cause you didn't see nothin'."

"That's terrible…" Sakura panned. "You're supposed to watch out for each other, Senpai-kun…"

"I've broken that one," he confessed. "You gotta help out your friends."

"Yeah…!" she said it as if it was the gospel truth, which it kind of was. "Like, don't let a girl go into a toilet stall without toilet paper~!"

"A man shall never give a birthday card to another man." Naoto realized most of the memorable laws were just cold.

Sakura agreed on the chilliness, though he'd said nothing, "That's kinda mean… Don't you have any nice ones?"

"No man shall ever urinate in a public shower," Naoto declared, hiding his smirk.

"I said nice ones!" she giggled.

"Uh…" He reached for serious, but decided funny was better and was hit by impulse. "It's not gay if the balls don't touch?"

Immediately, he realized saying something like that had been a mistake.

"Ish!" Sakura pinched the skin on the back of his upper arm. "Asshole-kun!"

"Yee-ouch!" Naoto hollered. "Not there! Not there!"

"You'll get another~!" she warned, her fingers ready for a follow-up nip. "And you tell me I have a dirty mouth."

It was bad, but was it that bad?! Has anything I've said been that bad?! Naoto recalled she'd said some decently profane stuff that day (and a few other times too).

"Okay, something nice…" He did have to reach a bit. "If a man shows you a picture on his phone, you do not scroll left or right."

Sakura lowered her makeshift crab-claw. "I guess that's a good one… Very conscientious. Women should do the same, truly. It causes such trouble…"

"Okay, here's a crazy one." Naoto had enjoyed it when he'd seen it. "No man shall ever bring a camera to a bachelor party. If he does, it is lawful for the other men to kill, grill, and eat him."

The gal grimaced, "That's just nasty."

Naoto shrugged. "I laughed the first time I read it."

"Well, how about this?" Sakura retaliated. "Continually insult your bestie to remind her that you love her~."

"Meh," he dismissed. "A man may exaggerate any story—without repercussions—as long as the exaggeration doesn't exceed an added 40% to real events."

Sakura didn't like being "meh-ed" at.

"Yours doesn't even make sense," she grumped. "We talked about percentages for 15 minutes the other day. How's it quantified? Doesn't that bother you?"

"I don't think a lot of these were thought up by scholars, Sakura-san."

She supposed that was true. "I guess."

"How 'bout… no man shall sing and dance at the same time." Naoto figured Sakura would have something to say about this one.

And she did, upbraiding, "That's an affront to just about every boyband to have ever existed."

"Well…" He tried coming up with another. "No man shall pick up an acoustic guitar at a party and start playing it; any man that does so is a tool."

Sakura complained, "Seriously, can't you think of any other nice ones?"

"I guess that eliminates the idea that two men shall never share an umbrella…" he reasoned.

"Yes, it would," she agreed.

"And that two men shall never speak to one another in the bathroom…" he added. "And eyes forward! No lookin' down and to the side~…"

"You wanna go for a double?" She menacingly held up both hands, snapping her fingers together. "And I won't let go this time!"

"No, I don't want that again…" he admitted. "But no man shall ever—under absolutely no circumstances—eat out of the hands of another man."

It had been risky, provoking her, but it paid off.

Dropping her talons, she scoffed, chortling into her lap, "That's just silly~~…"

"This has been kinda one-sided…" Naoto opined. "You done?"

"No," Sakura perked up, all business. "Always check on a friend when she's on a first date."

"Wholesome," he commented.

She cited another, "You gotta rescue any girl from a creep, whether you know her or not."

"Any more funny ones?" He hoped there were.

She allowed herself to be goaded. "If someone breaks your friend's heart… kill them."

"How about legal?" he specified.

"If your friend has a reason to hate someone, so do you!"

"That seems petty," he said. "Doesn't seem very funny or helpful."

Sakura put on airs, facetiously declaring, "It's not my fault that Girl Code is a serious institution. Your Man Law's more of a joke."

Naoto didn't care that she said that; it was rather laughable, a lot of it.

But he kept up the fun. "Seems to me that you're giving up."

"I am not!" She tried splashing him. "Asshole-kun!"

He saw it coming and laughed, hiking up his legs, "Yup, seems you're done~."

"Oh, yeah?!"

"Yeah."

"Don't make me trump you!" Sakura threatened.

"Do your worst~!" he challenged. "You got nothing."

Not to be bested, she scrambled and let slip, "Since we'll go a whole entire week sometimes wearing the same one, you gotta let another girl know if her bra stinks~!"

"If a man—" Naoto froze, and his eyes slowly turned to her.

"…!" Sakura gaped at him, her own jaw going limp as his had previously.

"…!" Naoto knew he'd stepped in it.

"…!"

"…!"

They dissolved.

"Oh, geez~…" Sakura hid her face, a shrill cackle finding its way between her fingers.

"Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah…" Naoto flapped about, stupefied.

What was that?! He lost all orientation.

"I can't believe I just said that~!" Sakura gave a howl of indignity, tears of laughter threatening.

"…" Naoto's head was spinning.

"…" She wasn't any better off.

"…" He didn't want to speak first.

And he didn't have to.

"That was…" Sakura buzzed. "…"

"Yeah…" Naoto couldn't describe it any better than she could. "It was…"

The gal urged, "We can… pretend it didn't happen~…?"

"Yeah!" He was good with that. "And never mention it again!"

"…"

"…"

"But ya know, Senpai-kun…" Sakura mused. "This is the kinda thing where you say, 'we'll look back on this and laugh.'"

"…You're right…" he harmonized. "So, let's look back on it some other time."

She burst out, riant, "Good idea~!"

…

…

…

Sakura sat contentedly, her eyes closed. "…~"

She'd remained on her swing, wallowing in her own little tiny fenland, continually laboring at the sand with her tootsies.

The gal was having a fine old time!

"Sakura-san?"

She opened her eyes, her senpai before her.

Naoto held out a bottle. "It's got totally different stuff than the machines at school, but I think you'll like what I got."

He'd bought them a couple of cold pick-me-ups from the vending machine, set against the restroom/utility building, which they'd never tried previously.

"Thanks, Senpai-kun~," Sakura beamed. "I know getting all these snacks and stuff have decimated your wallet."

He didn't mind. "It's just a couple of drinks. Been spending too much, but hey, it's been a good week!"

And I could never top the scones and chai tea from earlier, so it's the least I can do!

"Ooh… cranberry-pomegranate~!" Sakura effused, taking the juice. "Yummy~!"

Naoto was pleased as punch that she was pleased. She'd asked him to pick out something nice for her, and this seemed to fit the bill.

He sat down beside her once more. "Gotta wet the whistle, as Grandpa would say."

Sakura eyed his beverage of choice. "So, something besides orange, eh~?"

Gamo-chan said something like that the day before!

He thought about telling her that he and Gamo-chan had talked and had sodas, but… with all that happened between them, he decided it was best to keep mum.

"I haven't had apple juice as long as I can remember," he adopted, looking over the label. "I didn't get any on Saturday, and I guess I just wanted some."

Sakura gave her bottle a shake and cracked the top. "I only got one little glass… Otherwise, Hana-chan sucked down the whole jug on her own."

"Ah, I was okay with mixing up some cran-orange juice to go with the cran-orange muffins." He'd enjoyed the stuff.

"Saturday was just so much fun~," Sakura breathed. "I got to run into you right away. Not a bad day to start the day~."

Not bad, definitely! Naoto could visualize his friend bouncing towards him, the bright morning sun illuminating that outstanding sight from the east, at his back.

"Yeah~…" he exhaled, opening his own juice, elated at the memory. Right back at you!

Sakura giggled, "Oh, you… I think my favorite part of the whole day was watching Hana-chan eat her first ever cran-orange muffin! Wasn't that just the cutest thing~?!"

"It was something~," Naoto allowed. Damn it! I shoulda said "cute"! Sakura wouldn't use that against me! Next time…

"Mm, yum~!" The gal had taken a swig of her drink. "That's good stuff…"

Naoto took a healthy gulp off his apple juice. Man, I've forgotten how good this is!

His companion got back to reminiscing.

"And when Hana-chan got that brain freeze…" She winced at the thought. "I shouldn't have laughed, but that was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time~."

What stood out to Naoto was how much fun the girls were able to have with one another, and it didn't seem to matter what they did to find it!

It brought that stupid, foolish, almost drunken smile to his face, and warmth bloomed inside of him.

I'm so happy to be here…!

"Senpai-kun," Sakura hailed him.

His mien dropped slightly. "Yeah?"

"This stuff is really good!" She held out her bottle. "Wanna try?"

His spiritual being did a cartwheel. Yikes!

Indirect kiss!

Naoto's brains ran the 100-meter dash in about seven seconds.

I can't drink from her bottle!

He'd dreaded running into this situation again. It had been a nightmare, the indirect kiss crap, all the times he'd dealt with it.

He did dread it, but—

…

Hana-chan… …the cutest thing~?

…

He did want to do things differently. He'd only just had the idea a moment before, but he wanted to be better!

…

Nagatoro had shit on him before, griefing him with all that indirect kiss malarkey!

He'd hated it! It was just so immature, the way she'd behaved.

Just because he was apprehensive about such contact didn't mean he'd put on a fucking theatrical production, mocking her about it, driving the gag into the ground and pissing on it to make sure it was dead!

He wanted to be different.

That's right… Sakura won't act like some stupid child over this!

And neither will I! It's no big deal to her, and it's no big deal to me!

Screw it, "next time" is right now!

He dispassionately took the offered bottle and put it to his lips, taking a nongreedy sip.

It was good!

In fact, it was so good, he took another dram.

Sakura tittered.

"What?" Had he done something wrong?

"I'm just glad you didn't make a big deal over that indirect kiss garbage…" she answered.

You have NO idea…! Naoto internalized.

Still, he let it roll off. "It is kinda dumb."

"Right?!" she gushed. "I mean, I'm clean, and I'm pretty sure that you're clean, so what's the fuss~?"

Filter!

"Hey, Senpai-kun?"

"Hmm?"

"I know it's just apple, but can I try yours?" she asked. "I've never had this brand before."

He was a bit stunned, but he didn't refuse, giving it over. "Sure."

Sakura took a pull, and piped, "Oh, that's nice~!"

Naoto was down with this thinking. "I'll be getting it again."

She turned to him, eyes sparkling. "What we should do next time? Let's get the same thing again… and mix them together!"

He wasn't opposed, receiving back his juice. "My turn to do snacks for the Friday get-together… I'll buy a big bottle of each of these, and we can do that tomorrow. I've seen this stuff at the store near my house."

"Eee~!" She jiggled. "Senpai-kun's an artist and a genius!"

He smiled, "I'll do it then."

Now, if only they had a fridge in the art room to keep it cold!

For a couple of minutes, the two of them sipped on their drinks, content enough to just sit in the pleasant early evening.

Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading! Questions and comments are welcome!