🌸Cherry Blossom Palette🎨
🌸Chapter 52: Triple Point🎨
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
ED: Nagatoro and Gamo-chan clash.
I'd again like to thank Shamastus of Reddit who's also on a couple of fanfic sites for his hard work and awesome art. He made an adorable couple of pieces of art of Nagatoro's gal-pals on their karaoke party day, which is yet to come in the story. For those of you that didn't see the art above because some sites don't support art, here's a link. r/nagatoro/comments/vv7520/allure_of_three_cherry_blossom_palette
It's a crime that people who post and repost and repost and repost annoying memes or other people's art or that bought a special edition of a book they already own and post a picture of it get more attention than people that actually try to make something. "You bought a book and took a picture of it and posted it… so did ten other people… the same book in the same place."
Maybe I should take pictures of each of my manga books and proudly present them like my older brothers post pictures of the deer they shoot every year. One of my brothers thought it was funny to take pictures of his crap and post them online with other people that take pictures of THEIR crap and critique each other. I was so grossed out when I caught him doing it, I almost cried.
The South Park episode where Randy Marsh takes the world's biggest crap was gross, but my editor gave me fair warning, as he does with everything that deserves a disclaimer. I don't get men's obsession with the size of their crap, but when I asked him why, he said I wouldn't understand. LOL
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.
Monday, July 15, 2018
To exercise science in a representational way, the situation in the Art Club's room at Kazehaya High was inching towards a state of "thermodynamic equilibrium".
At this point, in a given substance, dependent on temperature and pressure, the phases of solid, liquid, and gas "meet", and the slightest alteration of the environment dictates which phase occurs.
In essence, the smallest change—the smallest push—could send everything overpoweringly in any conceivable direction!
…
"Thank you, Sakura…" Maki Gamou, her cheeks pink and features strained, couldn't stop peeking at the repair in the left armpit of her blouse, made by the gal. "Thank you…"
After what seemed to be mere seconds, a glumness had fallen on the room, somehow… morphing out of its erstwhile praise for Sakura Inori and her sewing skills into… whatever this glumness constituted.
Naoto Hachioji might've not been the first to recognize this change, but the others were catching on too, whatever way.
Sakura was beginning to get a little weirded out by the copious gratitude—over such a small patch-up on a garment. "Seriously, it's fine, Gamo-chan… It's alright…"
And the "weirdness" went on; Gamo-chan stared at the table, her aspect fell, and her mood plummeted. "I'd usually wear an undershirt, but it was gonna be too hot today. This blouse is heavy enough that you don't need an undershirt, but I usually wear one anyway.
"If I had worn an undershirt, I might not've even noticed I still had the tear. And even if I did, no one else would've seen it… But I didn't… so it was just one more thing I didn't need today…"
…
Weird, nothing! Naoto knew what was troubling Gamo-chan, the girl who stood as the rock in her group of friends—or at least tried to, reliably so.
The stress and relief attached to the blouse had, by some means, channeled Gamo-chan's feelings through the gutter and sent them spinning into some great metaphorical drain. She'd begun to focus on things quite painful to her, and she was zeroing closer and closer to the center of the whirlpool, to that oblivion sucking her in.
She was unraveling, finally unable to hold it together on her own, a helping hand liable to do as much harm as good.
It had become too much for her.
…
Gamo-chan was beginning to choke on her own sentiments, her focus on the blouse running interference against what was really going on.
"It's just been more and more…" she, in essence, repeated herself, her speech little more than a weary drone. "It's just been one more thing after another… on top of everything else today…"
Naoto wasn't keen on covering this "everything else", knowing the girl's day had been pretty rough…
He had his hopes. And he hoped it didn't come up…
…
Deciding to take stock of Hayase Nagatoro and Yoshi Yamazaki, Naoto gave them both a sideways glance.
Nagatoro was squirming as if her bladder was about to pop, becoming more and more agitated at the atmosphere in the room.
Yoshi was even worse off; she wasn't taking it well, her oldest friend spiraling into woe. He couldn't say he'd seen her more lost, not that he could really "read" such a thing. It was like… hot chili peppers; they get hotter and hotter, but you get to a point—even with a refined palate—where you can't tell the difference any longer, only knowing that they're hot.
Naoto gave it some contemplation. Maybe nobody can fix this…
But there was one girl willing to try, or rather, it was more in her nature simply to do so.
"Try" wasn't even the best word to use!
Hana Sunomiya didn't try; she just loved her senpai, having no motivation past that.
Sometimes there WAS no fixing something, and the wisest people knew that compassion and understanding weren't always meaningless stand-ins.
"Gamou-senpai," Hana tenderly addressed the girl to her right, putting a hand on her forearm. "Is there anything we can do?"
"…"
"…"
Gamo-chan cherished her kohai and rubbed the younger girl's hand, but, "I don't know, Hanacchi…"
"…"
"…"
Less than shocking, Hana came right back, directly, "Why are you upset?"
Naoto's blood ran cold, knowing his fellow art club member meant as well as anyone could possibly mean well, but there was no right way to deal with this!
And he knew he wasn't the only one stuck in that philosophy, a greater pall descending upon the assemblage, their faces bearing witness!
…
Gamo-chan's problem…
The earlier bit of mealtime unpleasantness, the tall girl losing her cool for a moment, had begun when she'd shared her worries about a section of the Japanese exam.
Hana knew she was upset; she could tell, and she wasn't the only one.
It had stood up to her reason that her senpai was upset about her struggles on the test. Things had spiraled when Hana enjoined, telling Gamo-chan to not be troubled, hurriedly escalating after only a few words between them.
But something else was on the Gamo-chan's mind, and it was no mystery to the rest of those present, or so it had seemed.
Naoto had been positive that they all knew, but it seemed one of them didn't.
How could Sunomiya not know?! His mind sped along, contemplating how to diffuse the situation, if it was even possible.
But Hana couldn't be blamed. Half of the first-years and a few of the third-years didn't know yet, but the entirety of the second-year student body knew about the quarrel originating in 2-A's homeroom.
…
Back to the matter at hand, Naoto was certain that Gamo-chan would—at the very least—decline answering, but she didn't.
Hana had a way of diving into tough situations, even if she didn't know the whole story or was going in blind.
One might say she every so often had the tendency to leap before looking…
She cared very much for all her senpai, and they knew they were blessed for it.
It wasn't a common occurrence OR a common person to see the Amazon drop her guard a little…
"…" It wasn't easy, but Gamo-chan more than welcomed Hana's gentle concern; it was even therapeutic, in a way, to talk about it. "I… got embarrassed this morning, in homeroom… Someone… said something mean about me in front of a bunch of people."
"I'm sorry to hear that." The kohai-est of the kohai bobbed her head, her other hand joining Gamo-chan's. "That can hurt a lot."
"Ah, don't worry about it, Hanacchi…" Gamo-chan tried to gloss it over, but it wasn't happening; she changed her grip and clung to Hana's hands, perhaps more firmly than intended. "It just… it did… hurt. It hurt a lot…"
"…"
"…"
The whole of the room—aside from Hana herself and Gamo-chan—was wowed at the younger girl and her method, first able to quell such an explosive head-to-head as she had and later give comfort.
To further impress, though never trying to, Hana was struck with a simple but effective course.
"I have an idea, Gamou-senpai." She went with a cure-all, something that she sometimes found comfort in. "How about we all meet up after school and get a nice juice or soda? We could even get some ice cream. Maybe we could sit in the park for a little while."
It was…
Gamo-chan actually chuckled, relinquishing Hana's hands and sitting up, "That… sounds pretty good."
…a decently solid plan!
Naoto was amazed, but the air became a little lighter, following Gamo-chan's improvement, and the advantage was promptly taken.
"There'll be nothing keeping us here; the staff will try to shoo us away as soon as school is over," Sakura reasoned, quickly recognizing a good thing. "We should do it. It'll be hot out, but it's not like we aren't going home anyway. I think it'll be fun~."
"No stragglers!" Yoshi contributed. "Last one there's a rotten egg~!"
There was a general murmur of ascent, and the room buzzed with spakes of fun in the park.
Sakura wanted to swing!
Hana wouldn't mind trying it again!
Gamo-chan wondered if she wasn't too tall to attempt the monkey-bars~!
Yoshi wanted to see-saw!
Naoto… keeping his trap shut, just wanted to see the girls smile (and he hoped that the girls wouldn't give him too much bunk if Sakura begged him for an under-doggy).
But not everyone wanted to make this brief trip back to the simplicity of childhood.
Sadly, one of their number had heard enough, disgusted by this syrupy exchange of ideas and—her growing frustration finally boiling over—made it known.
"Oh, e-NOUGH!" Nagatoro protested, exasperated.
"…!" the rest of the chamber reacted as one.
Gamo-chan jerked as if she'd been gutshot.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
No one could quite comprehend what they'd heard, the three syllables making up two words.
Though she'd reflexed most strongly, Gamo-chan recuperated the fastest.
Staring Nagatoro up and down, flummoxed at the shorter girl's outburst, she stuttered, shambling, "W-what's your problem?"
Naoto had been with Gamo-chan in her moments of "weakness", and he didn't like what he was seeing, and he really didn't like to hear that tone of voice either.
Oof…
He was reminded of her low point on Wednesday, the girl shaken at his fearful dissolving in front of her. It was happening again.
It was as if her defenses had been shattered…!
Before anyone else could utter a word, Nagatoro, a very ugly scowl obscuring her features, harangued her old friend, and a definitive line was summarily crossed.
"Why should you care what Rabi-chan says?" she sneered, reeking of contempt. "She's just running her mouth again."
Shit! Naoto cringed. She just had to say that… and who was SHE to talk about the running of the mouth?!
He'd been continually afraid things might take such a route.
Irrespective, he'd willed himself to accept that pretending this issue didn't exist and that not thinking about it would help matters.
So much for that…! He couldn't have been more wrong.
The affected, aggrieved look Gamo-chan possessed transmuted into an unsightly thing, and her attitude took an instant turn.
"Don't talk like you know…" the big girl rumbled, glaring daggers that were still quite unable to hide those sad eyes of hers. "You weren't even there!"
Naoto wasn't about to forget Gamo-chan's temper flaring at the mere thought of Rabi-chan—brought up by her—the previous Wednesday, even after she'd calmed down and spoken rationally with him.
It had brought her back to the brink of a killing mood!
What was happening between Gamo-chan and Rabi-chan was fouler than anything he'd envisioned.
Ignorant of all that other than her senpai and Gamo-chan having a Wednesday afternoon soda, Nagatoro scoffed, "You two have been at each other's throats for a week! Why don't you just cut it out?"
"Hayacchi…!" Sakura hissed.
Gamo-chan glowered, slowly rising to her feet. "Shut your mouth, Hayacchi…"
Damn it, what do I do?! Seeing just how fragile this last-minute truce among the girls was, Naoto was soliciting Heaven for something to derail this shitshow.
…
In regards to what was going on between the two second-year "-chan" girls, it was far from clandestine amongst the students, and Naoto had finally pieced it together; he might've gotten the picture sooner, but he'd done much to keep it from thought.
Gamo-chan had told the group that she'd communicate the finalized time and date for the karaoke party to those not present at lunch, and that was her roundabout way of saying that Rabi-chan was not to be invited, and she definitely wouldn't be welcome at her get-together, not while either was alive and breathing.
But things had gone well beyond such cattiness.
As it happened, Gamo-chan and Rabi-chan had been engaged in what was best described as a feud since the last week of June.
And it had taken a BAD path.
Things had come to a head that morning, and it was bad.
Fast on the heels of a squabble between them, Rabi-chan, loudly and in front of a bunch of boys—geeks, some of them—not to mention half the girls in 2-A, had very strongly alluded to Gamo-chan's severe lack of interested suitors, hinted that she'd never even held a boy's hand, and had all but called her a virgin.
There'd also been a "witty" crack or two about the Maki having never been kissed.
Perhaps worst of all, not only did everyone believe it, they knew it to be true.
Not to say that EVERYONE hadn't known all this already, but someone had finally verbalized it…
It had been verbalized cruelly and from a most unwelcome source.
That Rabi-chan had slighted Gamo-chan was already the biggest news throughout the school… that day.
And further compounding this, Gamo-chan had been standing right there as it happened, unable to respond.
She hadn't even had time to process it, the silent prep time suddenly enforced, the Japanese exam beginning soon after!
There was no doubt in Naoto how mortifying this was for his fiery-haired friend.
…
"I'm tired of this…!" Nagatoro got up, withal berating Gamo-chan. "It's been all month! All you've been doing is whining about her. Go kick her ass if it'll make you feel better! At least you'd maybe shut the Hell up about it!"
"You don't know what that felt like!" Gamo-chan's voice nearly broke. "You have no idea!"
Oh, no… Naoto saw disaster dead ahead.
Sakura pounced in and snapped, this time with a little more umph behind it, "Hayacchi, shut up!"
Naoto had only heard that tenor out of the gal once, that Friday night at his house, the first day of summer.
Geez…! For the second time that day—and in response to the same girl—his family jewels abandoned the coin purse, tucking themselves into the relative safety of the vault that was his torso.
Sakura stood referee, nearly in between the two opponents.
Yoshi had been there with Gamo-chan when Rabi-chan went so far, a puppy alongside her top dog, and she hadn't been able to do a thing about it either. She done well up to this point, but she was no longer able to keep making believe that everything was okay.
She'd lost all color. "…!"
Hana was wide-eyed.
For a moment, neither Nagatoro or Gamo-chan moved; they stood, breathing hard and staring one another down.
But their faces diminished in their anger.
"…" Nagatoro gulped.
"…" Gamo-chan unclenched her fists.
The short girl sighed, looking down, "…Sorry… Too much…"
"…" Her best friend tried to stop shaking. "…Me too…"
"…" But Nagatoro didn't back down.
"…" Neither did Gamo-chan.
…
"Okay, let's just calm down and sit…" Sakura advised, gesturing to Nagatoro and Gamo-chan; she turned to Hana. "Hana-chan, would you take the center seat?"
Without a second prompting, Hana slid over, taking Gamo-chan's seat.
Naoto didn't think they would, but the two girls, having ceased yelling at one another, listened to Sakura.
Nagatoro sat back down where she'd been.
Gamo-chan took Hana's previous spot.
Naoto and Yoshi, relieved, exhaled.
Still, it didn't take an expert on body language to determine that Nagatoro was still wound up.
It was also quite plain that Gamo-chan was rattled.
And she was the most rattled that Naoto had seen her!
He listened as Sakura tried to reassure Gamo-chan.
Her words were probably true, but…
"I know you don't wanna hear anything more about it, but you need to remember this…" she bid. "Finals are going on, and the students' attention span to this kind of crap is short. It takes a really crazy stunt for anything to endure. The rumors should go way in a couple days, and summer break will be here. I've been through this a bunch of times, and they'll forget it pretty quick."
I kinda doubt that! Naoto would've given a lot to not hear Sakura's words, as painful as it was for Gamo-chan. You're "used to this"… You do something, it's just "that gyaru hamstringed another boy"… If someone else does it…
He knew that Sakura meant what she said.
But it didn't do much for Gamo-chan.
"Can we please not talk about it?" There was a ragged edge to her voice. "Please?"
Naoto realized—even more so than before—that she was bordering on tears.
It might not have been obvious to just anyone, but he made it out, having seen the leadup.
She was making a deliberate effort to not start crying!
Sakura and Hana kept up appearances, but Yoshi was looking direr and direr.
Naoto felt awful for the Yosh.
Damn it… He wished he could do something. Maybe everyone getting together for lunch wasn't the best idea…
How many times had he thought THAT in the last 20 minutes?!
There wasn't even a "back-and-forth" on this outlook.
Not once that day had he thought the whole "main" group getting together was an excessively good idea!
He may have overestimated Hana though.
"I'm sorry…" The youngest girl unexpectedly shuddered, her words wavering. "This is my fault…! I didn't know…"
Oh, no…! Naoto's heart sank down near his stomach. Sunomiya…!
Before Sakura could even raise a finger, Gamo-chan was already on it.
She moved in, a hand on Hana's back. "No, no, no, Hanacchi!"
Hana winced. "But—"
Gamo-chan leaned closer. "Don't say that… Don't say that, Hanacchi…"
"Gamou-senpai…?" She beheld her older friend.
Gamo-chan downplayed her circumstances, "Seriously, Hanacchi, I don't wanna hear you say that… I know you care, but… Sakura's right… I feel kinda dumb for making such a big deal about this."
"It's not dumb, Gamou-senpai!" Hana exclaimed, almost rising up. "It's terrible that someone would say mean things about you like that!"
And she didn't even know what was said!
Gamo-chan didn't disagree, but, "Let's not let it ruin our day… It hurt, but I'll be okay. I promise…"
"…Okay." Hana didn't seem sure; she steadily melted into her seat.
Gamo-chan smiled. "I'd still like to go hang out at the park~. Really, I'll feel better if we do."
This time, Hana was convinced. "Okay, Gamou-senpai."
Naoto's eyes darted from girl to girl.
They all seem better… even Yoshi…
He wasn't worried about Sakura, who appeared at ease.
Nagatoro seemed rankled, but she appeared to have herself under control.
…
Whew… Naoto was convinced that the situation was diffused… for the time being.
…
Well, Naoto thought so.
…
Sakura gave no preamble, "Everyone, I think it might be a good idea for us to split up until after school… I think we all need to cool off."
"…!" This was unexpected, other than for Naoto.
"Sakura?" Yoshi was the only one of the other five to say anything.
Sakura reiterated, adding, "I'd still like to go to the park, and I'd like us to have the potluck tomorrow, but I think we should go our separate ways for now.
"We're all a little short right now; we should just go and relax before the next test. We'll all feel better after the English exam, and we can message each other and stuff to meet after school."
Naoto thought this was a good idea too.
He didn't want to leave the Art Room, given it was his abode, but if it would help alleviate things…
However, the messages the others sent were reluctant at best.
He could see it!
He could see Nagatoro and Gamo-chan react to what Sakura said, and he could tell:
Neither girl was backing down any more than she had or seemed in the least willing to leave.
Yoshi would probably do whatever Gamo-chan did.
…
But Sunomiya might go for this! Naoto was just as sure that Hana would follow Sakura as Yoshi would follow Gamo-chan.
Hana wasn't YOSHI though; she'd recognize that Sakura's rationale was for the best.
He was confident that Sakura and Hana leaving would fully diffuse this powder-keg, and Nagatoro, Gamo-chan, and Yoshi could coexist peacefully, and it didn't matter if he was there or not.
Things had seemed to abscond from "bad", but this would keep it that way.
It was obvious what was about to happen.
Sakura would ask Hana to leave with her, as she'd said she might, given how things developed.
Sakura stood up. "I'm gonna go work on my makeup in a big mirror… maybe walk around some. Then I wanna go say 'hi' to some other people, so I'll see you all later."
The gal gathered up her schoolbag and her other possessions.
Here it comes… Naoto was expectant.
"Hana-chan?" Sakura asked.
Hana peaked, "Yes?"
"Come along with me," she requested. "There are a few things I've been wanting to show you."
"Show me?" Hana blinked.
"In the mirror," Sakura specified, miming the applying of makeup. "A trick to help relax your eyes… It works, really~."
"…" The kohai was stoic.
"Also, some of my classmates would like to meet you," Sakura appended. "We have the time, so why don't we go say 'hi'? Walk around… get a little exercise to loosen up before we're stuck sitting for two hours again."
Naoto was impressed by her nonchalantness. It helped when she was telling the truth in the first place.
In the short time since the juice run, he'd begun to like Sakura's motivation.
He was sure that Sakura would never lead Hana into a bad situation. More so, he knew just about anyone willing to get to know their kohai would love her and (hopefully) her them.
Hana was one of a kind, and being her friend was a fortunate thing!
…
"It's okay, Sakura-senpai," Hana said.
What?! Naoto balked.
Sakura was dumbfounded. "Hana-chan?"
"It's fine. Go say 'hello' to your classmates, and tell them I said 'hello'. You haven't been able to see them much, so go on. I'd like to meet them, but we can go tomorrow or another day; we have the week."
Whatever the rest of the room was up to, Naoto didn't notice, his eyes only for Sakura and Hana.
Does Sunomiya get it? What Sakura-san's up to? He wouldn't put it past her.
Whatever way, it was clear to him the girls had hashed it out in silence, each one set in her path.
Naoto was firmly assured that Sakura would stay if Hana did, but as it turned out, she didn't.
Casting him a remorseful glance, the gal bugged out.
Guess she really DOES wanna work on her face and chat with some other people… It didn't surprise him that much, never thinking the whole thing was some act in the first place.
He'd been about to leave, to find some quiet place to vegetate until the English test, but he wouldn't now…
He wouldn't leave Hana alone, won over to the school of "Nagatoro and Gamo-chan are here to stay".
Maybe things would be "safe enough" without Sakura.
This meditation disturbed him, but he was with some certainly correct.
If she wasn't there, the "energy" in the room would be different… maybe they'd be fine…
…
I really would feel better about things if Sunomiya didn't need to see that, another clash… but…
He decided things would be okay. Nagatoro and Gamo-chan aren't gonna throw down—not here!
…
Slowly but surely, they all adjusted to Sakura's absence, though the clubroom had lost a lot of its light.
Naoto physically got up and literally opened the shades, it seemed so dark in the room!
"Myeh…" Yoshi complained, shielding her eyes. "Bright light… No like…"
Naoto was about to suggest she move, but…
The chairs on the side of the room with the girls' backs to the sun each had butts in them… and he wasn't about to tell Yoshi to go sit alone in the corner that Hana often utilized.
The group's kohai came to the salvage this problem. "Switch places with me, Yoshi-senpai. I'd like to have a little more light."
Naoto almost whistled in relief! It would solve the problem, and Nagatoro and Gamo-chan would still be separated!
The Yosh didn't hesitate. "Thanks, Hanacchi!"
"You're welcome," the other replied.
And the switch was made… sort of.
Hana made for Yoshi's old chair but clearly hesitated and…
Uh-oh… Naoto had a chill go down his spine.
Hana sat in SAKURA'S seat, not Yoshi's!
Nagatoro had no one across from her now.
This might be a problem… Naoto fretted.
Whether it was true or not, Hana stated impassively, "The light's better over here."
At once, she pulled out a sketchpad, and opening it, began to labor on something with a charcoal stick.
Okay, maybe it WASN'T just an excuse to not sit across from the girl that doesn't like her! Naoto knew Hana wasn't a fool; she may well have known of Nagatoro's hostility.
Club activities were strictly forbidden the days of examination, but what students did with their lunchtime was their business!
That said, Naoto—without Sakura to "guide" the room—was at a loss for anything to talk about or focus on, and this gave him an opportunity, especially with Hana now sitting next to him.
He even felt excited. "Sunomiya, what are you working on?"
"I've been sketching something from memory, Hachioji-senpai." She didn't raise her eyes. "Could you please get me a few tissues? I have a good eraser and blending stick, but I could use some fresh tissues."
Sweet, she's doing some blending! He knew that Hana was actually working!
Naoto didn't even have to stand up to grab the box across the room; he pulled out a fresh pack of pocket-tissues. "Got these the other day… not even opened~."
Hana was grateful. "Thank you, Hachioji-senpai."
"Keep 'em," he permitted. "I've got another pack or two."
"That would be nice," she said, pulling the package open. "I appreciate it."
And she went about her business.
Naoto didn't even immediately bother with what the others had going on. He could talk art with Hana!
Stealing a look at what she was sketching, he couldn't tell what it was yet.
Soon…
Feigning interest in his phone, he now checked out what the rest of the girls had cooking:
Nagatoro was back into her English materials, but she wasn't studying; she was stewing.
Gamo-chan was twitchy; it was clear that she wanted to leave but wouldn't bring herself to do so.
Yoshi… Yoshi sat like a statue, other than her fretful eyes moving from one side to the other, trying to make sense of what her two flanking friends were shamming at, finding nothing helpful…
But Naoto's load was lessened. "Nothing much" is better than a lot of trouble!
All the same, he wished Sakura was there…
She'd know how to handle this…
…
For a while, no one spoke, but Gamo-chan was the first.
She'd calmed herself and had become interested in Hana's sketch.
In a demure manner, she saddled up to the shoulder her kohai. "Hanacchi, what are you working on?"
The keenness wasn't false; she'd come to enjoy watching the young girl labor at her craft.
Hana was concentrating, but she was happy to oblige. "I saw something neat yesterday, and I wanted to render it."
Gamo-chan cocked her head. "A fish? What, did you walk by the seafood store?"
"…" Hana mulled. "It is a fish, and it's not alive, but it's not for eating. I don't know what to call it; I can't think of the word."
Naoto, not paying much attention, was spooked when he felt someone brush against him; it was Yoshi.
She mused, "A dead fish that's not for eating? Is that a riddle or something~?"
Naoto let it ride; he'd seen Gamo-chan stand up but had decided to let the girls to themselves.
If Yoshi was interested too, that was good!
"Is that a… barracuda?" Gamo-chan couldn't tell. "Where'd you see one of those, Hanacchi?"
Yoshi discoursed, "We have at least one native barracuda, but it lives south and west of Japan; I don't think its range extends east of that."
"Do we?" the Amazon inquired, a little bemused. "I didn't know that."
Naoto smirked to himself, at Gamo-chan's being floored as much as Yoshi's sudden knowledge of sea life.
…
He knew Yoshi wasn't… stupid. She just had so much going on upstairs, she couldn't always channel it in a productive fashion.
That's what he THOUGHT anyway…
He wasn't sure if Gamo-chan was more flummoxed at Yoshi's statement of fact or that Japan did have such a fish.
It caused him some real mirth, this conundrum. But I have no real idea what the girls are on about!
Considering how heated things had been only moments before, the existing serenity seemed a miracle!
…
Hana looked up at her vulturing senpai. "I suppose it might look like a barracuda, but it's something else entirely. Sakura-senpai and I went searching on our phones to see what it was. It's actually Esox masquinongy."
Gamo-chan tried to stop, but she spluttered, spraying her hand with spittle, "That's one Helluva mouthful~!"
"Latin name!" Yoshi stated the obvious.
Hana cited, "Esox masquinongy is related to E. lucius, the latter called the 'Northern Pike' in English. E. lucius lives across the entire Northern Hemisphere, but E. masquinongy only lives in North America."
"Man, you and Sakura get into some 'sciency' stuff, Hanacchi." Gamo-chan scratched her behind.
"Not really," Hana replied. "Sakura-senpai said her father is somewhat interested in Latin nomenclature; he used to collect and study leaves and memorize their Latin names. Sakura-senpai learned it from him, and I like it too. Every time we talk about plants and animals, we always want to check the scientific name. They're quite funny, sometimes."
Yoshi said to Gamo-chan, a mildly ghostly air to her words, "Sakura sure is full of mystery."
This wasn't the first time an unexpected facet of Sakura had surfaced in the last month.
"Yeah, she's sometimes like a totally different person… since she and Hanacchi have been hanging out…" Gamo-chan answered; catching herself, she quickly turned to Hana. "Not that it's a bad thing, Hanacchi! I think… Sakura just surprises us sometimes. We've known her for a year, and…"
Yoshi added, "Yeah…"
"I understand," Hana gave no rebuke. "But Sakura-senpai seems happy, which is nice… I love having her as a friend~…"
The way she said it was… odd… even for her.
Gamo-chan and Yoshi exchanged looks. "…?" "…?"
The exchange wasn't missed, Hana's face still upon her senpai; she lowered it. "I'm sorry… I'm not sure what to say… Sakura-senpai is…"
A firm hand was planted on her back; gazing up, Hana saw it was Gamo-chan.
She smiled. "It's okay, Hanacchi. Sometimes… we just can't find the right words."
"I know that feeling," Yoshi joined.
Hana was heartened. "…~"
Naoto had kept his listening ears on, and he remembered Wednesday.
…
I think they each just really needed a friend. He'd said this to Gamo-chan, of Sakura and Hana.
…I can see that. He knew she had.
The thought of Gamo-chan recalling the same thing—perhaps she was—gave him more warm fuzzies.
…
While Naoto was in his own head, the girls were back to the sketch.
"Oh, I know what it's called!" Gamo-chan exclaimed. "What you saw was a trophy mount. Taxidermy! It's where they preserve a fish or other animal specimen for display."
Hana brightened. "I do remember hearing the word, but I couldn't place it. Thank you, Gamou-senpai."
"Sure thing~." She patted Hana's shoulder before pulling back, allowing the other to work.
"How do you spell Esox masquinongy?" Yoshi came out of left-field.
Hana blinked. "Yoshi-senpai?"
"How do you spell the Latin name of the fish?"
Gamo-chan laughed, not in a mean way, "Yoshi, how could you expect anyone to remember how to spell that?! Those are some of the craziest words I've ever heard~!"
"I remember that sort of stuff," Yoshi asserted.
She's walked into it! Naoto snorked, though he felt like an ass.
He could see Gamo-chan—or even Hana—retorting with "I rest my case", the point that Yoshi was crazy.
Not one to enjoy seeing anyone mocked in such a way, it was nice to see that no one raised the point.
…
Hana held a warm guise, blending away at her sketch. "Gamou-senpai is right, Yoshi-senpai. I can't remember how to spell it. It's one of the strangest things I've heard too."
Gamo-chan gave a sound advisement, "Just try sounding it out, Yoshi. You're good at that. You should be able to find it."
"Why did you want to look it up, Yoshi-senpai?" Hana left off her blending-stick a few seconds.
"I wanted to see the word," Yoshi explained, punching away at her phone. "And I wanted to see the English name…"
Hana realized she hadn't shared that. "Oh, I'm sorry. Sakura-senpai read it aloud, and I saw it, but I can't remember that either. It was a funny name though."
"Found it~!" Yoshi reveled, scanning her phone. "It has many common and regional names, but it's best known as… muskellunge… or muskie."
Gamo-chan whistled, "That's a strange name in and of itself!"
Yoshi was able to translate, "Native to the Midwestern United States, the Great Lakes region, and southern Canada, the muskellunge is the largest member of the pikes and is one of the largest freshwater gamefish in North America."
"Huh… Cool~." Gamo-chan nodded.
"An American fish…" Hana pondered, bringing stick back to paper. "It makes sense then… that it was where it was."
"…" "…" Her senpai looked at one another.
Gamo-chan realized, revisiting to Hana, "Oh, we got sidetracked! I asked where you saw it, and we went off on those tangents and stuff."
Hana paused. "You're right. I never did say. I saw it at this 'Americana' diner when I had brunch with Sakura-senpai and Hachioji-senpai."
Naoto hadn't been listening closely at this point, but this woke him up. Shit!
"Diner?" Yoshi questioned.
Hana twitched, locking eyes with Naoto, spanning across Yoshi's belly.
She slipped him an apologetic face. She knew she'd fucked up!
But Naoto wasn't panicking.
They'd eaten out a few times, and everyone knew it! He thought Hana could salvage this.
She tried, imperturbable as Buddha, "Sakura-senpai took us to an American-style diner set in an old train-car. The walls were covered with all sorts of things from America, including taxidermy."
Good, Sunomiya… Naoto spiritually inspired. It's not like they know it was YESTER—
"I thought you and Sakura went shopping yesterday." Gamo-chan shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
Hana hadn't seen the problem for certain yet. "We did. We went shopping for cosmetics and visited some secondhand shops. It was fun."
"But you said you saw the muskellunge yesterday." Yoshi moved closer.
Fuck beans! Naoto realized the jig was up.
Hana knew it too. "Uh…"
Gamo-chan got it first. "So, you had breakfast with Sakura and Paisen yesterday?"
It was BRUNCH… Naoto corrected, but it didn't matter.
"None of you said anything about that," Yoshi seemed irritated. "What gives?"
Hana was up shit-creek with a diarrhetic turd for a paddle; her eyes begged Naoto for… for something… anything! "…?!"
She'd never looked at him that way…
He wouldn't leave his kohai out to dry, not for a moment. He hoped that Sakura wouldn't be upset, but… hey, whaddaya do~?!
Nothing untoward had happened. They were friends, and they'd had brunch on a Sunday. They'd had a good time, and he wasn't going to apologize for that!
Sitting up straight, he said to the room, but mostly Gamo-chan and Yoshi, "Yeah, we did go to brunch yesterday."
It was impossible to tell if Hana was shocked or relieved, but the attention left her.
"You did?" Gamo-chan peered around Yoshi, Twin-tails rotating Naoto's way.
"Yeah." He spun in his seat towards them. "We finished all the stuff we wanted to work on and study on Saturday, and I figured that we'd each just take the day off… relax and get ready for the week. But Sakura-san called Sunomiya and me up on Saturday night, saying we should have brunch. It sounded nice, so we did.
"We split up around noon so Sunomiya and Sakura-san could go visit a few stores. I swung by the park to do a quick sketch, but otherwise I just went home to be with my folks."
They don't need to know about the OTHER sketches…
Yoshi was… disappointed. "That's all?"
Naoto prickled, "Whaddaya mean?"
"Hey, hey, none of that." Gamo-chan nudged Yoshi out of the way; she surveyed her senpai. "Why didn't you say anything?"
He hoped Sakura wouldn't be upset or anything, but he didn't see any reason to not tell the truth.
It's not like they'd agreed to keep quiet. It was more of an unspoken thing.
However, he chose to put the burden on himself. "Why? I was afraid you'd all make fun of me or something. And there's been all this drama lately; I wasn't in the mood to deal with it."
He sounded balls-out, but they were yet again hiding.
And he'd wanted to add a line about "hurt feelings", but his brains and gut told him to leave it out.
He wasn't sure what his heart was playing at… besides racing a little…
Gamo-chan's features fell off again. "Paisen…"
"Well, I'm sorry…" He was, seeing her hurt. "But it's not like it's without reason."
She had no contention, deflating. "Yeah… I guess…"
Yoshi fell back on "scared Yosh", gladly staying out of the way.
Naoto pushed out a sigh, not savoring putting the two second-year girls out in the cold, "Look, girls, I'm sorry… I guess I made a big deal out of it when I didn't need to. I mean, we just had brunch and walked around town a little. I just didn't wanna…"
Gamo-chan similarly heaved a sigh, "Nah, I getcha, Paisen. After last time, I don't blame you…"
The "last time" was the aftermath of the dinner he'd had with Sakura at the yakiniku place.
But—
It hadn't all been bad…
Relaxing some, Naoto recollected, "Oh, it was kinda funny… Sakura-san was so pissed off, but at least she didn't throw out all those croquettes!"
"She left 'em here in the art room, right?" Yoshi inserted. "Before Line blew up over your all-you-can-eat adventure. I was so jealous when I found out you two went!"
Allowing a grin, Gamo-chan injected, "We had that unplanned potluck…"
"And Sakura go so embarrassed when Hanacchi let the cat outta the bag~!" Yoshi enjoyed.
Hana spoke up, blushing, "I didn't mean to embarrass Sakura-senpai… It just made sense that it happened that way."
"Perfect logic!" Yoshi congratulated.
"Don't sweat it, Hanacchi," Gamo-chan dismissed. "Sakura was just fine… We did have fun on Friday, didn't we~?"
She'd asked Yoshi just as much as Hana.
Yoshi shone, "Your grandma and grandpa seem really awesome, Hanacchi~!"
"…" Hana wrung her hands. "I think they are~…"
Both older girls giggled.
…
Naoto was in ecstasy! This is going great!
…
"Paisen, could you move over a seat?" Gamo-chan pulled his head from his ass.
"Huh?" He gawked about.
"Could you please move over?" she asked again.
Naoto saw what was happening:
Yoshi had pulled a chair from the other side of the table, planting it to Hana's right.
She wanted to watch her kohai work, he realized.
And Gamo-chan did too!
He happily obliged, hopping over.
Gamo-chan took his seat, and the girls were in their own little world, delighted to check out Hana's skills with charcoal.
…
Oh, this is going REALLY great! Naoto's heart leapt.
He wanted in on this, but the girls were doing their own thing, and he'd leave them to it!
"…!" It occurred to Naoto that he had a new podcast on his phone.
Right, that comedian!
On Thursday—when he'd learned that Sakura dyed her bush and about ten other things that he didn't need to know about either of his study buddies—he'd listened to some comedy clips during lunch.
The comedian, so it happened, had a weekly audio show, and it was funny!
He could listen to it! It would take up a good half-hour, and he could go from there!
Naoto felt great, putting in his earbuds, opening his phone, ready for a good laugh.
Things were fine! Sakura was probably off enjoying herself, and Gamo-chan and Yoshi were absorbed in Hana's project!
He'd SO been expecting to get an ass-reaming over the hush-hush brunch, but that hadn't happened.
And they'd avoided disaster each time it had reared its ugly head, consistently foiled in its fucking up of their extended lunchtime.
Things were good!
If his grin, earlier on, had been the stupidest, corniest, shit-eating-est manifestation of one he'd ever sported, he took it to a new high, or rather, a new low.
Pasted to his mug was the most idiotic, mouth-breathing, jerking-off-with-poopie-pants, senseless, out-of-it, gone-down-the-road, WACKO grin this side of the funny-farm.
…
Or maybe that's just how things looked to Nagatoro.
…
With all the joy flying around, Naoto had practically forgotten about the fifth person in the room.
And when she had to sit there, across from him, watching this, her whole world turned red.
Slouching in her seat, Nagatoro took a look under the table, raised a leg as high as she could, took aim, and brought the heel of her shoe down on top of Naoto's foot. Hard.
Q&A Section
How do you stay motivated with this story since I've seen quite a lot of authors just drop it their stories out of nowhere?
ED: I guess I have a lot of reasons.
I have the whole thing planned out with an ending and want to complete it. The real thing isn't good anymore. I enjoy writing. I enjoy working with my editor, and if it wasn't for him encouraging, guiding, and pushing me when it's needed, I wouldn't have made it past 15 chapters. I enjoy chatting with readers like you. I've never shared a story with anyone beyond close friends and family, and I know there are at least several hundred people from about 40 different countries that read this story, which is encouraging.
I'm glad that you're still reading. I know the story can be a slog, but I think the details and little moments are worth the time.
What was the thought process in using that particular Gundam Wing ending? I've never watched any of the Gundam series, so I'm way too ignorant of the stories.
ED: My editor answered this question on Reddit, so I'll give him the floor.
PS: Slight spoiler warning, but nothing that'll spoil the story.
We needed a video or a song for Senpai to enact Sakura's "prescription crying", and I knew this would do the trick.
The series was actually 1989's Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket. Wing was from 1995, and while the original Gundam series from 1979 was edited into three movies in the '80's that were brought to the USA in the mid 1990's(?), Wing was the series that really introduced Gundam to the USA.
War in the Pocket centers around a grade-school boy, Al, living in a space colony during the One-year War. He and his friends dream of battle and finding military paraphernalia.
His neighbor, Chris, is a test pilot for the Earth Federation Forces, and she is working with a new Gundam at the colony.
Bernie, a Zeon pilot, the Principality of Zeon being the antagonistic element in the series, is on a mission with a Zeon strike-force to eliminate the Gundam at any cost.
Al finds himself caught between these factions, Chris his longtime friend and Bernie his new-but very good-friend.
When the "cost" of destroying the Gundam becomes too much for Bernie, the two opposing sides clash, and Al learns the hideous truth about war, a soldier's lesson, that no kid should ever have to face and most adults never do.
The ending is very poignant. I didn't cry the first time I saw it, but I surely did after growing up a little, living, loving, and losing along the way.
It's only six episodes long. You don't need any familiarity with Gundam to watch it, and it's well worth the time.
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading! Questions and comments are welcome!