🌸Cherry Blossom Palette🎨
🌸Chapter 61: Dummy Run, Part One🎨
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
ED: Thanks to Joaquin for the delightful piece of art of best girl Yoshi!
Here's a link to Yoshi in Princess Zelda cosplay if you can't see it on your platform: joaquinthatboi/art/Yoshi-in-a-Princess-Zelda-cosplay-929580368
I was ready for this to be a long, long chapter, but PS convinced me to split it up.
As Naoto's semester truly ends, he is faced with the events of the last week. I hope that you're up for a wordy chapter, because this one will be wordy, even split up.
In my South Park journey, I just finished Season 19, the first serialized season. There was some funny stuff there. The "Cock Magic" episode was probably the funniest thing since Season 13.
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.
Friday, July 19, 2018
Paisen, the pizza get-together we talked about on Monday is off. I wasn't sure if you remembered or not, but it's not happening. Sorry for not telling you at lunch. There's been a lot on my mind this week, and I didn't know how to bring it up. Things are okay, so please don't worry. I just want to hang out with Yoshi tonight. I hope you understand.
Naoto Hachioji was reexamining Maki Gamou's message that she'd sent him right after lunch.
A bit longwinded for her…
And she'd given a follow-up:
P.S. You and your buds still owe me some money I'll be at school on Monday morning and maybe Tuesday for club stuff, so if you're in the art room, you can pay me then. As long as I have the money before we start singing on Wednesday, your life won't be in any immediate danger~. Thanks, Paisen!
Shuu Aisho and Tohru Hijikata had forked over their share of the money not an hour earlier, so he reasoned he'd live at least long enough to sing a few songs.
He'd let her know:
I plan on being in the art room from 9:00 a.m. until about lunchtime on Monday. Would that work?
She'd come back with:
That would be fine. See you then.
Comforted to have a plan, he'd written:
Okay. I hope you and Yoshi-san have a nice evening.
Back-and-forth… not that it upset him…
Gamo-chan:
Thanks. I'm sorry for calling off the pizza dinner like that if you were looking forward to it. But I guess we never talked about it again. I really need a relaxing night to recharge.
Naoto:
Don't worry about it. Just have a good time with Yoshi-san. See you Monday, if not sooner.
Gamo-chan:
Gotcha! Take care.
Naoto:
You too.
…
Naoto felt her wistful initial message followed by something frisky was just a bit odd. It was abrupt, but it wasn't anything he hadn't seen out of her before.
What did flummox was how chill she seemed after everything that'd happened on Monday…
He'd have given a lot to not have seen or heard—truly, for it to not occur at all—the fight between Hayase Nagatoro and Maki Gamou.
One needed to step back—see the bigger picture—to comprehend just how bad things had been.
That's what Naoto found he needed to do, at least.
The girls had attacked the other's insecurities ferociously, and he still had trouble wrapping his mind around the idea that they'd somehow moved past it.
Maybe there was still something there…
That said, it made almost as little sense that Gamo-chan had forgiven him for lashing out at her as he had.
What he'd said to her wasn't entirely untrue—it had some merit—but she hadn't deserved that.
"…" He reread a line or two of their exchange.
Forgiveness…
The concept, in a few ways, didn't stand up to discernment for Naoto.
"Forgive and forget" was a load of shit.
He knew what it was:
Forgiveness was the act of thoughtfully no longer holding the offending action of another against them, but it didn't mean the action could be forgotten. That meant that no one had learned anything, and it might happen again.
How exactly does one "not forget" a thing while "not holding it against" the other?!
That was the part that didn't make sense.
"…" He didn't like it.
Maybe he was overthinking it…
Above all, he was grateful that Gamo-chan evidently knew how to forgive.
He was grateful to be her friend.
And if she was still a little bit upset, to the point she hadn't wanted to talk over, in front of Hana and Yoshi, some awkwardness over a few pizzas that he'd more-or-less spaced out, he couldn't wrong her for wanting to let him know in private.
…
Yoshi Yamzaki had also sent him a private message earlier in the afternoon:
Hachioji-kun, hello. I was wondering if I could get copies of the science and math workbooks that you supplied to Gamo-chan, Sakura, and Hanacchi.
Hachioji-kun?! He knew it was a rather appropriate yet friendly designation towards him.
The Yosh was rather formal when one wasn't face-to-face with her… and if she was caught by her lonesome, without a wingwoman to back her up, she could be downright timid!
Meeting her one-on-one when she was walking her mini dachshund, Bertie, had been one of the more surprising things he'd been through the last year, and there'd been plenty of surprises to be had.
It had turned his understanding of her on its ear!
He'd responded to her message:
I'd be happy to, Yoshi-san. I still have an unused copy of each.
She'd offered:
I can reimburse you for that portion of the printing cost. I know it probably cost you quite a bit.
It HAD cost "quite a bit"… two new ink-cartridges and most of a package of printer paper…
But he hadn't charged Sakura or Hana (or even Gamo-chan), though they did share so many delicious sweets and beverages, and it may have evened out somewhere, but they probably still "owed" him.
In Yoshi's case, he'd rationalized:
Buy me a juice or a soda sometime, and we'll call it good. Should we meet somewhere this weekend?
She'd shot back:
I don't need them right away. Please let me know if you plan to be at school next week, or bring them to karaoke on Wednesday.
He thought that'd be just fine:
That sounds good. We'll talk.
She'd finalized:
Thank you, Hachioji-kun. Have a nice weekend.
He'd ended with:
You as well.
"…" Naoto wondered if Yoshi hadn't wanted to ask him in front of Gamo-chan.
That was why he hadn't told her that he'd be in the art room Monday morning! She'd possibly run into Gamo-chan while trying to make a move to "get a leg-up" in her studies.
But he didn't want to jump to conclusions.
Maybe she just hadn't thought about it until then. And it's not like she'd suggest that he bring her some workbooks when they met for karaoke if she was fretting over Gamo-chan's feelings, which should've had no place (if there WERE any about it) in this picture to begin with.
He reasoned that if Yoshi wanted to retackle the sort of materials in which she'd spent a whole semester of trying to improve herself, then more power to her!
She'd worked hard but had still fallen short in math and science… not to say her efforts hadn't been admirable or worthwhile…
…
Naoto sighed, "Whew…"
Hana Sunomiya and her family were already on the road…
Nagatoro was at home, sick with some stomach virus that may well have been taking over Kazehaya High…
Gamo-chan and Yoshi were having some quality time together, which both probably needed…
And Sakura Inori was doubtlessly gone, having assuredly received a similar message concerning the culling of the pizza-pie party. Hell, maybe she was hanging out with Nekoba somewhere; they'd BOTH been planning on the party…
…
Thus, the girls' senpai was with his own thoughts…
Alone…
"…" He suppressed the urge to heave another sigh.
Monday had been bad. But things seemed good.
…
Naoto was alone with his thoughts… in the art room… trying to figure out if he should even be there…
His plans with Nagatoro were blown, but… what? Was he going to let a Friday afternoon in the art room go to waste?!
Hell, no! The young artist wasn't about to do that. I blew off Shuu and Tohru to be here today!
His two pals had concocted fresh schemes without him… but he still had something he could work on!
So, he might as well get to work!
…
The door slid open with a quiet rattle.
Naoto—not expecting a soul to still be hanging around—jumped like someone had plugged him with a greased rolling pin.
"…!" He rounded on the "intruder".
"Senpai-kun?" Sakura blinked, taking a step back, befuddlement marking her face.
Naoto blinked himself, doubting his own eyes. "Sakura-san?"
She flustered ever so mildly, "Oh, I startled you… Sorry about that…"
He quickly composed himself. "Oh, it's alright, Sakura-san… I just wasn't expecting anyone to be around, like, at all."
"Gamo-chan messaged me…" she explained. "No pizza."
"I got the same message," he said (though the tone of each message was very likely very different). "I didn't even remember we were thinking about pizza… and I thought you and Nekoba might go and do something."
"Nekoba forgot about the pizza too; she's already off doing something on her own. I remembered, but I can't blame her… or you… Nobody's said a word about it since Monday."
Naoto didn't wish to be boorish, but he had not expected her. "So, what are you doing here?"
"I remembered I left a magazine here yesterday, so I thought I'd swing by and grab it."
He knew just what she was talking about.
"Oh, right… It's over there on the shelf next to that bust." He pointed. "I put it there to keep it safe… but forgot to say anything."
She paddled over and retrieved it. "It's okay. Thanks for holding onto it."
"No problem…" he replied.
Sakura didn't mean "to be boorish" either. "What are you doing here? I figured you'd be long gone since Hayacchi got sick on you."
Naoto's stomach churned, having again been reminded of his "failure" in holding the modeling session.
Of course, she remembered.
It wasn't so funny a thing, her recollecting, with how big a deal it had become, though she seemed to know less than the other girls about it.
But in reply to her query, he half-heartedly gestured around the room. "I canceled my other plans I might've had for the day to be here this afternoon, so I figured I'd come in and work a while."
"Ooh~…" She was interested. "On what?"
He muttered, "…Thought I'd pull out the oil paints… since I have time…"
"Might as well…" She sauntered to the couch, dropped her bag, and flopped down. "You could prolly get a good start on something, at least… maybe pick it up again over the weekend or on Monday…"
"…!" Naoto internally flailed, seeing the gal kick back, opening her magazine. Is she…?!
Sakura opined, "Normally, on a day like this, I'd just wanna go have some fun, but after this week, I wouldn't mind loafing for a bit before I go home, if it's not a bother."
"Glad to have you…" he welcomed.
He was!
"Well, if I'm not intruding~…" she tittered.
Wowza! Naoto didn't mind the occasional "Sakura-simper".
He confirmed, "You're not…"
"…" She settled into a page.
He set up a palette for painting. "Maybe I'll use the bust as a subject."
"A gray sculpture?" she scoffed at the idea. "Doesn't seem like a very interesting subject to paint~."
"It's interesting enough," he defended, walking to the shelf. "It'll help me with detailed shadow work."
"Only joshing, Senpai-kun~."
"…" He lifted the bust and placed it. "It's alright. I'm gonna close the blinds partway so the light from outside doesn't screw up my shadowing, cool?"
"Go right ahead," she said. "I'm fine with the ceiling lights."
He adjusted the blinds. "…"
"…" She flicked through the pages of her magazine, finding where she'd last left off.
"…" He set out his paints.
Sakura shared, "It'd have been nice to hang with Gamo-chan and Yoshi today, but they seem to need some 'childhood friend' time…"
"…What are they up to?" Naoto dared.
"They're having a sleepover, just the two of them."
"Oh, that sounds nice…" He really thought so too.
She shuffled around. "It's rare that they get to be alone like that…"
It is?! Naoto thought Gamo-chan and Yoshi seemed to be together nearly all the time.
He wondered, "Seriously?"
"Gamo-chan and Hayacchi both love scary movies…" Sakura flipped a page. "Yoshi hates scary movies, so she often just lets to two of them make stuff like that into 'duo night' instead of 'trio night'. I'd prolly do the same; I'm not great with scary movies, and I don't know why people like 'em so much…"
"I don't get it either." It seemed terminally stupid to him, getting a kick out of being terrified and chasing it intentionally, considering there was already enough scary shit in the world to begin with.
He also thought it was kind of sad that Yoshi would exclude herself due to the "selfishness" of the other two!
Sakura reasoned, "But Gamo-chan's more flexible than Hayacchi when it comes to movies; she'll watch anything. Maybe they'll watch a Disney movie."
"Like a cartoon?" Naoto kneaded his black, white, and gray tubes of paint. "That sounds fun…"
"Yeah," she murmured. "But Hayacchi makes fun of them for it."
That's kinda sucky… He wouldn't welcome that. "That's too bad."
"One time, after Hayacchi made fun of them at lunch for wanting to watch Toy Story, I joined Gamo-chan and Yoshi at Yoshi's house that weekend, and we had a sleepover without Hayacchi~! Gamo-chan was kinda sore at Hayacchi over something else anyway, so she pounced on the opportunity. Watched all three Toy Story movies~!"
Wow! Naoto was a bit surprised. "I'll bet Nagatoro didn't like that…"
"We didn't tell her, are you kiddin'?" She cracked her neck. "Sometimes you gotta just cut out the cancer for a little while if you wanna enjoy life."
Geez! He recoiled. That's kinda harsh!
But he wasn't unused to it. He'd been at odds with her faulty filtration system for a month!
And after all they'd been through, talking with her was fairly easy, even hard stuff, and she didn't always pull punches with him.
He supposed he didn't either, some cases…
Half-reading, Sakura asked, "You see Hana-chan this afternoon?"
Derp! He'd totally not remembered. I didn't tell her!
It was difficult to decide if her saying something that ugly about Nagatoro (without follow-up or explanation) or her leaping right into another topic was more off-putting!
It was too late, but he told her now, moving right along.
"She and her family already left for the weekend," he covered, positioning a lamp for desired shadow-effect. "They wanted to get going as quick as possible."
He'd forgotten to say anything! He'd meant to.
"Oh, right," Sakura derped of her own accord. "She even reminded me yesterday, Senpai-kun. I totally blanked that they were leaving right away…"
He regretted, "I was starting to feel like an idiot for not telling you. Just… slipped my mind."
"It's okay, but I wish I'd remembered," she lamented. "I would've talked with her a bit after lunch."
"Sorry…"
"No problem."
"She'll be back early next week." He felt encouraged and remembered something else. "She hoped you had fun with your classmates."
"I love how thoughtful she is~," Sakura hummed. "I did have fun. They all passed too!"
"Mm." He was pleased that she was pleased.
"…Still… I wish I'd seen her off…" she further lamented.
Naoto was struck with an idea. "They're on the road right now. She and her family might enjoy hearing from her senpai."
Hana had her phone by now, to be certain…
"Senpai as in plural~?" Sakura chirruped.
He ruffled, "I just meant you."
Boy, did he dust off his glass jaw and run into that!
She wasn't letting him squirm away. "Wanna send 'em a video? We could say 'hi' to her grandparents~."
Yow! Naoto didn't think he could handle that.
But Hana's grandparents HAD been very kind to him… and to Sakura.
"We… could send a picture…" he decided.
"Good enough~!" She slid to her feet and jaunted over to where he was finishing assembling his easel. "Let's do it~!"
"I'm in my paint shirt!" he protested, having already slipped into it.
"Just don't get it on me…" she dismissed his qualm. "Let's get your work-station in the shot!"
Unable to find the words to protest further, Naoto went along for the ride. "Okay."
"Now… smile and look 'actiony'~!" She raised her phone.
So… he did. He crossed his arms, a few clean paintbrushes poking out of the crooks of his paint-sleeved elbows, and smiled.
Giving the camera a wink and a duckface, Sakura leaned in and took the pic.
Ker-snap!
…
…
…
Naoto was making some decent progress with his depiction of the bust.
It was coming together nicely, now that he was past the outline.
The only "distraction" of note—not that it bugged him—was Sakura squeeing over the response she'd received from Hana and showing it to him in high glee.
Along with the selfie taken, Sakura had sent:
Hey, Hana-chan~! Missing you~! All good~? ?
Hana had come back with:
Everyone is fine. The traffic isn't bad. Grandfather and Grandmother say "hello and congratulations on your exams".
And she'd sent a pic of her own, sitting between her cheerful grandparents on a bench seat in her family's van, the shadow of a smile gracing her lips.
Naoto felt all the more blessed!
He also didn't mind too much that Sakura kept on yakking, barely getting any reading done.
"Hana-chan shared her grades with me, Senpai-kun, not that I didn't see her in the top-5 before that," she told him. "I bet you're pretty proud of her too~."
He wondered why they hadn't already covered this…
"I'm proud of both of you." He wasn't having any trouble keeping on task, weighing his subject. "You both did well. You both really improved."
"Thanks…"
"I… didn't actually ask Sunomiya for her grades…" he confessed. "Gamo-chan and Yoshi-san encouraged her to show me."
"Even if you all didn't ask, there's no way she wouldn't have told you, Senpai-kun!" she twittered. "You're her senpai! She really looks up to you~!"
He often wondered why…
"…" He surely did…
Sakura could tell he was wallowing.
"You really should get the picture by now, Senpai-kun." Sitting up, she had rather little trouble figuring him out. "You're, like, her idol! Stop treating yourself like such a loser. How many times do you need to hear that?"
Back at ya! Naoto knew she wasn't the best at not putting herself down.
"Sorry…" he settled on.
"…" Sakura seemed to want to say something else.
"…?" He had no inkling as to what it might be.
She reclined. "You saw Gamo-chan's grades too?"
"…" He held his manner, thankful to move on. "…Yeah… and Yoshi-san's. They both showed me… after Sunomiya showed me hers."
Sakura was up again, not even time for her head to have hit the armrest. "Yoshi showed you her grades?"
"…Yes…" He held off on painting.
"In front of Gamo-chan?"
That's what you're getting at! Naoto understood. "It… surprised me too."
The gal was nonplussed. "…?"
He added, "Yoshi-san wouldn't do it until Sunomiya encouraged her to… but there was no way Gamo-chan wouldn't see either…"
Sakura pieced it together, "Yoshi showed me her grades after I showed her mine, and Gamo-chan and I exchanged grades, but… huh…"
"…"
"…"
Naoto submitted, "Yoshi-san did pretty well, didn't she?"
"She really did," Sakura agreed. "She said she was disappointed with how she did in math and science, but she was still pretty satisfied."
"She said the same to us at lunch. She even asked me for copies of the math and science workbooks I gave you and Gamo-chan."
Sakura supposed, "If she hadn't freaked out like that, she might've gotten a total score of 350 or better."
Naoto didn't want to dwell on Yoshi possibly being ashamed of besting Gamo-chan… or tell the gal that the Yosh had cried when he told her he was proud of her.
He went with something more positive, not able to suppress a nervous grin, "They both want to join in the next study group… I hadn't even thought about another one…"
The blonde warbled, "I think it'd be fun~! As long as everyone could keep on track, that is…"
I thought the same thing! Naoto was happy to relate.
"I think Sunomiya would like it; she was really getting along with them at lunch," he elected to share. You should've seen the goodbye we had!
But it seemed a bit much to convey how deeply Gamo-chan and Yoshi were touched by Hana's words.
He wanted to, but it's not like Sakura needed a play-by-play.
It also seemed unwise to let slip that Hana had planted another peck on his cheek…!
Naoto took a few seconds to think.
He'd had one cheek kiss from Sakura and three indirects… and Hana had gotten him TWICE on the cheek (one on each, as a matter of fact)!
Did that mean Hana was the "winner"?
He smirked at the thought, trying to not let it consume him.
He'd also hold onto the fact that Hana had a new name for Gamo-chan!
He reckoned that Sakura wouldn't mind, but…
Did the title of "Gamo-neechan" trump that of "Sakura-senpai"?
The smirk took on new life, and he was glad to be facing away from Sakura. "…~"
Speaking of the gal, she ruminated, "I wish Gamo-chan would realize Yoshi isn't as dumb as she seems… Sometimes, she… yeah."
All Naoto would say to that was, "Yeah…"
Much of the time, Gamo-chan didn't seem to give Yoshi much credit…
But it wouldn't surprise him if she knew just how capable Yoshi could be.
The Yosh had just shown her friends that she was QUITE capable!
To make matters "worse", it was unlikely that Yoshi would be able to continue viewing Gamo-chan on a pedestal—if she, in fact, did—after seeing the dressing down she'd received from Nagatoro.
Naoto knew all about placing people on pedestals!
It would even be insulting to Yoshi and collected human intelligence to assume she truly didn't see Gamo-chan for what she was, that she was a very normal girl, if she ever had failed to see it before.
Monday had to have changed things for good!
On a similar note, he remembered a question he still had.
He had to find out if Sakura knew, so he asked, "Did Nagatoro tell you what her grades were?"
"Nope," she countered. "And I didn't show her mind either."
Yeah, Gamo-chan had figured… maybe not on the last part though.
"The teacher let us leave class if we wanted." Sakura rotated the magazine to get a better look at something. "As soon as I chatted with Gamo-chan and Yoshi about my results and saw Gamo-chan's, I split."
"Hmm…" he acknowledged.
"I wasn't gonna ask Yoshi about her grades, but she showed me a little later in the morning, catching me alone." She set the magazine back to its proper orientation. "Believe me, I was surprised."
"…" None of this floored Naoto. "Nagatoro didn't show Gamo-chan or Yoshi-san her grades, so I should've figured you didn't know either."
"Nope, I sure don't…" she restated. "And… actually, I don't care."
You don't care?! Naoto reeled. What's going on with you today?!
If the "cancer" line hadn't been hint enough, this furthered the point:
Nagatoro had seriously pissed off Sakura…!
"…" Naoto contemplated. Should I be worried?
The gal kept chugging along, seeking comfort in her loafing.
"Hayacchi seemed ill this morning, right when school started, and I really didn't have a chance to talk to her today." Nestling into the curvature of the couch, she rolled to her side. "Seems it took a lot for her to just show up. Another student in our class got just as sick in the final period."
Going with the flow, rotating towards her, he revealed, "I'm afraid half the school will be sick by Sunday."
"Let's hope not…" She lazed. "I think we all have better things to do this weekend than spewing and crapping our brains out…"
Yuck! Naoto cringed. That's the broken filter, alright!
But he chuckled in amused horror at her line, as he often did.
The gal was funny!
He didn't mind her being around; he was glad to have her there.
And he'd told her she wasn't intruding, but…
She WAS getting in the way… sort of…
He couldn't do all he wanted with her there, and he sort of sluffed off a moment, drifting away cerebrally.
"…"
"…"
"Am I bothering you, Senpai-kun?" Sakura piped up, lowering her magazine.
"Huh?" Snapping back, he wondered what he'd done. "No! Why?"
"You just seem a little distracted."
"Oh…" He figured it was probably the sluffing. "Yeah… a little…"
She wondered, "Should I… leave?"
"Oh, no, don't…" Naoto didn't want her to leave. "Sorry, I'm… I'm… just thinking about Nagatoro…"
It was rare that he wasn't.
"Oh…" she conceded. "…I… guess I can't blame you…"
Naoto was relieved that she didn't give the impression of being offended by his mental wanderings.
He simply couldn't help it…! He needed to hash things out…!
"…" He doubted he'd get far in this, with Sakura presumably entrenched against all things Nagatoro.
So, it was as terrifying as it was welcome when she came in with, "You wanna talk about it?"
Cripes! He let loose the tiniest fart, his whole system chunnering.
Even so, he wanted to.
He'd been suppressing quite a bit the last few days, and he wasn't the only one.
He knew that she may have wanted this too, despite her behavior.
"Yes…" he stated simply.
Stretching and conquering a yawn, Sakura sat up. "You wanna just stay there?"
Was she inviting him to sit on the couch?!
He figured she might be, but he was no more than three meters away from her if he turned around, and he did have on a soiled paint shirt, so he said, "I'm good here."
Am I actually gonna do this?! It was as if he was on autopilot.
"Alright." Setting her magazine aside, face-down in favor of a bookmark, she resettled, taking a seat on one side of the couch.
"…"
"…"
Naoto figured it was his party, so he needed to be the one to start.
He surprised even himself with how much emptied out. "I guess I'm feeling a little down today… I was… really happy to fix things with Nagatoro… and Gamo-chan too… I was feeling good and ready for today, like I could get some real, meaningful work done…
"I guess I'm just disappointed that I… wasn't able to complete the cycle… All the… gain I've been feeling, leading up to today just… kinda disappeared on me. I hate it! You and Sunomiya and Gamo-chan and Yoshi all did well on your exams, and I did well on mine, but I'm feeling let down…
"I think everything's better since Monday, and today was pretty much awesome, but I still feel disappointed… It's almost like… all that awful crap was for nothing…"
"…" Sakura sat quietly, legs crossed, listening.
Naoto needed a moment to regather his thoughts. "…"
But gather them he did. "Maybe it sounds nuts, but… after I made up with Nagatoro, I kept expecting you to tell me that you told me so. I didn't wanna go after her, but I did, and it worked, so I thought you'd…"
Since he'd petered out, Sakura picked up, "I guess I can understand that."
"Why didn't you?" Naoto was aware of how stupid it sounded, asking that, but maybe it wasn't stupid.
She resolved, "I took a minute to think about it, and… it was complicated."
"…"
"…"
At that point, it was like the floodgates opened for Naoto.
He discoursed, "That was so dumb of me… asking her to do something like that the NIGHT BEFORE EXAMS…! I don't know what I was thinking, not waiting until everything had calmed down a little… That was bad timing on my part."
Sakura shook her head. "You can't blame yourself for that. The timing could've been better sure, but…"
Naoto was trying to not blame himself, but it didn't mean he didn't feel like crap about it.
He took a rattly inhale, blowing it out, thinking about Monday. "I thought we were on the same page, Sakura-san—me and Nagatoro…! I thought she was ready to help me. I… I trusted that she was good about it… and she just went off in front of everyone…"
And how could he tell her WHAT they'd been planning to do?!
"It was no excuse to blow up like I did, but I just lost it…" Naoto didn't believe in karma much, but it had some place in the grand scheme. "Maybe I'm being punished for it… today…"
Sakura waited to see if he had anything else. "…?"
"…" For the time being, he didn't.
She leaned over to the armrest, putting her palm under her chin. "You can't go blaming yourself too much, Senpai-kun… You were holding all that in for a while, weren't you?"
He nodded. "…"
"Well, it sure isn't healthy to bottle up that much shit, buddy…" she mused. "That's when you explode."
"I know…" He surely did.
"…"
"…"
"But, Senpai-kun, what you did wasn't objectively bad."
He alerted. "How so?"
"Hayacchi was ludicrously awful to you that day," she explained herself. "I wasn't about to tell you back then, but I didn't see a problem—in and of itself—with you telling off Hayacchi like you did."
Naoto wasn't sure about that…!
Sakura went on, "The only line—in and of itself—you actually crossed was yelling at Gamo-chan."
Above all else, Naoto WAS sure about that!
She wasn't letting up, "Even then, Senpai-kun, Gamo-chan got away with a lot in the past, not that it was okay to let fly like that… …Seriously, we all got away with a lot earlier on…"
Relatedly, something mattered to Naoto.
It hurt to say it, but he did, swallowing the lump that unexpectedly rose, "I know Gamo-chan has feelings."
Sakura jarred, stricken. "…!"
But she centered herself.
She'd let rip a pretty awful thing on him when he was so vulnerable, right after storming out of the art room that day.
"I'm… really sorry for saying that…" The gal couldn't keep the emotion from her voice. "That was cruel of me. I know you care about her."
"I know…" Naoto suddenly and very nearly felt like crying. "I know I hurt her…"
"Yeah…" Sakura breathed.
He sniffled, though there were no tears. "…"
"…"
"…"
"I think I get it…" she figured. "You've… seen it, haven't you…?"
Gamo-chan crying? Naoto didn't need to hear Sakura say it. "Yes… I've seen it."
"I really wish I hadn't said all that to you…" she bewailed. "You're probably the only person outside of her family she'd let see that."
Naoto snuffled more deeply, now struggling to keep above water. "…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
Sakura took a new path.
"I tell ya, Senpai-kun," she led in. "I know I wasn't there to see anything but the end, but Hana-chan told me what happened before that."
Naoto winced. "I really wish you hadn't asked her to do that."
He didn't revel in Hana having to relive that afternoon…
"I didn't ask her; she told me on her own," she revealed. "And I bet it was pretty much word-for-word."
That wouldn't be so unforeseen…
"Sunomiya stuck up for me on Monday…" he wanted to say it, and he did.
So did Gamo-chan…
Sakura already knew. "Yes, Hana-chan said something like that."
"I felt like a real piece of crap for not backing her up." He elected to not share that he'd both thanked her and apologized over it.
Sakura said, "She doesn't hold it against you, Senpai-kun."
"I guess I know that…" But he still wouldn't say why; something else was trickling in. "I think Sunomiya might… be done with Nagatoro."
It seemed strange to vault into that, but it took over!
Sakura sighed, "You wouldn't be wrong…"
Fuck! Naoto wished to hear he was crazy for his idea, but he would have to deal with it, whatever it was.
"I didn't tell you because you had enough stuff going on this week, but you're probably right," she exposed. "I'm guessing… that whenever Hayacchi's around, Hana-chan won't be pleased to join."
Oh, God… This was some of the most unwelcome news conjurable to Naoto.
Sakura wasn't done, "Hana-chan will go with what you want, but as far as she's concerned, Hayacchi's no longer welcome."
It just keeps getting worse! He felt ill.
And it tumbled out of him, "After that?"
She looked at him strangely. "Yes."
"That" had been pretty bad, but still…!
"Nagatoro's not a bad person!" Naoto blurted.
He'd felt compelled to say this… and felt rather foolish for it.
It was a familiar thing to him that day!
"…" Sakura weighed this, not judging him as harshly as he was himself. "I don't think Hana-chan thinks Hayacchi is a bad person."
"…"
"…"
Naoto hoped, "Do you… think there's any way she might change her mind?"
"Never say 'never', but it's unlikely, at least for a while."
Naoto cussed, too blehed out to do much else, "Fuck…"
"I know…" Sakura whistled. "Hana-chan wanted to try, Senpai-kun, but I think she's had it. Monday was a dealbreaker, and it could be a long time before she gives her another chance, if she does."
How long had Hana been "leaning away from" Nagatoro?!
"Hayacchi busted up your foot—which I didn't even hear about until later, she wrecked Hana-chan's sketch, she hurt Gamo-chan, and then she hurt you again."
He hadn't held fast a moment that Hana had been cool with everything, even when they had calm and pleasant lunchtime in the middle of the week.
"And that's not even all." Sakura steered the raft. "She's had problems with Hayacchi all spring, it seems. I think… I think it's over."
But he didn't think she was so far in her resolve!
"I didn't even tell her I was sorry her sketch was trashed …" he croaked, homing in on the vision of Hana, clasping her ruined work. "I didn't know what to do."
"Don't worry about that." Sakura checked her fingernails. "I think Hana-chan gets it."
"And Sunomiya seemed so interested in karaoke if she made it back early enough…" He now saw this going up in smoke too.
The gal couldn't tell him he was wrong about this either. "I wouldn't assume, but she might've just been being polite. Even if she makes it back in time… she'll prolly sit it out."
"Goddamn it…" Naoto susurrated. Why did this have to happen?!
Mind, he didn't have to grind the gears in his head too violently to answer his own question.
Hana had really gone after Nagatoro on Monday!
He needed to remember just how big it was, what had transpired.
Sakura had told them as a room that they should split up until later and all cool off a little, and Hana had pushed for it, learning that Nagatoro had hurt the girls' senpai for no good reason.
Maybe all of us being together is a problem. So, why don't you leave?
Nagatoro, much less anyone else, hadn't quite fully grasped the message, so Hana had gone a step further, dropping the honorific of "-senpai", which equated to a mule-kick, if one knew the first-year girl.
You need to leave, Hayase Nagatoro. I want you out of this room… now.
Even when Nagatoro had scoffed at the first-year, ridiculing Naoto, mock-citing his authority and her mock-unwillingness to take orders from anyone else, Hana hadn't needed any backup, not from Naoto and not from anyone else.
Get out. Get out of our Art Club.
It was after that shattering declaration that saw Hana inform the room of just what Nagatoro had done to Naoto, injuring him, and that had transfigured into a whole other level of horrible, seeing it all come crashing down.
It really was no small wonder that Hana had come to dislike Nagatoro, however deep it ran!
Adding to the burning shit-pile outside of Naoto's noggin, Sakura added, in conjuction with Hana's Nagatorial avoidance, "I think the same might happen with the beach."
That Hana might avoid karaoke and the beach seemed small compared to the entirety of ultimately not wanting Nagatoro around!
"…" Naoto put his face in his palms. "Shit… So… what about me?"
As lousy as it was to ask that, he wanted to know where HE stood…
Happily, the gal detected his aim. "Hana-chan won't hold it against you for being friends with Hayacchi, though she doesn't approve."
Yowch! That struck him a blow. How do YOU feel?
He didn't want to know, he grasped…
Without "mercy", Sakura pressed on, "Hana-chan won't want you to pick sides… which is more than I can say about Hayacchi…"
Oh, don't say that! Naoto, as he occasionally did, wished he was elsewhere.
She was unaware of the specific inner-distresses of her senpai. "I don't think Yoshi will want anyone to pick sides either, if she 'thinks for herself', but Gamo-chan… I think she will…"
No, no, no, no! Hana, Gamo-chan, and Yoshi had been having SUCH a good time at lunch!
They were friends!
The thought that they'd all possibly wind up picking SIDES?!
"I don't want you to pick sides either," Sakura determined. "But if I have to choose, not that anyone could fuckin' make me, I know what I'll do."
Then again, Gamo-chan and Yoshi had been there to witness Hana throw down the gauntlet with Nagatoro, withdrawing her forgiveness and understanding, which she'd been EXCEPTIONALLY generous to give her farm-tanned senpai to begin with.
He couldn't disregard that he'd almost assuredly seen these sides form, right there and then.
I don't like this… The much beloved senpai quite wished he was jerking off in a bathroom stall or playing videogames at home.
The whole thing was quickly becoming a mess too large to contain.
Pounding the penultimate nails into the coffin, Sakura hammered away, "If Hana-chan is planning on skipping the beach over Hayacchi, I will side with Hana-chan. We'll go separately from the rest of you the same day, if I can convince her to do that."
What a world!
Taking one final whack at the last coffin-nail, the gal concluded, "We can still hang out, but if Hayacchi's nearby…"
She didn't need to finish her sentence, or maybe Naoto simply hadn't heard it.
"…" He didn't feel like he might cry anymore; he was just drained.
"…"
"…"
"…" Sakura cleared her throat.
"…" Naoto dreaded the next.
It was different, to be certain, the next…
"Senpai-kun," Sakura breezed. "You know something?"
"…What…?" He doubted he wanted to hear it.
She beamed. "I was actually… kinda proud of you… in a way."
"…?!" He shat. "Why? Of what?"
Different? It was downright STRANGISH!
"The whole time you told off Hayacchi, you didn't swear once."
That's what she was proud of?!
Naoto pooh-poohed, "Really…?"
"I just thought it was sorta impressive, that's all~."
It was funny to him. The other girls had said something not too unlike that.
But, Heaven above and Hell below, he'd done MORE than enough mental blaspheming…
…
Now, NAOTO hadn't sworn—at least not out loud to Nagatoro on Monday—but…
"Senpai-kun, I hope you can pardon the language, but lately, Hayacchi's been something of a cunt to you."
Gah! Naoto winced; he'd never heard the C-word come flying out of a girl's mouth before.
Had she been setting him up for just such a line?!
"She really, really has…" Sakura mused.
Sakura-san!
She snorted, strengthening her assessment, "Something, nothing… she's been a raging cunt to you… As the Americans say, a cunt with a capital 'C'~. You didn't curse, but I'm glad to do it on your behalf."
Naoto burst, "Sakura-san, that's enough…"
The haughty expression she'd just picked up went away just as quickly.
She was actually a little embarrassed, losing herself in such vulgarity, a little pink replacing her smirk. "Sorry…"
He could tell that she was. "Don't worry about it…"
She fidgeted. "…"
"…" He tried to find something to say.
Sakura found something, "But what amazes me the most is you saw fit to give Hayacchi a chance, Senpai-kun…"
Why do you sound so ashamed? Naoto wasn't about to miss her tone. You kinda helped me, if anything…
He knew it was messed up, and he thought he should be appreciative. "I wanna thank you for the push, but…"
Yes, he knew how messed up it had been.
She agreed, "You don't need to thank me for anything… I was stupid… and it only worked because you were sincere about it. I knew how you felt… or I thought I did. I was just so focused on a quick solution, that…
"I really wasn't thinking about you. I just focused in on it and went for it. We had to go right to exams, and I just zeroed in. I'm sorry, Senpai-kun."
"Yeah…" he exhaled. "I know…"
"Like I said, I only saw the tail-end of that shit-show." It pained her. "If I'd known what had led up to it, I would've prolly thought differently."
Naoto let her have her say. "…"
"I really wish I hadn't told you that… that you should apologize even if you didn't mean it," she labored. "It's stupid, but it… seemed like a good idea at the time…"
He nodded. "…"
"I really hate that cliché, Senpai-kun, but that's how I felt. It made sense to me. I thought it was the best option. But it only worked because you made it work… because you meant it. It's the only reason it succeeded…"
Naoto came in, "I thought about it… if your idea was for the best. I decided it was, that it might help everyone."
"I told you to 'lie through your teeth' if you had to," Sakura reminded him, sitting up straight again. "I know that was pretty messed up of me, but I meant it. All that mattered to me was easing the tension before the English exam. It happened, at least."
It had.
"…"
"…"
One thing he wouldn't admit to Sakura was just how angry he'd been, out chasing Nagatoro.
She didn't know when to stop!
It was possibly the worst she'd ever been to him, and she'd done a few shitty things to him.
Sakura, leaning forward, rested her forearms on her thighs, her clasped hands brushing her lips.
"I… didn't think you'd let her off for that," she continued. "A lot of people wouldn't… ever."
Was he a dupe for forgiving her?
The gal marveled, "She's fortunate to have a friend who would speak to her after that. She probably has no idea how fortunate she is that you're that kind of person."
The question shot out of Naoto's mouth, "Was I stupid to do it?"
Though he wasn't sure he'd entirely forgiven her.
"Don't ever think you're stupid or weak for forgiving her," she avowed. "Don't ever think that."
Wasn't he?
He voiced his thoughts, the other ones, "I don't think I've forgiven her, exactly…"
She said with no humor, "You're giving her a chance. It's a start."
"…" He was trying.
"None of us think you're a joke, Senpai-kun."
He wasn't sure.
But he could be sure that Sakura wouldn't sugarcoat everything she told him.
"I tell you though…" She wouldn't fail in that. "I'm glad you're thinking about it this hard. I thought you were blindly forgiving her, with how you went to pieces like you did."
Ouch! Naoto's balls ached. "Aw, Sakura-san…"
She shrugged. "I'm complementing you."
It came with enough baldness that he wanted to talk about something else.
It wasn't really any better.
Naoto gave words—less violent than his thoughts on Monday—to a laundry list of uncertainties.
"I just don't know why she can't be straight with me…" The bomb bay doors fell open, and the plane rained Hellfire on the Earth. "She fucks around with these stupid guessing games, and I just hate it…"
It wasn't the first time he'd complained about it…
Sakura responded, darkly amused, "Well, I pull your chain a little… Why's it okay when I do it~?"
Naoto reiterated something he'd said before.
"Because you're actually funny and clever, and you know when to quit." He gained some color in his cheeks. "Nagatoro can't seem to do any of that."
Woot! Sakura felt a tickle of her own, getting that sort of tribute.
Naoto didn't let his momentum fall, and the bombs kept rolling out. "With Nagatoro, it's like everything is my fault. Everything she does for me is some great favor, like no one else will, like she's the only one that would ever help me."
The titillation Sakura had known left her. "Don't think that way…"
"She's not honest," he continued listing. "She's never straightforward."
"Senpai-kun…" She wished he'd stop.
The last of his bombs dropped out the hatch, "She laughs when I cry."
Sakura countered, "She wasn't laughing, Senpai-kun. Not after that."
He grumbled, "…"
"…" She waited.
"…" He gave her nothing.
Sakura, breaking into a little giggle, mused, "I may have 'spoiled' you~. Most girls aren't like me."
He'd definitely thought of that!
She was likely breaking Girl Code, but she informed, "Sure, I'll hold things close, but I know that if you really want or need something, you need to say it."
Naoto knew he had his share of troubles with this, but he'd never really wracked his brains enough to figure it out.
He wondered, "Why do people have to be like that?"
"I think it's that people are afraid of getting hurt." It wasn't difficult for her to give him a reasonable answer. "We keep others at a certain distance. We're insecure."
"Then why hurt me?" Three guesses who Naoto was talking about.
"Hayacchi wants attention." Sakura had a pretty good idea of whom he meant. "She probably doesn't think about how it hurts."
Instead of denying anything, Naoto spat, "That's stupid."
"No argument from me~," she chirped. "But we're all guilty sometimes."
"I don't like it," he made known. "And I don't buy it. People should know they can hurt others."
She wouldn't argue that either, "They ought to, yes…"
"I know I can be insensitive too." Naoto knew himself at least that well. "But I don't go around actively trying to hurt others."
"You really don't…" Sakura approved.
He leaned back where he was, trying to relax. "…"
"…" She eyeballed him, looking past her knuckles.
"…"
"…"
"…"
…
"Senpai-kun…" Sakura uttered.
He flinched, the silence broken. "Yes?"
She sat up. "I don't blame you for getting angry at Hayacchi… and I don't think anyone else could either, but…"
Uh-oh… Naoto sensed something big.
Resting her palms on her thighs, she set about giving him reason to be a little afraid, "You wanna know what really bothered me? About Monday?"
He repressed the need to shiver. No, I don't think I do…
She didn't need him to answer; she didn't care if he didn't want to know.
"I told you that I'd probably feel different about everything if I'd seen the entirety of the lunch hour on Monday," she discoursed. "I really do think so…"
"…?" He waited for the shoe to drop.
"I also think I'd have changed my tune if I'd heard the things you said about yourself…"
Naoto could almost sense some giant shoe, riding high like the Sword of Damocles, ready to fall to Earth at any second. "…!"
"Back to you not being a loser, Senpai-kun…" she evoked. "It really bothered me to hear how badly you belittled yourself before I showed up…"
Thud! There was the first shoe!
"You're not a loser, Senpai-kun…" she drove the message. "You're not, and I was really sad to hear that you'd said such awful things about yourself."
"…" Naoto braced himself.
Sakura bristled, once more leaning forward, her elbows on her knees and hands loosely held before her. "But one thing really bothered me…"
His stomach was in knots. "…!"
"You asked Hayacchi if you should kill yourself…" she murmured, a sour countenance dripping out those ugly words. "You asked her that… in front of everyone… in front of Hana-chan…"
A dull whack resounded somewhere around the base of Naoto's skull, and he experienced the second shoe dropping, pulling into himself. "…!"
"It's selfish and stupid and entirely hateable." Sakura's hands balled up into fists. "You called yourself worthless. You want worthless? Killing yourself. That's worthless."
Naoto realized that he must've looked pretty ghastly, because the gal set him straight at once.
"Don't look at me that way." She returned to a more upright posture. "I don't have any 'personal experience' with it. Things have been pretty bad a few times, but I've never wanted to go that far."
It was more than he could say for himself.
"Okay," he replied almost immediately.
"All the same, don't make light of it." She knew he understood. "I don't care how angry you are."
He shivered now, "Right…"
"I never wanna hear anything like that from you again…" She scowled, lethally serious. "Do you hear me?"
He nodded quickly. He heard her!
Sakura took a deep breath. "…"
"…" Naoto hung his head.
"…"
"…"
"I just wanted to tell you that, Senpai-kun…" Sakura strained. "Please… don't think like that."
Thoughtfully, he gave another nod. "Yes, Sakura-san…"
"…"
"…"
"But the week's over," she was pleased to say. "We did good, so let's bask in that."
Naoto longed for the days that this kind of stuff would faze him a little more. "Yeah…"
"…"
"…"
"I'll make some tea." She stood. "Would you like some?"
They hadn't used the battered set that Hana had brought in since the week before.
"I'd love some," he said.
She was glad to hear it. "Green tea or chamomile~?"
Q&A Section
I like the idea of arcs you mentioned in chapter 59! Like Oda with One Piece! What would they actually be?
ED: I'll try to not take three years to cover a single day of the story.
Spring Saga:
Weekender Arc: Chapters 1 to 5
Monday After Arc: Chapters 6 to 12
Puzzler Arc: Chapters 13 to 18
Tutelage Triumvirate Arc: Chapters 19 to 24
Bluesy Ladder Arc: Chapters 25 to 31
Oddball Arc: Chapters 32 to 43
Brunchy Munchies Arc: Chapters 44 to 48
Spring Finals Arc: Chapters 49 to 63
Summer Saga:
Doorway into Summer Arc: Chapters 64 to TBD
Dreamer's Arc: TBD
…
And we'll see what happens after that.
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading! Questions and comments are welcome!