THE DAY THINGS CHANGED

Chapter 2: I Need to Talk to You, Senpai

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I had originally planned on making this a bi-weekly release, but this week has seen an unprecedented amount of activity for the writers of the NagatoroVerse. It started with my friend and colleague Flaccid-Acid's newest chapters of his new stories, which turn the story of Senpai and Nagatoro upside down. "Don't Mess with Me, Hachioji-Kun" and "Please Don't Mess with Me, Nakase-Kun" are some really impressive takes on the basic story. I won't spoil them but go find them here and enjoy them. Then our friend EmTendew released the latest chapter in her long-running series, "Cherry Blossom Palatte," so as such, I've decided to go the "Obi-Wan/Andor" route and release two chapters this week before settling in on my normal schedule, esp[ecially with my upcoming move to a new papartment happening at the end of the year. I hope you enjoy this newest chapter and as always, if you have any questions or thoughts, please post them in a review and I'll answer them in an upcoming chapter...

Senpai's walk to school was strange, mostly because for the first time in a long time, Nagatoro wasn't walking to school with him. She had texted him in the morning that she was going to school late because she had a dental appointment in the morning. But add to that, Sakura, Gamo, and Yoshi took her place on the walk in. He'd gotten used to having them around, but this morning, he felt like they were hovering over him for some strange reason.

"Hey Paisen, are you missing Hayacchi today? It's been a long time since you two didn't walk to school," Gamo started in on him early, but she wasn't trying to tease him, rather trying to prepare him for whatever Nagatoro was going to tell him today. "I don't think whatever is bothering her is going to be a bad thing, Paisen, but we're going to give you guys your space today, right girls?" Yoshi flashed a thumb's up, "Yup!" Sakura patted him gently on the back, "Remember what Hana told you, Just listen to her, Senpai-kun."

Naoto sighed, "I know you all mean well, but I'm nervous, I don't know what to expect," Gamo stopped and faced him. "Paisen, you have to understand something, Hayacchi is not used to having someone in her head like you are, and I'm not saying this to be mean or anything, but for as long as I've known her, she's never been this wound up about anything since Orihara first beat her."

She put her hand on his shoulder, as did Sakura and Yoshi. "You may not realize this, but the three of us have been rooting for you two to get together. She likes you, Paisen, I mean it, you are the most important thing in her life. Don't let her get away, you'll regret it." Senpai blushed, "Maki, I know… When we were at the stones, when I got hit by Shiki's friends, I had a vision of what my life could be like without her, It… It made me realize that I don't want that…" he took a deep breath, then looked her in the eyes, "I love her, Gamo… I don't want to live my life without her."

Yoshi gasped, and Sakura covered her mouth with both hands. Gamo just smiled, "I know you do, we all know it, Paisen, now it's time to tell her that, we'll give you guys the room for the day, but we want to know what happened tomorrow, okay?" He nodded as the girls all headed to their respective lockers to change into their school shoes. He moved to his locker and did the same, feeling strangely calm.

Having Gamo and the girls not only acknowledge his feelings for Nagatoro, but also tell him that they support his wanting to tell her how he felt made the day seem a bit lighter. He didn't feel like his true feelings were a burden he alone carried. He found out that Gamo, Yoshi, and Sakura all understood how he felt, but wanted him to be with Nagatoro as well. His morning classes passed with a blur and before he knew it, Lunch was happening.

He brought her a bento lunch like they had been doing since the Aquarium trip, but she never showed. He put the food into the little fridge in the prep room for later. After lunch finished, he headed to his afternoon classes and hoped to see her, still not sure what he was going to say to her when she got there. The Art Club room seemed strangely hollow again, as if its soul was missing. He walked in but left the club room door open. He sighed and pulled out the easel with his unfinished portrait of the two of them from Kyoto, slowly working on the details, while the breeze from the windows blew the curtains softly.

He had gotten so focused on the details of the portrait, he failed to notice that the door to the club room had been closed slowly by someone. As he sat up to look over the results of his work, he suddenly felt two arms around his chest, hugging him, "Hi Senpai." Nagatoro was holding him from behind. Her face was pressed against his spine while her hands were balled up at his chest, as if she had a pair of defibrilation paddles, ready to shock his heart into working.

His body froze up as he felt Nagatoro's arms around him, "Wha- what are you doing?" he stammered. He felt her move her cheek back and forth slowly, nuzzling him.

He heard her take a deep breath, "There's something I have to tell you, Senpai" She paused and took a deep breath. "I- I- I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for the way I treated you when we first met," she said haltingly, and part of his shirt started to feel wet. "I didn't mean to make you cry... I- I-," she buried her head in his back. For some reason, Senpai's hand went to hers, gently patting them.

"It's all right... Hayase," he said softly, making her grip him tighter. It was the first time he said her first name to her. "I had forgiven you for that a long time ago, Hayase, but there's something I should tell you."

She rotated around so his arm lay across her shoulders, as she looked up at him. "What is it, Senpai?' The look in her eyes told him that she wasn't teasing him, there was a sincere glow in them, as if she was ready to come clean about her feelings.

He looked down at her, his face redder than a crayon, "I... I... want to be with you. I want us to be together for as long as I have left in school and after." Hayase's eyes went wide as her face reddened as deep as his.

"You- You- you like me?" she asked, holding on for dear life, as if to keep him grounded and not get away. He smiled at her and shook his head, "No... I- I- I Love you..." he said, closing his eyes as if to gain the strength to battle a demon lord or two. "I figured it out in Kyoto, but until now, I didn't know how to tell you."

She hugged him hard as his arms wrapped around her. The two were locked in their embrace for what seemed like an eternity. "I- I- Love you too… Naoto. I have never felt like this before, so it's been hard for me to tell you the truth." He stood up from the stool and held her properly, caressing her hair slowly. He chuckled slightly, making her look up at him, "What's so funny?"

He smiled at her, his hand gently stroking her cheek, "aren't we a Pair? Neither of us really knowing how to say the words to each other," she smiled at him, "I'm sorry I called you creepy all those times, I think I was trying to make jokes to downplay my feelings. " He nodded, "So, no more 'Pervy Senpai' comments?"

She looked away, "Wellllll…. Maybe once in a while, so you don't think I've gone completely soft on ya," she looked back with that toothy grin he recalled from that first day in the library, when she called him her "Senpai" for the first time. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. Her skin felt hot to his lips, but then she stood up and returned the kiss properly, holding on to him like she would be swept away from him if she didn't. As they broke the kiss, she buried her head in his chest, sighing with contentment.

"Come on, Senpai, I want to get some ramen and talk about things with you." She took his hand and kissed it. "I'm really lucky you love me, Senpai, I'm going to make you happy," she released his hand and got her things together while he took the easel and the canvas and placed them in the prep room, sealing up the oil paints and shelving them as well. He closed up the side door and shut the windows so that if it rained, it wouldn't get in the room. "Ready?" He asked as she handed him his bag and took his hand, "Yeah, let's go home, Naoto." He led her out of the room and locked the door behind them.

It took about 20 minutes to walk to the little ramen shop by the park, but the whole time, they talked about many things. They made a date to go back to the aquarium at Enoshima to enjoy it officially as a couple and not just that awkward date that the Sunomiyas, Gamo, and Yoshi nearly ruined. He said that he wanted to spend some time together at the beach there so he could show her the little ice cream shop he loves going to when he's sketching alone.

As they got to the park, he stopped for a moment. "Say, I was thinking, why don't we visit another shrine together on New Year's Day?" Hayase was holding his arm softly, "Really? You mean it?" He looked at her and nodded. "I think I want to do a lot of things with you from now on, Hayase, and I don't want them to end when I graduate." He turned to her and touched her cheek, and she leaned into his touch. "I know all of this is brand new to me, and I don't want to miss anything with you, Hayase."

She kissed his hand, "Come on, Senpai, I want to feed you some dinner," she said, her mischievous grin on her face as the two entered the ramen shop. They took two seats side by side and Senpai ordered a bowl of shoyu ramen with chashu pork and narutomaki. Nagatoro opted for one with an ajitsuke tamago instead of the narutomaki, and an order of gyoza to share.

They sat and talked about his manga, how he hoped to one day have it published. She listened to him intently, feeling his passion for his artwork, knowing that he changed part of his series to incorporate her "Neko-toro" character into the story as the female protagonist.

She talked about wanting to start back up with judo, how his encouragement during the last two judo tournaments reawakened her love for the sport. She talked about how she wanted to make up for the time she lost when she walked away from the sport. She knew that Orihara got better because she never stopped focusing on being better. She told him how she wanted to be better because now she had someone who was worth fighting for. They sat and ate their ramen then ordered a second set of noodles to finish off the broth.

"So, what happens now?" she asked him as they finished their meal and walked out, letting a petite, pink-haired girl in a simple black dress pass them as she walked in. He took her hand as they headed to her house in the darkness. "We take every day on its own, and face it together from now on. No more hiding how we feel about each other." She hugged his arm as they walked, interlacing her fingers with his.

"I'm happy," she said as they reached her home, "I never thought I could feel this happy, Senpai." She put her arms around him, holding him close as she inhaled his scent. "Thank you for letting me be open with you. I love you, you know that?" He smiled and leaned down and kissed her on top of her head. "I do, and I love you too, Hayase."

He kissed her deeply before letting her go for the evening. "Hey, I had a thought, let's go out on a date this weekend. I heard the Aquarium in Yokohama has some new penguins on display, maybe you'd like to go see them." She squealed in delight, "Can We, please?" He smiled and nodded, "yes, we can, and I think someone might get another big plush penguin as well."

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, "Oh, Thank You!" as she hugged him the door to her house opened and her older sister stepped out, "Well, there you are, Hayase. I was wondering where you were, I assume that you and Senpai-kun had a good time tonight?" Hayase took her hands off of him and turned to face her, "Don't say stuff like that, we just went out to dinner!"

Naoto then did something that shocked her, "With all due respect, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tease my girlfriend like that." He said, holding her hand. Her sister looked shocked, "Well, Senpai-kun, I didn't know you were so protective of my sister like that." she smiled. Hayase put her arms around him, holding on to him as he defended her from her only tormentor.

Naoto stood his ground, "I know you mean well, but please, she's important to me and I want her to be happy." her sister looked at him then looked at her. "Well, I guess you're not a little kid anymore, Hayase, you've got a boyfriend who's willing to stand up to me." She walked up and gave her a hug. "I guess I need to stop seeing you as my pesky little sister anymore, you're becoming a woman." Nagatoro moved her arms around her sister, returning the hug. "I think I'll head home now, I'll see you tomorrow Hayase." he left her in her sister's arms and started to walk down the street.

"Senpai, wait!" She yelled as she ran after her, leaping into his arms and kissing him goodnight. "Call me when you get home, please? I want to know that you're home safe." He stroked her hair and nodded, "I promise, Hayase, I'll call you as soon as I'm home." She reluctantly let him go and he headed home. She watched him walk off into the darkness as her sister joined her, putting her arm around her shoulder. "You really found a good one, Hayase. I think he's going to make a great husband for you," she said with a wry smile. Hayase elbowed her in the ribs, "Shut up."

Thirty minutes later, Hayase was in her room talking to Naoto, as he had promised. "I'm glad you got home safe, Naoto, I would have been happier if you could have stayed over, but knowing my sister, she wouldn't have let up."

"Yeah, I would have been fine with staying over, but I didn't want to give your sister any ammunition to use against you, plus we have a lifetime to be together ahead of us…"

Hayase paused for a moment, letting his words sink in, "He wants a lifetime with me…" she said to herself as her face turned red. "He really does Love me," she thought.

"Hayase? Are you still there?"

"Oh Sorry, I was thinking about something…"

He chuckled over the phone, "Yeah, that can get a bit distracting sometimes when you get a thought in your head and everything else gets tuned out."

"So that's what you go through when you space out like this?"

"Sometimes… other times… I'm just thinking about how beautiful you are, and what I did right to deserve to be blessed with having you in my life."

Her face was red, as she smiled at his words, "maybe the Universe had decided that you had been bullied enough and that you deserved a win."

He was quiet for a moment, "Spoken like a true Shrine Maiden, Hayase, thank you. So, do you want to meet me tomorrow at the bus stop? We'll walk to school from there."

"Sure, Naoto, I'll be waiting for you."

"Hey, isn't that supposed to be My line?"

She giggled, "Silly Senpai, good night, and I Love you."

"Good night, I love you too."