Fifteen minutes later, Naoto's mother learned everything that had happened in the previous few days. She was happily surprised that a girl had shown interest in her son, but learning it was the girl that had been previously teasing him, she was rather calm about it. "Well, that would explain a lot," she said after she got the story of how her son's new relationship finally got off the ground.
"So have you met her parents yet?" she asked, dishing up another serving of some egg fried rice she made for him while he was talking earlier. Naoto shook his head, "No, just her siblings, Ichiro works at her friend Gamo's family gym, while Haruna, I think is still in college, she mentioned something about graduate school in the spring, I'm not entirely sure."
She sat back down, "So now that you two are together, I assume that you have a plan for the next six months you can be together, right?" He looked down at the food, "Honestly, Mom, we're taking everything a day at a time. I don't want to make plans that could fall apart at the seams, but I do want to spend as much time with her as I can."
She nodded, "So that starts tomorrow with this 'workout date' at her friend's family gym, right?"
"Yeah, it was Gamo's idea, I think she and the others wanted to work off the meal we had tonight," he said sheepishly. He didn't want to admit it to his mother, but all that food made him feel like he gained a couple of pounds. He also wanted to work on himself for her as well, having enjoyed the times when she helped him train for the school marathon and the judo tournament over a year ago. "I think it might do me some good to get some strength in my arms, it could prove useful for when I'm taking long stretches to sketch and paint." He had felt less aches in his arms when sketching since working out with Nagatoro, and he was going to take advantage of that for the sake of his art and his love life.
His mother chuffed at his words, "Well, it's about time that you took your body a little more seriously, arm strength really helps your father when he's working on his architectural designs." He hadn't considered that his own father would care about his arm strength. Being an architect, his father had similar drawing skills as his son, but used more technical aspects to highlight the edges and facets of the structures he was designing. "He's going to be happy to hear this in the morning."
Naoto's phone rang, it was Hayase calling as promised. "I need to take this," he said, trying to get up and go to his room for some privacy. "Sit down, young man," she told him. He sat back down and answered the phone as she watched.
"Hi, Hayase, you made it home already?"
"Yeah, just got to my room… Naoto? Are you alright? You sound nervous."
"Mom was home when you and your sister dropped me off. She heard us at the door," he said.
The phone was silent for a moment, "Well, you said those things in my defense, you know how Haruna gets, your Mother should be proud that you stick up for the woman you love like that, even to her own sister." Hayase Nagatoro was many things, but nothing made her happier than being Naoto Hachiouji's girlfriend, and she wasn't ashamed to tell her boyfriend's Mom that. " She can hear me, right, Senpai?"
"Yes, I can, Hayase, and it's nice to finally know your name, by the way. I take it that the next time we meet, you're going to be a lot less shy around me?"
Another pause, "Yes, Ma'am, I'm looking forward to seeing you on Sunday, I assume you're okay with Naoto and I making bentos for our lunches together?"
Naoto could see the smile on his mother's face growing, "He told me about your bento agreement, Hayase, I really want to see how good you two are in the kitchen. I know my son can cook really well, but I hope that whatever woman he ends up with can hold her own in the kitchen with him."
She couldn't see it, but Hayase's face was also smiling, "Oh, Mrs. Hachiouji, I hope that you'll be impressed at how well we work in the kitchen. I want to be able to stand by his side, no matter where it is," Hayase had thrown down a gauntlet she wasn't intending to throw. Haruna was listening to the conversation and tried to get her to dial back her stance, but to no avail. Naoto's mother saw her opening and pounced.
"Say, why don't we have your family over for dinner next Sunday night? I think it would be nice to meet your parents since I'm sure they have been impressed with Naoto so far." She looked at her son and saw the look of abject fear on his face, not realizing that this step hadn't happened yet.
"Ummm, I would have to check their schedules, but I don't think that should be a problem," she said, her face now bright red from blushing. "If you'll excuse me Mrs. Hachiouji, It's late and I have to be at the gym for Judo practice in the morning. Good night Naoto," she said as she hung up the phone. Senpai looked at the phone, unable to say good night to her but staring at his mother, "Mom, why did you do that? I haven't met her parents yet and we only just made it official yesterday!"
His mother got up from the table and turned off the light in the kitchen, "My son, sometimes life throws you a curveball, it's up to you if you take a swing or let it pass and hope it's not a strike."
He sat there for a moment, then texted Hayase as he headed to his bedroom.
"I'm SOOOOOO Sorry! I didn't know she was going to do that!"
"We will get through this, Senpai, I have faith in us…"
He took a breath and exhaled slowly, "I'm sorry for panicking, I've never been in this situation before."
"If it helps, neither have I. You're still my first real relationship, and I don't want to mess it up…"
He sent an emoji of a hug and a heart. "I don't either, You're too special to lose now. We can do this, Together."
"I Love you so much, Senpai, you know that?"
"I do… We'll talk tomorrow at the gym. I'll do my best there for you."
"I know, Good night Naoto, I love you."
"I Love you too, Hayase."
Naoto was up early in the morning and decided to go for a run to clear his head from the previous night's actions. His father was already up and in the living room, on his phone with his colleagues, trying to help with rescheduling the conference that had been canceled. "Hey Naoto, where're you off to this morning?"
He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and his jacket, "I'm going running this morning, Dad, I want to be ready for the marathon this year and actually finish without any help." He gave him a thumb's up as he was back talking to his colleagues, "have fun, son, see you later." He returned to his conversation as Naoto put on his running shoes and exited the house.
He got about two blocks from the house when he was surprised to see Yoshi running with her little dog, Bokksu. "Sensei! Good morning!" she said. "Are you running today too?"
"Hi, Yoshi, yeah, I was going to go running this morning, where are you going?"
She smiled, "I like to take Bokksu to the beach by the shrine and run on the sands, it feels good in the morning." She waved goodbye and she and her dog headed in the direction of the beach about a mile from his house. He watched her twin tails fly behind her head like a kite's tails as she and the little dog disappeared around a corner.
He finished his stretches and started off in the direction of the school, hoping to do a few laps around the track before heading out towards the Gamo family Gym. He worked his way around the track on the school grounds when he heard his name being called.
"Hachiouji-San,? Is that you?"
Senpai stopped in his tracks and turned to see who was calling him.
"H-H-Hosakawa-san?" He said, recognizing the school's most famous athlete, Kinseki Hosakawa, a phenomenal baseball prodigy, who was being touted as another Ichiro Suzuki, good enough to play in America if he wished. The athlete walked over and shook his hand, "I'm surprised to see you out here, Hachiouji-Kun, I didn't think you were all that interested in fitness. Mind if I jog with you for a bit?"
"Uhh, No, I'd be happy with the company," Naoto said as the two started back up at a slower pace around the track. "So, I heard a rumor the other day that you and a second-year girl from the Judo club were seeing each other, is that true?"
Naoto coughed a little bit as they ran, "Oh? Where did you hear that from?"
Kinseki chuckled, "one of the other players on the team is seeing a little blonde second-year who mentioned you and the girl," he said as they picked up the pace a bit. Senpai thought in his head, "He must mean Sakura, it figures she'd say something, well, we did say we wouldn't hide it."
"Yeah, actually, we are going out, are you surprised?" Hosakawa laughed, "No, I think it's great, Maki Gamo is a great athlete and she's always struck me as a girl who would make a great girlfriend."
Naoto stopped dead in his tracks, "G-G-Gamo? You think I'm dating Maki Gamo?" Hosakawa stopped and looked back at him, "It's not? Wait, are you dating Mariko Orihara? Wow, that's quite the accomplishment," Senpai waved his hands, "no, No, I'm not seeing her either, I'm dating Hayase Nagatoro!" he said with some conviction in his voice.
Hosakawa put his hands at his hips, "Nagatoro? Really? She never struck me as particularly interested in dating. One of our infielders tried to ask her out and she shot him down like a Clone Trooper blasting a Separatist Battle Droid," He said, revealing his Star Wars geekdom. Senpai had to snicker at the analogy.
"I never took you for a Star Wars Otaku," he said as he started jogging again. Hosakawa just smiled, deciding against mentioning his impressive collection of clone trooper figures he'd been collecting since he was a child. He joined him as the two laughed for a bit.
"Seriously, though, why her?" Kinseki asked. "I heard she was a prodigy like Orihara when she was younger but she stopped in middle school," Senpai just kept pace with him as he talked, knowing the story behind the rumors. "What is it you see in her, Hachiouji-Kun?"
Naoto stopped, putting his hands on his waist. "You know what it feels like for you when you step up to bat? That feeling you get when you see the pitcher throw the ball at you?" Hosakawa got a look on his face, a look of understanding. "I know the feeling you mean," he said.
Naoto nodded, "When she models for Me, I feel the same way, she's an amazing girl, and she just…" his voice trailed off as the memory of their kiss by her house that evening after they admitted their true feelings bubbled up. "Well, she's all that, and more."
He looked at Hosakawa, who just nodded, "I get it, Hachiouji-Kun, you're a lucky boy, Hachiouji-kun. I kind of envy you, you know that?"
Naoto chuckled, "Hey, if you want, I'll introduce you to Gamo sometime, I think you'd hit it off," Hoisakawa laughed, "She's way out of my league, plus if she got mad at me, she's liable to Pull an Ippon throw on me," he said. Naoto just shook his head, "Speaking of Gamo, I'm supposed to be meeting Nagatoro at Gamo's family gym while she's practicing, I'll see you later, Hosakawa-San."
He waved and headed out of the athletic field. Kinseki stood there and watched him jog off. As Senpai departed, Hisakawa stood there, thinking to himself, "Me and Maki Gamo, seriously?" He pondered the possibility in his mind as he started jogging on the track again for a few more minutes, before heading to the fun center in town to use the batting cages. On his journey to the cages, he was lost in thought,
"Wait a minute, why wouldn't that work? She's an amazing athlete in her own right, so am I. I could do worse than a gifted martial artist for a girlfriend. All of the girls who follow the baseball team around would stay away if she was at the games all the time. I'm still in shock that Naoto Hachiouji is involved with a girl like Hayase Nagatoro. Hachiouji the Hermit, the favorite target of every school bully in Miura, has a girlfriend. And not just any girl, but the Tororoimo of Kazehaya High School. Nobody would EVER picture him ever being with her, let alone ANY girl. Not even that blonde girl that Hideki's been seeing. I don't know, maybe I should ask Maki Gamo out, the worst she can say is No…
Wait, the worst she can say is No, then Ippon me into the ground and tear my rotator cuff, THAT would be the worst…"
Senpai made his way to Gamo Fighting Gym about a half hour after leaving Hosakawa at the athletic field. Aas he passed the windows he could see Gamo and Hayase in the ring, sparring with each other. Gamo saw him in the windows and put her gloves up, "Hayacchi, your boyfriend is here, you wanna take a break?"
She looked at the entrance to see him walk in and lean forward to catch his breath. Nagatoro jumped over the ropes and headed to him, giving him a hug, "Naoto! What are you doing here so soon?" she said as she embraced her love, kissing his cheek. "I wanted to watch you practice, so I decided to go for a run and come over."
Gamo laughed. "Wow, Paisen, you're really making an effort for Hayacchi, aren't you?" Gamo was grinning like always, but was not prepared for his next words.
"Oh, say, Gamo, what do you think about Kinseki Hosakawa?" the smile instantly disappeared as she suddenly looked shocked, "Hosakawa? What about him?" He looked at Nagatoro and smiled, "I ran into him while I was jogging, he asked me if the rumors were true that I was involved with a very athletic second-year girl," he squeezed Hayase's hand as he recalled the conversation, "I told him it was true, and he said, and I quote, 'I never pictured you with Maki Gamo,'"
Gamo looked like she wanted to pass out, Nagatoro was shaking in both jealousy and hilarity, laughing that Hosakawa thought Senpai was dating Gamo, but jealous that he would think that. He kissed Hayase's hand softly, "I corrected him, of course, but I think he might be interested in getting to know you better."
Hayase looked at him like she used to when she would tease him, "You're kidding, Senpai. Hosakawa? Interested? In Gamo? I love you and all, but I think you're crazy."
Gamo started turning red with more than a little bit of anger at Hayase's words. "HEY! That's below the belt there, Hayacchi!"
Senpai put himself between the two. "Okay, Okay, let me explain what he said, all right, nobody needs to get upset here." He spent the next few minutes recalling the conversation with the baseball star, how he assumed that Senpai and Gamo had gotten together, which made both girls laugh. The laughter also mended fences between the two. But the idea of Gamo and Hosakawa getting together seemed somewhat far-fetched, especially for Maki.
"Come on, Paisen, he couldn't possibly be interested in me," she said. Then inspiration hit him, "Gamo, how popular is the gym right now with Orihara training here?" Gamo stopped a moment, and looked at him, "I don't know offhand, Paisen, but we've seen an uptick in customers, why?" Naoto got an uncharacteristically mischievous grin on his face, "Imagine what the gym traffic would be if a Star baseball prospect, one who might ACTUALLY be good enough to play in America, was coming here to work out in the off-season?"
Gamo smiled for a moment, but then shook her head, "Come on, Paisen, I know you mean well, but come on, who'd want to date someone like me?"
Naoto looked down and gripped Nagatoro's hand firmly, looking her in the eyes as he took a deep breath, "Gamo… Maki… listen to Me, a really smart and caring guy would be really lucky to be going out with you. I wish I knew someone who could fit that bill, but other than you, Hayase, Sakura, Yoshi, and the Sunomiyas, I really don't have much in the way of friends. But, I know that there IS a guy out there who's going to meet you soon and he's never gonna forget that day."
Gamo was almost in tears as Hayase let go of his hand and hugged her best friend, "You know, in his own weird way, he's right, the right guy is out there for you, just don't wait for him to arrive, Gamo."
Gamo gripped her friend, "Damn it, Hayacchi, you sure that we can't clone Paisen a couple of times?" You can have one, I can have one and the Big Bunny can have the third one." Naoto rolled his eyes as the girls started laughing. "Okay, Okay, that'll do now, nobody is cloning me."
Hayase came back to him and hugged her boyfriend, "I'm just kidding Senpai, I wouldn't want another one of you, you're Mine and Mine alone." He chuckled and kissed her forehead, "Fair enough, now, what are we working on today?"
A few hours later, Nagatoro and Senpai walked out of the gym, a bit sore but happy, as she got more of her judo training done with Gamo. Her win over Orihara had suddenly brought her to the attention of the local Judoka Association, and she was now being scouted to participate in the upcoming Empress' Cup Womens' Judo Tournament in Yokohama.
"Hayase, do your parents know about me?" He asked her as they walked home, hand in hand. "Mom does, for sure, Haruna won't shut up about you. Dad though…" her voice trailed off as she looked away, gripping his hand a bit tightly. "Dad's not exactly ready to meet the boy who's captured my heart just yet."
Naoto sighed, "That's going to make dinner next Sunday… Very Interesting… isn't it?" she hugged him, "I just want them to know how important you've become in my life, Hayase, and I know you want my parents to know how much you mean to me." She nodded her head in his chest, "Would it be wrong for us to run away now and get married?" She asked, looking up at him.
He stroked her cheek, "Hayase, nothing would make me happier than for you to be my wife, but we can get through this." She kissed him on his chin, "How come you're being so positive, Senpai? I don't know if I can handle a confident Senpai, I've gotten too used to my neurotic bean sprout." she playfully hit his chest, but she really wasn't sure why he was being so self-assured now. Part of her loved that all of her work to pull him out of his shell had paid off, but part of her liked teasing him, and a confident Senpai wouldn't be fun to tease.
He looked at her, "When you told me what you did, I realized something, I didn't have to be afraid anymore, I was not alone anymore," he stroked her cheek. "You've made me want to be better, to be willing to stand up beside you, and to protect you. I can't do that if I stay the way I was. I have to be stronger now, because it's not about me alone anymore," he kissed her again, "It's about us, Together, and you're someone I want to fight for."
She embraced him, "I do love you, Naoto, thank you for telling me that." They stopped at the convenience store and got some drinks. The walk back to her house was quiet, she clung to him on the side, feeling his arm around her shoulders, cradling her to him. When they got to her house, she opened the door, noticing that the house was dark. "Wait here a minute, Senpai," she said as she turned on the light at the entrance. A note was sitting on the table by the shoe shelves.
"Hayase, Mom and Dad are stuck in Hokkaido until Monday. Ichiro and I went to a concert in Osaka. We're staying overnight and will be home tomorrow. Tell Senpai-Kun he's not allowed to make me an aunt yet. Love, Haruna"
She fumed for a minute, but then smiled wickedly. "Can I get him to spend the night here?" She grabbed his hand and pulled him in, "Senpai, how would you like to spend the night with me?'
Naoto's face exploded in red, "Wha-What?!" He fell over in shock, "you mean you're here by yourself?" Hayase helped him up.
"Mom and Dad were up in Hokkaido visiting my grandmother, my sister said they were stuck until Monday, probably because Grandma is mad at Dad again. My siblings went to Osaka for a concert and they won't be home until tomorrow night."
He looked at her, "Well, you could come stay the night with us," he offered. Her eyes went wide, "you think your parents would be okay with that?" He pulled his phone out, "Only one way to find out," he said as he dialed his Mom's phone.
"Naoto, there you are, I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner, Dad and I are heading back to Shanghai, the conference is back on at another hotel, We'll be home on Tuesday. I have to go, the flight is boarding now, tell Hayase Hi for me and I'm looking forward to seeing her next weekend." the phone clicked as she hung up.
He pulled the phone down and looked at it for a moment. "What's wrong, Senpai?" He looked at her, "Mom and Dad are flying back to Shanghai, we're alone for the weekend."
Hayase's eyes went wide. "You mean…?"
His face was beet red, "Yes, we are…"
She sat on the little step by the door. "So, what do you want to do?"
He sat down next to her, "I go get a change at home and come back, or you grab a change and come home with me." She jumped up and ran off to her room. Five minutes later she was back with a bag and a new set of clothes to wear. "Let's go home, Senpai, we can pretend we're married like that new Sunday night anime." She locked up the house and they headed towards his house, stopping at the convenience store for ingredients for dinner.
As they headed to his place, Gamo texted her, "Hayacchi, ask Paisen if he'll talk to Hoskawa about having lunch with us this week."
She smiled, "Gamo wants to know if you'll ask Hoskawa to have lunch with us this week," she told Senpai as they walked through the tunnel near his house. "She's going for it?" he asked as they turned down the little side street to his home. "Looks like it."
He stopped a moment to fish out his keys from his pocket, "tell her that if she prefers, she can have lunch in my club room, just the four of us, Yoshi and Sakura don't need to be there and make a mess of things."
Nagatoro nodded, "got it," and sent the message as he opened the door, letting her in. He locked the door behind him and headed into the kitchen to start. She headed up to his room and put her bag down, laying back on his bed for a bit. She laid face down on his sheets and inhaled, taking in his scent. "Hayase, did you want to take a shower or something while I make dinner?"
She jumped up and came back down, "Maybe later, right now I'm more hungry, Naoto," she stood in the doorway of the kitchen, "is there anything I can do to help with making dinner?" He smiled, "Sure, start the rice for me?" pointing to his family's rice cooker.
"Sure thing," she said and opened the cabinet where she remembered he kept the rice from the last time she was in his kitchen, when he was sick. She poured in enough rice for the two of them and enough water to cook it perfectly. "All done, I'll go set the table for us, do you want anything in particular to drink?"
Naoto was busy stir-frying the meat for dinner, "grab whatever is in the pitcher, I think Mom made some American sweet tea in there." he said as he added the braising juices to the wok. Twelve minutes later, he was putting down a nice stir fry and a bowl of perfectly cooked rice on the table. She sat next to him and they ate quietly, occasionally feeding each other.
"Oh, what about us going to Yokohama to the aquarium? Are we still doing that?" Hayase asked as she finished off her meal.
"I completely forgot about that, Why not? We've got the day to ourselves, let's go for it." he told her. She leaned over and kissed his cheek, "Thank you, Senpai. I'm going to have so much fun with you this whole weekend," she said, not realizing how that statement could be interpreted.
Naoto closed his eyes for a moment, lost in thought, Hayase noticed this as she cleared the dishes and rinsed them in the sink, "Naoto? What are you thinking about?" She sat back down next to him, taking his hand and leaning on his arm.
He opened his eyes and looked at her. "The thought occurred to me, this is our first official weekend together as a couple. What if we make a trip to an aquarium an annual thing to celebrate our relationship?" She looked at him a bit oddly. "So like when married people celebrate their wedding anniversary, you want us to celebrate by going out every year to an aquarium?" She thought about this for some time, "Explain your thinking here, because I'm a little lost."
He stood up, took her hand and led her to the living room, sitting down on the couch and cradling her in his arms. "You remember what our first ACTUAL date was?" She rolled her head for a moment, "The Aquarium in Enoshima, that the Bunny Girls, Gamo, and Yoshi ruined, what about it?"
He gently caressed her arm as she lay there with him. "Even though it wasn't exactly the date we had planned, it was nonetheless a date to remember. I want this to be the date we never had, where we weren't getting chased by our friends, where we can enjoy the specimens and each other. I want you to always equate aquariums with our relationship."
She cupped his cheek gently, "Naoto, you sweet, old-fashioned boy, I already do." She leaned forward and kissed him passionately. "All right, from now on, every September, you and I, regardless of where we are, as long as we're together, we'll spend our anniversary at an aquarium,"
He smiled at her, "You wanna watch a movie? I'm still a bit amped from dinner." She nodded, "Sure, what do you want to watch?" he kissed her on the forehead, "you're the guest, it's your call."
She chose a couple of gory vampire movies she was sure would bring out the old Scaredy Cat Senpai, but she ended up curled up in his arms, scared almost out of her wits. She was too afraid to admit she couldn't handle the movie and instead, made Senpai's night more enjoyable.
She stretched and yawned, "Senpai, I'm tired, let's get some sleep, so we can get to the aquarium early, okay?" She looked up at him as head lay on his shoulder. He nodded, "Sure, go up and get changed, you can use my bed, I'll use my parents' bed tonight," he said as they got up.
She grabbed him, "Please, Senpai, I don't want to be alone tonight, the movie scared me too much, can't you stay with me? Please?" Naoto exhaled slowly. "Well, why don't we set up a couple of futons down here then, will that work?" Her grip loosened and her hands moved to his hand. "Thank you Senpai, I know you won't do anything pervy to me, I just didn't think the movie would scare me like that." He suppressed the desire to roll his eyes at her 'pervy' comment, because in the back of his head, he reminded himself that she was really scared and that was probably just her way of trying to calm herself down.
She followed him to the hall closet where his parents kept the spare futons for when his Aunt and Uncle would visit. They pushed the couch back far enough to lay the futons down next to each other. "There's a charger cord on the side table there, if you want to plug your phone in, Hayase," he said, pointing to the little table next to the large chair. She plugged herself in while she texted her sister.
"Got your message, going to the Aquarium in Yokohama with Senpai in the morning, will see you when you get back, I want a t-shirt from the concert."
"Where are you sleeping tonight?"
"At a Friend's House"
"Which friend?"
"Don't worry, sis, You're not going to be an Auntie… yet…"
Hayase grinned evilly as she sent the message and put her phone on Do Not Disturb. Naoto was upstairs getting changed after she did. She sat down on the futon, leaning against the chair as he came down the steps, dressed in an old t-shirt and shorts. He plugged his phone into another cord and crawled into the other futon.
"Hayase, what's wrong, are you okay?" he asked as he lay on his side looking at her. "I'm a little nervous, I know you won't try anything crazy, but it's still the first time we've been alone like this." He smiled at her, "I promise that I will not do anything 'gross' or 'Pervy' to you tonight," He said, holding his right hand up as if he was being sworn in at a trial to tell the truth.
She giggled as he used her own words against himself, "Okay, I'll hold you to your word, Senpai, but…" she paused as she got into her futon and lay on her side facing him, "If I get scared, can you hold me?" her face had a look of genuine fear on it. His heart melted at the sight, "Come here, I'll protect you."
He rolled onto his back and she slipped into his futon, snuggling at his side. She kissed him on the cheek and laid her head on his chest, "Good night, Sen… Naoto." she was asleep in less than five minutes, her left hand laying across his chest. He had his right arm wrapped around her body to hold her against him, his other arm behind his head. He lay there thinking, "I wish we could stay this way, just her and I, like this, nobody else to bother us, no school, no work, no responsibilities, just us," he said in his head. "Six months is a long time but I wouldn't want it any other way." He moved his hand to hold hers as he drifted off, holding Hayase close.