🌸Cherry Blossom Palette: Summer by the Sea🎨
Chapter 23: Flower Girls [Part Three]
Sunshine Arc
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
ED:Visit my editor on Reddit when he promotes the story! I think he's lonesome in that desolate place. He could use some support.
…
We did it again. PS and I shuffled around the events of Naoto's summer again, so "Flower Girls" will be running one more chapter after this one.
I know we keep doing this, but I think the story is better served doing this now.
This bumps the beach material to Chapter 26, but that's only a week's delay
…
I'm enjoying Metalocalypse a lot. It's different, but I like it.
Toki Wartooth is adorable! Just don't make him angry. And don't get him get too close to you emotionally. You might die. Apparently, it's a curse.
My editor's Midwestern accent is actually pretty close to Pickles the drummer's accent. It's just not as exaggerated. It also sounds like the characters in that Fargo movie that I never saw but have seen clips of, but he doesn't like hearing it. PS hates that movie. He treats it like a disease. Probably because it taught the rest of the world that Midwesterners were supposed to sound like that.
…
Ask us anything, and we'll add a Q&A section in the next chapter.
It's good to know that you keep reading, so I would be happy if you drop comments and ask questions.
Please enjoy what I wrote.
Friday, July 27, 2018
The reader could be bored out of the mind, detailing all of the outfits Sakura Inori and Hana Sunomiya showed their senpai companion, but one can trust that Naoto Hachioji got to see a couple of pretty girls exhibit some really cute clothing for him.
The girls didn't get a huge haul from the little alt-clothing store, but each came across some very nice finds, there being plenty of "normal" clothing sprinkling the racks.
Naoto had enjoyed the "show", Sakura and Hana modeling various tops, bottoms, and even a full dress or two.
In all, Hana had tried on 15 or 16 items, and Sakura had tried on at least 25, but Naoto wasn't paying the best attention to the latter.
Those numbers SOUNDED high, but…
Naoto could say—guilt-free and in all seriousness—that each of his kohai were quite busty, and a lot of what they tried had to be worn to determine that it just didn't fit comfortably, and because of that, he saw less than half of what they tried in the first place.
The girls had even gone out prowling a second time, scouring the racks for things they'd missed or discounted the first time around…
At last, Sakura had picked out nine pieces of clothing, and Hana had decided on only five, but they were all quality items, and among Hana's five was the billowy sundress that Sakura had been so excited about.
Sakura had ended up calling it old-fashioned, seeing it on Hana, but Naoto had said it looked good and fit well, and the latter was important.
Also, the craftsmanship of the sundress was impressive, the garment carefully cut and sewn to maintain the flowery pattern…
Hana had gained even more confidence in showing her senpai what she evaluated, the shy kohai in ivory ribbons seemingly left behind at the last store, and her friends were glad for it.
Naoto had gone so far as to declare a desire to sketch Hana, wearing the dress, in the near-future, and Sakura thought the idea was too classy to resist~!
"Did we give your arms a good workout, Senpai-kun~?" The gal prodded Naoto's nearest bicep, her own arms loaded down with most of her would-be purchases. "Did we~?"
He dismissed, holding the rest of what she was getting, "It wasn't that bad, Sakura-san…"
But it was a relief that he was no longer arm-curling what seemed like 20-odd pieces of clothing…
It was a little embarrassing for the blonde to be giving him guff about his "senpai arms" being tired, but if that was the worst thing she'd give him, after he'd not quite drooled over the girls' little fashion show, he considered it a win.
The three had since squared away the clothes the girls didn't want, and they were meandering back to the front.
Hana stared fondly at the sundress, the pinnacle of her soon-to-be summer wardrobe, the other four pieces concealed by its volume. "I can't believe all this is only ¥3,500~."
"I didn't know today was gonna be a tag-sale~!" Sakura was also pleased, her total hovering around ¥5,500. "Blue tags are 25% off, and green tags are 50% off~!"
Several of their articles had such tags…
"…~" Naoto had been happy about the sale too, all the Hawaiian shirts he'd bought earlier tagged green.
Hana reasoned, "I guess that might explain why the racks were more picked-over than you expected, Sakura-senpai, as busy as they are today."
"Next time, let's get here when they open the doors~!" Sakura chirped, eyes sparkling at her beloved Hana-chan. "2:15 is too late to go bargain-hunting."
"Hmph~!" Hana concurred. "Let's!"
"Sakura…?" a female voice sounded ahead of them. "Hey, long time, no see~."
Naoto had been following the girls for a few seconds, no space to walk three abreast, and he ran into the back of the gal, not paying attention.
"…?!" Sakura had halted, riveted on the spot, seeing the woman before her. "Etsu-chan?!"
They'd made it to the checkout counter, and it wasn't Urumi manning the register.
Hana eyed her gal-pal worriedly. "Sakura-senpai…?"
Naoto weaved around to see.
"…!" He started at what he found.
It wasn't often that he could say that someone "looked like they'd seen a ghost", but he saw it now.
Sakura's face, only a moment ago pink with mirth, had gone gray and splotchy.
She managed to speak, addressing the woman, "I-I didn't know you'd be working today…"
She was shaking…!
"Etsu-chan" said, "I've been in the back since lunch. Our new part-timer is sick, and I had some errands to run earlier anyway, so I'm here."
"I heard… the part-timer…" Sakura half-accomplished. "Wh-what happened to Urumi…?"
"She's taking a break. She was good enough to open the store for me and stick around on what was supposed to be her day off, so I told her to make herself scarce for a half-hour or so."
"I see…" Sakura gulped.
"…?!" "…?" Naoto and Hana absorbed this scene.
What was going on…?
'It would've been nice to see Urumi-san again…' was what Naoto was fleetingly thinking, but these thoughts were easily overpowered by the sight of the young woman behind the counter.
The woman Sakura had called "Etsu-chan" was probably in her mid-20's. She was about as tall as Maki Gamo's mother and built like her too, though definitely a cup-size smaller.
This was the LEAST remarkable aspect of her appearance…
Naoto had never seen anyone like her, not in real life, at least.
The white, backless, spaghetti-strapped blouse, emblazoned with a dripping pink "Dead Kennedys" wasn't all that notable either, nor were her acid-washed cutoff jeans, riding at mid-thigh.
And neither was her lightly-bronzed skin, though that came closer to standing out.
What WAS notable…?
He might as well start from the top:
The sides of her head were shaved, and the rest of her hair, slicked back and cut evenly at the base of her neck, was platinum-blonde, almost bleached.
Her ears had two or three piercings apiece, among them, a modestly-sized gauge in each earlobe.
Her TONGUE was pierced too…! And her left eyebrow…! AND her bellybutton…!
Naoto was enraptured. 'Holy…!'
Her arms were sleeved in traditional-style tattoos, literal bouquets of multicolored lotus-blossoms, extending from the middles of her forearms and reaching all the way to the collarbones, covering her front and rear-delts.
Naoto couldn't see well, but on top of all that, her legs were sleeved with tattoos too.
Woot~…!
He wasn't sure if he'd seen a more impressive-looking female in his life.
She looked like she could bench-press him…!
"…!" Maybe he'd never seen the like, not even in pictures.
But even after all that, what struck him the most was that she was absolutely gorgeous!
Her made-up, steely-gray eyes were sharp but friendly, even (and paradoxically) tired-looking, and her face held an affability one rarely saw.
What a woman~…!
"So, uh… Sakura… who're your friends?" "Etsu-chan" broke the silence, not that it had been quiet for more than a couple seconds.
Naoto's appraisal of this beautiful woman had only taken that long…
"…!" Just one more look at the quaking Sakura convinced him to act.
Surprising even himself, he put out his hand in greeting.
"H-hi, there!" he said with more spunk than he actually, factually had. "I'm Naoto Hachioji, a senpai of Sakura-san."
What did he just do…?!
Pleasantly, this most impressive woman, first looking dumbfounded, judging his offered mitt, just as quickly broke into a big grin.
"Kinda formal for my taste~…" She firmly took his hand and pumped it, hers only a little bit smaller. "But that's okay. It's good to meet you, Hachioji-kun~."
'Wow~!' He was knocked out by her smile. "Y-yeah, it's good to meet you too, uh…"
Could he call her "Etsu-chan"…?! No way…!
"I'm Etsuko Ootori." She relinquished his hand. "I'd be happy if you call me 'Etsuko'."
Naoto could feel the smile scrunching up his cheeks, so pleased he hadn't made a complete ass of himself.
"I guess… you can call me 'Naoto', if you like… Etsuko-san…" escaped his lips.
What did he just say…?!
Etsuko gave a bark of laughter, "Well, alright, Naoto-kun~… How are ya?"
"I'm good… You?"
"Well~, today was supposed to be my day off too, but that's how it goes… Gotta do it. This is my shop; I own and run the place."
"Oh…" He wouldn't have known.
"…!" "…!" Both of Naoto's kohai were often struck with how he could occasionally—even in the face of damning hardship—pull out of his skinny, pale ass a hearty and proper introduction.
Sakura almost forgot how panicky she was supposed to be.
And Hana seemed no more fazed than when she'd met Urumi.
In fact, to Naoto's slight disconcertment, his friend in the bob cut and ribbons was studying Etsuko's tattooed arms with great interest. "…!"
"…?!" Sakura swiftly remembered how strung-out she was supposed to be, and she might've passed for a classic movie zombie. "…?!"
Etsuko couldn't have missed Hana's observation if she was blind.
"Who're you…?" she asked quite plainly, souring ever so slightly.
'Aw, fuck!' 'Yikes!' Both of Hana's senpai reeled.
But Hana, being who she was~, handled things like a champ.
Setting her five articles of clothing on the counter, she squared herself.
"Hello, Etsuko-san," she said, bowing politely. "It's good to meet another friend of my senpai. I told Urumi-san your shop is interesting, but I suppose you are the one to whom I should say that."
"…?!" Etsuko jarred. "Uh…"
Hana relayed, directly looking at her recipient, "I'm sorry, Etsuko-san. I didn't mean to stare so closely. I was trying to place if your arm-sleeves were done in the style of a particular artist. It's more contemporary in nature, but I'm detecting a certain classical element, one I can't quite place…"
Etsuko's eyes brightened. "Oh…"
"The work is excellent though…" Hana scrutinized, not leaving the art. "The tattooist who inked you really had an eye for it."
"Snrk~!" the older woman snorted, delighted. "Hey, thanks~… What is your name~?"
"I'm Hana Sunomiya. I'm a first-year at Kazehaya High, under Hachioji-senpai and Sakura-senpai."
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Sunomiya-san~," Etsuko gushed; she noted Hana's tabled armload. "Seems like you found a few things~."
"You may call me 'Hana', if you wish," Hana said pleasantly.
"I do wish that~!" Etsuko imbibed. "Hana-san~…"
"I did find some clothing I like, thank you," Hana rejoined. "It was fun."
"That's great~…! Oh, to answer your question, I'm not sure if the work with the lotus flowers is based on anything in particular… We just went for a 'traditional look'. There's only one artist I'll trust to ink me. He's a man of renown~… has inked some very important people~…"
"Then he did your left leg too?" Hana wondered.
Etsuko, in high disregard for "Japanese decency", hiked up her long, tanned leg, planting the heel of her Vans skater shoe on the countertop.
She rolled down the crew sock she wore. "You know what these are~?"
From her ankle on up, many-hued teddy bears wearing frills climbed a many-stemmed beanstalk, continuing up under the pantleg of her cutoffs.
Hana did know. "Those are 'Dead Bears'."
"You know The Dead~?"
"Not in particular, but my grandfather is still a fan of The Grateful Dead. He has been for more than 50 years, since he was a young man."
"Oh, nice~." Etsuko turned back to her own leg. "My guy had never done anything like this, but he sure did a nice job~."
"He did," Hana agreed.
"I gotta show you the other leg…" Etsuko pulled up her sock and switched legs. "He had fun doing this one~."
Hana saw, definitely.
This sleeve only went from mid-calf to mid-thigh, terminating around the ragged cuff of Etsuko's shorts.
Upon a number of maple leaves, in the "streets" of some insect-sized city, cartoonish ladybird beetles chowed upon multitudes of frightened, screaming aphids, running for their little lives.
"How cool is that~?!" Etsuko swanked.
"It's very cool," Hana affirmed. "My grandfather might even get a rise out of that. He releases ladybird beetles yearly to deal with the 'wee, nasty beasties' affecting our trees and plants at the shrine."
"Shrine?" Etsuko lowered her leg.
"Yes, at the shrine."
"And you said your name was Sunomiya…" Etsuko scanned the girl, brightening up all the more. "I recognize you now! You served as a shrine maiden during New Year's. I visited there~. That's your grandparents' shrine?"
"Yes, my grandparents maintain the shrine," Hana confirmed. "I act as a shrine maiden year-round, and since my elder cousin moved to Tokyo for school, my responsibilities have increased somewhat."
"You all put on a lovely event~."
"Thank you very much," Hana obliged. "We try to take pride in our work. Do visit us in August, if you wish, for our part in the local summer festivals."
"I purchased a fortune from you, during New Year's~. It was a good one too!"
"I don't remember seeing you, but it's difficult to know when hundreds of people file through the grounds."
"You prolly wouldn't've recognized me anyway, jacket, long pants, and a winter hat. I only ever show all this when I'm in the shop or certain places where… where it's okay to be like this."
"Hmm."
"I gotta cover up when I go through town. I was in a baseball t-shirt, jeans, and hat, running those errands. It gets hot, but… it's just too much hassle, letting everyone see this…"
Instead of offering sympathy or pity, Hana said, "Your art is beautiful. I'm happy that I'm able to see it."
"Oh, bless you, Hana-san~…" Etsuko had begun taking a downturn, abiding with the reality of being an inked woman, but she quickly perked up; she smirked, as if she had a good secret to divulge. "I love all the work I've had done, but there's one in particular that's my favorite. Wanna see~?"
"Yes," Hana very simply responded.
Etsuko turned around, making sure her hair was out of the way. "Check this out~."
Hana checked it. And she liked it.
An elaborate, double-ended dragon wound its way around Etsuko's upper-back.
"Ooh~…" Hana cooed. "That's neat."
"Oh, yeah~!" Etsuko whooped.
"But…" Hana cocked her head. "Why is one of the heads happy… while the other is sad?"
Etsuko giggled, and she took on a whimsical sort of playfulness that the young artiste sometimes saw in her dear Sakura-senpai.
"Guess~," she hooted.
"Guess?" Another Hana-head-cock.
"Yeah~!" Etsuko exclaimed. "I like to ask people what they think my ink means. It's fun, some of the goofy stuff they come up with~."
Hana gave it a few seconds.
One could swear she presented the very shadow of a smirk~…
"If that's the case, it must be one of two things," she verbalized. "It's either a take on the western representation of comedy/tragedy, or the sad one must serve as the 'bathroom end'."
"Snrk~!" in response, Etsuko howled with laughter, for some time and to the point of tears. "Wow~…! That's a new one~…"
Hana wasn't dissatisfied with herself. "…~"
After a moment, Etsuko could form words again.
"Hey, Sakura…!" rotating in the gal's direction, she honked with the occasional burst of laughter. "Where'd you find this one~?!"
Yes, Sakura was still there… as was Naoto…
"…?!" "…?!" Both had been caught with their pants down.
Well, PANTIES, in Sakura's case…
Naoto had been so mesmerized, he'd barely registered Etsuko's leggy recital. "…!"
"…" Sakura was messed-up for more than one reason.
But she tried.
"Hana-chan's a member of Senpai-kun's—Hachioji-kun's—Art Club at school…" she finally succeeded. "We… got to know each other a lot better about a month ago…"
Naoto didn't like what was happening. "…?"
Sakura was sapped of nearly all her usual energy…
"We've, uh…" she kept at it. "We've…"
And it didn't get her anywhere.
Etsuko's expression was one of hurt.
Naoto and Hana watched the shop's owner reach out.
Etsuko wrapped her substantial hand around the gal's shoulder, heaving a great sigh.
"It's okay, Sakura…" she soothed, trying to look her in the eye. "Seriously, I told you to stop worrying about that. I'm alright."
Sakura had… she'd froze, Naoto realized.
"…" She stared blankly at the countertop, her soon-to-be purchases at risk of falling through her slackened hands.
Etsuko remedied this, lifting the bundle from the shorter blonde's unresisting arms.
"That wasn't your fault, so please don't blame yourself…" She set the items out. "Nothing bad came of it anyway.
Hana shouldered up, leaning close.
"Sakura-senpai…?" she implored. "Hey…"
This seemed to snap the gal out of it.
"Hana-chan…" she murmured, turning her eyes to the other girl.
Naoto stood off to the side, doubtful of how to cope. "…?!"
Thankfully, Sakura did buck up some.
"I'm sorry, Etsu-chan…" she exhaled. "I just…"
"Hey, it's okay…" Etsuko reached up and mussed Sakura's hair a little. "It's okay, kiddo~…"
Sakura decoded a smile—not big but true, and she snapped out of it a little further.
"Stop it~…" she protested, trying to fend off the other's hand, which was no easy task.
"There you go~…" Etsuko chuckled. "It's alright, Sakura…"
Whatever had just happened, Naoto would go for it, and so would Hana. "…" "…"
The two girls paid for their purchases, and they prepared to leave, the three getting their bags from behind the counter.
"Hey, it was good to meet you, Naoto-kun, Hana-san~," Etsuko said.
Hana nodded. "It's a pleasure, ma'am."
"Pfft~!" Etsuko snorked. "You don't have to call me 'ma'am'~…"
Naoto gave back, "It was good to meet you too, Etsuko-san."
"Oh, yeah~." She beamed; she rotated towards Sakura. "Now, no more of this lurking around, Sakura… Stop by more often. I miss seeing you."
"Sure…" the gal answered, though she kept her gaze low. "Sorry…"
"It's okay, Sakura…" Etsuko vowed. "Just try not to be a stranger. And tell Nao-chan to stop by sometime too."
"…?!" Naoto jarred. '"Nao-chan"?'
This got a "proper" reaction from Sakura.
"Tell her yourself~," she snickered "You can message her anytime, y'know~."
Etsuko insisted, "Well, maybe she'll listen to you. I haven't seen her as much lately."
'"Nao-chan"?' Hana wondered the same thing as the girls' senpai. "…"
"Okay, I promise~…" Sakura gave in.
Etsuko was satisfied. "Great~."
With that, the three students left the store, the tattooed lady giving them a salute.
…
And the three walked about half a block.
"…"
"…"
"…"
Hana was stoic about it, but Naoto couldn't hide it as well.
He was curious. "Uh… Sakura-san… what was…?"
"Ugh…" The blonde didn't stop walking, and she'd gotten her color back, mostly.
Hana became more invested. "Sakura-senpai…?"
She was a bit morose, but she gave a reply, "Later…"
She'd tell them later…
…
…
…
"Later" came soon enough, and the three shoppers sat under a large umbrella out front of an outdoor café.
"Sakura-senpai…?" Hana voiced, stirring her virgin-daiquiri. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah… I'm okay, Hana-chan…" She wasn't lying; she just wasn't good.
Naoto thought about saying something, but he just stuck to his triple-berry slush. "~Slurp~…"
To his pleasure, the girls had paid for his frozen treat, and Sakura had said he'd still be "square with (them) at the end of the day~", helping them as he was, when he instead "could've been a slug-boy~" at home.
The girls had also sprung for a bottle of water for him, earlier, which he'd appreciated…
He still didn't regret coming either, but some drama had befallen them. "…"
And if Hana was willing to confront it, he'd stand back and let it happen.
Her track-record wasn't bad, the one in instances of pacifying her senpai…
Sakura didn't need much prompting, and upon taking a pull from her iced-cappuccino, "I'm sorry about that…"
She was speaking to both Art Clubbers.
"I've been avoiding the shop, the times I knew Etsu-chan was there…" she explained. "Earlier this year, I brought a friend—another gyaru-type—that's not my friend anymore to the shop, 'cause I thought she'd like the selection of clothes."
Hana probed, "And something happened?"
"Yeah…" Sakura might've not been convinced by anyone else to disclose this. "When my ex-friend saw Etsu-chan, she lost it… She started freaking out about her tattoos and said she was a gangbanger and started acting all belligerent and stuff…"
"How could she…?" Hana was aghast at the inkling, someone being cruel to Etsuko, whom she'd quite reveled in meeting. "Not that I don't understand that people can be… awful for no good reason…"
She had her own experiences…
"I dunno sometimes, Hana-chan…" Sakura lamented. "It was like one of those… Godawful cliché scenes you see in manga and comic dubs on YouTube. Y'know, where the ignorant-assed antagonist starts yelling about how bad they think someone is, just because of how they look or their schooling or something? Except here, it was really happening…"
"Hmm…" Hana remarked.
Sakura muttered, "I couldn't believe that she was like that, but you never know sometimes. She even started anonymously posting a whole buncha terrible shit online about the shop, saying it was a front run by the Yakuza…"
"I'm sure that isn't true." Hana was sure.
Sakura revealed, "Well, Etsu-chan was a gang leader… when she was a kid, but… that was a long time ago… like, when she was in middle school…"
"My grandfather says we do many foolish things as children," Hana revered. "We learn, and in many cases, we should be forgiven for them, so long as we better ourselves and atone for our sins along the way. Grandfather can be quite rigid, but he is most understanding… or he tries to be. He tries hard to be."
"Wow~…" Sakura didn't mean to laugh, but sometimes one was struck that way. "If only the world was as understanding as your grandpa~… your grandma too, from the sound of things."
"People are usually not strict with us or correct us because they hate us, Sakura-senpai." Hana took heart in this. "Some do, but it's usually because they care… because they love us and want a good future for everyone. Understanding and acceptance are not the same things."
…
"…" Naoto was listening to the girls, but his mind was also beginning to ramble.
And it rambled to stranger places…
He thought of the paradigm of specificity.
His afflictionous proclivity had again proven itself to be highly specific…
When he'd realized that Sakura was wearing little, no-show socks with her Toms moccasins, nearly all of the filthy designs and longings he knew towards the lower appendages of the human female had become like an ice-skating rink on the surface of the Sun.
They went "poof~"…!
He'd been so eased at the revelation that Sakura didn't tend to wear shoes au natural—almost ever, he could've happily passed out from the alleviation of it.
'Fuckin' specificity…' He didn't like it, that it only took that—specificity—to turn on-and-off his stupid fetish.
And allowing that nastiness even a CHANCE to muscle in on one of his friends…!
…
In more important matters, outside the mind of a certain senpai, Sakura had jumped back to her "ex-friend" and the trouble that bitch had tried causing, telling Hana more of the unpleasant story.
"Nothing ever came of it though… it never gained any traction, that bitch trying to spread all those disgusting rumors…" she rumbled. "Actually, Etsu-chan said it got the shop positive attention, because a lot of people had never heard of the place."
Hana got the picture. "I can see why you felt it might all bring Etsuko-san so many problems."
"Something I've learned, Hana-chan…" Sakura rubbed at her eyes, not for tears but from vexation. "Sometimes, people just don't care enough to attack, even if they hate something. But other times, they do… It's hard to know what'll happen."
"Yes…" Hana assented.
…
Naoto was back to actively listening to the girls, not that he was willing to share his opinions.
Now… he wasn't against people expressing themselves, and he didn't think anyone deserved to be ridiculed or hurt or—Heaven forbid—killed for being who they wanted to be…
But he did believe there was a line—somewhere in the sand—to be drawn as to where the understanding stopped and the "maybe I should keep this to myself" began.
'If people didn't want negative attention, why attract it?' he wondered. 'Why do things that so very strongly break the norms surrounding us? Unless they WANT it, to be tormented…?'
Naoto knew that things were complicated, and people did things for a million reasons, but he didn't always get it.
He condemned the idea that people "asked for it", but it didn't stop that prevailing notion, that it existed and seemed as organic as the laws of nature.
And after "asking for it" and GETTING it, people had the "nerve" to ask "why?"…
To him, as screwed up as it was, there was a point, at which no one had the right to ask why.
It wasn't that he liked it.
It was just the reality in which they lived…
…
Sakura and Hana were speaking much more quietly now, but Naoto could still hear them.
In truth, he'd gotten quite used to the girls talking like he wasn't there…
It didn't bother him so much anymore, their "girl-talk".
It wasn't like they'd ever spoken ill of HIM, and they were never hateful towards anyone or anything…
Whether Sakura thought that Naoto might not catch it, or that she was just too wiped to worry about it, she expressed to Hana, "I'm just glad Etsu-chan didn't show you the rest of her 'Grateful Dead Bears' tat. I mean, I don't think she'd just do that to some girl she'd only just met, but she didn't even tell you about it."
"What do you mean, Sakura-senpai…?"
She gave it over, "That tattoo rides all the way up to her left lower-back. Once the bears reach the top of the giant beanstalk, there are a bunch of them napping in the clouds."
"It covers her butt?" Hana was slightly shocked.
"Her left buttock makes up a sizable portion of the clouds…" the gal drolled. "It's something to see, going to on top of where her kidney is…"
"And you thought she might just show that to someone?" Hana didn't seem to buy it. "Right there, in the shop?"
Sakura sighed, "Hey, I've seen crazier things out of her, Hana-chan… stuff you might not believe…"
…
Naoto wouldn't mind seeing more of Etsuko~.
How gonzo would it be if he stumbled across her at the beach the next day, her dynamite body clad in a tasteful-ish bikini, displaying all she had to offer~…?!
Naoto liked Etsuko!
If he wasn't careful, he might even develop a CRUSH on her~…
Etsuko was a whole lotta woman, and he liked women who were "a whole lotta woman"!
And he'd only known a few of these, Hana's cousin, Sana, being among them.
Also among them was Mrs. Gamo, mama bear to the Gamo siblings.
He also included his own mother on the list, a rock to his existence~.
They had authority… a special sort of dignity… a certain benevolence … beauty… a mind worth knowing… and strength—ACTUAL STRENGTH~…
"…~" Naoto didn't know a lot about Etsuko, but he could tell she was indeed a whole lotta woman.
The only thing he'd found off-putting about Etsuko—and he'd only held onto it for a second or two—was her hair, shaved on the sides, bleached, and slicked past the base of her skull.
He'd seen a similar 'do on a particularly vile person, and this was the ONLY reason for his aversion…
"…" Naoto didn't hate Taiga Nagatoro because he looked like an ignorant, uneducated hoodlum that couldn't get a job mopping jizz off the floor at a peep-show.
He hated Taiga because Taiga was a bully that hated him, Naoto.
He hated Taiga "the skull-fuckable" because he was—as big sister Misaki "McShit-cunt" was—a hindrance to his relationship—platonically and romantically—with Hayase Nagatoro.
And it didn't help that Taiga gave a POWERFUL impression of being the sort of guy who would—just for the fun of it—strangle kittens… or drown puppies in a bathtub… or tiger-fuck deaf/blind prepubescent orphans… or tiger-fuck HIM…
Naoto wasn't even sure what "tiger-fucking" was or how he'd shat out such an abstraction, but it sounded bad, and he didn't want it to happen to his narrow, white ass…
Why couldn't Nagatoro's brother and sister just vanish…?
If there was a button he could push, erasing the two of them, he might punch it with all his strength.
Though…
It was fact that no one could really say what they'd do until faced with any given thing.
He'd likely NEVER know, since he'd never be there, such a place being in the realm of high-fantasy, but…
He didn't think the world would be losing much.
Maybe the gods would miss them…
He fucking wouldn't~.
…
"I'm sorry, Senpai-kun… Hana-chan…" Sakura regretted. "I knew you two would never be so terrible to Etsu-chan or anything like that, but… I was still scared. When all those rumors went around… and even just now at the shop, seeing Etsu-chan so suddenly, not expecting to… it reminded me of some really bad things… bad things I just… have trouble dealing with…"
Hana made the short reach, resting her hand upon Sakura's, giving it a rub. "It's alright, Sakura-senpai…"
Naoto had left his stupid cerebral subjects for the time being.
"Don't worry about it, Sakura-san…" he vouched. "I think we can understand."
Neither he nor Hana were out of the loop, well aware that Sakura had some demons in her past…
But Naoto knew he'd been told a bit more. "…"
"…~" Sakura offered a little smile to them both, patting Hana's hand lovingly. "Thanks, guys~…"
Hana nodded. "Of course~."
"Yeah," Naoto added.
And Sakura lit up.
"The thing about Etsu-chan…" she reminisced fuzzily. "I've known her since I was in pre-school~…"
'That long?' Naoto marveled. "Huh…"
Hana was wide-eyed. "Wow…"
"Yup~." The gal shone. "She's been my friend a long time… but it was my mom that befriended her… when Etsu-chan needed help. She needed a friend… someone to care about her… She was just a kid herself, back then."
"…!" Hana was rapt.
Naoto's mind began to slip away (once more). "…"
"Senpai-kun~…" Sakura tittered.
"Huh?!" He came back instantly. 'Whoo-hoo~!'
"You know what, buddy?~" she snickered.
"Uh… no…" He didn't.
Sakura fleetingly made a kissy-face. "Earlier, you heard Etsu-chan say 'Nao-chan', and it got your attention, eh~?"
"S'kinda hard not to…" He did his best to keep from tottering. "I had an aunt that used to call me 'Nao-chan'… when I was little."
Sakura simpered, "I hear ya~."
"So… 'Nao-chan'?" Naoto knew this was going somewhere.
"'Nao-chan'~?" she hummed.
"Yeah, 'Nao-chan'…"
"'Nao-chan'~…?"
"Yes, tell us who Nao-chan is," Hana barged in. "I want to know too."
Sakura cackled, "Hyeh-heh-heh-heh-heh~!"
Hana could be very patient, but she sometimes took issue with a good story being bogged down…
"Her name's really 'Naoko'," Sakura said. "Naoko is my mom~."
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading!
Questions and comments are welcome!