🌸Cherry Blossom Palette: Summer by the Sea🎨
Chapter 28: To Be a Senpai [Part Three]
Sunshine Arc
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
ED: I think Hula Fulla Dance might be one of the stupidest ideas I've ever seen for an anime. Possibly even dumber than that series where people face off on their hands and knees and sweep away cards. Just because a pointless activity exists doesn't mean an "educational" manga or anime needs to be made about it.
If you want to learn about something, read a book or watch a proper video.
And there's always at least one character that takes things too seriously and is some sort of "ace" that nobody likes.
Yuck.
Even if the activity isn't pointless, educational manga and anime are mostly inaccurate anyway. You don't learn about fishing and camping and cooking from anime and manga. You learn about them from people who know what they're talking about.
I think there are millions of young people the world over that should go for a walk in the woods instead of sitting inside all the time, watching mind numbing TV.
Next, they'll make a series about girls competing to lose weight through different eating disorders or making ink prints of their boobs by dipping them in paint and pressing them onto paper for less than minimum wage.
I'm half-joking about all this, but WOW!
…
This chapter is a little over 6K words.
My apologies for the long waits with the last few chapters. On top of me rewriting Chapter 27 and the extra time with this one, my editor and I have been busy the last month.
I'm running numbers for some public works projects, and PS has been harvesting since the middle of August, and even if he gets a break, he might not be done until nearly Halloween. And then there's harvesting and transporting the sugar beets, which I guess they do until the ground is frozen or they can't do it anymore or actually finish.
For those of you in the northern half of the USA, a lot of the sugar you eat comes from beets.
Also, my editor is on a video games kick. He's been replaying all of the HALO games for the first time since he was a kid, so he's been helping me out less the last couple months. That's okay, because he does so much for me, and I'm happy to see him taking a break and doing something fun when he isn't driving a tractor in his field somewhere.
Speaking of my editor, he posted a fun GIF of Sakura hugging Naoto's arm with South Park's "Barbara Streisand's Spooky Vision" on Reddit, and it got like 750 upvotes.
Not that it's not funny, but I wish people would have better taste and read my story too.
…
I'm sorry for delaying the beach stuff so much, but I REALLY wanted to put everything in "To Be a Senpai" that I put in.
It wasn't planned, but I'm now glad I took my time with the rest of what was supposed to be Chapter 26, not just because I moved around considerable story elements.
I wanted to be done with this section of the story because it's impossible to continue much further in writing until the "To Be a Senpai" stuff is resolved, but I wouldn't force a dialogue between Naoto and Sakura. It just took time to bring it to life.
…
For a small change, I'm tired of trying to work characters' entire names, given name and family name, into chapters when I introduce them, so I'm going to stop doing that unless I have a reason for it.
I'll just use whatever names we know them best by. I think readers are aware of who's who.
…
NEXT TIME, Naoto and his friends hit the beach! Prepare for sun, fun, shenanigans, and even a surprise cameo or two.
…
I think Oda needs to lay off of the epically sad crying faced characters in One Piece. There has to be a better way to show how lousy some of their lives have been. Or maybe go for positivity instead of misery porn tragedy.
It's just gotten to be too much, especially baby Kuma with his pear shaped head crying twin waterfalls and screaming all of the time.
…
Nothing happened again in canon Nagatoro. Just more stupid faces given by sick in the head characters and art girls dressed like prostitutes.
But now, Naoto has to tell his little c*cktease heroine that he was beaten in the mock exam by a dumb slob that probably couldn't get a job bagging groceries, so we'll see what happens with that. And then there's how Nagatoro will end up blowing HER side of the promise to him to look forward to.
…
*If anyone is interested in creating art for this story, me or my editor would love to hear from you. We can't pay you, but we'd love to have you.*
…
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
Naoto wasn't used to losing track of time while just talking to someone, especially over the phone.
With Sakura though, it had now happened THREE times, the clock going out the window, not that he was counting…
Their dinner at the yakiniku restaurant and their modeling session had been pretty great times, but Asshole-kun was loosey-goosey and positively full of beans, sitting on the horn with Blondie, joined in a generally lighthearted video call~.
It wasn't even a sure thing what all they'd been talking about, Naoto was so hooked…
However, he came back to himself in a hurry, fully-aware of time and space, Sakura suddenly sobering on him.
How and why did this happen?! It ALWAYS seemed to happen!
"Senpai-kun, about Etsu-chan and Urumi…" Sakura removed her glasses (no, not the glasses~…), setting them aside. "Remember when we were talking with them…?"
Of course, he remembered Etsuko and Urumi; he'd met them just that afternoon, and that wasn't all that long ago, no matter how drawn-out the day wound up being.
"Yeah… what's up, Sakura-san?" He wasn't a fan of her tone.
Be that as it may, he'd become accustomed enough to her ways to realize when she was about to spring something heavy on him, and it had seemed she was waiting to bring up something difficult.
All the telltale signs had been there…
She didn't disappoint. "I didn't wanna make a big deal about it in front of Hana-chan, but I'd been pretty worried about you two meeting them… at least Etsu-chan… I wasn't completely sure what all you would think of her… and her tats and stuff."
"Yeah, I can imagine." The gal's story of one of her gyaru (ex)friends being terrible about and directly to Etsuko was still fresh enough in his mind. "Don't sweat it too much."
Sakura shook her head. "I know I shouldn't have been worried, but…"
"Sakura-san, I think I get it. Don't lose sleep or anything over it."
"I won't, I can tell you that, but it still bothers me…"
Naoto knew she'd hold on until she had her say. "What is it?"
"…" She took a few seconds, hoping to best form her words. "I know I shouldn't have been worried about you and Hana-chan meeting her, but it… it just really bothered me, what Etsu-chan had to go through before, just because some bitch I showed around my favorite haunts turned out to be such a rotten person… and if she'd ended up meeting Urumi too, then…"
'Then what…?' Naoto determined nothing good would happen.
It could be gathered that Urumi had her OWN sad history, just as Etsuko—and Sakura—had experienced…
He didn't want to think about what some piece of garbage might do to a swell, little gem like Urumi, unprovoked as it was.
"You couldn't have done anything about that, Sakura-san," Naoto reminded. "You know it's not your fault some people are like that. I know it… Etsuko-san knows it… I'm sure Urumi-san does too."
Yet, Sakura festered, dead-ish in the eyes, "Believe me, I know, Senpai-kun… It's not my fault. It just really hurt, all the crap that happened. It just really, really hurt."
"I know…" He got the picture well enough. "I just wish there was something to say… to help you feel a little better about it. I really wish that…"
"I thought for a second that Hana-chan had… said and done something really foolish… to Etsu-chan," Sakura dropped the bomb, looking extremely miserable. "I mean, am I… wrong for thinking that…?"
"No," Naoto said at once. "No, you're not. I get you on that, Sakura-san."
"All I could think of at that moment were all of the stories and stuff I know about Etsu-chan, from when she was younger… how she could fly off the handle. I just got really scared."
He didn't want to know about any of that, but he could suppose. "I got scared for a second too."
Regardless, it gave a little more understanding to her woes…
"It freaked me out last time too…" Sakura said. "When that bitch started off like that right in front of Etsu-chan, I couldn't believe it…! S-so, when Hana-chan suddenly got that tone and that… that glare outta Etsu-chan, I—"
"Sakura-san, it didn't come to that," Naoto soothed, knowing full-well that it was above his paygrade to better address it.
She denied, "That's not it… not exactly…"
"What do you mean?"
"Etsu-chan, she's…" Sakura pondered. "…Y'know how with some people, it's just the little things that bother them…?"
Who didn't know someone like that…?!
It struck Naoto, "Y'mean, like, when someone doesn't care if you break their nose, but if you laugh at them for stumbling on a crack in the sidewalk, you're done…?"
"Where the heck did you get that…?" she flummoxed, her lip turned up in a sneer.
He… wasn't sure. "I don't remember… Prolly something I saw on TV or something…"
"I'm being serious, Senpai-kun… don't…"
Naoto remedied, "Sorry. Maybe it'd be better to go with 'if someone looks at them funny'."
"Well, sure, let's go with that," Sakura accepted. "Etsu-chan's like that. Or was… It's not like that anymore—not like she was, but… some of what my mom told me…"
It gave all the more understanding to the gal's predicament…
"I think I get it, Sakura-san."
"Okay…"
"And things didn't turn out that way, so… we're all good."
She fidgeted. "I… I don't wanna talk any more about… that… okay…?"
"I hear you." He wasn't the most comfortable either.
"…"
"…"
"Let's just say I feel better with how it went," Sakura determined.
Naoto would take it, "Yeah…"
"But… on the bright side…"
'"On the bright side~!"' That's what he wanted to hear. "Yeah?"
"Etsu-chan and Urumi enjoyed meeting Hana-chan… a whole lot."
With the initial gravity out of the way, the mention of his new acquaintances—Urumi in particular—had Naoto on edge, though—
'Paydirt!' He'd latch on, wanting to see his friend's happy face. "Yeah~?"
"I've been messaging back-and-forth with them both a little bit~," Sakura uplifted. "They both really liked Hana-chan~."
"I could tell," Naoto was pleased to say, having been right there to witness it.
"I mean, I was… pretty worried that Hana-chan might get all awkward over the whole thing, and go all oddball on us… Even though Etsu-chan and Urumi are really tolerant of that sorta thing, I know not everyone's like you and me…"
This was hardly abandoning the topic, but it was moving in a slightly more positive direction…
Naoto shrugged. "Things went okay, like we've said."
"Oh, does that make me terrible, thinking that?" Sakura fretted, quite upset.
"No," he reassured. "I get it."
Saying that Hana was a bit odd would be GENEROUS by most peoples' standards…
Sakura wasn't so sure. "I shouldn't talk like that about her…"
"Hey, I get it, Sakura-san. We've talked about this before." He rather doubted it would bother Hana very much, the younger girl being more self-aware than most.
And she was no odder than any of their friends were in THEIR own ways…
Sakura sighed, "Well, Hana-chan is a wonder~. And I mean that in the best way possible."
"She sure is."
"I think she's pretty much the greatest, Senpai-kun~. It's like… she can find common ground with anybody…! That's not something I can do. I think she could make friends with almost anyone…"
Naoto added, "As long as everyone's willing to give each other a chance."
"Exactly~!" Sakura chirped. "That's exactly what I was thinking~!"
It had been in HIS thoughts for weeks…
"Yeah~." But he'd keep that to himself.
"I mean, I've never seen either of them—Etsu-chan or Urumi—warm up to someone like that. They're… both pretty careful about who they get friendly with."
"Sunomiya's pretty special, Sakura-san," Naoto avowed wholeheartedly.
She brushed aside a lock of hair that had fallen into her eyes. "I guess it helps that Etsu-chan and Urumi are the way they are too. They attract uniqueness like streetlamps bringing in moths. They're pretty weird, buddy, and that's justifiable."
Her buddy felt the need to remind her, "Sakura-san, everyone we know seems to be kinda weird, you and me included."
"Mrmbl…" Her face fell, and she scowled at him.
What was the problem…?!
Naoto supported, "I mean… you called yourself a weird girl, so…"
Not his greatest judgement call~…
"Thanks for the pick-me-up, Cloaca-dono."
Was he a lower vertebrate…?! Or an egg-laying mammal…?!
"Er…" he fumbled. "Sorry."
Seriously, "Cloaca-dono"…?!
Sakura further muttered, "I think we both talked a little too much that night, bud."
That Thursday night, after the 5 kg kalbi feast…
Naoto didn't disagree:
…
"Really, it's totally fine, Senpai-kun. Deep down, I'm just a weird girl. Always have been.
"…"
"Yeah, you're a little weird… So, what?
"I think it's kinda cool.
"No, I think it's really cool!
"I think you're really neat."
…
Holy shit! Had he ever said too much…
And he thought Sakura had said just the right amount.
No matter, he apologized, "Sorry, Sakura-san… I guess I wasn't…"
"Oh, it's alright~," she said amiably.
"Happy to hear it…"
"…~" she giggled.
"…?" Naoto cocked an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"It's just what I said about you… not having an agenda… or whatever it is I said~."
"…!" That knocked the wind out of him.
Not that he thought he was so innocent…
He knew himself well enough.
Sakura continued, ignorant of his ruminations, "I think that's another thing Hana-chan has."
"What?"
"Not having an agenda."
"Sunomiya…?" He wasn't always sure, but he could consent this, in part. "There doesn't seem to be a whole lotta evil in her."
Sakura cackled, "What a way to put it~!"
"Dunno how else to, I suppose." He offered another shrug.
"Whatevs…" Blondie brushed past. "Hana-chan's also hilarious~! I don't remember seeing Etsu-chan laugh that hard, like, ever…"
Naoto heavily supported this, at least what he knew of this, "She can be pretty funny…"
"That joke Hana-chan told yesterday? The one about there being too many Sakura-types on Earth?"
"I remember, Sakura-san…"
"That was pretty awesome~."
Naoto didn't know for certain. "I couldn't tell if it was a joke or not… It probably is, but…"
"Hey, even if it's a true story, the way she said it was a hoot~! I've never seen anyone able to do deadpan as well as her."
Naoto shared, throwing himself under the bus in the process, "I… I thought the one about me… Friday before last… that I "had a few things cooking that day"… I thought that was really funny."
"Eek~!" Sakura squealed. "That was a pants-pisser~!"
"I dunno if I'd go that far…" He remembered that it was funny, but he didn't want to be such a joke's butt that he caused a bunch of girls to wet their undies.
"What I really wish I could've been there for was when Hana-chan and the Prez called you guys up on Wednesday~!"
"Right…" Naoto lamented. "You heard about that one from the girls…"
"Aww, it was a riot, buddy~!" Sakura snickered. "I mean, she said, 'Don't kill him. He has the key to the Art Club.' That was a scream~!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" he chuckled in spite of it all.
"It was just a joke, man…" she reproached. "You know she loves you~."
"…!" Never was he braced for those words.
"Yo, she really does~…"
"Yeah… I know~… I know~…" he replied.
It was a blessing…
"But you~!" Sakura turned on him. "My dear Asshole-kun~!"
He blinked. "But what?"
"You just had to bring up the 'weirdness' chat we had that day, didn't you~…?"
"I was trying to help…" He had been.
"Just for that~…"
"What?"
"I said Etsu-chan and Urumi liked Hana-chan… They liked you too~."
Doop-a-derp!
"Ack!" This girl still just terrified him… sometimes.
She wriggled with good humor. "Heh-heh-heh~!"
And she had her laugh, and he loved seeing it.
"…~" He really, really did.
…
Once she'd sunk back to a "normal" level, Naoto voiced, "Hey, uh, Sakura-san…"
"Yeah?"
Naoto had been mulling over an idea.
It was possibly moronic…
"I had an idea…" he mentioned.
Sakura angled her head. "You did?"
"Yeah… I did…"
Would SHE think it was moronic…?
"What is it, bud?" she wondered.
Maybe she WOULDN'T think it was moronic…
Naoto contemplated, "It's one of those things I need to…"
"You need to collect your thoughts~?" she aroused. "You need to explain your way through it~?"
…Even if she THOUGHT it was moronic, it was doubtful she'd laugh him off a cliff…
He'd try, "Something like that… I'm not sure if it's a good idea or…"
"Hey, I'm all ears," Sakura encouraged. "Go on~."
"Naw…" He determined it was moronic.
She apprised, "Hey, just now, you listened to me when I needed a sympathetic ear~."
"Eh…" Naoto could say she'd listened to him too.
If they were "even", was there anything good about complicating that…?
Sakura pawed the air "between" them, her free hand curled in a kitty-cat claw. "Do it~. Do it~. Do it~. Do it~."
How could anyone resist THAT…?
Naoto had some trouble resisting it~.
Oh, what the fuck…?
He'd give it a go.
"Okay…" He'd categorically take a crack at it. "You know how every school festival, we have a talent show or a variety show or something like that?"
"Yeah, sure," she recognized.
"Alright, here's the idea…" Naoto focused. "To say it in one sentence… I think… you and Sunomiya… should do a comedy routine together."
"…Huh?"
He said, "I think you and Sunomiya should come up with a comedy routine for this year's talent show or whatever we have."
"…Okay…?" she responded.
He bulldozed, "I think you two could do a manzai act, like Sunomiya mentioned yesterday… with a harisen and everything. I think the old 'straight man' and 'funny man' thing would work. But I think you could do something else too."
"You think~?" She livened.
"Yeah… I mean… you two are pretty funny together, just hanging out. If you worked on something, I think it'd be a lot of fun to see."
"…~" she considered the notion.
Naoto was on pins and needles. "…?"
"That's not a bad idea, Senpai-kun~. I'll think on it."
Twenty-three skidoo…!
"Okay." That was better to him than a kick in the nads.
"Really, bud, I think that might be some good fun~."
"I think Sunomiya would like the idea… Just putting it out there…"
"Yeah, I think she would too~."
"It makes for a fun mental image, Sakura-san."
"Oh, defs, buddy~… And, hey… thanks for back there… earlier… for hearing me out."
"Uh, same here…" Her thanks had come out of the blue more suddenly than he might've expected, but…
No big whoop…
"…~" He smiled.
"Hmm~?" Sakura gleamed. "What's up?"
'How do I…?' Naoto worked his mouth. "It's just that 'lesson learned' thing again… Worrying over stuff like that…"
"That was rather anticlimactic, fella~…"
"Yup…"
"I think we've become pretty good pals, pal o' mine~," she broadcasted. "You don't need to sweat so much~."
Gamo-chan had said something along those lines to Naoto… at least that she WANTED that with him…
"I s'pose," he observed. "It's not like I'm gonna try to tell you something completely wack or anything… on purpose…"
Sakura attacked, "Yeah~. And it's not like I'm gonna tell you about all the times I wanted Leo DiCaprio (ca. early 2000's~) to tickle me when I'm tied to a bed or anything—on purpose, so~…"
'Gee-zuss!' Naoto jarred with glee. "Ha-ha-ha-ha~! What…?!"
"I'm just sayin'~…" the girl of artificially flaxen hair whirred. "There's not much point in freaking over certain stuff. How much have we said—even just today—that we'll prolly never be able live down~?"
"…Plenty…" he acquiesced.
She simpered, "It would take some critically critical recollection to compile a proper list, methinks~."
"Let's not…" He could live just as well not knowing.
Sakura laughed it up, "No?"
It was enough to have a female friend he could talk about nearly anything with…
He'd settle for that. "It's just good to see you're in better spirits again."
"Ooh, avoiding the subject, are we~?" She winked, radiant with it.
"That's not it…" *Naoto-blushies and eye aversions*
"…~" she gave a small tee-hee.
And he didn't find it hard to believe that Heaven might in fact exist. "…~"
…
…
…
Later on…
"No!" Naoto derided. "No way~!"
"Hand to Goddess~," Sakura pledged, even extending the gesture. "I didn't get all 'girly' and stuff until my last year of elementary school. Before that, I was a dirty little ragamuffin~! And a tomboy~. Always getting into something or another…"
"I think this goes beyond not being 'girly'…" he doubted, trying with less difficulty than the whole world might expect to fathom her as a tomboy.
She refuted, "Well, 'bleh' to you too~…"
"That really happened…?" It beggared the imagination, what she'd just told him.
"Yep~."
That a 10-year-old Sakura would insert a string of exploding ladyfingers on a long-fuse in an extra-large dog turd, light them, and roll the "creation" down a hill atop an abandoned roller-skate…?!
He couldn't see it. "It's just hard to picture… you being 'one of the neighborhood boys'…"
Or… maybe it wasn't… This WAS Sakura…
She asked, "Why~? You really weren't different when you were little?"
That too might've gone beyond "different"…
"No… not really…" he could say with a lot of truth behind him. "I told you, I've always kinda been the way I am now… I liked the indoors… and anime and stuff… and games… I never liked the outdoors much."
"Well, not all of us can be little pioneers, can we~?" the gal tittered.
Naoto wasn't as sure about elementary-aged Sakura's "pioneering spirit" as she was.
It was closer to "scrawny, sunburned, filthy, barefoot, ruined-yet-another-outfit-in-the-mud, tomboy monkeyshines-bound" than anything else…
But he supposed it was more pioneering than anything he'd ever done. "You got the pics to prove it~?"
"Aw, you wanna see my baby pictures~?" Sakura squalled. "The 'mudpie queen', as Daddy called me~?"
That sounded just WRONG… if one's mind skirted the gutter…
Naoto tried to put out this fire, "No, I never said anything about 'baby pictures'. I'm just having some difficulty believing you were that different when you were little."
"I'm not that different~," she claimed. "I still like snakes and spiders~… just not getting overly muddy and crap…"
"But never cockroaches…" he recalled their chat with Hana, taking a break from cleaning the pool. "Right?"
Sakura added, citing the same, "And never house-centipedes either~."
"Nope… not those…" He saw the GIF she'd shown Hana and himself.
"…~" She leered. "Hey, I've told you plenty about when I was a little kid~… Return the favor~. Seriously, what were you like~? There has to be more."
"I already told you a few things," Naoto bolstered. "It wasn't anything too exciting…"
"…"
"…"
"Okay, then how about this…?" Sakura went for a new angle. "What got you into art, y'know, in the first place?"
"…!" His brains took a tumble.
No one had ever asked, not that could be remembered…
Sakura gleamed excitedly. "…~! …~!"
Seems she really WAS interested…
"You wanna hear…?" It didn't seem that interesting to him. "You do?"
"I do, I do~."
"…!"
"~…~"
"If you want…" Naoto submitted.
"I want, I want~," Sakura encouraged.
"…Yeah… to start…" he began; it wasn't exactly anything private. "I always liked drawing, even when I was young. I've been doing it as long as I can remember. Before I started caring about all the… 'joy of creating something with your hands, a few simple tools, and a sheet of paper' stuff, I just liked to draw."
"That paints a fun picture~," Sakura waxed. "Little Senpai-kun, sketching away at something."
"The sketching part came with time, Sakura-san," he let her know. "Learning to properly render images I saw onto paper came later. I'm just talking about drawing."
"I see~."
"Okay, but the beginning… the big 'start'…" Naoto considered. "I guess that happened when people started praising me for it."
"Praising you…?" Sakura rebounded.
He nodded. "Yeah… I'd never been good at much, so I… liked hearing that I was good at something…"
This was a little more private…
Sakura wouldn't laugh at his blush though. "Hmm… that's something…"
Naoto brightened. "But if I was to get to it, a couple of my teachers in elementary school encouraged me to enter some competitions… I learned as I went… and I wound up winning a few awards here and there."
"Sweet~…" the gal appreciated.
It was fulfilling for him to say, "When I got into middle school, that's when I joined the Art Club there… and met Sana Sunomiya… the President… She taught me a lot… supported me… And I just… learned and did more as time went on."
"Wow~."
"I guess that's it in a nutshell…" he finished.
"…?" She seemed a bit disappointed. "That's it…?"
"Meh, I guess it's not too exciting…"
"No, I didn't mean that… It's… it's cool, Senpai-kun~. It's really cool~. I just thought you might've had more to say…"
"…Maybe another time…" Naoto put forth.
"I'd love to hear more, anytime you wanna tell me~."
"…!"
"…~"
"Thanks…" he breathed. "Thank you… I'm happy to hear that."
"Hey, you're most welcome, buddy~."
"…~"
"…~"
It was worth a try…
"So, you?" he knocked. "You got another? Another 'ragamuffin' tale?"
"Nope~. That's all for today. But ask me about 'mudpie queen' Sakura again~… or at least when she was seven or eight years older~. All babies play in the mud. Even you did."
"Yeah…" he verified. "Sure did."
The beginning of the end seemed to sound off, somewhere in the eaves…
Sakura suppressed a yawn, giving herself another good stretch.
"Hey, it's been awesome-sauce talking with you, but we'd better hang it up pretty soon…" she reasoned. "Early day for you… long day for all of us…"
Naoto thought be might be able to chat away with her—clear to cockcrow—but knew she was making sense.
"Yeah, I gotcha," he trailed.
They'd been talking for roughly 40 minutes…
"But before that…" Sakura tendered.
"…Yeah?"
"I gotta say it."
"What?"
"…" She was second-guessing herself, but she went through with it. "I was originally planning on giving Hana-chan that anklet tomorrow, but I decided I didn't wanna do it in front of everyone."
"…?" Naoto could presume, but it might not get him very far. "Why?"
"I mentioned it earlier. I've never given someone a gift like that… much less another girl. I guess I was kind of afraid to…"
He wished such a good thing hadn't caused her such undue stress. "You did fine, Sakura-san… I'm glad I was there for it~."
Being there for that had been the best part of his day…
"That's the thing, buddy… I wanted you to be there when I gave it to her. You were there today, so I decided to give it to her. Just like I didn't wanna have the whole group there, I also didn't wanna do it alone with her either… for another reason…"
Naoto perplexed, "Uh… why?"
"…"
"…?"
She sighed, "I didn't want us to be by ourselves—in public—if one… or both of us started crying or something…"
"…!" Naoto's spine tingled.
Sakura blushed, not wishing to properly face him. "…"
"Oh…" he let out less than he was feeling on the matter.
It didn't seem so farfetched though…
The blonde prattled, "Yeah, it sounds kinda dumb, but… I don't think either of us would know what to do without you around, if we lost it like that."
"It's not dumb, Sakura-san…" Thinking that it was nearly offended him.
"It was just a comfort knowing you were there with us~," she admitted. "Thank you~."
"…You're welcome…"
"…~" Sakura fiddled with her hair. "I'm really glad you were with us today~…"
"Me too…" Naoto felt 180 cm tall.
She allowed, "But I guess I am kinda sorry for pulling the wool over your eyes~."
She meant Hana's bikini-hunting…?
"D-don't worry…" He didn't think it could be anything else.
"Can I do something to make it up to you~?"
Zoop!
"Naw, naw…" Naoto refused. "We're good."
She was probably screwing around anyhow…
"Oh, give it up, pal~! There has to be something."
Still, if she meant it~…
"…~" Big-britches Naoto made a comeback. "I'd, uh… like for you to model again for me, like we said earlier…"
"Such a mild punishment~?" she simpered.
He recommended, "You might not get a better plea deal than that~…"
"I'd love to~," Sakura said. "But that's all~…? Anything else~…?"
If ever there was a time to be smooth, now was it…
Naoto at least tried, "A-anything you're looking forward to—anime, I mean—in the fall lineup~?"
…
…
…
It could be said Naoto had shit-the-bed almightily when it came to being smooth, but no one could say he'd never solicited of Sakura the question he'd been burning to ask.
And to sum up her answer in a few words, she didn't really give a crap about the lineup…
'Piss-up-a-rope…' he cursed his clunkiness, not that it was the end of the world.
Despite that, he thought the 2018 fall lineup was pretty lousy too, so it all came out in the wash, so said he.
Tomorrow would be sweet~!
And he'd chatted with Sakura for a solid 45 minutes!
That this was factual nearly floored him, but it didn't quite.
That was a bit odd…
But~! He wasn't the same Naoto he'd been a year ago, and he figured even he might graduate at some point.
"…~" He hoped he might gain that final 4 cm for real, knowing a little more height might be squeezed out of his 176 cm body.
…
So… what to do with the rest of the evening…?
Watching one episode of the anime he'd been contemplating sounded good to him.
So did reading more manga, perhaps the most relaxing pastime…
In spite of that, his hands strayed to his game-controller, a thumb rolling the nearest joystick.
There was still that mission, and finishing it would be a pleasure…
…
Nevertheless, all this was a distraction from that tiny elephant, trumpeting off to one side.
His eyes strayed to this diversion, and he was reconfronted by the folded scrap of wrinkled paper, hanging out on his nightstand.
Why hadn't he just talked about it with Sakura…?!
He'd had many chances to mention this issue in the 45 minutes he'd shot the shit with her, and even if there were no good opportunities for him to bring it up, that hadn't stopped him before.
Had he ever made an ass of himself a few times, jumping the gun into some out-of-place topic…
But it had gotten the job done, whenever he needed to put something out in the open.
Addressing with her this pocket-sized pachyderm might've cleared up A LOT…
However, he'd held his tongue, and ergo, the head-fuck continued for him.
The contents of the paper…
"…" He knew what it was, yet he didn't.
The same couldn't be said of what it MEANT…
He had no damned idea what it meant.
And guessing…?!
That was just another conundrum, joining the expanding list of difficulties over his paygrade.
…
…
…
Earlier that day… (Again)
Naoto, sitting on the bus stop's bench, looked down the road one way and up the other. "…"
It was oddly quiet, the stop now bereft of other people.
The girls had left on the 3:55 p.m. bus, along with a handful of riders.
A different bus had left just a moment ago, having arrived at 4:00, taking with it the remainder of the crowd.
His wouldn't be there until 4:10.
It was currently 4:05, and soon enough, he'd be back home.
Another shower sounded good… and whatever else he did with the rest of the day…
"…~" He couldn't wipe the smile from his mug.
Sure, he'd been a little peeved that Sakura had pulled him from a day of loafing, but all's well that ends well…
He vegetated a moment. "…"
No doubt, the bus would make its presence known…
…
"Oh~! Hey, Naoto-kun! There you are~!" a voice—and a hand on his shoulder—came into being.
He jumped like Hellfire was beneath him, springing to his feet. "Ack!"
"Heek!" squeaked the intruder.
Naoto spun on his heel to see who—or what—had metaphysically goosed his senpai-hole.
He faced the invading party, and, "…?!"
Even if she wasn't TOPS on the list of people Naoto wouldn't expect to "sneak" up behind him, she rode pretty high on it…
It was—
"Urumi-san?!" He gaped.
The decidedly petite woman raised a hand in greeting, brushing her pink hair—no longer swept to one side but smattering in all directions—from her face on its way back down, "Yeah… hi~."
"What are you doing here…?" was the first thing to enter Naoto's noggin.
Just as quickly as she'd lowered her hand, Urumi brought it back up and squared her slipping glasses, her turquoise eyes magnified to preposterous proportions behind the heavy lenses.
She said, "Heading home… saw you… came over…"
"…?" The young man was reminded of…
"I'm happy you're… still here~…" she said.
It was like…
"…?" Naoto wondered. "You alright…?"
…Was she about to sneeze…?
"Pwah!" she gasped explosively—not even close to a sneeze.
The other leapt back. "What the…?!"
Urumi coughed a few times, "Gimme a sec…"
"Duh…" Naoto wished he had some water to give her. "…You okay?"
She held up a finger, requesting a second. "…"
"…?" This… was some kind of strange.
It didn't take long for her to find some stability, and she readjusted her glasses. "I'm… good."
"Are you sure…?" He wasn't exactly convinced.
With a raspy giggle, she straightened up and playfully bonked her own head. "I was… trying not to breathe so hard… so I wouldn't look like I'm… crazy or something~…"
She was out of breath…?
"Huh?" he uttered.
She was STILL fairly out of breath…
And he could say…
She looked pretty gonzo, no matter…
Trembling, sweating in the increasingly-hot sun, it wasn't just her dyed hair that was out of sorts, whatever product she'd used to give it its sweep no longer holding dominion, but her clothes too.
Nothing BAD had happened, but she HAD run there… and hard…
"I… wanted to catch you…" Urumi's breath and words were coming a little easier by now.
But she needed to hunch over again, resting her hands on her knees nonetheless.
With an excuse for looking, Naoto got a better view of her, her half-length leather jacket tied loosely around her narrow, toned waist, her halter-top allowing him to see plenty of everything.
He hadn't been able to tell earlier, but she had some definition to her… the obvious muscles in the shoulders, arms, and upper-body betraying a certain strength.
"…!" And if he didn't know that she was an auto mechanic (in-training), he'd have worried about the multiple, shiny burn-scars and healed cuts littering her forearms.
Not to mention the fresh bandage south of her right elbow…
She'd raised her gaze, noticing what he was eyeballing. "Oh, that…? Picked it up the other day… reaching into an engine compartment… Grazed a hot surface…"
"How…?" the possibly foolish question fell from Naoto's mouth.
If she thought his question stupid, she gave no indication. "When no one else at the shop can get at a part or something, I'll hear, 'Hey, Hasegawa, we need your arms!'"
Though slender, her arms weren't toothpicks, not in the least…
"It hurt like Hell, but it happens…" Urumi further explained.
Naoto opined, "That doesn't seem fair…"
"Naw…" she pushed aside his concern. "It's not like I have to do it every time… or that they make me do it… just part of the job…"
A second time, she straightened up, breathing all the easier but still a bit shaky.
"You wanna sit down or something…?" Naoto extended. "You look a little…"
It was her right knee wobbling that bothered him, and he was right to be bothered.
"Oh!" Urumi lurched forward.
She might've not taken a spill, but Naoto didn't even think.
Slight as she was, he caught her, a hand around her upper arm, his other around her bare back.
*Smoosh~*
"…!" He found that the "smoosh" wasn't as impressive as Gamo-chan's… or Hana's… or Sakura's…
But it was still quite a "smoosh"…
And he hadn't been wrong about her muscles; he could feel them, and he knew what a smaller female with some definition felt like.
Definitely in her upper-back… and those were the arms of a laborer…
But she still had more than enough curves to convince him that she was a woman.
The HIPS on her…!
…
Naoto's appraisal had only taken a second, and in that time, Urumi had gotten her feet back under her.
"Sorry…" She might've blushed, but it was hard to tell, as red as she was, having run in the heat.
Pushing off of him, she improved her footing, standing properly.
Trying not to make a show of wiping away all the sweat he'd picked up off of her, Naoto bustled, "Seriously, are you okay…?"
She patted the earlier-offending knee, her leg encased in the pink thigh-sock. "I'm okay… just an old injury I got in middle school… sometimes gets a little unsteady, when I push too hard."
"Well, don't!" He didn't want anything to happen to her. "Why'd you run here anyway?"
"Yeah…" Urumi chortled. "I always sucked as an athlete in the first place, even before I hurt my leg… always terrible at sports… never really gotten in any kinda shape…"
She might've fooled someone, given her muscle-tone, even in the legs…
Despite not telling him what he wanted to know, Naoto cleared, "Sure…"
"Yeah…" she blew out a breath, grinning.
"…"
"…"
"So… what's up?" Naoto decided to ask. "What are you doing?"
"Etsuko told me to split at 4:00," Urumi elucidated. "I'd been there all day, give-or-take a break or two, so…"
"Okay…" He wondered if he'd get anywhere with her.
She did offer something though, "I hoped to catch you, so I hurried here… had to beat the 4:10 bus."
'What…?' He was coming up blank on why she'd want to do such a thing.
Instead and furthermore, he mused, "How'd you know I was on the 4:10…?"
"Because I know the schedule," she informed him. "The girls took the 3:55 west, the 4:00 goes south, and all the other buses arrive at 4:10 or 4:15."
"That's… correct…" Naoto corresponded.
"That's the schedule; it has been for the whole year," Urumi said. "Sakura said you lived east of downtown… so I suppose you might've been a 4:15… I wasn't gonna chance it though…"
"…?" he pondered. "Chance what?"
"Not catching you," she responded.
'Oh…' He thought he had it. "What, did one of us leave something at Etsuko-san's store or something? You could've just called Sakura-san… let her know…"
Why she hadn't mentioned or handed it over right away, it didn't make sense…
Urumi's cheerful face unbent. "No, it's not that… not for the girls either…"
"…?!" Naoto was floored that he'd guessed wrong. "Then what—"
He stopped.
It was Urumi's face…
She'd settled down, the "exertion pinkness" fading from her, but her cheeks had gone candy apple red. "…"
"…!" Naoto's asshole puckered like a poked sea-anemone. 'What the…?'
She was also quavering anew, wringing her hands, one of them closed.
Had she had her fist balled up this whole time…?
"…!" Naoto had never seen someone (probably hyperbole) go from calm, cool, and collected to "Oh, no! No, please God, help me!" so rapidly.
Urumi just continued squirming. "…"
"…?!" He had to know. "Urumi-san… what is it…?"
Her response came quickly enough, "Um… take this…!"
With her free hand, she opened one of his, and her balled-up hand pressed a sweaty scrap of paper into his palm.
Before Naoto could even flinch—or do the head-arithmetic to form a proper response, Urumi had already turned and scrambled away.
"…!" He watched, her delightfully round butt inelegantly hightailing it the blue, flying fudge away from him.
It was something he was unused to seeing:
All the girls he knew were fairly athletic or at least okay athletically, so it was unusual to see a girl—
Well… RUNNING LIKE A GIRL…
And run away she did, favoring her right leg.
"…!" Then, there was the… the whatever-the-fuck-it-was that she'd just forced upon him.
He opened it.
'HO-LEE SHIT…!' Had he not evacuated his bowels before leaving the ice cream parlor, he might've soiled himself.
There wasn't much scrawled on the damp, folded corner of loose-leaf, but he read it many times on the bus ride back to his neighborhood, not entirely sure what to make of it.
…
…
…
Back to present… (Yet again)
"…" Naoto heaved a sigh, closing in on his nightstand.
That scrap of paper…
During their call, Sakura further mentioning Urumi had gotten his attention, and there had been a reason for this "particular" reaction.
After wrestling with the act for a long while, he finally picked up the tiny "document" on his nightstand, and he opened it for the first time since coming home:
…
Hasegawa Urumi
90-1234-xxxx
…
Naoto still couldn't believe it.
He'd never been handed a phone number, at least not from a girl.
'Wait!' He had to correct himself.
Urumi wasn't a "girl"…
'No…' He needed to make the distinction.
She was a college-aged WOMAN…! (And a seriously beautiful one to boot~!)
He knew she was a little different, but…
She was pretty neat~…
…
A woman had given him her number.
What was he going to do…?!
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading!
Questions and comments are welcome!