Cherry Blossom Palette: Summer by the Sea
Chapter 37: Beach Episode! [Part Nine]
Sunshine Arc
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
ED:Time for another "dramatic" intro!
Today—
The boys face off and draw their respective lines in the sand… for best (female) swimsuit~!
Rabi-chan declares war!
…
PS came up with two new words during our editing process: "bikinious" and "bikinial", though we found out one of them was a name brand and the other someone's username.
Both mean "of the bikini", of course, but I prefer "bikinious" because of how funny it sounds when using text to speech.
It sounds like "BUH-KIGN-YUSS".
…
If I didn't love calculating stresses and tolerances on bridges, buildings, and other structures, school would be very, very boring right now.
It's still taking up a few hours a day I previously had open, but since I'm taking a break with video games, and there's nothing I'm interested in watching on TV or streaming, I'm finding enough time to work on the story.
…
My heart goes out to my editor for the lousy ice fishing season he had but only so much, because he can loaf for a lot of the winter.
He tells me that he knows other farmers that do nothing but sit at the bar all day a few days a week, because they're bored. They arrive when the place opens, get plastered, eat lunch and dinner, and hopefully make it home safely by 8:00 p.m. HOPEFULLY without driving themselves.
But a number of these types PS knows are missing fingers and toes, and it's not because of their equipment catching them. It's because they get lost or stranded in the cold on the way home and catch frostbite.
He tells me a lot of stories that THIS big blonde girl can't believe.
Thankfully, PS doesn't get bored easily, even if he complains about ice fishing sucking.
This has been the strangest winter in the Midwest I've experienced, and PS says it's probably second or third for him.
It's been a very mild winter for the most part, other than being really cold in early January. Otherwise, it's been mostly above freezing, even at night.
…
Very anti-climactic canon chapter. For such a big event, nothing much actually happened. I'd have to lower my standards to think anything else.
You'd think that Nagatoro could've showed Naoto a little respect when he was trying harder than she EVER has to get a point across. He should walk away every time she gets that way. She just fell back on mocking him and saying things that she doesn't mean because she's garbage at communicating and scared of everything. She didn't even appropriately reciprocate his feelings. Naoto tried hard.
But he wasn't trying THAT hard. He really should've pushed harder in letting her know how hurtful she could be and not let her escape it. She still fails to grasp that. Until she sheds some real tears and shows some real remorse over how she treated him, I'll never buy it.
I wasn't expecting that he'd tell her to go die or find a malignant lump on one of her AA-cups or sit on her pederast brother's face or anything, but he should've loved himself enough to let her very clearly know that it wasn't okay to treat him as she had. He hasn't actually done this, not truly.
And the little troll even abused and hurt him with her martial arts again, when he mentioned their promises. It wasn't funny. It was abuse.
I'm eager for him to call HER a "worthless, better off dead virgin" and all the other things to see how SHE likes it.
…
Please look at the Q&A section I set up at the end of the chapter. Ask us anything, and we'll add another section in the next chapter.
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.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Approaching 11:00 a.m., as the group had dined on the PB&J 'wiches and other picnic-type offerings that the Flower Girls had put together (as well as polishing off the caramel rolls they'd brought), over early, early lunch, they'd discussed the money situation.
Prior, the boys had decided that it simply wasn't fair that some of the party had contributed next to nothing to their trip, while another had spent almost ¥8,000 putting together steak-kabobs.
Thankfully, no one had disagreed, and Shuu had volunteered to figure it out.
It could be hammered out over the next few days…
More interestingly, Naoto learned that Hana had also brought some art supplies, and the two elected to do a little sketching later in the day.
It seemed like a good way to relax and take a break…
A few of the others thought it would be good fun, hoping to model for the work.
But uncomfortably—for Naoto~, a couple of the girls (*koff-koff* the Maki and the Yosh) only seemed interested in modeling for him.
Hana truly hadn't minded and would draw whatever presented itself.
Nekoba wanted Hana to sketch her, considering that ol' Hachioji-kun would have his hands full with two of the more bountiful-breasted members of their assemblage, and Hana was delighted at the prospect of rendering her slim senpai.
Shuu and Tohru had kept their distance from the growing fiasco.
And Sakura and Rabi-chan had just laughed at the whole situation, perfectly happy to watch the dumpster-fire burn~.
But all that was a "problem" for the future.
…
Naoto had more immediate concerns.
He wanted to think.
Needed to, really…
He'd been worried about the sort of communication that Gamo-chan and Rabi-chan had been having since their Wednesday talk on the phone, in which Rabi-chan had tearfully apologized over what had been done and said, even stating that she'd been jealous of Gamo-chan.
Just how Gamo-chan had extended the invitation to join them at the beach was a mystery, and perhaps it was best left between the two girls and the Higher Powers…
In spite of this, he wasn't that worried.
This "worry" was subjugated by his trying to make heads-or-tails of the strained Hana/Rabi-chan interaction from immediately before lunch.
Just what had Hana been trying to prove, OBVIOUSLY confronting Rabi-chan that way?!
Naoto was about as good at reading girls' minds as he was at abstract algebra or quantum mechanics—though he'd gotten lucky a few times~, but he'd seen something happening between the girls.
Hana had communicated whatever it was she'd been peddling, and whatever it was, Rabi-chan had comprehended!
He could see that, and reaching this conclusion was more along the lines of solving some introductory geometry problem… or the difficulty of getting off a second wank within four or five hours of the first.
But WHAT had Hana been expressing towards Rabi-chan?
About all that Naoto could guess at was Hana saying, "I'm watching you, Rabi-senpai, so don't fuck with Gamo-neechan or make her cry again."
He'd never heard Hana drop the F-bomb—the strongest four-letter word she'd used in front of him was "shit", but he wouldn't doubt their little kohai internally using such a word.
Naoto also knew that Hana was aware—more strongly than many—of the degree to which Rabi-chan had hurt Gamo-chan… and the other hurts inflicted upon the big girl in the last few weeks.
But afterwards, Hana went on as if nothing had ever happened—with EVERYONE!
Rabi-chan in particular had seemed on edge about Hana's stark revert to friendly, but she'd settled in with the rest of them.
Then again, it was remembered what Gamo-chan had said of Hana and Rabi-chan.
If Rabi-chan really DID get Hana, perhaps extending beyond the younger girl's humor and eccentricities, then it might not have been so odd…
Part of Naoto thought it was strange that Hana would defend her adoptive neechan, having been "tickle-attacked" by her, but she'd forgiven the big girl for other things that were actually malicious, so…
What was there to worry about?
…
Again, Naoto was thinking about all this, but he wasn't making as much progress in the issue as might be illustrated above.
He tried and tried and tried wrapping his mind around all of this, but there was a distraction in the eaves, and it kept pulling him away from his own rumblings.
However, to be absolutely clear, there was ANOTHER distraction as well…
He had congregated with the boys outside of their shelter, in an attempt to play another game of hacky sack, which was the first distraction.
The second distraction involved the fact that they weren't out of earshot of one of the adjacent girlish chats.
As for the OTHER girlish chat, who knew what Sakura, Yoshi, and Rabi-chan were up to?
What they heard though was Gamo-chan telling Hana and Nekoba what she was wearing beneath her two-piece neoprene wetsuit~.
Needless to say, the boys as a whole were finding little more success in their game than Naoto was finding in his Rabi-chan ruminations.
And to be extra certain~, just so that no mistake was made, Naoto's musings were being derailed by the hacky sack game, and the game was being derailed by Shuu and Tohru (with a small contribution from the main character), derailed by the girl-talk.
…
"Yeah, after the judo tourney, I showered up at school and went shopping." Gamo-chan was telling the girls about her Thursday afternoon. "I did need a new wetsuit this year for boating and stuff, but I needed a new bikini too—mainly to serve as an underlayer for this thing. My black one from last year got all nasty, and the couple of others I have wouldn't work."
The "thing" was the new wetsuit, which she was detailing to them…
"Aren't you hot then, with the extra layer?" Nekoba asked Gamo-chan. "A bikini under that thing?"
Large Xena denied, "Naw, I'm good. Let's just say it doesn't cover a whole lotta skin, but it's comfortable. Might get a little steamy later, but I'll deal. It's not like you wanna go nekkid in one of these things~."
Nekoba didn't know much about it, but she imagined, "No, I suppose you wouldn't…"
"Nope," Gamo-chan said.
"That's something Sana-neechan would do," Hana elected to share.
Gamo-chan chuckled, cringing, "Ha-ha-ha! Oh, gross~…"
"How so?" Hana didn't think it so odd to go commando in clothing, though it was more of a "Sana thing" than a "Hana thing".
"The chafing!" Gamo-chan shuddered. "Ouch…"
Hana considered, "It's like Sana-neechan is guarded by some benign spirit, protecting her from such ailments."
"Ha! 'Kin-A, Hanacchi~!" came the Gamo-guffaw.
Hana subsidized, "A mighty spirit from on high…"
"Oh, spirit, appear to me as well~!" Gamo-chan yowled.
"Hey, would you two quiet it down?!" Nekoba fretted. "What if the guys hear us…?"
Too late…
"I'll remove them from the gene-pool~," Gamo-chan pledged. "They know better than to eavesdrop…"
That was doubtful… and no, they didn't!
…
Naoto was ready to act upon the Maki's stance though.
"Guys, would you pay attention to the game?" he complained.
Might as well play if THINKING ABOUT SHIT was off the table…
Plus, he knew how out-of-hand this sort of chatter amongst the girls could get… and how quickly.
The memory of Sakura and Hana batting back-and-forth tales of unattended pubies…
And how high the girls' school swimsuits rode…
And the magic of putting Band-Aids over nipples to avoid abrasion…
And all the OTHER wonderful stuff from Chapter 32 of the prequel story had cast a verbalized blast-shadow against the walls of the Kazehaya Art Club's room forevermore…
Naoto couldn't believe (yes, he could, the same happening with him) how driven to hindrance his two pals could get, reduced to horny teenaged boys, eager to hear something naughty.
They kept missing passes, letting slip even easy footbag exchanges, and they might've resembled a broken machine.
And how could the girls not notice three experienced hacky sackers, freezing up, eyes darting their way, craning their necks, dropping the bag?
"I suppose…" Tohru gave in.
Shuu agreed, "Yeah, let's get back to it."
There was a POSSIBILITY that some Gamo-flesh might be seen later on, so the snoopy effort could be abandoned…
Regardless, after a moment of kicking around the bag, they lost interest in a proper game, and Shuu went back to juggling by himself.
"You gonna go for three?" Tohru asked him.
Shuu was doing well enough with two. "Gimme a few minutes to get into it again, and we'll see."
"You good, Nao-kun?" Tohru hailed.
Naoto was doing well enough too. "Yeah… I'm just gonna space out a bit."
He was half-joking.
"Snrk!" Tohru snorted. "Alright, go ahead."
"Don't get caught!" Shuu lightheartedly recommended.
Naoto chuckled, "I'll be careful…"
Why was he feeling so playful?
Perhaps it was that he didn't mind having the freedom to again let his cognizance mosey.
Back to Hana and Rabi-chan "clashing", something NEW had been learned—
Naoto never imagined that Rabi-chan's real name was "Rabi"—Hell, he knew it was a nickname, but thoughts of her real name had been about as far out of mind as anything.
Sakurabi…
The name made sense to him, not that it wasn't obvious how her epithet had been rendered.
Now, her GIVEN name…
He was presently more engrossed over that than having learned her family name.
Maybe Hana would tell him, no doubt knowing what name Rabi-chan's parents had given their daughter…
…
"…~" That was about all that Naoto had left to finish thinking about, at least for that whole deal.
With his head-brain freed from the game of hacky sack and girl-drama, he was able to tackle a topic he'd been mulling over for a while:
Which girl had the best swimsuit that day~?!
"…~" It was time for some serious business.
Maybe Sakura would even try to pull the new list out of him, if he was (un?)lucky~!
He proceeded in a practiced manner:
Sakura, first on his mind, was stellar…
Nekoba was NOICE…
Yoshi was Yoshi but better than Yoshi with frills…
Gamo-chan… had surprised…
And Hana—
"…!" Naoto wasn't sure that he wanted to include Hana in his sordid ranking.
It just didn't seem right…
But if he had to include her, "…"
His list was subject to change, but it ran first to last:
…
Sakura or Nekoba (tied but leaning towards the gal)
Hana
Yoshi
Gamo-chan
…
That… hadn't taken much thought…
"…" It satisfied him nonetheless.
He definitely noticed that he hadn't included Rabi-chan in his placement.
It was hard when she was still dressed… and when he wasn't really interested in the first place…
…
Since his ponderings hadn't taken much time at all, Naoto's brain—and thus, his ears—became more receptive.
Shuu was juggling two hacky sacks, but he and Tohru were talking.
Shuu was wondering, "Hey, Tohru, which of the girls looks the best today~?"
"Eh…" Tohru wasn't overly enthusiastic.
Naoto wasn't all that shocked; their guy-talk often "degraded" to such.
It wasn't nearly as bad as trying to listen in on the girls' tête-à-têtes…
Unusually though, he was unusually willing to take part in such "degradation".
Today was a different sort of day~…
"You're thinking about that too?" Naoto lazily turned to Shuu.
Shuu found it as natural as breathing. "Well, yeah!"
"Yup…" Naoto fessed up. "It's been on my mind."
"So, what do you think, Nao-kun?" Shuu questioned. "Tohru's no fun. He's being a lame-ass about it."
"Fuck you, Shuu…" Tohru's eyes were trained elsewhere.
Naoto wanted clarity, if he was to answer. "For who's at the beach?"
"What do you mean?" Shuu asked.
"Gamo-chan wasn't at the beach last time; she had to work at her family's gym."
"So, who was best last time?"
Since Gamo-chan hadn't been there in June…
"…" Naoto didn't have to think very hard. "Sakura-san. Hands-down."
The inkling delighted Shuu. "Oh, I'll bet~… You never did share those pics. I couldn't find them on Line either. I really wanted to see her in something more baring~, but I'm liking what I see today! I mean, when she untied her crop-top~! Whoop~!"
"Don't be disgusting…" Naoto shook his head, wishing for a little more tact. "Talk like that is why people make stuff online private."
Shuu was more interested in the present. "What about this time?"
It was a hard choice for our hero, but his list wasn't set in stone, so, "It's close, but if I had to pick one, I'd… have to go with Nekoba."
"Nekoba?!"
"Yes, Nekoba." Naoto wouldn't tolerate dismissiveness. "She was my second-place last time…"
"…" Shuu gave the idea some cogitation. "Yeah, I guess I can see what you mean. She does look great today~."
"Mmm…" Naoto's feelings were a little stronger than that, having been so thrilled to see her slip off her blouse~.
And SHE'D been thrilled, receiving acclaim, and the degree of her joy certainly factored into the final decision~…
"It's weird, Nao-kun, that you're so willing to talk about this stuff~…" Shuu esteemed.
Naoto was a dynamic man~. "I s'pose."
And if NAOTO was participating…
"C'mon, Tohru, you have to have an answer," Shuu tried again.
"…" Tohru was focused on the girls, their trios having broken up, a couple of the girls going for another snack, two more going for water, and the other two rooting around in their personal bags.
The indifference seemed peculiar, since he HAD expressed pain at the prospect of Gamo-chan not changing out of her normal clothes…
Shuu thought Tohru might've been reluctant to share, because maybe, "What, it isn't Hana-san, is it?"
"…?!" Naoto wasn't sure how to feel about this, not without more context.
"No," Tohru replied to Shuu at once. "Hana-san's just a kid."
"She's only two years younger than us."
"She's a kid."
"She doesn't look like a kid, other than being the shortest one here."
"Hey, cut it out!" That was enough "context" for Naoto. "Geez…"
"What, Nao-kun?" Shuu didn't enjoy being barked at.
"Don't talk about Sunomiya that way." He hated when his pals even came close to objectifying the girl he was honored to serve as a mentor.
Shuu didn't think he was being so out of line, but he wouldn't push it, Naoto being the way he was.
Instead, he again pushed Tohru, "Then… who's best?"
"…" Short-pai had a distant look about him, as if contemplating the true purpose of the human species. "The best is yet to come."
Shuu wasn't nearly as contemplative. "What, you waiting for Gamo-chan to show us whatever she's got underneath that wetsuit thing?"
"No."
"I am~!" Shuu burbled.
Naoto was tight-lipped, but, 'Fuck, yeah! Me too!'
Tohru didn't disagree, though, "I wanna see that too, but that's not it."
"Then…?"
"Rabi-chan."
"Huh?!"
"You heard me."
"I must've heard you wrong…"
"No, I'm totally serious."
"Seriously?"
"Yes, you ass. Just wait a minute or two. Rabi-chan has on a one-piece today."
"How do you know that?"
"The bottommost button of her shirt is undone. She's wearing a one-piece."
"Boo…"
"What do you mean 'boo'?"
"I mean 'boo'; I'm expressing my feelings that you're wrong. I like a girl in a bikini… y'know, unless she shouldn't be wearing a bikini, but that's not what we're talking about. To be frank, if she shouldn't be wearing a bikini, she doesn't need to wear a swimsuit at all. Me no likey see that…"
"I love a good one-piece~."
"I've never gotten that about you."
"You're missing out, man."
"No, I'm not."
"Listen, I think Sakura would look great in a one-piece suit… and I mean a good one, not some lame school swimsuit type of thing."
"The only 'one-piece' I wanna see is the manga, and it quit being good when Noda was prime minister…" Shuu opined.
"Don't diss Oda-sensei's enduring masterpiece, Shuu."
"Whatever. Plus, Sakura's the best today, so I don't really care what Rabi-chan wears."
"Are you huffing paint or something, Shuu?! Rabi-chan's way hotter than Sakura."
"Never, and I less-than-respectfully disagree."
"You're nuts… Rabi-chan is hotter."
"How?!"
"She has everything I like to see in a girl."
"No, you gotta be pulling my leg~!"
"I'm not, Shuu."
"There's nothing there to see… Y'know… up top."
"Blow me, Shuu."
…
Naoto often felt like the odd one out, his less-than-interested attitude putting him at odds with his two friends in most of these situations.
Neither Shuu or Tohru were shallow, though they said a few shallow things and had a few shallow thoughts every now and again.
No man was exempt…
But in this case, Naoto had to side with Shuu.
Rabi-chan?
He didn't get it either, not really.
As concerns Rabi-chan as a whole, trying to keep an open mind was hard for him.
He was to some extent upset with Rabi-chan, considering how badly she'd hurt Gamo-chan.
Just because Gamo-chan had drawn up some sort of armistice with her and Hana had apparently let her off the hook didn't mean he had to follow their examples.
He didn't know what was going on in either girl's head though, Hana even less so than the Maki.
Maybe the both of them were FUMING over it, ready for a rumble at any moment…
"…!" He shook his head, doubting at least the extremity of that.
And he was sure that all of the girls had feelings on the issue.
He was best off making his own decision, he supposed.
But…
"…" He appreciated that they—he and the boys—weren't necessarily talking about Rabi-chan as a person.
The same girl? Physically?
To him, she was definitely well-above-average, even beautiful, looking terrific that day, but she didn't quite rival most of the girls in his ken, and that was a high bar to clear.
He knew less about Rabi-chan than any of the other girls, but he still knew a good bit.
Despite her mediocre height of 160 cm, she'd been an outstanding volleyball player in middle school…
Naoto didn't know much of the details, and he was fine with that, a little squeamish about such things, but she'd badly hurt her knee, ending her promising "career" in volleyball.
In fact, he'd heard that she'd hurt her knee so badly that she could barely participate in gym class, usually found sitting on the sidelines or walking laps.
Ever since, though she'd maintained healthy living and kept in shape, she'd become markedly unathletic, a mere shell of what she once was…
Once or twice, Naoto had the dumb idea to feel envious of Rabi-chan, the girl not needing to pander to the utter bullshit that was gym class, but he'd seen her struggle once or twice, her leg causing her issue, and he'd been cured of such stupidity.
To Naoto, it was against human nature to want to work hard.
It was stupid to ENJOY exerting effort!
As far as he was concerned, humans had invented guns, cars, and robots and had tamed the lower animals to do their bidding, all so they wouldn't have to exert themselves~!
And as far as Rabi-chan, getting back to the girl, Naoto couldn't see what Tohru found special in her physique.
Rabi-chan was attractive, but due to her lack of physical activity, her legs were twiggy, and the rest of her lacked muscle-mass.
Nekoba was thin but built; Rabi-chan was just THIN…
That being said, Naoto maintained that she had a fatally pretty face. "…"
And perhaps Tohru liked other things about her, in regards to more meaningful stuffs…
Naoto knew that Tohru liked smart girls, and Rabi-chan was definitely smart, and she had just enough weirdness about her to be fascinating.
She was also even more skilled at getting the things she wanted than Sakura, by way of her feminine wiles, not that Tohru could so easily be suckered in by tricks.
It WAS rare though, a girl getting Tohru flustered, the way she had when he'd helped her and Nekoba with the cooler of water bottles…
To reiterate, Tohru really hadn't struck Naoto as having a "type" of girl he liked, but Rabi-chan was perhaps as close as anything.
Plus, a person could probably count on one hand the number of boys that wouldn't have gotten the SLIGHTEST bit rattled in Tohru's "carry the cooler" predicament…
"…" Naoto didn't go for the damsel-in-distress sort of thing, and Rabi-chan wasn't such a damsel, but boys often flocked to her as such, and she was subtly able to press that to her advantage, rarely having to raise a finger unless she wanted to.
She was popular with the boys; that was a fact.
Regardless of "visible" girl-type, Tohru had never been much for the conniving sort, so he must've REALLY liked her outer anatomy…
"…" It wasn't clear to Naoto why she was so popular, but there was another factor having to do with her fame, and it was that she was experienced.
There was a fine line between a boy being a player or a girl being a slut and just being EXPERIENCED, but experience was given its due, whether among males or females…
For there was one thing Rabi-chan had over the rest of the girls, if "over" was the choicest term available.
Unlike the other girls in Naoto's circle, it was an open secret that Rabi-chan wasn't a virgin, and that she'd let a boy swipe his card in her envelope as far back as her second year in middle school.
Supposedly, she'd done it with all three of her boyfriends since starting high school… TWO of them for sure…
"…" Naoto was inclined to go with all three.
…
However, she wasn't invincible…
The messy breakup she'd had with her boyfriend back in June had blown her defenses wide-open.
He'd very publicly cheated on her, going with a girl who was more impressive in the "dairy department", though he wouldn't have had to go far for something as petty as THAT…
It had broken Rabi-chan's heart, and while she'd kept up a strong front, she'd gone to pieces over the whole thing, another open secret, that involving her crying in the bathrooms, forlorn.
She'd really liked him, and he'd made a fool of her, in front of the entire school…
…
Shuu had given up on his juggling, no longer able to focus.
"Tohru, what are you talking about?" He scowled at Tohru, Short-pai yet absorbed.
Tohru silenced him (tried to), "Shut up and watch."
The boys were whispering, and Naoto checked it out. "…?"
"No, dude, cut it out." Shuu was growing tired of Tohru's insistence.
But the miniature man was unrelenting. "No… watch."
Shuu kept at it, "What are you talking about?"
"Watch." Tohru wouldn't give ground.
Naoto saw what their pissing contest was about.
While five of the girls were now congregating at the sunnier end of their spot, chatting, Rabi-chan, also out of the shade, visiting her bag at the other end, was about to undress—right in front of them.
It was more than obvious…
'Eh…' Naoto wanted to see, but he just didn't care all that much.
Rabi-chan DID have a distinct sexiness about her, but it just wasn't seen, what Tohru's tunnel-vision was centered upon…
One thing Naoto did think—and it was a thing upon which he sided with Shuu—was that a girl did look better in a bikini than a one-piece.
Like Shuu, the appeal—especially that of a school swimsuit—just didn't mesh in the head-brain so securely…
Naoto had a more "technical" reason for his bikinious preference, but it was something he'd never say aloud—especially in mixed-company.
'Yowch…' In fact, he'd rather run naked-from-the-waist-down through a rose garden than recite it before the womenfolk.
When a chick wore a bikini, it brought more attention to her midriff as opposed to the breasts and butt…
"…~" He felt that Rabi-chan had a stupendous midriff, and this would've been emphasized over the rest of her—uninspiring but not bad at all, if only she wore a specific kind of bikini.
…
And there the girl of import was, undoing the buttons of her blouse… kicking off her blue Adidas slides…
Tohru strongly recommended, "Watch, Shuu…"
They were yet whispering.
"You're acting really weird, Tohru…" Shuu backed.
The button-up was about to come off…
Naoto doubted that Tohru was just delusional, but he had no more idea as to what Tohru was talking about as to what his two pals were hearing, so he watched Rabi-chan, unambiguously in the process of— "…!"
With great dignity, Rabi-chan divested herself of her blouse.
'Whoa!' Naoto's senses took a shock, right to the foundation of his skull.
Rabi-chan methodically stepped out of the denim short-shorts.
'Yippy-yi-yay~!' Something popped inside of him, and he felt it from his scalp to his yam-bag.
It was a stylish one-piece that she wore, pink-and-black polka-dots over blue, mostly backless, not riding too high or too low at the hip, showing and covering just enough skin in all the right places.
Instead of OUTING her modest breasts, trim butt, and delicate shoulders, arms, and legs, it FLATTERED them!
…
Shuu was floored.
"Okay, Tohru… I see what you mean…" he uttered quietly, slack-jawed.
Tohru stood triumphant in his own near-silence. "Oh, yeah~."
"…!" Naoto was aboard too. 'Ho-lee shee-yit~!'
He had difficulty putting it into anything concrete, but…
It was difficult to describe, but…
Rabi-chan had "it".
It wasn't clear what "IT" was, but Rabi-chan had it going on~…
Naoto took only a few seconds to reach a conclusion. "…!"
There was no denying it… no fighting it…
"…~!" He ranked her right alongside Sakura and Nekoba, easily competing with either of them.
Poor, demoted Hana…
Studying Rabi-chan up-and-down, Naoto liked all that he saw, but it was no surprise that his eyes quickly strayed far below-the-belt.
As to how much Shuu and Tohru cared, he didn't know, but they did care at least some, and he knew that they'd agree with him, all three of them liking the things they did.
Rabi-chan's feet—Egyptian in shape and 22 in size—were gorgeous…
He'd never actually seen her properly out of a pair of sandals, and they were some of the best he'd seen, at least outside of professional models or when doing his "research".
"…~!" Was he ever thankful his contacts were in, and yes, he was close enough to get a good look.
Just about everything was PERFECT, her well-proportioned toes shapely, her taper ideal, and her medium arches EXACTLY the way he liked~!
And she knelt down, accentuating the latter two~!
'Damn~!'
Going for her bag, on her hands and knees, her feet were flexed, her weight on the balls. Displaying her soles, her pink, pristine heels wagged back-and-forth pleasingly as she stowed away her outer clothes, her pale arches receiving full-sun, all the better to see them with.
And her ass was pretty good too, narrow-ish as it was~…
'Thank you, Sun-dono~!' Naoto hailed.
It was no double-wide surprise, but GAW-DA-YUM!
…
*boink*
Naoto didn't need to look down, but lil' Naoto had made his first big showing of the day, unless one included the dirty dream that had begun his morning.
Was he the only one?! Were Shuu and Tohru packing?! Why would he want to know?!
"…!" Skillfully, and with experience, Naoto inconspicuously directed the half-chub towards his left hip—below the beltline, where his meat-stick could crawl all he wanted across the lining of his swim trunks.
Hopefully, the conspicuous fellow would soon depart…
Naoto deliberated, 'Maybe I should just jump into the water RIGHT NOW.'
The unseasonably cold bay would solve his problem in a hurry~!
Casting his eyes to his right and left, he found Shuu and Tohru probably weren't any better off, judging by their faces.
And the boys weren't the only ones gawking…
Besides Hana, categorically stoic, the other girls were obviously wowed.
And the girls weren't the only other gawkers either~!
Naoto could see some of their neighbors' attentions directed at Rabi-chan.
A few bewildered guys and their unhappy-looking female companions dotted these ranks…
"…!" It was then that he saw it.
Rabi-chan was smirking…
"…?!" It was small, but Naoto was sure that he saw it.
Irrespective of how purposeful her preening was, she knew she was getting recognition…
And Naoto saw her do something else. "…?! …?!"
While Rabi-chan had been smirking a little, she'd just been smirking.
Now, it had direction…
Her gaze turned towards the other five girls in their bloc… and she nodded towards the three boys.
Naoto flinched, and he felt his male companions falter on either side; she'd noticed them too, studying her, and she'd given them a show!
But HOW?! Did she have eyes in the back of her head?!
He knew she hadn't turned their way. "…!"
With that, Rabi-chan slackened the effort and went back to her business, rooting around in her bag for whatever else she was looking for.
'Geez!' Naoto was glad that was over with.
Of course, though, it wasn't…
While all the girls had caught Rabi-chan's glance, only one of them showed a particularly strong reaction.
Naoto had witnessed it more times than he could count:
Whenever Nagatoro became resentful of other girls for any number of stupid reasons, he'd seen her turn green with envy, a contemptible glower twisting her face into something awful.
"…!" He'd just never seen that expression pasted on Gamo-chan.
The Amazon had gone splotchy, much of the color draining from her face…
'Why?!' Naoto didn't understand.
But he knew what it was.
He'd seen it in anime and manga since he was a child; he just didn't think it ever happened for real.
Rabi-chan had declared war.
Why?! Over what?
Things were already tense enough with both Gamo-chan and Rabi-chan together, and Naoto knew it.
Rabi-chan only came last minute, upon an invitation from and a truce declared with Gamo-chan…
"…" Naoto wondered how much of a truce could've been made… or if it would stand.
And Hana!
He couldn't fathom why Rabi-chan would throw barbs, not when everyone's kohai had nonverbally admonished her so severely.
Still…
Maybe he was overthinking it. "…"
The girls often pitted their abilities/appearances against one another…
Yet, he knew he wasn't overthinking it too much.
Trouble was likely brewing…
'Oh, shit…' Looking around at it all, Naoto could tell the day would only become more interesting.
Prayerfully, it wouldn't become TOO interesting…
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading!
Questions and comments are welcome!