Sunshine Arc
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
ED: Here's a chapter where more of the party trickles in. We get a rare Yoshi convo.
…
It occurs to me that THIS is the 99th chapter of the overall story. I can't say the next one will have anything special to commemorate reaching 100 chapters, but it's still a milestone.
I'll probably have my editor advertise the fact on Reddit.
I guess Naoto and the others will get to see something kind of surprising and messed up, so there's that.
…
I've been playing video games a lot the last few weeks. Mostly older stuff I haven't played in a long time. I even pulled out the GameCube for some Zelda.
South Park: The Stick of Truth is a lot of fun. I bought a physical copy at a used video game store, and it was expensive, but I think it was worth it.
My editor and I had fun talking about it.
PS is a big believer in power in games but has played all styles. I like being sneakier in my game characters. All of the classes in the game are totally OP if you know how to take advantage, besides the "Fighter" class, that mostly relies on brute force.
Brute force can only get you ahead in a turn based RPG if you max out a character as fast as you can as early as you can. It's easier to throw gasoline on a problem and light it on fire than to punch it until it stops.
I had trouble deciding between being "D*uchebag the Jew" (pretty much a paladin) and "D*ouchebag the Thief" because I LOVE paladin type characters, but I went with "Thief" because you can really customize your character to totally dominate any situation, not by overwhelming power but by exploiting and stacking all the effects, elementals, and weaknesses available in the game.
The "Mage" class looks like fun too.
I just finished the alien ship mission yesterday. Now, I can use my anal probe teleportation powers to navigate the town's sewer and stuff.
Randy Marsh is WAY too used to getting probed. He treats it like it's a minor inconvenience that pops up a few times a year.
And a lot of countries pointlessly censor scenes like this, which is dumb, because it's South Park. Forget countries' laws for censorship. It's just South Park. And it's just a silly video game.
Seriously, for example, in the Australian version of the game, there's a screenshot of a sad koala telling you that you can't see something funny, and some entire SECTIONS of the game are cut to appease some government's bad choices.
Then, there are all the Nazi zombies that start showing up in the game, so I don't even know how many countries butchered their versions of the game to deal with all of that audio and visual stuff.
…
Worst case scenario for canon:
Orihara's going to try to really hurt Nagatoro in their match and put her in a wheelchair. Maybe she'll get a lifetime ban from judo, not that she was doing anything with her life in the first place.
And if this happens, Naoto will stay with Nagatoro out of guilt and will be guilted further into marrying her but will eventually leave her when he gets tired of all the DRFs and travel the world in a hot air balloon.
…
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.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Gamo-chan continued to suck at the simplest form of hacky sack, though—
"Hey, Shuu-kun," she mentioned. "Paisen said there were all sorts of games you can play with a footbag. How 'bout we try something else? A different game?"
Currently the one juggling the bag, Shuu replied, "Sure, we could, but don't you wanna spend some more time just passing it around?"
She wasn't even close to being as good as TOHRU, never very good, not that Tohru would make a stink about it…
And Short-pai didn't, reasoning, "Shuu, it wouldn't hurt. She wants to try. Let's teach her one."
"You think?" Shuu kicked it towards him, who then directed it to Naoto.
Naoto wasn't against the idea, juggling it a few times and sending it back to Tohru. "How about some two-on-two, Shuu? You and Gamo-chan vs. Tohru and me, I figure."
This had Gamo-chan all but jumping with glee.
"Shuu-kun~, Shuu-kun~, Shuu-kun~!" she chanted. "You and me! Let's take out the trash~!"
"Hyuck~!" He blushed, smiling rather stupidly, a rather dynamite chick yet again wishing to pair up with him in something he was decent at.
Woot~!
Tohru, however, gave her a little grief, "Don't get ahead of yourself, Xena~. You're dealing with veterans, Nao-kun and me."
Having been passing the sack back and forth with Naoto during the last few sentences, he redirected it and sent Gamo-chan an easy-to-get pass, one that she missed.
"Crap!" she burst. "I keep missing those…"
"Don't sweat it," Tohru offered. "Remember, you can use any part of your body that's not your hands or forearms. Try catching it against your chest and dropping it to your foot or knee; it's sometimes better than scrambling for an awkward kick."
"Ooh~!" Gamo-chan snickered, hefting her boze. "But what if it ends up falling in the canyon~?"
She'd need to have her cleavage exposed for a chance at THAT, and her Maki-mountains—along with the valley between them—were nowadays hidden beneath a t-shirt…
Unfazed by her tasteless retort, Tohru watched the tall girl scoop the hacky sack out of the sand. "It's serious advice. Try it. When it's coming right at you, try doing that instead of backing up or turning around for it. You can use your shoulder, head, elbow, whatever."
The other two boys weren't overly impressed at the concept of a footbag lodging in the cleft of Gamo-chan's rack either, numbed from Wednesday's misadventures.
'Hopefully, she gives it up, that kinda comeback…' Naoto knew she could be more resourceful (and so did the other boys).
At the least, she seemed more and more comfortable among the guys, which was a positive thing…
Shuu said, turning to Gamo-chan, "Okay, a new game… Let's try something simple."
"Like what?" She dusted off the bag.
"We stand in a square of… let's say… two-and-a-half meters, diagonal from our partner, so I stand opposite you." Shuu made to move. "You stay where you are."
"Oh, this…" Tohru hopped into place.
Naoto did the same. "A good, old-fashioned game of 'Sets', huh?"
"Yup," Shuu said; he reattended Gamo-chan. "This game is pretty straightforward, Gamo-chan. They—Nao-kun and Tohru—don't interfere with you and me. We pass the bag between us, and you can contact the bag up to three times before you send it to me. I can contact it up to three times before sending it to you. It's like that for every pass.
"We see how many times we can pass it back and forth before one of us drops it or fails to pass it.
"Tohru and Nao-kun will do the same. Each time both teams finish passing the bag, that's a 'set'. We do a prearranged number of sets, and whichever team has the most successful passes at the end wins.
"Clear enough?"
Gamo-chan nodded. "Yeah~, let's try it."
Shuu addressed the boys, "What do you think? Four sets? Should be a quick game."
"Sure." "Cool." That was okay with Naoto and Tohru.
…
…
…
The game was surprisingly close and the scores even respectable, but Naoto and Tohru's experience trumped Shuu's skill and Gamo-chan's drive:
…
Naoto and Tohru vs. Shuu and Gamo-chan
Set 1: 7 – 5
Set 2: 3 – 7
Set 3: 6 – 1
Set 4: 4 – 3
Total: 20 – 16
…
The four made the very short trek back to their beachy outpost.
"I can't believe I friggin' dropped the bag on the third set—just like that…" Gamo-chan scolded herself. "Immediately!"
Shuu blew it off, "I tried giving you back something a little more difficult than I should've… That wasn't an easy pass."
"Sorry, man…" The Maki wasn't a fan of losing, end of the world or not.
"No, it's cool~." Shuu was satisfied, though he'd gone out of his way to save what he could of her errant kicks. "You did good~. I think we could beat 'em if we tried again. Tohru dropped a couple passes he should've gotten~."
Tohru made no excuse, conceding, "Yeah, I know…"
"Nao-kun!" Shuu hailed. "Remember that one time we scored 79, playing Tohru and his cousin~? Think we can ever beat that sort of spread again?"
Naoto took little joy in recapping it for Gamo-chan to hear. "I doubt it… we beat them by 64… six sets…"
Oh, the exasperation in his voice…
"Yeah, they only got 15~." Shuu wasn't the type to rub a nose in something, but he did so on occasion; he returned to the smallest senpai. "Your cousin talked a big game, Tohru~."
What was it that Tohru had done to Shuu…?!
"You know Eikichi's a blowhard…" Tohru wasn't going to be goaded, but he fast tired of the ridicule.
Maybe Shuu just got a big head—temporarily, of course, knowing that he and Gamo-chan probably COULD beat Naoto and Tohru in a fresh game, if they were all-business… and because Gamo-chan had SO wanted to be his partner~…
Regardless, it didn't matter much, and it was a stroke of good fortune that they'd returned to their gear, because each and every one of them saw their phones go off in a group-text.
*bzz! bzz!*
Gamo-chan reached hers first.
Opening it, she found, "Oh, it's Yoshi."
"What's she say?" Naoto wondered.
Gamo-chan read, "She got your message about where to go, but she's stuck in the sand. Edge of the boardwalk."
"And we missed her first message…" Tohru lamented, his own phone up. "She tried five minutes ago."
"Damn it… Nobody heard it…?" the Amazon fussed.
None of them had carried their phones out while knocking around the hacky sack…
"Well, let's go help her," Shuu advocated. "I'll go. Someone should stay with our stuff though."
There was no need for a volunteer to hold down the fort, because two others volunteered to go.
What kind of jerk volunteered for the easy job…?
"Let's go." "I'm in." Gamo-chan and Tohru had elected to assist before Naoto could open his mouth one way or the other, so he was posted as guard.
Not that he'd shirk helping the Yosh…
He just hoped Yoshi wasn't feeling abandoned or upset, being "ignored", caught in a rut somewhere.
…
…
…
Upon seeing the grill that Yoshi had dragged out for their later-in-the-day cook-out—not to mention the heavy bag of charcoal along for the ride, it was no mystery to Naoto how Twin-tails had gotten the narrow wheels of Gamo-chan's old Radio Flyer wagon lodged in the sand.
Bigger than a "portable" grill but without a rolling frame, it was a heavy, cumbersome thing, Gamo-chan carrying one end and Shuu the other.
They were followed by Yoshi and Tohru, pulling the mostly empty wagon and carrying the bag of brick, respectively.
Yoshi waved. "Sensei~!"
Naoto was thankful to see that she didn't look any worse for wear.
"G'morning, Yoshi-san…" he greeted. "Sorry we missed your first message."
"They already told me," Yoshi said of the other three; she considered the large appliance she'd hauled there. "It's okay. I just didn't think that'd be so hard…"
"Yeah…" Gamo-chan sounded a little bit Gamo-guilty. "It was my idea to use your family's grill instead of mine…"
"Bigger is better!" Yoshi trumpeted amnesty. "We'll need the surface area!"
"Even with this, I thought you'd be here sooner…" Gamo-chan observed.
Yoshi informed, "Mom wouldn't let me go until I ate the breakfast she'd made. She wouldn't take 'a senpai brought food' for an answer."
They quickly squared away the grilling supplies, ready to go about things.
"Yosh, you hear anything from Nekoba?" Gamo-chan asked. "I've heard from Sakura and Hanacchi but not her."
"Nope…" Yoshi negated. "Not a word."
Naoto contributed, "She messaged me, after I told her I got the umbrellas. She said she was about to get on her way. That was a while ago."
"That's good~," Gamo-chan expressed. "I thought she'd be, like, Hella early. Now, I think Sakura and Hanacchi will beat her here."
'What about Rabi-chan…?' Naoto hadn't heard another member of the group even mention her.
But he kept mum on the issue.
No matter, Gamo-chan addressed the group, "I wanna play another game of 'Sets'. Whaddaya say, everyone~?"
Shuu and Tohru were down for that. "Definitely." "Sure."
Gamo-chan caught herself, "Wait, there are five of us now… Shuu-kun, are there any games for five people?"
"Many," Shuu said.
Naoto shook his head. "I'm good for now. You all go play. I'm gonna sit."
"Back to four, I guess," Tohru measured.
"No biggie." Gamo-chan grinned. "Let's play~."
"Uh, what are you all talking about…?" Yoshi was perplexed.
Right, she'd just arrived…
Shuu pulled the hacky sack from his pocket, exhibiting it. "You ever play with a hacky sack, Yoshi-san? We've been playing a couple different things this morning. You up for a game~?"
Yoshi was thunderstruck. "…?!"
She froze.
Naoto had seen the look before. "…!"
"…?" Ironically, Gamo-chan was less familiar with it.
She and Tohru looked at one another. "…?" "…?"
"Uh… you okay?" Shuu asked Yoshi, a little concerned.
She'd been totally fine, up to that point…
Yoshi seemed to shrink, eye contact an impossibility, a tremble escaping, "Y-yeah… I'm okay, Shuu-kun…"
Her smile was there, but it was faltering and racked with nervousness.
'Oh, boy…' Naoto really recognized her demeanor.
Perhaps taking a note from the earlier experience with Gamo-chan, Shuu thought it best to leave Yoshi be.
"…?" He had his thoughts but would roll with things. "Okay, Yoshi-san… if you wanna play a little later, you're welcome to join… Maybe when the rest show up…"
"O-okay…" Yoshi assented, if it could be called such.
Shuu motioned to Gamo-chan and Tohru. "Let's go kick it around a little more. We can do a different game with three."
"…?" Naoto may have been the only one to witness Yoshi's sigh of relief, the attention of the others off of her.
Shuu definitely meant no alarm, reverting, "Yoshi-san?"
"Eep!" a squeak wasn't her favorite way to end a sigh of relief. "Y-yes?"
The intermediate/advanced footbagger wished her well, also wishing he better knew what better to say, "There's fruit and granola bars in the cooler. Help yourself. We'll be back in a bit."
The three hacky sackers went back out, definitely in sight and not quite out of earshot.
Yoshi appeared to relax, sinking to her duff, approximate to where Gamo-chan had sat a while ago.
Naoto considered things a moment.
Shuu had handled that pretty well… even giving Yoshi an out…
But now, he—Naoto—had to cope with Gamo-chan's faithful shadow. "…?"
She wasn't looking at him… or them… or anything for that matter.
"…" He head-computed the situation.
Superficially, she was sitting NOT UNLIKE Gamo-chan had been, on top of sitting WHERE the big girl had sat…
It was plain to him that the similarities ended there; there was less fidgeting, no squirming of toes in the sand, and no focused forlornness…
These had been replaced with more of a stock-still, eye-averting, focused-on-the-sand sweatiness…
"…" Naoto also supposed her… leg-hugging was more guarded than it had been with Gamo-chan.
Turning over another matter in his mind, he'd just heard Yoshi speak some complete sentences.
Unless she was properly explaining something or giving a detailed answer, she seemed to say as little as possible, regardless of circumstances…
"…!" In fact, he couldn't recall hearing a single complete sentence out of her, not when it was just the two of them, he and Yoshi.
It was another matter, messaging with her by phone…
Naoto wondered what that would be like, sitting next to her and texting her, side-by-side, just to have a proper conversation. "…"
Maybe he could whip out a couple of tiny chalkboards, and they could chat THAT way…
He was sure there was some shitty anime or manga series where a couple people that couldn't properly verbally communicate resorted to that, and he'd rather stick a screwdriver in his pee-hole than entertain such a story. 'Ouchies~!'
…
And why had Yoshi seized up like she had, refusing to play with Shuu and the others…?
Eyeballing her, Naoto tried doing the "math".
The first thing to enter his noggin was that she might've been fine if he'd joined in on the new hacky sack session, making for a quintet.
So… she WASN'T fine with being with Gamo-chan and the two boys, but she WOULD be fine with five people, despite the boys outnumbering the girls… because her "sensei" was there…?
"…" Naoto wasn't going to publish a paper on that.
But he was confident, whatever way, that she'd feel more at ease when more girls did arrive.
…
Then, there was still the matter of actually CHATTING with Yoshi…
Naoto knew that she'd not be as forthcoming as Gamo-chan, much less Sakura.
Chatting with Sakura and Gamo-chan weren't prerequisites to chatting with Yoshi; they weren't even in the same list of courses!
He realized that he couldn't be confrontational… and it was clear that he couldn't confront her at all, even gently. "…"
But she wasn't some little kid, and there was no reason to treat her as such…
She was just uneasy.
Even so, small-talk might not be substantial enough to crack the shell…
Naoto didn't need to talk about the weather; it was right there in front of them, and it was great!
A lead-in was probably necessary…
He'd go for it.
…
He retook her bearing. "…?"
An angle appeared…
"Uh, Yoshi-san, I'm getting something from the cooler," Naoto said. "Want anything? Shuu brought apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, granola…"
"I dunno…" she mumbled, no movement perceptible.
The dread she was giving off was so thick, Naoto thought he could see a cloud of the stuff.
"…" He considered adjusting his approach.
It was worth a try…
"Yoshi-san, would you like half of an orange?"
"Huh?"
"Half of an orange," he repeated. "I don't want a whole one right now."
"…Okay… half…"
"…~" Slightly heartened, Naoto sat close-ish to her and began rolling the orange between his palms.
Yoshi was invested enough to notice, and she perked, however faintly. "…?!"
"…?" Not startled by this, Naoto did catch her at it. "What is it?"
"…" She hadn't meant to grab his attention, but she had no place to hide either. "What you're doing with that orange… my dad does that too."
"…?!" He hadn't expected anything concrete; he was almost nonplussed, caught off-guard. "I… learned it from my dad."
"…" Yoshi was no longer stock-still, but she wasn't giving ground. "Oh."
"…" Naoto saw a new angle. "Do you do that too?"
It wasn't nothing…
To his surprise, Yoshi gave a bit of substance, "I know the 'trick' to peeling one… but I like to eat oranges in slices, cut in eighths…"
"Sure…" he accepted.
"…" She kept her gaze more his direction than forward. "It's my favorite way to eat them, but I'll take whatever's available… whatever's offered."
Naoto harkened back, beginning to pull off the rind, "…When I was a kid and had orange slices~… I'd put the whole slice in my mouth and pretend it was a mouthguard… You ever do that?"
"…Not that I remember…" Yoshi looked into the past. "My parents didn't like me playing with my food… so I never really did…"
That made sense…
For as much as Yoshi played and goofed around—and for as much as she ate, Naoto had never seen her play with her food, and she certainly never wasted it.
Eating was a pleasure… to be treated as a business… but it could exist the other way around too…
"…?!" Naoto tried to clear his mind of philosophical malarkey.
Something did occur to him though:
Gamo-chan hadn't known about the whole "massage an orange for easy peeling" exercise, but Yoshi DID…
It struck him to touch upon this, but it seemed like questionable territory, though it might explain why Gamo-chan didn't know… if Yoshi hadn't said anything.
"…" It beggared Naoto's imagination that Yoshi had never seen Gamo-chan eat an orange, considering the decade-and-change they'd been friends.
Did she watch Gamo-chan struggle with shucking oranges when she knew a secret…? Had she been afraid to say anything…?
As with the metaphysical bullshit, Naoto found this to be no more helpful.
For now, he'd just observe the Yosh. "…"
There was time, and eating gave an excuse to sit some more…
"Here, Yoshi-san." Naoto bisected the stripped fruit, giving her half. "I've already had some orange this morning. It's really good. Shuu found some good fruit for today."
"Thanks…" She took the sections, saying no more for the moment.
Trying his best to not seem a creep, he discreetly studied the oft rambunctious girl in twin-tails. "…"
It was odd seeing her like this, though it was by no means the first time…
There was the unforgettable occasion when he'd originally met her on her own, taking her mini dachshund on a walk through town.
She'd been at a loss, chancing upon Naoto alone…
It wasn't all that shocking to him.
Her antics almost universally followed Gamo-chan's.
He could count the number of times she'd done something troublesome on her own, to him or any other guy, on zero anything… not hands, fingers, feet, or toes.
It hadn't ever happened…
In fact, he could only think of two times she'd ever done something bothersome to him without Gamo-chan's encouragement, and that was when she followed Nagatoro's bullshit… or her example.
The first time, actually sitting down and meeting her, she'd tried to touch his hair, based on Nagatoro's nonsense…
The second time… that was when Yoshi tried putting her bare foot on his back, Nagatoro already applying his sunscreen in such a "loving" way… and Gamo-chan had STILL beaten Yoshi to it, Nagatoro distracted in trying to stop Yoshi from muscling in on her fun, and ALL THREE wound up dancing on him…
…
He didn't need to account for the times Yoshi had followed Sakura's, Nekoba's, or even Rabi-chan's tomfoolery because she never had, not that he'd seen.
And had HANA given Yoshi anything negative to adhere to…?
Naoto could give that an emphatic "no".
…
"Mmm~…" Yoshi expressed peaceably, having tried an orangish morsel. "This is good."
'Nice~!' Naoto would take this as a positive step. "Yup."
Normally, she might've yelled something more along the lines of, "Nice and sweet and juicy!", making a show of it…
But Naoto was fine with this too.
…
"…" With Yoshi engrossed in her snack, Naoto's thoughts returned to the less tangible.
WAS she more comfortable with just him than with Gamo-chan and two boys she barely knew…?
He wondered what could've led her to this possibility… and why she had issues with boys in the first place.
It might've been anything…
Jumping to the possible conclusion that she just lacked experience with those designated "XY" wasn't such a jump to Naoto.
That was an issue for him, a nearly lifelong lack of practical, positive experience with "XX".
But Yoshi usually had backup—in the form of Gamo-chan or some other girl, and that had probably afforded a lot of protection…
"…" Naoto often wished he'd had some backup, all the times the girls had shit on him… and all the shitters of the past too.
…
He wished he could "put into words" the idea that had just rolled up on his consciousness, shooting it full of bullet-holes.
He attempted it, and it went something like this:
Maybe Yoshi did feel alone at the idea of hanging out with Gamo-chan, Shuu, and Tohru together, because she was the odd one out.
Gamo-chan wouldn't be fully on Yoshi's… well, her SIDE, the Amazon comfortable enough to "hang with the boys", while Twin-tails suffered in that department…
…
Though, she might've been okay enough… if HE'D been involved…
…
"…!" Naoto was thinking himself inside out. 'Fuck it…'
Ruminating like an asshole wouldn't get anybody anywhere…
He just had to talk to Yoshi… to just treat her like a teenage girl—a friend—and stop worrying.
…
The problem was that Naoto wasn't sure what to talk about.
He'd stick with the notion that small-talk wouldn't cut it.
…
"…!" He was inkled (that word sounds messed up) with his latest inkling.
It BORDERED on small-talk, but it wasn't drivel…
"Enjoy the last couple days?" he asked.
Yoshi peered his way, a piece of orange poking from her mouth. "Mrmf?"
"…" Naoto could tell he hadn't freaked her out, so he'd stick with it. "It's been a few days since karaoke… Been good for you?"
"…" The orange percentage had been sucked in, and she'd made quick work, chewing it down; she swallowed it. "I've been spending time on my homework… and your workbooks. I think I said that I met with my parents' friend on Wednesday morning, and we're meeting again after lunch tomorrow to see where things are."
It had come out of her with some caution, but it had come~…!
"How are the workbooks treating you?" Naoto didn't wish to sound overly enthusiastic, but a part of him was enthusiastic.
Those books had really helped out three of his other kohai…
And he wanted Yoshi to do well, already proud of her very satisfactory performances in the exams on the "softer subjects" of Japanese, English, and social studies, not to mention her honest efforts in all of her classes.
Math and science had suffered, but…
That was the reason she'd asked him for copies of the workbooks, why she had elected to work at it.
This was even more reason to be proud…
Somewhat unexpectedly to Naoto, Yoshi did give him a detailed reply, "I haven't touched the ones Gamo-chan and Sakura worked on, but I've been spending a few hours a day on the stuff that Hanacchi did.
"I'm remembering how to do most of the first-year stuff properly, seeing it again, but some of it's hard. I'm getting where I made mistakes in the problems' steps on my exams. Some of my mistakes were dumb ones… but more of them were just because the tests were hard."
Naoto could've done without Yoshi's emphasis on "dumb ones", but he was pleased with her answer.
Were he still of a mind to test and probe her, as opposed to just talking, he'd have been thrilled, but he was glad nonetheless, just hearing that she was benefiting.
"Yeah… it sucks, seeing where you messed up…" he said candidly. "But as long as you're learning more… working through it all… that's good~."
Yoshi didn't grumble, but she kind of did, talking around a new chunk of citrus, "Could we not talk about school…? I think it's going good, but I need a break from it…"
"I hear you." This didn't discourage Naoto. "I guess I feel that way too."
"…" She wasn't resisting.
He popped more fruit in his own mouth. "You been able to walk your dog the last week? I guess it hasn't been too hot, but… I dunno…"
"Oh, Bertie…?" Yoshi returned with a little more consequence. "It… isn't too hot for her, as long as I take her out earlier in the day."
Naoto pondered, "I suppose her long coat doesn't help."
"We had her shaved this year, so she's okay," Yoshi said.
"You did?" He tried picturing the little wiener-dog, missing about half of her apparent mass. "I bet that looked kinda funny~."
Things took a hop…
"She looked at us like she hated us~!" Yoshi larked. "After they finished shaving her, they washed her up; we could see her in the tub, and she didn't look at us nicely!"
'Sweet!' Naoto had hit paydirt. "Got any pictures?"
It was worth asking…
Yoshi whipped out her phone. "Yeah~! Lots!"
He watched as she scrolled through.
"Whoa…" he chuckled. "She looks all small now…"
"Smaller than normal!" Yoshi piped.
…
"Aw, damn it!" a Maki-ish voice sounded, pulling Naoto's and Yoshi's heads from their corresponding bums.
…
Senpai and kohai sat up at the blast of condemnation. "…!" "…!"
From what Naoto could tell, Gamo-chan had let another easy pass get away, but a laughing Shuu and a more serious Tohru gave her some friendly guidance.
Naoto couldn't have asked for more than that. "…~"
"Looks like they're having fun…" Yoshi said quietly, off to Naoto's side.
"…!" He flinched, despite the softness of her interjection.
Yoshi in the end had eyes on the three playing before them. "…"
Naoto didn't want to think too hard, but it was something he typically did.
"…?" He wished to find a way to…
Would Yoshi level out—and jump in as well—if HE joined in on the game they were watching…?
She kept the game in her sights. "…"
"…" Naoto had been hesitant to do it, but…
She and Gamo-chan HAD been through a lot together…
"Have you ever played with a hacky sack, Yoshi-san?" he questioned.
She shook her head. "No."
"Yeah…" he said. "Gamo-chan told me earlier she never had either."
"…She did?" Yoshi furnished.
"She told me that the boys who played hacky sack in your school when you were younger never let girls play."
"…" She was vigilant. "Yeah… they never did. They never let us play any games with them, really…"
"I bet that pissed off Gamo-chan…" Naoto figured.
She probably could've whipped their asses too…
Yoshi didn't seem very receptive. "…She was… sometimes… And I dunno why, but not a single girl seemed to own a hacky sack of her own…"
"…?"
"…"
Naoto was pulling mud, he found, and he didn't know what to make of "sometimes".
This wasn't accomplishing much…
He abandoned skirting the issue. "If you wanna try it out, Yoshi-san, we could pass one back and forth a little while, until you wanna join everyone else. Shuu brought, I think, four bags, so we have plenty."
He hated how antsy his voice sounded.
"Don't worry, Sensei…" Yoshi said. "I'm okay."
"Huh?" Naoto managed to keep level. "What?"
"It's fine, Sensei," she followed up. "I wanna play, but… I want more people here first."
Instead of trying to wrap his mind around this, fretting over this and that, or specifying her anxiety, or if she simply couldn't stand the idea of practicing alone with him, or if she truly was "fine", he wasn't going to piss away an easy out.
Especially when her words were believed to be true…
"Sure…" He would push rope no further. "Sakura-san, Sunomiya, and Nekoba should be here soon."
Yoshi added, "Rabi-chan too."
"What?" Maybe Naoto had heard wrong.
"Rabi-chan too," she reiterated. "I texted with her earlier. She should be here in an hour."
"…" Naoto might've crapped himself over—of all people—Yoshi bringing up Rabi-chan, but he was put at ease before any loaves were pinched.
She was smiling…
"It'll be okay, Sensei…" she held. "Don't worry…"
"…?!" It was against his nature not to worry.
What was going on…?
Naoto's imagination took over.
Had Gamo-chan told Yoshi about Rabi-chan's apology too…?
His imagination stepped up.
Were the girls plotting some sort of revenge…?!
His imagination ran wild.
Did the girls have something awful waiting for Rabi-chan…?!
…
But Naoto quickly shook himself loose of all that tripe.
Yoshi meant what she'd said…
He could tell, and he accepted it.
It would've been another easy out, taking it at face value…
Be that as it may, he didn't have to take the easy way… or rather, steal it.
Yoshi had offered it…
And his heart told him to just go with it.
The heart was more trustworthy than the balls…
This would have to be good enough, his brain and gut failing him at this juncture.
…
"Uh, you sure you don't wanna try out the hacky sack?" Naoto left the concerns of the last moments in the rearview. "Yoshi-san?"
"Yes," she said firmly, her words in rapid succession. "Sure, I'm sure. Later."
There was her far more familiar cadence…!
"Gotcha." He backed off.
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading!
Questions and comments are welcome!