Cherry Blossom Palette: Summer by the Sea
Chapter 45: Sunblock Shenanigans (Post-catastrophe)
Sunshine Arc
Written by EmtenDew
Edited by P. serrulata
Author's note:
ED:What will befall our heroes today?!
Worries and regrets!
A longer chapter to close out "Shenanigans"!
I'm happy to say that the story is flowing more easily than it has been recently, which is good, because I really want to get into the next arc.
…
A certain awful website is back up after the "enemies of the lulz" tried tearing it down again, and my editor seems pleased about it.
…
More of my thoughts on the Pokémon anime:
Besides one or two plot points being concluded, we could've done without Journeys entirely. I checked out a handful of episodes, like the ones with Hatenna, Lillie's character arc, and Ash (and the audience) missing seeing his drifter of a father by minutes. I heard that Hatenna's evolved forms could be real jerks, but WOW, were they nasty in that episode.
The ending of Sun & Moon was great and could've otherwise concluded the whole shebang, considering that the best Pokémon professor couple had a bun in the oven. Two great characters, wedding rings on, relaxing on their porch and rubbing their baby bump was a magical moment. Dubbed: "As the dream continues."
Horizons continues to be good. I finally succumbed and just started watching the subs, so I'm caught up with the newest episodes. I still like the dub, if only because I have about 24 years of watching it in my history.
Episodes 38 and 39 were really cute. Liko's Hatenna shines (and the airship acquires a rodent problem), and Dot the human makes a new friend.
Speaking of Liko, on top of her backpack, I wonder if she ever gets tired, constantly carrying a legendary Pokémon in the second bag over her shoulder. It doesn't weigh MUCH, but it has to be exhausting, 15 lb. extra. New parents (and young aunts like me) are in for a surprise when they need to start carrying around babies and small children constantly.
Then again, Liko stopped carrying Sprigatito when she evolved, though she gained the "legendary burden" immediately after, so maybe it "comes out in the wash".
On top of that, Liko has Hatenna, essentially an 8 lb. bowling ball, riding in her hoodie. Seriously, imagine one of those kids' bowling balls you see at a bowling alley constantly hanging in the hood of your sweatshirt, choking you all the time.
Yikes!
Speaking of Hatenna~, the newest episode was another great Hatenna based episode. She's a courageous little soldier! Truly, if she had balls, she'd look like Randy Marsh in that one episode of South Park where he gave himself testicular cancer on purpose, just so he could smoke "medicinal" marijuana.
…
New canon 151—
Naoto is a STOOGE! A SUCKER!
He should've turned around and walked instead of playing the siblings' cruel game and told them to go screw. They will never take him seriously, and it'll always be a game to them, even their sister's "happiness". They're not entrusting him with their sister. To them, he's just proven himself to be an inoffensive toy she and they can torment indefinitely. That's all he is to them.
Neither of them would raise a finger or give a crap if/when Nagatoro hurts him for any reason or gets him to cry again, but they seem to give a crap about HER being upset for no good reason. Naoto has nothing he has to prove to the likes of them, and he should know that. Giving that worthless POS Taiga the opportunity to lay hands on him was moronic. Got punched for no reason. Big bro and sis would think nothing of breaking all of Naoto's fingers.
Naoto didn't go looking for Nagatoro to possibly get beat up by some mentally abusive, probable chomo with a bad haircut and his nasty sister-wife. He went there to lick boot and take the blame over something that was hardly his fault. That Naoto considers what he did to be a full-blown, terrible and unforgivable lie shows that he has no respect for himself and is unwilling to set boundaries. Him showing a tiny bit of backbone didn't make up for the suck.
Nobody is on Naoto's side, not that anyone should take sides. It's better to say that no one even gives an iota about Naoto's side of the story. They don't care at all about everything he's gone through. They don't even pretend to care. Nobody is holding Nagatoro accountable for much of anything, and it's disgusting to drop everything solely on Naoto.
Nanashi again shows that he doesn't know how humans actually tick.
Please get better or end it soon, pornographer, the latter of which is closer at hand than I thought.
…
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
"Yah… I'm sorry, Senpai-kun…" Sakura articulated. "I wouldn't have really started yelling out loud again."
He nodded. "Yeah… I guess I knew that. I was just kinda panicking… not thinking."
"Hmm…" she acknowledged.
He continued, "Sorry about all that… freaking you out back there… I shouldn't have messed with you… or surprised you with rubbing your back."
"Oh, it's really not that big a deal~," Sakura ho-hummed. "It's mostly that you just startled me a little the first time, so it kinda pissed me off a minute…"
"…Yeah…" he hesitantly let fall.
"But…" she chunnered. "I'm kinda stunned you can actually give a proper back massage~…"
Naoto risked a glance at the gal. "…"
At least her normal color was back…
He suspected his own was too, in the face.
Prior to their "escape" from the cluster of couples, following Hana's and Nekoba's "ambush", he'd never seen Sakura so red, and his color couldn't have been any better.
"…"
"…"
And if only they'd grabbed their sandals, upon leaving the main group to hang out alone and do "sunscreen stuff"…
Some portions of sand crossed in their little exodus in the full-sun had been scorching on the soles of their feet.
Thankfully, there had only been a few such inescapable patches…
At present, the two of them were hunkered down in the shade, under a far-off section of the city's retaining wall, separating the boardwalk from the beach.
Nice and cool, sitting on the blanket, it was good to stretch out the legs…
And Sakura was good for this, opening her whole body in a nice arch~.
"Mm~!" She gave a satisfied gurgle, settling into crossed ankles.
Naoto was slightly encouraged, blissful Sakura noises usually a positive sign. "…!"
Even so, she maundered over their recent shenanigans.
"Back there, that was… pretty bad…" she flustered.
Surprising himself, Naoto sputtered a little laugh, "Oh, I can't believe Sunomiya and Nekoba…"
With the ordeal over, it just seemed so stupid, all there WAS to do was laugh…
"I can't believe me…" Sakura focused.
Naoto didn't wish for her to punish herself. "Aw, it was pretty funny, Sakura-san. I mean, you were just having fun. …We were just having fun…"
"…" All the same, she felt she'd gone overboard.
He wouldn't contend with that rationale but wished to keep things more chill. "…"
Predictably, both were feeling a skosh awkward, their earlier nonsense interrupted by two of the more puritanical amongst the girls in their circle, and both girls had taken something of a departure from the straightlaced, having fun with the situation and causing some substantial mortification.
Slightly surreal but very tangible, what was done was done…
"Ah, whatever…" Sakura grumbled. "Here, gimme your sunblock."
"O-oh, okay…" Naoto gave it over.
"Your back," she instructed.
He shifted to allow her in. "Right…"
"…" Sakura began to apply the promised second coat.
"…" Naoto let her work.
"…"
"…"
What was there to talk about?
"…" Sakura seemed intent on working, moving onto Naoto's lumbar-region, having hit his arms and shoulders.
He was willing to take a stab at it.
He might've done better than, "So, uh… what do you think Sunomiya and Nekoba ended up saying to everyone?"
Immediately, he did realize there were a thousand better questions to ask.
"…" Sakura just kept rubbing in the sunblock.
"…" Naoto was positive she'd heard him.
It didn't bode well…
Despite her apparent lack of reception (and the most unfortunate time to ponder it), there was something that had been bothering him.
"You waited a long time to cut in back there, Sakura-san…" he commented. "When Gamo-chan was about to cuss out Rabi-chan?"
It was only then he remembered Sakura's penchant for pinchy fingers.
Whoops~!
"…" Sakura was ready to make him regret his last couple of utterances, but she decided to not nip the skin over his left tricep.
It was getting too slippery for a good grip anyway…
"I wanted to see how far it'd go, y'see, before it got bad," she defended.
Naoto bobbed his head, grateful to be out of the woods for the moment. "Well, you cut it close."
"Naw…" she denied. "They say 'fuck you' to each other—often in jest or rarely in anger—as commonly as I call you 'Asshole-kun'—but always out of affection for you, buddy~, so it only happens a few times a week."
"…" Naoto focused on the sand. "I see…"
And he wasn't miserable to hear that~.
"The thing is…" Sakura continued kneading the lotion into his back. "I'd seen enough, so I stopped them."
"Enough for what?" He turned his head slightly, one eye contacting hers.
She turned his cranium back to center, as she had on Thursday. "Just to see if there was something else."
How mysterious…
Naoto let her keep it that way. "…"
"As for the other thing you wanted to know, don't worry about Hana-chan and Nekoba," she expressed. "I hope they didn't say anything (or at least didn't exaggerate), but we weren't doing anything wrong~. It's prolly gonna be awkward as Hell, but we'll be okay."
"Th-that's good…" Naoto was pleased to say. "I'm sure you're right."
"However, since you're dredging up the most recent past~…" Sakura snickered.
He shrank. "Uh-oh…"
"Just how big of a kick did you get out of Rabi-chan's routine~?"
"Ack!" He'd gotten something out of it~.
Sakura prodded, "We did cover your ogling, but we didn't talk about how enjoyable it was for you~."
"…!"
"But~… I won't hold it against you, one way or another. Like I said, it was more than just you and your boys gawking at her. We all were."
"…Yeah…"
"Still~… did you see the faces on some of our neighbors back at camp, when Rabi-chan was shaking things up~?"
"Heh… Yeah… I did."
"I tell you though… I'm kinda surprised about Tohru-kun, just going all slack-jawed and junk~. Unlike Shuu-kun (and you~), he's not nearly as see-through."
Tohru hadn't LITERALLY gone slack-jawed…
But Naoto understood her implication, Tohru dropping his guard. "He's usually a lot more careful about that kind of thing."
"Yeah, I can tell~…"
"…~"
"…~"
"…~"
"There you go, buddy~." Sakura gave a firm pat to his back, passing him his sunblock. "All done."
Naoto thanked her, "I appreciate it."
"You're most welcome, Senpai-kun~," she said. "And thanks for the same."
"Sure."
"I know I'm good for sunscreen, at least in back," she chuckled softly. "You pretty much ended up giving me three coats of the stuff."
"Think I'll get the rest of me again," Naoto reasoned, brandishing his sunscreen.
She reasoned alike, "Samesies~."
He popped open his bottle, just as she was.
The smell of her SPF hit him, and he recommitted, "That stuff of yours does really smell a lot nicer than mine."
"Wanna try it?" she asked, already working on her arms.
"Naw, but thanks… I wanna stick to at least SPF 30."
"Yeah, I get that…"
"…" *Nao-rubba-rubba*
*Saku-rubba-rubba* "…"
"…"
"…"
Naoto voiced, "Hey, uh… Sakura-san?"
"What's up~?" she responded brightly.
"…About Tohru…" he voiced, 'screening himself.
Sakura countered, smelling of fruit, rather than a repurposed meth-lab, "About how he's interested in Rabi-chan?"
"…!" Naoto hadn't expected her to go straight for the throat. "Yeah, that."
"He's definitely interested in her, Senpai-kun."
"He's said a few things about her in the past, but he never gave us any reason to think anything of it."
"You're wondering why he likes her, right?"
"Not really…"
"Rabi-chan actually has a lot to like about her… even things to admire. You might be surprised."
"I never doubted there was a reason for it."
"I'm not surprised Tohru-kun's interested in her. They're both pretty smart… and they can both be sorta cantankerous, can't they~…?"
"They can have the same sort of attitude."
"Not to mention, Rabi-chan and Tohru-kun are the same height." Sakura stuck her tongue out. "That must help~."
Naoto snorted, "Pfft… Yeah, it probably doesn't hurt."
"…~"
Unfortunately, another matter lingered…
"But I'm kinda worried about Gamo-chan…" Naoto shared.
Sakura leveled off. "What do you mean?"
It could've been one of SEVERAL issues…
"Did you see the look on her face?" He was regretting saying so much, but around Sakura, it just happened on occasion. "After Rabi-chan showed off?"
"Uh… no…" she returned. "I can't imagine it was a nice look though."
While throwing around words like "jealousy" might've been risky…
Naoto mused, "Why would Rabi-chan provoke Gamo-chan so soon?"
"I doubt it was meant just for Gamo-chan," Sakura figured.
It stuck in his craw. "I'm not so sure."
"I'm fairly certain it was for all of us… though with a strong focus, to be certain" she decided. "It's just Rabi-chan showing she's got it too."
Three guesses what "it" was~…
Naoto ventured, "You think?"
"If it's personal or becomes that, other things will manifest," was Sakura's retort. "Depends on intent too…"
"…?" Naoto blinked. "Okay… if intentional and personal?"
"They might show up anyway. There's some lingering bad feelings between them, Senpai-kun… prolly going back further than we think. Gamo-chan and Rabi-chan have always had a tense relationship, ever since they met, even if they do normally get along."
"Oh…"
"Plus, it's not like Gamo-chan hasn't shown up Rabi-chan a few times."
"How?" Naoto asked, barely thinking about the fact he shouldn't.
"You… don't really need to know, but it's girlish things… amongst girls. But Rabi-chan crossed a line, attacking Gamo-chan in front of boys. Regardless, it's still a two-way, them pushing each other."
"…"
"…"
"…" While Naoto had thought about it plenty, he'd not yet concluded.
Might as well…
"Sakura-san?" he spoke up.
"Buddy?"
"Why do you think Gamo-chan and Rabi-chan are jealous of each other?"
"Oh-ho~…" Sakura simpered, channeling Yoda. "Been meditating on it, have you? Mm-hmm-hmm~…"
Flashes of Gamo-chan telling him how Rabi-chan had cried to her, admitting she was jealous of the big girl, ran through his head.
He prayed he wouldn't have to answer for it. "…!"
However, Sakura wasn't that bloodthirsty.
"Oh, I think you prolly have an idea," she offered. "Rabi-chan can offer things that Gamo-chan can't, just like the reverse. That's what I think."
Naoto was grateful for the lack of savagery. "I guess that's about what I was thinking too."
"I think we could drop it in the category of 'know', rather than 'think', what do you say?"
"I guess everyone's like that."
"Everyone pretty much wants the same things, Senpai-kun, deep down."
"Yeah…"
"…"
"…"
Sakura moved, "Though… speaking of jealousy~…"
"Y-yeah…?" Naoto wasn't keen on her tone.
"…~" She took in his aspect.
He tried to keep it together. "…!"
She decided he could take it. "Earlier, you said you were jealous of Shuu-kun…"
"…!" Naoto squirmed. "I wasn't even sure I said that out loud."
"Oh, you did~." Sakura stared at her toesies, waggling her footsies. "Just not very loudly."
"Mrmbl…" Naoto festered, trying to not stare.
"Don't worry about Shuu-kun…" she bolstered. "Shuu-kun is Shuu-kun, and you're Naoto Hachioji—my Senpai-kun and dearest good buddy, good pal o' mine~…"
"…!" He could still be knocked for a loop, hearing that.
"You're alright the way you are, so don't lose your mind or any sleep over it…" Sakura adjusted her posture. "Yeah, you got some stuff you can improve upon, but everybody does…"
"Uh…"
"Don't sell yourself short buddy…" she finished. "You're doing fine~…"
Naoto wasn't exactly sure of all she meant, but it did ease his mind.
"Thanks, Sakura-san…" he respired. "I'll think about that…"
"Good to hear~…"
"…~"
"But… hey," Sakura rejoined. "Since we're putting a few things out in the open, I guess there's something you oughta know~."
"Do I…?" Naoto fussed.
She nodded. "Oh, defs, it's something good~."
"…Okay."
"Hey, stop frettin', you~. I just wanna tell you how happy Nekoba was about you checking her out earlier today."
'Oof!' Naoto was hoping to avoid that subject, but he decided to play ball. "Do you have to put it that way…?"
"Well, that is the common parlance~."
"I did know she was happy. We've talked today."
"It's a shame that Gamo-chan and Yoshi went after you like that, though it was in mostly good fun… though they might've been a jiff envious too~…"
"Bleh…" Naoto could've done without being chased like some prey-animal.
"Don't sound so glum, Senpai-kun. You really made Nekoba happy, and that's a good thing~."
"Turns out she knows about last time too…" he grumbled, more set on the negative.
"That's not too surprising that she caught you~." Sakura drummed her fingers at her side. "I mean, you were being pretty obvious."
"Nekoba didn't know," Naoto corrected. "But someone told her…"
"I definitely saw you scoping her out, but it wasn't me~…"
"…? Then who?"
Sakura shook her head. "I dunno who did it—I don't give a crap either, but you can bet your left nut it wasn't Hayacchi."
"I'm sure it wasn't."
"Oh, she was pissed…" She almost sounded amused at this. "What's more, I'll bet my right nippage it wasn't Hayacchi who told her. And you know I'm serious, 'cause the right's my favorite one~."
"Geez, Sakura-san!" Naoto sprayed. "Don't say things like that!"
"Tee-hee~…"
He wouldn't allow mild obscenities to halt his endeavor. "Gamo-chan wasn't there… so unless someone told her, she couldn't have told Nekoba…"
Sakura allowed, "I don't really think it's her style anyway—Gamo-chan telling her something like that…"
"It was Yoshi-san then," Naoto held she must've been the rat-fuck.
The gal advised, "Let it go, 'kun of the hole of the ass'."
"Right…" He wasn't sure why he got swept up.
It really didn't matter…
Sakura did come out with, "Listen, I'm sorry if her knowing caused you any serious embarrassment, but… I'm glad Nekoba knows."
"…Hmm?" Naoto's ears must've needed cleaning.
Sakura whirred, "Nekoba is pretty—you used the term 'striking'~, and she knows she's good-looking, but… she never gets to hear it very much… and maybe never from a guy."
"…!" It was probably impossible for Naoto to know tranquility; he may as well have had a couch spring stuck up his posterior vent.
The blonde crooned, "It just think it really means a lot to her~…"
"…" Naoto, by some means slipping the surly bounds of vigilance, was hoping Sakura wouldn't begin citing a list of all the unkind things people said about Nekoba, whether they liked the girl or not or whether they were true or not.
…
Not very impressive boob-wise…
Kind of on the tall side…
Lousy at just about all sports and not very athletic…
Only average academically…
Abounding with crazy religious beliefs and weird perspectives…
A set of crossed-eyes, fit to be in the circus…
…
Naoto didn't like it.
He definitely wasn't interested in Nekoba beyond her being a friend in the circle of girls, but he thought all of those things helped make her rather interesting.
…
All girls were unique, and each had her own brand of attractiveness…
Nobody worthy of living trashed a person merely over athletic ability…
Academics only mattered so much…
A devoted and positive reverence was far better than the lack of it…
Normalcy was almost universally boring…
And… Hell, strabismus was a turn-on for some folks~…
…
"Senpai-kun?" Sakura hailed.
Naoto perked. "Uh, yeah?"
"You hear what I said…?" She had a frostiness about her.
He could only say, "Sorry… I was thinking…"
"About what?"
"…" He had trouble putting it into words. "I'm not sure how to say it."
"Has that ever stopped you~?" She instantly warmed. "We've always worked through it. Tell me, what were you thinking?"
He really didn't want to, but it wasn't exactly a leap either, considering all he and the gal had been through.
On top of everything else, once a man can talk with a woman for 45 minutes on the phone, never tiring of it, something had transformed in him…
"…About Nekoba," Naoto stepped into the breach with great vagueness, turning red all over again. "That… and…"
She appeared pleased but sneered nonetheless, her own cheeks turning a shade of rose. "Yeah~? What else were you thinking?"
'Does she know…? Or is she messing with me…?' Naoto couldn't know for certain. "I guess it's kind of dumb. When you were talking back there, I thought for some reason—I don't know why—that you were gonna list off the mean things people say about Nekoba… So, I started listing things I like about her… why I think she's a pretty cool girl…"
His face crimsoned as he spoke, but at least he forced it out.
"A list of the mean things people say…?" Sakura displayed a strange combination of touched and hurt. "Why would I do that…?"
"I said I don't know… I'm guessing I picked it up in a manga or something," he said. "Sorry."
Sakura went all-in, "No, you don't have to apologize, Senpai-kun. I'd be lying if I said that sort of thing hadn't crossed my mind, just then… making a list."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…" Sakura stirred. "Y'know, this has gotten way too serious…"
"Huh?" Naoto straightened.
"But… man, calling Nekoba 'cool'~…" Sakura pulled them from the doldrums, "That's a lot more than you said about her when you were ranking us girls in our swimsuits~."
"Yikes!" Naoto exclaimed. "Sakura-san! What?!"
Whatever it was, she was rolling, "And since things seem to be moving in that direction, let's move onto something more fun~."
Was this entrapment~?
Naoto shat, "Don't tell me—"
"That's right~!" Sakura proved him right. "New swimsuit ranking! Based on today!"
"Uh…" His pants had seen better days.
Getting in his face, Sakura held an imaginary microphone at her chin, and she did a fair imitation of an auto racing commentator, "Truly a sight to behold! A senpai, put to the ropes by a gyaru~!"
"Wh-what?!" He forgot all about his shitty swim trunks.
"It's a spectacle!" she trilled. "An audacious attack! The crowd balloons with anticipation~!"
"Ack!" Naoto cried. "What are you doing?!"
"I'm pretending to be a motorsports reporter~! I saw it is some old movie!"
"Why…?!"
"What say you, young Mr. Hachioji?" Sakura miked him. "How has the hottie hierarchy shifted, in such times of 'holy shit, look at that swimsuit'~?!"
"…" Caught up in and stupefied with the silliness, he drifted along.
…
The initial ranking—first to last—had been as follows:
Sakura/Gamo-chan
Nekoba
Nagatoro
Yoshi
…
This day, however, added Hana and Rabi-chan to the mix… and subtracted Nagatoro…
Naoto had ruminated earlier, and if he remembered correctly, he'd narrowly placed Nekoba over Sakura.
That's what he'd told Shuu and Tohru, not that the sequence was inelastic…
And he'd placed Hana somewhere after Sakura and Nekoba.
He also had to account for Rabi-chan, whom he had accounted for, and she'd stunned him and pretty much jumbled herself into a three-way photo-finish with Sakura and Nekoba.
…Since Nagatoro wasn't there… and Gamo-chan was disappointing them with her "shell", regardless of whatever lay underneath, then…
Also, he thought Yoshi was better sans frills, so that improved her stats.
…
"…" Naoto mulled it over. "O-okay… If I just include who's here today, then…"
"I can't believe it!" Sakura trumpeted, not leaving her commentator's persona. "He's actually answering me~! Will he answer from loser to champion?! If he knows what's good for him, he will~."
What the heck was she trying to prove with this goofballery?!
Nevertheless, Naoto knew what was good for him.
And he'd humor/get sucked into Sakura's lunacy. "Okay… last to first…"
"I'm on pins-and-needles, folks~!" she announced. "And if he misplaces Hana-chan, I foresee a crash worthy of the annals of history! Or possibly just a pinch on the arm~!"
What was this about misplacing Hana?!
"…!" Suddenly, Naoto was struck by an idea.
Sakura saw the change in him. "Hmm?"
There was no way he could imitate a correspondent the way she was, but he could still turn the tables.
"How about… you guess the list?" he proposed.
She twitched. "What?"
"There are six of you here," he laid out. "Guess."
Sakura didn't quit the acting. "My goodness, fans, a reversal! The prey has become the predator, and—"
"Sakura-san, that's enough~," Naoto laughed, finally catching a break for himself. "You wanted to try last time, so… try now."
"Okay~…" she churned. "You asked for it~.
'We'll see…' he silently challenged.
"I think I might have a pretty good idea~," she touted. "But instead of doing it right now, I'm gonna take a little time with it… think on it a little bit~…"
"…!" Naoto had been ready to just get it over with. "You wanna wait?"
"I'm not waiting~…" she hooted. "I'm just taking my sweet time about it."
Not that he had much choice, "…If that's what you wanna do…"
"I do wanna do~." She preened. "What should the stakes be?"
Naoto's brain farted. "The 'stakes'?"
"Yeah~! If it's a game, we need a winner and a loser~…" Sakura winked. "And a prize and punishment~."
"…!" Naoto's senses leapt. "…~"
For some reason, this was getting… a little exciting~…
"You're on, Sakura-san~…" He fell into it. "You wanna dictate terms?"
"Very well…" she initiated. "When I do tell you, I'll list off the names, and I'll try to not weasel anything out of you this time. And at the end, you can tell me if I'm right or not. If I'm wrong, you can explain it to me at your leisure—if you wish~, but if I'm correct on all counts, then what am I to do with you?"
"What if you lose?" Naoto defied. "Don't you need to have a punishment for yourself too, Sakura-san?"
"I was getting to that~!" she fired back, grimacing good-humoredly. "I barely get one sentence out, and you start yapping? Isn't it normal for the one decreeing to mention their potentially winning first~?"
Seeing he'd jumped the gun, "Sorry… and I suppose it's more a matter of personal preference than 'normal' or not."
"Well, I'd prefer it this way… this time~," Sakura flaunted. "But I guess I can make an exception…"
"You don't have to." Naoto hadn't meant to make waves.
She shook her head. "Naw, it's fine. Actually, it works better this way."
"…Okay."
"So…" She narrowed her gaze. "If I lose, then…"
"…?"
She vowed, "If I lose~… I'll give you a back massage."
"…?!" Naoto juked. "What?! Really?"
"Really, really~…"
"…!" That didn't seem so bad to him. "Okay."
Naoto progress!
"Great~!" Sakura squeed. "But if you lose~…"
Uh-oh!
"Wh-what…?" *Naoto heart-palpitations*
Naoto regression~!
"Then—"
*ring, ring*
But what's this~?
"…!"
"…!"
*ring, ring*
How inopportune~!
"Oh, it's my phone," Sakura grasped.
She pulled it from her pocket.
"You have your phone?" Naoto had no idea she'd been phoned-up, not the whole time they'd been hanging out.
She hadn't left it in "camp", as he'd done with his own?
Sakura smirked. "Well, yeah, why do you think I sewed a pocket into the new sarong I bought yesterday?"
'For sunscreen?' He judged a phone a more likely purpose for most girls. "Makes sense…"
"I gotta take this," she said, taking no ire with the sudden call. "Sorry, bud."
Naoto was quick to say, "H-hey, no sweat…"
Gifting him a little smile, Sakura opened her phone.
"Hey, Mom, what's going on?" she answered. "You doing okay~?"
'Mrs. Inori?!' Naoto's head went 'splody. "…!"
Sakura frowned. "Ehhhh? You're working the shop? You were supposed to have the weekend off!"
…
At first, Naoto just wished to space out. "…"
…
"Aww, Mrs. Tsukamoto had her baby this morning~?! Wow~!"
…
But… Naoto…
…
"Yeah~, good, good, good…" Sakura beamed into space. "That's great to hear~."
…
"…!" He… saw something.
…
"I'm… not sure what time we plan to leave. We're gonna have grill-out for dinner. Did you need something?"
…
It took him a few seconds to comprehend just what it was.
…
"Oh, alright~… Just thought I'd ask. The shop's not really out of the way or anything."
…
"…!" He knew what it was.
…
"I'm pretty sure Daddy and Yoichi can manage without us~. The fridge abounds with leftovers."
…
"…" He'd seen it before, with her father.
…
"Yeah, I'm still spending the night at Hana-chan's~," she gleamed. "I'll swing by the house to grab some fresh clothes… and my school uniform and schoolwork. We're gonna meet with Senpai-kun in the art room again in the morning and work for a few hours."
…
"…~" It was nice enough for Naoto to hear Sakura and Hana were having a sleepover, news to him.
Still, what knocked him for an even bigger loop was this:
He'd never seen someone light up quite like Sakura had, hanging on her father's arm, out on their daddy/daughter date the previous fall.
…
"Yep, and thanks so much for finishing up the laundry for me, Mom~. It was still running when I left this morning. I wouldn't have a clean uniform otherwise."
…
It was plain to him that Sakura had the same kind of love for her mother. "…~"
…
"Hey, I told you I'll be done with all that homework well before the new semester starts… Nobody wants that junk hanging over them the last week of summer vacation. We're not gonna just be screwing around or anything. We got the 'study buddy' thing down pat~."
…
The blonde was shining.
…
"Yeah, I'm prolly just gonna shower up at Hana-chan's place. If I get comfy at home, I might never wanna leave~. You know how that goes…"
…
'That sounds like you, Sakura-san~…'
…
"Oh, just chatting with Senpai-kun~…"
…
"…?!" He staggered internally, his moniker sounded off.
…
"Mm-hmm, he's fine~."
…
'What's happening?!' He floundered.
…
"Yeah, it's just us~…"
…
He pooted, 'You'd tell her that?!'
…
"Meh, some of the girls were giving him some unnecessary grief, so we slunk off to hang out for a while."
…
'Did you just say "slunk off"?!' He knew she just had; he just couldn't believe it.
…
"Yeppers, and we'll prolly wanna slink back before long. We just haven't had much time to hang out with just us, not since finals."
…
'What else have you told your mom?!'
…
"Oh~?!" Sakura squeaked. "Sure, I'll tell him~."
Naoto's spine tingled as she turned his way. "Huh?!"
"Oh, Mom says 'hello'~," she radiated.
'Ack!' he scrambled. "U-uh, tell her I say the same."
The gal chirped through the phone, "Senpai-kun says the same to you~."
…
*swoon* Naoto's noggin spun, going lightheaded. "…?!"
…
"I'll make sure to tell him that… not that he doesn't already know~. I told him when we talked last night."
…
'Know what?!' he mutedly wondered.
…
Sakura gushed, "Mm-hmm~! Love you too, Mom~. G'bye."
With that, she hung up.
'Phew…' Naoto was finally able to hope to begin to calm down.
"Apologies, Senpai-kun~," Sakura offered. "Mom just wanted to see what the rest of the day looks like."
"N-no biggie…" he uttered.
"…~"
"I'm, uh… surprised you have your phone, Sakura-san."
"Why?"
"I just figure, wouldn't you be getting bombarded with calls from the girls back at the spot?"
"Oh, most definitely not~," she chirruped. "I silenced all but my emergency contacts right before we left. Y'know, the family, Etsuko, Urumi…"
"Not Sunomiya?" he questioned almost automatically.
"It's emergency contacts, not 'best friends' contacts."
"…Makes sense."
"Let's see~…" She opened her messages. "Yep, missed about 10 messages and a few calls."
"What?"
"We just didn't hear them. I told you, I silenced everything but my emergency contacts."
"You did."
"Uh-oh~… They're all from right after we got away from the lovers' throng. Prolly once Hana-chan and Nekoba got back to base."
"…Won't Sunomiya be upset you ignored her?"
"I wouldn't think so. I mean… she didn't try to message or call me~."
"She didn't?"
"Nope, it was only Gamo-chan and Yoshi…"
"…What's that mean?"
"Well~… it prolly means that Gamo-chan got pissed off and wanted everyone to swamp us with messages, but no one besides Yoshi went along with it… predictably."
"Ack!"
"And I bet it really pissed her off when she realized you left your phone back in your bag."
"Oh, geez…" Naoto rubbed his temples.
"Yeah, bud, maybe it was a bad idea to drag you all the way out here~!"
"…Wh-what do the texts say…?"
"Do you really wanna know~?" Sakura bothered.
"I doubt it."
"Hey, chances are you'll have a few messages when we get back. Wanna compare and contrast~?"
"I hope not."
"Ha~!"
"Wh-whatever…" Naoto said defiantly. "Maybe nothing'll happen…"
Hopeful thinking~…
Sakura remarked, "Oh, ye of big faith~."
"Meh…" He wanted to forget about it for a bit.
He was good for that, and he did slip away.
Sakura watched it happen. "…~"
"…" Naoto came in-and-out of cognizance, but his attention was soon caught by her. "…!"
She eyeballed him. "…~"
"…!" Naoto's sphincter heaved. "Wh-what…?"
*big Sakura smile* "You look like you have questions~."
"Ack!" he squawked. "Huh?!"
"About the call I just had~."
"I didn't mean…"
"You just look a little lost, bud~." She pursed her lips.
"Sorry… not my business…" He was glad to steer clear. "Don't mind me."
"…~" Sakura shone. "I'll tell you anyway. One of the other co-owners of my mom's boutique was due next week, but the baby came today. A girl… 'Haruka'~."
"The sound of spring…" Naoto cited. "Nice name."
"I like it too~. Kinda unusual to name a summer baby that though. Mom was supposed to have the weekend off, but you saw yesterday, sometimes an owner has to step in when needed."
"Sure, just like Etsuko-san."
"Yep. And Hana-chan or I didn't mention we were spending the night at her place?"
"Nope."
"It'll be fun~… though we'll prolly just go to sleep, after being up almost as long as you."
"I'll sleep well tonight," Naoto predicted.
Sakura said, "I hope; you've earned it~. And speaking of later, we should make sure we have snack to study tomorrow."
"Sure… let's talk to Sunomiya later."
"I wasn't sure of it, but I'm thinking my and Hana-chan's picnic lunch will be totally gone by day's end. Good thing too~."
"Yeah, I don't wanna eat a day-old PB&J. They're just not meant for it…"
"Oh~, and as for what I'm s'posed to tell you, my mom really wants to meet you sometime~."
"Bwah!"
"Hey, it's cool~. Like I said, I told you as much last night. Ever since Daddy told her about you, she's been wanting to… and all the more, the more and more I talk about you~."
"…" Naoto's face was on fire.
And he'd relaxed SO thoroughly, just going back-and-forth with Sakura…
She breezed, "I'd really like that too, buddy. Sometime…"
"S-sure…" he replied. "Sometime."
"Eek~! And since I have my phone here, I gotta show you something~."
'Oh, what now?!' Naoto implored Heaven.
Sakura explained, "When Hana-chan came by the house, she did get to meet my parents but not Yoichi. She also got to meet some of the other creatures lurking around the house~."
He knew what that must've meant. "You mean…?"
"She only served as an extra set of hands, but she helped me feed the tarantulas~!" She abruptly showed him a close up of her burgundy Goliath bird-eating spider.
"Eep!" Naoto wasn't afraid of spiders, but there was a difference between what crawled up the shower-drain and the 30 cm octopede filling her phone's screen.
"Yeah, she's a big'un~…" Sakura scrolled through a few more images, soon getting to the snakes.
Snakes bothered her senpai less than big spiders. "…"
"We didn't feed any of the snakes, but we held a couple of them." Sakura blew up a pic of herself with her ball python, worn like a boa~.
'Stugots…' Naoto remembered the snake's name, having only heard it Thursday.
Though, their time cleaning the school pool already seemed to be AGES ago~…
"…I've been wondering, Sakura-san…"
"What?"
"Does your dad keep any venomous snakes?"
"Naw, not anymore."
"What do you mean, 'not anymore'?"
"He still has the permits and stuff to do so, but he doesn't keep any anymore."
"Why would he keep venomous snakes in the first place?!"
"Why would you ask in the first place~?"
"…I dunno…"
"He never kept any as part of his own reptile hobby, but he used to breed a few species. I never got to help with them; he always worked with one of his friends when dealing with that stuff."
"Your dad breeds venomous snakes?!"
"I said, 'not anymore'. But he used to breed them for people's private collections, for those who do like to keep them as pets… Also for zoos, universities… medical research—like, making antivenom and stuff."
"…That's cool."
"Oh, yeah~," Sakura elevated. "He used to breed nonvenomous snakes too, but he decided it wasn't profitable on a small-scale."
Naoto rationalized, "I suppose venomous snakes could be bred more profitably on a smaller scale… since it's a specialty."
"That's exactly right, Senpai-kun~."
"…You didn't let Sunomiya handle anything dangerous, did you?"
"Not really."
"What's that mean?"
"I let her hold Pigsy," Sakura told him. "She really wanted to~."
"'Pigsy'…" Naoto mouthed. "That's your hognose snake, right?"
"Mm~! Check out the pics."
He checked them out. "…!"
"Look at that~!" the girl trilled. "Pigsy is so small, he can wrap his whole body in and around Hana's fingers. He's not even 50 cm."
This was true…
It was quite the pic, Hana's hands laced together by the tiny snake, the very slight pink in her cheeks contrasting her deadpan manner.
"Huh…" Naoto muttered.
"I've never seen Pigsy so calm," Sakura enlightened. "Not that he's a posterchild for his species' temperament."
Naoto looked back, "You said hognose snakes were aggressive, didn't you?"
"They can be; they're the ones that 'strike' with their mouths closed. Pigsy was cool as a cucumber and easy as Sunday morning, considering he ate four days ago. You wash your hands before handling, and you're usually good. About the only time most snakes actually bite is if they're hungry and you have the smell of another pet on you, like a dog or cat… or if you've been handling the rodents you feed the other snakes."
"I see."
"Just have to know snake behavior and take precautions, and you're usually fine with most nonvenomous species."
"Wait, Sakura-san…"
"Huh?"
"When I asked if you let Sunomiya do anything dangerous, you said 'not really'…"
"Ah~, that's because the western hognose is very mildly venomous."
"What?!" Naoto fretted.
"Hey, it's more like their spit's an irritant. Unless you're allergic, about all that'll happen is your hand puffs up like a balloon~."
"Ack!"
Sakura laughed at him, "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha~!"
"…" And he'd take it, trusting she knew what she was talking about, that Pigsy the snake was safe enough to hold.
While the gal giggled at her goofy senpai, he allowed his mind to wander (again).
Sakura's house… what sort of place was it, really…?
She pulled Naoto back, her laughter fast subsiding, "What'd you think of Hana with Pigsy~?"
"…That was… pretty cute…" he couldn't deny, saying it quite plainly.
Waggling her eyebrows, Sakura circulated, "If you think that's cute, I got this other pic, if you want me to find it~."
"Uh, what is it of?" Naoto missed the dancing brow-ridge caterpillars, turning to face her too late.
She took on a leer that made a Gamo-grin look like nothing. "You'd love it. I once let Pigsy slither around between my toes~."
'Fuck!' His senses swam. 'Not that sorta stuff again!'
Sakura laughed all the harder, seeing Naoto wriggle away from her, "Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha~!"
"…" He'd backed into that one with his cheeks spread.
While Sakura cackled, Naoto tried to find a semblance of dignity.
And boy, did Sakura have a hearty time of it. "…~!"
"…" The pieces of his pride were small, but they weren't shattered, and putting it all back together was an eventuality.
…
Not long after, still hiccupping with mirth, Sakura made with the contrite, "Hey, I'm sorry for jerking you around back there…"
"No problem." Naoto, having blanched instead of blushed, wasn't unused to her fast ones. 'Nothing I haven't dealt with before…'
It was just another back-and-forth with his friend.
And that was usually a good thing~…
"…~" Sakura basked in whatever it was she was feeling.
Naoto continued cooling off. "…"
"Hey, another thing, Senpai-kun…"
"…!"
So much for cooling off…
"…~?" Sakura cocked her head.
Naoto wanted to tighten his defenses, but he didn't even bother. "Yes?"
"Earlier, I jumped topics before we finished what we were talking about," she eased.
"What topic?" He didn't bother to brace for impact either, but his entire face did contort, like he'd tasted pure matcha~.
She chided, "Don't do that, buddy. You look like death~!"
"Can you blame me for being a little gun-shy?" he croaked.
She yielded, "Naw, I sure can't~…"
"…" Naoto twiddled his thumbs. "So… what is it?"
Instead of giving him further rigamarole, she dove right in, "It's the thing about Nekoba…"
"What thing?"
"You know~… "
'Do I?' The little lightbulb wasn't materializing above his head. "…?"
Sakura sighed, "Hmm… I guess it's my turn to not have a way with words…"
"…" Naoto didn't take offense; he caught her drift.
There'd been plenty of difficult-to-define idioms to go around…
Very soon after, she took a crack at it, "It's like this… Even though it really wasn't happening, the second you thought our talk on Nekoba was about to turn into something not nice, the first thing you did was start thinking about what an awesome girl she is~."
"…Uh…" He had nothing.
She shrugged. "I know that's not poetic or anything, but…"
"What?"
"I think it's sweet~…" Sakura asserted.
Naoto had heard this sort of thing before, but it didn't mean he was equipped. "…!"
His friend imparted, "I just wanted you to know that, buddy~…"
"…!"
"That sorta thing's enough to restore a woman's faith in men~…" she plugged.
"Der…" He still had nothing, other than rosy cheeks and chills.
Since Naoto had nothing, Sakura had it easy, besides her own rosy cheeks and shivers.
She got her feet under herself and came to standing. "Whaddaya say we face the music, Senpai-kun~?"
"Do what now?"
"It's high time we get back to the others."
"Oh…" He agreed… not that he was keen on whatever tune Gamo-chan and the others might be playing.
He got up himself, and he peeled the blanket from the sand.
Sakura put out her hands. "Here."
"Right." Naoto was happy for an extra set. "Thanks."
Taking one end, she helped him shake out the ancient bedspread.
Having folded it, Naoto tucked it under his arm.
"Got your stuff?" Sakura asked.
He checked his pocket. "Yeah… what I brought."
"Samesies!" she tooted. "Now, let's get this over with… I'm thirsty to boot."
The gal began to walk.
Naoto followed. "Y-yeah, me too."
A bottle of water sounded mighty fine about then…
"…~" Sakura strolled along.
Her companion yet followed. "…"
However, once they could no longer shelter in the shade of the retaining wall, they found themselves abreast of one another.
"…~"
"…~"
To make things even better, the sun had shifted, its rays no longer pounding the ground so directly, and they were more-or-less able to cross the sand without another hotfoot experience.
It was MOST welcome…
"…~"
"…~"
Things were good~…
BUT~!
"…~" Sakura began to jitter in high glee.
And what's more~—
"…!" Naoto could see her doing that… burbling thing she sometimes did. "…What is it?"
"We were talking about screwing around and getting sidetracked, and that reminds me~…" She stopped walking.
Naoto conformed. "…Of what?"
"You can't have already forgotten~," she supposed. "We haven't finished making our bet. I need to come up with a punishment for you, in case you lose~."
"…!" He could almost see the Devil-horns poking out of her hair~.
"Tee-hee-hee-hee-hee~!" Sakura tittered penetratingly, further spooking him.
The bet!
'Could we NOT finalize it and just forget about it?' Naoto knew asking wouldn't get him anywhere, and anyway—
…
And anyway—
He wanted to play~…
He just had to psych himself up!
Picturing himself slapping his own cheeks, he tried getting stoked~.
"Okay, what were you thinking?" Naoto asked, trying this time to hold onto his acumen.
Sakura put out her hand, this time, for a different reason. "First, we shake on it~."
"You wanna 'shake on it'?" he parroted, glancing at the offered appendage.
"Yeah~! This means no backing out. We're honor-bound to follow through with the consequences."
Naoto balked. "…!"
Maybe it'd been stupid to be feeling so gung-ho about this…
He attempted to recover. "Aren't we supposed have all the terms in place before a final agreement…?"
"Well, sure~…" Sakura chortled. "But if I tell you what it's gonna be, I'd have a Helluva time trying to get ahold of your hand~."
"That's what I was afraid of…"
"C'mon, good buddy, good pal, let's shake on it~. I promise you it's not gonna be anything that terrible."
"…" Naoto believed this about as much as he believed he'd wake up a trillionaire the next morning… in a mansion… on his own island… on another planet.
…
Even so…
Sakura batted her eyelashes, her paw yet extended to him. "You have my word it's not anything awful~."
A girl batting her eyelashes was NEVER followed by complete benevolence, but…
Very occasionally, a Devil-may-give-a-fuck attitude struck her senpai, and one did now.
"Gung-ho" won out~…
"Okay…" He joined his hand with hers. "Your word, Sakura-san."
"My word!" She pumped his hand with both of hers, her left joining the fray.
Releasing hands, Naoto exhaled, "Okay… So, what's this not so horrible thing I might have to do?"
Obviously, Sakura wasn't about to pull any punches~.
She oozed, "If you win the bet, you're getting a back massage from me… but if I win the bet—which I think I have a good chance of doing, you're going to have to give me a rubdown~."
* has stopped working* "What?"
"I said what I said~!" She surely had.
"But…"
"It's not like it'll be full-body or anything… but I doubt I'll be wearing a top~!"
"No top?!" he almost shouted.
"It's comfier that way~."
"But I didn't—"
"We shook on it~!"
"B-b-but—"
"I'll be facedown, just like when you 'screened me, so it's not like you'll be able to see anything or anything~."
"I know we shook on it, but—"
"Hey, we'd better get back to the party." She began to jog, her sarong wafting in the breeze. "It seems like forever since we left~."
Naoto reached after fruitlessly, grabbing nothing. "H-hey, Sakura-san!"
"Nyah~!" There was no stopping her.
Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading!
Questions and comments are welcome!