Naoto sat down on the stool next to Tadano, eyes glued to the ceiling. To say that he was feeling anxious was an understatement.
Having found himself in the middle of an emotional typhoon, the man had taken actions that he would have never considered possible, even mere days ago.
For three long years, he had been gripped by anxiety and panic, unable to spend even a single night without restless sleep interrupted by horrible nightmares, all due to the actions of one woman.
Fueled by his fear of the pain she had induced in him, Naoto had essentially cut all ties to his previous life and fled to Tokyo, in the hopes of eventually being able to bury his memories of it all so deep within his own conscious that he would be allowed to live a somewhat normal life.
Then she found him again.
The initial onslaught of negative emotions, tormenting memories and infuriating hatred had driven him to the brink of shutting down and letting himself be consumed by the insatiable darkness brewing inside of him.
Yet, the longer he had let himself be exposed to those surrounding the events that had turned him into this quivering mess of frightened bones, the less control they seemingly had over him.
By pushing himself through the madness and interacting with the few that were connected to it all, he felt himself growing more stable, confident and able to brave the emotions trying to claw at him.
Feeling strengthened by this alien sense of relief, as if he may be able to recover from it all yet, Naoto had taken the situation a step further to its logical extreme.
After all, some therapists swore by exposure therapy and it seemed to do him good, at least in small quantities so far. Going all in, while he still had the will left to fight, seemed as good as an idea as any other.
Because of this, giving Nagatoro the chance to show her true remorse and make amends for the actions she had taken in the past, was more than just a mercy on his end.
If his hopeful thoughts were to be believed, being around her for just a while longer might allow him to mend some parts of his damaged self.
On the other hand, if he was mistaken, the path he had now decided to walk on could easily lead to more complications down the line.
Naoto was more than anxious. Parts of his psyche were about ready to call it a day and head out, but his poker face was surprisingly solid, or so he hoped.
Nagatoro and Gamo, two of the people involved the most in his awful flashes of the past, were standing across the room, behind the couch that would usually fill him with comfort every time he laid on it.
He couldn't hear what they were talking about, but given Gamo's unusually gentle expression and the way her body was positioned as if to shield her friend at a moment's notice, indicated that it most likely wasn't a fight over the previous crisis.
After Naoto had Gamo had gone for lunch together earlier that day, Nagatoro had found out in the most unfortunate way possible and caused a massive headache for her friends as well as Naoto.
It was a miracle to him that the tanned woman was still so overly protective and downright jealous over him, despite everything that had transpired and the time which has since passed.
Either she didn't understand her own feelings, which seemed rather likely to Naoto, or she truly still held the belief that the two of them were as close as they used to be.
While Naoto himself had odd feelings mingling about in his mind concerning her, the truth was that, even if she had shown herself with a man in tow, introducing him as her husband, he would probably have been relieved over it. At least that meant she was no longer after him.
But no, here she was, still treating him like her property to a degree.
That would have to be one of the first things to go if she truly wanted to re-established a friendship of any sort. Whether or not that was even possible though, was an entirely different question.
Naoto was not one to hold a grudge, he never had been. Whenever others chose to hurt and bully him in the past, he had closed his heart off, shut his eyes and just refused to acknowledge those involved. Thus, he wouldn't even be able to recognize the faces of those that he should rightly hate.
But with these women, it was different. He had believed in them, let them into his life, lowered his guards to allow them to become intwined irreversible with his own soul. He even fell in love with one of them.
There was no way he could just shut them out of his mind like he had done with everyone else. Part of him had to admire their dedication to their craft of bullying him, if that had been their goal all along.
But even he wasn't cynical enough to believe that to be the case.
Naoto was finally ripped out of his thoughts by the sounds of footsteps approaching him. Lowering his gaze from the ceiling, he saw Gamo bashfully staring at him.
"Hey," she opened, doing her best to hide her state of mind. She wasn't doing a very good job. "Could we use your shower? I don't want either of us to catch a cold and Hayacchi needs to wash her knees."
Tadano quickly made it clear he would defer this to Naoto, as he simply turned to face his friend.
"Y-Yeah," Naoto responded, his poker face easily winning out over Gamo's. "Our bathroom is over there. We got washers and driers in there as well, so you can just run your clothes."
Gamo nodded gratefully and turned to beckon Nagatoro to follow her, which she quickly did.
Once the two women disappeared into the bathroom and the door had closed behind them, Naoto turned to Tadano, who's expression was an unreadable mess of tension.
"Don't even start," Naoto prematurely cut him off. "I can already hear all your arguments and attempts to dissuade me."
Tadano pinches the bridge of his nose, doing his best to keep calm. "Excuse me for being a bit lost and concerned."
"You are forgiven."
Tadano sighed heavily, wishing sometimes he could have the mean bones required in his body to punch his friend.
"You never told me about this," he eventually came forth, the gentle yet stern personality returning. "I always assumed you had gotten into a terrible fight with someone close to you, or had your heart broken, but never- never this."
Naoto chuckled dryly, something that Tadano had not expected. "I mean, you are not wrong you know? Both of those things did happen as a result."
"I am just worried you're letting yourself be taken advantage of," Tadano responded, feeling intense fear for his friend.
"You mean more than I already have?"
Tadano flinched.
"That's not funny," he countered, anger tinging his voice. "I would never let that happen to you."
"Careful there," Naoto continued to make light of the situation. "Komi might get the wrong ideas."
But Tadano was not going to let himself get flustered this time.
"Is this the only way you know to deal with it? Making jokes? Distorting the truth to make it seem as if it had been inevitable? Like, what are you doing?"
Naoto's smile toward his friend dimmed slightly, but never fully disappeared.
"Perhaps so," he replied, letting his mind and eyes wander to the edges of the room. "Not like there is much else I can do about it."
"How about not inviting them to stay in your life?" Tadano shot back.
A smirk showed on Naoto's face. "Isn't that exactly what you and Komi advised me to do?"
"Don't be stupid!" Tadano now barked at him, slowly losing a hold on his demeanor. "We would have never said that if we had known what really happened!"
"And why not?" Naoto asked, feeling eerily calm and in control of the conversation. "Where is the cut off point for forgiveness? Who decides what is and isn't beyond redemption?"
Tadano was about to strike back with another counter, when they both heard the entrance door slam shut.
Their eyes quickly turning toward the wall separating the kitchen from the foyer, they were surprised to spot Komi rounding the small corner, clearly shocked at the sound of yelling emanating from the two of them.
Before Tadano could find the words to explain even a fraction of what he was feeling to his girlfriend, Naoto took the initative.
"Welcome home, Komi!" he greeted her cheerfully, which won him an awkwardly low bow from her. "Sorry about the volume, me and Tadano had a little bit of a disagreement."
Komi quickly straightened herself back out and skipped to the kitchen counter to grab her notepad and pen laying on it and began writing her part of the conversation down.
Are you two okay?
Tadano was still reeling, but managed to calm himself enough to answer.
"Yeah, we're fine Shouko, no worries." he replied with a smile that he hoped would ease her worries.
It didn't.
Then why did you sound so angry?
"Yeah," Naoto added, his devious grin returning. "Why did you?"
Tadano felt the urge to tackle his friend to the ground increasing by the second.
"Well, you see," he started, his face reddening from the heat of anger. "We got two women currently occupying our shower."
Komi almost dropped her notepad in shock and fumbled a few times at her attempts at catching it.
What!?
Tadano could feel her eyes drilling into his skull, her entire body shaking in panic and confusion.
"It's not my fault!" Tadano immediately declared to dispel whatever fears Komi might have had. "They are Naoto's friends."
In an instant, Komi's attitude changed from defeated and inconsolable to excited and curious. Her face lit up and Naoto swore in that moment she looked like cat.
You met your friends then!?
Naoto nodded, a genuine and wholesome smile drawn forth from Komi's almost childlike joy.
"You could say that, yeah," he responded, not wanting to ruin her perception of them right away.
But Tadano considered it important to let her know.
"I wouldn't call them his friends, honestly. The stuff I just learned is despicable. I don't want them near him."
Komi's brow furrowed in confusion and she stared at her boyfriend perplexed.
Why would you say that? What did you learn?
Naoto sighed out loud to gain their attention and stop Tadano from spinning the story out of control.
"One of them did some, uh, unsavory things in regards to me and he is just concerned about it."
Tadano got up from his stool now, unwilling to let the situation be swept under the rug. Part of him knew that it wasn't right to push the topic without Naoto's consent, but his turbulent emotions took a hold of him.
"Unsavory!?" he scoffed, trying to ignore the utter shock and horror on Komi's face, who wasn't used to her boyfriend being this way toward anyone, let alone his best friend.
"Sexual assault is not something you should ever downplay in any shape or form!"
Komi quickly recovered from the actions of her boyfriend as his words sunk into her brain. A different sort of shock now spread through her as she turned to Naoto, who was staring daggers into Tadano's soul.
Is that true Naoto? Are you okay?
"I am feeling just fine," Naoto replied, trying to not let his anger at Tadano slip into his conversation with her. "And I think it's not a problem if I let the responsible part try to make amends."
Komi hung her head slightly, a feeling of sickness setting in. She quickly began writing her thoughts down on the paper beneath her pen, the scratching off the process irritating her, something it had never done before.
After she was done, she noticed that the two men were too busy continuing to argue with one another, to notice her attempt at joining the conversation.
Frustrated with herself and her loved ones, she smacked the notepad against the counter, the sound echoing through the room.
The action had its desired effect and both of them turned toward Komi to read her message.
Is this what you want? Or is this just because of what I said? I don't want you to hurt yourself over something I said without knowing the full context of things. If you really think they deserve a chance at redemption, then that's for you to decide. Although, I do share Hito's concern.
Naoto took a moment after reading it all before lifting his eyes to meet Komi's. Despite her usual behavior indicating she'd turn to avoid his stare, there was no hint of that same skitish action in her at this moment.
Eventually, Naoto broke out into a smile.
"I appreciate the concern," he said with his eye contact never wavering. "I really do. But I feel like this is something that I have to do. Don't get me wrong, I am not a saint."
Naoto quickly turned to Tadano, hoping that his words would reach his friend and make him understand.
"I am not doing this for her. It's far more selfish than that. I think that if I can overcome this- this dread I feel whenever I think of her, by having her be around me for some time, then maybe I can finally heal and move on. Anything that happens beyond that is up to her."
He clasped his hands together and let them dangle between his legs as he let his gaze wander between his friends. The two of them seemed to take a minute to absorb what they had been told and form an opinion on Naoto's plan.
Tadano was the first one to speak up, for obvious reasons.
"I think I get it, sure," he spoke up, his eyes lost in a haze. "But that doesn't mean I want them near you."
Naoto's smirk returned. "I'd hope so, otherwise you wouldn't be much of a friend."
Having put her thoughts down on paper, Komi inched closer to share them with them both.
Please, let us know if there is anything we can do. And... if they do anything to you, we won't show mercy.
"Thank you," Naoto said cheerfully, once again able to appreciate how lucky he truly was to have his friends. "I don't think it'll be necessary for angry Komi to come out though~"
Komi stood straight and playfully flexed a little, proud to be relied upon by her friends. Tadano and Naoto both smiled gleefully.
About half an hour later, Nagatoro and Gamo emerged from the bathroom, dressed in their now far drier clothing.
Stepping out in the living room, they were greeted to the sight of Komi and Tadano sitting on the couch together, while Naoto stood behind the kitchen counter, plating some food he had made himself.
Komi stood to greet them both of out habit, then found herself instantly conflicted when she realized just who she was looking at.
Deciding that the situation was getting far too awkward, Tadano got up and moved to her side to introduce them.
"Komi, this is Gamo and this is Nagatoro," he said, not even hiding the way he emphasized Hayase's name to infer her as the one guilty as charged.
Both of the women obviously realized this, but felt that just rolling with the punches would be a far smoother way of dealing with the situation in the long run, rather than throwing down the gauntlet.
Komi let her gaze linger on Nagatoro for a moment, trying to spot any malicious intend within her and then bowed to complete her greeting before sitting back down, still frazzled by her own clumsy behavior.
Naoto rolled his eyes at the display and quietly began eating his food.
There was a hint of anxiety in the back of his mind, throbbing slightly as if it was trying to warn him, but with his friends around him, he could bring himself to ignore it.
This however became increasingly difficult as he noticed Nagatoro walking toward him. While her eyes were directed toward the counter in front of him, she couldn't help herself from stealing a couple of glancing at him as she approached.
Naoto noticed her balling up her fists as if to steel herself, before lifting her gaze to beam at him.
It was almost terrifyingly fake.
"Watcha eating, Senpai?" she asked in the most upbeat tone she could muster.
Naoto tried to remain calm, fully aware that all eyes in the room were on them.
"Nothing major," he responded, putting down his fork as to not appear rude. "Just heated up some rice, cooked some beef."
"O-Oh, yeah? That's nice. Good."
Seeing Nagatoro struggling to find ways to casually carry on the conversation with him was something to behold. It's as if she had never considered her potential steps forward after getting this far.
Hayase's heart was hitting her like a jack hammer, pounding against her chest over and over again as she tried to find a way to speak to him without gaining the ire of the people around them.
Deep down, she just wanted to pounce on him, pull him into an embrace and never let go. But she knew that wasn't going to fly.
Apparently having taken too long to continue carrying on the conversation, she watched Naoto shovel a fork full of rice into his mouth, still holding eye contact with her.
He wasn't going to make this easy on her and she had expected as much. Naoto had every right to treat her like dirt if he felt so inclined and she wouldn't hold it against him.
Still, she was shocked to hear him say, "You know, you don't have to fake your personality in front of me. That's sort of the worst way of going about this. I want to see the real you being better than it used to be."
Nagatoro swallowed hard, her eyes flicking back down to the counter to avoid his. How was she going to show him that? He probably hated everything about the old Hayase he used to know and most of that girl was still there.
Having been lost to her thoughts, she found herself startled by Gamo sitting down at the counter.
"Ey, Paisen," she grabbed his attention, a somber look on her face. "Give Hayacchi a bit to get used to this. The fact you haven't kicked us out yet is a pretty big shock to me, so I can't even imagine what it feels like for her."
Naoto waved his hand to indicate he didn't care either way.
"I am just saying," he replied after swallowing his latest bite. "I don't see a point in you pretending someone you're not."
Nagatoro found herself nodding in agreement. "You're right. That doesn't solve anything."
"Well, I am glad you both see eye to eye on that, I guess," Gamo added.
Naoto smiled as he spotted Gamo glancing at his plate, curiosity sparking in her eyes.
"Seriously?" he chuckled, startling both women. "You're still hungry? I thought you had lunch and then ice cream?"
Gamo could feel her face flushing. "H-Hey! It's late, okay!? I gotta eat well to maintain my muscles, alright!?"
"Whatever you say," Naoto replied with a smirk. "You guys want some?"
The two women lit up at the invitation.
"If you don't mind, Senpai," Nagatoro cooed sweetly. Neither she, nor Naoto, noticed how much this bothered Gamo.
Naoto quickly turned to face the kitchen and began grabbing two more plates to fill with the rest of the food he had made. They were smaller portions, the food not having been made with this many people in mind, but they were enough for both of them.
Nagatoro and Gamo both had almost forgotten how good of a cook Naoto was, fully amazed by how great such a simple dish tasted when it was coming from him.
"This is really good Paisen," Gamo praised after having quickly taken her first two bites.
Nagatoro was horrified by the bashful sensation she experienced at the thought of genuinely praising Naoto without any teasing beforehand, but the idea that Gamo would beat her at this pushed her buttons even more.
"S-She's right," she stammered forth. "It's delicious."
Naoto smiled as he watched both of them sheepishly continuing to eat, unable to look into his eyes any longer.
"Thank you," he replied, the throbbing in his mind subsiding somewhat. "Glad you enjoy it."
After the two got done finishing off their plates, Naoto reached out to grab and clean them, but Gamo quickly stopped him.
"Wait Paisen," she said as she took a hold of both of their plates and walked around the counter. "I'd feel bad to make you feed us and then wash our dishes. I'll do it myself."
Nagatoro could feel her left eye twitch at the actions of her friend. She was totally showing her up!
Not willing to let her appear better than herself, Hayase quickly reached across the counter to grab Naoto's own plate and joined Gamo at the sink.
Komi and Tadano, who had kept quietly to themselves were blown away by the awkward display.
The idea that these two, especially the smaller one, were terrible people, capable of horrible acts, seemed almost unbelievable.
But as they had learned themselves time and time again, first impressions could be terribly wrong and mistaken.
After the dishes were quickly cleaned, the two women sat down on the stools in front of the counter, wishing to talk more with Naoto, yet feeling incredibly embarrassed by their obvious behavior.
"Thanks for doing that," Naoto thanked as he watched them with slight amusement.
Taking a glance at the clock hung up above on the wall above their rooms showed him it was getting quite late now.
"You two should probably head back to your hotel now," he said, nodding towards the clock to make them aware of the time. "Rain seems to have calmed down enough to where you can drive without any real worries."
Gamo nodded, despite feeling her stomach twisting up at the thought of leaving.
Nagatoro was in a similar boat, fearing that if she left Naoto would just barr her from his life again. She needed something tangible to hold onto, a promise that she could see him again.
"H-Hey Senpai," she muttered under her breath. "Can I- Uh, can I get your phone number?"
Gamo turned her head over in shock, surprised by how quickly Nagatoro had stepped up to the bat for this one.
Naoto seemed to contemplate her request, lightly chewing on his lips in thought.
"Guess I can always block you if it becomes unpleasant," he joked as he pulled out his phone. The throbbing in the back of his head grew stronger once again, the fear of her having access to him at any time gripping him.
He wasn't going to let his fears control him anymore. He'd fully expose himself to it and take a deep dive.
Nagatoro quickly brought her own phone out and within a few seconds they had exchanged contact information. She couldn't help but stare at her screen in awe, happy to finally have a way to reach out to him again.
"Thank you," she said with a smile, before sliding off of the stool and making her way to the foyer. She wanted to stay longer, but knew that this was more than she had ever anticipated in her wildest dreams. Pushing her luck now seemed unwise.
Gamo stood as well, quickly glancing back at Naoto who was taking a deep breath. It was clear to her that his forthcoming behavior was taking a toll on him and it pained her to watch.
Hayase was on her best behavior, yet still managed to hurt him through her mere existence. It was maddening.
Gamo watched as Nagatoro grabbed her coat off the rack and slid it on, more pep in her actions than there had been in years. It was like she was sucking the energy straight out of Naoto and Gamo hated it.
She knew that her thoughts continued to be a betrayal of her best friend and felt absolutely awful about her inability to be committed to her side.
But her heart was telling her that it wasn't right.
After getting dressed herself, the two quickly turned back to the residents of the apartment.
"Thanks so much for having us," Nagatoro said, finally beating Gamo to the punch.
They both bowed, before turning and leaving the place to return to Gamo's car.
The ride back to their hotel was a silent affair, the only sound to be heard being the rain knocking on the car.
Regardless of the words either woman may have had for the other, they were both far too drained from the days events to begin any long term arguments or discussions. It would have to wait.
It was a little past eleven when they finally exited the elevator into the hallway holding their rooms. Gamo briskly walked up to room 402 and knocked on the door.
Within seconds the door was ripped open, revealing both Sakura and Yoshi standing anxiously in its frame.
Before Gamo could say anything, she was grabbed by her sleeve and dragged into the room, lest she somehow managed to escape their sight.
The moment Nagatoro showed her face before them, Sakura threw herself into her and clutched onto her back.
"If you ever do that again, I'll kill you," Sakura cried into her shoulder.
Nagatoro quickly wrapped her own arms around her to calm her friend. "Sorry, won't happen again."
Yoshi was eyeing Gamo, trying to gauge the stress of the day by her face and posture, but Gamo didn't allow herself to show that weakness. Not right now.
The four of them eventually ended up sitting split across the two beds in the room, discussing the events of the day.
Gamo didn't consider her actions entirely unreasonable, but still felt some form of shame at how she had handled it all.
"I am sorry for not telling you guys," she apologized, lowering her head in a dejected manner. "I didn't want to hurt anyone, especially not you Hayacchi. I just saw a chance to rebuild this friendship, even if just a little piece of it and wanted to go for it. I was also drunk. That definitely didn't help."
Sakura couldn't suppress a giggle. "You were drunk? When!?"
"Last night, after... ya know."
There was a short silence that none of them were really eager to break, but Nagatoro managed to find a way.
"Well, honestly," she mulled it over aloud, her brows furrowed. "All of this led to where we ended up tonight, so it was definitely worth it."
Gamo felt herself agreeing and said, "True enough. But I really wish you and I didn't have to fight for something good to happen."
Sakura pulled Nagatoro into another hug she rather wished she hadn't.
"I am just glad you're both okay," she sighed, holding Hayase tight. "And the fact that you got Senpai-kun's phone numbers is amazing."
Gamo chuckled at that. "That's what I am saying."
"Hey!" Nagatoro bit back. "He could see I was being serious!"
"You better be," Yoshi suddenly added. The girl had been eerily quiet for the whole conversation, but the mention of their Senpai seemingly made her feel like taking action.
"If you mess this up now, that's it. There's absolutely no way he'll forgive you. And neither will I."
Yoshi stared at Hayase with a sincerity in her eyes that none of them were quite used to. The usual quiet hype woman of the group never felt the need to impose much of herself onto a conversation, so hearing her speak in such a stern and serious tone out of the blue was special.
"Don't worry," Nagatoro replied after the surprise wore off. "I am not planning on screwing this up. I'll get him back. All of him."
Gamo could feel the hairs on her neck standing up at that. The other two didn't know it, but that sounded almost threatening coming from Hayase.
And Gamo did feel threatened. She just couldn't tell why.
Another half hour later, all four of them had retreated to their individual beds to sleep.
Nagatoro was clutching her phone anxiously, her screen stuck on the text app, with her desperately trying to find the correct thing to write Naoto.
Little did she know that one room over, Gamo was having the exact same conundrum. What do you write a guy you were at best friends with for two years, before the girl he was in love with destroyed him and the friendship they had?
This was so much easier when she was drunk.
After much deliberation, including a lot of tossing and turning, they both ended up sending the exact same message:
Goodnight Naoto.
Monday morning rolled around and Naoto could feel his head pounding the moment he woke up. Clearly the world was deciding that he deserved to suffer for not being able to sleep properly. His anxiety over the prior night assured that there'd be no more than two hours of uncomfortable rest between each nightmare ripping him out of his worthless slumber.
The man quickly rolled out of bed and reached for his side table on which he had placed pain medication and a glass of water. Nights like this were the norm, rather than exception, so he was always ready for this kind of start to the day.
After downing the pills, Naoto threw on a shirt and sweat pants before stumbling out of his room. The living room was already taken up by Tadano, Komi and Tony, who were sharing breakfast around the kitchen counter.
The moment Tadano spotted him, he beckoned him over.
"There you are!" he crowed. "We were worried you'd just sleep through the whole day."
Naoto flashed a toothy grin as he sat down next to his friend. "I don't see how that'd be a problem."
"It wouldn't," Tony assured him. "I'd just eat your portion of food. In fact, go back to your room."
Komi huffed in disagreement, which instantly made Tony back off.
"I am just joking!"
Naoto grabbed the fourth, undisturbed plate that was laying a little bit to the side and began digging into the food. It was a more european style breakfast, something Komi had tried her hand at a couple of times by now and she was definitely improving.
"It's great, thanks Komi," he thanked the woman who immediately began squirming in her seat, overwhelmed by the positivity.
The other two had most likely also given her compliments and she still wasn't great at dealing with that sort of attention on her.
After the four of them finished their meals and cleaning their individual dishes, they split to pursue their own goals for the day.
Tony wanted to go shopping for clothes for their next concert, as he always loved keeping up his vampire styled appearance for the stage.
Komi and Tadano had decided to go on a movie date, followed by a visit to the mall themselves.
Naoto didn't have any plans, but that was partially due to his attempts at figuring out how to handle the two women that had texted him after he had fallen asleep last night. He felt like any plans he would have made for himself were liable to being dashed by either one of them.
After wishing his friends a fun day, Naoto quickly slipped back into his room and relaxed in his desk chair. He spun around in circles on it, while looking down on his phone, amused by the same message from two different people, sent only a minute apart from each other.
Feeling like following in their footsteps, he responded the same way to both of them.
Slept well?
He then placed his phone face down on the desk and walked away from it, trying his best to distract himself from intrusive thoughts by reading the spines of the books on his shelf.
Finding nothing he would consider interesting enough to actually pull out and read, Naoto was about to move onto his dvd collection of anime, when the sound of his phone notifications echoed through the room.
Finding his own anxiety to be just embarrassing at this point, he shut his eyes and quickly walked back to let himself fall into his chair.
Naoto picked up the phone and opened it to read the message had received.
I slept well enough, I think. Just too excited, so it was definitely restless. - Nagatoro
Naoto could feel her attempts at worming her way into his heart dripping from the short message and refused to be baited by it.
I am sorry to hear that. Maybe you should sleep a little more then?
Right after he hit the send button, a new message appeared on his screen.
Slept like a rock, dude. What about you? - Gamo
Naoto considered the attitude with which he wanted to respond to her, given the previous day, but found it to be quite natural.
Rocks tend to have quite shitty sleep, you know?
Who told you that!? - Gamo
Naoto grinned.
A rock.
His phone buzzed again. He honestly wasn't sure what the point of it doing that was when he already had it open and was directly looking at the app.
Do you have any plans for today, Senpai? - Nagatoro
And there it was. His plans would have been crushed by this simple question. How could he offer her a chance to repent and then not provide her with an appropriate situation do so in, when he knew she was only going to be in town for two more days at most.
Nope, not really.
Seemed safe enough, he thought as he sent the message.
Ya know, instead of rocks, you could hang out with me. I am at least a little better than that. Maybe at the level of a boulder. - Gamo
Naoto could feel himself panicking just a little bit. Of course they would do this to him. Why wouldn't they?
Then, would you like to hang out with me today? We could go to the zoo. - Nagatoro
Naoto covered his face with his unoccupied hand, feeling like he was about to witness a car crash from the passenger seat of both cars at once.
He took a deep breath and calmed his mind. This wasn't about anything other than re-establishing a friendship or two. He could invite two people. This made sense.
Not wanting to let his anxiety lead his mind around in circles for hours, he quickly added both women into a group conversation and texted them.
Well, since you both seemed to have the same idea, how about we all go to the zoo together?
A maniacal part of Naoto, one shaped by these very same people, made the man laugh at the thought of the chaos he had most likely just incited at their end.
And of course, he was right.
Gamo stared at her screen in abject horror as the message Naoto sent began making sense to her. Only a moment later, she could hear the door to the bathroom fly open.
Hayase stomped into the room and approached her, index finger sternly pointed at the redhead.
"What are you doing?" Nagatoro asked, an empty, almost hollow look on her face. Gamo hadn't missed this scary side of her friend.
"What?" she managed to respond far more calmly than she actually felt. "I am not allowed to hang out with my friend?"
Hayase sneered at her. "Not when I am trying to, no."
"What are you scared of?" Gamo asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "He told you there was nothing going on between us."
"Yeah, he did," Hayase repeated, her brows raising. "You didn't."
Crap.
Gamo suddenly felt trapped, no way out of this pincer that she had been put in.
But she had to try, she couldn't just come clean with the fact that she herself had no idea what was going on.
"I did try to tell you before you ditched me by that fence," Gamo reminded her, feeling pretty good about her wiggle attempt.
Nagatoro didn't want to relent, but felt like she was lacking enough ammunition to carry on her argument. It was clear to her that Gamo was hiding something.
And she wasn't willing to let her get in the way of her and Naoto.
"Whatever man," Gamo eventually sighed, a defeated look on her face. "I'll just sit this one out."
Now it was Nagatoro's time to feel like she had stepped into a trap. If she told Naoto that Gamo wasn't coming with, he'd put two and two together and would possibly blame her, consider her selfish and that would blow her chances.
"No, you're not," Hayase declared, a hesitant expression on her face. "We'll all go together. So, if I step out of line or mess up, you can stop me."
Gamo wasn't sure what kind of game her friend was playing, but this seemed like a pretty logical move on her part. She could see no real flaw in this approach, except for the fact that neither of them would get any one on one time with Naoto.
Why did she want that anway!? It drove Gamo nuts.
"Alright, I can agree to that," Gamo responded and picked up her phone to let Naoto know.
Alright, we'll both see you at the zoo then. An hour from now?
"Isn't that a little quick?" Hayase asked as she read over the message. "We have to shower, get dressed, then find our way there."
Right as Gamo was about to agree and reconsider the timing, Naoto replied with his own text.
Let's make it two, I'll meet you at the gate.
Around two hours later the two women got out of their car, parked in a garage near the zoo and made the rest of the way to it on foot.
Nagatoro was wearing a cute, orange shirt with a pink floral pattern, a jean jacket over top of it and basic jeans.
Gamo wore a black band shirt and was wrapped in her fluffy winter coat. Her black jeans had a few holes in them, which was a style she usually enjoyed, but the wind this day made it somewhat uncomfortable. Her black combat boots added some extra height, causing her to tower over Hayase.
The two quietly walked the way to the zoo's front entrance, where they were surprised that they couldn't spot a sign of Naoto. The crowds weren't too dense and hectic, allowing them to scan for his very unique hair.
Realizing that he most likely just hadn't shown up yet, both of them found an open bench not too far from the gate to sit down and wait.
The awkward tension between the friends was taut and they knew that one of them had to break the silence.
"So what do you want out of this?" Gamo eventually asked, unable to handle the ever growing pressure any further.
Nagatoro turned to Gamo with a face that told her that it should have been obvious.
"What I want? For him to love me, so we can be together. I don't think I've made a secret out of that."
Gamo hadn't expected such honesty, but it was refreshing to say the least.
"And you think that's honestly possible?" Gamo pried some more. "We got two days left here and you think you can get him back after three years of all of this?"
"You asked me what I want," Hayase reminded her. "I didn't say it was realistic. Even so, I am not going to stop trying, just because our time here ends. I'll talk to him and visit whenever I can, eventually it'll work out. It has to."
Gamo nodded pensively. That sounded like Nagatoro had already fully committed herself to the idea no matter what.
Who was Gamo to selfishly stand in her way, when she didn't even know how to interpret her own feelings?
Neither of them had the time to continue the conversation as they were interrupted.
"Didn't expect you two to get here before me."
Both of them looked up at the voice.
Naoto stood next to the bench, smirking down at them. For some reason, he had chosen to come here dressed more akin to his stage persona than himself.
He wore a purple shirt with wine-red stripes, a leather coat over it and a pair of black jeans with some comfortable looking sneakers.
What threw both women off the most however was the incredibly freaky looking yellow contact lenses in his eyes.
"What's with all this?" Gamo asked, baffled by his choice of attire. "You planning on playing here right now?"
Naoto laughed as he looked over the crowd of people that might actually be willing to listen to their music if he suddenly started a set.
"Nah. I just feel like today's going to be a bit rough on me and I wanted to make myself feel more comfortable. When I am dressed like this, portraying my confident persona on stage, I feel good. Like nothing can stop me. So why not?"
As if he wasn't willing to let them forget themselves for even a moment, he added, "Don't forget it's because of you guys that I even need to look like this to have an ounce of confidence in myself. I don't want to hear any judgment."
Gamo immediately lowered her head in shame, feeling absolutely terrible about being reminded of her own part in the teasing and bullying that Naoto had to live through in high school.
Nagatoro, who had so far said nothing at all, simply opting to silently stare at Naoto with her mouth agape, finally spoke up herself.
"I mean, it's not bad. It just doesn't look like-"
"A pathetic loner?" Naoto finished for her sarcastically.
"That's not what I was going to say!"
Hayase jumped up in protest, feeling herself flustered at Naoto's offense. It's not like she had any right to argue. It does sound like something she would have said in the past.
"Well, you don't have to," Naoto eventually continued. "Because I know I used to look like a loser. Still do, I mean. But at least I can cover it up with clothes."
Gamo shook her head before looking Naoto in the eyes. "You don't look like a loser, man. You never did."
Naoto glanced back and forth between both of them before letting out a quiet sigh.
"What's with this, you two?" he asked somewhat exasperated. "You're thinking about this too hard. Let's just go in and have fun."
Without letting the two respond, Naoto took off toward the ticket machines.
Nagatoro quickly jumped to her feet and lightly smacked Gamo's shoulder. "Come on, before he just takes off without us."
Both women begrudgingly chased after Naoto, each buying their own ticket before stepping into the zoo.
Despite the rocky start to the excursion, they couldn't deny that they were having a lot of fun hanging out together, enjoying the beautiful creatures of mother nature.
Out of consideration for his company, Naoto had decided to go check on the penguins last, to end the day on a high note.
They were almost an hour in, when Nagatoro realized something felt like it was missing.
"Hey Senpai, why aren't you drawing any of the animals like last time we went?"
Naoto looked at her, a meaningless smile playing on his lips. "I don't draw anymore."
Both Gamo and Nagatoro stopped in their tracks and watched as the unflinching man continued down the path.
After having mentally stomached the blow, Hayase ran after him. "W-What do you mean you don't draw anymore!?"
Naoto chuckled at her question, a sound that felt just as hollow as his smile.
"After what you did to me, I stopped having the eye for it, I guess," he explained, making Nagatoro's blood run cold. "I can't put a clean line on the canvas anymore. Colors don't look the same. Everything is dull and gray now. I don't like it. Art is just a lie after all."
"That's not true!" the tanned woman cried out, making Naoto finally stop to look at her. "Your art was full of love and soul and it meant a lot to those that saw it, especially me!"
Gamo who was still a few steps behind them, could see the pitfall Hayase was about to trip into, yet she didn't have it in her to stop it.
"Well, I guess you robbed me of that love and soul when you violated me."
Gamo couldn't see the look on Hayase's face.
She didn't have to.
Her own face was a horrible mess of pain and horror at the casual way Naoto had just dropped those words at Hayase's feet.
They both knew that Naoto was free to feel hatred and fury toward them for the way they had treated him in school.
That didn't mean they had expected him to strike so harshly and so out of the blue.
This wasn't just a reminder of the way Nagatoro had messed up.
This felt like a deliberate and vindictive attack.
Gamo could tell that Hayase's body had begun shaking all over.
Damn it.
The second surprise that neither of them expected, was that Naoto suddenly showed regret.
"Sorry," he softly said. "I don't like talking about art. Don't ask me about it."
All Gamo could see was Naoto's reaction to how Nagatoro had taken his strike. It didn't look good.
And why was Naoto apologizing? It was his right to lash out after what she had done to him.
And yet it wouldn't feel like Naoto if he didn't show remorse. It was just so like him to care for no reason.
The redhead had no idea how this was supposed to work out. Both of them had been far too deeply scarred by these past events to go anywhere near each other and yet they were not even a foot apart from one another.
They were just way too close. Too close for comfort. Too close to touching one another.
It irritated Gamo to an unusual degree. She wanted to step in and create distance between them.
Gamo gnashed her teeth, filled with intense self loathing.
She was honestly the worst.