Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

🥏Doorway into Summer Arc☀️

Written by EmtenDew

Edited by P. serrulata

Cover art courtesy of Shamastus:

https://www.reddit.com/user/Shamastus

https://www.deviantart.com/shamastus999

https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/83764210/artworks

https://twitter.com/Shamastus_999

**Special Announcement**

At the end of January, a number of fanfic writers and artists that work within the Nagatoro franchise will be holding a roundtable to discuss our stories and art. We will be putting together a Discord and posting it on Reddit and other places.

We’re fielding questions, so if you have questions that you’d like to ask pertaining to our work, us, or subjects you think are worth covering in a discussion of fics and art, please submit them to one of us. AntonSolo will be spearheading this project, so requests might be best sent that way.

Those participating in this event are:

AntonSolo (Reddit u/Nervous-Bonus-806) [Author of The Day Things Changed, The Incredible Shrinking Nagatoro, and Guess What, Senpai?]

EmtenDew [Author of Cherry Blossom Palette and its sequel, CBP: Summer by the Sea

P. serrulata [EmtenDew’s editor]

Shamastus 999 [Artist and author of A Song of Sirens, Crossing the Line, and If We Never]

Human-Beanbag (Reddit u/Sad-Manufacturer7606) [Author of The Kazehaya Virus, A Whisper Within, and Please Don't Mess with Me, Hachiouji-Kun]

Arbi_Draws [Artist]

Suzuki Kawasaki [Author of Toying with Nagatoro]

Little Freddie [Artist]

SergeantSodabread [Artist]

**Special Announcement**

Author’s note:

ED: First, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Thanks to the readers that wished me the same!

It’s time for Cherry Blossom Palette to begin again. Let’s start with a nice, beefy chapter, around 8.8K words!

For those of you that might’ve missed the third part of Chapter 66 (or Chapter 68, depending on where you read), make sure you go back and finish CBP before starting this.

Nagatoro’s siblings will be given their canon names in this story, Taiga and Misaki, though they were Ichiro and “Pig Vomit” in CBP.

Naoto’s two guy friends will remain Shuu and Tohru. They have canon names, but Nanashi refused to give Takao and Hino given names, so we’ll stick with my head canon names. I pretty much created their characters based on nothing canon past their appearance, so I think they’re fine as is.

I’m quite disappointed with Nekoba’s and Rabi-chan’s designs in the anime. They look bland and dulled and even kind of chunky.

In canon, Nagatoro’s siblings are such garbage to Naoto. I know they’re playing, but he doesn’t know that. He really needs to haul off and tell them what lowlifes they are. If Nanashi gave him a spine and the human emotions he lacks, he’d probably tell them a lot worse than that.

I haven’t talked about it for a while, but I’m officially caught up with South Park. I just finished watching the newest episodes and specials over New Year’s. I guess PS had me start watching the series last fall, so I’ve gone through the whole thing in a little over a year. Him, on the other hand, has been watching since he was 10, so I’m sure we see things differently. I think the series sort of lost itself a little over 200 episodes in.

I suppose I will now watch Rick and Morty or something else suggested by PS. But he really wants me to watch Moral Orel, so I may start there.

IRL, a wise man said that humorless people don’t need to be in positions of power, LOL.

Ask us anything, and we’ll add a Q&A section in the next chapter. I would be happy if you ask questions.

Please enjoy what I wrote.

Monday, July 23, 2018

Naoto Hachioji was a little sore this day.

The night before, Sunday, he’d decided he needed a change, and he’d resolved to go running in the morning.

It wasn’t much, but it was something.

He wasn’t sure just how far he’d gone, but he’d jogged for more than a few square blocks, easily the distance he’d cover between home and school. And he felt it.

It wasn’t like he didn’t participate in gym class; he DID run when forced to (sort of), but he did the absolute bare minimum, walking half the time, and it had never been enough to raise his endurance or see him improve…

So, that morning, by the time summer break ended, he resolved to run five km at one time without stopping or slowing to a walk.

His parents hadn’t been awake—they had a day off and were sleeping soundly—and they probably had no idea he’d been out exercising.

Even after a shower and breakfast, Naoto hadn’t seen or heard from his folks, but it was barely 8:00 a.m. when he’d set off to school.

He had things he wanted to do in the art room… and certain other business at his place of education…

And that’s where he was now, wishing his hands were a little steadier, again taking up his oil work on the bust he’d piddled around with on Friday.

Painting was difficult when he was shaky from the higher amount of effort than he’d typically put in, hoofing it around his neighborhood!

But he was thankful to be in the art room, at school, and not in the clink.

Friday night had sucked!

The parts before the police had stormed the school building, hanging out with and sketching his friend and kohai, Sakura Inori, had been the stuff of dreams, but the end of the night had fucking blown donkey dick!

Thankfully, it hadn’t been a big deal, at least not in the Grand Scheme of things.

The police in that part of town had been dealing with—not necessarily false alarms, though they essentially were—a lot of calls from some demented old lady who probably should’ve been in a nursing home (or at least not allowed to own a telephone).

She’d apparently believed the world was ending and that someone was trying to blow up the school…

Even though they’d dealt with her on numerous occasions and knew it was probably a bunch of bull, law enforcement had a responsibility to check it out, and Naoto heard the leading officer of the “raid” say something about “that old bitch” with her “Alzheimer’s-ridden, Swiss cheese brain” wasting their time and resources, needing to be “put away” because “even God (was) voting against her at this point.”

The police had even refused to take Naoto in for this trivial offense!

The school principal, whom Naoto had barely even met with personally, had also been called out, and he was just as annoyed.

If he was called out every time a student was found by that priggish Mr. Yamaguchi at school afterhours, he’d be in two or three nights a week…

The difference was that the cops had never come out at 11:20 p.m.—in force—with a bomb squad, even if it was on the tip of a mentally-deranged old biddy.

All the same, a student working on art in the art room was no emergency…

There was no reason to believe he’d been up to anything else, and no one bothered to ask.

Since the principal saw no reason to do anything that night, and the police saw no reason to do anything period, Naoto’s parents were called.

But… they were busy (or snoozing in the break room at the office) and didn’t pick up… neither of them…

Ipso facto, one of the officers dropped Naoto at home, told him to stay out of trouble, and drove off to do something of substance.

And this was where his pretty gal-pal, Sakura, came back into the picture.

Not sure what else to do, he’d called her.

It had been easy to tell she’d been waiting on pins and needles, because his call was answered before the first ring had properly rung.

There wasn’t much to tell her, just that he’d been sent home.

Having avoided been found hiding in the girls’ room after the constabulary had broken up their hand/foot modeling post-session, she’d stealthily left the school when things were quiet, having no problems.

She’d been mildly concerned that she still had on her school shoes, her loafers nestled in her shoe locker, but who was going to go looking?!

Students forgot to change back into their street shoes everyday…

Regardless, Naoto had tried keeping the call short, promising to tell her something when he knew more.

He was tired!

However, she wouldn’t buy that nothing had happened, and he reluctantly told her about the summons he’d received for Monday afternoon, 1:00 p.m., in the staff office.

He’d be learning his “fate” there.

It was one of the reasons he was at school that day!

The gal had offered more than once over the weekend to come along and explain the situation.

…

Was she insane?!

That would tell the staff all they needed to know about the “situation”, of a boy and a girl together at the school past 11:00 p.m.!

Yeah, that’d be smart!

Suspension would be the best outcome!

Blessedly, Sakura only needed to be reminded of that twice before giving up.

And she hadn’t suggested it because she was stupid.

She thought—truly—that the staff would understand when told the truth! Her Senpai-kun was an artist working towards being accepted into an art school!

Naoto was more pessimistic, and he was probably right to be so.

But she’d agreed to wait and hear what was to happen to him before doing anything else.

Her senpai was worried about what might happen, but he’d been more worried about his parents’ reaction.

Mercifully, they did understand what he’d been up to… though they were concerned he was holed up and doodling in the art room late on a Friday night, instead of spending time with that cute, farm-tanned kohai of his they’d seen a few times~.

Naoto and his parents had still even gone horseback riding on Sunday!

The ‘rents knew it was just bad luck that their son had been caught.

The two could’ve come to their son’s hearing, and they might’ve, but Naoto told them he wanted to go it alone.

Neither thought Naoto was going to get anything more than a verbal reprimand, and they accepted his choice.

This hadn’t stopped the young artist from speaking with them a few minutes on the phone, seeking a little advice and encouragement, once they’d woken up.

…

Going back a little, speaking of his “cute, farm-tanned kohai”—

Hayase Nagatoro had triggered much of the weekend’s fiasco, catching that stomach-flu and getting as sick as a good joke on Friday morning.

A lot of people had gotten sick!

Apparently, at least 50 people—students and staff—had caught the nasty virus and were probably booting their guts out as Naoto blithely mixed his black and gray pigments on the palette he was using.

The “fiasco” part though, had come about when Sakura took Nagatoro’s place as Naoto’s model for Friday, the farm-tanned cutie having gone home sick as soon as final exam results had been passed out.

But as for the trouble, no one was at fault, other than Naoto… and possibly that batshit, dried-up, nonagenarian twat, seeing a few lights on at the high school and deciding WW4 was starting, skipping entirely WW3.

Concerning such global conflict, the young man had never heard the proverb/sentiment, but it had been around since the dawn of the Atomic Age, and it was along these lines:

No one knows exactly how the third world war will be fought, but the fourth will be fought with sticks and stones…

(PS also predicts that we’ll go back to running around naked, grunting and hucking turds at each other.)

This, however, had little bearing on much of anything for Naoto.

Swiss cheese brain or not, it wasn’t wrong to be suspicious over lights on at a school in the middle of the night when NO ONE was supposed to be there, so the elderly woman could only be blamed for the overreacting, and she probably didn’t know whether to shit or go blind half the time anyway…

Still, what Naoto had done probably was more like WW4, opposed to WW3, considering the fourth great clash of humanity will probably have no more bearing on the future of Earth than some five-year-old’s wetting the bed on a Thursday morning.

…

Naoto shook his head.

This mostly unnecessary tangent wasn’t helpful, and he was unaware of his biography’s editor making such comments anyway~!

Onto more real stuff that was actually happening~, Naoto had messaged Nagatoro a few times, wishing her well and hoping she was feeling better.

She’d finally gotten back to him the night before.

He’d wanted to talk to her, but she said her voice was shot and that talking was miserable business.

Their back and forth had more to it, but to greatly summarize it, it went a little something like this:

…

<Hey, Senpai.>

<Hey, Nagatoro. Are you feeling a little better?>

<A little.>

<That’s good.>

<Sorry again that I couldn’t help you on Friday, Senpai. I could help you some other time.>

<No rush, Nagatoro. I’ve actually decided to work on something other than what we talked about for a while, so we could do something else. Maybe something outdoors.>

<Ooh~! Creepy Senpai’s chickening out! Even after talking such a big game~!>

<That’s not it. I just want to work on something else.>

<It’s fine, Senpai~! I’m okay with it. It would be super weird and gross and pervy, you with a woody and drooling over my feet~!>

…

Naoto didn’t pay much attention after that imbecilic jibe, but they’d chatted on for a while.

Even though she was joking around, he didn’t appreciate her falling back on such nonsense, especially reading that he’d basely “talked a big game”, when he’d spilled his guts, short of telling her he was in love with her, about how much she meant to him as a friend and inspired him as his model.

And she’d agreed to help him, about as earnest as he’d ever seen her!

That was quite the disappointment, her teasing and treating him like shit the previous Monday.

It was even more disappointing to lose the opportunity to work with her on Friday, but he thought things had turned out for the best.

But her conduct while they’d texted?

It almost seemed a BETRAYAL to him.

He was happy that Nagatoro was in decent spirits, especially being ill, going on three days, but he felt even less guilty about substituting Sakura in her stead.

And he hadn’t felt much culpability for that in the first place!

Anyway, he’d determined that he wouldn’t be doing the hand/foot modeling (at least the foot part) with Nagatoro… at all.

Upon her shittiness by text, he’d been tempted to tell her that he’d just ask the old Art Club president, Sana Sunomiya, to model her extremities, but he’d decided that might be cruel.

It didn’t mean he wouldn’t maybe ask the Prez to do it!

He had nothing to base it on, but he figured having the Prez model for him in such a way would be even easier than it had been with Sakura, and the blonde had helped make the whole thing about as easy as he could have ever imagined.

As much as Naoto was hurt and disappointed, being made fun of by and not holding such a modeling session with his crush, he wanted to forgive Nagatoro, seeing as there was no way he’d be able to follow through on such an endeavor with her.

It was probably impossible, lil’ Naoto cocked and locked to blow a nice tapioca-load whenever BIG Naoto thought of her feet…

Finger on the trigger, all it took was one flip of the thumb, and he’d—

…

Fuck!

Naoto went about clearing his mind of that shit, his proclivities of no good at the moment.

As with the stuff about WW4 and Alzheimer’s-having senior citizens’ Swiss cheese brains, it didn’t really do him any good…

He was better off focusing on the positive!

His friends had done well on their final exams.

That was a positive thing!

Sakura and their shared kohai, Hana Sunomiya, had both benefitted from the workbooks and study sessions they’d undertaken with him.

Maki Gamo, on her own, had used the same workbooks as Sakura and did far better than she normally might, convincingly passing all her subjects.

Yoshi Yamazaki had achieved better than she’d maybe ever performed, and she’d worked hard, running through workbooks and drills under the tutelage of a family friend.

Naoto was proud of the girls.

And on the subject of Yoshi, he’d chatted with her that very morning, regarding her getting copies of the workbooks he’d given to Sakura, Hana, and Gamo-chan.

She’d underperformed in math and science, she herself felt. She’d passed these subjects, but when she’d received between 30 to 40 points higher in Japanese, English, and social studies, “blanking out” on math and science had been rough, though she hadn’t beaten herself up too badly.

It was a welcome thing to see, the Yosh actively trying to get a leg up in her problem subjects!

Naoto had to say… he rather enjoyed chatting with Yoshi via text. It brought a whole new dimension to the normally rambunctious girl in twin-tails:

...

<Hachioji-kun, good morning. Would you please bring the math and science workbooks we talked about to karaoke on Wednesday? I don’t have any other reason to be at school this week, so that would be easiest for me.>

<No problem, Yoshi-san. I wasn’t sure if you just wanted what I gave to Sakura-san and Gamo-chan or what Sunomiya used too. I was planning on bringing all four packets. I think looking over the first-year materials would help you.>

<I didn’t even think about that, but please bring all four. I think spending more time on the basics would’ve helped in the tests.>

<I’ll do that.>

<Are you at school right now?>

<Yes. I’m working on an oil painting I began Friday afternoon.>

<I won’t keep you then.>

<I hope you enjoyed your weekend. I’ll see you on Wednesday.>

<Thanks! I hope yours was nice too. Gamo-chan and I had lots of fun! Wednesday will be fun too. I can’t wait!>

<Bye, Yoshi-san.>

<Later, Sensei.>

…

She’d greeted him most appropriately, but Naoto was happy to see her sign off using her favored nickname for him.

He didn’t dislike it, but he’d never quite figured out where it came from, much like Gamo-chan’s “Paisen”…

He wasn’t about to tell Yoshi of the trouble he’d encountered, but he wasn’t lying in saying his weekend had been decent.

It really had been okay… barring the bullshit…

He hadn’t expected she would be, but he was glad that Yoshi wasn’t at all offended by his suggesting she drill herself on first-year stuff on top of the second-year materials, the girl even agreeing with him.

She seemed prepared to put forth a solid effort!

Naoto knew that working on and reviewing the “foundational stuff” might’ve helped Yoshi.

He thought it had helped him with his own exams, going through older stuff with Sakura and Hana.

Yoshi HAD done quite a good job at the end of the semester, and a little hard work might see her do even better come autumn.

…

And then there was Gamo-chan.

Though she’d trounced Yoshi in science and beaten her in math, her other grades had all been below average.

She’d done well by her own standards, but there was plenty of room for improvement.

Relating to Gamo-chan, Naoto wasn’t expecting to hear from her or see her that day.

Checking the school schedule, he noticed the preparation for the Thursday judo tournament their school was hosting wasn’t taking place that day, Monday, but the next day, Tuesday.

The event was quite high-level, bringing in schools from the entirety of the Kanagawa Prefecture.

Nagatoro had qualified for the tourney.

Gamo-chan and most of the Judo Club hadn’t qualified, but they were still expected to help set up and work the event.

This pissed off the burly girl quite a bit, considering most of the team wasn’t going to show up to “mandatory” setup, and only a handful of students would be stuck with the unpleasant task.

It was bad enough that most of the students who DIDN’T qualify would refuse to come in and work, but a few who DID make it into the brackets wouldn’t show up either!

Naoto felt for Gamo-chan. He knew what it was like to be stuck with some thankless task—one that might not even directly benefit him—that would’ve gone quicker for everyone if everyone lent a hand.

At least she got to relax today.

Though, she’d have to come in on the following day for that thankless task of her own.

…

Since the prep for the judo tourney was tomorrow, Naoto was very surprised to see a message from Gamo-chan shortly after 10:00 a.m.:

…

<Yo, Paisen! You in the art room?>

<Yes. I’m oil painting.>

<I’m stopping by. See you in a few.>

…

Crap!

Naoto hoped she hadn’t mistaken the date!

She’d told him a few days prior that she’d be in for setup on Monday!

He hoped she hadn’t come all the way out to school for nothing.

Not that there WAS nothing!

He owed her one-third of the cost of the karaoke party she’d set up for Wednesday, having obtained two-thirds of that money from his friends, Shuu Aisho and Tohru Hijikata.

That still wasn’t a good enough reason for her to come ALL THE WAY TO SCHOOL!

For better or worse, he didn’t have any more time to think about it, because the fiery-eyed, fiery-haired girl of import peeked into the open clubroom door, adorned in her school uniform.

“Paisen~!” She gave Naoto the infamous Gamo-grin. “‘Sup~?”

Yikes! That smile!

But he was (almost) used to it by now. “Gamo-chan, h-hey.”

She wafted into the room. “I brought ya something~.”

What could she possibly be bringing him…?

“…?” He waited.

Out of her schoolbag, she pulled out a bundle.

“Yoshi and I made a multiple batch of chocolate chip cookies on Friday night.” She set her bag on the table. “I thought you might like to share a few with me.”

Oh, wow, would he!

Naoto knew Gamo-chan was quite handy in the kitchen.

And Yoshi could do okay, if he’d heard right…

He beamed. “Hey, thanks!”

She sniffed, “Something smells good in here, Paisen. What you got going?”

He’d forgotten!

There was a reason the room smelled of cardamom and not just oil-based paint.

After Sakura had ordered in scones and chai for their study group’s snack that Thursday they’d booked together, he’d been craving the spiced milk-tea again.

It wasn’t as good as the stuff paired with the scones, but he’d found an easy recipe that used whole milk, and he’d put it together that morning before hitting the canvas.

They’d gotten some good use out of the old burner and tea set Hana’s family had donated to the Art Club!

He said excitedly, “I made some chai. Want some?”

“You don’t need to offer me twice~.” Gamo-chan sat down.

Naoto’s hands were clean at the moment, so he grabbed a fresh mug and poured her some, keeping the pot warm on the burner, fixed to its lowest setting.

The tea wasn’t piping hot, so Gamo-chan took a sip.

“Hey…” Her eyes came even more alive. “Not bad~.”

Naoto’s excitement wasn’t completely unmerited; he was quite pleased with how it turned out.

“Thanks…” He was on cloud nine. “It’s the first time I’ve tried making it in a long while.”

She laughed, “Why don’t you take off that paint shirt and have some cookies with me?”

Looking down, he realized he was wearing the old button-up shirt—soiled in years of paint.

“Oh… yeah.” He peeled it off and hung it over the back of the chair he had at the easel.

Refilling his own mug, forgotten for about an hour, he joined at Gamo-chan’s right side, and the girl unwrapped about a dozen cookies, around the size of the palm of his hand.

“Whoa…” He took one. “Thanks for bringing these.”

“Taste ‘em before you praise me~.” She immediately nibbled at the edge of the attractive specimen she’d snaffled.

He did.

And it was a good cookie.

Moist but with a crispness, not crumbly, not overly sweet, and just the perfect number of chocolate chips…

“Mm…” he mumbled in delight. “That’s nice~…”

“My mom’s recipe~.”

“Well, it’s good~…”

“I guess it’s just a little ‘thank you’ from me and Yoshi,” Gamo-chan said. “We did have a fun semester, Paisen.”

Oh!

“Before I forget…” Naoto owed her money, and he pulled it out, setting the wad of bills on the table. “Here’s what my guys and I owe you.”

“…~!” Forsaking her food and drink a moment, she burbled contentedly as she counted the cash. “Yup… All there. Thanks, Paisen~.”

He hoped she hadn’t been missing it.

¥7,500 wasn’t nothing!

Gamo-chan pocketed the money. “I think you’ll all like this place a lot. I know it’s expensive, but the rooms are really nice, and their drink bar is about the best in town. We’re actually the first group to use the big room I rented~!”

Naoto colored himself impressed. “Wow…”

Gamo-chan WAS a karaoke aficionado.

If she thought it was special, he was sure it was.

“Yeah~…” Gamo-chan hummed, lips around her recovered and presently-vanishing cookie. “They had to do some last-minute work with the drywall and crap… put up a few light fixtures, but it’ll be nice and ready for all of us on Wednesday.”

“I guess we’ll have to bring our A-game and sing our hearts out then,” Naoto attempted playfulness.

“That’s the spirit~!” Gamo-chan seemed to appreciate it; then, she abruptly turned somber. “And… thank you… for getting your two friends to go.”

She was thanking him?

She poked at her second cookie, a pinkness entering her face. “I did want more guys there… but I wasn’t sure what to do or who to ask… and Sakura? She’s not quite the same as she was a month ago, so…”

What was going on?

“Just, thanks, Paisen…” she uttered softly. “Really…”

For her to put it that way…

“It’s fine, Gamo-chan…” Naoto was at a loss as what to say otherwise.

She spun the cookie in place, staring at the chocolaty round of yummy. “I feel kinda bad though, Paisen… I can’t even remember their names, and you’ve used them enough around us…”

“They’re Shuu Aisho and Tohru Hijikata,” he responded. “Shuu’s the taller one.”

Gamo-chan snorked, “Right… Hijikata is ‘Short-pai’…”

“That’s right.” He wouldn’t argue; the guy was short.

She snickered jollily, “…~”

“I was kinda surprised…” Naoto put. “Shuu already started his summer part-time job, but he was able to get off work that afternoon… and Saturday.

Saturday was beach day!

“And Tohru’s doing something from his computer,” he finished. “So, he can pretty much do what he wants when he wants.”

Naoto wanted a way to make some dough too!

“What do they like to be called?” Gamo-chan wondered.

He doubted that Tohru would like being called “Short-pai”!

He figured, “I’m sure using their given names with ‘-kun’ wouldn’t bother either of them. I’m ‘Nao-kun’ to them. If they don’t like it, at least Tohru will let you know.”

“Awright~.” Gamo-chan’s spirits—not low but muted—rose a little. “I’m glad I stopped by. I got my money, some nice milk-tea, and the company of Paisen~.”

With that, “Paisen” was struck by something. “…!”

He’d been so jazzed to have her visit, he’d all but forgotten about his worries prior to her arriving.

The lovely Amazon could see the change in him. “Uh, you okay, Paisen?”

Without taking the time to articulate, he just said what was on the tip of his tongue, “I’m, uh… sorry you had to come all the way out here like this.”

“What do you mean?” Whatever Gamo-chan was envisaging, it wasn’t this.

“I was surprised to hear from you,” Naoto answered, eyes down. “You showed up at school today, even though the setup for the judo tourney was starting tomorrow…”

She jarred. “…!”

“Yeah… I checked the school calendar…” he admitted, unaware. “I saw it was tomorrow… not today. You said last week you’d be coming today for the setup. I thought about messaging you, but I figured you’d have noticed it on your own. I wish I’d messaged you now. Sorry ‘bout that…”

He knew it wasn’t HIS fault, but he didn’t like to see his friend hassled so much, especially on the first weekday of vacation…

Gamo-chan sat, stewing. “…”

Still oblivious to whatever his kohai was up to, Naoto said, “I mean, I’m happy to see you… I’m thankful for the cookies… and I’m glad you like the chai, but… if you needed the money today, I could’ve met you halfway between our houses and just paid you there.”

He wasn’t about to say, “I’m sorry you came to school for nothing,” but that was on the level.

It was a long way for her to come to the school, just to give him a snack…

“Paisen…” Gamo-chan murmured.

Her tone worried him!

It was his turn to trouble. “Gamo-chan?”

“It’s not like that, Paisen… not at all…”

He said the first thing to pop into his head, “What, the money?”

It was a lame comeback, but this sort of thing was still mostly uncharted territory for him…

Gamo-chan denied, dropping her second cookie on the table, “No, I… I, mm… I mean I meant to come to school today…”

“You did?” He couldn’t imagine why.

“Yeah…” She withered into her seat, pulling in her hands. “I knew the setup was Tuesday… It’s not why I came here today… and it wasn’t just for the money or even to see you.”

He wasn’t offended, being her secondary objective; he was just confused.

Gamo-chan went on, “I… lied about judo when I told you I was coming in today. I didn’t wanna tell you why I was coming, but it’s not liked you’d have asked, so I dunno why I bothered with making a big deal about it…”

Alarm bells went clang, clang, clang in Naoto’s brain, red flags rising up like curious meerkats on the Savanna.

He could guess what sort of place this might be going, and he didn’t want to hear it.

“It’s okay, Gamo-chan, you don’t need to tell me.” He felt it was her business as much as he didn’t want to know.

She determined, “No, I want to say now… since I worried you. It… means a lot that you were thinking about me like that… really.”

Ah, shit…

With about as much reluctance as he’d ever seen in her, she told him what was going on.

“I have counseling at school once a week…” she revealed. “It’s for anger management… and some other stuff.”

Oof!

“I’m sorry for lying, Paisen,” she said, quietly flustered.

Was it okay for him to say it was “okay”?

It was difficult to know, but he could at least get why she wouldn’t tell the truth.

Most people wouldn’t tell the truth…

And the fact that she was covering her bases, lying in the first place, three days prior, told him plenty.

Gamo-chan was really mixed-up inside over this.

Naoto reasoned it was okay to say, “Don’t worry about it, Gamo-chan. I get why you’d wanna keep it quiet.”

Not that she HAD kept quiet, not only telling him, but concealing her tracks about as well as a rabid tanuki shitting its brains out in a snowy parking lot.

“Do you think it’s weird, Paisen?” Gamo-chan’s childish question just came out of her, like she hadn’t been able to hold it in.

She’s really asking…?

He denied, “No, it’s not weird… not at all.”

“…?” She shifted.

Naoto wasn’t about to mention Sakura’s experiences, but…

“There’s nothing weird about it…” he assured.

The Wednesday afternoon they’d had sodas near Gamo-chan’s house, he’d told her about the nonsensical panic that occasionally overtook him.

When she had—in a way most half-assed—suggested he seek counseling, she’d been speaking from experience.

…Maybe you should go get that checked out some time. If it happens that much… It doesn’t sound right…

Naoto thought she might’ve been.

And he absently voiced, “Sometimes I wonder if I should go in… about anger…”

“You?” Gamo-chan seemed a bit surprised.

He weighed, “Yeah… sometimes, I think I should.”

It was an occasional thought.

He’d been trying to not think of how angry he’d been just one week earlier… and how it might’ve affected the girls.

He knew it hurt them…

And he’d have given a lot to not remember how he’d behaved… and even more to have never done it.

“…”

“…”

Gamo-chan disagreed with what he said, which was all she knew, “If it’s about last Monday, I don’t think you need to worry. With all that happened…”

“…” Naoto gulped.

She disallowed, “You really don’t need to worry about that.”

Naoto firmly decided to not tell her just how black his thoughts had been that day.

She didn’t need that…

“…”

“…”

Gamo-chan didn’t exactly relax, but she was visibly more at ease.

She puffed, “Paisen, would you please go grab the teapot?”

It wasn’t the first thing one might expect out of her, but he did as he was asked. “Uh, sure.”

He could see she was running on empty, so he gestured to refill her mug.

“Thanks, Paisen…” she gladly accepted.

He saw he needed a refill himself, and he sat down, leaving the pot between them on a hot mitt.

If this was like what he saw on TV and in movies, he was in for a ride.

“I… haven’t told anyone but Yoshi about it, the counseling,” Gamo-chan said. “She’s known about it for years though…”

She’d never told Nagatoro?

Naoto thought this was strange, but thinking about it for more than a few seconds… he didn’t blame the girl whose cookies he was enjoying.

He also knew the cookies weren’t some “price of admission” to share her woes; Gamo-chan wasn’t planning on this…

She brought him back, “My parents… homeroom teacher… the lady counselor here… they’re the ones that know. Now you do.”

He did, and he was sure there was more coming.

Gamo-chan didn’t break expectations. “I went for more than a year without ‘blowing my stack’ like I did on Monday, but it’s been three years… since my second year of middle school… that I really lost control… so at least that didn’t happen…”

Monday HADN’T been ‘losing control’?

“Not gonna lie, Paisen, I was wishing for more finals, because I wouldn’t have had to go to counseling Wednesday afternoon,” she rumbled. “More finals, so I wouldn’t have to relive what I’d done on Monday… what I did to Hayacchi. I really didn’t like having to walk Mrs. Serizawa through that.”

Ack! This was getting to be too much!

“That was… messed up… what I did…” Gamo-chan derided. “That was really messed up…”

How would Naoto get her off the subject?

She juddered. “After you… left, I couldn’t hold it back anymore, and I just started crying…”

Fuck! Naoto writhed.

“I went to hide… and there was no one in the girls’ room on the other side of the building, but I think someone might’ve heard me, Paisen… I could hear someone walking away quieter than they came.”

He knew that must’ve been Sakura!

“Why do I have to be such a coward about it, Paisen…?” Gamo-chan lamented. “I don’t really think less of anyone for crying, but I’m so scared of it happening with me…”

He didn’t and wouldn’t think less of her…

“Yoshi has to know, but she’d never say so… She must know… I dunno if she knows that I know, but…”

Yoshi DID pick up on more than many might think…

“I hate that I’m so scared about it… I wish I didn’t have to be… I’m tired of hiding it…”

He could understand it might be difficult for her to be vulnerable…

“Hayacchi doesn’t know about it, I guarantee it, but… thinking Sakura doesn’t would just be stupid… So why am I so worried about it?”

If only she knew how right she was about the gal!

Supposedly, some small miracle fell from the sky and started wiggling, because the Maki drew back.

“Aww… I’m sorry, Paisen…” She massaged her temples. “I don’t mean to dump all this on you… I’m just feeling a little wrung-out… Mrs. Serizawa didn’t give me much latitude today…”

Naoto was eager to move things along. “It’s okay, Gamo-chan… I know it’s probably hard, but I hope going helps you.”

The corners of her mouth turned up… just a little.

“It does, Paisen, thanks…” she acknowledged. “I tell you… the reason I went this morning was to get it over with for the week. You know, before something else happens.”

He welcomed her dimples appearing, her smile spreading.

It would be nice if she avoided self-deprecation at a time like this, but it was sometimes the way to go.

Gamo-chan even gave him her savage grin. “But now that school’s out, I can go pretty much any time I want during the week. I could go next Friday. That’d give me 10 days away from the counselor’s office~.”

“Don’t think like that,” Naoto chuckled in spite of himself. “Maybe Mondays are good for it. You always feel like a new person on a Monday.”

“Yeah…” She glowed. “Thanks, Paisen…”

He knew he was likely blushing a bit himself. “You’re welcome.”

“…”

“…”

“I’m not being a nuisance, am I?” Gamo-chan wondered.

Naoto wouldn’t stand for it, “No, not at all… I’m just doing a little painting.”

She nudged another cookie in his direction. “I’m sorry you weren’t able to work with Hayacchi on Friday, Paisen.”

She knew the two of them patching it up wasn’t a small thing.

“Thanks, but it’s alright.” In a pig’s ass would he tell her he’d found a replacement. “We’ll try it again some time. I just worked on something else.”

“What?” She peered at the bust across the room. “What you’re doing now?”

“Yup, I started, at least.” He regarded the object, taking up the offered cookie. “I think I’ll take my time with this. S’been a while since I did a serious oil painting.”

He was partially telling the truth…

“…”

“…”

Gamo-chan moved first, asking, “Have you talked with Hayacchi much?”

SHE brought that up?!

He wouldn’t complain about it though.

It meant HE didn’t have to bring it up…

“We haven’t talked, but we’ve messaged each other,” he replied. “She said her voice is gone, and she seems pretty out of it.”

“Well, you’ve had the flu, Paisen… You know how it can drain you.”

He nodded, having had it a couple times. “I sure do…”

“It’s no fun, is it…?” It was a rhetorical question on her part. “She’ll be fine with a few more days of rest. I hope she’s fine by Wednesday, but if her voice is all fucked, she might not have any fun when we do karaoke.”

It would be nice if she didn’t dwell on that…

“…”

“…”

“Gamo-chan?” Naoto raised.

This raised her eyes. “Yes?”

He wasn’t about to apologize for his behavior the previous week—she’d been clear about not wanting to hear it again—but there was something he wanted to know.

“I know last week was… bad sometimes,” he finessed. “Are you feeling alright? Really? …I’m just kinda worried.”

“…!” Her eyes bugged, but she took control of herself. “I think so, Paisen… I think I’m okay… I’m just…”

He reasoned he could finish, “You’re a little worn out after this morning.”

She appreciated this, “Yeah… I usually feel kinda depleted afterwards… when Serizawa puts me through the paces…”

“…” Naoto fumbled to say something.

Gamo-chan smirked, tiredly rather than dismissively. “Please, Paisen, I’m okay… Sometimes you just feel a little burned-out.”

“Yeah…”

“…”

“…”

“I… don’t really wanna talk about this anymore…” Gamo-chan drummed her fingers on the table.

Naoto wouldn’t bicker!

…

“I’m still really happy with my grades, Paisen,” Gamo-chan said in a semi-cheerful way. “But you could see how shocked I was when Yoshi did as well as she did…”

At least SHE was the one to bring up Yoshi…

Naoto hadn’t been shocked, but he’d been surprised, and he decided to go with this a moment. “She worked hard, Gamo-chan.”

He, however, thought dwelling on Yoshi might be problematic, and he hoped for a fresh topic sooner than later.

“You might think it sounds awful, but I keep on thinking I’m the ‘dumb one’…” the girl fessed up.

He’d been afraid Gamo-chan was rolling that exact idea around!

She completed her thought, “But that’s just stupid of me… Thing about Yoshi… she’s pretty smart, Paisen… She just doesn’t test all that well. You know what that means?”

Of course!

“Yeah… that you might not see it through… well, normal avenues.” Naoto knew a little about a lot.

“Exactly,” Gamo-chan tendered. “But when someone pushes her in the right direction… gives her some guidance… Hey, you saw what happened…”

He’d never doubted Yoshi’s intelligence—not really—but yes, he HAD seen what a little structure could do…

It was a gamble, but Naoto pressed, “Yeah, she did well, but so did you.”

“I did well for me~,” she corrected, muttering out the side of her mouth.

Cripes! She was really down on herself!

He really wanted to guide Gamo-chan in a more positive direction.

How would he do that?

It’s not like he had nothing. “Well… you said those guides I gave you helped.”

“They sure did…” she agreed.

“I guess we mentioned it, but I think holding a study session next semester would be good… not just for finals but midterms too.” This was something he’d been rolling around. “I’m sure Sakura-san and Sunomiya would be up for doing it again, and I think you and Yoshi could both join. We could plan ahead better, and—"

“Okay, okay, Paisen~…” Gamo-chan snorted. “You’ve made your point…”

He hadn’t really been TRYING to do anything, but…

“Sorry…” He had been trying to cheer her up.

She shook her head. “It’s cool, Paisen… And I’m sorry… for all this negativity.”

“Oh, you’re just a little out of it,” Naoto comforted. “I get it.”

“…”

“…”

Gamo-chan mulled, “But, hey, if you three do want to try the whole ‘study buddy’ thing again, I really would like in.”

“I think it went pretty well.” Naoto quickly felt reassured. “If everyone’s on board, it should go fine.”

“I’ll try to not hold you back…” she said, mostly serious.

He pushed, “And if you want a place to work on your summer homework, you can do it here. I find I can get more work done here than at home.”

“I’ll even bring cookies~.” She waved what turned out to be her fourth, before taking a nice chomp out of it. “And you’d better make more of this chai~.”

“Sure!” he spouted.

Gamo-chan gave a little smile. “…~”

Naoto could breathe easier.

That could’ve been worse…

Visibly a bit more cheerful, she shared, “I’m sorry for calling off the pizza thing. I was just feeling a little zonked on Friday.”

“I hope you and Yoshi-san had a nice sleepover,” Naoto posed.

He wouldn’t say he’d been in contact with Yoshi over it though.

Her eyes widened. “You knew about it?”

“Sakura-san told me that’s what you two were likely up to,” he determined. “I hope it was nice.”

“It was.” She brightened this time and even let out a very un-Maki-ish giggle. “We watched The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast—the Disney ones. It reminded me of when we were little girls~.”

Naoto basked, “That does sound nice.”

“Yoshi started bawling a couple times, but I wouldn’t let it happen with me…” She mellowed.

Crap! Could she NOT stay away from negativism?!

But maybe she’d just brushed with it again, “We’ve decided to do a ‘Disney Renaissance’ viewing over the summer, up to Tarzan but axing The Rescuers Down Under, though The Rescuers—the first one—was the best thing in Disney’s “Bronze Age” (or maybe The Fox and the Hound was the best… or Winnie the Pooh). We haven’t decided whether or not to include Pocahontas, the low point of the Renaissance, in our marathon.”

“…” Naoto blinked. “I have no idea what you just said…”

Gamo-chan lit up like Christmas!

It was time to school her Paisen on something SHE knew!

“The Disney animated film eras are divided into seven parts, but I only consider there to be six eras,” she orated. “The Golden Age was Snow White through Bambi.

“The Wartime Era—the American side, that is—were those ‘compilation films’ that ran from Saludos Amigos to The Adventures of Ichabod and Mister Toad (and Song of the South too!). I can’t even remember all the movies in this age, but it was six or seven…

“After the Wartime Era was the Silver Age—Cinderella to The Jungle Book. Walt Disney died in 1966, and The Jungle Book was the last film Disney himself had anything to do with, and he was working less and less on the movies, spending more time expanding his company into other markets and, of course, the further development of Disneyland.”

Naoto’s head was spinning!

He’d never seen Gamo-chan go off on a subject like this!

And she was far from finished. “Then there’s the Bronze Age… The Aristocats through Oliver & Company… all the stuff between The Jungle Book and The Little Mermaid… Not all of it sucked but 22 years is a long time to not see a gem. On a side note, Disney also had a lot of stinkers in live-action in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s.

“Then there’s the Disney Renaissance~, which we’ve covered…

“Finally, we have what they call the Post-Renaissance and the Revival Era… Me? I call it all the ‘Hit-and-Miss Era’. The good ones were Lilo & Stitch, The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, the other Winnie the Pooh, Frozen, and Moana. The other stuff? Meh…”

“…!” Naoto found himself wondering what was next, but—

“That’s how far we’ve come, Paisen…” Gamo-chan coolly checked her fingernails. “We’ll see how good the second Frozen movie is later this year, but even if it sucks, it’ll still make a couple hundred-billion yen.”

Her senpai nodded. “…”

“Pick up your jaw, Paisen~…” she nudged. “You look like an idiot~.”

He checked, at once denying, “It’s not dropped…”

Gamo-chan chuckled at her blushing friend, doing a little of the same herself, “Yeah, I’m a fan of Disney, Paisen~.”

“I can tell,” he said with no irony. “I… I’ve seen some of them, mostly when I was a kid…”

“Between mine and Yoshi’s family, we prolly have the whole catalog,” she preened. “My dad even as a Laserdisc of Song of the South~.”

“Is that a big deal or something?” Naoto didn’t know.

She was mockingly aghast. “Oh, my, yes~! The Americans treat the movie like it’s the Bubonic Plague~!

“Why?” He didn’t know.

She didn’t understand it herself, but, “I don’t think there’s a country on Earth that isn’t ashamed of a few things in its history.”

That told Naoto something!

Japan?

They had some skeletons…

But it didn’t tell him much.

“Maybe I’ll look it up later…” he meditated.

“You’re better off doing that,” Gamo-chan boosted. “I could parrot to you what my dad says, but I don’t know what to think of some of his opinions. He thinks The Sword in the Stone is a better movie than Sleeping Beauty… Fuckin’ blasphemy~…”

Naoto knew she was (mostly) playing, but she didn’t entirely disbelieve her own words.

It was one of the reasons he could still laugh, “I… never would’ve guessed…”

“That I’m a Disney fangirl~?” she tittered, a malicious Maki grin at full-tilt.

Whoo-hoo!

He struggled to maintain, but he managed. “I didn’t say there’s anything wrong with it. It’s nice to enjoy something that much.”

It was easy enough to quell the “Mighty Amazon” with a little thoughtfulness.

“They’ve always been my favorites, Paisen…” she murmured placidly.

“…”

“…”

Naoto kept up the waiting game. “…?”

Gamo-chan exhaled and took a sip of tea. “So, Paisen, you planning on being in tomorrow?”

Why would she ask?!

Instead of giving it further brain-power, he shrugged. “Probably… I’ve been waiting for a few weeks to just be able to sit and do some art without worrying about anything else.”

“Hmm…” she contemplated. “I really wish I didn’t have to be here tomorrow…”

Right… the setup for the judo tourney…

Naoto would let her have her say, which seemed inevitable.

Again, she didn’t defy expectations. “I can’t participate, other than grunt work, but I wouldn’t mind setting up, if it wasn’t for the fact Hayacchi prolly won’t be allowed to compete.”

“She won’t?” Having heard her complain about the whole situation once, he further determined to just let her say what she was going to.

So much for “happier” subject matter…

“She’ll likely be too worn-out and weak after being sick, even if she suddenly got better by tonight,” Gamo-chan wouldn’t ridicule him, his compassionate ear open to her poison. “Sensei wouldn’t let her compete in something this big if she’s too wiped… It’s some bad luck, getting sick like that.”

Naoto would support, “Shit happens, I guess.”

“You can say that again…” she drawled. “And they’ll still expect me to go in to work the tourney on Thursday.”

“That’s part of what being a team player is about, Gamo-chan.” He would also be firm, despite shaking in his shoes.

Gamo-chan grumbled, “I know… but I told you how lazy most of the team is. We’ll be short tomorrow for help.”

Naoto didn’t want to be asked to help!

He also didn’t expect it.

And it DIDN’T come…

Be that as it may, if he knew what was next, he might’ve come up with an excuse to break up their tea party, or he would volunteer to help… even immediately!

When Gamo-chan couldn’t stay away from bad shit, she REALLY couldn’t stay away from bad shit!

“I gotta be honest with you, Paisen…” the Gamo-floodgates opened, a wall of watery death, worthy of the wet season in the Amazon, pouring forth. “I don’t even like judo… There are too many rules… and I was never really able to get the hang of it. Sometimes, I don’t even see the point of it… or the appeal. Gimme a set of gloves, and I’m good, but judo… no…

“I was really happy when Hayacchi got back into it after staying away from it for so long… but I didn’t want it to be here and NOT with these people…!”

Yes, Naoto was fast regretting not chocking up the dam when he’d had the chance.

“…!” He held onto something solid, praying he wasn’t swept away.

Weren’t they just talking about Disney?!?!

“The Judo Club at this school is a viper’s nest, Paisen…!” Gamo-chan hissed. “They really don’t like Hayacchi for quitting.”

They don’t? Naoto had never heard about this.

“The whole club’s that way…” she churned. “The only reason I joined was to watch Hayacchi’s back.”

Things were really that bad?!

Gamo-chan went on, “The only people that don’t seem to hate her are most of the freshmen and Orihara… but Orihara’s too stupid to hate anyone. The only thing she hates is losing at judo… so, she doesn’t have anything to hate, I guess…”

What’s this about Orihara?!

“The club is full of idiots, Paisen,” she went on and on. “I’m not oblivious… I know I’m no scholar, but all of the club girls seem to be going to summer school for at least one subject, and some of them barely passed. They’re all stupid and careless and mean, and that’s a bad combination. Orihara isn’t mean, but two out of three still isn’t great…

“Our school does have quite the special-ed program. And the members of the Judo Club must dot the ranks~.”

WTF was going on?! Naoto couldn’t recall choking in a cloud of shit that wasn’t his own… and he couldn’t move. This was messed up!

“The club? They don’t like Orihara either, but she is their ace…” Gamo-chan just kept going. “The girl who’s kinda the leader is this boring chick… she has tits down to her waist, but unlike the Prez, they really do hang down to her waist.

“What’s worse are her flunkies… There’s this one bitch… I dunno if I’ve ever met a girl as mean as her… and then there’s this girl with crazy eyes I call ‘Sniffer’…”

Sniffer?!

“Either she’s on the spectrum, or she’s got a brain-tumor or something… She’s always smelling stuff that isn’t there. On Friday? She whined and whined and whined after Hayacchi got sick. She wouldn’t shut up about the stink of puke!

“It’s not like she was stuck in our homeroom; she could’ve gone somewhere else. I was ready to tell her to shut the fuck up and go take a nap in her hug-box…!”

Naoto wasn’t sure how much longer he could sit there.

He was as disgusted as he was nervous.

And this whole time, Gamo-chan hadn’t yelled or even raised her voice.

But she was decomposing with ire…

“If it wasn’t for Yoshi…” She tried to still her quaking hands, and they creaked shut into fists. “I think I would’ve really blown my stack. It was her idea to come to your clubroom on Friday… She convinced me to leave… and she covered for me when I said the sick-smell drove us off…

“I… I…”

Enough was enough!

“You need to stop,” her senpai cut in, his… whatever was holding him back shattering.

Her gaze snapped up, as if she’d come out of a trance. “Huh?”

It wasn’t an angry reaction; she’d “woken up”.

Naoto was sure he’d have to follow up, telling her he’d heard more than plenty, but—

As if she didn’t know where to look, Gamo-chan’s eyes darting up and down, finally focusing on him.

“…!” To Naoto’s horror, her eyeballs began to twitch, redness creeping into her cheekbones.

Her wits catching up with the rest of her, Gamo-chan shivered. “…Paisen…?”

What was he seeing?

She apparently didn’t like whatever Naoto was seeing, fidgeting like mad, her eyelids brimming, and he could tell she was ready to split on him.

But where would she go? Would she go running through the hallway?!

Even so, she might’ve, if he hadn’t said something.

“Gamo-chan, don’t go,” Naoto implored, catching himself reaching for her.

Tensed to move, she instead listened. “…?!”

“Gamo-chan…”

She continued to look about worriedly, for what, he didn’t know, but she shrank into her chair.

Oh, boy…

All at once, her continence dissolved like a sugar cube thrown in a cup of hot coffee, and the rising tears had no place to go but overflow, the sharp inhale through her teeth knocking them loose.

Hiding her face, she rubbed at her eyes, a whimper building in her throat. “Nm…!”

Old Naoto might’ve been lost, and he wasn’t much better off now, but as with many things, he wasn’t worthless.

“Here…” He pushed the tissue box, residing on the table, to his friend.

With less haste than he’d seen out of her the last time he offered her tissues, Gamo-chan pulled out a few and began dabbing at her cheeks, a sniffle escaping, “Hiff…”

Naoto let her be a minute, realizing she was winding down and probably wouldn’t vamoose.

Though he wasn’t sure why she’d started crying.

Pushing her wad of tissues aside, she rested her forearms on the table and laid her forehead on top.

Huddling up, she let out a heavy sigh, purposefully keeping her eyes averted, her head turned left, away from her senpai.

But she was… unguarded? To a degree…

It looked that way.

Did she WANT Naoto to do something?

Or was he just not a threat?

He took all this in. “…!”

…

Naoto did know a little about a lot, and he knew a lot about a little.

And he knew he wasn’t a professional head-doctor or a counselor or even a continuously reliable source of great advice…

But he did know a few things about Gamo-chan.

She’d had a rough morning…

She’d had a rough WEEK, complete with its own stresses…

And if her words were to be believed, her reason for being involved in something she didn’t even like—her best friend—was sick in bed…

Naoto also knew life wasn’t some afterschool special or some anime or manga, as much as the parallels seemed to be popping up the last month.

Additionally, he knew a hat was sometimes just a hat, and a smile was sometimes just a smile.

But anger?

Anger always came from somewhere. There was always something behind it.

And he’d seen it in her a few times, especially how it might manifest when she got stuck in a rut.

He knew well what anger felt like.

Some people got a high off being angry—they liked it… or were at least hooked on it, finding a sort of satisfaction—but Naoto wasn’t one of them, and he doubted Gamo-chan was either.

It HURT, feeling that way.

He… had a lot of anger…

But it didn’t make him a monster.

When he’d yelled at the girls and had his subsequent meltdown a week earlier… he’d been building up that venom for a long time.

It didn’t make it right, but it didn’t mean he was a monster.

Nor was Gamo-chan any sort of monster.

She was a normal, sensitive girl, wishing to be seen as something other than the brute so many portrayed her to be…

She was Naoto’s friend, and whatever was going on with her hadn’t come from nowhere.

He could guess she’d been keeping a lot bottled up too.

So, he stood up and closed and locked the clubroom door.

Why he hadn’t thought to do this already, the sliding door wide-open this whole time, damned if he knew…

He moved to Gamo-chan’s left side, and he sat down.

She flinched upon feeling his fresh presence… but she didn’t turn away.

Naoto rested his arm on the table, brought his ear down to it, and met her at her level.

Her eyes were closed, and he moved slowly.

To his personal loathing, his hands began shaking, and they wouldn’t stop shaking; his whole body had begun to quiver.

He was afraid!

He was just… scared of Gamo-chan…

He hated it!

There was no good reason for it!

This girl was his friend… a girl he liked as a friend… and she liked him right back.

He might’ve been afraid, but it couldn’t stop him from caring.

Steeling himself, he took a deep breath, and blew out as much fear as he could.

“Gamo-chan?” He placed his steady-ish hand gently on her shoulder. “Hey, Gamo-chan…”

The eye closest to him, wet and dim in the shadows of her hair, popped open.

“Paisen…?” her voice came quietly.

“Hey…” he eased. “What’s wrong…?”

Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading! Questions and comments are welcome!