🌸Cherry Blossom Palette🎨

🌸Chapter 17: The Sakura Puzzle, Part One🎨

Written by EmtenDew

Edited by P. serrulata

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Author's note:

ED: I promised to avoid melodrama, but this chapter got too close for comfort.

Also, I made a grave error regarding how final exams are administered in Japanese high schools. It turns out students complete their final exams TWO WEEKS before summer break actually begins! I feel dumb for not checking on that, but my editor didn't think about it either until we had moved WAY past that. I should've done some actual research on this instead of not thinking about it.

Try to suspend disbelief, because our hero and heroines will be taking their exams the last week of the term. They'll be taking their exams July 15, 16, 17 and they get their grades and get out of school on July 19. Two days isn't much time to grade exams, but I've seen teachers and professors I had make it through grading incredible amounts of exams and having final grades ready by nightfall.

It was scary to have a final exam ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON if you were bordering on passing or failing that subject when you were SUPPOSED TO GRADUATE COLLEGE the next morning, Saturday! It made for better drama for us though, and it sucks for students in Japan, having to piddle around for TWO ENTIRE WEEKS after final exams before summer break finally arrives. My editor used the term "killable" to describe his thoughts on such an arrangement.

Please look at the Q&A section I set up at the end of the chapter. Ask us anything, and we'll add another section in the next chapter. I would be happy if you ask questions.

Please enjoy what I wrote.

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Wednesday, July 3, 2018

Having pulled Sakura Inori out of the school building for a private chat at lunch, Naoto Hachioji had only one thing to say to the couple of first-year students in the way of that.

"Scram..."

Sakura watched in a mixture of amazement and horror as those two freshmen scampered out of the schoolgrounds' "secret sexy corner", frightened away by her senpai.

Naoto watched the two kids until they were well out of sight; then he motioned Sakura to sit at the now empty bench.

She did, still bewildered at what she'd just seen, setting her bag and lunch beside her.

He sat down too, opening his bento.

Sakura watched as he began to slowly eat, but something was wrong. It was as if her senpai was getting smaller and smaller, hunching over and shrinking into his seat.

She gave a tenuous prod, "Senpai-kun?"

Almost dropping his bento in his lap, Naoto sighed, "I'm sorry, Sakura-san..."

Incredulous, she asked, "What's wrong, Senpai-kun?"

Naoto looked at her, mouth agape, "I can't do this stuff, Sakura-san...!"

"Do what?" she didn't get his meaning.

"Act tough!" he answered.

"Tough?"

"That kid probably could've kicked my ass!" he liquified in his spot, like ice cream left in the sun. "What was I thinking?!"

"..." Sakura dithered; the guy had been a flyweight. "He, uh, didn't look like he could..."