The Story of Sora: 'Man to Man.'

    "Keita, what are you doing here?" I  was mumbling. In my confused, half asleep state,
I couldn't bring myself to do anymore than that. "Go 'way... the sun's not even up yet..."
    "What? You forgot already? You promised you'd help me with the cows today! Remember?"
He seemed confused... I think, I'm not sure. I was so tired I could barely see anything.
    "Today, that means in the day, senpai." I think it was probably three or four in the morning.
    "Bah, by the time you get up, I'll be done milking all the cows! Come on, with two of us, we'll be done quick!"
I didn't even bother putting on a Kimono, I stumbled my way into some pants and fought with a net shirt.
I felt plain, but I wanted to get this over with so I could go back to bed.

    We headed to Keita's place, it was cold out, especially without a kimono or my scarf.
Why was I helping him? Well, Keita's my senpai, aren't we supposed to be polite to our senpai?
Keita's a year or so older than me and in general, seemed a little more grown up than I was.
He stood around 5'9 with messy blonde hair and a simple outfit. He always had a piece of grass in his mouth,
I tried it once, but grass doesn't taste very good. Regardless, he was a reliable friend I looked up to.
He had a strong sense of morals and loyalty, If I had to turn to someone, typically it was Keita.
I guess respect him a lot, so I told him if he ever needed a hand, I could lend him one.
But this early in the morning? I don't think I could ever get used to this, not even for senpai.

    "Alright Sora, watch closely, this is how you milk a cow, 'kay?" he smiled at me and began to show me,
I started to laugh though. He turned to me, "Huh? is somethin' funny Sora?" I smirked,
    "I might not have any use for it, but I'm pretty familar with that hand motion." I followed with a lewd gesture.
    "D-d-dumbass! it's not the same at all! Jeez!" although he scolded me for it, he let out a quiet chuckle too.
We had a good time, I mean, it was still farm chores, but we messed around and had fun along the way.
The sun was finally starting to rise, we were at the last cow, Keita said he'd do it, since it was his favorite cow.

    "Keita, can I ask you something?" I had something on my mind, and who better to turn to than your senpai, right?  
    "Uh, isn't that what you're doin' right now?" he finished his response with a smirk, it made things less awkward.
    "Do you have someone... special to you?" I felt warm, a little flushed too. "I mean, like, more than a friend."
I wasn't sure how to explain it, "Someone you'd do... well, anything for if it came down to it." I was still unsure how to put it.
    "Well, I'm not sure what I wouldn't do for Dou, I mean, we don't always ge-" I interupted him,
    "No! that's... not exactly what I meant.... I mean, like, let's pretend it's a girl." I turned away suddenly,
to be honest, I wasn't sure what i felt, I've never thought of anyone as more than 'just a friend' until now.
Hell, I wasn't sure if I even thought of her as more, but I figured getting guidance might help me figure that out.

    "OH! That kinda friend... Yeah, me an' Dou aren't like THAT at all." he laughed a little and scratched his head,
then thought for a moment, "Yeah, I got someone sorta like that too. I get what you're sayin'."
He spat the piece of grass out of his mouth and thought for a moment before turning to me.
He put his arm around my shoulder and raised his pinkie, "... So she's like 'that' huh?"
    "I-I-I don't k-know!" I panicked and pushed him away, stumbling backwards into a pile of grass.
Holding his stomach he let out a loud laugh, to be fair, my spectacle had probably been an amusing one.
 
    "Well, that situation is kind of tough." he walked over to me and helped me up,
"I mean, when she's that kind of girl, usually, you just know, y'know?" he tried to think of a better answer,
"I guess, I'd say you got some stuff to think about. 'Cause if she's like this." he raised his pinkie once more.
"Trust me when I say, somewhere in there, you'll know she's that." He tapped my chest.
It was a simple gesture and his answer wasn't the most wordy, but it was to the point, and it was right.
That's why I liked Keita, he wasn't the best with words by any means, but he always helped.
He knew what to say so you'd be able to figure out the rest on your own later.

    "Thanks senpai." I couldn't help but smile, he was right. When you know, you just know.
    "No worries, hey, I'll treat you to Dango as a way of saying thanks for the hand."
    "I hope they have something sweet!" I laughed, and a goofy grin crossed my face.
    "Y'know, you don't always have to eat sweet things, Sora. It's not good for you."
he laughed a bit and punched my arm, I pushed him back and laughed too,
    "Bah! you're my senpai, not my mom!" I stuck my tongue out. He was only a year older,
but it felt like having an older brother, which was something I wasn't really used to.
I didn't mind, I wouldn't tell him that though, 'cause it would probably weird him out.

    "So... who's your special person Keita?" his face went bright red and he looked away,
    "Wha-er-I-I'm not tellin', it's a secret!" I looked over,
    "It's that cow, isn't it?" a wide grin crossed my face, "So that's your secret, senpai!"
     "NO!" He made a hilarious face caught between the worst traits of embarrassment and anger,
"Hana is special to me, but not like that dude. That's gross!"
    "I bet she is!" he squinted his eyes at me, then a grin crossed his face.
    "You better watch what you say, or I won't buy you anything!" My jaw dropped,
    "NOOOOOO! Keita!" we both stared at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing.
We went for dango, talked a bit more then went our separate ways, it was a good day.
I walked home by myself, it was a windy day, I liked windy days the best.

    I stood outside my house thinking for a moment, looked to my hand, and raised my pinkie,

    "You're right senpai, she is like 'that.'"