This is something I thought of while watching TV with my grandma. It's a just-for-fun oneshot.
Enjoy! :)
(I own none of the people/things mentioned in this fic)
EXERCISE ANYTIME YOU WANT!
SWIM ALL YEAR ROUND!
BUY YOUR OWN SWIM SPA!
CALL TIATI INC. TO ORDER YOURS TODAY!
Haruka leapt to his feet, startling his green-haired friend. He dashed over to the television and pressed his nose to the screen, like a child staring into a candy store.
"Did you hear that, Makoto? They said you can swim all year if you buy that spa thing. I…I have to have one." Makoto stared at his childhood friend. He could practically see the sparkles floating in his eyes.
"Haru-chan…you do know that there is no way they are telling the truth, right?" The kind hearted boy smiled sympathetically at Haruka, "They just want to sell their product."
The dark-haired boy paid him no heed, "Hello, TIATI Inc.? I would like to order one of your spas please. Yes…yes, that's right. Okay, my credit card number is…" Makoto blinked at him in disbelief.
"HARU-CHAN!" He screeched in frustration, "NO! YOU CAN'T DO THAT WITHOUT YOUR PARENT'S PERMISSION! STOP, YOU BAKA!" He dove at his friend in desperation, landing a good meter away. The dark-haired boy simply glanced at him indifferently as he finished up his call.
"All right. Thank you very much. Goodbye." He returned the phone to its receiver, gave Makoto a blank look and attempted to appease him with a bland, "I want to swim all the time. Now I can." Makoto groaned and face palmed. Only Haruka would do something so spontaneously idiotic when he thought that he might be able to get a swim out of it.
§-§-§
The Swim Spa arrived at three forty-five the next day as the two were walking home from school. Haruka visibly brightened and rushed to greet the installers. Makoto sighed. There was nothing he could do now.
"Haruka-senpai? Makoto-senpai?" A tall boy wearing red rimmed glasses came into view along with a much shorter blonde.
"HARU-CHAN! MAKO-CHAN!" The blonde jumped for joy and shouted with glee at the sight of the two friends, "What's going on?" He bounded around them like a bunny on a sugar high.
"Haru bought a Swim Spa…" the green-haired boy said with another sigh, "Rei-kun, Nagisa-kun, how are you two doing?" Makoto smiled at them.
"Frankly, I am doing quite well, Makoto-senpai, and you?" Glasses, or rather Rei, responded politely.
Nagisa, on the other hand, shot his arms up in the air and shrieked, "I'm doing great, Mako-chan! Thanks for asking!"
Haruka gave the blonde a withering glare. He was still overseeing the installer's work and didn't appreciate the interruption. He gave an irritable huff before turning back to his newly bought possession. It certainly is beautiful…ahhh…I'm going to be able to swim in the middle of winter, the peak of fall, in summer's heat, in spring's showers…I'm so EXCITED! The dark-haired boy let out an uncharacteristic squeak of happiness. He really was thrilled with his purchase and couldn't wait to try it out.
§-§-§
An hour later, after the workers and two kohai had left (Nagisa had needed some help with his homework and Rei said he would be his tutor), Haruka had changed into his swimsuit and was filling his new Swim Spa with water. Makoto was still hanging around but he stayed on the sidelines, content with merely observing.
"Ne, Haru?" He asked at one point.
"Hm?"
"If this doesn't work out, what will you do?" Makoto leaned against the outside of the house casually.
Haruka blinked and looked up at him in surprise, "Why wouldn't it work? The TV said that it was one of the most reliable spas in the world. Plus, it's going to be full of water. Water would never betray me. Give me a cold shoulder maybe but never betray me, not without good reason of course."
Makoto slid off the wall and landed with a thump on the ground at the illogical statement, "You have got to be kidding. You'll listen to the TV but not me, your best friend, who told you this was a bad idea in the first place?!"
The dark-haired boy tilted his head in thought for a bit, "Yeah…sorry Makoto. Not that I don't trust you but…well, the ad said I'd be able to swim all year round. I couldn't stand knowing that and not doing something about it." Makoto noticed that there were, once again, sparkles in his eyes and bubbles around his head. He was…serious about this. In all the years Makoto had known him there were only five times when Haruka had been totally serious (anything having to do with Rin or mackerel, both relays, and that terrible ocean predicament). Makoto sighed and stood back up. Oh well, he thought, I guess that's Haru-chan for you.
Haruka turned off the hose he was using to fill the Swim Spa. He tossed it to the side and jumped in. Makoto looked at the clock on his phone and counted, "One, two, three, fou-"
"COLD!" Haruka yelped, leaping out in surprise. He had failed to recall that he needed to plug in the spa and wait for a while till the water heated up. His green-haired 'friend' chuckled softly. Makoto had known all along that the machine would have to be plugged in before use. He was just a little upset that Haruka had not trusted him in the first place.
"D-d-did y-you kn-kn-know?!" The dark-haired boy chattered through clenched teeth. Makoto chuckled with a quick nod. "Wh-wh-why d-didn't you t-t-tell me?!" He growled, frowning in a 'menacing' way (though, to be honest it looked more like a grimace).
"You didn't believe me before, so I figured you wouldn't believe me if I told you that you needed to plug it in first. The water would never betray you, remember?" The usually kind young man smirked heartlessly at his friend, "Call this pay back, Haru-chan!"
"J-j-j-erk!" Haruka chucked a small pine cone, which happened to be lying near his feet, at Makoto in a cold (pun intended) fury. The green-haired boy just watched as it sailed past (Haruka couldn't have hit the broad side of a barn with a baseball bat).
Makoto gave an amused sigh and strolled over to the outside power outlet. On his way over he snagged the spa's cord and, twirling it around in the air, turned toward his still quivering friend. He tilted his head to the side and asked, "I'll plug it in for you, if you say that you're sorry for not trusting me. If you choose not to apologize…well, I'll let your imagination work that one out on its own." He reached behind him, through the open kitchen door, and pulled out a pair of scissors. He snapped them together happily and brought them a bit closer to the cord he was holding.
Haruka screeched, "OKAY! OKAY, I'M SORRY!" He waved his arms in the air, "Please don't, Makoto! I'm really, really sorry!"
Makoto laughed and plugged the wire into the wall, "Thank you very much, Haru-chan!" He clasped his hands behind his back, smiled 'sweetly,' and chirped, "Have fun!"
Haruka shot him an angry glare, grumbling as he climbed on top of the Swim Spa (staying out of the water…for now). He dipped a finger in after a while. He decided it was warm enough, so he slid in with a contented sigh. Absolutely perfect, he thought happily, I could totally get used to this!
That was when his perfect purchase decided to prove him wrong. It sputtered loudly and began making a high pitched keening sound. The two boys then heard a thunderous bang come from the outlet Makoto had plugged it into. The green-haired boy yelped at the noise and dashed over to where Haruka was still in the Swim Spa.
"What's going on?!" He shrieked in fear, "Haru! What's happening?!" Haruka stood up, looked at him and shrugged. He climbed out of the spa and took a few steps closer to his friend.
"What do you think we should do, Makoto?" He asked, a tinge of worry lacing his even voice, "Pull the plug?" Makoto simply shook his head with tears in his eyes, all traces of sarcasm gone from his expression (and mind, for that matter). He was whimpering a little and Haruka could tell that he was majorly frightened, "Don't worry," he frowned at his friend, "It'll be fine. Just a little glitch…I think." Makoto gave a long whine. That final comment hadn't reassured him in the slightest.
As if to show him just how right he was, the spa chose that exact moment to explode into the air in a flurry of boiling hot water, plastic tubing and metal shards. Both boys shouted (one terrified and high pitched, the other startled and more…masculine) and ran full tilt into the house for safety.
They stared out at the mess in disbelief. There were large pieces of junk strewn about, and implanted in, Haruka's yard as if a tornado with teeth had ripped through it with a tractor in tow (or, maybe, a certain spunky red head that happened to have been in a really bad mood). Makoto looked sideways at his friend. He wasn't too sure about what to expect but what he saw didn't even come close to his anticipations.
Haruka was nearly in tears.
Makoto paled and quickly stood to comfort his friend, "Ne, Haru-chan. D-don't cry! It had a warranty right? All you have to do is call and they'll send someone to fix it. Probably for free! So don't worry, everything is going to be okay!" He placed a gentle hand on the distraught boy's arm. Haruka sniffed a bit and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Thanks, Makoto. But…well…" he fidgeted and lightly scratched his cheek, "I never signed any documents and on the phone they never mentioned anything about a warranty." Makoto's face went blank.
…Eh?
"EHHHHH!" He shouted, "Th-that's illegal! I think." The green haired boy mused about his friend's predicament as he went to find a towel for Haruka. When he returned with one, his expression was gloomy. He hadn't been able to think of anything! Poor Haru! He thought sadly, He just wasted quite a bit of money! Haah…poor guy.
"Hey, Makoto?" Haruka looked at him through his bangs, "I'm sorry for not believing you," he took the towel offered him and began rubbing his hair with it, "I should have listened to you. It was stupid for me to get so absorbed in their fancy words. I'm sorry." Makoto blinked in surprise. He could count on one hand the number of times Haruka had apologized to him so profoundly.
After the initial shock, he smiled softly, "It's all right, Haru. Just remember this next time, okay?" He patted him on the head, as if he was a child, and said, "Why don't you call TIATI Inc. again and ask if you can get a refund. Or at least, have them clean up their own mess."
Haruka nodded and went over to the phone. Before he picked it up, however, he stopped and looked back at Makoto, "I forgot what the number is." He ducked to avoid the slipper thrown at him, "Oh, that's right…" he really did pick the phone up this time and dialed the number he remembered.
"Hello? TIATI Inc.? I called to-"
I'm sorry but this number is no longer in service. If you have any questions please contact (XXX) XXX-8888. Thank you for calling. BEEP
Haruka stared at the phone in dumbfounded silence. He then hesitantly spoke, "U-um…Mako…-chan?" Makoto tilted his head. He was a little surprised (Haruka hardly ever called him 'Mako-chan') but curious about what was wrong (he hadn't heard the robotic voice that had answered Haruka). "There was a voice on the other end saying that the phone number wasn't available anymore. What should I do now?" Makoto's face went blank.
"What?"
"There was a recording that said the number wasn't available anymo-"
"I heard you the first time, Haru." Makoto ran a hand through his hair in exasperation, "I wonder if we could fix it ourselves…maybe Nagisa-kun and Rei-kun could help us." He put a finger on his chin and pondered.
"Rin might be able to help. He told me a while back that he liked working on machinery." Haruka was looking kind of worried (and a little excited at the thought of his rival coming to visit). "Though…" he glanced out the back door, "It may be a little difficult." The yard was still a total wreck. There were pieces of scrap all over the place and wiring and tubing was strewn across nearly every inch of the ground. Even so Haruka and Makoto firmly believed that it could be fixed.
After a few moments of discussion the two decided that they would call all three (and Makoto's parents just to confirm that he could stay until the yard was fixed up). Rin, Nagisa and Rei arrived within an hour and readily agreed to help.
Nagisa was the first to say something about the mess in Haruka's yard, "Wow! You weren't kidding when you said that it exploded. That's amazing!" He bounced around the bits and pieces in excitement.
"OI! Nagisa! Get yer skinny little backside over here b'fore ya get hurt." Rin ran a hand through his crimson red hair, "Haaaah…how on earth did ya get in a mess like this, Haru?" The dark haired boy he had been referring to plucked at a strand of his hair.
"I bought a Swim Spa. It exploded when Makoto plugged it in," he paused and let his hand fall back to his side, "Do you think we can fix it? There's duct tape in the garage." Rin raised an eyebrow. He was a little concerned about whether or not that was even possible, but he decided to go along with the group's craziness (just this once, mind you).
§-§-§
Four hours later (about seven o'clock), the group of boys were sprawled on their backs in Haruka's living room. They had patched the outside of the spa back together but it looked like something the Kishin had infected with its madness and still didn't work.
Nagisa was the first to get his breath back so, as usual, he began yammering excitably, "That was a lot of fun! Do you think we can get the rest of it inside? I wonder how much duct tape we used. I didn't know you were so good at puzzles, Rin-chan! Rei-chan wasn't very helpful at all! He just kept complaining about how not beautiful we were making it look! Hahaha! Silly Rei-chan!" At this last comment Rei started squawking indignantly at the blonde. The three older boys sighed and sat up.
"Well," Rin crossed his legs and arms, "I guess there isn't much else we can do for the time being. It's getn' late; we should work on it more tomorrow. That sound good everyone?" They all nodded.
Nagisa suddenly stood up and shouted, "I just thought of something!" He turned toward Haruka and asked, "The name of the company that sold you this stinky spa is…or was, TIATI Inc., right?" The dark-haired boy nodded and tilted his head in curiosity. "I think I know what the letters stand for!" He paused and waited for his friends to look at him, "This Is A Terrible Idea!"
He was right.
Hope you liked it! Please review!
Later! :)