Chapter 5: Persuasion and Offer

Another day passed by, leaving the previous one like a breeze without a hitch. Students were walking around in lunch time; either buy their food and drink in the cafeteria or having chats with each other to relieve heavy weight they got from classes they've been through.

Hallways were quite crowded with students and Haru stood in front of a vending machine to buy his own drink. When he wanted to press a button, his conversation with Makoto and Tomoya from yesterday popped in his mind.

"You're okay with me joining the basketball club and Tomo-chan joining the gymnastics club, Haru?"

Haru's drink, a carton of milk, fell into the base of the machine after he pressed the button.

.

.

In Class 1, many round tables were made and many students were eating in groups. Haru, who sat father back, started to undo his lunch's clothe knot. Tomoya, who already sat on the right side of his table, did the same. It was already a habit for the two to have lunch or spending recess together.

And then the two was startled by bumping of desks made by Kisumi–who moved Tomoya's desk and put it together with Haru's desk, making a long table. Haru looked at that event with a distraught expression before he averted his gaze towards Kisumi.

"Haru, Tomo, let's eat together!" he said with eagerness. "Well, even if you say no, I'm still going to."

And then it's Asahi's turn to approach them with his lunch and drink in hand.

"Haru, Tomo, let's eat!" the red-haired boy said and looked at Kisumi, annoyed. "Why are you here?"

"It's fine, let's just all eat together." Kisumi suggested.

"Shut up. I want to eat with Haru and Tomo!" Asahi retorted, clearly unpleased with the idea.

"Stop being so picky!"

Haru and Tomoya sighed at the same time. But, the two managed to stop their bicker and finally sat down to eat their lunch.

"Hey, what elementary school did you go to, Asahi?" Kisumi asked, stirring up a conversation. "It wasn't mine. You two went to Iwatobi Elementary, didn't you, Haru and Tomo?"

"I just moved here in March." Asahi answered after he finished swallowing the meat he chewed. "So I don't go to an elementary school near here."

"Hmm. So, you swam there?"

"Yeah, at my old SC." Asahi looked at Haru. "I swam butterfly in the 50m and 100m races, and the medley relay!"

As he told Haru and Tomo, it could be heard that he's clearly proud of what he achieved when he was still in elementary in swimming.

That's cool." Tomoya complimented with a smile. Asahi just grinned as a reply.

"What's a medley relay?" Kisumi asked.

"It's where four people each swim," he stood up suddenly.

"Back," Asahi said while moving his arms in circle alternately in how clock usually rotates.

"Breast," then, he moved his hands to the front, mimicking breast stroke.

"Butterfly," next, he moved his arms simultaneously in opposite direction how clock usually rotates.

"-and Freestyle!" lastly, he moved his arms alternately in opposite direction how clock usually rotates. "One after another!"

Asahi explained it dynamically with loud voice so it tired him a little and some stares from other students who eat lunch in the class. But, it seems that he didn't give any attention to that.

"If you don't know that, then don't butt into our conversation!"

"Now, now…" Tomoya said as she tried to calm Asahi down.

"You explained it even while getting angry." Kisumi said. "You're so kind, Asahi!"

Well, that compliment certainly cooled down the red-haired boy instantly. "Well, explaining is no big deal."

Aside of it, he looked proud and flustered at Kisumi's compliment. Haru looked at him, again, in disbelief – confused on how the boy managed to forget his anger in seconds. Asahi sat back down on his sit and folded his arms behind his head.

"I want to participate in a tournament." He wished. "But, I guess I'd have to swim with a new medley relay team. It'd be nice if I could do it with the members I had at my SC."

Tomoya immediately snapped her head towards Haru, concern about his reaction at that sensitive topic. Her thought was confirmed when she saw Haru frowned. Tomoya's exression fell; she drooped her head, looking at her lunch.

Kisumi, who noticed this, immediately change the topic. "So, does that mean you two are going for swimming?" he whined.

"You should do basketball instead!"

"I told you we're not going to do basketball." Asahi stated.

"I was thinking that if we started now, then we could be really good team once we're third years and have a cute and pretty manager to support us all the time." Kisumi explained.

Tomoya wore a distraught expression while Haru frowned. "Again, with the manager thing…?"

"What? Having a cute and pretty manager has a big impact and Tomo is definitely the right person for the position!"

"Uh…"

"Are you underestimating me?" Asahi challenged, interrupting the conversation between the two. "If I joined, I'd obviously become a regular right away!"

Asahi confidently said, while Haru didn't give any of his attention to it and continued his lunch, Tomoya smiled nervously at the never-ceasing confident the boy has, and Kisumi clapped his hands.

"Oh, that's amazing." He said in awe. "Of course, you would, Asahi!"

Kisumi pulled out a form sheet under the desk and a pen before giving it to Asahi. "Here's the club entry form!"

"Yeah!" Asahi wrote his last name and then shoving the form to Kisumi's face.

"Hey, wait! I told you I wasn't going to join!" he yelled at the poor boy.

"Sorry, sorry!" Kisumi apologized while laughing.

"I nearly signed it!"

"You should just join!"

"Haru! Tomo-chan!"

That call made the two turned their head towards the source–which was Makoto who stood in the doorway while waving his hand, signaling the two to come over. Beside the green-eyed boy was a male, older than they were with unruly brown hair and a pair of amber eyes. He looked inside the class and rested his eyes on both Haru and Tomoya.

As Haru and Tomoya walked towards the door, they didn't notice another pair of amber eyes watching them.

"What is it, Makoto?" Haru asked.

"Well, this senpai wanted…" Makoto said as his voice faltered and turned to look at the older boy.

"Hey! You're Nanase Haruka and Otohaku Tomoya from Iwatobi SC, aren't you?" he asked with a friendly tone and stopped when he looked at Tomoya for a second, as if he realized something.

"I-Is there something wrong, senpai…?" she asked nervously, uncomfortable with the stare she got and Haru looking unpleased with the fact that some random upperclassmen staring intently at his best friend.

"So, you're the Otohaku Tomoya who's Asada talking about." He said. "She's really eager to have you join her club."

"E-Eh…?"

"Ah, sorry, back to the topic; please join the swim club!" Natsuya said.

The two had their eyes widened for a second before they look at Makoto, demanding an explanation about the situation they're currently in.

The said boy chuckled nervously. "He's been like this the whole time…"

"Ah, I guess you won't be able to understand like this. Sorry." The older boy apologized for his vague intention while rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm Kirishima Natsuya. I'm the captain of the school's swimming club and I've come to try to recruit you three for our club." The upperclassmen, whose name was Kirishima Natsuya, explained.

"Again?" Haru said. Tomoya sighed.

"Hm? Is something wrong?" Natsuya asked.

"No, it's nothing." Haru said, not using a polite speech which made Makoto elbowed his arm and Tomoya tugged his sleeve.

"Use polite speech!" Makoto and Tomoya scolded the boy.

"(desu)…" Haru finally added.

Natsuya laughed. "So, how about it? Want to join the swimming club?"

"Haru, Tomo-chan… what are you going to do?" Makoto asked the two.

Haru turned his head to look away. "I'm not interested." He said without hesitation.

"Haru!" Makoto and Tomoya protested.

"Did you already decide what club you want to join?" Natsuya asked.

"We haven't decided yet…" Makoto answered.

"There aren't many firsts years who want to join ours, so I'm in a bind. I'm begging you!" the older boy pleaded, which added mixed feelings for both Makoto and Tomoya.

"What should be do…?" Makoto asked.

"School clubs are just for playing around." Someone said suddenly.

The four turned their head towards the source, which was a boy with dark sea green-hair and a pair of amber eyes similar to Natsuya's. He looked unpleased with the conversation he just heard.

Natsuya stepped forwards to face the boy. "Ikuya, school clubs aren't just playing around."

"They are. What? Have you gotten tired of competitive swimming, so now just want to be buddy buddy? You're so stupid, big brother." The boy, Ikuya, said – raising his voice.

Haru frowned while Tomoya furrowing her eyebrows, not liking the atmosphere. Natsuya was about to fired back, but Makoto's question stopped him.

"You're brothers?"

"Ah… uh… yeah." Natsuya answered. "Well, you three, think about joining the club. See ya."

"Eh? Wait–"

With that, Natsuya waved his hand and turned back, jogging towards his class–leaving the three in a dilemma. Well, for Makoto and Tomoya exactly.

"He said they don't have many people joining…" Makoto said as he looked at his best friends.

"That's kind of sad, isn't it…?" Tomoya commented.

"What should be do, Haru, Tomo-chan?"

Haru sighed in defeat. "You two are too trusting. That's just something they all say when they're recruiting."

He turned his back to walked into his class, followed by Makoto and Tomoya.

"Really?" Makoto asked. Then the three of them were stopped by Ikuya.

"There's no point in joining." He said.

"You're Kirishima-kun, right?" Makoto confirmed. "Why do you think that?"

"School clubs are just for playing around." Ikuya restated the words he said to his older brother and folded his arms in front of his chest. "For someone who swims seriously at an SC like me, school clubs just seem so half-hearted. You three think so too, don't you?"

"I don't really think that." Haru said, not liking the conversation. "It's just too much problem."

Tomoya, who looked nervous at the situation, decided to walk ahead of Haru–wanting to be back at her seat as soon as possible. Haru tailing her and the two were blocked by Ikuya.

"It is just playing!" he yelled at Tomoya's face.

The dark chocolate-haired yelped, which made Haru instantly shot his arm forward to catch her wrist and pulled her to stand behind him. The boy stood in front of Tomoya protectively–his hand moved from her wrist to held her hand. Tomoya's other hand clutched Haru's gakuran sleeve as she tried to hide behind the boy.

Ikuya finally stepped back and Haru's grip on Tomoya's hand loosened. "Anyway, I just can't take school clubs seriously."

"Aren't you going to eat the rest of your lunch?" Asahi, who suddenly showed up behind Ikuya's left side, asked.

"Huh? Isn't the atmosphere over here kind of heavy?" Kisumi, who also showed up behind Ikuya's right side, asked. And then his purple orbs caught the side of Haru and Tomoya's intertwined hands. "Why are you two holding hands, Haru, Tomo?"

The two startled Ikuya who immediately marched few steps away from the two to make some distance and Haru let go Tomoya's hand in order to avoid any further questions by Kisumi. Asahi, who had a finger under his chin, stepped closer to Ikuya and inspected him.

"Ah! You're the one who's always staring at me!" the red-head said.

"Huh!? I don't stare at you!" Ikuya denied.

"No, you do!" Asahi fired back. "What is it? Do you want to be friends with me that badly? You're so hopeless."

"I don't!" Ikuya retorted, not liking Asahi's over-confidence self.

"I guess it really does come out, even when I try to hide it!"

"What does?" Kisumi asked.

"My charisma!" Asahi answered with pride.

"No! it's just that when I look at you, it's like I'm at the zoo and it makes me laugh." Ikuya shot back.

"A zoo? Why?" Asahi asked in confusion.

Ikuya snorted. "You're just like a monkey."

It didn't take a minute for Kisumi to burst out laughing and Asahi flustered in embarrassment.

"Kisumi, don't laugh!" Asahi yelled and faced Ikuya. "Damn it! You pissed me off now! The one who's accusing me of being a monkey is the who's a monkey!"

Kisumi, who finally managed to get a control over his laughter, put a hand on Asahi's shoulder while the other one wiped the tears that gathered in his eyes. "It's okay, Asahi. All humans evolved from monkeys."

And after that, Kisumi couldn't control his laughter any longer, snorted and back into his laughing fit while he covered his mouth.

"Whose side are you on!?" Asahi yelled at the pink-head.

"See, you're just being as loud as one." Ikuya said, adding fuel to the fire.

"Be quiet!" Haru, who's uncomfortable with all the noise, commanded while Makoto and Tomoya could only chuckled nervously at their antics. Asahi was fuming because Kisumi couldn't stop his laughter. But then the pink-head lifted his head and realized something as he looked at the people before him.

"Ah! One, two, three, four, five…!" he exclaimed while pointing each person including himself. "And one girl!"

"Huh?"

"We have five people and one girl!" Kisumi said eagerly. "Now that there's enough people, want to join the basketball club? With Tomo as the manager!"

"No." Asahi and Ikuya said in sync–the two frowned at each other the next minute, not liking how the two of them synchronized.

"You're still saying that?" Haru said.

"Then what are you all going to do about choosing a club?" Kisumi pouted.

"I'm joining the swimming club, obviously!" Asahi declared.

"I haven't decided yet." Makoto said.

"Not interested." Haru stated.

"Same." While Ikuya on the same term with Haru.

"I'm in dilemma." Tomoya said sheepishly.

"Huh? I don't care about this guy!" Asahi yelled while pointing at Ikuya before her marched to face Makoto, Haru, and Tomoya. "But Haru, Makoto, and Tomo are joining the swimming club, aren't you?! You can swim, can't you!? Then you should join!"

"Why's that?" Haru asked, not liking Asahi's persistence.

"Then everyone who can swim would have join to the swimming club…" Makoto said

"Then it won't be a swimming club." Tomoya added, making Asahi pouted.

"Wait, why are you acting like I can't swim?" Ikuya, who feel offended, protested.

"What? You can swim?" Asahi shot back.

"I've been going to Bandou SC since my first year in elementary school."

"Hmm. So, you swim too, Kirishima-kun?" Kisumi asked.

"That's why I'm not interested in school clubs that are just for playing around." Ikuya explained.

"Huh!? How do you know they're just playing around!?" Asahi yelled, raising his voice.

Ikuya tightened his palmed hand. "School clubs don't split teams based on ability. They only do low level training. It can't be more than playing around."

Asahi, who was clearly offended by Ikuya's words, yelled in fury.

"What was that!?" he marched to face the dark sea green-haired boy. "You can't know that!"

"You haven't even joined, so aren't you the one who doesn't know!?"

"It's because I don't know that I'm joining!" Asahi's reply caught Ikuya off guard. "If I haven't tried it, then there's no way I could know!"

The whole class seemed to get curious of what's going on and stared at them. Of course, Ikuya and Asahi ignored this. Silence enveloped them for a few seconds before Asahi continued.

"You're just scared, aren't you?"

Ikuya frowned. "What?"

"You're too scared to join something you don't know anything about, aren't you?"

While in the other hand, Natsuya jogged towards Class 1 with hand flyers about swimming club in his hold.

"Ah, crap! I forgot to give them handouts for the swimming club." he said to himself as he kept his pace to reach his destination. "Nao would scold me if he found out."

When he reached the door of the Class 1, he stopped after he heard Ikuya's voice.

"Fine! If you're that insistent, then I'll join the swimming club and see if it's just playing around!" Ikuya declared.

Natsuya's expression turned serious before he lit it up again when he entered the classroom, interrupting their conversation.

"Ahh. Sorry, sorry!" he said while rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish smile, gaining all of their attention to turned their head towards him–except Ikuya who looked away.

"Kirishima-senpai!"

"I forgot to give you these." Natsuya said as he gave each of them a handout. "Here, here, here, swimming club handouts."

"Ah, I'm in the basketball club." Kisumi said, politely deny the offered handout.

"Aww, that's too bad." The older boy said. Asahi looked at the handout before he lifted his head and declared confidently,

"All of us here are going to join! Except for Kisumi!"

"Eh? Seriously?"

"Eh? You're leaving me out!?"

"Because you're not." Ikuya remarked.

"Us too? Don't just decide on your own!" Makoto protested and looked at his two friends. "Haru, Tomo-chan, both of you should say something two."

"It's better than the basketball club." Haru said without hesitation.

"That's so non-committal."

"I'm against not being in the basketball club!" Kisumi stated with a pout. Natsuya handed Ikuya a handout, which got a few seconds stare from the said boy.

"Don't give up halfway through." Natsuya reminded with a solemn face.

"I know!" Ikuya yelled as he snatched the paper from his older brother's hand. Natsuya walked away, on the half way he stopped on his tracks to put a hand on Tomoya's shoulder. The said girl, who surprised by his gesture, lifted her head up. Amber clashed with turquoise.

"Thank you for joining even though you're being offered to join the gymnastics club." thanked her before walking towards the door.

"Eh? Wait–"

"Well, then! See you at the beginning of golden week at the pool!" Natsuya said as he waved his hand and left the class. The six of them watched him leave and then looked at each other.

"Ah! In the end, you were all stolen by the swimming club!" Kisumi whined.

"I don't really understand what happened, but I guess we've joined." Makoto said as he looked at Haru and Tomoya. The two of them sighed as a respond.

"What should I say to Asada-senpai about this…" Tomoya muttered in hopelessness.

"Just tell her." Haru said. "She'll have to understand."

"You sounded like forcing her to understand…" Makoto whined before looking at Tomoya. "But I have to say what Haru said was right. Just tell the truth Tomo-chan."

Tomoya smiled at the two. "I will, thank you Haru, Mako-chan!"

The said boy could only look away as he felt blood rushing to the tips of his ears.