Chapter 3
He could have let it slip as just another one of the Fantastic MatsuMaki's Factory of Stupidity if it weren't for what happened on the Saturday practice on the very next day after they introduced that stupid jar.
They decided to go jogging outside, since the weather seemed so nice.
It wasn't nice.
At all.
They were sweating like pigs when they got back to school and Arai's unfortunate comment "It's too hot" resulted in that stupid piece of shit that Harada was replying with "Hot damn" as he flexed his arms to Arai.
It's true that Arai laughed slightly at Harada's antic, but that's not important.
The important is that, wearing the exact same patient grin he wears whenever he has to explain something very obvious to Matsuda, Takano softly said "Harada-san, please refrain from flirting with Arai-san in front of the team."
And that was it.
Arai and Harada didn't even have the time to recover from being accused of flirting – by no one less than one of their most reasonable players, Takano!
– because Kusano and Ogawa were already over them like a pair of vultures, making passive-aggressive remarks about how "flirting counted as PDA" and how "Arai and Harada should get it together already" and "they needed to start thinking of their professionalism as a team."
They weren't even a professional team!
Why did they have to worry about professionalism when they were just 17-years-olds playing volleyball?
You know what?
Fuck the professionalism.
That sounds about right.
In the end, they got Ogawa and Kusano to shut up by putting each a coin in the jar.
Fujii's commenting on the background "Oh, are you guys really doing that jar thing?" proved that Ogawa and Kusano had indeed asked the opinion of others on this matter.
Arai misses when he wasn't in the pestered group.
When the three of them – Ogawa, Kusano and himself – teamed up to pester Harada – and protect Harada from possible other bullies, after all only the three of them got to pick on their captain.
All of this (and the sleep deprivation, of course) made Arai's walk to school more silent than usual on Monday.
Harada walks by his side, as always, but he seems to know that Arai is not in the talking mood, so he just walks in his usual pace and quietly hums a song here and there, but doesn't talk to Arai.
By the time they arrive to school, Arai had given up trying to figure out why he's so upset about the jar thing and is now trying to convince himself that he's overreacting, as if admitting it would make it go away. He walked in silence to the clubroom, insisting like a mantra that the jar was just a silly prank, that the team could not be actually uncomfortable with his relationship with Harada...
They couldn't.
He's shaken off his thoughts by a soft grunt and only then he realizes that they're the first to arrive and he already changed into his training clothes and so did Harada.
He can't really remember changing, he just did it on autopilot.
However, he has no time to think about his newly discovered ability of doing things without paying attention to them, because the grunt he heard was Harada's and that could mean only something: pain.
"What's the matter?" he asks, cautiously examining Harada's face just in case he tried to lie.
"Dunno" Harada tries to stretch his own arm and grunts again.
"I think maybe it can be slightly possible that I worked a little too hard yesterday and now everything is sore."
"That" Arai scowls "is because you don't stretch properly!
God, you always have to be so much work, don't you?
Come here, I'll help you."
Harada pouts, but obliges anyway.
Arai carefully hold both of his friend's arms back, making him groan again.
Arai thinks he's being a piss baby about it.
The pain of sore muscles isn't that bad, especially for them that are used to it.
If he thinks about it, it's a pleasurable kind of pain, so there is no reason do complain that much, really.
"Easy there, Ara-chan..." Harada whines "You're such a brute."
"You wouldn't be in this much pain if you stretched properly, to begin with."
"Aahn~!
That's mean!
It's easier when you help, ok?
Ow
, Ara-chan, easy there."
"C'mon, don't be such a baby." But he does lose up a little bit.
It follows a little cursing and Harada's shamefully loud whimpers, much to Arai's impatience.
They are almost done when the door is slammed open.
Arai, Harada, holy fuck
Here they are.
Those pests.
Ogawa and Kusano enter the room, followed by a seemingly very bored Mizuno and a rather grumpy Matsuda.
Judging by their expressions, they are either about to drop a bomb or there is another
jar case
coming.
Arai can bet his position of vice-captain that is the latter and he is already groaning in annoyance:
"What is
it
now?"
"Jar.
For both of you.
Double jar." Kusano shakes his head, exaggerating his indignation to the point it would be comic if it wasn't annoying.
"You want us to put money in your jar..." Harada frowns "For what reason, exactly?
We were literally just stretching for morning practice!"
"Stretching." Ogawa repeats, also shaking his head.
"Is that what they call it these days?
Tell you what, Harada-kun, when we got here we found Mizuno-kun outside hesitating before entering the clubroom.
The clubroom that belongs to him as much as belong to the two of you, after all he's a club member.
But he didn't enter right away.
Care to tell them why, Mizuno?"
"Hm...
Senpai, I stopped for, like, five seconds."
"Those 5 seconds are important, Mizuno, tell them."
"Well..." Mizuno sighs and looks away.
"That was because I heard Harada-san's voice and I thought I... would interrupt."
"Interrupt...
"Long story short, Mizuno was about to enter when he heard Harada moaning."
Arai chokes on his own spit, Harada becomes redder than a tomato, Matsuda refuses to look up and even Mizuno flushes a little.
Only that duo of demons seem unfazed, as if their determination to ruin their friends' life was too strong to let them feel bothered for little things like absolutely inappropriate implications.
In fact, Ogawa puts his hands on Mizuno's shoulder, like a protective parent, and mouths to Harada:
"In front of the first years.
I can't believe you."
"Shut up, Gakki!" Harada barks and his beautiful face is still flushed, angry blotches of red coloring his cheeks.
If they weren't in such an embarrassing situation, Arai would have thought that it was kind of amusing to see Harada blushing like that.
"You were the one saying that you were scared of Mizuno, you damn hypocrite!"
So it seems that Harada is annoyed enough to try to take revenge on Ogawa and Kusano by revealing their secret fear.
Unfortunately for Harada, their only answer was to frown a little.
Even Mizuno didn't seem too bothered.
Arai doesn't know what it's needed to shake Mizuno.
He only looked up to Ogawa.
"Were you afraid of me, senpai?"
"A little, but only because I have high expectations on you." Ogawa gently pets Mizuno's hair.
"I think of you as my heir.
You shall be the next Ogawa, do you understand that, Mizuno-kun?"
"Not at all."
"Good boy, I'm so proud of you."
And then Matsuda, who was so quiet that they even forgot he was there, got tired of just staying still watching that train wreck of a scene, so he steps up and takes the infamous PDA jar from the shelf where it is and holds it in front of Harada, waiting for him to put the money in it.
Harada doesn't even look angry anymore, he looks just... tired.
"Even you, Wild Cat-chan?
Even you are with them now?" Harada pouts.
As Matsuda doesn't move, he continues bitterly:
"You're just jealous because you wanted to stretch with Ara-chan too, aren't you?"
"Dirty joke.
And asking for a threesome to a kouhai." Kusano calls.
"Triple jar, Harada."
"I was
NOT
asking for a threesome, oh my
God
Arai is too tired for this shit.