Chapter 4: Pool Cleaning: A Storm of Lucky Perks
Today, too, I was plagued by that thing.
“…What a rough morning.”
After breakfast, I let out a big sigh and mutter to myself.
For some reason I can’t explain, when I woke up this morning… Jack was right by my pillow. Sure, he’s in my room, but I’m not the kind of weirdo who’d put him next to my pillow on purpose.
Even if the Shinjo family reveres him as a guardian deity, there’s no way I’d do something like that… But if that’s the case, the creepy thought of someone sneaking in and moving him crosses my mind.
“…Phew.”
Could there be someone in the house…?
No way, that’s impossible. I lock the doors every day, so unless someone broke a window or picked the lock, they couldn’t get in… Unless it’s Arisa or Aina, who have spare keys.
“No way they’d do that… Even if they wanted to mess with me, they wouldn’t go that far.”
So… the only explanation is that I, half-asleep and groggy, put him by my pillow myself? That’d make me the weirdo, but it’s easier to accept, so I’ll go with that.
“I just hope this isn’t some bad omen or trouble waiting to happen.”
…Saying stuff like that is exactly how you jinx yourself, isn’t it?!
A chill runs down my spine, and I’m too spooked to even glance behind me. So, I decide to stand in front of the family altar and ask Mom and Dad to ward off any bad vibes.
“…Morning, Mom, Dad.”
The chime rings out, and I close my eyes, pressing my hands together.
“…”
Praying at the altar like this hasn’t changed… but now that I think about it, I haven’t been seeing Mom and Dad in my dreams much lately.
“What does that mean, I wonder…”
I must have dreamed about them so many times because of lingering regrets or loneliness.
Of course, there are moments when I suddenly feel the loneliness of not having my family around, but now I have Arisa, Aina… and Saki-san. Not just as my girlfriends, but because they treat me like family, I don’t feel that loneliness as much anymore.
“Humans… do we just forget like this, or stop caring as much? I know it’s not good to keep dragging around the fact that Mom and Dad aren’t here. But getting used to it, not feeling lonely, or not seeing them in my dreams anymore… that feels a little lonely too, doesn’t it?”
I say this out loud, but of course, the photo of my parents on the altar shows them smiling.
When I picked out this picture with Grandpa and Grandma, we chose the one where their smiles were the brightest, so it’s only natural… but maybe that’s why? It feels like they’re telling me it’s okay, and that thought makes a smile tug at my lips.
“…Alright, time to head to school.”
I came here to ward off something scary, but instead, I got cheered up again… Even if my parents aren’t physically here, they’re still supporting me in my heart.
“…”
Still… before stepping out the front door, I glance back.
Part of me wonders if Jack might be standing in the hallway, but of course, he’s not there.
“Yeah, it’s gotta be… I was probably half-asleep.”
Yup, that’s definitely it. No doubt about it.
If that guy was actually standing there to see me off, it’d be straight-up horror movie material. I’d have to call an exorcist, and I wouldn’t be able to stay in this house full of memories anymore. So, thank goodness… really thank goodness!
“…Oh, right.”
I go to check the time and glance at my phone screen, reminded of something. There’s a picture of Arisa and Aina sandwiching me, and I can’t help but grin at how happy I look.
“…Haha, I’m grinning like an idiot.”
It’s not like I’m making some creepy face, but there’s no mistaking it—I’m totally beaming, wrapped up in their arms. A nice way to put it is that I look happy; a harsher way is that I’m completely lovesick.
“Well, can’t help it.”
I mean, who wouldn’t be lovesick? Shrugging it off, I put my phone away.
By the time I reach school, I’m not thinking too much about Jack or the weird stuff that happened at home… but I tilt my head at the shoe lockers.
“…?”
I glance to the side… and lock eyes with a female classmate. After an awkward moment, we both look away. Then I glance further—tons of students are pouring into the entrance. I tilt my head again, thinking it’s just my imagination, and grab my indoor shoes.
(What was that…? I swear I felt someone staring at me…)
It felt like someone was watching me intently, but there are so many people at the student entrance right now. It’s not weird for someone to glance at me for no reason, like that girl did… right?
(No way… Jack?!)
…As if. I give a wry smile and head to the classroom.
When I get there, it looks like Arisa and Aina are already here.
“Oh, morning, Domoto-kun! I’m borrowing your chair, cool with that?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“Sorry about her. This girl, honestly…”
“What’s with calling me ‘this girl’!?”
Sorry, I don’t get it either…
As expected, when these two are together, the classroom gets lively. Their group of close female friends gathers around, making them the center of attention for the guys.
(Arisa and Aina don’t seem to get much jealousy from other girls… or maybe I just don’t know about it, but I rarely hear stuff like that. That’s probably a testament to their character.)
Well, I’d like to think I know their good sides better than anyone!
Anyway… looks like I won’t be sitting in my chair for a bit, so I head over to my friends.
“Yo, Sota, Kaito.”
“Hey.”
“Morning!”
But the moment I approach, they stare at me with an “oh?” look, and I’m taken aback.
“What…?”
“Nah… something up?”
“You’ve got that same vibe as when you got caught up in all that trouble a while back.”
“…Oh.”
Since they noticed, I figure I might as well tell them. The air coming through the window feels a bit warm, so out of kindness to cool them down, I share what happened this morning.
At first, they’re all ears, super curious, but as the story goes on, they get more and more freaked out… and by the end, they’re clinging to each other.
“Tch, that’s totally just you being half-asleep!”
“Y-Yeah, if it’s not that, it’s a ghost… a ghost did it!”
“Look, I thought about the ghost angle too, but no way, right?”
Yeah, yeah, ghosts are totally impossible… or so I tell myself, but talking about it brings back the fear I’d managed to forget.
“I don’t remember a thing… but when I woke up, there was that smug, grinning pumpkin head right in front of me… Gah!!”
“Eek!?”
“S-Stop it already!”
“…That scary?”
“Hell yeah, it’s scary!”
“I’d pass out!”
By the way, some girls nearby overheard and got super freaked out too.
One of them, who I don’t usually talk to, said my tone and vibe didn’t sound like I was lying at all—in fact, my genuine fear made it feel all the more real.
“Well, I don’t have any sixth sense, so it’s gotta be impossible.”
“Right?!”
“…But I swear I felt someone staring at me at the shoe lockers.”
“Stop it already!”
I don’t usually mess with them like this, so I got a bit carried away… but now I’m scared that messing with them might come back to haunt me.
“…Sorry, guys, I’ll stop. If there’s some kind of punishment for teasing you, I might come home to him doing something to me.”
“I said stop it!”
“You sound so serious!”
“Enough! It’s too scary!”
The conversation ends with my two friends clinging to each other and a girl who’d joined in out of morbid curiosity screaming. I apologize again for scaring them and head back to my seat since homeroom’s about to start.
“Oh, welcome back, Domoto-kun. Thanks for letting me borrow your chair! ♪”
“No prob.”
“Sorry for the trouble she caused.”
“Why do you keep talking like that!?”
Arisa’s teasing makes Aina raise her voice.
Unlike in private, our relationship in public stays strictly at the classmate level… which is probably why Arisa’s having fun playing around with this fresh dynamic.
“It’s just fun to tease Aina.”
“You’re admitting you’re teasing me, Nee-san!!”
If we were at home, Aina would definitely say she’s being bullied and jump into my arms, but here, she just glances at me… no, she almost jumped at me just now.
“Come on, Aina, let’s go~”
“Fiiine… Just you wait, Nee-san, when we get home.”
With that parting shot and a playful tongue stuck out, Aina leaves the classroom.
With Aina gone, I can finally sit in my chair, still warm from her presence.
“Things got pretty lively over there, huh?”
“Yeah… got a bit carried away with a scary story.”
“Scary story?”
“Yup.”
I preface it with Jack and tell Arisa the same story.
“I see… It must be that Jack-sama moved to your side to protect you, Hayato-kun.”
“Jack-sama…? That makes it sound like a paranormal thing.”
“Even so, he’s definitely a guardian spirit.”
“…You guys’ faith in that thing is unreal.”
A guardian spirit with a face like that would probably scare off any attacker.
That said, I didn’t think it was their prank to begin with, but this definitely rules out any mischief from them.
“Oh, Hayato-kun.”
“Hm?”
“Did you bring your swimsuit?”
“Swimsuit? Why?”
Why a swimsuit…?
I don’t quite get the point of her question… wait, huh? Now that I think about it, I feel like I’m forgetting something.
“Judging by that look, you forgot, didn’t you? Well, gym clothes are fine since you’re going to get wet anyway… but we have pool cleaning this afternoon, right?”
“Pool cleaning… oh.”
It’s that time of year before summer when we clean the pool, and now I remember it came up.
“…I totally forgot until you mentioned it.”
“I figured…”
“Did you bring your swimsuit, Arisa?”
“An old one, but yes. I plan to wear gym clothes over it, but you wouldn’t want your underwear showing through when it gets wet, right? Though I wouldn’t mind if it was just you looking.”
“R-Right…”
But that means I can relax… maybe?
For a girl with a figure like hers, wet clothes clinging to her skin would be a visual disaster… but while a swimsuit is better than underwear, even a glimpse of her killer figure makes me wonder if I’m being too selfish for not wanting others to see.
“It’s with Aina’s class too, so let’s do our best.”
“Yeah.”
At our school, it’s a tradition for second-years to clean the pool. Which classes do it is decided by the class representatives drawing lots… and ours and Aina’s classes got picked.
Some people might find pool cleaning a hassle, while others think it’s a lucky break from regular classes. But at the very least, most guys aren’t complaining.
(Well, probably because they get to see wet girls.)
A lot of girls aren’t thrilled about it—not because of getting wet, but because the pool is disgustingly dirty before cleaning.
“Let’s do this, Arisa.”
“Yes, let’s, Hayato-kun.”
With that exchange, the day begins.
▼▽
As planned, in the afternoon, our class joins Aina’s for pool cleaning.
“…Phew, it’s getting pretty clean.”
We’re cleaning both the big and small pools, but when we got here, the stench and insane amount of filth were overwhelming.
One of the loud guys in our class jumped into the dirty pool, and some girls screamed at the sight of frogs or worms swimming around—it was total chaos at the start, but it’s looking way cleaner now.
“Hey, quit splashing water!”
“Heh, take that!”
“Stop it! It’s cold!”
“Gotcha, gotcha~! ♪”
Even though we’re not done cleaning, people are starting to splash water and mess around everywhere.
There are two teachers here, but they seem to have expected this, just shrugging with a “here we go” look.
“Everyone brought their swimsuits, huh…”
Embarrassingly, I’m the only one who didn’t.
I slipped during cleaning, so my pants are soaked, and of course, my underwear is drenched too… What am I gonna do about this?
“Ha…”
Right after letting out that sigh, a cheerful voice rang out from behind me.
“Domoto-kun! You’re cleaning properly… Whoa!?”
“Aina!?”
I recognized Aina’s voice approaching from behind, but I also heard something like a scream, so I instinctively called her name without thinking. Doesn’t matter.
Turning around instantly, I saw Aina charging toward me, as if to say, How did it come to this?!
“Ugh!?”
“Ow!?”
With a dull thud, Aina’s head slammed into my stomach.
The impact nearly made me lose my lunch, but if it’s to protect her, I’m the kind of guy who’d do whatever it takes, even in a split second!
But… getting headbutted in the stomach out of nowhere? That’s a bit much, isn’t it…?
“Guhhh!?”
“Waaah!?”
I managed to catch Aina, but her weight came crashing down on me, and I got knocked over.
“Ow ow ow…”
“S-Sorry, Hayato-kun…”
It was a pretty dramatic fall, and I could see the teacher rushing over.
I tried to get up to show I was fine, but Aina’s face was right in front of mine. It felt like we were as close as we are at home, like the world had shrunk to just the two of us… Aina, gazing at me, narrowed her eyes and blushed, staring as if she couldn’t hear anything around us.
“Hayato-kun…”
“…!”
I can’t just lean in closer like this…
Snapping back to reality, I helped Aina up as we stood.
“You okay?”
“Y-Yeah… phew.”
Aina was still blushing but took a deep breath and returned to her usual self.
It must’ve looked like a nasty fall because not only the teacher but also Arisa and others came over, causing a bit of a commotion.
“I’m totally fine. Didn’t hit my head or anything, and I managed to catch her, even if it was a bit lame.”
“Alright…? If you’re sure, but if anything hurts, speak up right away, okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
The teacher gave my head a light pat before heading back to his post.
“Hayato, you good?”
“I saw it—she slammed into you pretty hard, didn’t she?”
“Nah, it wasn’t—”
I started to deny it, but then I noticed Aina’s shoulders trembling. There’s no doubt nothing serious happened, but we fell on hard concrete, so there’s always a chance something could’ve gone wrong… and now Aina’s looking guilty, blaming herself.
(…Come on, it’s not like this is the first time she’s tackled me.)
This time was a complete accident, not Aina’s fault on purpose… Arisa gave her a light scolding, so there’s only one thing for me to do—lighten the mood as much as possible.
“Look, no bumps or anything, so don’t worry.”
“B-But…”
“Then how about you pat my head? That’ll make us even.”
At that, Aina blinked for a moment before nodding and reaching out. For Arisa, this is just business as usual, but for Aina’s friends, seeing her quietly patting a guy’s head seemed rare.
“Aina’s patting a guy’s head…”
“I knew she and Domoto-kun were close, but…”
“…But isn’t Aina kinda cute like that?”
Despite all the stares, Aina kept patting my head for a while.
After she calmed down, we got back to cleaning.
During that time, I noticed something… I wasn’t wearing a swimsuit, so I was trying to stay dry, but Arisa and Aina had gotten wet, probably from splashing around with their friends.
Their soaked gym clothes clung to their skin, and their swimsuits were visible underneath.
“…”
What I could see wasn’t some fancy bikini or anything—it was just the standard school-issued swimsuit. Nothing particularly flashy, no different from what I remember seeing in elementary or middle school… but on their ridiculously perfect figures, that plain school swimsuit transformed into a deadly weapon in my field of vision.
“Oh? What are you looking at, hm?”
“Hey, hey~? What’s got your attention~?”
Noticing my gaze, the two of them closed the distance with teasing smirks. The way they moved was so deliberate, sliding their feet across the tiled floor—masterful, even… Wait, masterful at what?!
I tore my eyes away from the two of them as they approached, practically flaunting their curves, the sound of their scrubbing echoing.
“I mean, how can I not look…? You’re, you know…”
“You know…? You’ll have to be clearer than that.”
“Yup, yup! ♪ You gotta say you were staring at our boobs!”
As if I’d say that!?
Seeing my reaction, the two of them were clearly enjoying themselves. I thought about some playful retaliation, but nothing good came to mind..
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“…Guess I’ll just scrub.”
“Hehe, right.”
“Let’s get this cleaned up quick! ♪”
For now, I gave up on pranking them and focused on scrubbing the tiles—scrub scrub. The dirty water was gone, and the moss seemed cleared, but when I scrubbed harder, murky water still seeped out… This is gonna take a while.
“Arisa! Aina!”
“Huh?”
“Eek!?”
“Hm?”
What’s that?
I turned toward them, only to get doused with a blast of water from a hose overhead.
“Hey!”
“Haha, it’s cold!”
It was one of Arisa and Aina’s friends who splashed us.
I got caught in the crossfire and was soaked again… My underwear was just starting to dry, and now it’s ruined.
“Hayato-kun, you okay?”
“…Oh, right, Hayato-kun.”
The two of them were laughing at their friend’s attack but then remembered I wasn’t wearing a swimsuit and hurried over.
They might’ve gotten mad at their friend for my sake, but it’s my fault for forgetting my swimsuit in the first place.
“It’s high school—people wanna have fun at times like this. Plus, I got to see you two looking all sexy, so I’m satisfied.”
“Jeez…”
“But still, we gotta scold her a little!”
With that, Aina marched over to the friend who splashed us, hands on her hips, and started lecturing her. Her friends bowed apologetically to me, so I gave them a smile and a nod to ease their guilt.
“The sun’s pretty strong, so it’ll probably dry.”
“Really? What if it doesn’t?”
“Well… worst case, I go commando?”
“Commando…”
Arisa’s eyes widened, drifting from my face downward, stopping right at my crotch.
An indescribable moment passed between us. When she looked back up, her face flushed red, and she muttered under her breath.
“Hayato-kun… not wearing anything…”
“Okay, what are you imagining…?”
“I brought spare underwear, just in case. If you want, you can wear mine?”
“Whose underwear are we talking about here?”
“Mine?”
“Arisa… how about you calm down? A deep breath might help clear your head.”
At that, Arisa took a deep breath to compose herself. Her chest rose dramatically as she inhaled, and when she exhaled with a phew, her chest jiggled slightly.
Then, she snapped back to her senses.
“Sorry, Hayato-kun, I got a little weird there.”
“Yeah.”
Otherwise, she wouldn’t suggest letting a guy like me wear her underwear.
As we got ready to resume cleaning, I took a step—and promptly tripped over a cleaning tool on the ground.
Before I could even think Oh no, I went tumbling down spectacularly.
“Hayato-kun!”
This time, it was in a corner, so only Arisa and a few others noticed.
I was touched by Arisa’s kindness as she rushed over, but knowing how clumsy she can be sometimes, I felt a strange unease—and sure enough, it became reality.
“Eek!?”
“Whoa!?”
Your sister’s been doing this a lot lately, hasn’t she!?
In a twist straight out of a comedy, Arisa, tripping as well, landed perfectly on top of me.
Our bodies ended up in opposite positions… meaning her crotch was pressed right against my face.
“Mmph!?”
“Eep!?”
And on my end, it was a similar story… Let’s just say it was a big mess.
Her seductive, flustered voice lingered in my ears as we somehow managed to get up.
“You two! What are you doing!?”
“S-Sorry…”
“Sorry…”
Aina, who’d just come back, started scolding us this time.
(…She smelled really nice.)
I couldn’t help but think that, then mentally scolded myself, Idiot!
Despite all the accidents, the pool cleaning was chaotic but productive. Everyone else, while goofing off, did their jobs, and the pool in front of us was spotless.
“Man, I’m beat.”
Beyond the accidents, my obsession with scrubbing every last bit of dirt left me exhausted, the effort hitting me all at once.
I moved to the small pool, dipping my feet in the water for a relaxed break. Others were chilling too, though some were still splashing around noisily.
“Hey.”
As I was relaxing, an unpleasant voice cut through.
It wasn’t the voice itself but the unmistakable hostility in it that bothered me.
Turning around, I saw a guy standing there—Fujiyama, the one who’d previously tried to ask Arisa and Aina out.
“What?”
“…Why are you so close with the Shinjo-san sisters?”
That’s what came out of his mouth.
Why am I close with them…? Probably a mix of everything he’s seen, including the chaos earlier.
“Well, compared to most guys, I guess I’m pretty close with them. What, you gonna tell me to stay away from them or something?”
I step forward, confronting him directly, and Fujiyama shakes his head.
“Honestly, I want to. But saying something like a cartoon villain isn’t gonna change anything, is it?”
“True enough.”
“…Sorry, it’s just jealousy. Those two… especially Arisa-san, who’s in our class—I’ve asked her out a few times, but she always turns me down. Plus, I barely get to talk to her.”
“…”
This wasn’t the direction I expected.
He’d tried to ask them out before, and I’d caught his annoyed glares a few times since… This is pretty much the first time we’ve talked directly, and I thought he’d just spew whatever he wanted.
“…I’m not some kid who’d mess with someone close to them just to see what happens. Maybe in middle school, but not now.”
“You were like that in middle school, huh?”
“Got into a lot of fights back then.”
“…Huh.”
Good thing I didn’t know him in middle school.
We’re definitely not buddies now, but this is at least better than before we talked.
“The reason we’re close is because we had the chance to get that way.”
“…Yeah, makes sense.”
With that, Fujiyama walked off.
As I pulled my feet out of the water since it was about time to go, Kaito approached, taking Fujiyama’s place.
“Yo, Hayato.”
“Hey, Kaito.”
We high-fived, and the topic turned to Fujiyama.
“I saw that Fujiyama guy heading your way, so I was on standby. Ready to jump in if anything went down.”
“Haha, thanks for that. But it’s cool, nothing happened.”
“Yeah? You’ve been a trouble magnet since this morning, though.”
“Ugh!”
He’s not wrong!
From Jack this morning to the chaos at pool cleaning, I’m wiped out… If anything else happens, I might actually cry.
“It’s simple. He was just asking why I’m so close with the Shinjo sisters.”
“…Ah.”
Kaito got it with that alone.
“I think people should mind their own business about who’s close with who, but those two stand out a lot. They’re bound to draw attention. Even we were curious about them at first.”
Yeah, I laugh, remembering that.
I filled him in on my conversation with Fujiyama, assuring him there was nothing to worry about.
Kaito said, “Alright, good,” but cracked his knuckles with a grin, clearly ready for action, which made me chuckle.
“I’ve mellowed out since hanging with you guys in high school, but my fangs are still sharp. Thought it’d be a good chance to show that.”
“That’s reassuring, but no fighting, okay?”
“I know, I know, just kidding.”
Maybe it depends on the situation, but fighting’s out of the question. Solving things with violence isn’t okay, and if my best friend tried it for my sake, I’d stop him—that’s what real friends do, right?
“But seriously… how was it?”
“What?”
“You had those lucky pervert moments with both Shinjo sisters! I’m asking how that felt!”
“…Well, it was good enough to make me forget the back pain.”
“Pervert.”
“Shut up.”
With that banter, we noisily headed back to the classroom.
Back in the classroom, my first problem was that my underwear still wasn’t dry, and I wasn’t sure what to do.
I couldn’t exactly take them off, so I just dealt with the discomfort and carried on.
“You wearing them?”
“I’m wearing them.”
Of course, I had that exchange with Arisa… and I shuddered at the thought that she might’ve been serious about me wearing her underwear.
(There’s no way a guy could wear women’s underwear… Even if I got my legs through, what about the important parts?)
…Stop, stop, don’t even imagine it, don’t think about it at all!
But the reason it even crossed my mind is that I’ve never once thought about wearing women’s underwear or what it’d be like.
“…No one would, right?”
I muttered under my breath, the obvious answer slipping out.
After the usual “see you at home” exchange with Arisa, I left the classroom and headed to the shoe lockers.
“…?”
There, just like this morning, something made me stop in my tracks.
It’s that feeling again… like someone’s watching me, bringing back the fear I felt with Jack.
God, give me a break with this…
Thankfully, there were other students around, so it wasn’t scary enough to make me shake. I changed into my shoes, gave one last glance around, and left the school.
“…I’m home.”
I opened the front door with a faint voice, stepping inside my own house cautiously.
This is bad… I’m alone, and it’s getting seriously creepy… But first, I was relieved to see Jack wasn’t at the entrance. When I got to my room, he was still in the same spot I left him this morning.
“Well, of course!”
Phew… You really had me scared there.
Jack’s sitting there with his usual smug grin, like he’s been waiting for me, teasing me with that “What happened?” look. I couldn’t help but give him a chop.
“Today… there were a bunch of accidents during pool cleaning, but that wasn’t your curse, right?”
Maybe I should just throw him out…?
But then, he almost looks like he’s crying, which is weirdly unsettling. I decided that once I got back from the Shinjo house, I’d turn in early tonight.
But my unease about Jack and the feeling that something bad might happen… I’d find out the next morning that I was, in a way, right.
“…Huh?”
When I got to school, I found it at the noisy shoe lockers.
Placed over my indoor shoes was a single letter—not a sweet love letter, but something entirely the opposite.
“Stay away from Shinjo Aina.”
That’s all it said.
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