New Members

Kaimu tried to take deep, steady breaths as much as he could.

The door that read 'Earth Defense Club' in front of him felt so threatening, for such a simple door with an equally simple sign.

But, he couldn't help that nervousness. He... hadn't exactly made the best first impression the first time he met the members the previous year. No, actually, talking about vinyl umbrellas so obsessively was probably the worst first impression one could make.

But, he believed he had been doing a lot better at talking to people since then. He wouldn't say he had friends, or at least not friends as close as he had always dreamed of. But being able to at least hold a conversation or two with his classmates and not scare them away afterwards was a good start.

Regardless of that progress, the clubroom still made him nervous. First impressions were hard to forget, after all...

But, he did know there was at least one 3rd year in the club. So now, after graduation, they were bound to have at least one vacant spot they would need to fill in if they wanted the club to stay around... At the very least, he could just do that, right?

He took another deep breath. Then, right as he was about to touch the doorknob to the clubroom, he heard footsteps from the stairs.

Curious, he looked back to see who it was.

It was a boy who seemed to be about his age, and he did seem a little familiar. The first thing that caught his attention were the freckles on his face.

He seemed surprised to see Kaimu there too. "Kaimu? What are you doing here?"

How did he know his name? "Who are you?"

The boy furrowed his eyebrows for a second, but his expression softened when he cleared his throat. "Hajime Usui. We got put in the same class this year."

"Oh?" Kaimu looked at his face better. Was that why he seemed familiar? Had he spotted Hajime in the classroom at one point? No, he had a feeling that wasn't the only place... "Wait, do you work at that ice cream shop?"

"Yes! That's me!" Hajime smiled widely. Was it really that big of a deal for him to be recognised? "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, well..." Kaimu looked over to the club's door again.

"Were you... Thinking of joining that club?" Hajime asked.

Kaimu nodded. "But I've been too nervous to go in... I've been here since class ended..."

"You've been here for half an hour!?"

"Half an hour!?" Kaimu repeated. He had worried so much that he didn't even realise it had been that long!? He sighed. "I just... Kind of embarrassed myself in front of these guys before. So I'm not sure if they'll want me joining..."

"Let's go in together, then." Hajime pulled out a piece of paper from his bag, a club entry form.

"Huh!?" Kaimu's jaw dropped.

Well, there probably wasn't much of another reason for him to come to that part of the school. There weren't any other rooms in that area, after all. So it could only be something related to the Defense Club.

Then, Kaimu smiled. At least, he wouldn't be alone in trying to talk to them. And if they did both get accepted, it would mean he wouldn't be alone as someone who wasn't originally part of the friend group. "Let's go then!" He cheered with a fist in the air.

Right as he turned towards the door again, it was opened from the inside. He stopped on his tracks.

One of the members looked at them, confused. He had short orange hair and green eyes, and Kaimu guessed he was in his third year now. "Um... Can I help you?" He asked the two of them.

"Ah! Well, I- We..." Kaimu tried to find the words, but suddenly seeing one of them caught him a bit off-guard.

"Well, uh..." Hajime needed a moment to recover from the surprise, too. But his confidence came back pretty quickly. He walked up to the club member with the form still in his hand. "Actually, we wanted to join the club."

"Huh!?" He took the form from Hajime's hand, his eyes wide. However, he looked confused rather than happy. "Seriously!?"

Hajime nodded. And Kaimu quickly grabbed his own form from his bag to hand it over.

The older boy still seemed incredulous at the two forms in his hands. He he took a few seconds to look up at the two of them again. "Uhh... Why don't you two come in so we can talk a bit more?"

Both of them nodded. The club member stepped aside so they could walk in.

Kaimu felt a bit embarrassed once again as he saw the other 3 familiar faces in the room. But he tried his best to calm his nerves.

"I think I should introduce everyone. I'm Ryoma Kirishima." Said the boy who had greeted them at the door. He then pointed at each of the other members. "Kyotaro Shuzenji. Taishi Manza. Ichiro Dougo." He then pointed at Hajime and Kaimu. "Hajime Usui. Kaimu Shuchou."

The three boys looked just as confused as Ryoma had been when he greeted them at the door. Kaimu supposed that made sense. It was a do-nothing club, composed of guys who weren't really popular. They wouldn't exactly be having people at their door begging to join. And from what he could tell, they hadn't made an effort to ask for more members either.

"So... These two wanted to join." Ryoma said. "Well, uh... What do you guys think?"

Kyotaro yawned. "Aren't you the leader now? Wouldn't that be up to you?"

"I only became the leader because no one elss offered! And it's not like this club really needs a leader..."

"Well, it is true that we won't be able to use this room anymore if we don't get at least one more member." Ichiro sighed. "I wish being friends with the Student Council gave us privileges."

"Just because we're friends, that doesn't mean they can just bend the rules for us. They've always been strict." Taishi said, adjusting his glasses. "But why do you two even want to join specifically this? Surely, there must be at least one proper club for you."

"Well... I..." Kaimu started, but couldn't find the words. Would it be too weird to say he still wanted to try being friends with them, despite embarrassing himself the first time?

"I don't really have any interest in the other clubs." Hajime shrugged. "And maybe I could make a friend or two in the process."

"Ah! M-me too!" Kaimu chimed in quickly. He was glad Hajime had spoken up first. It made him feel a little less awkward.

Kyotaro shrugged. "I guess they can join. It's better than having to look for another club or for somewhere else to hang out."

"I guess that's an agreement, then." Ryoma smiled at Hajime and Kaimu. "I'll talk with the Student Council later. You two are welcome here whenever from now on."

Kaimu smiled widely, and some tears were actually starting to form in his eyes. "Heck yeah!" He cheered, raising his arms in the air.

Ichiro brought a hand to his chin. "Why do I feel I know you guys from somewhere...?"

Taishi whispered in his ear. Kaimu couldn't make out what he was saying. He could just tell it must have been a few phrases long.

"Oh! You're right!" Ichiro clapped his hands together. "Bread bag thing!" He pointed at Hajime.

"Huh?" Hajime raised an eyebrow.

Taishi immediately covered Ichiro's mouth with his hand. "Are you an idiot!?"

Before either Kaimu or Hajime could say anything, Ryoma quickly put himself in front of them. "D-don't worry about that! It's not anything important!"

Hajime's expression remained the same for a while. He really looked like he wanted to ask for an explanation. But instead, he just sighed and shrugged. "I heard you guys were kinda weird anyway. I'll just have to get used to it."

While Ryoma laughed awkwardly, Kaimu covered his mouth as he tried to hide genuine laughter. At least, he wouldn't be the only one in the group who people would call weird.

Maybe he could start fresh there, after all.