[Third Person Pov]
Clark stood over by the ladder, his strong hand extended upward as he helped steady each person making their way down into the empty pool. One by one, he guided them safely onto the slick concrete floor, making sure no one slipped on the way.
“Komi and Haruna both wanted to help you out once they learned what you were doing,” Lala said as she stood beside him, puffing out her chest proudly.
Komi nodded her head enthusiastically right next to her, clenching her fist tightly to show just how pumped up she was to be helping Clark out. Her usual quiet determination was on full display.
“Sorry for butting in like this,” Haruna said apologetically when Clark helped her down the last few rungs, offering him a small, polite smile.
“With Komi and Lala staying behind, I didn’t want to walk home by myself, so I came along,” Momo said casually as she hopped down from the remaining steps, landing lightly on the pool floor.
“I figured we might be able to use the pool once it’s clean if we helped out, so we tagged along when we overheard,” Ichika said with a proud, confident smile, brushing off her hands.
“Same here. We’re only taking advantage of the situation a little bit,” Nino added, flashing a proud and slightly calculative grin that showed she was already thinking ahead.
“I like swimming,” Yotsuba said indifferently, barely glancing at Clark as she made her way down, her attention already wandering around the empty pool.
Miku didn’t say anything at all, but she gave Clark a rather shy look as he helped her down. Her long hair hid most of her features, except for the soft, half-formed smile gracing her lips. Clark understood the meaning behind her glance immediately—she was using this chance and opportunity to make up for how she had acted around him before.
“Don’t think I’m doing this because I want to help you or anything,” Itsuki said, shooting him a sharp glare as soon as her feet touched the ground. It was a clear warning not to get the wrong idea. “I also didn’t want to walk home alone. I’m helping my sisters, not you.”
“Right, of course…” Clark replied with a perfectly straight face, not even bothering to hide the way he rolled his eyes at her tsundere attitude.
“Hahaha! Jimmy, we’re saved!” Lois exclaimed, pulling him into a quick side hug. “With all these extra hands, we’ll finish cleaning this pool in no time!”
Jimmy simply stared at her with a straight, unimpressed expression. “Don’t you start calling me that too. We’re not making this a thing.”
Lois just gave him a cheeky laugh, smiling mischievously as she completely ignored his protest. She pulled out a couple of club registry forms from somewhere and waved them around excitedly. “With so many people willing to lend a helping hand, you know what this could possibly mean! It’s recruitment time! Time to get us some new members!”
…
A short while later, Lois was on all fours on the dirty pool floor, sobbing dramatically. “They all rejected me… every single one of them… I thought surely I’d at least manage to convince one of them to join.”
Lala crouched down beside her, gently patting her back in reassurance. “It’ll be alright. We still have time, don’t we?”
“Lala…” Lois muttered, tears welling up in her eyes as she grabbed the other girl’s hands. “Thank you for not bailing on me even when you learned I lied about Clark.”
Lala puffed her cheeks out cutely as she replied, “Although I didn’t like that you tricked me, you already plan on recruiting Clark eventually, so I’ll choose to believe that you will succeed instead.”
Lois’s eyes grew even more teary, her lower lip jutting out like she was seconds away from bursting into full sobs. She suddenly leapt forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Lala’s neck and dramatically sobbing while affectionately rubbing her cheeks against hers. “Ahhh! Lala! I love you!! Marry me instead of Clark! That big idiot doesn’t deserve you! He won’t cherish you like I will!”
Lala started giggling and smiling warmly at the affectionate gesture, clearly enjoying the dramatic display of friendship.
Clark turned toward Jimmy with a look of pure bewilderment. “Where did Lois get those club registry forms from? She’s not exactly wearing any pockets.”
Jimmy merely shrugged, a small smirk on his face. “I don’t know, man. You know how women are with their magic. Even normally they don’t have pockets, so they learned to evolve.”
Clark scoffed in amusement as the whole group finally started cleaning together. Up above on the pool deck, Kotegawa Yui stood holding a small notebook, carefully writing down the name of everyone present. She watched over them all with strict scrutiny, making sure nobody got sidetracked from the actual task.
For the most part, they stayed focused. The enlarged group worked efficiently together, clearing the pool of scattered trash, stuffing leaves and waste into the growing pile of trash bags, while others swept and brushed away layers of grime from the concrete floor. The once-daunting mess slowly but surely began to disappear under their combined efforts, turning the tedious chore into something almost enjoyable with the extra company and chatter.
Aww! Lala, Haruna, look!” Momo exclaimed excitedly as she bent down to pick something up that was hidden away in a corner.
Haruna turned around, confused at first, until Momo straightened up and revealed a small green frog resting calmly on her open palm. Haruna’s face immediately went pale. She let out a high-pitched screech, “Ahhhh!! Momo! Put it down! Put it down right now! Don’t hold it like that!”
A wicked, evil grin slowly stretched across Momo’s face as she watched her reaction.
Without warning, Momo started chasing Haruna around the empty pool, holding the frog out in front of her. “Come on, Haruna, don’t be so cruel! It’s been cursed by an evil witch and needs the kiss of a beautiful girl to break the spell!”
“Get Lala to do it! Isn’t she some kind of foreign princess?!” Haruna shouted back, running desperately on the verge of tears as she tried to put as much distance as possible between herself and the frog.
“She already kissed a frog! Have you seen Clark?!” Momo shouted with a loud cackle. “Clearly it doesn’t work when she does it!”
Lala and Komi both snickered, caught completely off guard by Momo’s bold comment, and started giggling behind their hands. Clark stood right between them, giving the two girls a flat, unimpressed stare. “Seriously?”
They both looked at him apologetically, though their smiles didn’t fully disappear.
“Momo, you better not get any closer!” Nino warned, holding out her broom protectively in front of her like an improvised weapon.
Her other sisters quickly followed suit, brandishing their own brooms in defense. Momo only cackled louder, clearly becoming corrupted by the sudden power she held over everyone. She had never wielded this kind of chaotic influence before, and she was loving every second of it.
Haruna quickly darted behind Clark and grabbed onto the back of his shirt for safety, peeking her head out nervously. “Clark, please make her stop!”
Momo then turned her attention elsewhere and held out her hand toward Komi with a playful grin. “Komi, would you perhaps like to be friends with this frog?”
Komi frantically shook her head, her eyes wide with fear. She wasted no time in taking refuge behind Clark as well, pressing close for protection.
“Please stop terrorizing the others,” Kotegawa began sternly, stepping forward to intervene. “You’re disrupting the flow of everyone’s work and delaying the progress you’ve all made—”
“Relax, girl,” Momo said nonchalantly, waving her off. “It’s just a frog, see? It’s not like I’m doing anything bad—”
Momo held up her hand for Kotegawa to see, but at that exact moment the frog suddenly reacted. It leapt straight out of her palm, all four limbs stretched out wide as it soared through the air in a perfect arc.
It landed directly on top of Kotegawa’s head with a loud, resonant croak.
Kotegawa immediately became a wild flurry of limbs, thrashing around in startled panic as she tried desperately to get the frog off her head. She spun around frantically, and in her hysteria, her foot slipped past the edge of the pool floor.
There was a collective gasp of shock as Kotegawa fell backward toward the hard concrete below, her eyes wide with terror as she clawed desperately at the air.
Clack!
Clark’s broom hit the floor first. In an instant, he was already in motion, moving with surprising speed to get underneath her. He caught Kotegawa safely in his arms just before she could hit the ground.
Everyone let out a huge sigh of relief. Jimmy even crouched down for a second, holding his chest to calm his racing heart.
Clark looked down at the disheveled Kotegawa in his arms and sighed softly. She was clinging tightly to his shirt with both hands, her body still trembling as her eyes remained wide with fright.
“Are you okay?” Clark asked gently, his voice full of genuine concern.
Kotegawa could only shake her head at first, feeling like her heart was stuck in her throat. Momo immediately began apologizing profusely, overwhelmed with guilt as she rushed over. No one even questioned Clark’s unusually quick reaction time—they were simply grateful that he had managed to save her in time.
Once the moment passed and they had all made sure Kotegawa was unhurt and steady on her feet again, the group refocused entirely on the task. They worked together with renewed determination, clearing every last bit of trash, leaves, and grime from the pool. By the end, the once-filthy space was spotless and looked as good as new, ready for fresh water. The chaotic energy from earlier had faded into productive teamwork, turning what could have been a long, miserable chore into a memorable afternoon.