Training Camp Cleaning
The Supplementary Lessons Club, with Mash, began cleaning, starting with overgrown weeds.
"So many weeds," Hifumi said.
"Left untouched for ages," Hanako noted.
"Buying a place just to abandon it? Wasteful," Koharu grumbled.
"True…" Hifumi sighed.
"Hey," Koharu said.
"What's up?" Hifumi asked.
"No one's gonna comment on that?" Koharu pointed.
"It's your job, Hifumi-san," Hanako teased.
"No it's not!" Hifumi protested. "It's just…"
"Eho-eho-eho!"SHWACK!
"Sasa-sasa-sasa!"SHWACK!
"I don't even know how to retort…" Hifumi mumbled.
Nearby, Mash yanked weeds barehanded, tossing them back for Azusa to catch in a giant trash bag with uncanny precision.
"How's he digging like that with his hands?" Koharu asked.
"Shovels are useless," Hanako said.
"Azusa-chan's matching him somehow," Hifumi added.
"They're in sync, like they rehearsed. Azusa's trying hard," Koharu noted.
Mash, unfazed, uprooted weeds effortlessly. Azusa, treating it like training, stuffed them into bags.
(Swift moves to outmaneuver foes… this is like training!) Azusa thought.
(Azusa's working hard. I gotta keep up!) Mash thought.
SHWACK-SHWACK-SHWACK!
As Azusa nearly mastered shadow clones (physically), the trio noticed something: her usually stoic face cracked a faint smile.
Cleaning Continues
Mash's absurd strength sped through the tasks.
Corridor
ZOOM! ZOOM!
"Sensei, slow down!" Hifumi yelled.
"He's wiping the floor at insane speeds," Azusa said.
"The wet rag's burning from friction!" Hanako noted.
"The floor's scorching!" Hifumi cried.
Lobby
"I rebuilt the old furniture," Mash said.
"From scratch!?" Koharu gasped.
"Where'd you get materials!?" Hifumi asked.
"Sensei's a carpenter too? ♪" Hanako said.
"Used to break stuff as a kid, so I fixed it myself," Mash said.
"Since when?" Hifumi asked.
"Two or three, maybe? Grandpa says earlier," Mash replied.
"…" Silence.
Dorm Rooms
"Girls' private zone, so I'm cleaning my room," Mash said.
"Hanako! What's that!?" Koharu yelled.
"Just a book," Hanako replied.
"It says Kama Sutra! Confiscated!" Koharu snapped.
"Hifumi, why'd she take it?" Azusa asked.
"You don't need to know," Hifumi said, smiling tightly.
"But—"
"You don't need to know," Hifumi repeated.
"Okay…" Azusa backed off.
"Super curious… but peeking's wrong. I'll clean elsewhere," Mash muttered, powering through tasks to ease the club's burden.
Post-Cleaning Gathering
After cleaning the classroom, gym, and kitchen-cafeteria, they regrouped at the entrance.
"Thanks to everyone's hard work, it's spotless!" Hifumi said.
"Hard to believe this was abandoned," Koharu said.
"No dust—perfect hideout," Azusa said.
"Hideout aside, great job!" Hifumi cheered.
"Here's cream puffs—" Mash started.
"Yum!" Azusa dove in.
"Slow down, you'll choke!" Hifumi warned.
Azusa munched silently.
Weeds were gone, floors gleamed, and new furniture shone. Eating cream puffs, the club—minus Hanako—was thrilled.
"Oh, one spot's left," Hanako said.
"Huh?" Hifumi asked.
Koharu's bad feeling spiked. Mash thought, Summer's not here yet… or is it? Azusa kept eating.
"The outdoor pool ♡," Hanako said.
"Right, there was one—" Koharu began.
Led to the camp's back, they gaped at the pool: a filthy mess of leaves, branches, mold, mud, and bugs. A dump, not a pool.
"It's big… and gross. Where do we start?" Mash said. "Also, swimming's not on the exam."
"Looking makes me sick," Azusa said.
"No need to clean if it's not for the test," Koharu argued.
"Think, Koharu-chan," Hanako said, eyes blazing.
"A sparkling pool, fun camp, laughing students… doesn't that sound great?" Hanako asked.
"Uh… what? You're talking over my head," Koharu said.
"Seeing this neglected pool feels… sad," Hifumi said.
"It's big. Probably lively once, filled with voices," Azusa said, eyeing rusted parasols and stained chairs—once vibrant, now faded.
"Everything beautiful turns like this—'vanitas vanitatum,'" Azusa said.
"Vani-what?" Koharu asked.
"An ancient phrase: 'all is vanity.' Maybe it's true," Hanako said, looking down.
Everything beautiful decays with time, ending in futility. Hifumi and Koharu nodded, convinced.
"With cream puffs, friends, and muscles, it's not vain," Mash said.
Azusa frowned. "But when they're gone…"
"Make more," Mash said.
"But…"
"Friends and muscles don't vanish," Mash said.
"What?" Azusa asked.
"Disappearing… from the world? Or just out of sight?" Mash asked.
"Uh…"
"To me, disappearing means being forgotten by everyone," Mash said.
The club froze. Mash grabbed a rag, wetting it with a barely functional hose.
"Azusa-chan, you said everything's vain. Is it?" Mash asked.
"Y-Yes, it's all… meaningless…"
"Nothing's meaningless. Everything has purpose," Mash said.
"Purpose?"
"Why are we studying?"
"To avoid failing or suspension," Azusa said.
"Why eat cream puffs?"
"They're delicious… from the heart," Azusa said softly.
Hifumi, Hanako, and Koharu listened, captivated.
"I train because it's fun. I eat cream puffs because they're tasty. We clean to make this place shine," Mash said.
"…"
"Every action leaves something behind. As long as we find joy, as long as we live, the world's never vain," Mash said.
Azusa's eyes welled up. It might be idealistic, even hypocritical, but Mash meant it. He didn't want them—especially Azusa—to feel life was futile.
"Uh, that was unlike me. Sorry, Azusa-chan, I didn't mean to—"
Sniff.
"!?" Mash panicked. "What's wrong!? Stomachache!?"
"N-No… I'm not crying…" Sniff.
"What do I do!?" Mash flailed.
"It's okay, Sensei," Hifumi said.
"But—"
"Hifumi-chan, Koharu-chan, Azusa-chan! Let's play!" Hanako declared.
"Huh?"
"Sensei too—no refusing!"
"Uh…"
"Let's play and make memories," Azusa said.
"Fine," Koharu sighed.
"Hehe, sounds fun!" Hanako grinned.
As Mash stood confused, the club planned pool cleaning and games.
"They're happy… good enough," Mash muttered.
"Sensei," Azusa said.
"Hm?"
"Thanks. Things might get… fun," Azusa said.
"No idea what's happening, but you're welcome," Mash replied.
Everyone was smiling, so Mash joined the fun.
Went for a proverb vibe… feels off. "Everything's vain? Make it not!" Extreme, but that's the angle. Eden's so serious, but that's its charm.
Comments and ratings super appreciated!
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