Kuu-Chan Joins A Club

The afternoon sun was beating down on the university’s courtyard. Tomohiro had just got out of his late morning class and was heading home so he could get a head start on studying for the next exam. The courtyard was busy, as always, during this time with students heading to class or to wherever they had planned for the day. Amidst the traffic, there was a girl going around to any student she could, handing out flyers.

“Hello, we’re starting a Gardening Club for the university and we’re currently accepting members. Please come check us out if you can,” she handed Tomohiro a flyer with her right hand while hugging a pile to her body with her left. She had a friendly smile and wasn’t too pushy with her offer. Tomohiro, nevertheless, took the flyer out of curiosity. It read: “Gardening Club General Meeting, 5:00PM-6:00PM, at Room B106 in the Sciences Building.”

“Gardening Club, huh? Maybe, I’ll check it out,” he said to himself.

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Tomohiro entered his apartment and was greeted by a smiling and energetic Noriyuki. “KUU-CHANNNN!!!! Welcome home!!” He scooped Tomohiro off the ground and picked him up and hugged him as if the latter was a child. “How was class? Tell me everything! Well, not really everything cause I don't understand anything you’re learning in your classes, but how was it? Is your day going well? Tell me–”

“I want to join a club,” Tomohiro said suddenly.

“Eh?” Noriyuki put Tomohiro down. “A club? Where did this come from?” Noriyuki put his finger to his chin and had a wondering expression. “To be honest, I never really thought you’d be interested in things like that.”

“I…got this today…” He handed Noriyuki the flyer in his hand with an embarrassed blush on his face.

“Gardening club, huh?” Noriyuki examined the flyer, “Do you like gardening?”

“I’ve done it before and I didn’t hate it. I think it would be nice to try it again.” Tomohiro avoided eye contact with Noriyuki and just looked at the ground.

“Hmm, I see. Aren’t you always saying you don’t have enough time to study though? Will you be okay with joining the club with your workload?”

“Well…I always see how you, Nonoka, and Osuke enjoy going to your clubs and I always thought it would be fun to be in one. Now that I found something kind of interesting, maybe…I’ll join it.”

“I see…Well, you should go for it! I want to see my Kuu-Chan happy! If you’re happy, then I’m happy. I’ll support you all the way,” Noriyuki gave a thumbs up with a bright smile.”

Upon hearing that, Tomohiro blushed even more, “Yuki…,” he composed himself and looked at him with a blank expression, “Isn’t your class starting soon?”

“AH, you’re right!” Noriyuki left to his room to grab his backpack and came back out quickly. “Well, I’ll see you later then, Kuu-Chan,” he ruffled Tomohiro’s hair. “Tell me how the meeting goes if I don’t see you before then,” he gave a thumbs up and winked, and then he was off.

“Yuki…,” Tomohiro had a tiny smile on his face.

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“Huh, I didn’t know this building had this area,” Tomohiro referred to the new side of the Science Building he had never seen. The room on the flyer was located at the very back of the science building in the left most corner. The hallway that led to it was empty, giving Tomohiro an uneasy feeling. He looked up and saw the sign hanging above the door that showed the room’s number and looked back at the flyer to make sure he didn’t wound up in the wrong place. “Well, this is it, I guess.” He grabbed the doorknob and with a deep breath, he slowly opened the door. When he entered the room, there were two girls sitting at a table while a guy was standing near a whiteboard with drawings on it. It looked like he was in the middle of giving a lecture to the two girls. The two girls looked at Tomohiro while the guy stopped midway in what he was saying. “Uh…I’m here for the Gardening Club meeting.”

“We…we…we actually have another member,” The guy looked like he was tearing up. “WE MANAGED TO GET ONE MORE MEMBER!!!” He raised his fist in the air as if he’d just achieved victory in something.

“I told you, you didn’t have to worry about anything President,” the girl sitting on the left said with a smile. Tomohiro recognized her to be the one that was handing out flyers in the courtyard this afternoon.

“Welcome to the Gardening Club!” The president made a grand gesture by extending his arms outwards from him. “I’m Masahiro Takuya, the president and founder of the Gardening Club. I’m a 3rd-year student studying Environmental Sciences!”

“Hey! I remember you from this afternoon. I’m Hirano Mei! I’m the vice president and co-founder of the Gardening Club! I’m a 3rd-year student studying Biochemistry.” The girl winked and had the same friendly smile from this morning.

“Uhh..I’m–” The third girl took a quick glance at Tomohiro and noticed his expressionless eyes which caused her to cower and tremble in her seat. “I-I’m S-Shibuya N-N-Nako. I'm a first year s-student studying Japanese Literature.” She introduced herself while avoiding eye contact with Tomohiro.

“Hello, I’m Kuuge Tomohiro, but you can call me Kuu-chan. I’m a 3rd year student majoring in Chemistry,” he introduced with the same blank expression.”

“What a cute nickname,” Mei commented, “Who gave you that?”

“At first my mom just called me that but now it’s used by everyone I know.”

“Umm, excuse me…but…can I call you that too?” Nako still avoided eye contact but was blushing.

“Mm. Everyone here can. We’re all friends now aren’t we.”

“Well, well! Someone’s excited, I see,” Mei joked.

“I see, well then Kuu-Chan, let’s skip the formalities and you can call me Takuya!”

“Call me Mei!”

“You can call me Nako.”

At that moment, Tomohiro let out a small smile but he was beaming inside. He was excited to see where this could lead and hoped to make memories with these new people who shared a similar interest with him.

“OKAY! MEETING CONTINUE!! Have a seat, Kuu-Chan and I’ll fill you in on what we were talking about.” Tomohiro took a seat near Nako who trembled even more noticeably as Takuya composed himself to lead the rest of the meeting. He cleared his throat, “Okay, so first on the agenda, we need to set a meeting time that is able to accommodate everyone here. I am free Wednesday and Friday afternoons!”

“Hmm, I think I have classes around 2pm on Wednesday but only 1 class in the morning on Friday,” Mei recounted her schedule.

“Uh…I have no classes on Friday. I chose all of my classes to only be in the mornings at the beginning of the week.”

“Really,” Takuya seemed surprised.

“Yes. I wanted to be able to get 3 whole days of no class so I could study as much as possible.”

“Ahh, our junior is already planning well,” Mei looked at Nako with an adoring expression like she was her own little sister. “What about you Kuu-Chan?”

“Mmmm,” Tomohiro was thinking. “I have two classes on Friday. My last one ends around 2pm.”

“Alright, so it’s settled then! Friday at around…,” Takuya closed his eyes and put a finger towards his forehead. “4pm!”

Everyone around the room looked at each other and just nodded.

“Everyone is in agreement,” Mei assured Takuya.

“Excuse me, is this our actual club room or just a placeholder for now.” Tomohiro was hoping that it wasn’t the permanent place since he didn’t like coming to this area of the science building.

“This will be our actual club room. Me and Mei have already bought stuff to decorate it with but it’s at each of our apartments for now. Starting next week, we will bring them here and clean up and get settled.”

“Why did you choose a room in an empty area of the building,” Tomohiro questioned.

“I wondered that too. It was kind of scary coming here,” Nako added.

“Heh,” Takuya snickered as if he was prepared for the members to ask him that. He pointed to the door behind him, “Does everyone see that?” The room’s attention turned towards the door and Takuya went to stand by it. He grabbed the knob and opened it with a dramatic gesture. “This is why!” He presented to them the land that was approved for use to the Gardening Club. “With permission, the university has granted us all of this land to use for our club, with no limitations on what we can grow! Of course, nothing illegal though,” he clarified. Everyone in the room took a look at the beautiful greenery that was presented before them with sparkling eyes. The flat ground was optimal for gardening and there were no trees in the way that would block incoming sunlight. The perfectly green field also indicated good soil since the grass seemed healthy. Tomohiro’s expectation was exceeded after seeing this and knew that he made the right decision to join this club.

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Tomohiro opened the door to his apartment with a small smile on his face. “Yuki, I’m home,” he called out.

“Kuu-Chan?” Noriyuki peeked from the kitchen and gave Tomohiro a warm smile. “You seem awfully happy today. Did the meeting go well?”

“Mm,” Tomohiro blushed, “I think I’m going to like this.”

Noriyuki let out a small chuckle, “You’ve been spending most of your college life just studying, it’s about time you finally enjoy the fun side of going to college.”

“I have meetings every Friday afternoon now.”

“Really? I’m sad I’m going to miss Fridays with my Kuu-chan now,” Noriyuki pouted, “But, it’s worth it to see a smile on your face,” Noriyuki smiled.

“Yuki, I’m going to bring home lots of vegetables,” Tomohiro said with a determined expression as if it was a goal he set for himself.

“Mm! Bring lots and I’ll cook it for you!”

“And so that was mainly the last time I saw him.” Noriyuki was recounting a memory from four weeks ago. He was with Osuke in the University Student Center, his head laid down on the table while his friend looked at him with disappointment from across.

“Did you really just call me out here just to complain about that?”

“He told me he only had meetings on Fridays, yet he’s been gone everyday for three weeks after the first meeting he had.”

“It’s not like he’s gone forever, he still comes home to you every night. Plus, it’s not like he’s purposefully avoiding you. You know club activities can differ.”

“I know, but he’s always tired by the time he gets home and I’m not able to spend any time with him. Now, I spend my time making conversation with the vegetables he brings home,” Noriyuki’s voice went grim and his friend looked at him like he was a crazy man.

“Aren’t you happy that he’s not spending all of his time cooped up studying though? You said it yourself, it’s all worth it to see him happy, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know what I said. I just hope he’s not forgetting about me,” Noriyuki had an innocent twinkle in his eyes making Osuke feel sympathy for him.

“Look, I don’t know much about relationships or whatever, but it’s okay to be a bit selfish sometimes. Sure, you would like to see him happy, but your happiness is important too. Just talk to him and he’ll understand. Kuu-Chan is a pretty easy person.”

“Hmmm…I guess you’re right. But…if he’s easy, then why are you scared of him?”

Osuke suddenly became defensive, “I’m not scared of him! I’m just nervous around him, that’s all. If he was a bit more expressive, then maybe I wouldn’t get too anxious.” Osuke crossed his arms and looked away to hide his embarrassment. Noriyuki let out a small chuckle with his usual warm smile.

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Tomohiro entered the apartment to greet Noriyuki, who was standing near the front door with his arms crossed, like a mother waiting for her child to enter the house after returning home way past curfew. “Yuki,” Tomohiro was surprised that Noriyuki didn’t greet him in his usual happy self.

“Kuu-Chan, I need to talk to you,” Noriyuki’s tone took on a more serious sound.

The two were now sitting on their couch in the living room. Tomohiro was confused as to why Noriyuki seemed so serious, so he was also a bit nervous of what was about to come next.

“Kuu-Chan…I MISS YOU!” Noriyuki suddenly declared.

Tomohiro was taken aback by Noriyuki’s outburst. “Um, what are you talking about?”

“Lately, you’ve been coming home late everyday which makes me sad that I haven’t gotten the time to spend with you after school. I’ve been so lonely, I started talking to the vegetables you brought over.”

Tomohiro had a blank expression on his face but thought, “You made friends with the veggies?” Tomohiro sighed, “I’m sorry.”

“Huh? No, I didn’t mean to say that to make you feel bad. You didn’t do anything wrong, I think I’m just being overdramatic.” Noriyuki quickly tried to erase Tomohiro’s guilt.

Tomohiro looked down and gave a tiny smile, “I’ve never had the chance to experience this side of college before. I think I was becoming addicted to this since I was trying to make up for lost time. I love being able to be around people who share the same interest as me and it’s fun to be able to work with them. I love to be able to grow something and say that it was because of my hard work that made that happen.” Tomohiro looked up at Noriyuki, “I will try harder to grow our relationship into something greater so I can look back and say I did my part the best I can to get us farther.”

“Kuu-Chan.”

“I don’t want to lose time with you and try to make up for it later. I’m glad you told me this before I end up regretting the amount of time I lost with you. As much as I love going to the club, I love coming home everyday hearing you say to me ‘Welcome home!’ even more. I may not show it, but it does make me feel happy hearing you say that,” Tomohiro blushed.

“Kuu-Chan…,” Noriyuki gave him a warm smile that radiated love, “Welcome home!.”

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Kuu-Chan Shorts

“Say, Yuki, what kind of vegetables did Kuu-Chan bring home for you.” Osuke and Yuki were sitting across from each other at the University Student Center.

“Right now, we mostly have a lot of green onions at home.”

“Really? Can I have some if you have too much?”

“There’s no way I’m letting you have any of my friends!”

“This guy really did go mad,’ Osuke thought.

Trivia: Noriyuki is in Cooking Club, Nonoka is in Photography Club, and Osuke is in Kendo Club.