Sakuragi stared at the smug Aota standing in front of him, his teeth clenched in frustration.
"Sakuragi, you know," Aota said with a cocky grin, "the way someone calls another by name can tell how close they are."
He let out a snort of laughter and looked down his nose at Sakuragi, wearing an expression that screamed victory.
"Well? Are you envious?"
"Damn it!!"
Sakuragi grabbed his hair with both hands and pulled at it furiously. His already messy red hair turned into a chaotic nest. You ask Sakuragi Hanamichi if he's jealous?
Of course he is! He's insanely jealous!!
Just imagining Haruko calling him "Adao" made his whole body go soft from happiness. The thought made his heart flutter wildly.
But—No! Now is not the time to get lost in fantasy!
Sakuragi shook his head vigorously, snapping himself out of it. He took a bold step forward and shouted again.
"You—you—you! What exactly is your relationship with Haruko's sister!?"
Sakuragi was practically nose-to-nose with Aota. If the answer wasn't satisfactory, he was ready to throw a headbutt on the spot.
"Hehehe... you really want to know?" Aota dragged out his words with a teasing smirk, enjoying how much it irritated Sakuragi.
But Aota clearly underestimated Sakuragi's impatience.
Bang!
Sakuragi suddenly grabbed Aota's head with both hands. His arms, strong as steel clamps from years of physical training, locked Aota in place.
"W-Wait... What are you planning to do..."
Thud!!
Sakuragi didn't answer. He simply leaned back—and smashed his forehead straight into Aota's with tremendous force.
The smug expression on Aota's face froze, and he dropped to the ground with a heavy thump.
At that moment, Akagi—who had been searching frantically for Oliver—came rushing down the stairs. As soon as he stepped into view, he saw Sakuragi standing over his childhood friend, who was lying unconscious on the floor.
"Sakuragi! What the hell are you doing!?"
"Huh? Gorilla? Why are you here?"
Just as Sakuragi turned his head, a massive fist slammed down on his skull.
"Stop calling me a gorilla!!"
Thwack!
A comically large bump immediately sprouted from Sakuragi's head, with steam literally rising from it. No matter how strong Sakuragi was, there was always someone stronger.
"Oh? Akagi? Sakuragi? What are you two doing here?"
Just then, Oliver and Kogure strolled over casually. When they saw Aota lying flat on the ground, everything instantly made sense.
"Oh, I see," Oliver said with a grin. "We walked right into an attempted poaching."
"Sakuragi, forget about that guy and come on. Let's go back to class. Lunch break is almost over, and the afternoon session is about to start," Kogure urged. He circled behind Sakuragi and started pushing his back, trying to hurry him away.
Although Akagi was usually rigid and intense, Kogure was far more practical. He didn't care about face when it came to important things—like keeping Sakuragi in the basketball club.
"Wait a second, Brother Glasses! I haven't even figured out this guy's relationship with Haruko yet!"
Sakuragi stood firm, and no matter how hard Kogure pushed, he didn't move an inch.
"That's right! I haven't even finished talking yet!!" Aota suddenly leapt up from the floor, bump still steaming from the earlier headbutt.
"Sakuragi Hanamichi! Look at this!"
Aota pulled out a handful of photographs from his jacket pocket. The first was of a little girl with a cute smile, wearing a yellow kindergarten hat and a backpack.
"You... you... I didn't know you were into this kind of thing..." Sakuragi said in disgust, recoiling a few steps.
"No! Look carefully!!"
Aota shoved the photo right into Sakuragi's face. When Sakuragi looked closer, his eyes widened as if he had just seen treasure.
"This... Could this be...!?"
"That's right!! This is Haruko's kindergarten photo!!" Aota announced proudly, flipping through the rest of the photos like a magician revealing cards.
"This is Haruko in elementary school... This is her graduation photo... This is her at the start of junior high..."
"Ohhhhhhhhh!!"
Sakuragi's eyes moved back and forth in rhythm with the photos, his expression screaming I want these so badly!!
Seeing Sakuragi's hungry gaze, Aota knew he had him. He burst into triumphant laughter.
"Hooked!"
He then slapped the photos against Sakuragi's chest and said, "How about this? Join the judo club, and I'll give all of these to you!"
"Really!?" Sakuragi's eyes sparkled.
But on the side, Akagi's fury had reached a boiling point.
"You've got some nerve, Aota. You keep accusing me of using Haruko for personal gain, but it's you who's exploiting her!!"
As he spoke, Akagi rolled up his sleeves, revealing his bulging muscles.
"Now you've really done it..."
"Wait, Akagi! Calm down! If you fight now, the basketball club really will be shut down!" Kogure shouted, wrapping his arms around Akagi's waist to restrain him.
"Hmph... Well then, Sakuragi Hanamichi! Do you want these precious photos?"
"I want them~" Sakuragi stretched his arms toward the pictures, his tone childlike and full of longing.
"Very well. Then join the judo club!"
"I don't want to."
Huh?!
Aota's head popped up a question mark.
"So you don't want these photos anymore?"
"I do~" Sakuragi repeated, reaching out again.
"Alright! Then join the judo club!"
"I don't want to."
"???"
Aota was completely confused now.
"Then what exactly do you want?"
"I want the photos~"
Sakuragi made a grasping motion in the air with both hands.
"But I don't want to join your stupid judo club!"
"You!!" Aota was furious. "If you want the photos, you have to join the judo club! No club, no photos! You can't just take them for free!"
"These are my precious treasures! Even giving them away makes my heart ache!!"
Akagi, standing behind him, suddenly snatched the photos out of his hand.
"Well, I don't think you're the right person to be holding on to these 'treasures'."
"I'm honestly impressed," Akagi muttered, flipping through them. "When did you manage to take so many of these without anyone noticing?"
"AHHHHHH!! MY BABIES!!!" Aota howled in agony, desperately slapping at Akagi in a panic.
"Give them back! Give me back my treasures!!!"
"'Treasures' my foot," Akagi snapped. "Since when did I give you permission to take these kinds of photos!? Let me tell you, taking photos of someone without their consent is illegal!"
"Ugh... you're so hateful..."
Losing his most powerful bargaining chip, Aota became desperate and started promoting judo again.
"Sakuragi! Judo is seriously amazing! Girls love strong guys, and judo builds strength! If you join the judo club, I promise you'll be super popular with the girls!"
"Is that so? So... do you have a girlfriend?"
"Uhhh…"
Sakuragi's words hit like a sledgehammer, and Aota stammered but couldn't get a single word out.
Everyone around them sighed and shook their heads in unison.
"Stop with the nonsense," Sakuragi said, rolling his eyes. "No matter what you say, I'm not joining the judo club."
With that, he turned and walked off toward the classroom, leaving behind a tall and confident figure that everyone admired.
"Because I'm a basketball player!"
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