"You damn blondie! What are you doing?!"
A furious roar echoed at the end of the corridor.
A red figure burst through the crowd of onlookers, rushing towards them at an incredible speed.
Hanamichi Sakuragi had just finished training at the gym and was running back when he saw the conspicuous blond guy kneeling in front of Haruko, holding a large red object.
Without even thinking, he landed a flying kick at close range, hitting Koichiro Nango precisely in the side.
Wow!
Nango was caught off guard and was kicked solidly.
He tumbled out of his hand, the bouquet of beautiful roses flying into the air.
Sakuragi didn't even glance at Nango, who had been kicked away; his gaze was fixed on the slowly falling rose, as if it were some kind of evil curse.
He reacted swiftly, catching the bouquet in mid-air and gripping the stems with both hands.
"Sizzle--!!!"
The carefully bundled and packaged red roses were torn in half, and the petals fell like rain of blood.
He was completely oblivious to the thorns that pricked his fingers, his gaze fixed intently on the pile of withered flowers and leaves on the ground.
"You bastard, you Red-Haired Monkey! You're serious?!"
Nango grinned and got up from the ground.
He was furious to see his carefully prepared token of victory destroyed.
Although he felt a little guilty in front of Haruko's real boyfriend, Hanamichi Sakuragi, the boy's impulsiveness for love overwhelmed his reason.
Even if Sakuragi Hanamichi Sakuragi and Haruko are a couple.
Nango straightened his chest and shouted with all his might, trying to gain the upper hand in terms of momentum.
"But my feelings for Haruko will never change! True love is free! I, Koichiro Nango, have the right to compete fairly—"
"Shut up, ahhhhh!!!"
Before he could finish speaking, Hanamichi Sakuragi jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
His face turned redder than his hair, and he lunged forward, covering Nango's mouth tightly with his large hand.
"Ugh! Ugh ugh ugh!!!"
Nango was so suffocated that he almost lost his breath and began to struggle in vain.
While forcefully covering Nango's mouth, Sakuragi cautiously glanced at Haruko Akagi, who was completely stunned, out of the corner of his eye.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no! Did Haruko hear that? She heard that jerk with blond hair say a couple! Will she be angry? Will she think I'm a frivolous guy? Will she never talk to me again?"
Sakuragi's inner thoughts were racing.
"If I'd known that blondie was so loose-lipped, I shouldn't have bragged in front of him like that! Oh no!"
"Mmm... let go... mmm..."
"Shut up!"
One of them desperately tried to pry the other's hands apart to continue their lovemaking, while the other desperately covered the other's mouth to prevent their boasting from being exposed.
Just then, a cool and aloof figure passed by the two wrestling men.
It's Kaede Rukawa.
He had earphones in his ears and kept his eyes straight ahead, as if the two idiots hugging in the middle of the corridor didn't exist.
However, just as Kaede Rukawa passed in front of Haruko...
"Ah! Kaede Rukawa Kaede-kun!"
Haruko Akagi, who was still in a daze, instantly blushed with two cute Haruko Akagi. She unconsciously clasped her hands to her chest, her gaze following Kaede Rukawa's back, her eyes sparkling with little stars.
The two people who were wrestling stopped at the same time.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Nango pried open Sakuragi's hand and gasped for breath.
Then, following Haruko's gaze, he looked at Sakuragi and his face showed an extremely confused expression.
He nudged Sakuragi with his elbow, who was still staring intently at Kaede Rukawa's back, gritting his teeth.
His tone was full of confusion.
"Hey... Hanamichi, something seems off?"
"You bastard! Who gave you permission to call me 'Hanamichi'? Are we even that close?"
Sakuragi growled in a low voice, but his gaze remained fixed on Haruko's affectionate profile.
He felt his heart was bleeding.
"No, I meant, your girlfriend..."
Nango pointed at Haruko, then at Kaede Rukawa, who had already walked away.
"Why do you seem so much more enthusiastic towards that expressionless pretty boy than towards you? That affectionate look in your eyes... Hanamichi, you wouldn't have been...?"
"Shut up, you genius!!!"
Sakuragi completely lost it, grabbing Nango by the neck and starting a new round of physical silencing.
"Ring ring--!"
The pre-class bell rang promptly.
"Haru, Haruko, class is starting, let's hurry back to the classroom."
Fujii and Matsui quickly pulled Haruko, who was still staring blankly in Kaede Rukawa's direction, back to the classroom.
The students who had come to watch the commotion dispersed in an instant.
Sakuragi reluctantly released Nango, glaring at him fiercely. "I'm warning you, stay away from Haruko- san!"
After saying that, he walked dejectedly towards his classroom like a wounded lion.
Nango rubbed his neck, which had been pinched red, and looked at Sakuragi's back, then thought about the way Haruko had looked at Kaede Rukawa earlier.
"Another potential rival has emerged."
Lunch break at the Shohoku Basketball Gymnasium.
The team members had just finished their morning classes and were warming up.
The door was violently pushed open with a bang.
"Fellow members of Shohoku! Koichiro Nango, the warrior charging for love, has officially reported for duty! Nice to meet you!"
Nango changed into Shohoku's No. 15 basketball jersey and appeared at the door in what he thought was an incredibly cool and stylish pose.
The room fell silent for a moment.
The next moment, a huge shadow fell over him.
"You bastard, who gave you permission to wear the number 15 jersey?"
Takenori Akagi had appeared before him without him noticing, his towering figure exuding a terrifying aura of oppression.
He reached out and grabbed Nango by the collar, his eyes burning with rage. "And I heard that some blond-haired guy harassed my sister this morning, was that you?"
A murderous aura swept over us.
Sakuragi chuckled smugly to himself.
You damn blondie, this genius is the one the Gorilla truly wants as his sworn brother.
Looking at Akagi's fierce face, Nango tried hard to connect the identity of Akagi's sister with the girl she had seen that morning in her mind.
Then...
The image that flashed through his mind was one of the two chattering girls next to Haruko.
You know what, it does look quite similar.
Nango's face showed a look of sudden realization, followed by deep disdain.
He pushed Akagi's hand away and straightened his back.
Each word, spoken with force and conviction, seemed to be making some sacred declaration:
"Captain Akagi, I think you're overthinking it."
"I, Koichiro Nango, am making my point right here today."
"Even if I remain a bachelor my whole life and grow old alone, I'll still jump off the Tokyo Tower."
"Absolutely! Impossible! To have even the slightest thought about your sister!"
"She's not my type at all."
"Perhaps she's not the type of girl that normal men like."
Regarding your sister's love life, there's something I'm not sure if I should say.
"Perhaps a few years from now you'll be worrying about her marriage."