Haruko checked the seating chart on the blackboard. Sure enough, that seat was marked "Shirasawa."
She had no idea where she found the nerve, but her feet moved, carrying her right to Shirasawa's desk.
"You... you're Shirasawa?"
Her sudden question startled Shirasawa, and he looked up at her.
"Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet," Haruko hurriedly said, her face warming. "I'm Haruko Akagi. Takenori Akagi is my older brother."
She paused, her voice growing brighter.
"My brother told me about you! He said he's really looking forward to you joining the basketball team."
"I never imagined we'd end up in the same class!"
Haruko said it all in one breath, then realized she might have been a little too forward... her face instantly flushed red.
This must be because of the basketball team. That's why I'm so flustered! she told herself.
"I... um..."
Watching her go from eager excitement to not knowing what to do with herself, Shirasawa couldn't help laughing.
This girl was pretty interesting.
"Hi, Haruko." His tone was easygoing. "I never knew Boss Akagi had such a cute little sister."
"Looking forward to getting along."
Shirasawa smiled, showing his white teeth, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
Haruko nodded shyly. All her earlier courage had long since vanished.
Just as she was struggling to think of what to say next, a girl with thick lips rushed over and pulled her away.
Only after putting a few steps between them did the girl breathe a sigh of relief, then turn a stern look on Haruko.
"Haruko! Why did you go talk to him?"
She kept her voice low, her expression tense.
"I heard that Shirasawa was a notorious delinquent in middle school. Fighting and causing trouble were everyday things for him."
"We need to stay away from dangerous people like that! The way he looked just now, he definitely had bad intentions toward you!"
The thick-lipped girl was Matsui, one of Haruko's close friends.
Her interruption did rescue Haruko from her embarrassment.
Haruko collected herself and stole a glance back at Shirasawa.
...But when they were talking just now, Shirasawa had seemed quite gentle, not nearly as frightening as Matsui made him out to be.
If anything, she had been the one who rushed in and made things awkward.
Haruko raised a hand to smooth the hair beside her ear and explained quietly:
"Actually... I was the one who went up to him."
Dong-
The bell ending second period had already rung by the time Hanamichi Sakuragi sauntered into school.
Yohei had really called it last night. Lying in bed, he had dreamed up at least five "genius battle plans," ranging from how he would dazzle everyone on the basketball team to Oda kneeling in defeat, while he triumphed in both love and his career... he had kept imagining it all and grinning like an idiot until midnight.
Walking onto campus, he naturally drew plenty of looks.
Sakuragi lifted his chin smugly. It must be this genius's charm!
"Heh heh... good thing I didn't come with those guys. Otherwise, wouldn't they get to bask in my glory and become famous too? That'd be letting them off way too easy."
"I wonder which class Xiao Bai's in... don't tell me he's already gone to the basketball team? Setting the stage for this genius's entrance? Hahaha..."
As his imagination wandered, several pairs of black leather shoes suddenly appeared before him, blocking his way with no intention of moving aside.
"Hanamichi Sakuragi, late on your very first day? You've got some nerve."
That tone made Sakuragi frown. He looked up to find four unfriendly-looking guys standing before him.
The one speaking wore glasses and already had a face that begged to be punched. Right now, he looked even more full of himself.
He was Tetsuo Hotta's right-hand man, Shōwa Ōno.
Sakuragi knew exactly what was going on here-upperclassmen trying to put a freshman in his place. He had seen plenty of it in middle school.
Though he had never done anything like that himself.
Sakuragi eyed them indifferently, his mind still wandering. Did Xiao Bai, Yohei, and the others run into this too?
At that thought, he suddenly moved.
He circled the four of them, looking them up and down, even rubbing his chin as he examined them. He looked rather comical.
Shōwa Ōno's eyelid twitched-this redheaded brat's actions made it clear he didn't take them seriously at all!
"Hey! You redheaded brat! What are you doing?"
"Looks like you won't behave until we teach you a lesson!"
Far from being scared, Sakuragi gave a disdainful snort.
"I was just checking whether you'd gone after Shirasawa." He curled his lip. "Since you're all still up and about, I'm guessing you haven't."
Shōwa Ōno grabbed Sakuragi by the collar, his temper flaring.
"You still have time to worry about someone else? Can't you understand what we're saying?"
"Come with us! As for that Shirasawa you mentioned... don't worry. He's next!"
The moment he finished speaking, the others surrounded Sakuragi, clenching their fists and taking their stances.
Sakuragi's expression darkened. His perfectly good mood had been ruined. Still, he hadn't taken these guys seriously in the first place. He wasn't going anywhere-that would be too much trouble. He might as well deal with them right here.
He was about to strike when a familiar figure flashed into view.
Sakuragi's lips curled up. "You guys are lucky. Looks like you won't have to take two beatings."
Shōwa Ōno and the others froze at his words, a chill running down their backs. In fact, when Tetsuo Hotta had sent them to teach Shirasawa and Sakuragi a lesson, they had already been a little scared. After agonizing over it for ages, they had decided to go after them separately, figuring their chances would be better that way.
But Sakuragi's words rang through them like a bell, leaving them rattled.
Could it be...
Surely it couldn't be that much of a coincidence?
But their fears came true. An icy voice sounded behind them.
"Still, we could try making one beating count as two."
"Oh, right. Yohei and the others... they're probably targets of yours too, aren't they?"
The voice wasn't loud, but Shōwa Ōno and the others' eyes flew wide, their calves trembling involuntarily.
They knew who it was without turning around.
"Sh-Shirasawa..."
Shōwa Ōno uttered the name through trembling lips.
Before he could finish, Sakuragi clamped down on the hand gripping his collar and twisted hard. A sharp crack rang out.
Shōwa Ōno's whole body went numb. Piercing pain shot straight to his head, and he couldn't help screaming.
"Aah!! It hurts... hurts, hurts, hurts!"
Sakuragi frowned in distaste and turned his head. "Xiao Bai, what do we do with them?"
Shirasawa smiled, his tone calm. "Find somewhere quiet and give them something to remember."
At those words, cold sweat instantly soaked the others' clothes. There were four of them surrounding two people, yet now it felt as though those two had surrounded them.
Behind Shohoku's school building.
Thud, thud, thud!
Bang!
Tap, tap, tap!
The sounds of fists and feet striking rattled on for a while.
Before long, Shirasawa and Sakuragi walked out side by side.
Sakuragi stretched luxuriously, feeling good all over.
"Xiao Bai, now that the warm-up's over, it's time to go to the basketball team, right? I can't wait for this genius's debut!"
Shirasawa glanced at him, a little exasperated.
"The basketball team doesn't meet until after school. What are you getting excited for now? Don't do anything embarrassing when we get there, or don't tell anyone you know me."
After spending these past days together, Sakuragi already thought of Shirasawa as a brother. Their initial antagonism was long gone. Had anyone else said that, they would probably be lying behind the building keeping Shōwa Ōno and the others company by now.
But coming from Shirasawa, Sakuragi didn't mind at all. Instead, he grinned and nudged him with his elbow.
"Heh heh, Xiao Bai, are you worried this genius will steal your spotlight? Can't be helped. When you're with a genius, that sort of thing is unavoidable."
"Hey! Xiao Bai, don't go! Which class am I supposed to report to?"
Shirasawa waved without looking back. "Class 1-10. Remember to bring your brain next time you go out."
Once Shirasawa and Sakuragi were far away, a burly boy stepped out of the shadows.
He craned his head to look at the people sprawled every which way behind the building and nodded in approval. He had watched every bit of the commotion just now.
The corners of his mouth rose despite himself, and even his heartbeat quickened.
To him, that scene hadn't been a fight at all. It had been more like a performance that set his blood pumping.
"Those two... they're definitely rare geniuses."
The Class 3-3 classroom.
Tetsuo Hotta stared at Shōwa Ōno and the others' battered faces, his temples throbbing.
They really were in a sorry state.
After Shirasawa and Sakuragi beat them up, it took nearly twenty minutes for them to recover enough to get up, supporting one another. As delinquents, they naturally couldn't go to a teacher with those faces and complain that first-years had beaten them up-how could they show their faces after that?
All they could do was quietly tend to their wounds, then nervously come complain to their boss.
They had taken the injuries, but it was Tetsuo Hotta who had been slapped in the face!
If he didn't settle the score, how could their boss command respect from now on?
But Tetsuo Hotta wasn't stupid either. One look at his underlings told him all he needed to know about Shirasawa and Sakuragi's abilities. It seemed the rumors about those two weren't baseless.
Though he thought that, he couldn't let his fear show. He gave a snort, feigning composure.
"Useless fools. Two first-years beat you this badly. If word gets out, the guys at other schools will laugh their heads off!"
Still shaken, Shōwa Ōno replied, "Boss, those two are ridiculously strong... I'm worried they'll use this chance to establish themselves, and then we'll..."
Tetsuo Hotta understood his implication, and his expression darkened further.
"Put simply, Boss, you need to win back your dignity."
"Hmph, you're giving them too much credit." Tetsuo Hotta waved a hand, his tone quite steady. "Don't worry about this anymore. I'll handle it myself."
Those few words carried plenty of authority. Admiration immediately appeared on his underlings' faces, and they finally left reassured. Only once they were all out of sight did Tetsuo Hotta scratch his head and sigh.
"That guy... should be about ready to leave the hospital, right?" he muttered. "With things the way they are, looks like I can only turn to him."
After they slogged through the entire day, the final bell at last rang.
Hanamichi Sakuragi sprang from his seat almost exactly as the bell rang. "Yohei, you guys head home!" He tossed the words behind him as he rushed out. "Xiao Bai and I are going to the basketball team!"
Yohei Mito watched him hurry off and couldn't help smiling. "You hardly ever see him care this much about anything." He shook his head. "Hope you can stick with it."
The school grounds were packed after classes. All the clubs were recruiting today, and students clustered around the places that interested them. Hanamichi Sakuragi ran headlong for a while before abruptly stopping-he had no idea where the basketball club was.
He pursed his lips and pondered for a moment, then inspiration struck. Don't I usually practice with Shirasawa on the riverside court? Then the basketball club must be out on the school grounds too! At that thought, he immediately turned and plunged into the crowd.
As he ran, he suddenly heard a whoosh beside his ear.
Sakuragi turned his head and saw a ball growing larger and larger before his eyes-
A familiar stinging sensation shot straight into his nose... Oh no, that feeling!
"Oh no! I think we hit someone!" Two students rushed over in a panic. Seeing Sakuragi sitting on the ground with his face scrunched up, they were a little dumbfounded.
"Hey, are you okay? We really didn't mean to..."
Before they could finish, they saw Hanamichi Sakuragi's face slowly shift from pain to anger. Their hearts lurched, and his frightening presence left them too scared to move.
"We're sorry, we're sorry! We really didn't see you!"
"Please forgive us!"