Chapter 4: Chapter 3: Envy, Jealousy, Hatred
Shohoku High School · Academic Building.
Class 1-6.
As soon as Aoi Kunisaku and Shimizu Kanon walked into the classroom, the noisy room suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
Everyone turned to look at them.
The boys, naturally, all stared at Shimizu Kanon.
"Whoa… so… so pretty…"
"How can there be such a beautiful and cute girl?"
"Oh my god! Did I die and go to heaven?"
"I'm totally into her already. I wonder if she has a boyfriend…"
…
The girls, on the other hand, had their eyes glued to Aoi Kunisaku.
"Wow… so… so handsome…"
"How can a guy be this good-looking?"
"He's tall and cool, he looks so dependable."
"Oh my god, I'm completely hypnotized by his looks."
"I've decided. I'm going to be his girlfriend."
…
The appearance of Aoi Kunisaku and Shimizu Kanon completely captivated everyone in the class—boys and girls alike.
But once they noticed the two were holding hands, all those dreamy stares turned into expressions of envy, jealousy, and hate.
The boys glared at Aoi Kunisaku.
The girls stared daggers at Shimizu Kanon.
Aoi Kunisaku didn't even glance at anyone else in the room. He just picked an empty seat and sat down.
Shimizu Kanon took the spot right next to him.
A few guys in the back exchanged looks, clearly wanting to step up and give Aoi Kunisaku a hard time—maybe show off in front of Shimizu Kanon.
But the faint pressure Aoi Kunisaku gave off stirred a primal fear in them.
None of them dared to approach.
The sense of intimidation coming off him was too strong. It didn't just scare off the guys wanting trouble—even the girls who wanted to talk to him kept their distance, though their eyes were practically heart-shaped.
For a while, the classroom atmosphere froze into a weird kind of peace.
Shimizu Kanon, of course, noticed all the stares and the wariness toward Aoi Kunisaku.
It wasn't the first time this had happened.
She didn't know if he did it on purpose or not.
Was it because he didn't want others bothering her?
Thinking that, her lips curled up in a small, smug smile.
Before long, the homeroom teacher walked in.
Since it was the first day of school, the teacher only had the students introduce themselves. Aoi Kunisaku didn't really pay attention after that.
At some point, he'd already closed his eyes and started dozing.
It wasn't clear how much time passed, but the hallway outside started getting noisy.
The loud voices woke Aoi Kunisaku. He slowly opened his eyes.
The chatter outside was clearly audible.
"Hey! Hurry up, hurry!"
"Come quick, come quick!"
"What's going on?"
"There's a one-on-one happening! A one-on-one!"
"There's a match in the gym! Someone's challenging the basketball team captain. Heard it's a first-year with red hair!"
…
Hmm?
Aoi Kunisaku heard that and had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
There was something like this in the original story.
"Saku-chan, sounds like there's a basketball match. Let's go watch!" Shimizu Kanon suggested.
Aoi Kunisaku looked totally uninterested. "No way. That kind of match is boring."
"C'mon, let's go! Aren't you planning to join the basketball team? It's a good chance to see what they're like," Shimizu Kanon said as she grabbed Aoi Kunisaku's arm and started pulling him along.
He sighed and gave in, letting her drag him toward the gym.
…
Shohoku High School · Gymnasium.
The place was already packed with people.
By the time Aoi Kunisaku and Shimizu Kanon got there, the game had already started.
"Ugh! It already started! It's your fault, Saku-chan," Shimizu Kanon said, half-scolding.
Aoi Kunisaku half-squinted, completely tuning out Shimizu Kanon's words.
Seeing him like that, Shimizu Kanon couldn't even bring herself to get mad.
She'd been through this too many times already.
"Hmph…"
She gave a soft snort and turned her attention to the match on the court.
Right now, two players were locked in an intense one-on-one.
One of them was the red-haired boy Aoi Kunisaku had seen earlier—Sakuragi Hanamichi.
The other had a rugged, tough face, dark skin, and thick, solid muscles bulging from his bare arms.
Aoi Kunisaku glanced at him and muttered in his head, That's probably Akagi Takenori. With a look like that, no wonder Sakuragi calls him a gorilla.
On the court.
Akagi Takenori dribbled and broke past Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Sakuragi chased after him like his life depended on it.
Seeing him close in quickly, Shimizu Kanon gasped. "Wow! He's fast! Saku-chan, look! His speed is almost as fast as yours!"
Aoi Kunisaku curled his lip and said with a bored look, "He's still got a long way to go."
Shimizu Kanon sighed. She really didn't know when her childhood friend became this lazy, like he'd lost all interest in basketball. Gone was the fire he had as a kid.
Bang!
Suddenly, a thunderous crash echoed through the gym.
Everyone's eyes turned toward the sound.
Aoi Kunisaku and Shimizu Kanon looked too.
What they saw… couldn't be unseen.
"Ah—!"
Shimizu Kanon froze, then squeaked out and quickly covered her eyes.
Aoi Kunisaku winced and looked away, twitching at the corner of his mouth.
On the court, both Sakuragi Hanamichi and Akagi Takenori were lying flat on the ground.
The loud crash had been the result of their fall.
But that wasn't the problem.
The real issue was—Akagi's pants had come down.
And there it was. Not white, no… full-on dark—his butt, fully exposed.
In broad daylight. Nothing left to the imagination.
The whole gym fell into an awkward, dead silence.
Then, the silence shattered into roaring laughter.
Everyone burst out laughing like crazy.
After the laughter died down, the match resumed.
The next part played out just like in the original story.
Sakuragi pulled off a trick—throwing it up for himself and finishing with a Slam Dunk to beat Akagi Takenori.
His final wall-like defense had some merit too.
In that kind of situation, even Aoi Kunisaku wouldn't breeze through it without effort.
But Sakuragi Hanamichi was still way too raw.
Aoi Kunisaku quickly lost interest. He turned around and walked away. "Let's go, Kanon."
"Saku-chan…" Shimizu Kanon looked back at the finished match, then turned and followed him.
As they left the gym, she caught up beside him.
"So?" she asked.
"So what?" Aoi Kunisaku replied, puzzled.
Shimizu Kanon explained, "The basketball team. The captain's not bad. But I'm curious about the rest of the team. I heard Shohoku got knocked out in the first round last year. That doesn't speak well of the rest of the team."
Aoi Kunisaku shrugged like it didn't matter. "Doesn't bother me. I'm not planning to rely on them anyway."
"That won't do! If you're joining the basketball team, you have to get along with your teammates," Shimizu Kanon said, full of concern.
Aoi Kunisaku scratched his ear and said impatiently, "Yeah, yeah, I got it."
A sly smile crept across Shimizu Kanon's lips. Then she said sweetly, "Oh, right, Saku-chan… I already submitted your club application form for you!"
Aoi Kunisaku: "…"
…