Sanchū Ming had been unhappy ever since they returned from Teiguang.

After cooking, she sat cross-legged on the sofa and watched TV absentmindedly.

She was still brooding over the way Seijuro got along with his teammates.

In fact, Sanchū Ming knew very well that her young son had a big problem when it came to interpersonal relationships.

The pressure from Akaji's family was too great, and he had high expectations for himself. As a result, Seijuro had been too independent and competitive since he was a child. He was very restrained when it came to expressing his feelings, and it was difficult for him to open his heart to others.

It was fine when Auntie Shiori was still around. Under the protection of Akaji's Shiori, Akashiji Seijuro was still very energetic and a little impatient. He would fight with the boys who bullied him for Sanchū Ming. After Auntie Akaji passed away, Akashiji Seijuro's naivety and enthusiasm disappeared.

The young Akaji grew up at a frightening speed. He became calm, introverted, meticulous, and strict with himself. He began to have the same dignity and leadership as Akatsuki.

Everyone liked the natural, amiable, and approachable Akashiji Seijuro. Only Sanchū Ming liked the Seijuro who would wave his fist for her and coax her into eating the chipotle vegetables that Auntie Shiori forced on his plate.

… Although she didn't like chipotle vegetables either.

Why?

Why didn't she like the excellent Seijuro?

It was because words like natural, amiable, and approachable were used to describe idols who were too perfect to be normal and wouldn't have contact with ordinary people.

Seijuro was still a child.

Although she knew that Seijuro didn't need sympathy, she couldn't help but worry and feel sorry for him.

Apart from her, Seijuro had no other good friends who could let go of the Millennium Killer and whisper to him at night.

Fine, she admitted that she had never played Thousand Years of Death with Seijuro.

It was one thing to drag Seijuro into using chopsticks as a staff and transform into a Valkyrie Warrior, but if they were to play Thousand Years of Death —

"Have you decided how you want to die?"

Seijuro's gentle face suddenly appeared in her mind. He spoke in a gentle tone as if he was asking, "Have you eaten breakfast?"

Sanchū Ming trembled as he got up and poured himself a cup of hot tea to calm himself down.

So when she found out that Seijuro had a team of excellent teammates, she was really, really happy.

She had thought that playing basketball was the only way for him to express his emotions.

With a reliable partner in basketball, Seijuro will be more relaxed, right?

However …

— "Who is Seijuro closest to in the team?"

"Deputy Minister.

Because of work, we communicate more. "

— "…"

Damn!

This was completely different from what she had imagined!

For a moment, Sanchū Ming felt that this young man was hopeless!

Although she complained, she could feel that Seijuro had become more cheerful after junior high. This made her very grateful to the basketball team.

Until the third semester of the second year.

One afternoon, she received an email from Seijuro. The email read:

"In this world, only victory is everything. The winner will be recognized and the loser will be denied."

Sanchū Ming:???

It had only been a semester since they last met. What was going on???

Seijuro was also acting like a chuunibyou????

She carefully hid her anxiety and chatted with Akaji as usual. When she received an application from Imperial Light Kendo, she finally found a legitimate opportunity to leave the school. She did not even pack her things before she went to observe the situation in the basketball team.

When she saw Seijuro and his teammates, Sanchū Ming instantly understood where Seijuro's knot was.

They were too strong.

Seijuro must be very anxious facing a team with such terrifying talent.

He must be terrified.

Seijuro was so good and knew everything. Other than the death of Aunt Shiori, he probably never tasted what it was like to have things out of his control.

A team that was difficult to control. It must … remind him of Aunt Shiori.

Therefore, he believed in Akatsuki's nonsense of "victory is paramount." He no longer hid his fierceness and strength and completely closed himself off.

Sanchū Ming did not feel that there was anything wrong with the strong being respected. She was also a fan of the law of the jungle.

However, Seijuro's behavior of suppressing himself for victory was too tiring to watch.

Therefore, when she saw Teiguang's group of people with "I'm the strongest, I'm the most awesome, I can only be defeated by myself" written all over their faces, she was furious.

Kneel down and be grateful!

Give her back her adorable and awkward Seijurang, who was like an old mother when he was worried about her!

"Our school is a fortress, we are the lights.

"Shine on the school building, long live …"

Hmm?

Whose email was it?

Sanchū Ming picked up her phone.

Eh?

It was him?

Her expression became a little surprised. Her fingers flew across the screen and she quickly sent out a reply.

"Xiao Ming?" Sanchū Sōjin opened the door and happened to see Sanchū Ming looking at her phone, deep in thought.

"What's wrong?"

Sanchū Ming turned around and asked her brother with a puzzled expression.

"Someone I just met today asked me out this weekend, and he wants to bring a girl.

What does this mean? "

Sanchū Sōjin:??

"A boy?"

He asked tentatively.

Sanchū Ming nodded.

Sanchū Sōjin:???

What kind of operation was this?

Sanchū Ming looked at her brother's twisted face and knew that her brother could not give any constructive advice.

Therefore, she looked down at her phone and found the contact marked "Brother Shizuo" in her contact list. She quickly sent an email.

"Someone I just met today asked me out tomorrow, and he wants to bring a girl.

What does this mean? "

Heiwa Shizuo, who was holding a vending machine in his hand, took out his vibrating phone and opened it. His face instantly darkened.

He threw away the vending machine and began to smear her name without hesitation. "He wants to hit on you but doesn't have the guts to go on a date alone. He needs the help of a wingman."

Who wants to bring another girl on a date?!

Is there something wrong with his brain?!

So that's how it is.

Sanchū Ming suddenly understood and turned off her phone.

"— So, that's what my brother replied to me."

Mikazuki Mitsuki put his phone aside and looked at the dumbfounded Wuyue Momoi and the expressionless Kuroko Zhe. He went straight to the point and asked politely, "So Kuroko Kun, are you?"

Tetsuya Kuroko: "… No, I don't think so."

Wingman Satsuki Momoi: "Your brother is thinking too much!"

"Then why did you come looking for me together?" Sanchū Ming tilted his head in confusion and gulped down a few mouthfuls of iced cola.

"Actually, I asked Zhe Jun for help," Satsuki Momoi said.

"… So it's Momoi -san who wants to hit on me?" Sanchū Ming's face was strangely calm.

"Why does Sanikuyue San only want to hit on …" Satsuki Momoi's worries and uneasiness were all disrupted by Sanchū Ming's nonsense. She helplessly held her forehead.

"I see that you're very nervous."

The cola was quickly finished. Sanchū Ming opened the lid, poured a few pieces of ice into his mouth, and began chewing.

"Are you still nervous?"

"… Eh?" Did he see through her?

Satsuki Momoi was indeed very nervous.

After thinking about it, she still chose to ask Zhe Jun to invite Sanchū Ming out.

She wanted to ask some questions in person, questions that had been troubling her and Zhe Jun for a long time.

But Sanchū Ming was too infamous, and he was still someone who could get along well with the current Akaji.

Satsuki Momoi was uncharacteristically nervous.

'Sanchū Ming is an extremely sensitive person,' Momoi thought.

Sensitive and considerate.

Sensing her uneasiness, he would joke around to ease her anxiety.

She didn't know that Sanchū Ming was serious.

"But if you want to hit on me, you can try."

Sanchū Ming, who had received many same-sex confessions after Junior high, didn't care about gender at all. "You're so handsome and talented, so I think it's doable."

Three Suns and Moon chewed on the ice in his mouth and nodded with a serious expression to strengthen his credibility.

Putting aside her prejudice, Satsuki Momoi was indeed the type that she admired and liked.

As for Kanagawa's Seiichi Yukimura …

'Flowers at home are always not as fragrant as wild flowers, hehe.'

Her mind was filled with dirty thoughts, and she rubbed her chin seriously.

Momoi didn't know what was in Sanchū Ming's mind. Looking at Sanchū Ming's slender limbs and expressionless face, she only felt her heart beating a little faster.

She could feel that Sanchū Ming's words were different from the casual compliments that most girls would give. She was serious.

Unbelievable, was this the kind of person who could be friends with Akaji?

Soon, the ice in Sanchū Ming's cup was gone, but she still hadn't had enough.

"Wait for me." Sanchū Ming stood up to buy another cup, but Tetsuya Kuroko pulled her sleeve.

"You can't drink anymore." Tetsuya Kuroko said, "It's not good to drink too much iced cola."

"… Why do you have the same temper as Seijuro?"

Sanchū Ming muttered, "Then I'll have a cup of coffee."

"You can't mix hot and cold. Sanikuyue San, you'll have a stomachache."

"… Then I'll have a cup of lemon juice."

"Are you eating something sour so early in the morning?"

Sanchū Ming: …

Seijuro, I've wronged you. This person's mother's temper is worse than yours!

"… No!" Sanchū Ming sat down and said angrily, "It's my loss!"

"Pfft."

"… Were you laughing at me just now?

You were laughing at me!

Damn it! "

"You heard wrong, Sanikuyue San."

"I finally know why Huang Se said that Sanikuyue San is cute …" Satsuki Momoi looked at Sanchū Ming's puffed up face and laughed.

"Then I really have to thank him for the compliment." Sanchū Ming rubbed her head and took out a can of strawberry milk from her bag to satisfy her craving.

Suddenly, she straightened her back and looked up at Satsuki Momoi. "That's a compliment, right?"

"Pfft, hahaha, it's a compliment, a compliment!"

Sanchū Ming knew that it was a compliment and not a sarcastic one. She sat back comfortably on the sofa and said with the can of milk in her hands, "Seijuro mentioned to me that there's a strategist on the basketball team who's very good at gathering information and analyzing information. She's very smart and has contributed to Teiguang's victories many times.

He was talking about you, Satsuki Momoi. "

"Akaji Jun … mentioned me?"

"He mentioned each and every one of you."

After several days, Sanchū Ming's emotions had calmed down considerably.

It wasn't their fault that Seijuro had become like this.

She understood.

"A manager with a great brain, a strict and meticulous vice-captain, an excellent passer with a weak presence, a newbie who can copy other people's abilities, a dark-skinned player who plays like a hooligan, and a mascot who eats a lot."

"… The last two are a little strange, Sanikuyue San."

"I remember that he mentioned the unfortunate former captain and a piece of trash who can't be disciplined."

Sanchū Ming thought back carefully. "Seijuro also mentioned names out of the ordinary … I think they were called Shuzo Hongmura and Kachiko Shinozaki?"

"Kachiko Shinozaki?"

"Ah, I think that's the name."

"… Sanikuyue San remembered Captain Hongmura's name perfectly, but she completely misremembered Kachiko's name," Momoi said.

"What does that have to do with anything?

I don't have any interest in people who are intelligent, meticulous, but don't learn well, and constantly use violence. In the end, I won't have any interactions with them. "Three Suns and Moon Brightness unknowingly raised a flag for himself.

"Why would Sanikuyue San have such an impression of Kachiko Shinozaki?

Did Akaji Jun say that? "

"Yep, Seijuro has always been quite polite with his words."

Sanchū Ming mulled it over. "His original words were 'a headache that I don't know how to deal with,' which translates to —"

"'A half-baked piece of trash who thinks that she's so cool that she can't be disciplined by the heavens.'"

"… I think that there's a problem with your translation, Sanikuyue San."

"Seijuro has always been an arrogant person. His words sounded gentle, but that's pretty much what he meant."

Sanchū Ming waved his hand and looked at Satsuki Momoi and Tetsuya Kuroko. "Back to the topic, I can't figure out why such excellent people like you would look so dejected. Why did you come to me without Seijuro's knowledge?"

"Sanikuyue San already knows that we're here to ask questions." Momoi keenly caught the loophole in Sanchū Ming's words. "She should also know what we want to ask."

Sanchū Ming didn't say anything. She held the strawberry milk can and drank it all in one go.

"So, you want to chat with me."

Her expression didn't change, but everyone could see that her light green eyes were glowing.

"Does this count as a gathering between best friends?"

Satsuki Momoi:?

Tetsuya Kuroko:?

"Eat, go shopping, do hair, watch a movie, and chat?" She asked tentatively, "How about it? Accompany me and I'll tell you."

Satsuki Momoi felt that she understood Sanchū Ming a little.

What? She was just a dull and straightforward girl. Judging from her tone, she didn't seem to have played with girls much.

"No problem!" Momoi's love completely overwhelmed her rationality. She directly promised.

"Wait, Morus Momoi, I don't —"

"It's still early for lunch. Why don't we go shopping first … How about Ginza?

It's very close to Ginza!

This year's spring clothes are especially beautiful!

When you're tired, you can eat in Ginza. The barbecue on Ginza is super ~ delicious!

Do hair … I recommend a shop in Shibuya!

Their products don't hurt hair, and the skills are good!

After we finish in the afternoon, we can eat in Shibuya and watch a movie in the evening!

I checked the Shibuya Cinema. How about 'The Avengers 2' at 7 pm?

I heard it's very interesting! "

"Ohhhh, as expected of Momoi!!

First-rate intelligence gathering and first-rate decision-making!

I don't know what's so good about Tokyo! "

"Sanchū High School is in Tokyo, right?

I'll take you to play … Bah, play all over Tokyo! "

"Wuyue, are you a fairy!"

"Morus Momoi, Sanikuyue San —"

"Oh, Bright Paste's mouth is so sweet.

Bright Paste, do you want to take care of your hair?

Or do curls? "

"I want to dye my hair.

I want to dye it a more lively color. "

"Hey!!!

Blonde hair is so beautiful now!

Blonde hair and green eyes are super beautiful! "

"To be honest, because of my dad, I don't have a good impression of gold … Peach's pink color is very beautiful!"

"Wow, Little Moon!

You're a fairy! "

— — These two people completed in two minutes what Kuroko couldn't do in three years. They went from calling each other respectfully to calling each other by their surnames, to calling each other by their names, and now directly giving each other a nickname.

Tetsuya Kuroko thought in awe.