It's over.

That was the only thought that remained in Keigo Atobe's mind.

He looked at the girl who was surrounded in the middle.

Her left arm was being held by the short-tempered Daiga Fusaka, and her right hand was being held by the orange-haired Sakura Chiyo, who was wearing a bow on her head. The koala bear, Seo Yuuki, was poking her cheek with her cheek.

Even under the bombardment of a group of people, she did not show any sign of impatience. She even pulled the hesitant Shueko Kuronuma and Satsuki Momoi into her world.

She smiled as the introducer.

She allowed the girls to touch her with good temper.

He looked at the three suns and the moon.

That was the only word in his mind.

How could this person be like this?

Keigo Atobe thought in disbelief.

How could she use the tone of a child who was proud of her parents' ability to do everything without any hesitation?

She was like a stingy child who was listing treasures as she stubbornly listed out the best, the highest, and the best words.

Frankly saying "you are my treasure", this kind of shameful line that wouldn't even be written in a novel script?

"Yo, this is Atobe boy!" When he looked at her,

The young man by the name of Kotaro Wooden Bunny greeted him energetically like they were already very close friends. After he nodded at him, the young man naturally placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Isn't Bright Paste cute?" Kotaro Wooden Bunny leaned into Keigo Atobe's ear and said with a giggle.

"…" Keigo Atobe pressed his lips together.

He whispered, "… Yes."

"… You look like you're not that easy to get close to, but you're quite honest!" Kotaro Wooden Bunny widened his eyes exaggeratedly.

"Ming-chan's friends are really great!" She laughed. "Ming-chan's friends are really great!

I was worried that she wouldn't be able to make friends at Ice Emperor! "

"Who are you talking about?" Sanchū Ming, who had super sensitive senses, heard Kotaro Wooden Bunny's conversation with Atobe.

That light gaze swept over him.

"Who can't find friends?"

"Didn't the Tokyo Morning Post say that?

Ice Emperor was a school for nobles.

The students were extravagant. They scattered roses when they went out and entered the school to welcome them.

Taking a helicopter to school? "The wooden rabbit scratched its head.

"You're fussy and scary.

I've always been worried that you wouldn't get along with your classmates.

Even in my dreams, I dreamt that you beat up someone whose family owns a mine and were thrown into the Gulf of Tokyo to be a corpse. "

Scattering roses when they went out, welcoming them when they entered the school, and taking the helicopter to school, Atobe Keigo was speechless.

"But after seeing Atobe and Kuronuma, I'm not that worried anymore!"

Wood Rabbit gave him a thumbs up, and his smile was so wide that it almost reached the back of his teeth. Atobe Jingo realized that all of Misaki Shimizu's friends had the same bright smile as Misaki Shimizu. "Looks like they are all easy to get along with!"

"My friends." Sanchū Ming's expression softened. "Of course they're the best."

… What is going on with this man?

Before Keigo Atobe met Sanchū Ming in person, he had his own image of Sanchū Ming. What would a girl who could be mentioned by Akashiji Seijuro and Seiichi Yukimura be like?

They must be outstanding, elegant, beautiful, confident, unyielding, self-reliant, and willful women. In fact, the files of the Three Suns and Moon Brightness were basically what he had imagined.

But the real person had shattered all his imaginations.

Willful, self-centered, childish, violent, rebellious, disliked being controlled, often causing trouble, strange way of thinking, not understanding the boundaries between men and women, overly intimate interactions … All the elements that Keigo Atobe disliked, Sanchū Ming had.

Yes, at first, he disliked Sanchū Ming.

If it wasn't for Akashiji Seijuro and Seiichi Yukimura, he wouldn't have even looked at Sanchū Ming.

But …

When did it start to change?

Keigo Atobe looked at Sanchū Ming with a gentle expression that he didn't know he had.

It was probably the day Ajuku-sensei came back.

When Ajuku-sensei mentioned Sanchū Ming's frighteningly low body fat ratio, Keigo Atobe almost immediately realized that this was a number that required a lot of sweat for an adolescent girl.

This wasn't something that could be achieved by running a lot of steps or swinging a katana. This usually represented anaerobic exercise, explosive training, lifting iron to increase muscle mass, muscle tears, shaking soreness, night cramps, no sugar or oil, protein powder, and boiled chicken breast …

People who hadn't done muscle building training wouldn't know what these words meant.

At that time, Keigo Atobe suddenly remembered Sanchū Ming's outstanding ability, which was covered by her lazy and irritable appearance.

Everything that followed was logical: her calmness, her erudition, her keenness, her flexibility, her principles, her tolerance, her sense of responsibility, and everything in her world — the more he explored, the more vivid Sanchū Ming became in Keigo Atobe's heart.

Her childishness, willfulness, confusion, and detachment formed such a fascinating and mysterious contrast with her strength, and finally became a lovely characteristic that made people helpless and fond of her.

… How could she recklessly walk on her own path, stumbling while retaining the straightforwardness and naivety of a child?

How could she still use her clear eyes to say "you are my treasure" after growing up and understanding restraint and shame?

At this moment, Keigo Atobe finally understood why Akaji and Yukimura were so careful to protect Sanchū Ming and put her in the softest part of their hearts.

Although this girl had almost all the characteristics that he disliked … but in some of the characteristics that he liked, she was the best.

No one was better than her.

And this best, the strongest, the sharpest, and the most ruthless and willful child, you could hardly imagine what could make her waver and cry. Such a person who stood at the top —

No one could love you more softly than her.

Keigo Atobe had always felt that the most touching thing in this world was the bowing and bending people's back, the timid and cowardly people's voices, and the mediocre people's courage to move forward …

She returned the cold sword to the scabbard, gently bent down, and withdrew the stinger to reveal her soft belly.

… It's over.

Keigo Atobe sadly and helplessly found that he might not be able to get angry at this shameless girl who violated the rules.

Sanchū Ming seemed to have a kind of magic that could make anyone willing to play house with her in the end.

Didn't you see that even Tezuka Guoguang, who always said "don't be careless", integrated into the atmosphere of the kindergarten children because of Sanchū Ming?

Moreover, he was very engrossed in chatting with Satsuki Momoi, who was said to be very good at information and guidance.

The only one who couldn't integrate was …

Keigo Atobe secretly looked at the boy who was getting more and more ruthless.

"What are you guys doing?" The only one who was different finally opened his mouth after watching for a long time.

"Is it a nursery wine?"

Daigetsu Aofeng impatiently grabbed his hair, "Wuyue, you begged me to come with you, just to make me cooperate with a group of little kids to play the hypocritical 'you are my good friend, I am also your good friend, and we will be good together forever'?

How old are you? "

Satsuki Momoi instantly showed a hurt expression.

Daikawa Fengban, who had already had a conflict with Daigetsu Aofeng, immediately raised his eyebrows. Sanchū Ming pressed on his shoulder.

Sanchū Ming said softly, "In the eyes of the 'strongest', is the happy time with friends just a childish and silly role-playing game?"

In the face of the rhetorical question, Daigetsu Aofeng sighed rudely and irritably.

"I say …" He walked in front of Sanchū Ming. His tall figure cast a shadow, and his deep, almost black eyes looked down at the expressionless Sanchū Ming.

"You."

A storm swirled in his eyes, and he suppressed the anger in his throat. He sneered disdainfully and said, "You are obviously a sword, but you have to carefully wear a mask in order to mix with cotton. Aren't you tired?

"Boring." He let out a low hum from his throat.

'This guy.'

Keigo Atobe narrowed his eyes slightly.

He remembered that he was Akashiji Seijuro's teammate on the Teiguang basketball team when he was in Junior high.

He had heard a little about the "Era of Miracles", and he more or less guessed some inside information about why it fell apart in the end from Akaji.

'Without teamwork, everyone thinks that they are … the strongest?

'That's too childish.'

He resembled Sanchū Ming a little. Keigo Atobe looked at the blonde girl, but they did not resemble each other at the same time.

Sanchū was much more mature than he was.

Sanchū Ming was a very interesting person.

He was straightforward and eccentric, but in the face of provocation, he never got angry. He was so calm that Keigo Atobe thought that he was looking at Akashiji Seijuro, who was always calm.

For example, right now, Sanchū Ming was facing malicious oppression and disdain. He even wanted to pull the other person who had raised eyebrows.

"Hey, hey, hey, you big guy." Koutarou the wooden bunny, who had one of his hands grabbed, moved in front of Sanchū Ming and stood with one hand on his waist. He bared his teeth at Daigetsu Aofeng, who had an unfriendly expression, and shouted, "Don't think that people who have friends are all hypocrites just because you have a bad temper.

Are you still a second-year Junior high student?

Do you think that the whole world is malicious?

You should pay attention to what you say, young man. Those who care about you will be hurt. "

Sanchū Ming glanced sideways at Satsuki Momoi.

The beautiful girl's expression was gloomy.

"I was the one who told Momoi to call you here."

Sanchū Ming sighed and pulled the wooden bunny away from her. He said to Daigetsu Aofeng, who still wanted to say something, "You used yourself to hurt those who care about you. Are you happy to see her in pain?"

Sanchū Ming knew all too well about such twisted and painful feelings.

This was wrong, childish, and a lose-lose situation.

She looked at Daigetsu Aofeng, whose expression was getting colder and colder. His hands were clenched into fists in his pockets, and she understood this very well.

"Your former teammate asked me to take a look at your basketball," Sanchū Ming said.

"What?" Daigetsu Aofeng raised his eyebrows.

"You don't adhere to rules, you have unlimited freedom, and you're like a dazzling ray of light … That's what he said.

This gave me at least some anticipation for meeting you. "

Sanchū Ming recalled the boy who said this. His face was expressionless, but she could see that there was an imperceptible longing and disappointment in his eyes.

"But from your attitude, that's all there is to it," she said.

"Muddling through life, mocking hard work, out of place, perverse and sharp …" Sanchū Ming's voice was not loud, but it was very steady. Word by word, it slowly smashed into Daigetsu Aofeng's ears.

"At present, that's all there is to your basketball."

Daigetsu Aofeng's expression became very frightening in an instant.

The angry boy's momentum was so dangerous, like a furious lion whose territory was invaded. So much so that Tezuka Guohiko and Keigo Atobe, who were standing on the side, did not hesitate to step forward to separate him from Sanchū Ming.

But it was only for a moment.

The next moment, the lion put away his fangs and closed his eyes, as if he was already old.

"What's there to see about this kind of thing?" Daigetsu Aofeng laughed without any emotion.

"The harder you work, the more boring it is, childish and boring."

Facing Sanchū Ming's clear eyes, Daigetsu Aofeng paused and said.

"Basketball –

"In the end, it's just a game."