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One unassuming day, as Class 1-1 was boisterously eating lunch inside their classroom at noontime, a mysterious ringing sound sliced through the ambient noise of their chattering. There wasn't anything weird about the ringtone itself but it was the first time anyone in class heard this particular tune and pretty much everyone's phones had already rung at least once since classes started a few months ago.
Naturally, everyone was curious (and nosy enough) to crane their necks in search of the ringtone’s owner. Only, when one of them picked up their phone, the rest of them were shocked into utter silence.
Why?
Because right there slouched on his seat by the window, their beloved Grade Captain was holding his ringing phone. Sakura Haruka, notorious for having a single phone number besides those from Bofurin, was being rung during lunchtime when everyone at Furin High was on break and could drop by instead.
Their curiosity piqued to greater heights.
Who was calling their beloved Grade Captain?
"It's Weather!" came a loud, disbelieving whisper from Nirei.
Sakura would have exploded had he noticed but he was too busy frowning at his phone. He tilted his head towards the window and glanced up at the sky before he finally, reluctantly, answered the phone.
"... .... .... oh. .... .... .... .... .... ...."
Everyone strained their ears but apart from a single, "oh," nothing else left their Grade Captain's lips.
With a click, the call was ended.
Both Suo and Nirei opened their mouths, clearly taking on their roles as spokespeople for the rest of Class 1-1 very seriously. However, Sakura beat them to it and immediately stood up with a loud clatter.
"I'm going," Sakura declared shortly, hoisting his bag onto his shoulder. “I’ll be back tomorrow,” he added on his way out of the classroom, pausing just to frown at them and instruct, “Don’t follow me.”
And then... before even Suo could stop him, he was gone.
Class 1-1, sans one Sakura Haruka, took a moment to process the fact that their precious Grade Captain had just left them in the dust. After the couple of seconds it took for them to come to terms with this reality, Nirei bolted towards the window with a calmer Suo in tow, prompting the rest to do the same.
It would’ve been funny to see a bunch of students peering out of their class windows like Meer cats had anyone been looking at the school building then. Alas, the only visible person in sight was a fast-walking Sakura on the open courtyard crossing the distance from the school building to the open gate.
Everyone watched in perplexed silence as their Grade Captain exited the gates and... entered an idling black car? They exchanged looks with each other and then turned back to watch the black car drive off and disappear from view behind the school's walls, before unitedly shifting into astounded silence.
What…???
. . .
The next day was a bit more chaotic than usual with Class 1-1 falling all over themselves the moment their beloved Grade Captain entered the classroom in the morning. Even Suo and Nirei prodded Sakura for answers, but it was evidently too much as their favourite stray cat exploded in a loud shriek asking them to kindly, “SHUT THE FUCK UP! WHY ARE YOU ALL SO NOISY? LEAVE ME ALONE!”
And so, like a pressure cooker just waiting to boil over with a loud whistle, Class 1-1 settled down…
Barely.
Still, they should be commended because they lasted a whole day before pinning their Grade Captain down for round two as soon as the bell rang. It was a collective and peaceful effort that didn’t require them to lock the classroom doors or get one of the stronger guys to grab onto Sakura. Rather, they just gathered around a flustered Sakura whose facial expression clearly expressed his wish to up and leave.
“Sakura-chan, what did you do yesterday?”
“Share! Share! Share!”
“Is Weather rich? Was the black car theirs?”
“Who is Weather?”
“Where did you go yesterday?”
“Does Weather call you often?”
“What time did you get home yesterday?”
“Huh? What are you, his mother?”
“AHH! SHUT UP!” Sakura yelled, raising his hands to clutch at his ears. His abrupt movement caused his open bag to fall to the ground with a loud thud, spilling its contents out in a messy, scattered pile.
Of course, like the nosy little shits that they were, they turned to look… and then suddenly went quiet.
Because there, amidst crumpled Saboten papers, one mildly squashed convenience store bun wrapped in plastic, a grimy cloth dotted with dried blood, and a bottle of water, was a thick wad of crisp yens.
“…Sakura-san…” Nirei’s voice trembled a little. “Why… do you have a bundle of cash?”
Everyone stared at the money with wonderful expressions, each more expressive than the last, until Suo bent down. Class 1-1’s formidable Vice Grade Captain methodically swept all the spilled content sans cash back into the bag before straightening up with the open bag in one hand and the cash in the other. Then, with a smile that looked very fake, he asked, "Where did this come from, Sakura-kun?"
Blushing furiously, Sakura snatched both of his belonging from his one-eyed advisor and haphazardly stuffed the cash back inside his bag. “It’s just my payment,” he relented after seeing Suo’s steel gaze.
"Payment?" Nirei echoed with a pale face. "But – you don’t mean payment from – from yesterday?!"
"Yeah, what about it?!" Sakura grouched, hunched over his bag and looking upset at being cornered.
Suo cleared his throat, his fake smile still intact. "Sakura-kun, you're not selling your body, are you?"
"SELLING YOUR BODY?!!" Anzai shrieked at the top of his lungs from fright, unable to keep it in.
The yell, at this time of the late afternoon when most of Bofurin had already left, could only attract the most senior students who had a reason to stay back late. Those senior students were none other than Bofurin’s Leader and his Four Heavenly Kings. Having been on their way down from a routine sweep of the other floors, they heard the commotion and hurried to Class 1-1 with concerned expressions.
Inside Class 1-1, no one even reacted to Anzai's shout or heard the sound of footsteps getting closer. They were too riveted, in mingled horror, at the pensive look on their treasured Grade Captain's face.
Sakura mumbled a bit, lips protruding in a disgruntled pout, before he grumbled, "So what if I am?"
Multiple gasps sounded in the classroom and a number of faces turned grim. The ones with the darkest faces were Suo, Kiryu, Umemiya, Hiragi, and Tsubakino, all of whom looked ready to commit murder.
"Who is making you do that?" Suo, no longer smiling, questioned in a deadly tone.
Nirei, his face scrunched up as though he was about to cry, clutched Sakura’s hand in distraught, "You don't need to do that, Sakura-san! I'll help you! We all will! Whatever you need! Don't sell yourself!"
But Sakura reared back, bristling angrily. “Why?! You think I'm ugly too, don't you? That I'm a freak? A monster? A mistake?" he accused, clearly repeating the insults that people threw at him growing up.
"No!" Nirei cried, shaking his head vigorously in denial. “Of course not! None of us – we don’t – !”
“There’s nothing wrong with you, Sakura-kun,” Suo assured soothingly. “We all think greatly of you. We all appreciate and care for you. That’s why, we don’t want you to sell your body,” he said firmly.
Sakura frowned, obviously struggling to understand, but his posture had calmed down thanks to Suo.
“Why not?” he asked in confusion. “They pay me well and I don’t need to do much. I…” he looked away and mumbled, “need the money.” He glanced back at them and saw the faces they made, which triggered him and caused him to puff up in defensive anger once more. “What?! They said my body sells well! I can do it! I’m good at it!” he insisted. “I’m not doing anything illegal!” he finally shouted.
"Darling, what are you talking about?" Tsubakino couldn't take it anymore. They entered the classroom and walked straight towards Sakura, placing both their hands on the younger teen’s shoulders. “You’re a minor, Sakura,” they said, frowning in worry. “Selling your body – no, sex with a minor is illegal!”
POOF!
"S-s-s-s-s-sex?!!" Sakura bloomed like a red rose – or tomato, if according to Umemiya’s imagination. His blush overtook his entire face, crept down his neck, and reached his visible hands. He was actually so red that his white hair seemed pink. "Who said anything about s-s-s-s – that!" he shrieked in horror.
Everyone paused and tried to reconnect their fraying wires.
Tsubakino stepped back and let their arms fall to their sides, confused.
"Hum... Sakura-san?” Nirei timidly raised his hand in the air. "How do you, uhm, ‘sell your body’?"
“What? How?” Sakura, his blush fading away slowly, crossed his arms with a frown. “I stand in front of a camera and they take my pictures!” he explained plainly. “They even feed me dinner after…”
At those words, many dramatically imagined Sakura as a kid who can be easily lured away with candy.
“Oh dear...” Kiryuu whispered tragically while a tired Hiragi just went straight for some Gas-kun 10.
Suo stepped forward again, innocent smile in place, and clarified, “With clothes on?"
“Huh?! Of course, I have clothes on! I'm not a pervert!" Sakura frowned harder.
“Ah, Sakura!” Umemiya laughed loudly and clapped his hands, swiftly diverting everyone’s gazes off Class 1-1’s Grade Captain onto himself. “No one thinks you’re a pervert,” he comforted with a carefree grin. “We all just love you so much, we don’t want you showing off your naked body to anyone else!”
The Gas-kun 10 fell to the floor as an exhausted Hiragi smacked himself in the face behind Umemiya.