Chapter Text
Class 1-1 has a well known obsession with providing their grade leader with new things to experience. Be it a new kind of snack, a new drink flavour or a new place in town to take him to, they will do anything to see the adorable reactions he has to things unfamiliar to him. The way he scrunches his eyebrows, the tiny pout on his lips and the slight blush adorning his cheeks make a sight that each one of them won’t ever forget, yet feel the need to refresh their memory of it every now and then. Out of all the things they’ve tried there’s a clear winner in terms of getting a reaction out of Sakura.
Romance.
Be it a movie they took him to, a manga they made him read or just the sight of one of them holding hands with a girl during an after school hangout, anything close to romantic is a sure way of making Sakura blush the prettiest shade of pink on planet earth. He could rival his namesake while their flowers are in full bloom. If just the sight of a couple turns him into a blushy mess, what would happen if he was the one involved in a romantic escapade? They all wonder about it and their one shared brain cell makes it so each one of them knows that. So they take the matters into their own hands, to make their beloved leader the protagonist of Bofurin's greatest love story. Still, they try to be subtle and let Sakura decide the course of action for himself. They leave him love themed gifts, take him out to more romantic outings in hopes that he will start craving it for himself and try to make a move on someone. But they all seemed to forget about one crucial thing.
Sakura is dense as fuck.
It’s clear that Sakura won’t take notice of their attempts unless he was hit with them right in the head. Although after Nirei slipped and actually hit Sakura with a heart-shaped pudding, they’re not sure if that would be enough. It seems like their captain has a perfectly working romance sensor, as long as he’s not the target. They should’ve seen this coming. They don’t know much about their grade leader’s past, but they’re aware it wasn’t pretty. He probably doesn’t even take into account the idea that he might be an object of someone’s desire. They’d all respectfully (or otherwise, in Sugishita’s case) disagree with the sentiment. There’s more than enough evidence amongst their ranks of people finding Sakura attractive, both when it comes to his looks and his personality. The obvious answer is for one of them to man up and be upfront with Sakura about their attraction in hopes that a head on approach would be enough to get through his head, but no one wants to risk the carefully built dynamic within the group. They’re all equal in their adoration of Sakura, not one of them must go ahead of the group unless chosen by Sakura himself (or else Suo will deal with them and that fate is worse than a potential rejection).
They need someone from outside of their class, at least someone who can help them with this issue. Umemiya was the first one to come to mind. Their leader knows everyone in Bofurin and is generally helpful even with the smallest of worries that a student could have. Yet, it feels wrong somehow to ask him to help with something as trivial as this, something they should be able to deal with by themselves as they’re the ones closest to Sakura. That, and Sugishita might have started growling when he misunderstood that they wanted to set Umemiya up with Sakura and they don’t want to deal with that right now. Their second choice is Hiragi, but just the thought of causing the guy more stomachaches made them take pity on him and reconsider. Kaji was out of question before he could even pop as an option in someone’s mind. Most of them are too intimidated by him, if not straight up scared shitless, to approach him with something like this. The only two who’d be able to do it are Suo and Sugishita, but neither of them seem like a good option to deal with their upperclassman who acts like he’s anger issues personified.
By process of elimination, they go to Kusumi. He’s the most approachable option out of the group leading class 2-1. Looks mostly harmless, at least as much as a highly positioned member of Bofurin might be, so they feel like it’s a safe bet. They send Suo to his class as they all wait a few steps back in the hallway. Their upperclassman looks startled at the sight of nearly their entire class, bar Sakura of course, waiting for him. It takes them a while to start talking, their shared brain cell too overwhelmed to let them make a quick decision in appointing the spokesperson until Kiryuu grabs it by its throat and starts explaining their issue.
To Kusumi’s credit, he’s taking their bizarre problem well, despite the noticeable confusion on his face. When they hear it explained out loud they can’t blame him for it, it’s actually ridiculous. Even Kiryu gets a little red in the face as he keeps talking. When he finishes everyone stays silent, awaiting the response of their upperclassman who seems to be intently thinking about the issue at hand. The sight of someone treating their problem seriously puts them at ease. After a while Kusumi nods to himself and signals them to wait there before sprinting back into his classroom. So they wait, a minute, then two and a few more that no one bothers to count, until Kusumi reemerges with Kaji in tow. He looks at them with an unreadable expression before he starts walking away.
“Follow me, idiots!” he shouts after he noticed that none of them were following him. They all hurry after him, fear of angering their upperclassman further fueling their steps. They take a familiar route, it’s the same one they took a few minutes ago. Before they know it they stand in front of their classroom. Kaji stops to whisper something to Kusumi, before making his way inside and shutting the door. When Taiga moves to enter the room, he’s stopped by Kusumi who firmly keeps him in place. He keeps smiling at them while a nervous streak of sweat trails down his neck.
“Hey, Sakura.” they hear Kaji say from inside the classroom. The group falls completely silent, aside from the small noises their clothes make as they try to subtly move to make it easier to hear the conversation. Even Kusumi’s clearly eavesdropping despite doing his best to appear calm and disinterested. “I’m taking you out today.” There is a collective gasp in the group, someone even chokes. Kusumi stands completely still with his mouth slightly open.
“Ha? You wanna go now?” Sakura shoots back, clearly misunderstanding Kaji’s words as a fight invitation. The tension in the group is palpable.
“Tsk. Out to eat somewhere.” Kaji says, clearly trying not to snap. They hope he’s not running out of lollipops. Kusumi can’t help it anymore and he opens the door slightly so he can take a peek inside the classroom. Those closest to the front flock to the gap so they can witness the interaction themselves. Thankfully one of them is Kiryu, who already has his phone out and ready to record a video to send to those less fortunate later.
“I’m not hungry tho.” Sakura says with a confused look on his face. His eyebrows are scrunching in this adorable way and he even tilts his head like a cat while looking up at Kaji from where he’s seated. A weaker man would be on his knees begging for just one chance at this sight.
“I’m asking you out on a date, you idiot!” Kaji shouts, clearly not a weak man. Although the slight red on his cheeks might prove otherwise. They all wait with bated breath, eager to hear their captain’s response. He falls completely silent for a bit, the cogs clearly turning in his head as he stares wide eyed at Kaji. When the reality really hits him, oh it's a sight to behold. The read that starts colouring his skin is unlike any they’ve seen so far. It’s vibrant and lively, like the tomatoes in Umemiya’s garden. He opens his mouth as if to try and say something, but he fails to utter a single word so he just closes it after taking a breath. He tries again, this time weird sounds come out and it makes him turn even more red. In the end he just nods, unable to voice a coherent word of affirmation. He’s so pretty like this that Nirei has to step away from the door cause he was too close to crying and any sound coming from him could ruin this historic moment.
“Be ready at 3!” Kaji shouts again and rushes out of the room. He glares at them through the gap in the door but it’s way less intimidating than usual when he’s blushing this hard. Still, they all scurry away to give their hero some space. They all huddle around him when he stops. He takes out a new lollipop out of his pocket and tries to pry it open but his hands are shaking too much to do so. He huffs in frustration and chucks the candy at the floor and runs away from the group. They all stand there looking at his back, thankful for his sacrifice and proud to welcome another member of the Sakura Haruka Enjoyers Club. Two of them actually, as it seems like Kusumi wasn’t unaffected by their grade captain’s charm either, with the slight blush adorning his cheeks as he quickly moves to follow his captain.
Led by Suo, they all take a few calming breaths, still standing in the circle. After they’ve all composed themselves enough to look presentable, they slowly open the door to the classroom. The sight that welcomes them isn’t for the faint of heart. Sakura’s still sitting by his desk, looking out of the window while his hand covers the lower part of his face. The wind moves his hair just enough for everyone to see the lovely pink present on his cheeks. He hears them coming in and whips his head around with wide eyes, clearly caught off guard. He relaxes instantly when he sees it’s them, but the blush doesn’t leave his face. His eyes keep darting around the room, not quite meeting them head on. He keeps fidgeting with his hands, his right leg is bouncing up and down and they all wait for him to calm down a little. He takes a deep breath and finally looks straight at them, the determined look made even prettier than normally with the added pink colouring.
“What do I do on a date?!”