Chapter Text
After the fight against Noroshi was over, Umemiya loudly said that this was by no means the end. Makochi was still an unsafe city, so they had to always be alert for other powerful enemies.
Thus, a week later, when the scars from their battle began to disappear, each class was asked to evaluate everything they experienced during that extraordinary night.
For matters of this kind of discussion, Sakura as usual relied on Suo to take over. So, like when formulating a strategy, the vice-captain comes to the front of the class and leads the meeting.
Everyone was enthusiastic enough to speak up. Tsugeura and Kiryuu talk about what happened on the bridge while Suo and Nirei went to catch up with Sakura, Anzai talks about how the enemy suddenly retreated after receiving one call, while Sugishita keeps his mouth shut even though he also has a separate story regarding how he was overwhelmed and Hiragi helped. At least, this time he didn't face down to sleep on the table.
"Okay, next it's Sakura-san's turn!" Nirei threw a turn excitedly, while the person pointed at actually frowned as if surprised.
"Huh, why me?"
"Well, of course, because you were the only one among us who witnessed Umemiya-san's fight!" said another.
"That's right! Come on, tell us quickly, Sakura!"
"Seeing the destroyed condition of the roof, how fierce were they exchanging attacks?!"
Suo put one hand on the teacher's desk, smiling faintly with the other hand holding chalk. He had summarized his friends' narrative from earlier in the form of points, and was preparing to add new lines based on what Sakura would say.
"Uh... I didn't look at it from the start either, because I had to duel against Endo first," said the captain grade, starting the story. "When I got to the top, everything was a mess. Then, I saw Umemiya and that person..." Sakura suddenly let his sentence hang, where his eyes shifted to the chalk that had fallen to the floor. "Suo?"
Suo lowered his head to pick up the chalk, muttering an apology that wasn't really necessary, because Sakura didn't mean to reprimand him. However, when the class suddenly fell silent and Sakura didn't continue speaking, Suo began to realize that something was wrong.
Something was wrong... but it shouldn't have been about his sudden dizziness, or the sudden burning sensation in his nose, followed by a rush of--
"Suo-san, you're bleeding!"
Suo blinked, spontaneously using his fingers to press his nose. However, it didn't work to stop his nosebleeds as expected. Instead, the blood from his nose was heavy enough to start staining the floor in drop or two red drops.
"Suo-chan?! Oh my, just a moment, I'll get a compress!" Kiryu quickly jumped out of his chair, ran outside followed by Tsugeura who said that he would help find ice cubes.
"Ah, don't bother--" said Suo quietly, but the two of them had already quickly escaped through the door. "...soon it will stop on its own..." he added tiredly, accepting the sheets of tissue from Nirei who was clearly worried.
Suo wasn't used to being looked at with such concerned eyes. So, he didn't really understand how to respond to Sakura's horrified expression that was transfixed in front of him. He wanted to comment on how the confused captain looked rather funny, but knew doing so now would only annoyed his friend.
Two minutes later, Kiryu and Tsugeura returned with handkerchiefs and several small pieces of ice. Suo leaned against the wall, calmly breathing through his mouth while blood continued to flow from his nose. Nirei quickly wrapped the ice in a handkerchief, turning it into a cold compress which Suo then applied to the bridge of his nose.
It took seven minutes for the nosebleeds to stop, and Suo looked awkwardly at his anxious friends. "Uhm, I'm sorry," he muttered as he got up from his sitting position, intending to clean up the mess around him. "I'll mop the floor for a bit, then we can continue the discussion~"
"Don't be weird!" Sakura snapped, grabbing Suo's shoulder spontaneously, to prevent him from taking the mop in the corner of the classroom. "Sick people don't need to worry about cleaning up."
"That's right, Suo-san!" Nirei swiftly took over. "Just rest, we'll do the rest."
"Eh? But..." Suo hesitated at first, not wanting to cause further trouble, and at the same time feeling bad if someone else had to deal with his own blood spill. However, Sakura quickly dragged him to a row of tables and told him to sit in his usual chair.
"Oh, please, Suo, you don't need to go to school if you're not feeling well." Tsugeura rebuked. Slightly sensitive to his friend's condition, he did not speak in his usual booming volume.
"That's right, Suo-chan, you made us worry. You've never had a nosebleed before," Kiryu added, resting his arms relaxedly on the back of the chair.
Suo smiled faintly, turning to Sugishita who was also paying attention. "Well, nosebleeds are normal," he said in a reassuring tone. "Sugishita-kun and the others often experience it too, right?" The implied meaning was, why did they get so panic when Suo was the one experiencing it.
Sakura chuckled in annoyance. "The others had nosebleeds because they got punched in a fight. You were just standing still in front of the class, why did you suddenly bleed like that? It took quite a long time before it stopped, though!"
"Maybe it's because the weather is so hot," Suo explained, throwing out the possibility of the situation. It was clear that not many people accepted this hypothesis, even though their expressions were no longer as tense as before. "So, Sakura-kun, how did your story go?"
Sakura sighed. He glanced briefly at Nirei who had finished cleaning up and taken over the chalk, then turned back to Suo who was sitting neatly, nodding his head. The other students also started to focus on waiting for his words, so Sakura had no choice but to continue talking about Takiishi and Umemiya's fight.
Suo was secretly relieved when he saw the class' enthusiasm diverted so easily. Sakura was being surrounded, where various questions were being asked of him in order to get as much detailed information as possible. Even Sugishita was listening carefully since it was related to Umemiya, and Nirei obviously didn't need to be asked. His notebook would probably be full that very day seeing how fast his hand was writing line after line.
If he is being honest, Suo has been feeling a bit tired lately. At first he thought it was just a normal condition, considering that everyone was also assigned training ahead of the battle against Noroshi. However, even after the fierce night was over and their days returned to their usual routine, the tiredness he had endured still remained.
However, Suo didn't think he would end up with a nosebleed like he did just now. Not in front of his friends, who always saw him as someone they could rely on.
"Suo-san, are you strong enough to go on patrol this afternoon?" Nirei asked with concern. “Otherwise, don't force yourself….”
But, Suo thought, their conscientious seniors might question it, and he didn't want an unimportant incident like a nosebleed to reach the ears of leaders like Hiragi and Umemiya.
"Come along, I'll come along," said Suo cheerfully, following Sakura's steps, who had already gone ahead. "Are we going to paint the shop again, Nirei-kun?" he asked lightly. Nirei chuckled, continuing the conversation about the sweet shop which for some reason was quickly covered in new graffiti.
Of the three of them, Sakura is the fastest at painting, while Nirei still has the neatest results. Suo, as usual, prefers to prepare additional water and paint, rather than holding a brush. Their work was finished before dark, and Suo politely declined an invitation to stop by Pothos.
He's so tired.