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That day was just like any other day.
Except, Nirei came to school a bit earlier for his cleaning duty. Well, it's not like everyone was keeping up with this since they had more important tasks to do such as patrolling and protecting the town, but since Nirei hadn't contributed much in that department, he felt that he ought to make up for it in other areas.
Coming to school early means he wouldn't be able to meet his two friends, Sakura and Suo, on the way. But that's alright, they'd meet in class, anyway. They didn't make any agreement to meet each other before school, either.
Opening the door to the empty classroom, Nirei hummed to some cheerful melody as he strolled toward the blackboard, his hops no different from the way the early morning sunrays danced through the windows. The blonde vice-captain took a look at the class roster to see who his cleaning partner would be that day—Ack! The merry tune abruptly came to a halt.
Despite having a heart-to-heart with the sullen, lanky teen several weeks ago, Nirei still found Sugishita extremely unapproachable, despite the latter's more mellow attitude toward him recently. Perhaps, it was a blessing in disguise that Sugishita didn't show up for that day's cleaning duty; Nirei doubted he could hold the broom properly with his trembling hands under the raventte's watchful glare. Besides, the taller boy always came up to the rooftop before class to take care of Umemiya's garden; he was probably exempted from all cleaning duties already.
Well then. Nirei returned to his gleeful self, wet a rag cloth, and started cleaning the blackboard, making sure to retain Momose's little drawings in the corners; the Zojo leader still occasionally decorated the blackboards with his adorable doodles. As he swiped left and right to the unknown rhythm, standing on tiptoe to reach the higher parts, the classroom door was shoved sideways briskly. Nirei winced a little at the harsh noise, but then he put on the most brilliant smile to welcome the first classmate after him.
However, his smile immediately fell.
Because in front of him, Sakura was limping through the door frame, his white t-shirt littered with blood stains of varying sizes.
"S-Sakura-san! What happened!?" Nirei threw the rag cloth away, running to catch his staggering captain. Yet the moment his hands touched the bicolor-haired boy, the latter's eyes turned feline, his scratched hands pushing Nirei away like a cat's claws.
"Don't touch me!" Sakura hissed, his heterochromatic irises narrowing and watching every of the blonde's moves. Blood trickled underneath his spiky bangs, accentuating the wild unruly look. Nirei was stunned by this behavior; why was his best friend behaving just like a stray cat? But that was not an important question when Sakura's gaping wounds almost spilling to the floor was a more pressing matter.
"Sakura-san, let's go to the infirmary. I'll patch you up!"
After another attempt, Nirei managed to drag his captain to the infirmary, much to the catlike boy's chagrin. And he truly acted like a cat, endlessly scraping the blonde and nearly leaving holes in his uniform jacket. Fortunately, they didn't run into anyone in the hallway, otherwise Nirei wouldn't know how to explain this one hell of a sitch.
After making the grumbling boy sit on a bed, Nirei made a beeline for the shelf and took out the first aid kit; he knew where the supplies were thanks to his past visits. Nirei instructed Sakura to remove his shirt while preparing the items, but when he glanced up, the other boy hadn't moved an inch, his arms still curling tightly around his frame.
"Sakura-san…?" The blonde cocked his head, blinking confusedly at his friend. When his hands reached out, wishing to help Sakura undress, they got squatted away. Nirei could only stare as the black-and-white-haired boy bared his fangs at him.
"How dare you touch me? What're you gonna do to me, hah?"
"Sakura-san…" Nirei muttered, treading carefully around the other. His captain was acting really strange, almost like—"I just wanna remove your clothes so that I can give you first aid. That's all."
At that, the heterochromatic eyes widened, like he couldn't believe what Nirei just said. Right, this was almost like…
Back when Sakura received help from the people around him for the first time.
While the boy was in a daze, Nirei used that chance to help him slip off the bloodied garment and put it in an opaque plastic bag; he would take care of it later. As Nirei worked through the injuries, Sakura didn't so much as react, only jerking a bit when he applied sterilizer to the wounds. Not until the blonde took care of the cuts on Sakura's face did he notice the other's hair was styled slightly different. Usually, he parted his hair on his left side, but now it was on the right, and Nirei swore that the black and white strands had switched places with each other like non-superimposable mirror images. Still, he couldn't stop his work just to get the notebook out for a quick check.
When he finished, the freckled boy came to a nearby closet and got a short-sleeved button-up shirt for Sakura. The students always found ways to get their shirts all soiled and drenched throughout the day, so the school stored some spare clothes just in case they needed one.
While the blonde was going through the closet to look for his friend's size, unbeknownst to him, a pair of smoky blue and amber orbs constantly watched his every move, wondering how there could be a person who approached him without the intention to hurt him…
With Sakura now presentable enough, the two of them returned to their classroom. On their way back, Nirei tried to inquire bout what caused all those damages to the dual-haired boy. His captain simply grunted, saying this happened to him every day, refusing to share more details despite his blonde vice-captain's persistent effort to pry.
Upon reaching Class 1-1's door, the two teens were greeted by their many friends' uproarious chatter and laughter. Some came closer to them, about to give them a few friendly pats on the backs but were taken aback when Sakura jerked away and avoided their contact, his unruly hair standing up not so different from a cat on the defensive. While everybody was confused by this development, Nirei stepped in, explaining in a stammering voice that Sakura got hurt on his back, so they should avoid touching him in order not to aggravate his wounds.
"But Sakura-kun seemed fine yesterday, didn't he?" Suo commented. Nirei silently lamented; he forgot how observant his fellow vice-captain could be. "We didn't have any big fights with other groups lately, either. Who could possibly harm him like this?"
When the boy in question made no remarks, letting his classmates run wild and mutter some plausible scenarios, the bell signifying the start of their school day rang. All students returned to their seats, and the issue regarding Sakura's injuries was forced to fall into oblivion. But thankfully, as the day went by, Sakura seemed to open up to more people, reluctantly accepting the affectionate shoulder wraps from Anzai's group ("Thank God, we thought we gotta get to know this stray cat from the beginning all over again!" they exclaimed), and even having lunch with them as usual.
Nirei let out a sigh of relief. Although there had been several irregularities, overall, that day was just like any other day. Surely, things would keep going this way until the end of the day, right?
"Let's see, this is probably good enough."
Nirei put the bleach bottle into the cart and headed for the cashier, with his grumpy captain in tow. They went to the market street after school to buy some bleach for Sakura's blood-stained shirt since Nirei didn't trust the boy to handle bleach himself, or if he even cared to remove the smears.
As they walked through the town, Sakura kept glancing around with wide-open eyes like this was the first time he got to see it. At one point, the taller one even stopped in his tracks, making Nirei, who was leading at the front, halt as well and retreat his steps.
"What's wrong, Sakura-san?"
"The town…" The captain gave another look at his surroundings, a hint of confusion apparent in his furrowed brows. "Has it always looked this clean and bustling?"
The mimosa-haired youth brightened at that question. "Of course, Sakura-san! After the fight with Noroshi, Bofurin has spent a lot of effort to clean up the town. Many shops used this chance to renovate their entire places, too. This street became even more vibrant because of that!"
"That's not quite what I meant…" Sakura shook his head, but before he could continue, a young female voice called their names.
"Sakura, Nirei! Wanna take home some omurice?"
Turning around, the two boys saw a brunette girl waving at them, a bag containing two takeout boxes in her other hand.
"Ah, Kotoha-san! It's so rare to see you giving out free food like this," Nirei joked, running toward where the girl was standing.
"What do you mean? I let you guys hang out at my cafe without ordering all the time, and now you demand free food, too?" Kotoha faked a scowl, but it came apart immediately as she handed the bag to the blonde. "Anyway, I already broke these eggs, but for some reason, this dish isn't selling really well today. And that's when I saw you and the omurice vacuum cleaner," she jutted her chin at the heterochromatic boy, smirking when that got a reaction out of him.
"Well, if Her Highness has been so generous as to bestow this feast upon us…" Nirei teasefully bowed, then jumped away to dodge the young chef's swat while roaring in laughter. "We'll definitely enjoy this a lot. Thank you, Kotoha-san!" The blonde waved energetically, meanwhile his friend just gave a perplexed nod. After that, the two resumed their walk to Sakura's place.
"Hey…" Nirei looked up when he heard the other speak. "Does that girl always give out food to us like that?"
"Oh, hardly. Kotoha-san probably only does that when she's in a good mood, which is once in a blue moon," Nirei giggled, but then his honey eyes softened as if he remembered some fond memories. "But the people from the market give us free food all the time. They say it's to repay us for protecting the town, but I'm always worried about how they can make profits like that! They're honestly such good people, don't you agree?"
When he didn't receive an instant response, Nirei turned back to meet with a dumbfounded Sakura, who was gasping and blinking at him. "Is that so…" was all the teen said before he passed Nirei to head home, not slowing down even when the boy with shorter legs pleaded, "Sakura-san, wait for me!"
When the two reached Sakura's place, Nirei told his captain to just enjoy the omurice while he worked on the shirt. Since he had been here a few times before, Nirei knew pretty much where everything was; Sakura's small apartment didn't have a lot of stuff, after all. The blonde began scrubbing the shirt while humming to the little melody that made an appearance in his head once again. At long last, the shirt was as good as new. Nirei took a moment to appreciate the fruit of his effort, then wrung the garment before hanging it on the balcony since Sakura didn't have a dryer at home.
When he exited the bathroom, he was surprised to find the omurice untouched. Sakura didn't even sit down, but rather stood up in the middle of the room, looking so out of place despite being the host. His widened gaze scanned across the apartment, taking in all the simple furniture and appliances. Then, he slowly made his way to the window, reaching his hands to feel the starry curtains as though he couldn't believe it was real.
"Oh yeah, we've never asked you if you liked the stuff we brought you or not," Nirei chuckled awkwardly, took a hanger in the closet then came to the window, where Sakura stood still like a statue. "I suppose it was rather brazen of us to bring all kinds of things to your home without asking you first. But we figured you'd never agree to this to begin with, so we just forced it upon you. But I see you've taken care of them quite well…"
A small smile bloomed on Nirei's lips. He thought Sakura would've taken his curtains down by now, judging from the boy's initial disapproval when he hung it up. Therefore, who could blame him for grinning like an idiot when he learned that his friend had treasured his childhood curtains just as much as he did?
When Nirei slid the window to hang the shirt on the railing outside, a hand tugged at his uniform shirt, forcing him to pause and look at the other boy. Sakura looked like he wanted to say something; his lips kept opening and closing, and yet no sounds came out. They held each other's gazes for a while, and Nirei thought that was it when the black-and-white-haired teen dropped his hand.
But then…
"Ni…rei."
Badump, Nirei's heart beat loudly. This was not the first time Sakura had called out his name, but with the way he sounded so hesitant, as if he was testing out the name on his tongue, the blonde couldn't help but reminisce about the first time his captain had addressed him in this way.
"...Yes, Sakura-san?" Nirei replied, giving the other his undivided attention. Sakura's ears practically perked up at that, not so different from an intrigued kitten.
"Why…why did you guys give me so many things?" he stumbled, sounding so unsure, and then, as an afterthought, "...Nirei."
The autumn boy could only chuckle. Using his free hand, he took hold of his captain's palm, and as his stubby fingers stroked the other's larger hand, Nirei said resolutely, "Because we care about you, Sakura-san."
"Care?" the boy named after spring uttered, incredulous.
The blonde merely nodded. "That's right, we care about you, so we want to help you as much as we can. Can't you see how everyone watched out for you at school today? We all wish to assist you, but at the same time, we don't want to assert ourselves so much that we make you uncomfortable." A giggle, and then, "Really, after all the things our class has done for you, you still need us to spell it out? Why do you find it so unbelievable that we love you, that we simply want all the best for you?"
Sakura's irises exploded at this raw confession. Even Nirei felt his cheeks heating up. Unable to handle the other's stare any longer, Nirei faced forward, about to hang the shirt on when a droplet of water hit his hand.
"Oh no, it's raining!"
As soon as he stated that, a downpour abruptly pelted down. Sakura snapped out of his trance, pulled Nirei inside by the scruff of the neck, and quickly closed the window.
"Oh dear, I'll have to hang your shirt in the bathroom, then…" Nirei mostly mumbled to himself, immediately acting so without waiting for the owner's approval. But when he completed the laundry task, he realized another problem.
"I didn't bring an umbrella with me since the weather forecast said it was gonna be sunny all day. And I guess you don't happen to have any umbrellas lying around here, either?" When his suspicion got confirmed by the other's nod, Nirei chuckled defeatedly. "Well, in that case, I hope you don't mind me staying here until the rain lets up?"
Only when Sakura nodded again did Nirei make himself at home and prepare to reheat the meal. After the two sat down and began their dinner, Sakura devoured the omurice with so much gusto that Nirei couldn't keep the giggles down his throat.
"Calm down, Sakura-san. The omurice's not going anywhere!"
"But it's so good!" the heterochromatic boy replied with sparkling eyes, not once stopping shoving food into his mouth. The blonde could only shake his head with a grin, "You act like you're eating Kotoha-san's rice for the first time. And you're always eating that dish at her cafe!"
"Leave me alone. If it's good, then it's good!"
They continued their meal in lighthearted banters just like that. By the time they scooped up every rice grain on the plates, the rain hadn't lessened one bit. Then, Nirei ran into another difficulty. He discovered that aside from their first day, he had never been alone with Sakura, thus he didn't know what to talk about when it was just two of them. Food was able to keep the conversation going for a little while, but now that they ran out, he couldn't find any topic to chat with his friend.
Nirei didn't know what to do besides kneeling awkwardly in Sakura's room, tensing up as the clock ticked away, so he was startled when the other spoke up.
"Hey…do you do that a lot with other boys?"
This out-of-nowhere question spooked Nirei even more. "W-w-what do you mean, Sakura-san!?"
"Y'know," Sakura scratched his cheek, acting shy all of a sudden. "Like patting on the back, putting an arm around the shoulders, that kind of stuff."
"Oh, you mean that," Nirei deadpanned, smacking his forehead. He hated his own imagination sometimes. "Yeah, I certainly do that a lot with our classmates, but it's only when I came to Furin. I didn't have many chances to do that in middle school since you know."
The bicolor-haired boy didn't look like he understood everything, but he nodded nonetheless. However, what he said next made Nirei nearly shoot through the roof.
"Cool… Can I try it with you, then?"
"Sakura-san!?" Nirei had to restrain himself from freaking out, the terror evident in his tone. "I mean, sure—but why are you asking this now?"
"Well…" Sakura scratched his nape, his cheeks gradually dusted with pink. "When I saw you at school today, you seemed so at ease around those guys. And I—um, I kinda wanna try it…"
"Oh, okay…" Nirei murmured, not quite registering it in his head. So when a firm arm wrapped around his shoulders, his breath hitched.
"Is this okay, Nirei?" Sakura's voice was slightly husky ("Has it always been this low!?"), and Nirei was glad that he still had his uniform jacket on so as not to expose his goosebumped skin. From this close, he could count each and every of Sakura's eyelashes, watching them fluttering ever so slightly, so dangerously close to his face. Hot breath was blown out from the cherry-colored lips, ghosting over his own. Sakura's hand was gently kneading his upper arm, sending both warmth and electricity throughout his system. That was when it dawned on Nirei that although he had shared a lot of physical touches with his classmates, and Sakura with other boys, the two of them had never had any moments of intimacy with each other. And how could've that happened, when they were the other's first friend when they arrived at Furin?
Before the blonde had more time to wonder, the hand on his shoulders then slid down his back and nestled against his waist.
"Sa-Sakura-san!?"
"Is this no good?" His captain was slightly perturbed by his reaction, yet still keeping his hand there. "I remember that eyepatch guy occasionally put his hand around you like this, and you seemed fine with that, so I thought…"
"No—I mean, it's alright. Just, a bit surprising, that's all."
Nirei hated how squeaky he sounded, but he was utterly powerless in front of this assertive Sakura. When the other teen didn't seem to plan another move, Nirei sighed out of relief and closed his eyes, finding himself slowly lowered to the floor. It took him a moment to notice that Sakura was pinning him down, completely hovering over his body.
"Sa…Sakura-san?" he meekly asked; all of the butterflies that the other gave him suddenly disappeared, leaving his guts entangled in ugly knots.
The boy didn't answer him, his expression blank, but a spark flickered in the depth of his eyes, much more intense than he'd ever seen in his captain. "Nirei…" he drawled, voice dripping with something almost like yearning. It still sent goosebumps to the blonde, but for a completely different reason.
Sakura-san has never called me like that.
Right then—
"Get off of him, you bastard!"
The door to the apartment was barged open violently. Someone dashed into the room and kicked Sakura to the side. Nirei was blinded by the ceiling light momentarily, blinking his eyes, and when he looked up—
Huh? There are two Sakura-san?
Indeed, two boys who looked exactly like identical twins were standing in front of him. But after a closer look, Nirei realized the newcomer's hair parting actually resembled the Sakura that he was familiar with. And yet, the tail of his uniform coat was long and slit in the middle like Umemiya's, except it only got one silver band on the left sleeve instead of three. He was soaked from head to toe, likely because of the rain, clear droplets continuously trickling down from the tips of his hair strands.
While the blonde was deep in confusion, the two Sakuras were engaged in a staredown, sizing up one another. The Sakura that was kicked to the side was the one making the first move.
"Heh," he smirked. "A semester has passed, but you still haven't become the top dog yet?"
The Sakura who just barged in huffed, "At least I know my friends got my back. What about you?"
The two of them only glared at each other for a second before charging in. Nirei was terrified as he watched the two dual-haired boys exchange blows, worried that they would bother the neighbors before he remembered this old apartment complex didn't seem to have any other residents besides Sakura. Still, he'd better intervene soon lest they cause some property damage.
"Sakura-san, and um, the other Sakura-san, please stop!"
The Sakura with the long coat stopped his punch in midair, but that moment of hesitation allowed his other self to slap his attack away and sweep his feet off the floor.
"Sakura-san!" Nirei immediately scurried to the fallen boy, letting him rest his head on his lap, not minding getting wet from the other's sopping state. The blonde's heart got saddled as he took in the caked blood and scratches on the other's face. Did the two of them receive the same injuries? However, unlike the Sakura that had received first aid from Nirei, this one didn't look like he got treated at all.
"Sakura-san, what happened to you? Are you okay?" he asked with a trembling voice as though he was the one that got hurt, brows deeply furrowed.
The black-and-white-haired boy looked up at him with a weary but lucid gaze. "Idiot. This is nothing at all, Nirei."
Nirei smiled wobbly, his eyes filled with tears. Now this sounded more like the Sakura that he knew.
While the blonde was fussing over the wounds on his friend, the real one this time, he was unaware of the impostor's longing stare from the corner of the room. It was as if the two of them had gone off into their own world. Watching the scene before him, "Sakura" felt his heart get pricked at, hurting him more than every physical injury had ever done.
"How come…" he groaned out, each sound like a broken piece of his heart gritting his throat. That made the two other teens look up at him. "How come you got so many people around you, who laugh with you, care for you? How did you find someone who's willing to look after you, always treating you with gentleness and kindness? How were you able to get all the good things in the world, meanwhile I got nothing?! Even though we're the same person, even though I've become number one at Furin!"
"I don't know!" the true Sakura snarled, burying his face into Nirei's stomach and wrapping his arms more tightly around the other's waist. "And I don't care, either. Nirei is my friend, so don't you dare touch him. Go back to your world!"
The impostor didn't say a single word, simply burning the scene into his memory. Then, he scoffed and sprinted out of the door, into the rainy night.
"Sakura-san—" Nirei got up, reaching his hand toward the departing boy, but a pair of arms anchored him. Looking down, he was perturbed to find the real Sakura shaking like a leaf despite acting so tough just moments ago.
"Just leave him be," he whimpered, never once letting go of Nirei. "He's probably just returning to his own world."
"'Returning to his own world'? What do you mean, Sakura-san?"
Only then did the captain loosen his grip and weakly prop himself up. He then stared at his blonde friend, exhaustion visible on his face, and began recounting his long, long day, which was definitely not like any other day.
This morning, when I was walking to school, Risa, the freaking cat jumped on my face. Because of that, I lost my balance and hit my head on the ground. I probably passed out for a few seconds, but then someone kicked me. I opened my eyes and saw a bunch of guys looming over me, looking like they were about to jump me. One of them even carried a pipe. Of course, I managed to kick their asses, not without a few bruises, though. Then, I looked around me and realized the jerks who attacked me all wore Furin uniforms. When did our school's students fight with each other, even? Next, I noticed I was wearing something like Umemiya's coat; I swear I was just wearing a standard jacket before going out today.
When I got to the main street, I was even more shocked. The whole town looked like it just got raided, shops all closed and barricaded, graffiti strewn all over the place. The few people that I saw on the street were leering at me with so much hatred… And when I arrived at the school, the place had such a dark aura. There was more graffiti than I remember, more vulgar too, window panes broken, desks thrown onto the courtyard. It was even worse than during the fight with Noroshi.
As I made my way to the classroom, all the people in the hallways moved aside for me. Some of them nervously glanced at me, while others stared daggers, but everyone bowed at me without exception. I was wondering why, but my question got answered when I opened the classroom door and got greeted with "Good morning, Boss."
It was bewildering, really. At first, I thought this was a new nickname for me being a captain, but they all looked so solemn that I didn't think they were joking… Suo was there, but there was something different about the guy. Like he was even more cunning, more wicked. His jabs seemed to be full of poison, not just merely playful remarks. I looked around the class and saw most of the familiar faces were there, only missing two. Sugishita and you.
When I asked about beanpole, Suo looked taken aback and reminded me that I'd had kicked him out of school a long time ago. This just made me even more puzzled, so I asked what happened. Suo deadpanned at me and teased if I'd hit my head earlier that day. But eventually, he retold the entire story for me.
Turns out, in this weird universe where I ended up, Umemiya had lost disastrously against Takiishi, even got sent to the ICU. The whole Bofurin revolution and protecting the town hadn't occurred, hence the awful state that I witnessed before. When I came to Furin, I challenged Takiishi and beat him, so I actually became the top dog there. Sugishita, who enrolled at Furin to take revenge for Umemiya, planned to go against Takiishi, but since that guy already got knocked out by me, he went for me instead. And ultimately, I won against him, too. Suo sort of became my advisor, although I could sense that he was just seeing me as a puppet leader, always whispering directions to me so that I could act out his prepared plan.
And then, I asked about you. Suo frowned, saying he didn't know anybody at school with this name. Of course, I didn't believe it; that guy is practically joined to you by the hip, how could he not know your whereabouts? I said I'd go look for you myself, but it was partially an excuse to get out of there. It was suffocating and gloomy in there, I couldn't bear it anymore.
I looked for you in every nook and cranny of the school, but I couldn't find you anywhere. Honestly…I was scared, Nirei. I thought I was going mad. And maybe I was because I ran outside even though it started raining. I ran through every street of the town, digging through every corner, shouting your name. But still, I couldn't find you…
Isn't it strange? I've always dreamed of climbing to the top, to become Bofurin's number one. And now that I had, I felt so lonely despite being surrounded by so many people. And you weren't there, you weren't among them. No matter how hard I looked through the crowd, I couldn't find you…
I didn't know how long I'd been running in the rain. It was probably a long time, but it just felt like a blink of an eye to me. When I slowed down to take my breath, I saw something strange. Ahead of me, a flower wreath was hung on a utility pole. There were also some flowers at the bottom of the pole, but they were all battered by the rain. When I came closer, I found a picture frame in the middle of the wreath. It was a portrait of a teenage boy wearing the uniform of a nearby middle school. His hair was brown, his features more cherubic, but I could recognize those curly locks, those freckles, those honey eyes anywhere.
It was a photo of you, Nirei.
Then, Suo appeared with an umbrella out of nowhere. "I thought I've heard this name before, I just couldn't remember where," he said, and the grin on his lips sent chills down my spine. He proceeded to tell me a story that happened just several months ago, before this school year started. It was about a middleschooler who was bullied by his peers. One day, a group of Furin students caught them in the act. Yet they didn't stop the younger teens and even joined in with them, beating the boy almost to death. Somebody called the cop, so they dispersed before it came to that point, but in the end, the boy passed away while the ambulance was taking him to the hospital…
"You couldn't even make it to Furin, Nirei. The school that you dreamed of, and the people that you admired… They all turned their backs on you! Even that Suo, he was talking about your death as if it was just a daily occurrence…
"I couldn't stand it anymore, I broke into another run. At some point, I tripped and faceplanted to the ground. When I got up, I was so disoriented that I just let my feet carry me anywhere. They must have subconsciously brought me home. I opened the door, expecting to find an empty apartment, but then I saw you and…that bastard instead. My happiness upon seeing you quickly got replaced by blind rage, and the rest is history…"
At one point, Sakura had completely engulfed Nirei in a tight embrace. From this up close, the mimosa-haired boy could feel every tremble, every shaky breath that his friend let out. He was no different from a shaking little bird in Nirei's chest. The front of his uniform was no doubt thoroughly drenched because of the other teen, but he didn't mind one bit. This was nothing compared to the horrible experience that Sakura had been through.
In the short months that he'd known Sakura, never had he seen the boy talking so much, but that just proved how frightened, how traumatized he was. Nirei truly wished he would never have to be subjected to something like that ever again.
"It's okay. I'm here, Sakura-san. I'm right here with you," he whispered on top of the silver and raven locks, almost kissing them, while his hands never ceased rubbing Sakura's back in comfort circles. Still, even though he was the one soothing Sakura, he couldn't seem to ease his own mind.
For some reason, the news of his own death in another universe didn't disturb him as much as the fate of the other Sakura.
Wouldn't it be so heartbreaking if he had finally achieved his dream but continued treading in solitude, losing all the friends that he could've had? And where was he now? Had he even made it back to his world?
Now that he'd gotten a taste of this Sakura's life, one full of warmth and companionship, would he be able to go back to his old life?
What would happen to him, then?