Work Text:
It starts with an innocent slip of a knife.
Old man Kouji gasps, sets down the knife he'd been using to chop some carrots, and cradles his hands together. Sakura can see blood flowing lazily down his arm but can't see the injury itself. Does the old man still have his finger?! He draws his legs out from under the kotatsu and pushes up from the ground hurriedly to check the damage.
But Tsubaki beats him to the old man. He appears out of nowhere in a whirlwind of nervous energy, with rambled but pointed questions, "Are you hurt? Where? Oh, honestly, why didn't you ask one of us take over for you?! We can cook just fine! Sakura-kun, would you be a dear and grab a bandage and some disinfectant from the bathroom?"
Sakura hesitates. The sudden sense of urgency makes his heart pump with adrenaline, knuckles itching, as his body reacts to the abrupt switch between relaxation to danger faster than his brain, and it makes him want to stay in the room and fight off that danger. But his gaze roves over the room and there is no person, no danger, other than a simple chopping knife. Then Tsubaki's request finally registers. Sakura rushes to where he knows the bathroom is and grabs a roll of bandages from the shelves above the sink. He searches carefully for a disinfection and finds a little white bottle labeled Makiron that looks right.
When he comes back, Tsubaki is still scolding the old man. He has his hands on his hips and is going on about proper chopping techniques and hand placements. Despite being subjected to Tsubaki's nagging, old man Kouji only looks amused. Sakura pauses at the threshold of the kitchen. He suddenly feels out of place at the sight of them. Because even though Kouji is injured and Tsubaki is worried, the atmosphere is warm and they're laughing together.
But then Tsubaki looks over, as if sensing the eyes on him, and he smiles at Sakura, looking grateful. Sakura swallows thickly and heat spreads on his cheeks.
"You have what we need, don't you, Sakura-kun?" Tsubaki says. Sakura nods. The other boy beckons him over. "You're a life-saver, come here."
"My life was hardly over from a little cut," old man Kouji protests.
Tsubaki plucks the bandages and disinfection from Sakura's loose grasp and sets the bandages down on the counter. Then he takes Kouji's hand. "Hush, you," Tsubaki says.
Sakura curiously watches him spray the disinfectant on the old man's finger, which was thankfully just nicked and still fully attached to his hand. He honestly assumed the worst had happened. Especially with the way Tsubaki was acting so tense and didn't allow any space for nonsense. Sakura has seen plenty of people lose their teeth in fights, but never a finger or limb. The thought of it makes him shudder.
He draws nearer. Tsubaki then picks up the bandages and rolls the fabric over Kouji's finger with confident motions.
"This is why you should always be aware of your movements when cooking, Sakura-kun," Tsubaki says while he works. He sounds so much like a teacher that Sakura wrinkles his nose on instinct. Tsubaki snickers. "You can make a face all you like, but this is what you'll get if you don't listen!"
"Tasuku-chan," Kouji chides, "You're scaring the poor boy."
"'m not afraid of a knife," Sakura protests immediately. He's seen all sorts of weapons. He knows how to handle an unfair fight.
"No, but you might be afraid of cooking from now on," Kouji says.
"You'll still try to cook, won't you?" Tsubaki asks, horrified. "It's an important skill! Don't let yourself be deterred by an accident like this."
Sakura stares at the both of them dubiously. Well, he always gets back up when he's punched down. He doesn't see why cooking would be any different.
"I'll still try to cook," he says dutifully.
"Oh good," Tsubaki replies, relieved. He finally lets go of Kouji, only to whip around and grab a sponge from the sink. "What a mess! Sakura, be a dear and trash those carrots?"
Sakura nods. Some of them have blood on them now, definitely a lost cause.
"You move so fast, Tasuku-chan," Kouji says mournfully. "But you're forgetting something."
"What's that?" Tsubaki asks.
Kouji frowns. "Don't you remember what my lovely Yui-san used to do for your injuries?" He wiggles his fingers on his good hand and then points at his wound. "Come on, Tasuku-chan. Humor this old man."
Tsubaki groans but there's a wry smile on his lips. Clearly, whatever Kouji is getting at means something to Tsubaki. Sakura watches the scene with wide eyes.
"I thought you'd forgotten about that stuff, old man," Tsubaki says, shaking his head. "Alright, fine."
Tsubaki strides over to Kouji. He takes the old man's hand once again but this time he lifts the hand to his lips, and presses a kiss against the bandaged finger. Sakura's cheeks turn red. What—what's he doing kissing the wound?
"Ah," Kouji sighs out. "Much better."
Tsubaki drops his hand and goes back to cleaning the countertop just as easily. "Yes, yes. You're all better now, right?"
"You don't do it as well as my lovely Yui-san, but it'll do," the old man replies. He stretches his fingers out like he's testing them. Sakura furrows his brows, and then opens his mouth.
Tsubaki lets out an indignant sound. Startled, Sakura stops, whips his head around to check on him, but Tsubaki is only smiling and doesn't actually seem upset. "You know I can't compete with Yui-san!" he exclaims.
"No one can," Kouji says smugly.
"What was that?" Sakura demands, before they can continue their ridiculously confusing conversation. "Why'd you go and—and—do that to his wound!"
Two heads tilt to the side, staring at him. Sakura feels the heat on his face spread to his neck the longer they say nothing. How're they treating him as if his question is weirder than their actions?! He's not the strange one here!
He suddenly misses Suo and Nirei, who'd normally be at his side, and who seem to know exactly when Sakura misses a beat in conversation, and why. They're always quick to explain the stuff he doesn't get with their teasing grins. Tsubaki is good company and he's easy to get along with when they're alone, but sometimes Sakura still thinks like this—thinks of Suo and Nirei and how'd they'd chime in even when they aren't here. Kiryu, and Tsugeura, too. It's not very fair to Tsubaki, he thinks guiltily.
"Are you talking about the kiss?" Tsubaki asks. Sakura nods. "That was to make him feel better, of course."
"My wife Yui taught us that trick," old man Kouji adds, his voice gaining a romantic, wistful quality. He stares out the window, towards the dogwood plant she had planted before she passed. Sakura flushes. "She used to kiss all of Tasuku-chan's bruises so they wouldn't hurt anymore. Our Tasuku-chan was such a troublemaker, but you're the same, aren't you, Sakura-boy?"
Sakura frowns, feeling shy at the comment. Friendly adults are still uncharted territory for him. At least, he thinks this is Kouji being friendly. It doesn't really sound mean or like an insult even though he's pointing out how Tsubaki and Sakura are a couple of troublemakers.
Tsubaki told them the old couple had been so supportive of him since middle school, he remembers. They were always supportive and kind. Tsubaki had even looked teary-eyed telling them that stuff. Sakura shakes his head and reminds himself this isn't his old town. The adults here are strange but for the better.
"You're saying the k-kiss makes you feel better…?" he says uncertainly. "Isn't it just the disinfectant working?"
Tsubaki gasps. He whirls around from the counter, quickly approaching Sakura. He says, "Sakura-kun, are you saying you don't know about kissing it better?"
"Is that a real thing?" Sakura asks skeptically.
"It's only the oldest trick in the book!" Tsubaki replies. Old man Kouji nods enthusiatically beside them. "Medicine and bandages should always be applied first when it comes to wounds, of course, but don't underestimate the power of a heart-felt kiss afterwards."
H-Heart-felt kiss?! His face explodes into heat. How Tsubaki can say such ridiculous things with such a straight face is beyond Sakura's comprehension.
"It's true," old man Kouji adds. "I don't know how else to describe it, but you know how the disinfectant can sting?"
At this, Sakura nods slowly. He does know that feeling. He remembers applying ointment and disinfectant after a particularly brutal fight. He had bought the supplies with his meager allowance a long time ago before that but saved it for when he really needed it.
And he had truly needed it this one winter. It'd been colder than usual, the space heater he kept in the corner of the shed was on the fritz. His guardians kept promising to 'get a new one later', words that he heard for days that turned into weeks into months into the summer when he didn't need it anymore and all of them forgot about it only for the next winter to roll around. An unfailing, unbreakable cycle.
Sakura didn't allow himself to feel disappointed. He stopped asking them for such things. They couldn't be relied on for anything. Sakura only had himself. He had taken to hoarding blankets and towels.
But that winter he found out the cold made his wounds worse. His skin was fragile, dry and cracking thanks to the chilly winter air. It split easier. It didn't heal as quickly. He really needed the ointment then.
He remembers applying it with his shaky, bloody and skin-split hands, all alone in that shed. The tips of his fingers looked blue that day but he forced himself to continue. He remembers sitting back after he'd applied it, clenching his fingers into fists and hissing, biting his lower lip to keep his pathetic whimpers down, when the pain became stinging rather than the dull ache he was used to. His breaths came out behind chattering teeth in quick white puffs. He had put his mittens back on and bundled himself under his mound of blankets. The pain made it hard to fall asleep, but he had drifted off eventually.
Old man Kouji continues, "Well, the kiss makes that kind of pain go away like magic."
"Exactly," Tsubaki agrees, nodding. "It's like you're transferring all your good energy to that person and that way they don't feel hurt anymore."
If his guardians had kissed his wounds, his bruises, would he have fallen asleep easier back then? Except he can't imagine them ever giving him a kiss, or their kisses being "heart-felt" like Tsubaki described. That seems like the main requirement to make the magic work.
Could he have kissed his own wounds better? But he doesn't know how heart-felt it would be coming from himself either.
"Sounds weird," Sakura tells them.
"Nonsense," Kouji says, shaking his head. "Give it a try."
He reaches out to Sakura with his injured hand, lets it hover in the space between them. Sakura stays where he is and stares. He can't… he can't be serious.
Tsubaki smiles gently at Sakura and says, "How can you know for sure if you don't try it first?"
That, Sakura thinks begrudgingly, has a bit of truth to it. There's still plenty of things Sakura doesn't know and that's never been more apparent than when he first arrived in Makochi. If he hadn't tried Kotoha's omurice he would've never known he likes it. And if he had never come to Furin he wouldn't have known there was more to fighting than beating others for the sake of it. He wouldn't have known precious it is, to be in charge of a group of boys like his class.
Sakura shuffles forward. He feels stupid and brutish all of a sudden—like he's lumbering and leering with every step. It's the same way he always feels when he tries a new thing the others insist upon. And he just can't shake the feeling that he isn't meant for all this nice stuff they say he is, simply a punk who only ever uses his hands to punch and beat and nothing more than that, and they'll all find out for sure when he fails at it. A cruel sense of uncertainty crawls up his spine and attempts to deter him, but.
But then Tsubaki tugs his elbow up.
Old man Kouji's hands are colder than his own, and feel rather frail. At the same time, Sakura releases a breath. The contact between them is startling. Sakura holds his hand gently, afraid of using too much strength, but like Tsubaki had, he places his thumb across the old man's fingers. Sakura glances up to make sure that this is really okay and Kouji smiles back at him.
Slowly, Sakura ducks his head down and brushes his lips over the bandages on Kouji's finger. Then he pulls back, dropping his hand.
It wasn't horrible. Actually… there's something nice about being gentle like that, he thinks.
Tsubaki and Kouji are staring at him now.
"Did it… work?" Sakura asks, hesitant.
"Oh! Yes, of course," Old man Kouji answers. He cradles his hands together, then flexes his wounded one. "That really did the trick! Thank you, Sakura-kun, for helping this old man feel better."
"Whatever," Sakura says. His throat feels suddenly thick, and his gaze stays low to the ground. Could it really be true? He helped the old man by transferring his energy?
"You did it!" Tsubaki cheers. "I knew you could!"
Kouji laughs. "Alright, alright. You two must be hungry after all that excitement. I'll get lunch going again."
He shuffles over to the counter.
This time, Sakura glances at Tsubaki, frowning.
"Oh no, you don't. We're ordering take-out instead," Tsubaki announces, hands firmly on his hips.
"Whatever you say, Tasuku-chan," Kouji says.
Tsubaki flits around to landline, fingers twirling around the cord absently as he relays their order to a nearby restaurant. Kouji sits down at the kotatsu and after a moment, Sakura joins him. His gaze follows the old man's injury, then trails up to his face, searching for any sign of discomfort. There's nothing. Kouji is humming and pouring water into three small cups they left on the kotatsu.
Sakura watches him complete his task so easily despite his injury and thinks, and thinks, and thinks.
Sakura doesn't see it happen, but he hears Nirei cry out, a high-pitched keen that carries above the sound of knuckles hitting flesh.
A dark cloud rolls over the clear blue of Sakura's mind. Nirei shouldn't be making a sound like that. He glances over at Suo, who is engaged with his own pair of thugs but the other boy looks over like he can sense eyes on him. Whatever he sees on Sakura's face makes him tilt his head in Nirei's direction and nod. He shoves his opponent into another one and makes an opening for Sakura.
Nirei is on the ground, looking like he landed ass-first at the very least. The thug who knocked him down is gloating and cracking his knuckles. He's an idiot for leaving his guard down, especially when he's up against Bofurin, of all gangs. Sakura taps him on the shoulder and knocks his lights out when he turns around.
"Sakura-san, I'm sorry," Nirei warbles out. With careful eyes, Sakura examines him for injuries worse than some bruises and scrapes. He finds none. Good.
"It's fine if you fall down," Sakura says, as he reaches out his hand. Nirei takes it and Sakura pulls him to his feet with a small grunt of effort. He continues, "As long as you get back up afterwards."
"O-Of course!" Nirei exclaims. "Thanks for the help."
"Duh," Sakura says, averting his gaze.
With Nirei now back on his feet, Sakura turns his attention back on their opponents. They were a group of boys who had been making trouble at Akari-san's restaurant the day before, she told Bofurin. She had chased them out but was nervous about them returning and making even more trouble. Her suspicions were clearly correct.
During the time he'd spent helping Nirei, the others have now formed a perimeter around the two of them. Most of their opponents have already been sent packing. The smile Suo bares is a dangerous one, while Anzai is hollering some sort of warning at the punks, and Kakiuchi bounces on the balls of his feet excitedly, waiting for round two.
And just looking at that, the rest of the punks wisely turn tail and run.
Sakura scoffs.
"You're never satisfied, Captain," Anzai says, suddenly at his side and nudging him very insistently.
"Get off me," Sakura says.
Anzai wraps an arm around his shoulders and shakes Sakura. "I'm beginning to fear nobody will give a fight good enough for our captain," he bemoans.
"I've heard people who are afraid of the truth perform at a lower rate on their English exams than those who embrace the truth," Suo says.
"Is that true?" Anzai asks, pausing from shaking Sakura.
Suo hums and taps a finger on his chin. "Depends. Are you afraid if the answer is yes?"
"No," Anzai declares.
"Then it's a yes to answer being no," Suo says.
"Oh, great," Anzai sighs out. Then he frowns. "Wait, what? Sakura—?"
"Don't look at me, I don't know what he means either," Sakura says, snorting. He's just glad for once it's not him Suo is messing with.
"Hey, it's probably not as bad as you're thinking," Kakiuchi says. Which then shuts up the three of them. They look over to see Kakiuchi tugging Nirei's wrist towards him. "Let's see those hands."
"It's nothing compared to your guys' injuries," Nirei is protesting.
Sakura frowns. Those guys were nothing. He imagines they don't have wounds bigger than some bruised knuckles. But he also just doesn't like the way Nirei said his part. If he's wounded, he's wounded. They'll all fix each other up no matter how the injuries got there. He's an important member of their patrol too.
Sakura wanders over.
Kakiuchi is flipping Nirei's hands up. Sakura peers over his shoulder. There are angry red scrapes on his palms, with pebbles and dirt pressed into his skin. Probably from when he fell on his ass. Sakura looks around, bends down and reaches for one of the water bottles they'd tossed out of the way earlier.
"I'm sure there are plenty of bandages to go around," Suo says gently. On cue, Anzai pulls out a roll from his bag.
Sakura passes the water bottle to Kakiuchi, who gives him a grin and thank you. The other boy pours some water on Nirei's palm and uses it to wash away the dirt. He hums while he does it. A little tune Sakura thinks he's heard in passing, maybe from one of their classmates' ringtones.
The others huddle close and watch Kakiuchi work curiously, Sakura included. Kakiuchi has become something of a field medic on their patrols. His parents own a pharmaceutical place on the other side of Makochi, he had told them, off-hand, as the others stared at a fancy looking face lotion he'd taken out of his backpack. Usually he just chatters on about the new best facial cleanser or pimple patches, but then he'll take charge in moments like this. He definitely has the best medical knowledge out of all of Class 1-1.
Kakiuchi makes quick work of Nirei's scrapes and bandages him up, as nimble and as confident as Tsubaki had been. "There you go," Kakiuchi says. "No big deal, right?"
"R-right," Nirei replies, gaining confidence with every second, "Thank you."
"Does it still hurt?" Sakura asks, suspiciously.
Nirei seems unsure of the question. He glances at Kakiuchi and then Sakura. "It stings a little," he admits. "But that's normal after getting injured, right?"
So then, Nirei doesn't know about the—the thing.
"Aren't you gonna…?" Sakura says. Kakiuchi knows a lot about medicine, after all. He should know the trick. "You know."
Kakiuchi raises both eyebrows, perplexed. "What?"
"That thing you do to make it hurt less, you know," Sakura says impatiently. His face feels warm. He wills Kakiuchi to understand without him actually having to say the word 'kiss' out loud. It doesn't seem to be working.
"Ointment?" Suo offers, tilting his head. "Is that what you mean, Sakura-kun?"
And normally, Sakura would be able to agree with Suo, that he found the word he was looking for, because he often knows exactly what Sakura is actually trying to get across. But not this time. It only serves to frustrate Sakura more.
He approaches Nirei directly. Huffing, Sakura takes one of his wrists, flips it palm-up, and then lifting so it's level with his mouth. Just doing it is easier than explaining, he thinks. Sakura always has been a man of action after all.
Nirei's hands are warmer than his own and smaller. They aren't as frail as old man Kouji's but he still has less callouses around his knuckles than Sakura and they're softer. That will change as he continues learning to fight. Because Nirei will get injured again, eventually, and he'll get back up, again. Just like the rest of them.
Sakura closes his eyes and tries to focus on his good energy, as it must be heart-felt.
He presses his lips to Nirei's bandaged palm.
"There," Sakura says, leaning back and letting go. "It hurts less now."
Nirei works his jaw like he means to say something but nothing comes out. He clutches his hands to his chest. The others are silent.
"It's… um," Sakura says haltingly, less confident now. Everyone is staring at him. He scratches a spot on his cheek, and the skin feels hot. "I heard it's supposed to hurt less when you do that. Maybe I didn't do it right—"
"So it is! I mean—you did. You did it," Nirei says. He nods quickly, his head bobbing up and down so violently it may fall off. Sakura blinks at his frenzy. "It does—it—it hurts way less. Actually, it doesn't hurt at all anymore! Thank you, Sakura-san."
"My, my," Suo says. "And where did you learn a skill like that?"
"It's just a trick I learned," Sakura mutters. He's flustered but less so as they keep talking.
"But who taught you, I wonder?" Suo says.
"Suo, seriously get a grip, man," Anzai says, shaking his head.
Kakiuchi snickers. "I gotta tell Kiryu about this."
"Guys," Nirei cuts through, his tone exasperated. "Sakura-san, don't worry about them. Thank you for making me feel better."
"Hey, Sakura, I think I have a bruise right here," Anzai says, twisting around and clutching his own arms. He points at a spot on his forearm. It looks vaguely yellow-ish-green. "Could you?"
A hand lands on Sakura's shoulder, holding him in place from where he'd been taking a step towards Anzai. Sakura looks over. Suo smiles back at him.
"I'm sure this skill takes a lot out of the user," Suo says, squeezing Sakura's shoulder. Sakura jerks back instinctively, but Suo doesn't let go. "We shouldn't push Sakura-kun further than his limits. He may lose focus."
"I know Kiryu likes to joke but we're not actually in a video game," Kakiuchi says. "There's no cool-down in real life."
Suo still holds him firmly, the touch reminds him of the weighted blanket had gotten one year. It was possibly his best find ever, the only thing that kept him warm when the space heater broke. Sakura lifts his gaze a few centimeters to meet Suo's eye.
"That's not true at all. Muscles can get sore after using them too much. It stands to reason kisses can take a lot of effort in the same way," Suo says without looking away from Sakura. "And it certainly seems like you put a lot of effort into that one, Sakura-kun."
And Sakura quails under his intense gaze. He doesn't know the reason for it, but he feels a bit like prey at the moment.
"Does it? Does it stand to reason?" Kakiuchi huffs. Then he laughs a little, shakes his head, and seems to return to his easy-going nature. "Ah, whatever, be that way. Sakura, in my medical opinion you can only use that technique a few times a day, or it won't work and… I don't know, you may lose focus or whatever the hell Suo said."
Sakura is already lost. "Tsubaki didn't say anything about a limit."
"Ah, so it was Tsubaki-san," Suo says, and his eye suddenly crinkles at the corner, a smile lifting his lips. Sakura feels his lips twitch in response, also instinctive.
"Oh, please. It's not like you ever get hurt anyway," Anzai says. Sakura raises both eyebrows at that, confused. "Dumbass. Should've thought of that before you wanna start stealing k—"
"Oh-kay!" Nirei says forcefully while also covering Anzai's mouth. "That's enough excitement for right now. Let's get back to the patrol!"
Suo lets his hand fall away from Sakura's shoulders. Sakura can't seem to vocalize the way he wishes the other boy hadn't. He steps closer to Suo instead.
"Sure," Sakura says, "If you guys are done with—whatever that was."
"Oh, Sakura," Kakiuchi says, tutting and shaking his head. "This isn't even close to over."
-
Something shifts after that.
Not just with that little group but the whole class moves differently. Sakura figured that might happen. These guys focus on the shit he doesn't even give a second glance, and they're all a bunch of insatiable gossips. What he did must've spread like wildfire.
Curiously, there's nothing about his new trick in the big class chat, or even the smaller one that includes only his vices, Tsugeura and Kiryu. Sakura thinks there might be a chat without him out there. He's not upset about that. It's annoying when the others spam the big chat and his phone dings so quickly he fears it may explode. If they have another chat they can spam, that's actually better for him. Plus he figures if anything really important is brought up, Nirei and Suo will report it to him.
Well. That's only if they're in it too. Maybe they aren't. Maybe there's a major class conspiracy. A chat without their officers. Who knows what those guys talk about without them. Huh. Now that he thinks about it that's… that's a bit scary. But a concept for another time.
Either way. Sakura notices a difference because he can be observant and he especially is when it comes to his damn class of idiots.
Because—he expects it. To get shit for the kiss. He wasn't trying to be romantic. Just heart-felt like Tsubaki said. But other people don't have the same romance-sensitivity as he does and Sakura has seen his classmates tease each other for their attempts at being romantic. He's seen them make kiss-y faces and smooching noises when a classmate smiles dopily at a love-dovey text message. Grins and shoves after a classmate holds the door open for a girl. Demands for some chocolates after hearing about their success on Valentine's Day.
But actually, they don't do anything like that for Sakura.
Instead, there are more injuries and more demand for his trick.
He thinks he's imagining it at first. After all, it's very common in their line of activity. They all get injured (except Suo, never Suo, and not even now, but then he's always been the exception to—to just about everything), but his revolving door of patrol-mates are clumsier, getting bruises and cuts more easily than before. It's from stupid accidents too. They'll walk into the doorframe, or pick up some broken glass with their bare hands like idiots.
And then, they point at the wound and look at Sakura with—with a Look.
He doesn't know how else to describe it, there's a specific combination. Like a silent, universal agreement that this is how it's done. The quiver of their lips, the wide, shiny eyes, and a soft utterance of "Sakura, could you?" as if he has the answers to all their problems.
What else can he do but help them? And so he does, damnit. He gives them his kisses.
And this too must some sort of conspiracy, he thinks, but he can't find the punchline, the endgame. It doesn't feel like the cruel and unique branch of torment the people in his old town would use. Stuff like befriend the town freak, just to make a scene of berating him publicly to humiliate him afterwards. This is some sincere third option. Maybe they just like the feeling, maybe it works just as well as Tsubaki says, or maybe they've always been so clumsy and he's just more aware of it because he finally has a remedy for it.
Sakura lets it happen, still ruminates on the meaning of it all, sullen and suspicious, but one day—
"Sakura-chan," Kiryu says, frowning with his lower lip jutted out. He pulls up the sleeves of his Furin jacket, revealing a bruise. Sakura knows what's coming next and is already on the move. "Could—"
"I can take care of that," Suo interrupts.
"What," Sakura says.
"What," Kiryu says.
Suo smiles. A few of the other guys on patrol with them, Kurita and Takanashi namely, take a step back.
"I'll take the honors this time," Suo elaborates. "If that works for you, Sakura-kun."
Sakura feels as though he's been dunked head-first into ice water. Suo—Suo is going to give Kiryu a kiss?! His gut churns, his palms getting sweaty. He doesn't like that idea.
He lets it happen anyway.
Who is he to control Suo's actions? Demand he not do something just because it makes Sakura uncomfortable? He said he would trust them and their choices. This is certainly—a choice.
Suo gives a brief kiss to Kiryu's wrist. His lips are very pink. And they look… soft. It must feel nice. He murmurs something to the other, and Kiryu laughs lightly, gives a reply that makes Suo smile again. Sakura's stomach flutters with dread.
Sakura has never had the chance to perform this skill on him. Suo still never gets injured, not even when the others increase with accidents. He remains the same, untouched, avoiding wounds, and dancing around his opponents with his usual grace. But there is some tension in his shoulders, these days. There is tension in his shoulders right now. Sakura squints at him.
"Good as new," Suo says simply, finally backing away. "I did well, didn't I?"
"Sure," Kiryu says, then bluntly, "But you're not as good as Sakura-chan."
"No one is," Takanashi blusters.
Kurita says solemnly, "You're very brave, Kiryu."
Brave, he says. Oh, yes, Kiryu is so brave for accepting a kiss from Suo. Just so fucking brave.
"Are we done here?" Sakura snarls impatiently. Give him a goddamn break.
Suo stares at him for a moment. "… of course, Sakura-kun. Let's continue on."
-
"Are you mad at Kiryu-san?" Nirei asks during lunch the next day.
Sakura, in the middle of lifting his food to his mouth, pauses. "What? No!" Sakura is honestly confused. He puts his utensil down. "What would I be mad at him for?"
"That's what I was wondering, too," Nirei admits. He looks down at his journal, then places his pencil on the desk. "Takanashi said you got mad the other day. Not your typical Sakura-isms either. You really looked like you wanted to deck Kiryu in the face—but that's his words, not mine."
"My what," Sakura says blankly.
Nirei flushes, his gaze skittering everywhere else in the classroom. "When you get… you know. When you get fake mad at us because you get embarrassed."
"I don't get fake mad," Sakura hisses, embarrassed at how transparent he apparently is. "All of my emotions are real and genuine!"
"You're doing it right now," Nirei points out, and he laughs a little. "But it's okay, I understand. That's just how you express yourself."
Sakura gives him the stink eye just a little longer, but Nirei has become mostly immune to his glaring these days. Sakura is proud. Well, proud but also annoyed.
"I didn't want to punch Kiryu," Sakura mumbles. "We were on patrol and the other guys were doing some ridiculous stuff. I was just annoyed."
"Ridiculous stuff," Nirei echoes. "Like what?"
"They got fixated on that kissing trick," Sakura says.
Nirei makes a strange face, and he sounds hesitant when he asks, "Fixated? Did they… pressure you?"
"No, what? No," Sakura says, scoffing. As if he'd let those idiots pressure him into something he didn't want to do. "It's just… Kiryu asked me to do it for him as usual, but Suo wanted to try it instead. He gave Kiryu a kiss. The others were weird about it. I mean, it was weird."
"Suo… kissed Kiryu," Nirei repeats.
"To make him feel better," Sakura says. "Remember, the trick?"
Nirei makes it sound like… Suo kissed Kiryu on the mouth, like romantically. That's not what was happening. That's an important distinction. It's important to him that Nirei knows the difference.
"Yes, I remember," Nirei says faintly. Then he clears his throat. "He did it, instead of you, for Kiryu. Suo did. Our Suo-san."
"Our Suo," Sakura confirms.
"That's unbelievable!" Nirei says.
Sakura blurts, "Right?! I thought so too. And everyone else just let it happen!"
"So that's why you were flustered," Nirei says. He picks up his pencil and flips to another page of his journal. Sakura glances down at his scribblings. He furrows his brows. Nirei says, "You didn't want them to kiss."
"It was on the wrist," Sakura reminds Nirei, "and only to make him feel better—using the kiss trick."
"That's what I said," Nirei says.
Sakura shifts in his seat. Somehow that didn't sound like it, again. Sakura had to make sure.
"Well, hey," Nirei says, clearing his throat. When he looks at Sakura, his expression is gentle. "They'll all get bored of this eventually, and we'll move onto the next trend for another couple weeks and so on."
"I haven't been kissing them to be trendy," Sakura says angrily, his stomach feeling funny, "I didn't even know it was a trend. I thought I was—" helping, he doesn't finish.
It's embarrassing for his trick to be mistaken as him hopping on a trend rather than carrying out a sincere action. But he can't come out and call it a sincere action either, because it's somehow even more embarrassing to call attention to it. He's not some naturally altruistic guy, nor does he want the praise for helping when it's something anyone could and would do for the others.
But naturally, Nirei seems to understand him. His eyes widen.
"Oh no, Sakura-san, I didn't mean it like that." Nirei grimaces. "I know you want to help us feel better when you kiss us. I just meant, our guys… How should I put this? You must have surprised them when you first pulled this trick out—you definitely surprised me—and that hyped them up, especially when you only kissed the injured guys, which made the act kind of exclusive too. So that made them want to be part of it like joining a trend. Once they figure out you are going to keep doing it for everyone, they'll get used to it and it'll be another part of our everyday life. That's what I was trying to say."
"That—that makes sense, I think," Sakura says.
He more than thinks. Relief floods him. So he did understand Sakura after all. Nirei is good at diffusing the complicated and hurtful stuff, he thinks privately. This is yet another thing he's grateful for.
Then something occurs to Sakura.
"Do you think Suo's kiss will become the next trend?" he asks. He really hopes the answer is no. The thought upsets him.
Nirei makes a sudden, incomprehensible noise, which then turns into a serious of harsh coughs. Sakura frowns, alarmed, and his hands hover towards Nirei but he doesn't touch. "I'm okay," Nirei gasps out, smacking his chest with a fist, and he repeats, "I'm okay. You caught me off guard, that's all."
"Be more careful," Sakura scolds.
"Right," Nirei says breathlessly. "And to answer your question, no. No I don't think Suo kissing the others will become a trend."
"But—" Sakura protests.
Nirei interrupts him. "Trust me. I'm sure this was a one-time thing."
"If you say so," Sakura says dubiously.
-
It is not a one-time thing.
-
The injuries are less frequent now, but they can't be cut out altogether. Not in their line of work. And Suo. Keeps. Doing. It.
Taking Sakura's skill to perform on his own. He spreads an arm out to physically block Sakura from moving forward, then—
"Let me, Sakura-kun," says Suo, after Anzai scrapes his knee by falling on the pavement.
"I can handle this, Sakura-kun," says Suo, after Kurita takes a nasty kick to the chest.
Not a trend, Sakura's fucking ass. It's not a one-fucking-time thing, not even close. Nirei was dead wrong! The trend is alive and kicking, and spearheaded by no other than Suo himself. Sakura can kiss the guys just fine, as he had been. But Suo won't let him… He can't get a fucking read on the guy. Suo wants to help, he wants to do this, let me, let me, Sakura-kun—but why?! What's he get out of stealing away Sakura's new skill for himself?
Does he honestly want to give them kisses? Is that the reason? A red flush crawls up his neck and settles high on his cheeks. The idea drives Sakura nuts!
Then, Tsugeura takes a mean right-hook to the cheek. Sakura looks over at Suo instinctively. He sees him close his eye, then commit, and walk over. Sakura's blood positively boils in his veins. Out of all of them, even Tsugeura? Has Suo lost his damn mind?! He doesn't even like the guy!
"Stop," Sakura says, as his temper suddenly simmers all the way down to an icy calm.
The others freeze. Suo included.
"This has gone on long enough," Sakura continues, "This is the last one. Nobody gets kisses anymore."
Not if they're gonna—gonna—
Abuse the system. Take Suo's kisses so greedily. Let Suo offer himself up in place of Sakura. So many reasons and thoughts pop up in his mind. Isn't Sakura good enough? Why did Suo even start offering himself?
Well, none of that will matter anymore.
"Here," Sakura says, and he takes the initiative. He goes to his tip-toes to press his lips against Tsugeura's cheek. "It's done."
Tsugeura doesn't seem magically better. None of the others will look him in the eye suddenly. Sakura has made some sort of mistake. Regret prickles in his chest.
"And so it ends not with a bang but a whimper," Suo says.
"It ends with your weird as shit sayings," Sakura tells him. He's angry, he's confused. He wants the fluttering feeling in his stomach to stop. Just listen, he wants to say, and then comes up with nothing else to explain himself. Instead, he says, "Just shut up already."
"No, I don't think I will," Suo replies, and his gaze is intense, pinning Sakura in place. What the fuck is that supposed to mean?
"Uh oh," says Anzai.
"A fight between good friends is hard to watch," Tsugeura chimes in, "This is so not virtuous of you two."
"Good friends," Anzai repeats, oddly.
"Okay, nope. I think we'll continue the patrol from here," Kurita says. He grabs the other two before Sakura or Suo can say another word.
And then it's just them, alone on the street.
"You got something you wanna say so badly?" Sakura snarls. "Then out with it."
"Fine," Suo says, smiling viciously. "I sure hope you are including yourself in this newly imposed rule of yours from now on."
Though his words are restrained, barely a challenge on their own, the gritted edge in his voice rears up something intriguing and new in Sakura. His icy calm melts away. This feels like no other fight Sakura has been in before, and yet, his nerves are set alight just the same. A fluttering sensation in his stomach makes him itch to pummel something. Just not Suo's face, somehow.
And as if he feels the difference too, Suo's face is a thunder cloud of dark emotion. A far cry from the usual smug expression he wears. Sakura drinks in the sight greedily, fascinated and fired up.
"I treat everyone the same," Sakura says.
"Do you?" Suo asks, lips curling again. He looks like he's trying to be vicious. Sakura thinks the expression falls flat, but maybe it's because he's too distracted by his pink mouth. "Say, if I had gotten injured, back then…?"
Sakura immediately scoffs, shakes his head.
Injured? Suo? Pigs would learn to fly first.
"You hypocrite," Suo says meanly.
The provocation falls just as flat as before.
Such a faker, Sakura thinks. He knows Suo too well by now to be distracted by his little plays. If Suo wants him to look one way, he'll just have to go the other. He thinks, he really thinks hard about the thing Suo isn't saying.
"You're doing it right now," Nirei says, "…that's just how you express yourself."
And then Sakura abruptly, understands everything.
"You don't get hurt, dumbass!" Sakura says, echoing Anzai's sentence from weeks ago. He—a strangled noise leaves his throat—he realizes what the other was implying, now. "I would've if you ever slipped, obviously, because I don't treat anyone differently. So just say what you want already."
"I want a kiss from you," Suo says plainly.
"You bastard, you should've just asked me in the first place!" Sakura tells him fiercely, fists clenched at his side. His face must be bright red, his heart feels like it may burst from his chest. "Instead of—hey, all those times you were kissing them—was that—?!"
"I didn't like seeing you kiss those guys," Suo says sourly. He looks so obviously displeased that Sakura chokes down a laugh before it escapes him. "I took that burden from you. You're welcome."
"I was helping them," Sakura returns—damn him—fondly, "It wasn't like… Well, even if I give you one right now, it won't be like it was for them."
Ridiculous, it's all so ridiculous. Especially when Suo immediately brightens, and Sakura has no other option but to sink his teeth in his own bottom lip to stop from doing something stupid like smiling back.
"Even better," Suo says, which makes Sakura flush harder. "I know I'm not physically injured, but please take responsibility for the strain in my heart."
Sakura sputters. "How can you just say something so—so—"
"Romantic?" Suo supplies.
"Greasy," Sakura says.
"Always adding insult to injury, Sakura-kun," Suo says mournfully. Still, he leans down, tilting his head for easy access to his cheek.
Sakura's heart races, a rabbit trapped in his chest. He wants to kiss Suo. He can kiss Suo. He realizes it so easily, like staring out at the dogwood from old man Kouji's house.
He presses his lips to Suo's cheek. Then leans back.
Suo brings up one hand to his own cheek, fingers touching the spot Sakura had kissed.
"Wonderful," Suo says. "But you missed a spot."
"It can't be helped," Sakura replies stubbornly, trying his own hand at annoying Suo with his own—his Suo-isms, to quote Nirei.
And Suo says, "It can. If we just work together like the good friends we are."
"Shut the fuck up," Sakura says, a laugh knocked loose from his lips.
"Make me," says Suo.
And well, Sakura can't resist a challenge.