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Hiragi doesn't get paid enough to deal with this shit.
Actually, he doesn't get paid at all, which is even worse!
He doesn't mind training with his juniors, he really doesn't! But there's just something about this particular group of first years that ruffles his feathers in all the wrong ways. Too chaotic, too stress inducing, too eager to beat each other to a pulp. He had only been here in the school gym for half an hour and he was already way past the recommended dosage of stomach medication.
There was just too much he needed to keep track of. He had to make sure Sugishita didn't accidentally break training equipment again with his brutish strength, he needed to watch that Kiryu didn't slack off somewhere on his phone, he needed to look out that Anzai and his little friend group didn't goof off instead of training. You know, the usual shenanigans.
Though honestly, all of that wasn't as bad as trying to wrangle their class captain.
Sakura was one big ball of energy, maybe even more than usual. Probably because there hadn't been any major fights in the past week or so. The teen lived to fight, so when they were finally having a training session, the boy didn't hesitate to jump at the opportunity to challenge anyone and everyone to fight him.
Because Hiragi is a responsible senpai (and doesn't want the two-toned boy to injure someone) he accepted his fate and took Sakura on when the teen eventually asked. This led them to this point, a good while later, still fighting each other.
The older didn't want to admit it, but the bi-colored teen kept him on his toes. Both were covered in sweat and panting, their knuckles were bloody and Sakura had a busted lip after a well-aimed kick from his upperclassman. The blond was really hoping the other would finally call it quits since they had been at it almost nonstop for like twenty minutes, but unfortunately for him the younger seemed to have different plans.
The boy dashed at the older teen and threw his fist at him yet again. Hiragi effectively dodged and blocked every new attack. He threw a few punches of his own and managed to nail the boy in the side (he inwardly cringed at the sound of the impact). The attack left the two-toned teen clutching his side with a wheeze, but it quickly became clear the boy had a bit more fight left in him.
Sakura ran at him again, jumped up in the air and raised his leg up. He then brought it down upon the other like a battle axe. Hiragi raised his arms up just in time to block the critical hit.
One moment, the two were using all their remaining strength to push against each other, neither giving an inch.
The next, Sakura's leg just.. fell off.
Both boys' eyes widened as the bi-colored teen's lower leg bent upward just below the knee before seemingly detaching from the rest of his body. Hiragi jumped back in shock and the grade captain fell to the ground as he completely missed his landing.
The boy's now unattached leg still held momentum after the harsh clash with Hiragi's arms and ripped itself away from his trouser leg. It flew through the air for a moment before slamming straight into the back of Anzai's head, who had been sparring with Takanashi just behind the two. It then clattered to the ground several feet away from the duo. The sound of metal hitting the floor echoed through the gym and almost everyone turned to look at them.
The blond man's eyes went from looking at his underclassman to staring at the prosthetic leg that was now lying on the floor a little distance away from them. He then looked back at Sakura, who was also staring at the detached leg but definitely not with as much shock as him.
Meanwhile Anzai was staring at the leg lying beside him with a face so pale he looked about ready to pass out.
All Hiragi could do was look down at his junior and suppress the urge to immediately down a whole box of stomach medicine. Maybe two.
"What the fuck."
That seemingly seemed to snap Sakura out of his stupor and he awkwardly moved his fingers through his hair. "Ah, sorry. Must not have attached it properly this morning." he said apologetically.
The gym was dead silent.
"I.. don't think that is the issue here.." one of his classmates muttered quietly after a moment, eyes wide. Because, while your leg flying off mid-kick was an issue, so was not fucking telling anyone that you even had a prosthesis! Even Suo and Nirei, who were closest to their captain, were looking at the leg in question in shock. Well, their one-eyed vice was trying to hide his surprise while the other looked almost as pale as Anzai did.
"Sakura," the only third year on the room breathed out. The younger looked up at him and had the absolute gall to not even look mildly bothered about the situation. "Since when do you have a prosthetic leg?" he asked exasperatedly. Seriously, he'd gonna need some paid vacation days after dealing with these kids..
The other raised an eyebrow, like it was a stupid thing to ask. "Couple of years. Why?" he replied, clearly not seeing a problem here.
"Then why, pray tell, did you not mention it to any of us?" Hiragi honestly didn't know if he should be mad or impressed that the boy managed to keep this majoy detail about himself hidden from him and, judging from all the shocked stares around them, all his classmates as well.
The older boy wasn't sure what kind of response he expected, but he sure as hell didn't expect the other to look downright confused. "I thought you already knew?" he retorted with a frown. Hiragi honestly wanted to pull out his hair at this response. "Wha- How could we have known you have a prosthesis?!" he cried out in frustration.
"You guys didn't notice?"
"You never said anything!"
"I thought it was obvious."
"How the hell is that obvious?!"
"You can literally hear the metal clinking when I walk??"
"I just- ugh!" Hiragi groaned out. Seriously, what's with this kid? Who the hell shows up in a new place and thinks everyone will automatically realize he's an amputee?
Sakura decided to ignore him for a moment and crawled over to his missing leg. He checked the medical device over for potential damage before pulling his pant leg up. Everyone watched as the sock-covered stump came into view. He was a below the knee amputee, which probably helped smooth out his movements a lot when he walked and fought. The boy put the prosthesis back in place before pushing himself up onto his feet so he could let his weight push his stump further into the socket before fastening a few straps.
"Right, let's continue." he said as he slid the trouser leg back in place and dusted his pants off. He looked up to find Hiragi dumping a handful of pills into his mouth and his classmates staring at him with dumbfounded looks. "..what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Surely this wasn't as big of a deal as these guys were making it seem?
That was apparently all that was needed to throw the room into complete chaos.
"You're missing a leg and you didn't tell us?!" one boy cried out.
"You're supposed to disclose shit like that to us, captain!" another one yelled.
"Where did your real leg go?" questioned another.
"Can I touch it?" of course someone wants to touch the damn prosthesis..
"Why didn't you tell us, Sakura-san? What happened to your leg?!" an easily distinguished voice cried out. The bi-colored teen turned to find Nirei standing beside him. The boy looked both frightened and.. strangely excited? His hands where already flipping through his notebook to find the right page to note this new information down.
Sakura sighed and scratched at the back of his head. "Ah, it's not that big of a deal." he said as he watched a few dozen eyes stare at his leg like it was a new mystery to be unraveled. "I got into a hit-and-run a couple of years ago. Survived but lost the leg. Nothing else to note about it. Two out of ten, would not recommend."
"Damn, I wonder what he would consider an one out of ten."
"Probably being stabbed 23 times in the back or something."
"Yeah I can see that.."
Suo quietly walked over as the conversations around them moved to the topic of 'most painful deaths' for some reason. He watched as his fellow vice captain wrote in his notebook while their two-toned friend bent down to fiddle around some more with his prosthesis.
"That must have been quite a hit. Did they catch the person who struck you?" he mentioned casually, though on the inside he was silently fuming at the fact that someone had apparently almost killed his friend with their car.
Sakura looked up from his leg with a raised eyebrow. "Catch them? What do you mean?" he asked. The one-eyed boy tilted his head. "Well, if it was a hit-and-run they drove off without stopping, correct? Did the police find out who did it?" he tried again, but his captain just stared at him like he was crazy.
"Why would they go after them? Wasn't it my fault I was hit?" he asked, confused. His blond friend looked up from his notebook. "Oh, did you cross without looking?" he questioned. It wouldn't be too surprising if that was the case. He hadn't gotten a precise age out of his friend yet, but if he was a little kid when it happened it wouldn't be too shocking if he ran out into the road without looking. Kids can be stupid like that.
"Well, no, I was on a crosswalk." Sakura replied almost offended. "Pretty sure I heard that the car ran a red light as well, but I don't see why that matters anyway. The police said it was my fault, so that's it." he said with a shrug.
Nirei bit his lip. "There's so much wrong with that statement.." he muttered under his breath. What the hell is wrong with law enforcement if they treat a victim of a hit and run like this? Honestly, they don't really have cops here in Makochi anymore, but if they're all like the one's in Sakura's home town he'd rather not have them anyway.
The rest of the class, seemingly having overheard their conversation, looked pretty shaken by the revelation. Most of them had lived in Makoshi for most of their lives and while they knew gang violence, the residents and the few law enforcers they had had always been very nice. To hear what their friend had gone through was a bitter pill to swallow.
Seemingly noticing the troubled expressions on his classmates' faces, the class 1-1 captain let out a sigh and crossed his arms. "It's doesn't matter anyway. It happened five years ago and I've adapted to the way my body is now." he said. "I'm still just as strong as before the accident, maybe even stronger. So don't go treating me like some kind of invalid, got it?"
Then, with a smirk, he added, "I won't hesitate to kick your ass if you do."
The other teens all looked at him for a few seconds before their worried expressions slowly changed into smiles. Sakura was right. In the end, this little discovery changed nothing. The bi-colored boy had already been an amputee for many years before even coming to their town and was one of their strongest fighters. There's no reason to pity him or hold their punches just because they now knew one of his legs was made of silicone and metal instead of flesh and bone.
"Man, if our captain is this much better than us while missing a leg, we really ought to step up our game if we want to keep up!" one of the boys yelled with clear determination. Cries of agreement echoed through the room as the class resumed their training with renewed vigor.
Sakura watched his classmates with a small smile. He was happy to see that they were so quick to accept his situation and move past the topic.
He wasn't joking when he said he had honestly thought they already knew. Back in his hometown everyone had always immediately been able to tell he had lost a leg after the accident. Just one look at his unstable walk and they quickly realized that the rumors surrounding him were true. He had simply presumed that it would be the same here in Makochi. That they would've either hear rumors or that they could tell from a simple glance.
He supposed he kinda forgot that his gait wasn't as wobbly as it used to be..
Well, misunderstandings aside, he was glad they didn't think less of him because of his disability. He didn't think they would, not after already accepting his unusual hair and eye colors. Compared to that, a missing leg seemed way more 'normal' in his eyes.
He stretched his arms out above him, popping his shoulders. Right, he should probably go back to sparring as well. He can't let these guys get ahead of him in terms of skill, after all.
Yet, before he could take a single step, Nirei took a hold of the back his shirt. "Sakura-san," he started, making the other look at him. The blond looked a bit nervous, but more than that he just looked worried.
"Does it still hurt?" he asked carefully. Sakura bit his lip, unsure how to answer that question. In truth, the phantom pain was an absolute bitch to live with. The added pain of the daily pressure on the sensitive skin of his stump didn't help either. So yeah, it hurt like a motherfucker, but he sure as hell wasn't going to say that to his friends. He would never hear the end of it!
"Only sometimes." he finally answered. "It doesn't bother me, so don't worry about it." This thankfully seemed to placate Nirei as the shorter boy nodded in understanding. Suo, however, wasn't fooled by his words. And neither was Hiragi.
"Suo, Nirei. Get back to training." the older teen said as he looked at them. The two hesitated for a moment before looking at each other, nodding, and getting back into position to start training again.
The upperclassman then turned his gaze towards the young captain again. "Sakura, come with me for a second." Hiragi said as he led the boy to the side of the gym. The other teen complied, but did raise an eyebrow at the older boy.
Hiragi stared down at his underclassman for a moment, taking in his form. It was quite interesting how you truly couldn't tell he was an amputee from the way he moved. He doubt they would've ever found out if this incident didn't happen and Sakura never showed them his leg himself.
"What do you want?" the younger of the two asked, hands in his pockets. He seemed to be trying to look indifferent, but the blond could see the slight tension in the boy's shoulders. He promptly realised that the other probably thought he was in trouble or feared that Hiragi would set new rules for him now that his secret (which apparently wasn't even supposed to be a secret) was revealed.
The taller boy thumbed at the box of stomach medicine in his pocket with a sigh. "You're not in trouble." he clarified. "I just wanted to ask something about your leg. Both the prosthesis and your leg itself."
Sakura stared at him with surprise. "Uh.. right. What do you want to know?" he asked, slightly bewildered. Before he came to Makoshi everyone always told him not to speak of his leg to anyone as it was 'gross' and 'creepy' even though everyone in town already knew about.
Hiragi looked down at him with a gentle expression. "Here at Furin High we always try to be as prepared as possible for anything the students may need, even the ones with specific needs." he told the boy. "So I wanted to ask; for your prosthesis, is there anything you'd like to keep around here in case you need to make adjustments or repair something? I doubt it comes out completely unscathed every time you fight."
He wasn't going to tell the boy to be more careful in battle because he probably wouldn't listen anyway, but if there's anything they could do to be prepared to fix his leg up he'd like to know.
The two-toned boy looked down in thought. "Yeah, I guess I could keep a small repair kit at school. Some of the bolts and straps tend to get a bit loose after using it for a while and I'll need to tighten everything again to prevent it from falling off like it did today." he said after a moment. "Usually I do it at home, but it would be useful to be able to do it here as well."
The older of the two nodded. "Just bring it over whenever and we'll find a good spot for it." he said. He then silently glanced down at the boy's leg. "And what about your actual leg? Or, well, what's left of it I guess." he said awkwardly. He was pretty sure he has once heard that taking care of a stump after amputation was quite a big deal, especially one that was in full-time use with a prosthesis attached.
"I got supplies for that as well. I could leave some of those here just in case I need to take my leg off for some reason." the boy replied with a shrug, but the way he framed it was almost like it was taboo to take it off within school grounds. Like he'd disgust his friends if he were to ever show his stump to them.
The upperclassman let out a little sad sigh. This obviously was another thing the younger boy had struggled with when amongst the people in his previous place of residence. Seriously, did no one truly ever care for this poor kid? Were the people there really that evil as to reject someone for something like this?
Judging from Sakura's behavior and everything he's told them over the months, they definitely were.
"Sakura, you can take the prosthesis off whenever you want here. No one will mind if you do." he said, making sure the other heard the sincerity in his voice. "I don't know much about these things, but it can't be comfortable to be stuck in class for hours with that thing still attached. If you feel the need to take it off for any reason or no reason at all, just do it."
The bi-colored teen looked both surprised and relieved at that. Seems that he hit the nail on the head with that comment. "I'll keep it in mind." he replied, a small blush covering his face. Hiragi smiled. That answer was good enough for him.
"And lastly, if you need anything for pain management, just come to me." he said. "The nurse's office has all kinds medication locked in a cabinet and I own a key to that. I won't think less of you for taking a few pills to get through a bad day. So please, don't hesitate to ask." Since they currently didn't have an actual nurse at school to keep watch, all medicine had to be locked away for the students' own safety. Hiragi had somehow become the keeper of one of the keys, likely because of his frequent use of stomach medicine and ibuprofen (Umemiya tends to give him headaches as well as stomach issues).
The younger boy looked a bit uncertain, but nodded anyway. "I will." he said. The upperclassman patted his shoulder briefly. "And I'll keep you to that. I don't want to see you go hiding your pain and discomfort just because you think medicine isn't necessary." he stated with a stern look. Sakura nodded again, quicker this time. Good.
"Right," he started again after a couple of seconds. "Is your leg properly attached now?" he asked with just the smallest hint of concern. Sakura wiggled his leg around a bit before nodding. The older teen hummed in acknowledgement before walking back onto the gym floor and raising his fists. "Alright, let's get back to it then." he said with a toothy grin.
The bi-colored boy's eyes widened slightly before he, too, grinned. He clenched his fists and got into position.
"Get ready to lose!"