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Most rumours start as simple conversation. A conversation between friends, family, coworkers, or in this case, the ex members of KEEL who needed a topic of discussion while they licked their wounds.
“That blond kid sure went down easy.” Was where the conversation began. Quiet snickering about the sound he made when he hit the ground. The look on their grade captain's face. How lucky he was that the second years showed up.
“Why even go to a school like Furin if you can't throw a punch?” Another joins in, adding to the swirl of laughter and speculation. The chatter continues bubbling up, harsh words and false statements joining the fray. The simple conversation spirals, word of mouth spreading outside of the confines of the rusted warehouse, into rundown cafes, derelict classrooms and dank bridges.
“Apparently there’s a weak link in Bofurin.”
“I heard he’s blond. Short too.”
“Rumour is he's close to one of the captain's”
“No, no, he's close to Umemeiya himself!”
“You’re saying… an easy target?”
The low lives of Makochi schemed in the shadows, eyes trailing the rumoured boy. His habits, patrol routes, training schedule, friendships, all perversely memorised while he lay none the wiser.
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As the closed and very much locked Furin gate came into view, Sugishita couldn't help his sigh. Maybe it was his fault for getting up three hours before school started, but sue him, he enjoyed watering the plants in silence before having to deal with Sakura's incessant screeching for six hours.
Sugishita used to hop the fence, climb through a broken window and make himself at home on the rooftop, but Umemeiya quickly put a stop to that. Something about it being “dangerous and irresponsible” whatever that meant. But who was he to go against gospel?
However that did mean that instead of soaking up the morning sun in its full glory, he got the filtered version through the trees as he waited for his senpai.
The cherry blossoms had started losing the bulk of their leaves, the pink petals having flown months ago. Now only dull browns were left to pile up around their roots as the bitter winter grew near. A particularly strong gust of wind scattered a pile of discarded leaves from where they'd gathered at the foot of the school gate, giving way to a small abnormality.
Sugishita squinted at the pale rectangle that looked as if it had been placed oh so deliberately at the centre of the footpath. He walked over, mentally grumbling about the nerve of some people, daring to litter outside of Furin’s grounds, but was stopped short when he finally got a proper look.
What would usually be such an innocent book, one that meant a short blond boy was excitedly scrawling down something new, questioning his peers with that unique sparkle in his eyes, now made a pit form in Sugishita’s stomach as he bent to pick it up.
The pristine cover was dirty and torn, pages weathered in a way that didn't happen over time, but was instead the result of rough handling and a lack of care. Against his better judgement - and a vaguely Mizuki sounding voice that claimed snooping was unjust - Sugishita began flipping through the book.
Handwriting that didn't belong to Nirei littered the pages, graffiti blocking out his detailed notes. Pictures were scratched out, with cruel annotations fouling the margins. Finally, when he flipped to the last page, large black writing stated the following:
The little chick fell too far from the nest. Will the white swan come to his rescue?
Rage was too kind a word to describe exactly how Sugishita felt at that moment. He wasn't even aware of the friendly greeting and peppy footsteps heading his way until a hand landed on his shoulder.
Sugishita was unable to contain his flinch, which in turn startled Umemiya, the older boy laughing as he gave his kouhai's shoulder another gentle pat.
“Unlike you to get so lost in your head!” The representative smiled, fishing the gate's key out of his inside pocket.
Sugishita tried to speak, weakly reaching towards his idol, but the words caught in his throat. Heavy like molasses as he swallowed quickly, trying to fight the sudden nausea threatening him.
Umemiya turned once the gate was pushed aside, still smiling wide, but a furrow fell on his brow when he spotted the younger's face.
“Everything alright, Sugishita?”
The boy quickly shook his head, lips still glued shut as he thrust the notebook forward. Umemiya gave it a curious glance as he stepped closer, taking it into his own hands. His fingers were gentle as they flipped each page, his bottom lip getting sucked between his teeth as the same worry Sugishita felt began to settle in the third year's stomach.
“Where'd you find this?” He asked upon reaching the last page, tone no longer jovial.
Sugishita could only point at the ground, teeth grinding fiercely. He watched Umemeiya pull out his phone, firing off a quick text before nodding for Sugishita to follow him into the school.
||||
“Kidnapped?” Tsubaki cried out, manicured nails coming to pull at his hair as he tried to process what he'd just been told. Beside him, Hiiragi's face was grim, Gas-kun 10 already making its first appearance of the morning.
“No one else knows, I assume?” He asked, dry swallowing the pills.
“I haven't heard anything from Sakura or Suo, and we all know they'd have flipped the town upside down by now, so I'm guessing it's just us,” Umemiya replied.
Sugishita had gone to the garden to think, all the while keeping his ears open to the Four Kings discussion. Whatever Umemiya had texted them meant they'd arrived in a swift ten minutes.
The deep pit in his stomach still made him feel unsteady on his feet. As if tar was crawling up his oesophagus and making it impossible to utter a word. Thankfully, the others hadn't tried to bother him, because he knew he could only nod or shake his head.
“How many people do we tell?” Momose began, tearing Sugishita out of his spiraling thoughts, “we don’t want to start a panic, but we can't keep this to ourselves.”
“Would it be wise to wait until we have more information?” Mizuki proposed.
There was silence for a moment before Umemiya spoke up once more, “1-1 should know at least. We'll gather information from there, and try to track down the culprit.”
“Won't they come to us?” Hiiragi raised, the sound of paper crinkling following his question, “the ‘white swan’ has gotta be you right? So wouldn't they want you to know where to go if you're meant to ‘come to his rescue?’”
“Is this a hostage situation?” Tsubaki muttered, a new fear lacing his voice.
“If that's the case, then we're better off waiting for them to contact us-”
“Absolutely not.” Umemiya cut in, and Sugishita was sure he could hear Mizuki's teeth click together, “we're not leaving one of our own in the hands of an unknown enemy for any longer than we need to. Contact class 1-1.”
Hiiragi stepped away from the group, pulling his phone from his pocket. He gave Sugishita a firm nod when their eyes met, before stepping through the door to the roof.
||||
The urge to plug his ears was growing stronger by the minute as class 1-1's volume continued to rise. Sugishita understood the outrage, he really did, but did they have to scream over each other?
Umemiya's hands clapping together sent an immediate lull throughout the room. He stood before the teachers podium, Four Kings flanking him, as he cleared his throat.
Umemiya explained the situation in full, laying out new patrol routes for the day, instructions on what to do if clues were found, and how to keep rumours from spreading through the town.
“The most important thing is that you notify us of anything suspicious. No matter how small,” the Bofurin representative emphasised, voice hard as he pressed his palms firmly against the podium.
“Um… Umemiya-san?” The boy sitting behind Sugishita spoke up, he wasn't sure of his name. His classmate's finger came to press upon the window, pointing down at the courtyard below, “does that count as suspicious?”
Half the class crowded the window upon the boy's question, closing in on Sugishita’s personal space in a way he tried to desperately ignore.
Outside, a figure draped in black was stood casually, familiar green hooked on his elbow. He seemed to spot them in the window as he gave a short wave before dropping the fabric and sauntering away.
Sakura was the first out the room, nearly dragging half the furniture with him. Suo, Kiryu and Tsugeura were hot on his heels. Umemiya spoke quietly to Hiiragi before telling the rest of the class to stay put and making his own way down.
Sugishita watched from his seat as Sakura reached the gakuran, cradling it against his chest as he spoke to his friends. Even from where he sat, their anger was palpable.
Sugishita felt the same.
He wasn’t terribly close to Nirei, the boy seemed almost skittish whenever Sugishita came near him. But just like the rest of the class, when he saw the blood pouring from blond hair as that faceless member of KEEL raised his wooden beam high, a burning red filled his vision and an urge to protect like he'd never felt before washed over him.
This time felt no different. Except this time, there wasn't a room that he could cross in five strides if he tried hard enough. There wasn't a direct line of sight to the problem. The situation was far too unknown for Sugishita’s liking.
His silent ruminations were interrupted when the five who had left reentered the room. Sakura still had an iron grip of the jacket - Sugishita and everyone else could guess who it belonged to - his refusal to part with it clear.
Umemiya took his place before the class once more, a solemn look on his face as he took a moment to gather his thoughts.
“We know where Nirei is,” he began slowly. All eyes shot to him, ears poised to listen to whatever came next, “the group hasn't disclosed their name. They're demanding a 1v1 with myself and their leader. Alone.”
Tsubaki's disapproval was clear, his heels clicking as he moved to step forward. A calm look from Umemiya stopped him.
“I'm not going alone, don't worry. We don't know what kind of rules these guys play by, and considering kidnapping isn't beneath them, well…” he trailed off, the implications sitting heavy in the air.
“Therefore,” he smiled, arms crossing against his chest as he nodded his head to the four first years behind him, “these guys are coming too! I'm sure there's no doubts in this room about their ability to handle themselves, and the smaller the team the better, so I hope you're all okay with sitting this one out.”
A murmuring of discontent settled among the students of 1-1, dissatisfaction at being left out, but an understanding of the situation making it hard to disagree.
Sugishita felt his own doubts creep up as he thought more about what was said. He didn't disagree that they were strong, annoyingly so, but there was still something bothering him about the plan.
“If I may-” Anzai suddenly spoke up, chair scraping the floor as he stood, “can you take Sugishita too? Not many people stand a chance against him.”
Umemiya nodded at the request, his blue eyes meeting his kouhai's brown as the unspoken question sat between them.
Sugishita realised exactly what had been bothering him when he stood up and nodded.
He wanted to rescue Nirei too.
||||
They had to get a bus to reach the stated location. It sat 40 minutes out of town, further than Sugishita had ever been. A mill, he thinks, but one that had clearly been in disrepair for the better part of this century.
Long before they neared the entrance, the five classmates had split from Umemiya, circling around the back quietly. Stealth wasn't really Sugishita's style, but a threatening look from Suo and a ‘do it for Nirei-chan’ from Kiryu had him sucking up his pride and following along.
He helped boost Kiryu onto a busted fire escape, the pink haired boy creeping up to a window and peering inside. He relayed what he could see to Sakura via text.
Umemiya had made his way inside by now, apparently speaking casually with a dark haired man who was definitely not high school age!
According to Kiryu at least.
Tsugeura gave Sakura a boost up to the same ledge, Suo insisting that he'd stay below, as Sugishita tried to find a better way in for the heavier members of their party.
A surprisingly large air vent sat weakly on its hinges a few feet away, rust eating away at the screws until it sat more as a decoration than a functional bit of infrastructure.
Sugishita knelt down and peered through the broken slats. Darkness greeted him, the echoes of Umemiya's voices wafting from further inside. Deeming it a good enough entrance, he gave Tsugeura a quick signal before carefully pulling the vent covering away and slipping inside.
The floor greeted him about two meters down, his feet landing softly as he took in the room. Storage, he assumed, from the abundance of empty shelves and rotted wooden crates. He peeked at the group chat when Tsugeura's footsteps didn't follow his own, only to see the four still actively observing the main room.
Taking matters into his own hands, the blue haired boy crept closer to the door, weak light guiding his feet from where it slipped underneath the shrunken wood.
He tested the door handle, grateful to find it stayed silent when he turned it. Opening the door only as much as his body needed, Sugishita straightened out his posture for the first time in weeks and slipped into a hallway.
The voices were louder now, along with the sound of strong impacts against skin and malicious leers.
He slipped further along the corridor, eyes peeled for anything out of place. He walked further from the source of the voices, less light able to reach the path ahead, his own footsteps beginning to feel too loud in his ears.
He slowed his steps, a pregnant pause in his breathing as he listened for any sort of clue. A gentle thud came from deep in the bowels of the mill, a muted curse following.
Sugishita’s steps picked up when the familiar voice reached his ears, heart slamming against his ribs.
He turned a sharp corner, body nearly hurtling into the perpendicular wall in his attempt to stop when that glowing blond finally came into view. Sugishita found himself blinking momentarily, mouth agape as honey brown eyes stared up at him.
“Sugishita-san?” Nirei's whisper hitched unusually, his position on the floor clearly one that was forced, not voluntary.
Sugishita stomped over - quietly of course - kneeling before his classmates as relief soaked into his bones. There were scrapes and bruises, but overall he looked unscathed and right now the taller couldn't ask for more.
There was rope binding Nirei’s ankles and wrists, but a firm tug had the weathered cord crumbling from its knots. Sugishita reached behind Nirei to free his wrists, but the older flinched at the sudden contact, a quiet squeak sneaking out from between his lips.
“Nirei,” Sugishita grumbled, being cut off by the blond's quick assurances. He only huffed in response, pulling out his phone for a light and ignoring the dozen or so texts demanding his location. Upon closer inspection, the skin of Nirei's right wrist was mottled with purple and blue, a tender lump giving away the true extent of the damage.
“This is broken.” Sugishita all but growled, leaning back to meet Nirei's eyes with his own, “does it hurt?”
“I mean… yeah but, I can handle it. Just untie the rope and we can get out of here- he-hey Sugishita-san?!” Nirei's protest came out in a choked gasp as his legs were forced around Sugishita's hips.
Arms came to rest beneath his thighs and the next thing he knew, he was being lifted from the ground.
“S-Sugishita-san what are you doing?” Nirei floundered, cheeks stained crimson as he was shifted onto one hip, a hand steadying him at his back.
Sugishita seemed wholly unbothered as he held Nirei like a parent would their baby, standing with ease and beginning to retrace his steps, “I don't wanna injure your wrist more so the hospital can deal with the rope.”
“It's probably not even broken, seriously. Plus it's my wrist not my leg, I can still walk-”
“Don't care.” Sugishita cut off firmly, steps surprisingly light as he made his way back down the corridor, following the hoots and cheers from the gang members up ahead.
“What happened anyway?” He then spoke up quietly, sparing a quick glance at the blond before looking ahead again.
Nirei hesitated for a moment, wetting his lips before speaking, “they grabbed me on my way home yesterday. Started, um… started stomping on my right hand when they found my notebook. Probably a bunch of sadists,” he pouted, leaning further against Sugishita’s shoulder, “I do think they broke it, I lied.” He spoke softly.
Then, even quieter, “something snapped. It hurt a lot.”
Sugishita could only grunt in sympathy, unsure of the best way to respond. They finally came upon the storeroom he entered through, the door still cracked open.
He slid back through, holding Nirei close, and pulled out his phone to alert the others. Footsteps soon emerged from the other side of the vent, Sakura's black and white hair coming into view as he ducked his head inside.
“Nirei!” He all but shouted, causing Sugishita to send a scathing glare his way. With as much delicacy as they could manage, Tsuegura doing most of the lifting, they got Nirei safely outside.
Sugishita quickly followed, his quick message to Umemiya serving as the signal to wrap things up as they moved Nirei to the agreed upon meeting spot.
The others fussed over the blond the whole way, something that clearly overwhelmed him, but Sugishita didn't have the heart to stop them when Kiryu looked close to tears, Sakura's hackles were still raised, and Tsugeura and Suo both held him with such gentle reverence.
An ambulance was called while they waited for Umemiya to rendezvous. Nirei called it drastic, but the boys refused to let him get on public transport in his current condition.
Sakura and Kiryu's gakurans were acting as makeshift blankets by the time white hair crested the horizon, Umemiya's slightly battered but overall triumphant smile rushing over.
As soon as he got near, he fell to his knees and pulled Nirei into a sudden hug. The other five awaited a cry of pain, but we're grateful to see the oldest had wrapped his arms firmly around Nirei's shoulders, nowhere near the damaged wrist.
“U-Umemiya-san-?”
“Ahhhhh! I'm so glad you're okay!” Umemiya cried, pulling Nirei closer as the blonde gradually relaxed into the hold, “you gave me a heart attack today!”
“I-I'm so sorry, I'll be more aware in future and I promise to get better at handling myself so that something like this doesn't happen agai-”
“Nirei,” Umemiya cut off gently, one hand coming to sit in the boy's curls, threading fingers through rough hair, “what happened is not your fault, everyone gets overwhelmed by numbers. What I meant is that one of my little brothers was in danger, and that scared me.”
Nirei's eyes widened, cheeks tinting crimson from where they pressed against his senpai's shoulder. They couldn't see the wobble of his lip, but the tears welling in his eyes were all too obvious. His classmates chose to avert their eyes as his breaths came in more hitched, small sobs buried in another's uniform.
Sugishita couldn't explain why, but he found himself stepping closer to the crying boy's side as his eyes stayed peeled for the ambulance. He wasn't sure if it offered much comfort, but when the others also huddled closer, he figured he was doing something right.