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“—rei… Nirei… Nirei!”
Nirei’s eyes snap open, and his head spins when he jerks upwards, forehead knocking into something.
“Ow,” the person mutters, pushing him back a little. When Nirei’s vision finally refocuses, his heart drops to his stomach.
“Sakura-san,” he whispers. His whips around, eyes searching frantically, trying to look past Sakura’s shoulder and everything, but this park is as desolate as it was when Nirei first arrived. “How… What’s going on?”
“You tell me. What’s with the bruises?”
It’s only then does Nirei feel a throb in the back of his head and a deep ache in his joints, and his memories come flooding back.
Suo.
They fought. Nirei, even though he knew full well that he was zero match for Suo, let his hurt and betrayal take over. He swung madly, uncaring of whether his fists really connected or not, only driven by seething rage and desperation not to see Suo go.
And Suo, for all his fighting prowess, did not let him land a single hit. He dodged with the grace of a lone crashing wave, the kind that Nirei used to spend hours admiring, never imagining that he’d be on the receiving side of it one day.
Nirei is not sure when it happened, but he remembers his body slamming into the ground and the taste of iron on his tongue at some point. It wasn’t by Suo’s force, but rather his own actions that created enough momentum for Suo to turn the tides on him. Nirei must’ve blacked out after that, but he remembers feeling rough concrete against his cheek. Now that he’s up again, he’s sitting on a slide in the playground, cushioned by a—
Nirei flinches, hands rising up to his neck. There’s something soft and wooly wrapped around it. When he glances down, he recognises the warm accessory in an instant, and his heart lurches in his chest.
“Nirei,” Sakura repeats, eyebrows etched together in worry. His gaze is focused on the bruises and scratches littering Nirei’s skin. “Who did this to you?”
His lips part, fingers curling into the fabric of Suo’s scarf, but he finds himself unable to say his name.
Partly because it hasn’t sunk in yet, he supposes. After all the memories they’ve made and the promises they’ve shared, Nirei simply can’t wrap his mind around… anything else. It’s true that it hasn’t even been a year since they’ve met, but that doesn’t mean everything between them was superficial either. How could Suo call the moments they’ve spent nothing with such conviction, like his words hold any weight? How could he lie?
Or maybe it isn’t a lie at all, and Suo truly believes the claims he was making. There’s no way for Nirei to tell.
A small part of Nirei has always wondered how Suo does it—tossing out fibs and seemingly gaining amusement from them, even when others don’t fall for it. He never hated him for it—couldn’t even dream of holding such a nasty emotion for one of his best friends, but now, resentment crawls its way into his flesh, and his lungs rattle when he sucks in his next breath.
He feels like his heart has been ripped out and crushed under a cruel foot’s stomp. The energy it takes to even stand after such a beating is much too much.
“How did you find me?” Nirei asks, looking up at Sakura.
“Hah?” Sakura lifts a hand, waving his phone in his face. It’s open to his messaging app, and Nirei’s eyes almost glaze over when he tries to read the conversation on the screen. “You’re the one who texted me.”
Nirei’s blood turns to ice.
📒 Nirei
> [Location attached]
10:20 P.M.
Sakura 👤
?? <
Is something wrong? <
10:21 P.M.
Why aren’t you responding? <
10:25 P.M.
I’m coming. <
10:28 P.M.
“Oh…” Nirei whispers, a lump growing in his throat. “But I didn’t… I never texted you.”
“What?” Sakura’s frown deepens even more. “Then who did?”
The answer looms over Nirei’s head like a menacing shadow. His phone was unlocked during their fight, and anyway, Suo knows his password. He was the only one around too.
Suo left Nirei here on purpose, unconscious and alone in the middle of the night, but he bundled him up and called Sakura to take care of him like that would somehow absolve his behaviour. Nirei feels that same fury from before rise like a phoenix from ash, but then his exhaustion hits him and he slumps forward instead, falling into Sakura’s surprised arms.
“It was Suo-san,” Nirei finally confesses, burying his face into Sakura’s shoulders. He can feel the exact moment Sakura tenses in surprise. “He came to see me.”
“So the bastard’s alive?” Sakura asks, his voice already brimming with anger. “Good! Then I can give him a real piece of my mind at school tomorrow—”
“He won’t be there,” Nirei interrupts, guilt clawing at his throat when he hears Sakura’s breath hitch. “…Sakura-san, he’s not coming back. Ever.”
The resulting silence is deafening. A breeze floats by, rustling the decaying trees. Nirei lifts his head and watches with a blank stare as an autumn leaf cascades to the ground, landing on a patch of withered grass.
When Nirei looks up to the moon, he swears he sees a hint of Suo’s empty smile reflected in its soft glow, haunting him like a ghost.
Nirei can’t bring himself to go to school the next day.
He spent a good chunk of the previous night patching himself up in front of the bathroom mirror. None of his injuries are particularly severe, and they can all be treated with things he has at home. But when Nirei sees his reflection again the next morning, he realises that his eyes have become swollen overnight, and his misery amplifies.
He texts Sakura to let him know that he won’t be attending school that day. Sakura doesn’t reply immediately, so Nirei sets his phone aside and forces himself to be productive.
He changes into a fresh set of clothes. Ignores the heavy presence of Suo’s scarf hanging by his door. Pokes his wounds a few times to see if they still hurt. They do—Nirei’s not sure why he thought they wouldn’t.
He makes himself a simple breakfast that comprises of leftover rice, some natto, and hot tea. When Nirei sees the setup on his dining table, he hears Suo’s voice echoing in his head, and he grits his teeth so hard that his jaw aches.
Damn it! Nirei should’ve— should’ve broken Suo’s jaw or something, and dragged him back to Furin no matter what!
He buries his face in his hands with a sigh. Whatever. Suo made his statement, and Nirei refusing to believe him like a little child rejecting reality won’t change anything. He knows that.
Halfway through his breakfast, Nirei hears a loud rapping from his front door. He jolts in surprise, hurrying over—pretty sure he has no visitors today, but…
“Sakura-san,” he gasps when he swings the door open and sees his best friend standing on the other side, hands tucked deep into his pockets. From behind Sakura, Nirei can see Kiryu and Tsugeura waiting, talking among themselves. “What’s going on?”
Sakura jerks his chin. “What does it look like? We’re bringing that bastard back. Come on.”
“Eh? But—” Nirei swallows, gripping onto his entranceway as his knees weaken. He’s not sure if he can muster up the strength to remain upright. “Suo-san’s gone for good. Where will we even begin?”
“I don’t care. We’ll ask around. I’ll make him come out and give me a damn explanation.” Sakura’s gaze softens, just momentarily. “And he should apologise to you too. Friends aren’t supposed to hurt each other.”
Nirei wishes he could enthusiastically agree, the way he always will when it comes to supporting Sakura as his vice, but all he manages is to bow his head. Sakura has always been stubbornly insistent to the point of idealism, but Nirei isn’t sure he has the same willpower. And while he wants to get Suo back just as much too, when he thinks about even calling his name, there’s a raw hurt in his chest like a freshly-inflicted scar.
He doesn’t think an apology will cut it.
Sakura regards him with a long look, understanding dawning in his eyes. “…When we find him, I’ll let you throw the first punch.”
That shocks a laugh out of Nirei. “I already tried that, Sakura-san. It didn’t really work.”
“I’ll hold him down for ya. But seriously,” Sakura says, “you don’t have to come.”
“No, I will.” This time, Nirei feels a little more determined. He clenches his hands into fists. “I can’t let you punish Suo-san on your own!”
Sakura smirks. “Okay. Then hurry up and grab your uniform.”
“Right!”
As Nirei scrambles into his bedroom and tugs his wind breaker from his closet, he glances at Suo’s scarf again, eyes narrowing like the accessory personally offended him. Maybe he’ll keep it, or donate it to a thrift store. It’ll be Suo’s price to pay for being so stupid.