Chapter Text
"Let me go, okay?"
Those words, soft spoken.
A chuckle, warm.
Brown eyes, looking down at him coldly.
Red and yellow tassel earrings, chiming in the wind.
Everything looked like the boy he had come to know and yet, something felt incredibly off. And as two feet started looking away, Nirei could only extend one weak, trembling hand towards his friend, letting it fall back on the cold ground as darkness enveloped him.
When he woke up, it was still dark around him. The moon lighting up the empty park.
And the only proof of Suo ever being there, was the bruised and bloody Nirei lying on the ground.
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Nirei's phone kept ringing, calls and texts coming in every ten seconds. Sakura, Kiryu, Tsugeura, Anzai and all the others were probably worried sick about him... He couldn't exactly blame them, though. Suo had disappeared, and now he was the one skipping classes... Of course they'd worry! "They're good people..." Nirei murmured to himself with a sad smile, taking his phone in his hand without opening it. Every new notification made the screen light up, showing off his wallpaper:
It was a blurry selfie he had taken, showing off Sakura's angry and flustered face, his own big smile, and Suo who appeared to be teasing Sakura.
Nirei looked at the picture — or rather at Suo — tears gathering in his brown eyes as a sob escaped his scratched lips. He pulled his legs against his chest, hiding his face in his knees as he started crying, the pain in his ribs being ignored with every sob that shook his body.
After a while, he felt a sudden weight on his bed next to him, followed by the reassuring hand of his mother. "Aki.. Talk to me?" She was worried too. And once again, Nirei couldn't blame her: not after coming back home in the middle of the night completely bruised everywhere, refusing to talk, sleep, eat or go to school. And yet, he wasn't able to talk to her, the words unable to come out no matter how much he wanted them to. Instead, he simply raised his head to look at her, reaching out to her and burying himself in her embrace. He cried even harder, more than he ever did before, holding her tightly as she caressed his back tenderly. He stayed like this for a while, a very long while, and yet, not once did his mom pressure him to talk. Not once did she seemed annoyed by his cries either. She only held him tightly, whispering comforting words and caressing his back until he stopped crying, until he was ready to let go. And when he was indeed ready, raising his head to look at her with red puffy eyes, she only slid her hand across his cheek, kissing his forehead and staying by his side in case he'd need anything else.
He didn't talk about the situation, which was a first for him — his mom knew all about 'Sakura-san' and 'Suo-san' and everyone else too — staying silent even after receiving his cup of hot chocolate: his mom always made him some when he couldn't sleep or when he was sad. He looked at the warm brown liquid, a few marshmallows floating around as if they were swimming happily on a warm summer day, and the mere thought of happiness brought the tears back in his eyes. What if Suo never came back to enjoy a nice swim with friends? What if his weakness had been the cause of it all? Had it been Sakura facing him, Nirei had no doubt Suo would still be here. If it had been Sakura picking a fight with Suo, everything would be over now, everything would be alright... Had he been someone stronger, Nirei would have succeeded in bringing back his friend...
And suddenly, Nirei understood why Suo went to see him rather than someone else: he was the weakest of them all. Suo must have shown himself to him, knowing full well that Nirei would never be able to stop him. And the mere thought made the blond want to die on the spot. He looked at those little swimming marshmallows, innocently unaware of the blond's pain, and he suddenly felt deep hatred towards the fluffy white circles. How nice would it be, to transform into innocent marshmallows, to not be aware of one's weakness, of one's useless self? He wanted to become as tiny as them, to take their place in the brown hot pool, to disappear alongside them. He wanted to stop being as miserable as he felt — as he was.
And without taking even one sip of his usually comforting drink, Nirei wished his mother good night and locked himself in his room.