Chapter Text
The first time that Haruka hears about the Bofurin people, it’s while working on some old as dirt and entirely cool antique car’s engine. The car was owned by the old man that Tsubaki knew and had asked him to look over. Nirei had tagged along because he was always interested in old shit and knew that a working Haruka was a perfect captive audience. Neither of them had realized that the whole thing had been a test. Haruka doesn’t see Nirei for a whole year after that. He sees plenty of work on so many nice ass vintage cars though.
Work had been an excellent distraction from the lack of contact from Nirei. It wasn’t unusual to not hear from him for a while from time to time. This hadn’t been usual, but old man Ito had kept Haruka too busy to notice the weird gap in communication until suddenly, it didn’t matter anymore. Nirei was back.
He was back and he’d found those wind whatever people he’d always talked about. He was back and he wanted Haruka to come with him on his next expedition. He wanted Haruka to go with him on an expedition under the sea. Obviously Nirei had lost the entirety of his sanity while he had been gone. He’d absolutely gone stark raving mad if he thought for even a second that Haruka would agree to this.
What became increasingly apparent to Haruka, over the course of the next three months of preparing and traveling, was that it was not Nirei who had lost his mind. No, not at all stupidly brilliant and entirely unnecessarily manipulative Nirei. It was Haruka that had lost his fucking mind. Or was it his back bone? Cause all Nirei had to do was cry a little and ask if Haruka hadn’t missed him at all… and Haruka folded like one of those gods damn useless lawn chairs that never work.
Which is how he found himself up to his shoulders in the guts of one of the expedition’s trucks and pointedly ignoring Nirei’s excited jabbering. Dear whoever is listening. Stop fucking his life. Please fuck Nirei’s life. And especially fuck old man Ito’s life. Please. Thank you. Amen.
He retracts his plea to some higher power to make a mess of Nirei’s life almost immediately. Nirei Akihito may be one of the biggest pains in his ass since time immemorial, but that didn’t change the fact that he was also Haruka’s best friend. It helped that Nirei was letting Haruka look over all his notes from the first expedition as well. Even if Haruka mostly tuned him out when he nattered on about the exact same thing. Nirei’s notebooks had pictures. Sue him for finding those more interesting.
Nirei was passably good at sketching. It was something of a requirement for the kind of researcher, architect, archeo-maholo-whatever that he was. Not that Nirei had put a lot of effort into it when he enjoyed doing research and note taking so much more. With his notes on the Bofurin he had clearly taken far more time and put in far more effort into his sketches. He also added in the developed photos they had taken on cameras with the entries.
The notes and pictures helped Haruka get better acquainted with what he was walking into. He learned through Nirei’s slanted and cramped handwriting that the city they were approaching had been an island called Makochi and that they’d once had two separate peoples that had cohabitated. There had been the Shishitoren people who believed in seeking power to strengthen themselves. Then there were the Furin people who believed in seeking community to steady and empower themselves. The Shishitoren had left Makochi before it sank and eventually the original people had been lost to time, even if their ideals and beliefs persisted into present time.
The Furin had stayed, in and with Makochi, and been lost when the island had been. The Bofurin, the name that Nirei had originally thought was the name of the people, was actually the name of a small, fighting force that had protected the island and still protected the people. Because that was what they’d discovered the first time. That Makochi still existed and not only did the city still exist, it thrived. The Furin were still alive.
Which is why Nirei had wanted him to come back with him. It was why Haruka was currently murdering his eyes with Nirei’s handwriting and working through all his journals from the first journey.
Sometimes Nirei’s notes were too clinical in their descriptions and Haruka was left frustrated by how badly unprepared he felt when faced with something he’d only just learned about. Like right now when he’s seeing the island turned sunken city of Makochi. No amount of vintage cars could or would ever top how cool the city was. Nirei’s notes had done it zero justice and Haruka made sure to tell him that.
It was hauntingly beautiful as it rose to impressively towering heights out of a misty fog that came from the various waterfalls that came from either the island itself or the walls of the cave that surrounded it. Every building was brightly colored and he could see lights twinkling through the vapor. The bridge they crossed was a large, wide stone structure that was surprisingly sturdy. When Haruka looked past the railings, he could see smaller ‘islands’ and their buildings and along the walls there were structures built into the walls. There was so much not in Nirei’s notes to be in awe of.
Several members of the Bofurin and the current leader of the Furin welcomed them at the large gate just past the end of the bridge. Said gate was opened to the city behind them and Haruka could see people bustling about their days in the street. When he refocused on the Bofurin, the crew- including Nirei- was greeting them. He wasn’t sure what shocked him more: Hiragi getting hugged by the Furin leader or Nirei excitedly shouting at a guy with an eye patch. The more he thought about… it was definitely Hiragi and the hug.
Tsugera had joined Nirei by the time Haruka had decided to approach. The Bofurin with an eye patch had been joined by two others, a guy with pink hair and a lanky guy with a scowl. Haruka could tell immediately that he and Grumpy McScowl would not get along very well. He could also tell that Eye Patch was not very fond of Tsugera. Haruka couldn’t really blame the guy since Tsugera was currently talking at the volume level of a bellow. Pink hair was the only one fully chill, with an arm on Eye Patch’s shoulder to lean on him and everything.
“Ya don’t gotta shout, Tsuge.” Haruka interrupted and pretended that he didn’t see Nirei light up like Christmas at the prospect of introductions.
Haruka knew the names of several of the members of Bofurin thanks to Nirei’s notes. Just like he knew that the leader, who was currently being hugged by Tsubaki, was named Umemiya Hajime. His entry had a photo. The Bofurin members had several miscellaneous and unlabeled sketches, so Haruka had zero confidence in matching them to their information. Especially since Nirei’s notes had not included anything about anyone with pink hair or an eye patch.
Or maybe they had and Haruka was a dirty liar. Who’s to say?
“Sakura!” Nirei was practically vibrating in excitement. “Let me introduce you! These guys worked with us when we came before.” He gestures to the scowling, menacing guy on the far left. “This is Sugishita Kyōtarō.”
Sugashita looks at him with eyes like a dead fish and grunts. Haruka feels roughly the same. He doesn’t care to think too hard about what Nirei’s notes had said about him. Things for future Haruka to worry about.
Nirei moves on, gesturing to the guy in the middle. The one with the eye patch. “This is Suo Hayato.”
For someone who’s a member of a supposedly elite band of fighters and has an eye patch, he has a surprisingly deceptive appearance. The pencil behind his ear, long earrings, and ink stains on his sleeves really help undersell him. Haruka is able to immediately line the guy up with what he remembers of Nirei’s notes of him. Intelligent, mysterious, and extremely mischievous.
“That’s how everyone calls me,” Suo quips after Nirei says his name. Sugashita groans before he walks away while the pink haired guy snickers against Suo’s shoulder.
Haruka is abruptly reminded of the curious line in Nirei’s notes about Suo and another Bofurin member being partners. Though he isn’t sure what exactly that means in the context of Furin and its culture. He feels reasonably sure that Nirei will introduce the pink haired guy as-
“And this,” Nirei gestures to the right, “is Kiryu Mitsuki.”
Haruka deserves an A, a gold star and a raise for all the studying he did of Nirei’s notes.
Haruka has, rather abruptly, been left with the two Bofurin members by Nirei and Tsugera when it’s time to move on. It’s Kiryu who tells him they’ll ride with him into the city and he has the gall to laugh when Haruka looks entirely bewildered. It’s behind his hand, but Haruka is still irritated by it. Even if it was a cute laugh.
Kiryu was also deceptively unlike his Bofurin membership would suggest. Though the amount of jewelry he had in his face helped some, the almost lazy way he carried himself did little. Haruka had to admit he’d maybe conflated the image of Bofurin in his head when Nirei had initially described them as warriors. He remembered that Nirei’s notes had said Kiryu was cunning, easy going, and very protective. He was also Suo’s partner.
Suo explains the process once they’re settled onto the bench seat of the truck Haruka is in charge of. As part of their role as Bofurin, it’s important to show the people of the city that their visitors are welcome. It also helps if something happens to separate anyone from the main caravan, they have a native guide to help them. It all makes perfect sense and seems rather well thought out. Haruka didn’t really retain a word of it however. Suo’s voice was soothingly calm and he had a light accent that made the way he said certain words sound almost musical. His voice was pretty and Haruka kind of wanted to die.
He did not join Nirei to catch feelings for cute pretty boys that lived under the ocean.