Chapter Text
Sakura’s whole body hurt and he wanted to go back to sleep but he knew that his friends would not allow him to just yet. He needed to see this battle end and the town protected just as much as his friends needed it. They all watched with wide eyes as Endo lounged on the ground like the blood dripping from his nose and head meant nothing to him. It was like he could ignore his injuries with his focus completely on his goal but Sakura could feel every aching part of him where Endo landed a blow and his throat was luckily not swelling up too bad from that throat grab. It would still hurt for a few days and if Endo kept his end of the deal there would be plenty of time to recover.
“All those glares,” the tattooed man said with an amused tone. Sakura could sense a darkness underneath it that would mean he would likely have to fight again as Endo was certainly not done. “I called off the gangs to leave the town but there is still something I want.”
His heart dropped as Endo’s face split into his snake-like smile even though he was happy to know that town was safe. This would not end well and he leaned on Nirei as he stood up to face his enemy once again. The others positioned themselves in front of them and took defensive stances that mirrored what they had done earlier. Sakura widened his own stance in response. He was hurt but he would be ready to fight for another round if it came to a four-on-one but Endo was very strong and had the smug expression of someone with power. All he could do was hope that he did enough damage that would allow for them to take Endo down again.
“You did not win this Sakura and you know it. That means your coming with me.”
“You can’t,” Nirei yelled from his position beside Sakura. He did not imagine the feeling of his friend pushing him slightly back. Nirei would never beat Endo but he would fight for Sakura since helping others was at the core of Nirei’s being. That would cause him to be hurt but Sakura would not accept that and he took a step forward on his own.
Endo himself started standing up and despite his fight with Sakura he seemed fairly steady on his feet. His eyes gleamed with a terrifying glint of possession that sent shivers down Sakura’s spine. The older boy had the look that he already was imagining just what he wanted and he would go to great lengths to achieve that illusion. Tsubaki, Kanji, and Suzuri were still out from the fight and Sugishita looked like an injury was bothering him but hopefully they had enough people to take down Endo before he completely turned everything around.
Sakura had to have done some damage during their fight, at least he hoped, as Endo stood up without even a grimace of pain. That look in his eyes was still there and the terrifying idea popped into his head that Endo was in pain but his emotions were overcoming everything else. If that was the case then Sakura was scared if he succeeded. Emotions could be powerful things and also shackles, like his own fear at letting people in, so it was not like Sakura could not understand that drive. Still, what would he do to Sakura once he had him and more importantly what would he do to his friends to take him. He wanted them to be safe as they represented the place that he found where he could belong as himself.
Things had changed since he first came here, refusing to truly acknowledge the people reaching out to him, and he remembered on the first day of classes when the first years were told to gather outside within minutes of entering the classroom by some guy with dotted eyebrows. There was a group of them waiting and Sakura noticed that a few of them were the guys from the big brawl the day before which was somewhat surprising. He ended up talking to the cheerful boy about the fight when the yelling men grabs him to the side. He starts yelling some more and finally starts to reach for something in his pocket.
Immediately Sakura is on guard for whatever is about to be pulled out on him. There were a few times when he was younger and still learning how to fight when someone pulled a knife on him. He never questioned it since everybody always seemed to find his presence disgusting and why should he care about what others thought of him even when it meant trouble.
Each time someone pulled him aside it was always someone older and they made the same grab into their pocket like it was suppose to be cool to attack a child who did not fit into their standards. Then pull out a knife but for some reason they always pulled back just slightly so he was only cut on the sides instead of anywhere life threatening. Maybe they could not bring themselves to take another’s life even when they wanted him gone from their own lives. Sakura never went to the hospital but he did have to push himself to walk back to wherever he was staying in dripping pain without a word from the adults. He had to hide away bandages so that adults wouldn’t take them and play the game that the adults knew what had happened but pretended they knew nothing about it since they hoped it would be the end of his existence to them.
Once the older boy had pulled the object out enough for Sakura saw his tension dropped to confusion at the sight of the pack of stomach relief pills. This entire town felt like it was trying to test his limits with how comfortable he could be with them when he wanted to keep his distance. Sakura was not yet ready to drop his guard in case it was all a show but the longer he spent he saw the genuine truth of the town. It was difficult to learn how to trust these people but he found himself putting all his hope in these people, including Hirigi to stop Endo.
The trio of Suo, Hirigi, and Togame charged at the former Furin student with Nirei and Sugishita staying behind with Sakura. They fought hard but Endo kept maneuvering them in ways that lessened the impact on himself but made them hit each other and even Suo could not escape it. Sakura had to help and he started forward with his two classmates on either side of him despite him wishing Nirei would stay behind. His friend was determined to be standing here and Sakura knew better than to try to talk him out of it. Hopefully, all of Endo’s focus would be on the bigger threats and he would leave the fighter in training out of the main battle. They entered into the fight and almost immediately Endo sent the three others flying and headed right towards them.
The fight left Sakura sluggish and before he could throw a punch at the grinning Endo Nirei put himself in front of him. The judgement was quick with a kick that threw the smaller boy away and a punch right into Sugishita, who groaned as he went down. He was already wincing when they were running over and judging by the way he held his chest something might even be broken from an earlier brawl. The tall boy rose again and tried to lunge towards Endo but he was blocked. Sakura spun a punch towards Endo’s face and he connected right after Sugishita took one of his own to the face. He crashed down to the ground and this time he seemed to be completely defeated without a chance of a return.
Endo approached and Sakura threw himself into the fight and for a minute it felt like they were back in time. Then it ended once Sakura started to panic at that smile and the growth of dread that something very bad would happen to him if he lost. He could not focus on the fight as much as when he thought the town was in danger and was too focused on his fear to recognize the feints to react fast enough to counter them. In a single moment the older boy sent a kick right into Sakura’s stomach and everything went dark for the grade captain.
—-------
Nirei was knocked aside too easily but he was not that surprised that he could not stand up against Endo. Fresh blood started to drip from his nose again but he forced his head up to watch Sakura fend off the former Furin student. Sakura looked like he was holding his own alright considering he already drew a draw earlier but Nirei saw the moment it was over. Endo threw his leg out in a powerful kick and he could see his friends body curving in on himself. Those two colored eyes widened in empty pain then rolled back as his friend collapsed on the ground.
The others, beside Sugishita, stood back up but Nirei froze at the sight of his friend laying there at the feet of the man known as a shadow of Furin. Sakura looked so small as he lay motionless while his fellow Furin members burst into action. Endo sighed and quickly went back to beating back the Furin members who all fought with ferocity he rarely seen in a normal brawl. He was slightly worried about Sugishita since he noticed earlier that the tall boy had received a bad injury and it seemed to be overwhelming him at the moment but Nirei hoped he understood when he snuck towards Sakura instead of the long haired boy.
Endo was very clearly pushing the others back and he could see them hesitating in case Endo sent their attacks into their allies. He already had done plenty of damage to them by doing that especially with the older boys heavy blows. Nirei crept forward to where Sakura was haphazardly sprawled. It was an unexpectedly difficult task with how close Endo was keeping to the fallen boy and forcing the others to fend him off while watching their steps. He still made it and as carefully as he could started to drag Sakura out of the way while the villain was distracted. He had been training his fighting skills, with a descent amount of success for a beginner, but it was not enough to strengthen his muscles to make this task easier.
His allies managed to keep the villain away long enough that Nirei was able to drag the grade captain towards the other fallen. Blood was still sluggishly falling from his friend’s face to the ground and he doubted that this method would be gentle on Sakura’s beaten body but he had no clue what else to do. He could not fight Endo nor could he let him take Sakura. Maybe he could try to wake Sakura up and they could run away.
“Step away, coward.”
That voice seethed with rage and Nirei slowly took in the three limp bodies on the ground then Endo staring down at him. His entire body started shaking in terror but even if he was starting to turn back into a coward he was back in middle school he would protect Sakura who still showed no signs of regaining consciousness.
Still shaking, Nirei stood and readied himself to fight the shadow of Furin with impossible odds. Without missing a beat Endo raised his fist right into Nirei’s head with a look of detachment since Nirei meant nothing to him besides being a fly of annoyance. He collapsed and watched as Endo picked Sakura up and grabbed his fallen coat then with careful haste he set Sakura down and wrapped the coat around him. Nirei started to force himself upwards but Endo had already picked up Sakura again and was heading out. The former Furin member was so big and strong that he made this entire thing seem to easy when Nirei struggled even to pull the grade captain to a false rescue.
He managed to stand up with the others stirring as well but already Endo was past the gates. Nirei of Bofurin took off at a run towards Endo and shouted, “We will bring Sakura back. I promise.”
Endo never even stopped to consider those words.
—-----
The battle on the bridge was far easier with Shishitoren which Anzai was grateful for. It was not looking good for a bit but it seemed like Sakura pulled through for them. It seemed their grade captain had learned from his previous experiences and had asked others for help which payed off big time. Anzai decided to lead the rest of his classmates back to the school to see if they needed help there since even their co-captains were gone deciding that they were needed elsewhere.
The group found themselves in high spirits and some even planning on where they were going to eat afterwards. Anzai heard a few saying they were going to treat Sakura out to food which he too was already planning for calling in backup. He hated to admit it but they would have been screwed if Sakura never went to Shishitoren and being treated to good food was the least they could do.
A rival gang turned the corner and Bofurin readied to fight once again but the other gang took off towards the edge of town. Anzai watched with confusion as they ran out then shrugged. It seemed like they had given up on this attack against Bofurin which was nothing to complain about in his book.
They reached the school and by how beat up and downcast everyone looked he had to wonder if they even did win and that other group was a special case. The rest of the first-years seemed to deflate around Anzai as they all started to imagine the worse. The town looked alright when they were heading over but who knew if the gangs were just planning on how best to destroy the town.
“Umemiya lost?” he asked stunned.
The two co-captains were both looking equally shocked but Suo at least still looked put together, not counting the signs of a tough fight, unlike Nirei who was pulling on his hair. Suo looked them all over then spoke in his calm way, “Not exactly. We received news that the fight ended in a draw. The gangs have moved out and I don’t think they’ll be back anytime soon.”
Anzai sighed. That was a relief but none of the older guys, including some he had no idea where they were from especially the one wearing a cook’s uniform, looked like they would be celebrating. Nirei still seemed upset and Sakura was nowhere in sight. That sinking feeling was not unfamiliar and he thought back to what happened to Nagato. His friend was doing much better and Anzai never wanted to feel like he was out of his league on his own ever again.
Hiragi had moved over with scratch marks over his face and his hair no longer spiked up which Anzai had to admit the look made the King look far more intimidation than his usual spiked up hair. He looked tired and when he spoke it was with a slight slowness, “Sakura defeated Endo and made a deal that if Endo loss he would have his gangs lead town.”
Anzai smiled, “That’s our captain. Where is he?”
“Sakura said if Endo won Sakura would go with him but the match ended in a draw. Apparently, for Endo, that meant that he could take Sakura too.”
Anzai stepped back. It really was happening again that one of his friends was being taken to be used by a maniac. He knew that Nagato was being used for money in Keel but had very little idea what Endo would want from Sakura. The grade captain probably had the least amount of money of anyone in class so money was likely not the reason unless something super sketchy was going on. He pushed those thoughts out before they grew roots.
“How do we get him back?”
The two co-captains looked towards Hiragi who shook his head. He looked more like he was carrying a mountain then ever but he was still had the air of steadiness about him. Anzai knew that whatever he was about to say would be disappointing but that steadiness would make sure something would be done to bring the grade captain back.
“We need to first tell Umemiya but he is fairly beat up and likely will not be in fighting condition for a few day at least. We are going to need him if we end up fighting Endo again and since we don’t know if the gangs will still be a problem we need to wait.”
It was a solid argument and he can see that it distressed Hiragi and Nirei who probably already thought about all of this. He was mad that they would have to force Sakura to wait for them but looking around he saw the real unspoken reason behind it. They all had put everything they had on this fight and were bruised to prove it. Some of them might be able to go after Endo but it would be a risk that could cause the situation to worsen.
Suo moved off to calm the guys behind him who were starting to protest and Anzai decided to head over to the other co-captain. It was hitting Nirei hard and Anzai wanted to make sure that his friend was able to hold up.
“We’re Bofurin. We held the town and we will find Sakura.”
The blond-haired boy nodded but tears were still falling from his eyes. This would hit him the worst of all and Anzai guessed there was more bothering him.
“Did something else happen?”
Nirei sniffed, “I failed him. I tried to fight but Endo just took him.”
The poor co-captain had so much heart that he would have tried to defeat Endo but he could never do so. There was too much of a skill gap that no amount of heart could overcome in the short amount of time Nirei had been learning to fight.
“Then we just need to find him again.”
“How? We have no idea where Endo is staying and there is no guarantee that we wouldn’t have to worry about Takiishi and and and,” Nirei started rambling. His concerns were reasonable but they would need to plan instead of panicking.
“Sakura is strong and we already won this war. We’ll find him we just need to figure it out and you are the best at figuring out all our options.”
That seemed to bring his attention back and Nirei nodded.
“We can do this.”