Chapter Text
The streets of Makochi were buzzing with people in the early afternoon. The summer sun was high in the sky and the wind chimes sang in the gentle breeze. The town known for its violent gang fights, found itself having a slow and quiet day for once.
Cafes and playgrounds were filled with students of all ages celebrating the first day of their summer vacation.
Among the people at the market street was a small group of teenagers, making their way through the sea of people. Eventually getting away from the crowd, they turned the corner to a smaller, quieter street. Four blocks later they made another turn and continued on.
"So, have we yet decided what stores we'll go to?" Tsugeura asked.
"Not yet," hummed Kiryu.
"I've got a couple ideas. I'll let you know once we meet up with everyone!" grinned Nirei. The boy was practically bouncing on his feet. "Aah! I can't wait for tomorrow! I'm so excited!"
"You're acting like it's your first time there, Nire-kun," Suo chuckled lightly. Unable to resist teasing his friend just a little. "Keep this up and you won't be able to sleep at all tonight."
To celebrate the beginning of their summer break, class 1-1 decided to all go to the beach together. To spend an entire day swimming, eating ice cream, playing games and enjoying the sun. That was the plan for tomorrow. Today's plan was to go shop for swimming trunks for those who needed them.
"It's all of our first time being there together with this group," Nirei pointed out, "We deserve to have a little fun!"
Then, as if somebody flipped a switch, the smile on Nirei's face slowly faded. "It's hard to believe it's already been over a month since that night... Sometimes it's almost like I can still feel it in the air, you know? The mark it left on this town..."
The mention of the largest battle in Bofurin history made Suo press his lips into a thin line. The muscles on Kiryu's jaw tensed and Tsugeura cast his eyes downward. They all knew what Nirei meant. They'd all felt it. The subtle shift in the atmosphere.
It was hard to put a finger on it, or to point out any clear examples. It wasn't something easily noticeable. But the members of Bofurin could tell that things just weren't the same after the war against Noroshi.
People kept looking behind their shoulders and held onto their bags a little tighter. Kids were no longer seen at the playgrounds by themselves. Someone's parent was always there to keep a watchful eye.
It was understandable of course. After all the damage that was done, it would've been unrealistic to expect people to continue their lives as if nothing happened. The town will eventually heal. Its people just needed more time.
"Last night, I was scrolling on my phone, watching videos," Kiryu started in a quiet voice. "One of them showed footage of a fireworks festival from a few years back. For a second I was back on that bridge and could barely breathe..."
"Mmh... I get those moments too," said Tsugeura, putting his hand on Kiryu's shoulder. Kiryu gave him a sad smile.
"That is to be expected. We went through a lot that night," Suo confirmed. He turned to his friends, smiling softly. "All the more reason for us to enjoy our vacation to the fullest. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Yea... You're right," said Nirei, determined. Smile returning to his face. "Let's go all out! Sakura-san's been more quiet lately, so hopefully this'll cheer him up!"
Kiryu and Tsugeura nodded in agreement.
Soon enough Sakura's building came to view. They walked up the stairs and knocked on their captain's door, knowing that the doorbell was broken.
"Sakura-san! We're here to pick you up!"
"Let's get going! Anzai-kun and the others are waiting!" Tsugeura called when there was no answer.
"You think Sakura-chan's still asleep?" asked Kiryu. Suo hummed thoughtfully. "There's only one way to find out."
Suo knocked on the door twice before opening it. Someone really needed to get the lock fixed so Sakura wouldn't have to leave the door unlocked. "Sakura-kun? We're coming in!"
Nirei glared at Suo for barging in uninvited, but didn't say anything as they entered the apartment. The place was just as dark, empty and depressing as the first time they'd visited. The other two hadn't been here before and looked around concerned.
"Is this really where Sakura-kun lives...?" asked Tsugeura. "This place looks completely abandoned."
"We gotta get some color or textiles in here, or something..." Kiryu frowned. Visibly unhappy with what he was seeing.
They took their shoes off and entered farther into the apartment. The place was dead silent.
"Is he home?"
"He should be... His shoes were at the door."
Nirei entered the bedroom, Kiryu and Tsugeura close behind. Sakura's phone was on the floor next to his futon, but there was no sign of the boy himself.
"SOMEBODY CALL AN AMBULANCE!"
They flinched when Suo's voice suddenly filled the apartment. Suo wasn't one to raise his voice. Ever. Even in pressure situations he was always the one to remain calm and collected. For him to sound so frantic...
Nirei rushed to the bathroom where Suo's voice came from and the world stopped moving. All the oxygen left his lungs as the walls around them crashed down. Nirei couldn't move. Couldn't tear his eyes away.
In the bathtub -wearing a T-shirt and boxers- laid Sakura. Eyes glazed over as Suo pulled his motionless body upright. There was blood. So. Much. Blood. The water in the tub was no longer clear. Blood. The tub was filled with Sakura's blood. It dripped over the edge and on the floor next to a razor blade.
Nirei was going to throw up.
Behind him, Tsugeura froze. Covering his mouth while Kiryu cried in horror when their eyes landed on the scene.
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! HELP ME!" Suo screamed, snapping them back to the moment. "HE'S NOT BREATHING! WE NEED TO STOP THE BLEEDING!"
Suo finally got a good grip and managed to pull Sakura out of the tub. The red water splashing everywhere in the process. Nirei was already on the phone explaining the situation when Suo dragged Sakura out of the tiny bathroom.
"Here! Use this!" Kiryu had ran to Sakura's closet to find a clean shirt and offered it to Suo as soon as the vice captain placed Sakura on the floor. Suo grabbed the shirt, immediately pressing it hard against the wound on Sakura's wrist.
Wasting no time, Tsugeura kneeled on the floor next to them. He tilted Sakura's head to prevent him from choking and started CPR. Tsugeura's jaw was clenched shut.
Sakura's previously white shirt was permanently stained red.
"The ambulance is on its way," Nirei reported, wiping away tears. His entire body was shaking. "They said to keep pressure on the wound and to... to keep doing CPR until they get here..."
Kiryu pulled his friend into a hug and Nirei clung onto him for dear life. Why would Sakura do this? Why would he do something so horrible? Had something happened that they didn't know about? Nirei had thought Sakura was happy living here with everyone. Had he been wrong this entire time? Had they completely missed the signs?
"I should've seen the signs... I- I should've realized something was wrong..." Nirei sobbed as Kiryu held him tighter. The taller of the two shook his head. "No. Nire-chan, this isn't your fault. Don't put the blame on yourself-"
"But I failed Sakura-san! I- I promised to be there for him, and now..."
"Hey! Listen to me!" Kiryu pulled away to look Nirei in the eye. His own barely holding the tears away. "You can't say that. We don't know why he did this, okay? We don't know. Not until Sakura-chan wakes up and tells us what happened. And, if you... failed him... Then we all did..."
"Sakura-kun!"
"Sakura-kun!"
Suo and Tsugeura's voices brought their attention back to the body on the floor. The four of them watched as Sakura let out a small cough, quickly followed by another until he was coughing uncontrollably.
Immediately Suo pulled Sakura towards himself, rolling him on his side to the recovery position. Sakura coughed up water on the floor before suddenly passing out again.
"Sakura-san! Sakura-san!" Nirei cried in panic. "H-Hey! Stay with us!"
"Sakura-chan!"
"Sakura-kun!"
Keeping a firm pressure on the wound Suo leaned close to Sakura's face, closed his eye and listened. Suo let out a breath of relief when he heard it.
"He's breathing... Sakura-kun's still breathing! It'll be okay..."
Once the ambulance arrived Tsugeura lead the paramedics into the apartment. After that everything happened so fast, it was all a blur.
One second the group was explaining what happened while the paramedics assessed the situation. The next they were left alone standing in the blood stained apartment.
"C'mon. Let's go," mumbled Suo. He went to put his shoes back on but stopped when he realized no one else had moved. Turning to face his classmates, Suo saw matching expressions of horror and anxiety on their faces. He could imagine they reflected his own. "Look, there's no point in us standing here. We need to go. Sakura-kun needs us."
Forty minutes later Nirei's phone started to ring. Moving on autopilot, the boy took it out of his pocket and answered the call. Anzai's voice rang on the other side.
"Aah, finally! We've been trying to contact you, but no one's answering their phone. Where are you guys? We've been waiting in front of the mall for a while now."
Nirei felt his throat close up. What was he supposed to say? How could he speak when the sound Sakura's coughing was playing on repeat in his head? How was he supposed to break the news?
"Nirei? Hellooo? You still there?"
"...ospital..."
"What?"
"We're at the hospital..."
For a second the line was silent. Then Anzai's voice asked, "What happened?"
A heavy silence filled the waiting room. It dragged on endlessly. Mocking them with how slowly the time passed. Because they weren't family, they couldn't get any information on Sakura's condition. All they could do was wait.
Anzai and the others had rushed in a while ago. Running there all the way from the mall. When they asked what happened Nirei couldn't bring himself to talk, and Suo ended up being the one to break the news. Needless to say there were a lot of tears and even more questions.
Suo wished he had the answers. Wished he could magically fix the situation or make it so it never happened. No matter how many times he washed his hands he could still see the red on his fingers. It was infuriating.
Kaji and Hiragi were next to show up. Followed closely by their vice captains. How they got the information this fast, the first-years didn't know. Still, they were grateful their senpai were there.
Tsubaki showed up twenty minutes later, teary eyed and worried. Without a word, he rushed to hug the boys who needed it the most.
Next were Sugishita and the rest of class 1-1.
Kotoha closed the cafe for the day so she could be there as well.
It'd now been two hours. Two hours since they first arrived at the hospital and no one could give them any information. The nurses offered apologetic looks to the slowly growing group of students every time they walked past the waiting room.
The silence dragged on.
Every now and then someone would talk to the person next to them. Asking if Sakura was going to be okay. Why would he go and do something like this? Did he say anything to anyone? How long till they'd be allowed to see their friend?
Thirty minutes later Umemiya appeared down the hall, walking in with clear purpose. The Bofurin leader was with a man the students had never seen before. The man wore glasses and his hair was a bit of a mess. A family member of Sakura's perhaps?
Instead of entering the waiting room the two stopped to talk to one of the receptionist. The man did most of the talking. After a moment the receptionist nodded in understanding and picked up the phone that was on their desk. Umemiya pat the man on the shoulder and started walking towards the roomful of students. Grabbing few drinks from a vending machine on the way.
"Yo! Anyone want something to drink?"
Umemiya walked in with a warm smile and head held high. He pat Nirei's head and placed a hand on Suo's shoulder as he handed them bottles of water. He spoke softly when he checked in on Kiryu and reassured Tsugeura that he'd done enough.
Slowly but surely Umemiya's presence lifted the weight off the air, until breathing no longer felt suffocating.
A moment later a nurse walked in. Same one they'd seen walk by a couple times. She blinked in surprise at the amount of teenagers who were all now looking at her. Then her expression turned soft.
"He's awake. Would you like to see him?"