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"Thanks for coming by boys!"
Sakura flushed at the sight of Tsubaki's vibrant smile. A few days ago their upperclassman had invited him and his vice captains to come over to Show Pub Ougi again and see his newest pole dancing routine. Apparently he had perfected some new techniques and was eager to demonstrate them to the younger boys.
Suo smiled at the long-haired teen. "That was an amazing performance, Tsubaki-san." he commented. It truly was! Even better than the last time they had seen him dance. Nirei, standing beside him, was absolutely starstruck and already writing a detailed recounting of said performance in his notebook.
The older boy smiled even more brightly at the compliment. "You all are truly the best underclassmen I could ask for~" he replied giddily. "Now, would you guys like something to eat or drink? It's on me!" he then declared with an excited grin.
And honestly, who would say no to that?
The four of them ended up having an early dinner at the pub together. The food was good, just like it had been last time. The boys ate their fill before deciding to get another drink before going home.
The small group sat together at the bar when Shizuka came by to say hello. She and Tsubaki ended up into a lengthy conversation about something related to their work at the pub and Nirei joined in as well, happy to learn more about his friends. The three eventually left to go sit down at an empty table a little further into the building, leaving Suo and Sakura to sit at the bar on their own.
It wasn't an issue for the two teens. They were content just sitting here and talking to the bartender. Or, well, Suo was talking to the bartender (something about martial arts) while Sakura just stared off into space beside him.
In all honesty, the bi-colored boy wasn't feeling too well right now.
He didn't know what it was, but he felt off. A bit unbalanced and foggy. Probably not bad enough that he would fall over if he stood up, but definitely enough that his friends would ask questions if they saw him swaying on his feet, so he was glad he was still seated. He hoped Suo wouldn't notice. He didn't want to worry him while having such a great time here at the bar.
Unfortunately for him, his vice captain is way too observant. The moment he looked away from his conversation partner and looked at Sakura, his expression morphed into one of concern. "Sakura-kun, are you alright?" he asked gently. The other boy nodded before immediately regretting that decision as a wave of nausea hit him. Damn, what was wrong with him tonight?
He hadn't even realised he had closed his eyes until a cold hand placed itself onto his forehead. He blinked his eyes open again to look at the small frown adorning his friend's face. "No fever at least. And you didn't drink any alcohol. Maybe you're a bit overstimulated by the atmosphere here?" he suggested. The bi-colored teen hummed as he leaned into the other's touch. He supposed that would make sense. He was still getting used to such rowdy places.
The one-eyed teen retracted his hand and gave him a small smile. "We better get you home then. I'll go inform Nire-kun and we can leave, alright?" he said. Sakure frowned at that. They didn't have to leave because of him. He didn't want to ruin their evening because of him feeling a bit off. That's stupid.
Suo let out a little sigh after he voiced these thoughts. "Sakura-kun, we won't be having anyway fun if you're not feeling well. We can come back a different time, alright?" he told the other boy. The grade captain wanted to protest but when another wave of dizziness hit him he reluctantly agreed. He really did not feel well.
A hand patted him on the shoulder. "Stay here. I'll be right back." his vice captain said before standing up from the bar stool and leaving him by himself. Sakura watched him go before letting out a small groan and hanging his head. Fuck, why did he have to ruin the evening for his friends? Why did he have to start feeling so miserable at a place like this?
It didn't make sense. He was fine just fifteen minutes ago! He knew something was wrong. He just didn't know what.
By now, his consciousness was slowly starting to fade away little by little and as it did, he felt someone sit down on the stool next to him. A hand grabbed his arm and he heard them say something, but he couldn't understand their words.
He just felt so drowsy..
Nirei was having a great time.
There were just so many interesting people here! He had originally gone with Tsubaki and Shizuka to listen and participate in their conversation about their performances and their relations to the group running things here, but he ended up talking to some of the Roppo-Ichiza guys as well when they came by their table.
Because of the fight with Gravel last time he was here and the war afterwards, he hadn't gotten the opportunity to really sit down and ask his many burning questions to fill his notebook with. He had already practically interrogated most people here who weren't actively working before tuning back in to listen to his upperclassman and his friend. He was quite interested to hear about the blossoming romance between Shizuka and Kanji.
If Sakura was here he would be a constant blushing mess at what was being talked about.
They were about to dive into another deep conversation when Suo suddenly appeared at his side. "Oh, Suo-san! Where's Sakura-san?" he asked immediately when he noticed that his friend had come alone. Last he knew the two were still sitting together at the bar.
Suo smiled down at him, but it seemed a bit strained. "Sakura-kun isn't feeling well. I'm going to take him home, so I came to see if you wanted to come with as well." he told his fellow vice captain.
The blond's eyes widened and he jumped up. "Sakura-san's sick? What happened?!" he cried out, attracting the attention of the other two sitting at the table as well. Tsubaki placed a hand on his cheek. "Oh dear, he's not feeling well? Did he eat something bad?" he asked in concern.
Suo let out a sigh. "I'm not sure, but he really wasn't looking too great all of the sudden. I think it will be best for us to cut the night short and drop him off at home." he replied. The other vice captain nodded at that. It was no use staying here any longer if his friend wasn't having a good time.
Tsubaki stood up from his seat as well. "Let me walk you boys to the door." he said with a small smile. He, too, was worried for the bi-colored teen. The boy never showed them his weaknesses, so for him to be visibly ill it must be quite bad. The three waved at Shizuka before leaving the room to go find the young grade captain and bring him home.
Except, Sakura was not sitting where Suo had left him.
The one-eyed boy stopped in his tracks and looked around. Where had his friend gone? He was not sitting at the bar, nor could he see him anywhere in the room. Despite telling him to stay put, his captain had vanished.
Nirei stopped beside him. "Where is Sakura-san?" he asked. The other teen scanned the room again, but he failed to locate their friend. Well, that wasn't good.
"I seem to have misplaced him."
"Misplaced him? He's a person, Suo-san, not an object!"
The upperclassman standing behind them looked around as well. "Perhaps he went to the bathroom?" he suggested. They supposed that was plausible. So off they went to the bathrooms together. He and Nirei entered the men's room and called out their friend's name, but other than one drunk guy using the urinals the bathroom was empty.
"He isn't in the ladies' room either." Tsubaki said as the exited the room. At their questioning look he just raised his hands. "Hey, I thought if he's sick he might have mistaken the door signs!" he explained. Well, it didn't matter either way. He wasn't here.
Nirei looked around nervously. "He probably went outside then. Maybe he really needed to get some fresh air?" he said. Suo nodded at that. There wasn't really anywhere else he could be, other than the staff room or kitchen but he very much doubted Sakura would go there of his own volition.
And so, the three traversed the pub towards the exit, all while keeping an eye out for their two-toned companion.
Once outside, they immediately looked around for the missing boy. It was already fairly dark outside, but the streets were still lively and crowded. It was the weekend, so Keisei Street was filled to the brim with people.
And yet their friend, who easily stood out in any crowd with his recognisable features, was nowhere in sight.
Now Suo was starting to feel a bit unsettled. He was getting a bad feeling about this. Sakura had downplayed his health earlier, but he had clearly been very unwell. In his eyes it just seemed very unlikely he'd gone far in that state.
Not on his own, at least.
The sudden realisation hit him like a brick and his eye widened.
The sudden unexplained decline of his captain's health followed by his sudden disappearance? Of course that wasn't a coincidence! Fuck, why hadn't he thought of this sooner! He was such an idiot for leaving Sakura alone like that. He practically threw him to the lions to be eaten!
"We need to find him now!" he barked as he began weaving through the crowd. Nirei and Tsubaki were startled by the urgency in his voice but followed suit, turning their search effort up to the max. The blond boy followed his classmate while the older of the three split off and went in the opposite direction.
Their eyes scanned the crowds, searched the entrances of shops, and looked into alleyways in the hope of finding their friend. The boys became increasingly more desperate as the minutes ticked by without any sign of Sakura. Where the hell had he gone?!
And then, just as the two first years were about to turn around and go in the direction Tsubaki had gone, Nirei saw a flicker of white in his peripheral vision. His head turned around so fast he almost gave himself whiplash. It took him a moment to find what had so quickly gotten his attention, but then he saw it.
There at the end of the street, being held up by an unfamiliar individual, was Sakura.
"Suo-san, look!" he yelled as he pulled at his friend's sleeve. The one-eyed teen turned to look as well and his gaze immediately narrowed. They didn't have to say anything to each other at that moment, they just simultaneously took off towards their friend.
As they got closer, the situation the two-toned boy had found himself in became more clear to see. There wasn't just the man that was holding onto him, but there were another three guys hovering around the two, talking and laughing as they walked. They seemed to be a little older than them, maybe early to mid twenties, and looked like they were absolute scum.
And then there was Sakura. Their friend barely even looked conscious while he leaned heavily into the man's side, arm pulled over the guy's shoulders while the other had snaked his own arm around the boy's waist. His head hung low and he looked awfully unsteady on his feet. In fact, he looked like he would collapse right there and then if the other man wasn't holding him up.
To any bystander watching the small group, it probably looked like a bunch of guys taking their friend home after he'd had a bit too much to drink at the club. But Nirei and Suo knew better. They knew Sakura hadn't had a single drop of alcohol that night. For fuck's sake, he wasn't even of legal drinking age yet!
And yet here he was, barely able to stand on his own two feet like he'd been taking shots all evening.
Suo's hands unconsciously clenched into fists. He had hoped his earlier suspicions were wrong, but the sight before them only confirmed those awful thoughts. The sudden disorientation, dizziness, slurred speech, and now the near-unconscious state his friend was in while practically in the arms of complete strangers. It all clearly pointed to one conclusion:
Sakura had been drugged.
"Hey! Let go of him!" Nirei yelled as they came to a halt right behind the group. The men lazily turned around, smirks still on their faces, as they regarded the two teens that had suddenly appeared. They clearly didn't think of them as a threat.
One of the men not holding Sakura up stepped forward. "Hah? Who the hell are you two? Can't you see we're busy?" he said in a very condescending tone of voice. The other men snickered. They all seemed to find the situation quite amusing.
The blond felt even more anger fill him at those words, but before he could say anything else Suo stepped forward. He looked calm on the outside, but Nirei could see that the other was absolutely seething.
"That's our dear friend you're holding there. We would like to have him returned please." he said with a strained smile. The man's eyes widened for just a second before he let out a chuckle. The others joined in moments later.
"Who, this?" the man attached to Sakura's side said as he pulled the unmoving body closer against his own. "Oh, you must be mistaken. He doesn't know who you are. Right?" he asked the boy beside him, using one hand to pat the side of his face. The teen slowly turned his head and weakly pushed against the man's chest with a barely audible 'no'. The man just grinned. "See? You must have the wrong guy! Now, if you'll excuse us-"
"What did you give him?" Suo interrupted, his single eye watching the bi-colored boy's feeble attempt at pushing himself away from the man. The grin on the other's face vanished. Seems like they were finally accepting that they couldn't fool these teens.
One of the other men snickered. "Just some Rohypnol. It won't hurt him, but it will keep him compliant while we have some fun~" he said as he leered at the incapacitated teen. The other three laughed along with him. Like this was all a fun game they were playing instead of the crime it actually was.
Nirei almost choked on his own spit as he heard those words and Suo seemed to be in about the same state of disbelief at their confession. What do they mean by 'have some fun'?! Well they could probably guess what they meant, they weren't stupid, but to think that someone would try to do that to their grade captain in this way was just unacceptable!
Seeing their shock and anger, the one holding their friend up decided to throw some more gasoline on the fire. "He may not be a girl, but he was honestly just asking for it, sitting there at the bar looking the way he did. You can't blame us for wanting try our shot with someone as pretty as this~" he told the teens.
His arm, the one still around the boy's waist, then moved down lower and lower until his hand landed on a place he should definitely not be touching without Sakura's permission.
That was the final straw. Within seconds, Suo was in motion. He darted forward, fully intending on getting that creep away from his friend, but was stopped by the other three guys jumping in between him and his goal. No matter, they wouldn't be able to keep him from his destination for long. Not when Sakura needed his help.
Teasing and playing around with his opponents is something the eyepatch-wearing teen often did, but not today. Before anyone could blink, the first man was already splayed out on the ground. He was gasping for air and clutching his throat where Suo's shoe had made contact. Yeah, he would not be getting up anytime soon.
The other three were visibly shocked by the easy take down of their associate. The two remaining ones at the front took a step back, but the teen was already on the move again. He redirected the fist coming his way before driving his own into other's stomach. A bit more aggressive than his usual fighting style, but he was not in the mood to be graceful. The man crumbled to the floor just as fast at the last one.
He heard the third one moving behind him and turned around with his hands raised up, ready to block the attack that was sure to be upon him. However, to his surprise and amazement, Nirei had managed to sneak up on the man and tripped him up before he could reach the other vice captain. The man slammed face-first into the ground and Suo was quick to deliver another hit to the back of the head before the man could even think about getting up again.
And that left only the man that was still holding their friend captive.
The man was clearly frustrated by the events unfolding in front of him. He had taken several steps back already but wasn't that quick to get out of there while dragging a barely conscious teenage boy with him. When the students directed their attention to him he froze.
For a moment, the man seemed lost on what to do. His mates had been defeated within minutes and his plans of getting it on with a cute boy were ruined. On top of that, he was likely going to get his own ass beat if he didn't think of something to do quick. He needed to do something even if it was stupid!
And so, he pulled out a pocket knife and held it up against Sakura's throat.
"Don't you come any fucking closer!" he yelled, pressing the blade against the drugged teen's neck. The other boys stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of the knife. This situation was already messed up, but now it was getting truly dangerous. When driven into a corner people tended to do dumb things, so they really had to be careful if they wanted to avoid their incapacitated captain getting injured.
The man slowly walked backwards while dragging the two-toned boy with him. "You're gonna let me leave and you're not gonna follow me." he hissed. The teens stepped closer, but stopped at the sight of the knife being pressed harder against their captain's throat. "Stop! You can pick up your friend after I've left! I will-"
He was suddenly cut off by a high heel boot slamming into his face.
The man instantly dropped the knife and the boy he was holding and fell backwards onto the ground. He clutched his now broken nose as he looked up to see a very angry teen with long hair looking down at him. He opened his mouth to say something, probably plead his innocence, but was quickly shut up by another kick from Tsubaki's boot.
He did not get back up again.
"Tsubaki-san?" Suo said in surprise, not having expected the sudden arrival of the upperclassman. The older boy turned to face him and seemed to be a bit out of breath. Had he ran here all the way from the other side of the street? How did he even know how to get here?
"I came as soon as I got your message, Nirei. Seems like I was right on time." he panted. Message? The one-eyed teen had never even seen his classmate send one. He supposed he must have done so when he was busy beating the first guy's ass.
When Tsubaki took the last guy down, Nirei had dashed forward to catch his captain as the teen collapsed without the man's support. The added weight made him sink down to the ground, but at least his friend didn't sustain any injuries during the fall.
He quickly checked his classmate over for injuries. There was a very shallow gash on the side of his neck where the knife had grazed him, but other than that he seemed to be okay. Well, other than the most obvious issue at hand, of course.
"Thank you for coming so quickly, Tsubaki-san." he finally replied, letting out a sigh of relief. The long-haired teen quickly came over and knelt down next to him as he frowned at the state the bi-colored boy in his arms was in. The teen was barely conscious as he leaned completely limp against his vice-captain's chest.
Suo walked over as well and stood over the other three. "He got drugged. They likely spiked his drink while no one was looking." he informed the heavenly king in case Nirei's message hadn't done so. He still couldn't believe he hadn't noticed someone putting something in his friend's drink. He had been right there the whole time! He should have been able to prevent all of this from happening in the first place. He shouldn't have left Sakura alone.
The blond teen bit his lip as he stared down at his captain. "They said it was 'Rohypnol'. That's the same thing as a 'roofie', right?" he asked, looking up at Tsubaki in the hope that he would know more. The older boy moved his hand to card his fingers through his underclassman's messy two-toned locks and nodded. As far as he knew those were the same thing. He didn't have a lot of knowledge about this, but he was well aware of those kinds of drugs after working as a dancer here for quite a while.
The Roppo-Ichiza did their best to prevent these kinds of situations from happening, but drinks getting spiked was still an all too frequent occurrence..
"So, what do we do now? How long will the effects last? Should we get him to a hospital?" Nirei asked the other two. Sakura looked to be on the verge of passing out so asking him anything was out of the question. They would have to be the ones to make decisions for him tonight.
Tsubaki sighed. "As far as I know the effects can last anywhere between eight to twelve hours. It shouldn't have any lasting side-effects and I don't think it's necessary to go to the hospital for this. I doubt he would even appreciate it if we did that. You know how he is about doctors and strangers in general." he replied. "I do think it's important to keep an eye on him while he rides this one out though. He'll likely be completely out of it until tomorrow morning. Thank god it's Saturday because I doubt it would have been a good idea to let him attend class after this.."
The two vice captains nodded at that. "We will take him home and I'll stay with him until the drug is out of his system." Suo stated. Nirei looked up at him as he tightened his hold on his friend. "We will stay with him. I'm not leaving him until he kicks me out of his apartment tomorrow." he said, his tone leaving no room for debate. Like hell he was leaving his very vulnerable friend alone with anyone tonight. Not even with his other most trusted friend.
The auburn-haired teen looked at him for a moment before sighing. "Alright. Let's get him home then, Nire-kun." he said before looking at the older teen. "Tsubaki-san, will you come with as well?" he asked, just to be polite. The four of them in that cramped apartment would definitely be too much though.
The upperclassman shook his head. "I'll have to deal with these assholes first. I think Kanji would love to have some words with them for pulling this shit in his territory before we call the cops." he said, glaring at the men still sprawled out on the ground not far from them. Oh, those guys will be in for a world of pain for trying to drug and assault one of Furin's most beloved members.
The younger boys nodded at that. They'd happily leave the fate of those bastards to Tsubaki. He would make sure they wouldn't be getting away scot-free tonight.
The three of them then worked together to get Sakura up and onto Suo's back. They heard a bit of slurred protest from the boy in question, but for once they ignored him. Getting him home was what was best for him right now so they did what needed to be done.
The two vice captains then bid their upperclassman goodbye with the promise of updating him on their friend's condition later before they set off towards the bi-colored teen's home. Somewhere along the way Sakura must have passed out completely because when they arrived at their destination he was completely out for the count.
Nirei made quick work of getting the boy's futon ready. Afterwards, the freckled teen quickly took care of the shallow cut on the his captain's neck by disinfecting it and putting a small band-aid on it before he and Suo worked together to get their friend situated on his futon. They didn't dare to remove his clothing to change him into some sleepwear, not after what had just happened.
There was absolutely no resistance from the unconscious teen as he was manhandled into, what they hoped to be, a comfortable sleeping position. Well, as comfortable as it can be without a pillow. Seriously, why didn't the boy have one? It couldn't be comfortable to sleep like this on the daily!
Honestly, it was quite disturbing to see Sakura in this state. Completely limp and at the mercy of whoever was near him. Just the thought of what those men could have done to him was enough to make them both angry and terrified. If they had been just a moment later-
"We should get some rest as well. I doubt he'll feel that great when he wakes up in the morning." Suo said as he settled himself to sit against the wall. There weren't any spare futons and he wasn't going to invade Sakura's space and sleep next to him. He probably wouldn't get a lot of sleep that night, but that was a sacrifice he was willing to make to keep his friend safe.
The blond teen finally stood up from where he was knelt next to his captain and walked over to the closet. He looked around for a bit and managed to find and old blanket underneath the sparse pile of clothing his bi-colored friend owned. He trotted over to the one-eyed teen and sat down next to him before throwing the blanket over both of their laps. The other was surprised by this, but thanked him. It wasn't much, but it'll have to do.
The two sat in silence for a moment, unsure of what to say. The events of that evening had been.. a lot. Suo especially was having some trouble comprehending what had happened. He didn't understand how he could let this happen. He was always so observant, and yet he failed his friend in such a spectacular way! If only he had just-
"It's not your fault, you know." Nirei suddenly said, breaking both the silence and his train of thought. The other didn't reply. The shorter boy turned to face him. "You couldn't have known something like this would happen. None of us did. It was just bad luck that Sakura-san ended up being the one to get their attention." he continued. Honestly, something like this happening to one of them had been the furthest from his mind that night. He doubted any of them had thought of that possibility at all!
Suo thumbed at the fabric of the blanket. "Still. He wasn't feeling well and I just left him there on his own." he said quietly. If he had just stayed at his captain's side those men would never have gotten the opportunity to whisk the boy away from the pub. Maybe he couldn't have prevented him from getting drugged, but at least they wouldn't have had to look for him outside.
The other sighed. "You didn't leave him alone without a proper reason. You came to get me so we could walk him home. There was no other way to do that. Maybe you could have texted or called, but why would you do that when I was so close by. And I doubt I would have even heard it because of how loud the music was.."
The one-eyed boy sighed. His fellow vice captain had a point. He handled it in what he deemed to be the right way at the time. He probably wasn't even gone for more than a minute or two. How could he have predicted his friend would be taken in that short of a time frame?
Yes, the situation sucked and he probably would keep silently blaming himself for this for a little while longer, but in the end he wasn't the one who drugged and took his friend away. The fault lies completely with those guys who, hopefully, will face the consequences of their actions very soon.
"Let's get some sleep, Nire-kun." he said, giving the other boy a small tired smile. The other blinked at him before nodding. It was no use discussing things like this when they're both mentally and physically drained from today's events. They should sleep so they were better prepared to deal with the aftermath of the drugs that were in Sakura's system tomorrow.
"Good night, Suo-san." the shorter of the two said, smiling at the other vice captain. Suo smiled back and pulled the blanket up further onto his body. It didn't do much to keep them warm, but it was better than sleeping in the cold air of their captain's crappy apartment.
"Good night, Nire-kun."
They woke up to the sound of the door being slid open in a hurry.
Nirei blinked the sleep from his eyes and sat up straight from where he had been leaning against Suo's shoulder in his sleep. He patted the floor next to him in search of his phone and dragged his tired gaze over to the screen to see what time it was. It was 7:21 AM and, in his opinion, way too early to be awake on a Sunday morning.
"Was that Sakura-kun that rushed past just now?" his fellow vice captain spoke, sounding more composed than he himself felt at this hour. The blond looked over to the futon to find it empty with the covers having been thrown off and the door leading to the hallway was wide open.
"I think he went to the bathroom?" he replied. Suo followed his gaze and nodded. "Best to check up on him then." he said before pushing the blanket off and getting up on his feet. He quickly adjusted his slightly askew eyepatch before holding out a hand to his friend. Nirei smiled and let the other pull him up, letting their shared blanket fall to the floor.
The two of them walked through the small apartment until they reached the bathroom. That door had also been left open in their friend's haste so they could just walk in. They were hesitant to do so since they didn't know what their friend was doing in there, but when they heard the sound of retching they quickly made up their mind and entered the bathroom.
Sakura was hunched over the toilet bowl, spit dripping down from his trembling lips. At the sound of footsteps entering the room he looked up briefly, eyes squinted in confusion, before his face twisted and he turned back to dry-heave once again. There didn't seem to be a lot that was coming out anymore as most of his stomach contents had already left his system.
It was quite a pitiful sight.
Nirei rushed forward and settled a hand on his captain's back, rubbing soothing circles on the sweat-drenched fabric. The two-toned boy let out a small whimper and heaved again, spitting some saliva out into the toilet bowl. The fringe of his hair clung to his forehead before the blond used his hand to brush it back and away from his face.
The freckled boy sat at his friend's side, hoping to give him a bit of comfort, while Suo searched the cupboard nearby for some painkillers. Meanwhile Sakura tried to compose himself where he sat knelt on the cold floor. It had been quite a while since he felt this bad.
After a while he finally turned his head away from the bowl. His tired heterochromic eyes moved to look at his friends. "W-what are you guys doin' here..?" he asked, voice full of confusion. His auburn-haired vice captain walked over and knelt down next to him. He used some toilet paper to wipe the spit and traces of yesterday's dinner from the boy's mouth and chin.
"You needed someone to look after you after what happened last night." he told the teen as he threw the paper in the toilet bowl and flushed. He then helped Nirei pull their grade captain to his feet. Sakura leaned heavily against his friends but he didn't fall back down. At least the drug seemed to be mostly worn off by now, so that's good.
Together they made their way back through the apartment. They stopped briefly in the kitchen where Sakura washed out his mouth before taking some of the painkillers Suo offered him. They then migrated back towards the main room where Sakura all but crumbled down onto his futon with a groan. He didn't pass out, but he definitely didn't look like he was having a good time. Unfortunately there wasn't much his vice captains could do to help at this point.
It was silent for a moment. Then, the bi-colored teen spoke up. "What happened yesterday?" he asked, a frown on his face.
The other two teens looked at him in surprise. "You don't remember?" Nirei asked. Well, now that he thought about it, he supposed it made sense. His friend had been so out of it at the time it's no wonder he didn't retain any memory of what transpired.
Sakura shook his head. "I know we went to watch Tsubaki perform, but after that I'm drawing a blank. How did I even get home?" he said. He pulled at his hair in frustration before winching as the action only worsened his headache. He hated not knowing what's going on. Why didn't he remember anything? What did he do last night?!
"There was an.. incident. At the pub." Suo started carefully. As much as he wanted to protect his captain from any unpleasant feelings and memories, it wasn't right to keep him in the dark completely.
"Someone put drugs in your soda at some point during the evening that made you pass out. They tried to take you away, but we were able to retrieve you before anything else happened. That's the short version of it." the one-eyed teen explained briefly. His friend didn't really need to know more than that. He didn't need to know about what those guys were planning on doing, or how they'd almost been successful at vanishing into the night with his barely conscious body.
Maybe they'd tell him at a later point in time, but not now.
The boy blinked up at him. "Drugs?" he voiced incredulously. The other nodded. "Nothing too harmful, but that's likely the reason you're not feeling great this morning." Suo confirmed. "And the reason why we stayed the night. We wanted to make sure you were okay after all of that." Nirei added.
The bi-colored teen fell silent. He stared up at the ceiling for a while before rubbing his eyes with a groan. "They didn't do anything weird to me, did they?" he asked quietly. His voice was slightly shaky, but neither vice captain commented on it.
"They wouldn't still be alive if they had." Nirei replied firmly. He would've personally buried their corpses in shallow graves in a nearly forrest if those guys had done more than just touch his friend over his clothing. Even those brief touches alone already warranted his wrath in his opinion, but in the end nothing too serious happened. He supposed the beating and jail time Tsubaki was ensuring they would get would be sufficient enough for now.
Sakura let out a small sigh at that. "Okay.." he muttered, relieved. Still, he felt icky just thinking about being touched by random people he didn't know. He already knew he would be taking a very long shower after his friends leave.
He looked back at his friends. "Suo, Nirei," he started. The two looked back and he couldn't help but notice the concern on their faces. He almost smiled at that. They were such good friends.
"Thank you," he breathed out. "For getting me out of that situation and for taking care of me. You didn't have to do that.." They could have just dropped him off and gone home, but they didn't. They stuck around until they were sure he was okay.
The blond shook his head. "We wanted to. We just couldn't leave you on your own after that. It wouldn't be right." he replied. Suo nodded along. They probably lie awake worrying about their captain anyway if they went home after all that happened.
The bi-colored teen looked at them, saw the sincerity in their eyes, and huffed affectionately. "Thank you." he said again, a small blush coating his cheeks. Yeah, they really were good friends. What did he do to deserve them..
A sudden growl filled the air. The three looked each other in surprise before Sakura flushed even redder. He hadn't realised until now but he was positively starving!
Suo chuckled softly while Nirei shook his head in amusement. "How about I order us some breakfast?" the blond said, pulling out his phone. The grade captain nodded shyly while the eyepatch-wearing boy simply refused while referring to his infamous 'diet'. Nirei just rolled his eyes and went about ordering some food.
In the end, the three of them stayed together at Sakura's place for most of the day as they ate, played games, and talked. By late afternoon, the two-toned teen was completely back to his usual self. The drugs were as good as out of his system by now and left no side-effects, which all of them were very relieved by.
When they parted ways that night, the two vice captains silently vowed to always keep an eye on their friend's drinks from now on.
They could never let something like this happen again.