Archive of Our Own

"You feeling sleepy, bud?"

Haruka straightened, heart pounding in his chest. "N-no! Of course not!" Except he was lying because two seconds ago, his head was tipping further and further forward and almost slipped off the hand it was resting on. He glanced behind him, where Umemiya stared up at him with lidded eyes.

"Me too, I'm exhausted. It was a battle hard fought today!" That he could agree with. Umemiya paused for a second, and his tone grew softer. "I'm proud of you, Sakura."

He whipped his head around to stare at Umemiya incredulously. "Hah?!" Then Haruka clutched at his head, groaning softly. Geez, his head was pounding.

Umemiya laughed, the sound like tinkling bells. "I'm serious. You fought against Endo and won. Not many people can say that."

He blushed at the praise, shrugging his shoulders and mumbling noncommittally. He still couldn't believe it himself. Haruka knew in a fight where Endo hadn't given in towards the end, he would've lost definitively. But, for now, he'd accept the win. All that mattered was that Endo, Takiishi, and the rest of Noroshi had backed off. He ignored the hollowness in his chest. He was exhausted after all, despite what he told Umemiya.

He looked back at Umemiya. The older boy met his gaze, nothing but warmth and pride in his blue eyes. Huffing, Haruka shifted sideways, falling down onto his back and stretching his legs out so that he was laying side-by-side with his upperclassman.

"You, um…" Looking up at the sky, Haruka flushed, frustrated in his inability to say what he wanted to say. Umemiya hummed patiently, and he heard the smile in his voice. "I knew you were gonna win today."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Umemiya turn his head fully to face him, eyes wide with surprise. Then, he laughed. A laugh that erupted from his core, and Haruka's face heated. Finally, Umemiya's laugh trailed off, and Haruka felt a hand land on his head.

"Thanks, Sakura! That means a lot coming from you."

Haruka stared harder at the sky, willing his blush to go away. "Y-yeah! Whatever!"

Umemiya laughed again. "You're such a good kid."

"Shut up!" He reached a hand out to smack at Umemiya, who was clearly getting a kick out of this.

"Aww, but Sakuraaaa—"

The door to the rooftop slammed open. He and Umemiya glanced at each other, sitting up to get a better look at who was coming through. Nirei and Suo first came through, barely sparing a glance at Umemiya as they ran over to him.

"Sakura-san!" Nirei kneeled beside him and, without warning, leaned in close as he lifted up Haruka's bangs to check his face clearer.

His face exploded. "W-what are you doing?" Haruka shrieked. But he didn't push his friend away, just leaned back to try to get his heart to stop pounding so hard. Not that it helped.

Nirei didn't move, just kept scanning over Haruka as if to check he was fully okay. Next to him, Suo stood on guard as more rushed through the door. Tsubaki, Hiragi, and Sugishita ran in. Tsubaki and Hiragi glanced over Haruka, Suo, and Nirei. They each smiled at him, then moved their focus to Umemiya, scolding him (Hiragi) and crying in relief (Tsubaki). Sugishita stood in the background, watching both groups. He had that constipated look on his face, eyebrows furrowed so hard they might fall off. That look didn't suit the big oaf.

Haruka tilted his head at him, wondering what he was doing. Normally he would've launched himself at Umemiya without thinking. Sugishita stared back, clenching his fists. He clicked his tongue as his shoulders dropped, then walked over to Umemiya's group. Weirdo.

"Sakura-kun." Suo sighed, bringing Haruka's attention back to his vices. Crouching down next to Nirei, he met Haruka's eyes with a serious gaze, holding it there for a moment. Slowly, Suo lifted a hand and reached over. Preparing himself for a flick on the forehead, Haruka closed his eyes and flinched back slightly. Instead, he was met with a small weight atop his head. He opened an eye and peeked at Suo, who was currently… patting his head. Huh? Suo smiled at him, eye sparkling. "I knew we could rely on you."

Haruka huffed, embarrassed. It killed this guy to be straightforward with his words half the time, always skirting around the issue. But when it came down to it, he'd say some bullshit like this, like it didn't burrow itself into Haruka's skin and made him feel warm and tingly throughout. Before he could say anything in response, Nirei sniffled, smiling wobbly. "You're the best grade captain we could've asked for!"

If he could actually cry (can't remember the last time he did that), he probably would've shed a tear. As it were, a lump formed in his throat, and he tried to swallow around it. Big words coming from Nirei and Suo, who were the ones who held down the fort along with the rest of their class. Not only that, but without their support he would've lost to Endo easy. But instead of immediately dismissing it or playing it off, Haruka paused for a moment and let himself sit in it. He did it. He actually managed to protect his friends, and protect those looks on their faces. Nirei's teary-eyed, flushed look of pride and admiration. Suo's soft smile and the unguarded affection and care in his eye. Regardless of how it happened and how he'd feel about it later, he'd let himself feel it now and bask in the knowledge that they were looking at him like this.

"You…" Nirei and Suo stilled. You guys are the best friends I've ever had. But it stayed choked up in his throat. He tried, but the words just couldn't come out. Looking down to escape their heavy gazes, he settled for the best he could to still get his message across. "You can always count on me." I'll do whatever I can to keep those looks on your faces. I'll fight my hardest to protect you. But all these words remained unsaid. He clenched his fists, frustrated, until Suo's hand came down on top of his head again. At the same time, Nirei grabbed his arm. They gave him those looks again, and he flushed right down to the bone. He sat in it for a moment, almost in a daze.

Then he came back to himself as the feeling started getting too overwhelming, swatting their hands away from them. He jumped to his feet, ignoring the protest in his muscles. This was about as much vulnerability as his heart could handle today. "Alright, bye."

And he sprinted away. Well, in theory at least. Haruka began shuffling to the staircase, his legs dragging like he had 50 pound weights tied to each one. He yawned. Damn, I'm beat.

Behind, Nirei called out, "W-wait, Sakura-san!" He blinked and all of a sudden they were on either side of him, ready to help him at a moment's notice.

He pursed his lips. "I can walk just fine."

Suo hummed, tapping a finger to his chin while looking up obnoxiously. "I don't know, Sakura-kun, you look like if another rain drop falls on you you'll keel over!"

Nirei shook his head, throwing a chiding glance at Suo. He turns back to him with a gentle smile. "We're walking you home, Sakura-san. The rain might get worse, and you've just had a long fight, and you're all beat up, and —"

"What Nire-kun is trying to say is that we'll all feel better knowing we've safely delivered you home!"

Haruka huffed, pushing forward despite his exhaustion so they wouldn't see his face. "Do what you want," is what he said, but he knew he'd never turn down those two.

Other than the rain, most of the walk to his apartment was silent. His mind was mostly blank in the moment, too tired to torment him in any way. For now at least. Whatever thoughts were fighting for space at the edge of his brain he pushed back. Every time Endo's face flashed in his mind, he immediately blocked it out. No need to think of that dirtbag. They won, his friends are safe, their town and their school are safe, nobody died (he didn't go with Endo), so he should be content. Ecstatic, even. His friends, ever fluent in Sakura, seemed to automatically know that he wasn't in the mood for conversation. They trotted along with him in comfortable silence. He really was so grateful to have found them.

I almost lost this.

The thought sent a cold flush through his system, hands numbing and blood draining from his face. Endo was close to having his way. He almost won. He would've won. Haruka knew it, Endo knew it, and had even explained why he let him win. That Endo couldn't win against him because he simply didn't want to. How fickle.

Acid bubbled up from his stomach, burning his throat. Why was he so proud of himself again? Umemiya had won clearly and resolutely. What Haruka did hadn't been winning. He simply didn't lose. Endo would've won had the fight gone slightly different, and then where would he be? With Endo, stolen from the only place I could ever call home. He put a hand over his mouth as if he could hide his shame.

Sensing the mood change in Haruka, Nirei leaned forward to make eye contact. "Are you alright, Sakura-san?"

He immediately dropped his hand. "Yeah," he said, voice coming out hoarse. Haruka cleared his throat, trying to steel himself. "Yeah, I'm good." He breathed deeply and let the breath out slowly in an effort to calm down.

He wasn't being fair. He deserved some credit. After all, at the end of the day he'd still won and managed to protect his friends. The reasons why don't matter.

Credit for what? a traitorous voice sneered in his mind. Didn't even have the resolve to say you wouldn't lose. He ignored it.

"We're here," Suo suddenly chimed in, breaking him out of his train of thought.

He looked up and was met with his rundown apartment building. He knew it was bad, his shitty landlord hardly ever putting in any effort to fix up the place even when Haruka had asked about fixing his leaky faucet. He'd been met with a mumbled promise to fix it later, which meant the landlord wouldn't put any effort in it. Unfortunately, Sakura wasn't exactly the handy type, so that probably meant that the damn faucet would be like that forever.

It didn't normally give Haruka any pause. After all, he was used to less than optimal living situations, and while there were usually better physical conditions at least he didn't have to feel suffocated in what was supposed to be his own space. But right now, he felt the building looming over him, as if he was growing smaller and smaller.

Haruka let out a shaky breath. He was just tired from the fight. It was a long evening after all. He took a few steps forward and turned back to his vice captains.

Nirei was a little roughed up, but nothing that said he should be worried or that a good night's rest couldn't help. Suo, as usual, had mostly unblemished skin with a little dirt on his face that was probably more from the rain than anything else. The rain had mostly fizzled out by now, light droplets occasionally falling from the sky. At least he didn't have to worry about Nirei and Suo getting caught up in a bad pour.

Haruka looked away, feeling slightly bashful as he told them, "Um, thanks, I guess, for walking me home and stuff…" He peered up at them, forcing himself to look at their faces. Face them.

Each of them had bright smiles on their faces, and he swore the street around them lit up for a moment. Blushing, he groaned loudly and began to stomp up the stairs. "Stop looking at me like that, dammit! Go home!"

"Goodnight, Sakura-san!" Nirei called, waving with way too much energy after the night they had. "We'll text you when we get home!!"

"Don't let the bedbugs bite!" Suo teased.

Haruka opened his front door, then paused to turn back to them. "Whatever!" As he stepped inside and slammed the door shut, he heard Suo laughing and Nirei fondly scolding him. He smiled faintly as the sound grew quieter as they presumably walked away.

After he showered, changing into a clean shirt and boxers, he checked his phone to see messages from Nirei, Suo, and the rest of their class that everyone was home safe and sound. Huffing a sigh, he collapsed onto his bed, eyes shut before he even hit his futon.

He didn't dream that night.

Most of the day after the battle passed in a blur. Haruka vaguely remembered sending a text to his class at some point saying he wasn't going to be in that day. He doesn't know if that's actually what he managed to type out, but he tried. I think.

He'd only manage to wake up and stay awake well after school had started. He spent anywhere from a couple minutes to a couple hours in a dazed consciousness, not fully awake but not fully asleep either. What had finally managed to knock him awake was…

"Oh, Sakura-kun!" Suo sang as he and presumably Nirei slammed his front door open. Haruka burrowed further into his blanket, furrowing his eyebrows. So loud… "Are you alive in here?"

"Don't say that, Suo-san! Of course, he is! Probably… Oh geez, we should've checked in on him sooner, what if he bled out in his sleep and died??"

Haruka let out a grumble that was meant to sound something like, "Keep it down in here, idiots!" but was definitely an incoherent half-muffled-shout half-mumble. He settled back down and cuddled into his comforter, hoping they got the hint and let him keep sleeping.

They did not.

The door to his bedroom slid open, more quietly this time. "Nire-kun, you might be right… I think it's too late. We've lost him," Suo said somberly.

Finally, he sat up sharply and exclaimed, "I'm not dead!"

Haruka immediately regretted it. He curled into himself as pain burned in his… well, everywhere, but especially in his core, where he had tanked several punches from Endo. His jaw throbbed, and he snapped his mouth shut, one hand clutching at his jaw and the other at his stomach. He groaned. "You two tryin' to put me in the hospital?" he grumbled, still hunched forward, focusing on his breathing.

Suo and Nirei stepped over cautiously before kneeling at the side of his futon. Haruka glanced up at them, face still twisted in pain. Nirei fretted around him, not quite touching him but hands occasionally brushing in casual contact as he scanned over Haruka's body. After a minute or two staying hunched over, the pain subsided enough that he could straighten slowly, only to be surprised by Nirei pushing forward into his space.

Nirei put a hand to Haruka's forehead, lifting his bangs to stare into his eyes. For what, Haruka didn't quite understand. Not that he could string together a coherent thought at the moment with Nirei so close. Nirei's warm brown eyes held his own two-toned gaze for a moment, his touch gentle yet confident as he seemed to have found whatever he was looking for, nodding to himself and mumbling quietly to himself. Haruka simply stared forward in a daze, mouth slightly agape and face warm as he leaned into Nirei's touch.

When had Nirei grown so sure and confident with others? Slowly but surely, he had grown into his role as vice captain. He didn't think that the Nirei he had first met would be this comfortable getting into anyone's space unless he was in his information-taking mode. But here he was, touching Haruka so confidently like he belonged in his personal bubble. And here Haruka was, letting him. He couldn't bring himself to deny Nirei or push him away when he looked at Haruka like… like… he was precious, like if Nirei pressed too hard Haruka would wither and die. But like he knew he could anyway, as if knowing that Haruka was safe in his hands. And it seemed like somewhere in the back of his mind, Haruka agreed, any instinct to push Nirei away quietted.

Unbiddenly, his gaze meandered toward Suo, who sat calmly with his hands clasped tightly in his lap next to Nirei. His face was a different story, however. He didn't scan over him like Nirei did, but instead his gaze stood on some point below his face. His eye was narrowed, slightly blank yet intense in that way Haruka had only ever seen a handful of times. But what was he so angry about? Haruka's eyes flickered downward for a moment, but he couldn't see anything. Not that he was particularly focused at the moment with Nirei still so close and Suo looking at him like that. When he focused back on Suo's face, his expression had cleared, back to its usual careful warmth. The blankness was gone so fast Haruka wondered if he imagined it.

"Sakura-san, you look… rough," Nirei finally said after sufficiently checking over him.

He shook his head, trying to clear himself out of the comfortable daze he had been in. How embarrassing… "Thanks," Haruka deadpanned, absentmindedly rubbing at his neck, a dull ache in the area. Nirei and Suo both followed the motion with their eyes, frowning. He dropped his hand. "So, um… what'd I miss today?"

At the change in topic, Nirei hesitantly launched into a tirade about how Hiragi had announced over the loudspeaker all the damage that had been done and that whenever Umemiya came back there'd be a school-wide assembly to discuss and plan repairs (he wondered if Umemiya had tried to come in today only to be sent away by Hiragi), how many people had been absent today (apparently everyone, according to Nirei), and how rowdy the class had been without their grade captain to keep them calm (he knew damn well it wasn't because of him, those guys were rowdy as hell on a good day).

Suo followed suit, theorizing about the best ways to go about repairs and how to redesign patrol routes around them. He explained what they had learned in their classes today, and that the test meant for tomorrow was postponed for two days (thank the gods for their teachers, most of whom were from Makochi and thus understood whatever went on with the Furin boys).

At the fifth or sixth time Haruka's head nearly slipped off his hand as he dozed off during their conversation, Suo sighed, smiling softly. "Nire-kun, I think it's probably time we take our leave."

Nirei started to protest for a moment, but stopped himself as when his gaze met Haruka's. He smiled too. "Make sure you rest up so you can back to school soon!" He made to stand, Suo doing the same.

"Wait!" Panic shot up his chest like a geyser, and Haruka reached out to grab Nirei's forearm. His breathing quickened as he looked to his friends. Nirei froze, smile slipping off his face as he furrowed his brows, scanning over Sakura as frantically as Haruka felt. He found it hard to breathe

"What's wrong?" Suo asked, still kneeling. He met Haruka's gaze, eye holding nothing but concern and mild alarm.

Haruka dropped Nirei's arm as if it burned him. He shook his head, clearing his throat. Why had he reacted like that? He hadn't been thinking anything in particular when his friends announced their leave. What was wrong with him? Something still felt… off in his brain, but he didn't know what. He couldn't think properly right now. All he knew was that he didn't want to be alone.

He looked at his friends again, who were both waiting patiently and had nothing but worry written in their faces. He could just tell them he wanted them to stay longer. They'd understand, like they always do. They'd probably know why before Haruka realized himself. But he wouldn't. They must be tired too. They'd been through the battle, just like him. They had had to deal with the extra responsibility today because of Haruka's absence. A pit grew in his stomach, overpowering the weight in his chest.

Because of you.

He didn't need to bother them just because of some feeling that he didn't even know the reason behind. Haruka swallowed. Shook his head again. "No, uh… Nothing. Sorry. Just tired."

"Are you sure? We can stay a little longer." Nirei smiled slightly, gently, grabbing Haruka's hand and holding it like it was the most precious thing in the world. Suo stayed silent, but his brows were furrowed with concern.

You're going to drag them down with you.

He slipped his hand out of Nirei's grasp. "Nah, it's all good." He scratched the back of his neck, trying to ignore the thickness in his throat. "Um… I'll see you guys tomorrow."

His friends held his gaze for a moment, as if there were a silent competition to see who would fold first: them or Sakura. Finally, they each let out a sigh.

"Make sure you rest up then, Sakura-kun." Suo shook his head, holding a finger up as he smiled placidly. "Goodness knows you'll need all the energy you can get for tomorrow!"

Haruka tilted his head. "What's tomorrow?"

"The full moon, of course. We're spending our patrol tomorrow chasing out all the stray dogs in case they're secretly werewolves," Suo said in a hushed tone, as if he were telling him a very important secret. "After yesterday's battle, I'm afraid we can't afford to fight off rabid werewolves as well." Bullshit.

Next to him, Nirei side-eyed Suo, mouth set in a slightly amused grimace. "Werewolves, huh…"

"I know werewolves don't exist, jerk!" Haruka knew that. He wasn't stupid, that kind of stuff wasn't real. They aren't. But then again, where did the concept of werewolves even come from? "Right?" he mumbled aloud, furrowing his eyebrows.

Suo's shoulders shook. Haruka turned red, and he swatted at Suo, who simply shimmied away from him, still laughing. Idiot.

Nirei huffed a laugh, and when Haruka turned to frown at him, betrayed, he immediately began chastising Suo, cheeks red and puffed up like a squirrel's. Nirei wasn't fooling anyone. He even still had a bit of a smile on his face! Still, saving face he had one finger wagging in Suo's face while he rested his free hand close to Haruka's leg. Haruka swore he could feel the heat emanating through his comforter. That was the only thing that could explain the fluttery warmth rising from his core, ignoring the fact that his comforter was definitely far too thick to feel Nirei's body heat from only his hand.

Suo giggled, face alight with mischievous glee as it usually was whenever he got the chance to mess with Sakura or annoy Nirei. His eye was near closed into a crescent, reddish-brown glinting even with the lowlight. The very tips of his ears looked as if they were red, but Haruka was unsure if that was because of the light or not. He couldn't deny that it pleased him to know that he and Nirei could get any sort of reaction that wasn't one of his two default expressions.

The warmth rose to his chest, bursting out of him with a soft chuckle, soothing the anxiety thrumming in his veins underneath. At the sound of his laughter, Suo and Nirei stopped their bickering and turned back to him. Nirei gave him a soft smile, reaching out to pat his leg. Suo's eye softened from its mischievous glint into something more quietly genuine.

With their gazes weighing heavily on him, Haruka blushed from head to toe and began shooing them out of his apartment, with the promise of seeing them at school tomorrow. He hadn't done it on purpose, but he realized after it served as a good distraction from his initial freak out. Besides, he was tired and didn't want to waste the rest of Nirei's and Suo's days just because he was slightly afraid to be alone. But that was enough thinking for today. As soon as he closed the door behind his friends, he shuffled back to bed and threw the covers over himself, almost immediately falling asleep again.

Haruka hissed, everything in his body throbbing, screaming at him. He paid it no mind, only looking straight at what's ahead of him. Whenever he was in a fight, that kind of stuff faded to the background like white noise for him. There would be time to tend to his wounds later on. The priority was ahead of him.

Or rather, on top of him. Kneeling over him, hands to his throat, Endo gazed into Haruka's eyes, his eyes alight with… something. He looked deranged, blushing from the enjoyment of the fight, a grin on his face that Haruka could only describe as sinister.

He kicked and pummelled at Endo's side, but the other didn't budge, not even a single centimeter. He could feel himself losing strength as black began to creep up in the edges of his vision.

Panic and adrenaline shot up in his chest, and with new fervor he began fighting back even harder.

He can't lose like this. He won't lose like this. Not with them watching.

Them? Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Nirei and Suo standing there along with some other faces he couldn't make out. He turned his head slightly to see them better. His heart dropped.

They just stood there, slack, expressions cold. Unfamiliar.

Suo looked down his nose at Haruka, eyes blank and mouth set in a firm line. Like they weren't friends. Like… he was nothing.

Nirei couldn't look cold even if he tried usually, and that's why it was unnerving to meet his gaze, devoid of its usual warmth and affection. Nirei opened his mouth to speak. "How could we put our beliefs in the wrong person, someone like you…"

The hands around his throat squeezed tighter. "N-Nirei," Haruka gasped out.

Suo took a step in front of Nirei, one hand behind his back and the other covering his mouth. He huffed a laugh. "How embarrassing… for all of us, I suppose. What were we thinking, entrusting him with this?"

Tighter. The strength finally left his body and he slumped into the ground. He'd thought he finally found a place for himself. But he failed them, and stole that freedom and ease away from his own self for some stupid pride.

As the black began to creep further up and up into his vision, Endo leaned in closely, blush prevalent on his face. "Guys like you don't belong in Furin, Sakura… You always drag the good guys down into the mud with you. You're made for filth… and for fire." He tilted his head to the side, smile widening as he let loose a giggle. Haruka gagged, squirmed with what little energy he had left. "That's why I fell for you, after all."

Haruka shot up and gasped for air, clutching at his throat. Hands hands there were no hands so why was it so hard to breathe? He leaned forward, one hand holding his throat while the other clutched at his roots almost painfully.

Breathe. Just breathe, dumbass. He stayed in the position, hunched over for who knows how long. All Haruka knows is that by the time he came back to himself, the sun was peeking into his room, lighting everything aglow. He stared at his shadow, the dark silhouette hunched over and looking tinier than Haruka ever wanted to look. Not again, not anymore. He dropped his hands into his lap, a few black-and-white strands falling down with them.

He let out a harsh breath. He hadn't had a nightmare that bad in a while. More often than not, his usual tightrope nightmare would ease into something gentler, him falling onto a soft field of grass, surrounded by his friends. It'd been long enough that he almost forgot what it was like to wake with a start, heart racing faster than he could catch up with while he struggled to get his bearings.

It's not like he thought he'd never get another nightmare again, but this? Haruka wanted to laugh. What bullshit was this? His thoughts drifted back to his fight with Endo. Him only managing to knock Endo out because the bastard had let go. He hadn't been enough on his own.

"Argh!" Haruka ruffled his hair aggressively, wincing at the soreness where he'd been clutching at his scalp. "That bastard!" He shouldn't even be thinking about that guy after yesterday. There were other priorities. And since the stupid sun decided to rise so soon he wouldn't be able to go back to bed. He might as well get up a little earlier to get breakfast from Pothos today.

Haruka nodded decisively. I deserve it.

Deserve. What a selfish word, his traitorous mind whispered. Do you deserve anything? He ignored it.

Haruka looked up, stretching his arms and flinching as pain burned in his core. He fell to his back, trying to make breathing easier. The pain hit him all at once, and everything hurt. The battle against Noroshi had only been yesterday morning, and his body definitely reminded him. He swore it didn't hurt this much when he had woken yesterday. Not that he moved much.

Anyway, today was a new day. He'd given himself a whole entire day to rest. He couldn't afford to slack anymore than he already had. Haruka didn't want his vice captains to have to carry all the post-battle responsibilities on their own. He was their grade captain after all, and he took his job seriously. He shouldn't be any more selfish lazy than he already was.

With that, Haruka dragged himself to his feet, joints popping and cracking as he started to stretch upward, but was forced to stop as his ribs screamed out in protest. Those are definitely bruised… Haruka padded to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth, limbs feeling far too heavy.

He groaned. Today was gonna be a long day. Everything was still so sore, and to be honest he kind of wanted to just collapse back into bed and wait for tomorrow. Physically at least. Mentally, he was raring to go. One day was enough. He didn't want to be stuck in this stuffy-ass apartment alone with his thoughts for longer than he had to. And maybe, he wanted to see his friends. Just a little.

He definitely wasn't unsettled. And definitely didn't want any company after yesterday and that shitty dream. But he guessed he missed his classmates after not seeing them yesterday, and yes, it would be comforting to see that they're alright with his own eyes. After all, he was the class captain; it was his duty to take care of them.

He flicked the lightswitch up, then looked up in annoyance when the light flickered for a moment before staying on. That… was new. Seems like the bulb is dying. He dragged a hand down his face. Great. Another thing to take care of soon.

FInally, his gaze landed on the mirror. Fuck, he looked like shit. That was why Nirei and Suo had looked at him like that yesterday. He looked closer at his reflection again and cursed aloud just to seal the deal. "Fuck." If Haruka reacted like that to his own appearance, the rest of his class was going to freak out.

Even though he had practically only slept the last 24 hours, he had bags and dark circles beneath his eyes as if he'd been wide awake the whole time. There were dark purple bruises peaking out the collar of his shirt, and Haruka knew he probably looked worse under the shirt. He had some small cuts and scratches scattered on his arms and his knuckles were red and peeling, but those weren't anything to worry about. He also had a particularly nasty gash on his forehead from when he headbutted Endo. The one he hated looking at was the one on his throat.

Objectively speaking, it wasn't that bad. He had some minor bruising, dark enough to see it was there, but faint enough that if someone wasn't looking directly at Haruka, they wouldn't notice it. But just the fact that it was there… He stared at it for much longer than he should have. But he couldn't look away.

Hands on his throat. It was hard to breathe. He had to stand his ground.

Haruka shook his head, looking away from his reflection as he prepared his toothbrush. Maybe he should skip again today and rest, at least until all the bruises healed up enough. He made a face

"Ugh. What is wrong with me?" Haruka grumbled between mouthfuls of toothpaste. He spit out his toothpaste, rinsed his mouth, and looked back up at himself. "Get it together."

Ping!

He tilted his head, waddling out of the bathroom to check his phone. Unlocking it, he clicked into the chat titled 'Furin Trio!!!'. Originally, it was simply titled 'Class 1-1 Leaders' but after they had become a bit closer following the whole KEEL incident, Nirei wanted to rename it because "it's just too cold, it sounds like we barely like each other, right Suo-san, Sakura-san?" He thought it was unnecessary; either way they'd know who they were talking to. But then, he thought of Nirei asking, 'Aren't we friends?' And had blushed and begrudgingly agreed. (Suo had stared right at him with that smug grin of his and, as usual, Haruka threatened to wipe it off his face.)

Furin Trio!!!

Nirei: Good morning guys!!!

Nirei: Sakura-san are you coming to school today?

Suo: Good morning!

Suo: I would say he's smart enough to know he should rest for another day, but unfortunately we're talking about Sakura-kun.

Me: ARE YOU CALLING ME STUPID

Suo: So it seems like Sakura-kun is coming today!

Nirei: Are you sure you're feeling well enough???

Haruka grumbled, typing out another response, just to be interrupted by several pings. Eventually, he got frustrated enough to confirm he was coming today and close out the chat. It was too damn hard to respond when everyone typed so quickly.

Haruka closed his eyes, enjoying the soft breeze as he leaned against the cool metal of the lamppost. It was finally getting to that time of year where the seasons changed and it got warmer and warmer each day. It was nice enough now that in the mornings his windbreaker was nice to wear, but later in the day he'd definitely work up enough of a sweat to have to take it off.

He'd already stopped at Pothos to get his usual breakfast from Kotoha. She had almost screamed at the sight of him, which only annoyed him. He didn't look that bad, did he? Kotoha thought otherwise, however, getting on his case for not resting up another day and telling him that he was going to scare the rest of the townspeople. Whatever.

"Sakura-san! Good morning!" Nirei called out, waving dramatically as he jogged up to Haruka. Suo trailed behind him, giving a light wave of his own. As they got closer, Nirei stopped in his tracks, Suo half a step behind him. Their gazes dropped from Haruka's eyes to just below his face.

He hunched into himself, fists clenching in his pockets. Stop looking at me like that. "Mornin'." He swallowed, both of their eyes following the movement. His shoulders raised an inch higher. "What?" He knew damn well what they were looking at.

Nirei ripped his gaze away from Haruka's throat to look to Suo anxiously. Suo stayed quiet. The air around him grew thicker. He stood ramrod straight, if it was even possible for Suo to have even better posture than he did. His lips were pressed into a thin line. His eye was cold, gaze faraway as he stared at Haruka's throat.

"Um," Nirei started, "Sakura-san, you… still look pretty bad. Are you sure you're feeling well enough to come today?"

He scoffed. "I already told you. I feel fine." He didn't mention the fact that he hadn't slept well last night or that he was dying at that thought of being alone with his thoughts right now, but that was neither here nor there. "I'm not gonna hold you guys back today, I can fight just fine."

"Sakura-san, that's not what we're worried about." Nirei stepped forward to put a hand to his shoulder. "We just don't want you to push yourself too hard."

Haruka pursed his lips petutantly. "But—"

"Now, Sakura-kun." Suo walked forward until he was directly in front of him, wagging a finger at Haruka's nose. Haruka leaned back, making a face at him. "If you're coming to school today, you have to rest. Everyone is patrolling to help with rebuilding, but I don't want to see you lift a single finger."

He opened his mouth to protest. With his lips pursed, Suo flicked his forehead, taking care to avoid his gash. "Ow! You bastard, what'd you do that for?" He pouted, looking up at them slowly. Definitely not shyly, because he's not shy. At all. "I still wanna help with stuff, I don't wanna go straight home to do nothin' by myself…"

Suo and Nirei exchanged a glance, faces softening.

Nirei clutched onto his arm, peering up at him with shiny eyes. "Sakura-san, you missed us?"

"Aww, we missed you, too, Sakura-kun!" Suo gave a small smile, eye closed into a crescent. What an annoying guy.

"You saw me yesterday. And I never said that!" But he knew his blush instantly gave him away, so he stomped ahead of them.

"Don't be so shy! We know you have a heart built like a teddy bear!"

"Shut up!"

"Suo-san, stop teasing him so early in the morning, you know how agitated he gets…"

"That's why it's so much fun."

"I don't get agitated!"

Footsteps hurried toward them, and he slowed down his pace so they could easily catch up. They walked in comfortable silence for a moment. His breathing steadied, and with a start he realized how tense he had been before he saw them, his shoulders softly sloped where they had been squared and raised before. Heat began to creep up into his ears. It was a bit embarrassing. He could defend it. There's safety in numbers, as they say. So obviously he would feel more comfortable with his vice captains surrounding him.

Haruka clicked his tongue. But who was he trying to kid? He knew damn well he missed his friends and felt lonely yesterday. Which surprised him. Not missing his friends of course, he spent most of his days with them and normally he would've been at school with them all yesterday. But usually after fights like that, he prefered to lick his wounds in private after and then come back to them feeling more like himself. Not this time though.

He felt so raw and vulnerable after the battle yesterday, especially after that fight with Endo. And yet, he wanted nothing more than to go to school where he knew his friends would watch his back. He hadn't realized when he began to feel that safe around them. It was a strange feeling, and quite honestly he didn't know what to do with it yet. But whatever. At least today he was well enough to go out and about and follow the usual routine.

And see Nirei and Suo.

"Lost in deep thought, Sakura-kun?"

He startled, turning to face his left. Suo was leaned forward slightly as they walked, smiling innocently as he studied Haruka's face. His earrings swayed gently with the motion, catching Haruka's attention. They were pretty, sophisticated things, suiting Suo's unfortunately equally pretty and sophisticated face. He wondered when Suo had gotten them, and he'd ask if he thought the other boy would give him a straight answer. Haruka didn't take it personally, since Suo was tight-lipped about a lot of personal information, and he wasn't one to push. After all, he understood everyone had their own secrets they kept quiet about. Despite Suo's careful distance with everyone, Haruka trusted Suo to his core, and he knew that Suo trusted him as well. He didn't need to know everything about Suo's life to know that. Even if Suo was full of shit 80% of the time, at his core he was a good friend and a good person.

"Uh…" Haruka cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck as he studied the pavement intently. "No?" He'd deal with these nightmares on his own for now. While he knew Nirei and Suo would always be willing to lend an ear, that didn't mean that he had to go to them about everything. Everyone had their own problems to deal with, and if he could deal with it on his own first, there was no reason to go crying to them about it.

Suo leaned back into his proper posture, still looking at Sakura as his auburn hair swished back into place. He made a humming noise in response and left it at that, but there was a curious glint in his eye. Haruka looked away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nirei watching the interaction quietly. He stared pointedly ahead and kept on towards school.

"Alright everyone, head over to your team leader to listen for your roles today!" Umemiya called out, hands on hips. He was covered head to toe in bandages, but that didn't stop him from showing up today all energetically. Haruka didn't know where he got it from, but Umemiya was one of Mother Nature's greatest mysteries. Then again, Haruka was also head to toe in bandages and still showed up today, so he guessed he wasn't one to judge. "And don't forget, take care of yourself first! If you're too injured or exhausted to help out, go home and get some rest. There's no shame in it, and once you're all healed up again, you can help out." As he said this, he looked straight at Sakura, winking.

Haruka narrowed his eyes. "You're one to talk."

Umemiya pouted. "Yeah, well, Hiragi already yelled at me for it… I'm only helping out lightly."

"Yeah, and Sakura should be doing the same," Hiragi chimed in. He looked over Haruka's head for a moment. "So should you, Kaji, don't think I don't see you." Behind him, Kaji froze, slowly looking over at Hiragi, who stared back at him, unimpressed. "You three took some pretty big beatings, so I don't want to see any of you stressing yourselves more than necessary. There's more than enough of the Furin guys who feel good enough to help out today."

Haruka scowled, about to retort about just how fine he felt when Nirei and Suo each nudged him in his sides.

"Sakura-san, don't forget you promised us you wouldn't strain yourself too much today!" Nirei balled his hands up in front of him, mouth set into a firm line. "You fought really hard for us during the battle, so let us support you today." Haruka strained, jutting out his bottom lip slightly. He swore Nirei did this on purpose, staring at him with those eyes just shiny and begging enough that it would get him to budge. He knew well how Nirei could be as sneaky as Suo.

Suo smiled, a touch more kindly than his usual placid smile. "It's just like Hiragi said. There's more than enough of the guys to help out that if a few people need rest we'll be alright." His smile grew softer as he opened his eye a little wider. "Besides, how can we possibly go on without our precious captain all rested and healed up?" Ugh, how dare he use his genuineness against Haruka?

Haruka strained harder, before finally letting out a sigh and dropping his shoulders. "I know, whatever. Let's just get on with it." He straightened and looked to Hiragi and Umemiya, who were smiling at them. Scowling, he asked, "So, where do we gotta be today?"

Hiragi dropped his smug grin slightly, but it was still there enough that Sakura was still pissed off about it. "Team Tamon is going to start at the bridges we defended. We'll start there by filling some potholes and fixing up the metal of the bridge structure as best as we can."

He nodded. "Sounds good." Looking back to the rest of Class 1-1, who were watching closely, Haruka called out, "You heard the man. Let's head out."

"Right!"

He led the way down the stairs and out the school, his class chatting rowdily behind. His shoulders lost more of their tension.

"Hey, Sakura-kun!" Haruka glanced to his right to see Tsugeura walking beside him, stretching his arms. "Does your neck hurt? I didn't realize there were bruises there too until just now!" He stiffened, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Tsuge-chan, don't just ask him that… I'm sure he doesn't want to talk about it," Kiryu said dryly, sidling up between Haruka and Tsugeura.

Tsuge frowned, looking cowed. "I just wanted to know… That fight with Endo must've been pretty rough. Sorry, Sakura-kun…"

Haruka nodded stiffly. "Nah, it's all good."

"Now, now, Tsugeura-kun, you should know which questions are appropriate to ask and when," Suo chimed in, tone light. His smile stretched across his face, looking even more forced than usual.

"I know, I'm sorry…"

Nirei let out a breath. "Oh, geez."

Ignoring them, Kiryu looked to Haruka with a smile. "That all being said, you gotta take it easy, Sakura-chan. We could help each other out. I don't particularly feel like breaking a sweat today anyway."

"I could work with you guys too!" Nirei chimed in. When everyone turned to look at him, he looked down shyly. "I'm not super strong on my own anyway, and Sakura-san shouldn't even be doing much today!"

Tsugeura pointed at himself with both hands. "And anything too heavy to lift, I could help out with!

Haruka sighed. "I'm bruised, I didn't break every bone in my body. I can still lift and help out on my own." Everyone stared at him, gazes ranging from unimpressed to pleading. These guys. He turned away as his lips started perking up at the corners. "Alright, fine."

Turns out it was not fine. Liars, Nirei and Kiryu were. They ushered him away almost immediately!

Every time he'd help out somewhere along the bridge, the second he made even the slightest sound of discomfort, his classmates would usher him along somewhere else that would "put less strain on you, Sakura." Unbelievable.

Admittedly, he understood why. Using a hammer to smooth the metal of the bridge, he'd gotten distracted for a moment and nailed him himself with it in the middle of his hand. Once he crouched down, clutching his hand in pain, Anzai looked at him equal parts concerned and unimpressed and shooed him away. From smoothing out metal along the bridge to sweeping up the mess, it all pulled at his wounds in some way, whether pulling sore muscles or bruises stretching where he didn't even realize he had bruises. But still, not like he wasn't used to feeling pain. He was fine, yet each of his classmates didn't want another word from him. Bunch of buzzkills.

Sugishita was the only one who didn't bother him about it, even when he'd given him a disgruntled look. He said nothing when Haruka started helping him with distributing the asphalt across the bridge to be poured into all the potholes, which he was incredibly thankful for. Squatting down, he took the bucket of asphalt into his arms and pushed up with his legs, grunting slightly as the weight of it pressed into his bruised ribs. He began walking over to the end of the bridge leading out of Makochi.

"Sakura-san! You shouldn't be lifting too heavy! Let me help you."

Haruka stiffened, not daring to turn around as if that would make him and the bucket of asphalt he was carrying disappear. Then he came back into himself. What was he doing? He was here to help, not be shunned away from doing anything "hard" by his classmates. He glared back at Nirei. "What? No. I'm fine." He continued his shuffle to the other end of the bridge.

"Sakura-kun," Suo sang, sounding much closer than Nirei had before. Haruka fully stopped in his tracks this time, a chill running down his spine. Slowly turning around, he saw Nirei and Suo standing barely a foot behind him. Nirei had his arms crossed, raising an eyebrow at Sakura in disbelief. Suo, on the other hand, was smiling placidly, hands folded behind his back. Their auras, however, were the same; suffocating.

"What did we tell you about pushing yourself?" Nirei scolded, puffing his cheeks in frustration. His bangs were clipped back, and his Furin jacket was discarded somewhere. They were all working up a sweat what with all the physical labor and needed some breathability. Unfortunately, this meant that Nirei's golden-brown eyes were in full display, and thus that meant it was slightly, and Haruka meant slightly, hard to deny him. He was still going to try, no matter how much those puppy-dog eyes got to him. Not they did. 'Cause they didn't.

Haruka huffed, adjusting his grip on the bucket. "And what did I tell you about I'm fine?" Even as his ribs were screaming in protests and his breathing grew slightly shallower, he was well enough to help. He had to contribute in some way. What, was he going to sit around like some princess while he watches everyone else do the actual hard work? No way in hell.

"And what, pray tell, about you is fine? Sakura-kun, you hit your hand with a hammer and you walked neck-first into a broom. How does that even happen?"

Haruka bristled, growing red. "It didn't even hurt!" he protested, pointedly ignoring the dull throbbing where the broom had hit him.

Behind him, snickers sounded.

"Well, I guess even our grade captain gets cowed by our vice captains…" Anzai muttered.

Takanashi laughed. "I mean, look at them. You would be too if they were looking at you like that." Kakiuchi and Kurita nodded in agreement, smirks on their faces.

Kiryu covered his smile with a hand, pointing lazily with the other over at Nirei and Suo. "You guys might wanna lower your voices before they go after you next…"

Haruka started turning to look at them, annoyed, before — "Ow!" He rubbed his forehead with his free hand, turning back to pout at Suo. "What was that for?"

Suo's smile grew a little, his dark aura growing with it. "That was for not paying attention. And this," he said, flicking Sakura's forehead again, "is for trying to do heavy lifting while still recovering." Suo snatched the bucket of asphalt from him easily, smile finally softening as he sighed, eye tired.

Nirei shook his head. "This is what we get for leaving you alone for two seconds."

Haruka pouted harder, clenching his now-free fists. "I don't need to be babysat! And I'm fine enough to help out a little!" He pursed his lips and tried to grab the bucket again, only for Suo to whirl around and start walking toward Haruka's initial destination. He stuck his tongue out at Haruka as he went, only serving to rile him up more.

"You—" He went to chase after Suo only to be grabbed by the collar of his shirt, yanking him back slightly.

"Oi!" Haruka and Nirei turned to look at Hiragi, who let go of Haruka's collar. "Clearly someone has to watch you if you don't know how not to push yourself too hard." He pulled out his box of Gas-kun10 and popped a pill. He looked exhausted already, despite only having joined the conversation just now. Hiragi sighed, putting a hand to the back of his neck. "Look, kid. I know you wanna help and all, but your recovery comes first. And you can't recover if you're pulling at all your bruises and cuts and giving yourself new ones. You should go home and get some rest."

Haruka scoffed, brushing off his and Nirei's chiding looks. "What, so I can just sleep the rest of the day away while you all do the rest of the work? Nah, I'm good."

"Kid, there's no shame in getting some rest. Besides, I've already heard from your classmates that you keep reinjuring yourself and that's no good. I already sent Umemiya home for pulling the same shit. You're going home."

"But—"

"Go. Home."

"Hiragi-san…" Nirei trailed off, watching Sakura cautiously.

Haruka stared at Hiragi, mouth slightly agape as his stomach dropped. Go home, over this? Anxiety thrummed in his veins at the idea of being stuck with his thoughts and the sound of Endo's voice reverberating through his head. He opened his mouth to say something else in response to Hiragi's tired but expectant face, but he froze.

You're going to drag them down with you.

That's not what he was doing. I just want to help. But maybe that was the problem.

Here he was, wanting to help, but all he was actually doing was slowing them down by distracting them. Even trying to contribute, he knew everyone was keeping an eye on him, making sure he wasn't doing anything stupid so that he'd worsen his injuries. He dropped his shoulders. Haruka had to do his part too, and if his part was letting them do their job by not being there, then so be it.

Haruka closed his mouth, nodded stiffly, and turned towards the direction of his apartment.

"Wait, Sakura-san—"

"Sakura-kun, where are you going?"

Behind him, he heard Hiragi say, "I was expecting him to fight me more on it. Is he alright?" Haruka clenched his fists, shoving them into his pockets.

Nirei said nothing in response. Unbeknownst to him, he and Suo shared a concerned look before turning back to Sakura's shrinking figure as he walked further and further away.

He was lost in thought the entire walk back to his apartment, which meant it went by relatively quickly as his mind ran in circles. That stupid nightmare was ruining his day. Normally he would've just been annoyed to have to sit out while everyone else did all the work. But he was anxious. He didn't wanna be alone, and it was clouding his judgement. Maybe if he took a nap, he'd feel better. It's not like he had anything else to do today anyway. He scoffed somewhat bitterly, but tried to let it go. Hiragi was trying to do what he thought was best and looking out for Haruka. He couldn't be completely mad at it.

For about an hour after he'd been sent home, he laid down on his futon and closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep, but every time he started to doze off, he'd see or hear Endo in his head and shot back into consciousness with a start. Around the hour mark, Haruka gave up on sleeping. Clearly it wasn't going to happen.

He thought about texting his friends to meet up, but decided against it. They were probably still working on the bridges and, to be honest, he was still annoyed enough by their coddling him and decided he could do without that for the rest of his day. He shrugged on his hoodie and slipped his sneakers back on. I do have to give my thanks to some people…

He'd swing by the red light district to visit Roppo Ichiza first, maybe hang around for a while before heading back home. Then, once the weekend hit, he could get up bright and early and head over to Shishitoren territory. And so he did. He went over to the red light district, trying to walk as quickly as he could past all the solicitors trying to get his attention, flushing as he pulled his hoodie around him.

Just focus on the ground. "Sakura?" Don't look, they're just trying to get business.

"Sakuraaaa!" Wait, he recognized that voice. Looking up, he saw Kanji, dressed in his usual business attire. The older man was grinning at him, before his smile quickly dropped. "Sakura, is that you?" Kanji's hands hovered over his shoulders as he looked over Haruka, fretting. He'd never seen Kanji like this, and it would almost be funny if it wasn't incredibly embarrassing.

"Yes, it's me!" he snapped, snatching his hand from where Kanji was cradling it like he was an injured baby bird.

"Sorry, kid, you just… look real bad. Man, that bruise on your neck…"

Haruka sucked in a slight breath. "Yeah, yeah, I know." Please talk about something else.

Kanji watched him for a moment, still looking over him until his gaze cleared. "Oh yeah, what're you doin' here, Sakura? I figured you'd still be resting or helping out with repairs around town."

"Oh, uh, right." He swallowed, heat rising to his cheeks. He just had to say it. No biggie. "I wanted, um, to thank you, Suzuri, and the rest of the guys for comin' to our aid. It's thanks to you guys that we were able to keep our town safe. So, um, thanks," he said awkwardly, clenching and unclenching his fists in his hoodie pockets.

"Sakura…" Kanji started seriously, shadows covering the upper half of his face as he laid a heavy hand on Haruka's shoulder.

"Um, yeah?" Haruka knew he wasn't the best with words, but did he offend Kanji somehow? He was trying to be sincere!

Kanji finally looked up at him, tears streaming from his eyes. "You're such a sweet kid! Come on, let's hang out for a bit! You don't have anything else to do today, right?" He practically manhandled Haruka over towards the same building that they'd eaten in and played video games in last time he was there. Then, he grinned slyly. "Gotten any better at gaming?"

The answer was no. He'd ended up staying for the rest of the night, playing games with Kanji, Suzuri, and some of the other guys from Gravel and Roppo Ichiza and, admittedly, getting his ass beat. He just didn't understand what all the different buttons did, and he swore they had found some shortcuts in that one racing game. As red-faced with anger as he was by the end of the night, he had a good time. It was nice to get his mind off things and spend some time with some good friends.

When it was finally time to head out, Kanji walked him outside. They stood under the light of the building, bugs flying about the bulb. It was dark, but the street was still lively as ever. It was the red light district, after all. These were prime business hours. He leaned against the wall, enjoying the light breeze that refreshed after the hours sitting around, playing video games and yelling.

Kanji turned to him, a wide smile on his face. "You know, Sakura. You really are amazing."

Haruka immediately turned red. "H-hah?!"

He laughed. "I mean it, ya know. I mean, you took out Endo! That guy was a monster, and you fought and won to protect your friends and the town."

"Yeah, but…" He frowned. He hadn't done it on his own. Without them, he would've lost this life he fought so hard to find. He looked up at Kanji, determined for him to understand. "The only reason I managed to fend off Endo was because my friends were with me." Kanji's eyes widened with surprise, but Haruka didn't notice as he continued. "If they hadn't gotten there in time to knock some sense into me, I would've never won. It's thanks to them that I found the strength to keep fighting."

A heavy hand dropped atop his head. Haruka looked up, and Kanji was grinning at him. "Then keep relying on your friends!"

Rely…

Haruka never believed he'd get this lucky, but after moving to Makochi he'd been meeting so many good, genuinely kind people. He hardly believed people like this existed when he was younger. At least, not for him. But here he was, somehow collecting them left and right. He walked home with a smile that night, unthinking of any nightmares and worries finally free from his mind.

At least, until Haruka woke up in the middle of the night, heart racing, staying curled up as tight as he could for any sort of human warmth he could feel, fingers digging tightly into his forearms and knees pressed to his chest. When he put his cheek to his knees, he could almost pretend it was another person burrowing back into him, even if all he actually had was himself. Even though it made him feel ashamed and alone like he was before he came to Makochi. He didn't sleep for the rest of that night.

"Sakura-san," a gentle voice whispered. "It's time to wake up. Lunch is over."

"Mm?" Haruka hummed in response, lifting his head groggily. Nirei's face came into view, slightly blurred as his eyes adjusted to the light. He sat up sharply, cheeks flushing rapidly as he wiped his eyes of sleep. He frowned. Now he was falling asleep at school, and his friends had seen. Great. They were going to push and prod at him to make sure he was alright, and while the thought warmed him, it also filled him with dread and shame. This was only happening because of those stupid nightmares, and the idea of talking about them out loud made him physically sick. He just didn't wanna think about it. "Sorry."

"Are you not getting enough sleep, Sakura-san?" Nirei asked, frowning. Next to him, Suo was watching Haruka, an unreadable look in his eye.

Haruka cleared his throat. "Nah, just, uh. Late night." That wasn't technically a lie, so maybe they wouldn't press harder. But at the sight of Suo's eye narrowing and Nirei's frown deepening, he bulldozed on. "It won't affect how I fight. Promise. I'm fine."

Suo sighed. "We know it won't, Sakura-kun. That's not what we're worried about."

"If you're not sleeping properly, you won't heal up as well, and it'll be harder to focus in school, and —"

"I said I'm fine," Haruka snapped, their gentle and caring voices grating on his ears. Almost immediately, his cheeks colored in shame and he forcefully rounded out the edges in his demeanor. They were just concerned about him, he wasn't being fair. Guys like you don't belong in Furin. "I mean, I'm alright. Just a bit tired. Sorry."

Nirei and Suo exchanged a glance, turning back to Haruka with concerned gazes. It only made him feel shittier for lashing out. "That's alright, Sakura-kun. But don't forget that you can lean on us." Suo put a comforting hand to his shoulder.

"And please, take care of yourself," Nirei added, grabbing Haruka's hand and squeezing it.

Haruka looked between the two of them for a moment, and let out a breath. "I will. I promise." You're going to drag them down with you.

After school ended and the other guys went out to help rebuild, Sakura went up to roof with Umemiya to help clean up. At least he could feel useful somewhere. Do something without having to think about all these different, complicated feelings inside of him. Then Umemiya had thanked him. Called him amazing. Why? He didn't do anything special. He just… did his part. He did what he could do to make sure Furin and Makochi would be alright, but they were the ones who were did something worth thanking. Hell, Haruka just barely won against Endo. If you'd even call that winning.

With the weekend hitting, the Tamon first years off patrol duty, and Haruka himself still banned from helping out, he went over to Shishitoren territory to give them his sincere thanks. Togame smiled kindly and said it was no problem, commenting on the obvious exhaustion weighing Haruka down. Tomiyama followed suit by cheerfully stating how rough Haruka looked, which… was true, but geez the guy had no tact.

"Thanks," he deadpanned.

Togame laughed softly, scratching at his cheek sheepishly. "He is right though. If you ever wanna talk, I'm here as your friend, Sakura."

Tomiyama jumped up in front of Togame. "Me too, me too, Sakura-chan!"

He huffed a breath and gave a small half-smile. "Yeah."

They walked around for a bit, chatting amicably as Tomiyama dragged them to his favorite eating spots in their territory. Haruka was never the type to say no to free food, especially not for food that smelled that delicious. Eventually though, Haruka left the two to get back to it and bid them goodbye for the day.

The afternoon breeze ruffled his hair gently as it swept past him, cooling his skin from the beaming sun. What could he do for the rest of the day? The thought of being in his apartment for longer than he had to weighed on him. He could swing by Pothos and hang around there. Kotoha might complain about him taking up the space of a paying customer, but he knew she wouldn't actually be bothered. And while Kotoha would be annoying as hell about how tired and rough he looked, he knew she wouldn't press him too much on it. He thought about texting Nirei and Suo to hang out, but…

You're going to drag them down with you.

Nah, he was sure they were tired enough from helping out the last couple days. They didn't need to babysit him constantly just because he couldn't deal with some stupid nightmares. He'd see them at school on Monday.

Later that night, he woke in a cold sweat, shivering yet overheating at the same time. Echoing in his mind were Endo's words, somehow able to pierce Haruka exactly where it hurt. What's a guy like you doin' in Furin anyway? All you're going to do is drag them down with you.

“Sakura-san!”

Haruka looked up from where he was watching the cracked pavement, and with a start he realized he already made it to their usual meeting spot. The weekend had passed by, days unfortunately fast and nights torturously slow. But now it was Monday, and he had been cleared by Hiragi to start helping out again. He was glad; the simple-minded tasks and physical efforts would do well on his mind. What better way to keep himself distracted than make himself useful alongside his friends?

Nirei waved him over with a wide grin, vibrating in place. Next to him, Suo waited patiently, his fixed smile softening ever-so slightly when Haruka met his gaze. As he got closer though, Suo locked in on his neck, and his smile froze, eye growing colder. Nirei glanced from Suo to Haruka's neck and Nirei’s own smile dropped slightly, eyebrows furrowed. The moment passed quickly enough, but not quick enough for Haruka not to notice.

Haruka tilted his head, his own eyebrows slightly furrowing as he cleared his throat. At the sound, Suo and Nirei let out twin sighs of… something, and let their faces soften again. “Good morning,” his vice captains said in unison, each giving him a pat on the shoulder and settling around him.

“Mornin’,” Haruka mumbled. His shoulders tingled, and he stood a little straighter where he was hunched before. The three of them began to walk toward the school. Haruka let out a big yawn, dragging his feet forward one step at a time. “...Anything new? Are the bridges all done?” Nirei and Suo both looked at each other and smiled.

“Ooh, Friday, we finished patching up the potholes in all the bridges!” Nirei told him, bringing out his notebook and flipping to the most recent entry. Haruka peeked over his shoulder, and Nirei moved it accordingly so that he and Suo could see it easier. It was a sketch of the damages to the bridges and a checklist of what needed to be fixed up. “Luckily there wasn’t too much damage to the bridges, but that’s to be expected since they’re made up of such sturdy materials.”

Suo nodded along, raising a finger as he added, “The bridges will still be out of service for the next two days or so, though. They’ll probably increase patrols around the bridges to make sure they remain undisturbed.”

Nirei hummed, folding his notebook back into his jacket. “Yeah, but I wonder how people will commute from that side if all the bridges are closed?”

Suo launched into some explanation about other routes people could take and yeah, Haruka began tuning out of the conversation. That was about as much bridge talk as he could take right now.

Even as he thought that, something settled in his chest and the tension in his muscles released. Haruka was glad to be with his friends again, and to be able to do stuff again. Being alone with his thoughts and the words Endo had left him with wasn’t exactly fun.

He rubbed his eyes as he lifted his gaze to look at Nirei and Suo, chatting away around him. The ease of being around his two closest friends was unmatched. He wished it could be like this forever. As Nirei spoke, his eyes shone with such excitement and curiousity, cheeks flushed as he and Suo bantered back and forth. Suo nodded along, the tassels of his earrings swaying with the motion, his eye sparkling with amusement. His broad shoulders were sloped down ever-so-slightly. He would do anything to protect this, to protect them. Nirei's pushy excitement and Suo's relentless teasing. They were so obnoxious. They were so… His chest fluttered.

When they noticed him looking, they smiled.  You’re going to drag them down with you, Endo’s voice hissed. His face heated up and he looked back down, stifling another yawn.

The rest of the week passed by similarly. Every night, he'd wake with his heart racing and Endo's words on loop in his head, the blushing look on Endo's face as they fought. He'd hardly sleep the rest of the night, go to school and push himself as hard as he could, anything to get those thoughts out of his head, and he'd stay out as long as he could before returning home to do it all again. The only silver lining was his friends.

Haruka knew they could tell he wasn't doing well, but they weren't being pushy. Just offering quiet comfort and support. Tsugeura would bring extra protein shakes for Sakura, saying it would help get his energy up. During breaks, Kiryu would teach him how to play some of the games on his phone, and when he could tell Haruka was getting sleepy he'd adjust himself to let Haruka watch him play. Whenever he fell asleep at school, he always found Suo's jacket draped over his shoulders and Suo sitting right next to him, as though he were keeping guard. Nirei seemed to realize that noise helped him sleep easier, and so would keep chattering on, the sound soothing Haruka to sleep as his vice captains covered both sides. He was so grateful he would cry if he could.

But it was getting to be too much. He was just so tired. He couldn't keep going like this forever.

The bell rang, and Haruka let his face fall with a thunk! Into his desk. Finally, he groaned. Lunch time. This was the only time he could get some shut-eye anymore. Maybe it was being in such a rowdy place that his thoughts were quieted, or maybe it was that he felt safe enough around his friends to sleep, or maybe it was just not being alone. Whatever it was, he didn't care as long as he could sleep.

“Someone’s looking a little like Sugishita-kun, right now.” 

Haruka lifted his head up and made a face at Suo, mildly annoyed at him for ruining his chance of sleep. “I’m nothing like that guy!”

“Suo-san, don’t tease him so much…” Nirei scolded, tapping Suo’s arm lightly.

Suo dropped his placid smile slightly and furrowed his brows dramatically. “Aw, but Sakura-kun has the best reactions…” Haruka could feel a vein practically pop out on his forehead, and he opened his mouth to retort, but Suo continued on. “... At least he usually does. You're muted lately, Sakura-kun.”

Haruka dropped his scowl and tilted his head, before scoffing. “I’ve been the same as ever.”

Nirei shook his head and pulled out his notebook. “Mm, no you haven’t. For the past couple days you’ve yawned about 5 times more than you usually do… Not to mention the actual falling asleep.”

Haruka sighed while Suo huffed a laugh, making eye contact with each other. So very Nirei. “I’m tired. So?”

Nirei put his notebook aside, peering into Haruka’s eyes with no small amount of concern. Haruka felt the simmerings of embarrassment, anxiety, and fondness that usually were accompanied by the heat in his face. “Have you still not been sleeping well?”

“...I sleep fine,” he mumbled, looking down at his desk to escape his vices’ all-encompassing stares.

Even though he wasn’t looking at them, he could feel the glances Suo and Nirei always seemed to exchange around him lately before they sat down in front of him.

“Say… Sakura-san, are you free tonight?”

Haruka raised an eyebrow. “Um—”

“Nire-kun, sleepover at Sakura-kun’s?” Suo opened his eye and his smile widened. Haruka’s eye twitched.

“Wait…”

Nirei brightened somehow. Looking at him was already like looking at the sun. Haruka had to squint every time he smiled. “Sounds like a plan! Ooh, I should bring some games, and then we can watch some movies.”

“Hold the hell on, I never agreed to anything!”

Haruka fidgeted, a light heat in his cheeks as he continuously looked around. His room had never looked so… full before. 

The apartment, although still mostly drab and empty, felt lighter than it had been when Haruka left it. Haruka’s futon was where he left it, right in the middle of the room. It was still rumpled and unmade from when he shot out of bed earlier that morning.

Nirei’s much nicer and fluffier futon sat between Haruka’s futon and the wall furthest from the door. There were a pile of games on the futon as Nirei typed and clicked frantically on his laptop, presumably trying to set up a way to watch movies and play games later on.

On the other side of Sakura’s futon was Suo’s futon, adorned with a thin but warm-looking blanket. Suo was sat on his knees, smoothing out the wrinkles in his set-up, even though there were hardly any. Then he nodded once, and stood swiftly, folding his hands behind his back. He wandered past Haruka into the kitchen, giving him a pat on the shoulder as he passed.

“Would anyone like some tea? I brought some from home,” Suo called, his voice echoing through the small apartment.

“Yes please! Thank you, Suo-san!” Nirei chimed, looking up from his laptop for a moment. He met eyes with Haruka and smiled before returning his attention back to the screen.

“And you, Sakura-kun?” Suddenly, Suo’s voice was right behind him and Haruka shrieked, elbowing backward instinctively.

Suo laughed as he easily redirected Sakura’s elbow to spin him around. Suo’s hand held his forearm, gentle but firm, while the other hand sat on Haruka’s waist, keeping him steady. His breath hitched and he froze. He could feel Suo’s warmth on his waist and all of a sudden his shirt felt way too thin of a barrier. He’s close… “Hey now, no need to get violent in the house.”

Haruka shook his head, ears steaming as he regained his bearings. “D-don’t sneak up on me, then!” he protested, voice high-pitched. How embarrassing. He wrestled out of Suo’s hold, smacking at his hands.

Suo laughed, moving his hands back before Sakura could land a hit. “Whatever you say, Sakura-kun,” he sang. Haruka grumbled at him, but Suo just ignored him to ask his question again. “Tea?”

Haruka sighed, blush finally dying down. “... As long as it's not shitty.”

Suo’s shit-eating grin died down into something softer. Haruka averted his eyes, lest his blush begin to dial up again. He could not handle this right now. What was it with Suo acting more… soft lately? Just when Haruka thought he got a handle on Suo, the guy decided to switch things up.

Though, both him and Nirei had been a lot more on top of him over the last couple of days. So had the rest of the class, but not as much as his two vice captains. Haruka felt suffocated at first, but he’d gotten used to their antics faster than he’d like to admit. He did mildly enjoy the attention.

 “Tea, coming right up,” Suo called out to the room, maintaining eye contact with Haruka before swiftly turning back to fiddle with the kettle that he “gifted” him.

Haruka knew damn well Suo brought that kettle for himself to make tea whenever he came over.

“Sakura-san!” He turned to look. Nirei was motioning him over, patting the space on his futon next to him. “I finally was able to find some of the movies we wanted to watch! Do you wanna pick one out?” 

Haruka sat down next to Nirei and peered over at the laptop and whoa, that was a lot of movies.

Nirei must’ve seen the panic in his eyes, since he just smiled and explained what each of the movies were about. “... And then, in this one, I think it’s about a group of friends exploring some abandoned hospital? I heard it’s pretty scary.”

“Uh, maybe that one then. I don’t think I’ve seen a horror movie before.”

Nirei gasped, but then bit his lip, eyes looking slightly watery. The way Nirei reacted, you'd think he'd never heard of movies before. But Haruka couldn't be mad at Nirei's earnestness. Nirei latched onto his arm and stared up at him, determined. “Don’t worry, Sakura-san. Tonight we’re gonna scare the pants off of you!”

Haruka scoffed, but he found it endearing. Nirei never stopped trying to uplift him, even in stupid ways like this. He couldn't help but let Nirei's excitement affect him. He was still watching him with his sparkling golden-brown eyes. He felt a fluttering in his chest. Whenever Nirei got this close to him, so close Haruka could count all his freckles, he couldn't help but flush pink. He cleared his throat, trying to shake off his embarrassment along with whatever other emotions were there. “T-There’s no way this movie is that scary…”

“OHMYGOD!” Nirei shrieked, hiding his face in Suo’s shoulder. Haruka huffed a laugh, hardly moving from Suo’s other shoulder. His cheek was smushed there, and he felt Suo shake with his suppressed laughter.

He had been surprised at first that Suo let them on his shoulders. If there was one thing he knew about Suo, it was that he wasn’t one for people in his physical space. Even his fighting style reflected it, mainly deflecting his opponents. Hell, neither was Haruka a lot of the time, but whatever it was, he liked to believe that this meant Suo was opening up a bit more, even if only a little.

When they put the movie on, Haruka did try his best to pay attention. But it seemed like whatever conditions at school that helped him fall asleep easily were recreated here. Sleepily, he could admit that he felt safe and warmth in his apartment for the first time in a while. Knowing Suo and Nirei were here to watch his back did wonders. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and his head followed suit.

His head fell against something solid, warm. That something startled and froze. “Sakura-kun?” Suo murmured stiffly, trying not to distract Nirei from the movie. Right. He should probably move. Suo didn't like people too close to him. But he was just so comfortable, and his sleepy mind registered it as safe.

"Is that so?" There was a strange quality in Suo's voice that Haruka didn't recognize. But more pressingly, shit, did he say that out loud? But Suo just huffed, shoulders finally easing slightly. Haruka didn’t look up but he grumbled as his makeshift pillow moved with laughter. Suo would've pushed him off if he wasn't okay with it.  “Falling asleep, are we?” His tone was back to normal.

“Nuh-uh,” Haruka mumbled, lifting his head and squinting up at him. Suo stared at him, that annoying placid smile on his face. But there was something subtle shining in his eyes. Hints of warmth that Suo got whenever it was the three of them. He flushed a little, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “What is it?”

Suo shook his head, earrings swaying with the motion. Haruka’s lidded gaze followed the sway of the earring closest to him. He held back a small urge to swat at them. They just looked so… satisfying to touch. But that was still too embarrassing for Haruka to pull. He was trying to fight the cat allegations, dammit, not give them more evidence.  

“Nothing, Sakura-kun,” Suo hummed, patting Haruka’s head, breaking him from his unfocused thoughts. “It’s okay to fall asleep around your friends. As a matter of fact, I’ll be sure to take pictures of you drooling, not to worry!”

That woke him up. Haruka bristled, sitting up straight. “Sh-shut up, I don’t drool!”

“I guess we’ll find out tonight!”

Nirei huffed, finally intervening. “Suo-san, stop teasing Sakura-san.” 

Suo sighed, putting a hand to his forehead as if he were feeling faint. “Oh, woe is me! I never expected you both to gang up on me. The betrayal…”

Haruka scoffed. “Betrayal my ass…” he murmured, pouting heavily. Nirei just shook his head, a slight tilt to his lips.

The three of them settled back down, turning their attention back to the movie. The main character was tiptoeing around a staircase, trying to quietly call out for her friends. No one answered and soon she was frantically sprinting down the staircase until she heard a call from the bottom.

Haruka struggled to pay attention, his head drooping back onto Suo’s shoulder little by little as his eyes drift shut. Only this time, he was out like a light, before the main character even reached the bottom of the staircase.

“Cute…” Nirei murmured, unbeknownst to him. Nirei quickly snapped a selfie with all three of them, including the sleeping Sakura in frame.

Suo just looked at him. Nirei shrugged, holding his phone protectively. “What? I hope you know I’m setting this as my wallpaper.” Then he peered deeper into Suo’s eye. “Want me to send it to you?”

“...No one else.”

Nirei laughed softly, a smile on his face as he fiddled with his phone. “I guess neither of us can help but be a little selfish when Sakura-san is involved.”

Suo sighed. “How unbecoming of us, Nire-kun.” His phone pinged. His lips spread into a smile.

One foot, in front of the other. Keep your body tense. You only have one shot to survive.

Haruka knew this dance intimately. He was back on that tightrope, but this time it was different. It felt harder. Why was he doing this? He knew there was another way. The ground was solid beneath him.

Still, he kept on. Until some movement in front of him stopped him in his tracks. A snake was wrapped around the rope in front of him, blocking his path. Come with me,  it hissed. You’re better off here. This is the best path for guys like you. No. There was another way. He glanced over his shoulder. More snakes were slithering behind him.

Finally, his body complied. The only way out was to jump. He looked down, his shallow breath hitching as he saw a crowd beneath him. His friends.

That’s right, he wasn’t alone any more. “Guys!” Haruka called out, rope trembling beneath him. But no one called back.

They were stood in a circle, not under but around the area of the tightrope. They… wouldn’t be able to catch him like that.

“What makes you think we’d try to catch you?”  the person wearing Kiryu’s face asked. He was too distracted at the thought that that couldn’t be Kiryu that he didn’t realize he never said that aloud.

“What?” He swallowed.

Anzai laughed derisively. “As if we’d be friends with someone like you.”

“I thought…”  That they would always help him. That they a

“You thought wrong.” Tsugeura scoffed. “Your only ‘virtue’ is being a walking bad luck charm.” Tsugeura… what? This was wrong, it was all wrong.

“But,” Haruka shook his head, voice trembling. “You guys said… You wouldn’t…”

“We wouldn’t.” It was Suo, and next to him Nirei. Haruka sighed a breath of relief. Even if everyone else was acting weird, his vice captains, his closest friends would always have his back.

Nirei shook his head. “We did try. We tried to help you. But look at what it did to us. What you did to us.” Haruka could only look down in horror as they started melting. Even still, they kept talking.

“You can’t save a drowning person. They’ll pull you down with them,” Nirei and Suo chorused. The snakes hissed alongside them, and everyone just stared.

Haruka’s knees buckled. I thought I’d be safe here. He thought wrong. He fell from the rope, falling and falling. His friends just watched blankly. Haruka got closer and closer to the ground. But someone caught him.

Endo was kneeling atop him, hands pressed to his throat. "See? What did I tell you, Sakura? Look at what you did to your friends. That's because you couldn't peel away from them. So, come with me. That way you can't hurt anyone else. You've burned enough of them." His blush was high on his face as he leaned closer to Haruka, who was gasping for breath, clutched at Endo's hands on his throat. "You've already dragged them down with you. That's why I fell for ya."

Haruka gasped, throwing himself off of whatever he was laying on, and curled into himself. You’re going to drag them down with you. He couldn't breathe, there were hands on his throat. He clutched his hair, grabbing and pulling roughly at the uneven strands. The pain helped, but only for a moment. He tried desperately to distract himself with anything, but all he could think was wrong wrong wrong wrong —

“Sakura-san!” A hand touched his shoulder and he violently flinched, instinctively throwing a fist out. Someone inhaled sharply, but his punch was caught with a firm but gentle hand.

“Sakura-kun. Remember where you are. It's just me and Nire-kun with you.”

“W-we’re having a sleepover, remember? Try to breathe…” Haruka tried his best to follow their instructions. He buried his face into his knees as he curled them up to his chest. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t. Just a dream. Suo and Nirei would never… Suo and Nirei.

He looked up, face scrunching up as his friends looked back at him. There was nothing but kindness and concern written in their faces. His stomach sank.

The room was silent, save for Haruka's ragged breathing.

“You’re trembling,” Suo says matter-of-factly, breaking the silence. He would have seemed unbothered, if not for the slight lines under his eyes and the firm set of his lips.

Nirei was practically vibrating, mouth trembling while his fists were clenched like he was holding himself back from lunging at Haruka. Probably wanting to hug him to death but refraining so that he wouldn’t scare him away. 

Like I’m some wounded cat, Haruka thought distantly. There was mild annoyance, but it was overwritten by his fondness for these two. That was what helped pull him fully back into himself.

Oh. 

He froze, heart plummeting down to his feet. Shame pooled in his stomach. He couldn’t keep it together even when his friends were sleeping over? He almost decked Nirei in the face because of that. Just another thing that was his fault.

“None of that was your fault, Sakura-san!” Haruka hadn’t realized he’d been mumbling aloud, so he was surprised by Nirei throwing himself at Sakura. He grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “It was an accident. I knew you were still out of it and I grabbed you anyway. And you didn’t hurt me!”

Suo let out a soft sigh, squeezing Haruka’s hand that he at some point eased open from the fist. Haruka hadn’t realized Suo was still holding it. “We knew you were having trouble sleeping,” he admitted, and Haruka swallowed, looking away. He knew that. He was an open book, and these two knew how to read him better than anyone else.

Nirei nodded and scooted closer. The hand that wasn’t holding Haruka’s was tracing at the patterns on his futon anxiously. “That’s one of the reasons why we wanted to sleep over. So we could give you some company! We noticed you slept easier when we were nearby so we thought… it might help…” He trailed off as some of his confidence dimmed, but Nirei stayed as determined as ever.

Haruka bit his lip to stop it from trembling. “I…” What should he do? Tell them about his nightmares? It was stupid. It was embarrassing. Just because he was too weak to face them on his own. But he’d already started, and Nirei and Suo were each staring at him expectantly.

He sighed, resolving himself. He didn’t have anything to worry about with these two. He trusted them. And clearly anything he'd been doing thus far hadn't helped at all. “I’ve… been having bad dreams.” He hesitantly looked up at them, only to be met with encouraging looks.

“What were they about?” Nirei gently asked after a long pause.

Haruka sighed again, scratching roughly at his head. How did he even explain this without sounding stupid? “Um… I guess, Endo.” They stiffened, and he pulled his hands out of theirs, unable to face the tension in the moment. "I keep dreaming about the fight with Endo. He's on top of me and his hands are on my throat, and then I almost pass out, and then you guys show up but instead of helping me you look at me like I deserve it, and Endo keeps looking at me with that look on his face, and I just keep thinking…" He closed his mouth. Shrugged. “... You can’t save a drowning person, because they’ll just take you down with them,” Haruka recited, his mind’s eye flashing back to the Nirei and Suo in his dream. 

Silence. He squeezed his eyes shut. Shit, he said too much. It was just that as soon as he started talking, everything poured out and he couldn't help himself. After a moment, Haruka cautiously looked up.

Nirei was gripping onto the blanket, face scrunched up as he stared at Sakura, looking absolutely devastated. His lip was quivering and he was already starting to tear up. Unsure, he looked over at Suo to find an equally upsetting face. Suo was perfectly still, jaw slightly clenched and eye slightly blank. But his hands, clasped in his lap, were trembling and clasped tightly as if to still the tremor. It didn't work.

He ducked his head slightly, cheeks flushing. He didn't realize it would upset them this much. Shame pooled low in his stomach. He should've just dealt with it himself. “Sorry —”

“No!” Nirei burst out, before visibly reeling himself back in a little. He took a breath. “I mean, thank you for telling us, Sakura-san. But… where did you hear that from?” He leaned into Haruka’s space more, imploring.

“Uhh,” Haruka stammered, forgetting the question for a moment. He could practically count all the individual freckles around Nirei’s nose, and even saw faint freckles on his rosy cheeks. What was it with these two and being all up in his space lately?

“Yes,” Suo said shortly. He cleared his throat, forcing cheer into his voice, sounding sickly sweet. “Is it perhaps something Endo said to you? He has… a way with words.”

Haruka stiffened, and that seemed to be all the confirmation they needed.

“Sakura-san…” Nirei swallowed, his shaky hands clenched into fists. Resolve was the first thing Haruka thought. Umemiya’s face as he spoke about how he handled being a leader with Shishitoren flashed in his mind. “What exactly did Endo-san say to you?” His voice raised steadily as Nirei got more and more worked up. “Why did he want you to come with him?!”

Suo put a hand to his shoulder, trying to settle Nirei down. Haruka didn’t know how well that would work if even Suo looked upset, that eye of his cold as ice. 

Haruka shook his head. It was a moment of weakness, but what Endo had said to him wasn’t anything new. He was right. He was a walking bad luck charm. But still, he couldn’t help but to be selfish, to take this place and hold onto it kicking and screaming. And that’s part of why he was so angry at himself. He almost let Endo take him away from Furin because he didn’t have the resolve, like Umemiya. He only won because he friends came just in time. But if they hadn't? He would've gone with Endo, and he would've lost the only people who had ever accepted him with open arms.

“I don’t know why Endo wanted me to go with him. That guy was batshit crazy,” he murmured. He knew he dodged the first question, but he wasn’t ready to answer it.  Then, Haruka blushed furiously. That's why I fell for ya, after all. He'd almost forgotten about that. Hell, he wished he could forget it. Suo squinted suspiciously, and Nirei pursed his lips.

“Sakura-kun, why, pray tell, is your romance sensor going off?”

“I don’t have a romance sensor!” he said, voice cracking. They ignored him.

Nirei shook his head. “Don’t tell me…”

“That asshole said he f-f-f-f-fell for me!” Haruka burst out, trembling as his face steamed, overwhelmed at the thought of someone feeling those things for him, even if it was a crazy bastard like Endo.

“He what?” Nirei shrieked, jumping to his feet.

Suo blinked, clenching his jaw. “He what.”

Nirei paced around the small room, hands combing through his hair. “I should have fought him. I should’ve beat his ass.”

“Nirei,” Haruka said, aghast. He didn’t even want to think about Nirei fighting Endo. He looked over at Suo pleadingly. Suo was always good at reeling Nirei in. But Suo was silent, simply staring blankly ahead. 

This situation was too out-of-sorts for Haruka to handle. He had a feeling Nirei would freak out, but also Nirei freaked out about everything. And he had already threatened to fight Endo to make a point before, so this hadn’t exactly surprised him. Suo, however, Haruka had expected to tease him. Not about the nightmare, of course. Suo, at his core, was kind and a good friend. But the guy was a menace, and he loved getting a rise of him, much to Haruka's own chagrin. So this kind of threw him for a loop.

“Sakura-kun,” Suo spoke softly. Haruka closed his mouth, flushing as Suo turned to him, leaning into his space. He leaned closer and closer, and he didn’t mean to but Haruka couldn’t help but close his eyes, mildly afraid of whatever was about to happen. Then —

“Ow!” Haruka jumped up, clutching a hand to his forehead. He looked at Suo with betrayal. “You flicked my forehead, asshole!”

“Did I?” Suo replied mildly, looking significantly calmer somehow. That asshole. Nirei sighed, sitting back down next to them. “Now, Sakura-kun. Why didn’t you think to tell us this sooner?” He sounded sickly sweet, and both Haruka and Nirei cringed a little. The nicer he sounded, the more of an asshole he was about to be.

Haruka shrugged, pouting. “I don’t know, maybe because that bastard is crazy?!”

“Exactly!” Nirei burst out. “What if he tries to come back and take you? Oh god, what if he breaks into your apartment and kidnaps you in the middle of the night?!” By that point, Nirei’s face was inches from his own, and Haruka felt his breath intermingling with his own. He licked his lips absentmindedly, and Nirei's eyes flickered down for a moment, a slight blush coming to his own cheeks. So close.

Haruka grunted, pushing Nirei’s face back, his heart racing. “He won’t. He said he wouldn’t come back…” His mind flickered back to the face Endo made as he declared his loss. He didn’t sense any malice from it. And then there was what he said after…

Suo and Nirei exchanged a glance, holding it for a good moment. Haruka’s eyes flickered back and forth between the two.

“What now?” He snapped.

“Did something else happen?” Suo asked, capturing Haruka and Nirei’s attention. “You trailed off while you were speaking.”

“O-oh, right.” Haruka paused. He’d been caught off guard by the question, but he didn’t know if he should tell them that Endo had his number. Then again, they were his vice captains and there wasn’t any reason he shouldn’t tell them. He sighed heavily, scratching at his head. “Yeah, well. Me and Endo exchanged phone numbers. I promised him we could talk every now and then or whatever…” 

He blushed. That sounded really embarrassing now that the words had been spoken aloud. They were staring at him slack-jawed. Well, Nirei was. Suo was doing whatever was the equivalent for him, his eye impossibly wide. Filled with the sudden need to explain himself, he said, “It’s not like we’re gonna be friends or anything!”

Nirei fell back against the floor. Haruka frowned. What’s his problem?

Suo leaned forward slightly, enough for his face to be shielded by his bangs.

“Oh my goodness,” Nirei mumbled, staring up at the ceiling with wide eyes. Suo looked over at him.

“Nire-kun, we… definitely have our work cut out for us,” Suo said cheerfully, betrayed only by the twitching of his eye.

“What work?!” Now Haruka was the one jumping to his feet. This whole conversation was… He didn’t even know what was going on anymore. How did we even get here?

“Look, Sakura-san,” Nirei started, looking determined. “I know we didn’t see the whole fight between you and Endo, but he’s evil, and manipulative, and an— an asshole, and he doesn’t need to be anywhere near you! We don’t even know everything he said to you, but look at the state you were in by the time we got to you! Even after… Sakura-san, you have bruises on your neck, for cripe’s sake! You're having nightmares about that guy.”

Both Nirei and Suo grew stiff, mouth set in firm lines and gazes dropped down to his neck. He put a hand to his neck, feeling his Adam’s apple bob. The skin still felt tender enough there that he winced, but the bruises had already faded.

Haruka faltered for the first time, shoulders drooping a little. “I— well, yeah I’m not an idiot. But it's not like I'm having nightmares about him, just about what he said to me…" Okay, well now that he said that out loud, he realized how stupid his argument sounded, but Haruka was nothing if he wasn't an endurer, and so he endured on. "I know he’s not a good guy, but…” But neither was he, and he had gotten a second chance. Who was he to deny Endo his own second chance? Just like with Shishitoren.

Suo sighed heavily. “Sakura-kun. You don’t have to tell us what he told you exactly. But you can’t blame us for being concerned. That creature had his foot to your chest and tried to convince you that you don’t belong here.”

“And you do! You belong here with us,” Nirei continued passionately. “With Furin, with Class 1-1, with me and Suo.” Suo nodded firmly.

Haruka looked down, his face warm. He'd never had people who claimed him so readily, so resolutely. He'd never felt so wanted. “He said…” Nirei and and Suo immediately shuffled closer, each making contact with Haruka in some way. Nirei held his hand lightly while Suo kept a solid hand to his shoulder. Their warmth somehow spread through Haruka’s body, melting away some of the fears Endo injected into his mind.

“He told me that I’d bring more suffering to you guys… if I’d stayed.” He swallowed, staring at the ground. He was too afraid of what he might see. “That if I… went with him… less people would suffer in the end. And that I was being selfish by staying.”

The room was silent for a moment. He clenched his eyes shut.

"That's not true." Suo broke the silence first, voice holding a hint of emotion. "That would never be true." He'd never heard Suo sound so… ineloquent. Haruka opened his eyes, glancing up hesitantly. Suo stared straight into Haruka's eyes, dead serious. The firm set of his lips told him that Suo was still angry, but his gaze was nothing short of affectionate and supportive. Nirei was the same, tears spilling down his cheeks with eyes a fiery sort of determined. They each grasped him firmly, allowing him to feel their warmth thoroughly.

"We love you, Sakura-san, and we're never letting you go."

Later, Nirei set up a family movie, citing that the horror movie they were originally watching would ruin the mood. Suo switched so that Haruka could be in the middle, so that "We can protect you from any monsters under the bed!" Even though Haruka had a futon, so no monsters could hide under any bed. When he told him that much, Suo's smile widened as his shoulders began to shake, and he immediately knew he fell for Suo's bullshit yet again. But it was Suo, so he didn't completely mind.

Nirei scooted closer to Haruka on his other side, grabbing hold of his arm. When Haruka got embarrassed, he told him that it was so Haruka could "protect me in case anything scary happens!" Didn't Nirei say the movie was family-friendly so it wouldn't ruin the mood? But he didn't question it. Nirei could be a bit of a scaredy-cat sometimes, and if it helped, who was he to say anything? It completely flew over Haruka's head that Nirei had only said that to have an excuse to hold onto his arm. Nirei and Suo exchanged victorious glances over Sakura's head.

They settled into the movie easily, Nirei and Suo making ocassional commentary during the movie and answering any random questions Haruka had about the characters or the plot. He'd never felt so comfortable and at peace with other people at first. He fell asleep with his head on Suo's shoulder and Nirei pressed flush against his other side.

Haruka slept through the night.