Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You are a girl.

And girls are supposed to like clothes and make-up, sleepovers, and gossip.

Girls are not supposed to like video games, sports cars, and fistfights (is it still a fistfight if it involves kicks? Well, you like kicking too).

At least, that’s what everyone keeps telling you – the woman who runs the orphanage, your teachers, your peers.

But you like all the things girls are not supposed to like – well, maybe except for the sports cars. You don’t really care about those. But you do love the thrill of moving your body, of standing before an opponent, the feeling of success from winning.

And you’re good at it.

However, because you’re also a kind person and a defender of justice, you don’t just want to pick fights with random people for the fun of it – not like you used to, at least. No, you want to use your abilities to defend the weak and to protect as many people as possible. However, you also know that you won’t have much of a chance of achieving your goal all by yourself.

Which is why you’ve decided to enrol in the all-boys Furin High School in the town Makochi, where you know Bofurin resides.

You first read about Furin High in the newspaper two years ago, in an article describing how the school went from being filled with typical delinquents to becoming vigilant defenders of justice.

And now, two years later, you are finally old enough to enrol as a first-year student.

Not that you spent these last two years twiddling your thumbs. No, you have worked hard and diligently to hone your fighting skills so that you will be well prepared when you arrive at Furin High. You also worked your butt off at a café in your hometown to save up for renting an apartment for when you arrive at Makochi.

The only one who knows of your plans is your twin brother, Ryo, the only one who truly seems to understand you. Or, well, maybe not understand you, but he accepts you and love you for who you are. And for that, you love him too.

He helped you sneak out of the orphanage to train. He lent you his clothes and helped you practice lowering your voice. He bought you bandages to wrap around your chest to hide that you were, in fact, a teenage girl and that you hit puberty two years ago.

He even gave you permission to use his name and helped you copy his own ID for your use (don’t do this at home, kids). The photo is slightly blurry, and since you share the same hair colour, nobody will notice – or at least, you hope so. As long as they don’t look too long at the height written beside the photo. You are definitely not 5”8.

You’re not too sad or feeling remotely guilty for leaving – and ever since your brother left the orphanage, you had nothing to stay for anyways. Everyone will probably think that you’ve run away. Which technically, you have, but they don’t know to where or why. You doubt that they’ll care anyways. They think you’re weird, and the woman who runs the orphanage always tells you that nobody would want to adopt such a freak as yourself.

You’re not blaming anyone, though. It’s not their fault that you’re weird.

Your brother helps you with your suitcase. You didn’t pack much, only some of your own as well as your brother’s clothes, essential toiletries, a couple of worn cookbooks, and of course, as many bandages as you could fit. Bandages are expensive, and when you realised your brother had bought them for you with his own pocket-money, you immediately felt guilty and wanted to pay him back. But he insisted, saying that you needed your savings for when you arrived at Makochi and that with his new parents, he didn’t have much of a use of the money anyways.

You reluctantly accepted his gift, although you still intend to pay him back some day. Once you are settled in Makochi and have a little more money to spare.

“Take care,” your brother says as he pulls you into a tight embrace.

“You too, Onii-chan.” You bury your face in the crook of his neck, basking in this last moment you have with your brother before you see him again.

“Remember, no matter what you do, I will always support you.”

You nod. You are afraid that if you open your mouth, you might cry. Your brother seems to understand, though, because he gives you a light squeeze before letting you go, waves, and then, you are alone.

Or, as alone as one can be on a full train.

The ride is pretty uneventful. You have to change trains three times, but other than that, the most exciting thing happening to you is the bento you packed for your trip filled with oyakodon – leftovers from the dinner you helped cook for the orphanage last night.

That is about the only appropriate girl-thing that you enjoy doing: Cooking. You think it’s fun experimenting in the kitchen, and you love making other people happy with your food and baked goods. Even the woman who runs the orphanage thinks your cooking is decent, which is why she let you help with dinner every now and then.

Hopefully, the apartment you’ve rented in Makochi has a proper kitchen.

You arrive at Makochi one week before school starts. You’re not disguised as Ryo yet since there’s really no need before school starts, and the bandages are uncomfortable to wear.

The apartment complex looks pretty run-down, but it’s what you can afford and you’re not one to complain. Actually, you’re pretty excited to start your new life here. The landlord also seems nice enough, and he even gifts you a small box of cookies when you come to pick up the key.

So far, so good. The next step in your grand plan is to find work here. The deposit worth three months’ rent you had to pay to take over the apartment has made a huge indent in your savings, and if you want to keep living here, you have to find some way to earn some money. Maybe, you can find work at a café again as you have experience with serving customers from your old work. At your old workplace, you were not allowed to cook any of the food, but maybe this time, you will get lucky.

You start ascending the stairs to the floor of your apartment and are so lost in your own thoughts that you don’t notice the boy before you crash headfirst into him, dropping your box of cookies in surprise. However, before you can tumble down the stairs again, you are caught by two strong arms. There’s no saving the cookies though, which are now lying broken on the steps at your feet.

“Watch where you’re going,” the boy scowls, and you look up. You are met with the most unique eyes you have ever seen, the left one golden, the right one dark silver. Is he wearing contacts? Then, you notice his hair. The left half is pure white, while the right one is black as night. You wonder briefly is he dyes it, but then, you notice that his eyebrows and lashes are the same colours as his hair and conclude that this must be his natural hair colour. Then, it must also be his natural eye colour, you guess.

It suits him, you think.

No, it more than just suits him. It looks beautiful.

He lets you go as if he’d burnt himself, looking uncomfortable, and you realise that you’ve been staring for far longer than what is deemed polite.

“I’m so sorry!” You bow deeply as you apologise. “And thank you for saving me…?” You cock your head to the side, waiting for him to present himself.

At first, he looks confused, turning his head from side to side as if looking for whoever it is you could possibly be speaking to. As if he was certain that it couldn’t be him. As realisation dawns upon him, he points a finger at himself. “Huh? Me?”

You nod vigorously.

The boy narrows his eyes before reluctantly muttering, “Sakura. Sakura Haruka.”

He then looks at you intently, as if challenging you to make fun of him.

“That’s such a pretty name!” You exclaim and the boy blushes profusely, averting his gaze from you.

“Just watch where you’re going,” he grumbles. “And it wasn’t like I was saving you or anything. I only caught you because you were in my way.” He’s still not looking at you.

He’s obviously not used to people complimenting him, you think.

You smile and bow again. “Well, thank you anyways, Sakura-san.”

Sakura mumbles something unintelligible return.

You quickly bend down to scrape together the broken cookies, dumping them back into the box before brushing past him up the stairs.

When you are at the top of the stairs, you bow again, saying, “Nice to meet you, Sakura-san,” before you dart over to the door to your new apartment.

After you disappear into what Sakura assumes must be your apartment, he’s still standing on the staircase where you left him. He thinks you must be a newcomer like himself, judging by your suitcase and the cookies you were holding. He recognises them as the same cookies he got from the landlord when he moved in himself yesterday. Feeling bad that you dropped yours, he wonders if he should give you his own unopened box.

He knows he’s only just met you, but for some reason, he wants to find an excuse to see you again. You are the first person to ever compliment him. Usually, people make fun of his name, scorn him for his hair and his eyes.

But not you. No, you didn’t even blink as you took in the sight of him. Instead, you thanked him and smiled and said his name was pretty.

His name.

With dread, Sakura realises that he didn’t even ask for your name in return. And now that he thinks about it, he can’t even remember which one is the door to your apartment. Which is strange since he spent so long staring at it just moments before.

Well, since you live in the same apartment complex as him, he’ll probably get to--

Wait a moment.

Sakura shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts. What is he thinking? It’s so unlike him to think about others like this. To actually want to get to know another person better. To want to do something nice for them.

He should probably just forget it, he tells himself before venturing down the rest of the stairs and into town.

The apartment feels huge. Objectively speaking, you know it’s tiny, but you’re so used to sharing a room with nine other girls that having so much space all to yourself feels quite overwhelming. There’s one larger room with a futon and a closet in the corner, a small bathroom, and a real proper kitchen with a sink, a stovetop, and a fridge in the corner. No oven, though.

You immediately begin to unpack the few belongings you brought with you, putting your clothes in the closet, the cookbooks on a shelve in the kitchen, and the toiletries and the huge pile of bandages in the bathroom.

The apartment still feels empty, but you don’t mind. It’s yours and you already love it.

Before you head into town to look for work, you consider whether to go as yourself or as “Ryo”. If you get work as Ryo, it will be easier to go directly from school to work without changing. And the less people in this town who sees you as you, the smaller is the chance of being discovered.

However, if you go as yourself, you don’t have to wear those uncomfortable bandages all the time – and if you don’t wear them all day, maybe you can reuse them more times. In the end, that’s what settles it for you.

So, you head into town as you, a high school girl full of spirit and hopes for the future.

Even though the town isn’t that small, everyone seems to know everyone, and you immediately stand out as a new face. People are nice, though, and eager to help you find work by guiding you towards café and shop owners who might be hiring. And so far, no one has called you out for being a weirdo, which you think is…weird.

However, you have no luck finding work the first day, nor the second, the third, the fourth, or the fifth.

It’s first on Saturday, the day before school starts, that you get desperate enough to search for work in Makochi’s Red-light District. You can neither dance, nor sing, but maybe some of the bars could use someone to serve food and drinks to the guests, to do the dishes, or clean the toilets. You don’t really care, as long as you get paid.

Otherwise, you won’t be able to pay for next month’s rent and then, you won’t be able to stay in this town and then, where will you go? You refuse to go back to the orphanage, only to be kicked out in a few years anyways.

When you enter beneath the large sign telling you that you are now on Keisei Street in Makochi’s Red-light District, you immediately feel out of place – well, more out of place than usual, you mean. The street is filled with blinking neon signs and people dressed in fancy clothes, and you don’t fit at all. You’re not even old enough to be here.

However, that does not deter you from your mission. Squaring your shoulders, you walk down the street, entering all the pubs and restaurants you come across to ask for work. The answer everywhere is the same though.

“Unless you can perform on stage, we don’t have anything for you.”

“We don’t hire minors, sorry.”

“But I can work in the kitchen,” you argue. “Or I can clean.”

“We’re already fully staffed, sorry kiddo.”

You’re not one to give up though, so you relentlessly continue with your quest. You are just about to enter yet another pub when a voice calls from behind you.

“Hi there!”

You turn around. A very tall girl – emphasized by a pair of very high heels – waves enthusiastically and you point a finger at yourself, silently asking if she means you. She nods energetically, making her hair swing back and forth vigorously. It’s very long and shiny and the tips are dyed pink.

Pretty, you think as you walk over to her.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help but hear that you’re looking for work, dear?”

You can’t help but notice how deep her voice is. You nod, hoping that luck is now finally on your side.

“What kind of work?”

“Anything besides performing, really,” you answer. “I used to work at a café, so I can serve food and drinks to customers. I can also clean and do dishes and stuff.”

The girl sends you a wide smile. “I have just the perfect job for you.”

Chapter Text

You follow the girl into another pub, the sign above the entrance telling you it’s Show Pub Ougi. There’s a live performance going on as you enter, a pretty girl with large eyes and hair flowing down to her waist singing, filling the bar with a sweet, melodic voice.

“You can call me Tsubaki-chan, by the way,” the girl beside you bends down to tell you. You offer your own name in return, and Tsubaki practically beams at you.

Not even ten minutes later, you're starting your first trial shift as a waiter at Show Pub Ougi. As soon as the restaurant manager, a young man with a buzzcut named Shogo Hidaka, spotted Tsubaki, he didn't hesitate to hand you an apron and a notepad with a pen and send you out to take orders from his customers.

You run around for hours, taking orders, bringing sodas and beers and sake and platters laden with food, returning with empty glasses and bottles and plates.

At some point, just as you are in the middle of doing the dishes, someone pokes you on the back and you jump in surprise, spraying soapy water all over the place.

“Oh, sorry. Just wanted to remind you to take a break. We don’t wanna work you to the bone, you know.”

You turn around and are faced with a tall boy with an undercut and a friendly expression, smiling down at you.

“I’m Nakamura Kanji,” he introduces himself. “I hear that Tasuku-kun hired you?”

"Who?" You're a bit confused – the one who hired you was--

"Tsubakino, of course," Nakamura clarifies.

Wait. Tsubaki-chan is…a boy?

A boy who wears high heels and make-up? And despite that, he seems like he has friends here who doesn’t question his preferences, accepting him for who he is.

To you, that sounds almost too good to be true. It’s not in your nature to be jealous, but if it were, you definitely would be. Instead, you're just genuinely happy for Tsubakino.

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Tsubaki-chan, dear Nakamura-kun?” Tsubakino chastises gently from across the kitchen, and Nakamura sheepishly scratches the back of his neck.

“Ah, my bad. Sorry, Tsubaki-chan.”

Tsubakino turns his attention towards you. “You’re taking a break now. You’ve been running around non-stop for five hours! You should take better care of yourself, sweetie,” Tsubakino tuts and shakes his head.

You start to argue. “B-but, the dishes--”

“Nakamura-kun can take over for you.”

“Oh, but that’s really not--”

“It’s no big deal, I’ll take over for you.” Nakamura gently pushes you away from the sink and rolls up the sleeves of his suit.

His suit, you think.

“Won’t your suit get ruined, Nakamura-san?” you ask anxiously.

Tsubakino tilts his head back and laughs. “Oh, don’t worry dear. Nakamura-kun’s suit has survived way more than just a couple of dirty dishes. He’ll be fine.”

“I will,” Nakamura agrees. “And besides, Tsubaki-chan wants you to see him perform, so you better take that break now.”

Oh.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you also perform, Tsubaki-chan?” you beam.

“Well, I thought it was quite obvious dear.” He gestures at his outfit, consisting of a pair of shorts and a crop top.

You can’t really see what he’s referring to, though. “I’m not really sure what you mean, but I’d love to see you perform,” you tell him.

To Nakamura, you bow and thank him for taking over for you, apologising for inconveniencing him. Nakamura, however, only gives you a friendly wave, spraying more soapy water on the floor.

“Oh, you’re so sweet,” Tsubakino coos before grabbing your wrist and leading you out of the kitchen and towards a table right in front of the stage.

The girl who was singing when you arrived at the bar is already sitting at the table, but she gets to her feet to greet you. “Hi, I’m Narita Shizuka. So nice to have another girl my age around here!”

You bow and present yourself before saying, “You have a beautiful voice, Narita-san.”

“Oh, please call me Shizuka,” she beams, and you immediately tell her to call you by your first name too.

People here are so nice, you think wistfully.

But you're not naïve enough to think that it will continue. As soon as they find out what a freak you are, they’ll stop being nice. And you haven’t grown up in this town like Tsubakino, so even though they accept him, there’s no way that they’ll just accept a random new girl without parents who likes fighting a bit too much.

Although maybe, as Ryo, you will have a chance. Because then, everyone will think you’re a boy, and then they won’t think twice about your strange behaviour.

It’s not because you don’t like being a girl. It’s not because you want to be a boy. But if pretending to be a boy is what you have to do to achieve your goals, then, that’s just what you’ll do.

Tsubakino blows you both a kiss before darting onto the stage.

The music starts, and, as he begins to dance, you can’t help but gape.

Despite his tall, muscular frame, he looks weightless as he elegantly swings himself around the pole. He swishes his hips and shakes his head, his long hair so shiny that you bet you could see your own reflection in it.

The crowd cheers and whoops and claps and it’s clear that they all love Tsubakino.

And you can understand why. He truly is amazing.

You tell him so after his performance ends, and Tsubakino pulls you into a tight embrace. He’s not sweaty in the slightest, which you find a bit strange – you would think it must be extremely strenuous to dance like that for as long as Tsubakino just did.

You’re also taken aback by Tsubakino’s open show of affection towards you. You only just met him, after all, but he already acts as if the two of you are the best of friends.

Although maybe, that’s just how Tsubakino is. Sweet and caring and affectionate towards the people around him. Yes, that must be it. Because there’s nothing about you that’s even remotely interesting – nothing that would warrant other people taking a liking to you that fast.

And then, there’s Shizuka. You only spoke with her briefly, but already, she smiles so brightly every time she sees you that one would think you had saved her from a building on fire or something.

You also meet the two other staff members, a young man in a pin-striped suit and a boy playing the piano, presenting themselves as Miyoshi Akihito and Otawa Ritsu, respectively. Both seem nice, although you only exchange brief pleasantries.

After three more hours, the pub closes, and you stay to help with the cleaning. The manager approaches you with a satisfied look on his face and tells you that you can take the day off tomorrow, but come back every Friday and Saturday night, as well as on Sundays, which are the days where the pub is the busiest. That’s perfect for you, since school ends early on Saturday, and Sundays are your days off.

It’s with heartfelt gratitude that you thank Tsubakino for helping you find this job as you bid him goodbye.

Again, he doesn’t hesitate to hug you farewell. “Don’t sweat it, you’ve been such a help, sweetie,” he reassures you. “We’ve been looking for a waiter for ages, and you seem experienced, so the pleasure is ours. Truly.” He places his hand over his heart and smiles down at you.

“Still, thank you so much, Tsubaki-chan. I’ll see you next Friday.” You bow before taking your leave.

Behind you, Tsubakino, Shizuka, and the four members of Roppo-Ichiza watch until you disappear behind a corner.

“You really think we should let her go home all by herself?” Shizuka asks nervously.

“Maybe we should have sent someone with her,” Tsubakino admits, but then adds, “But something tells me that she can take care of herself.”

“You were certainly fast to take a liking to that one, Tsubaki-chan,” Nakamura comments.

“She seems like such a happy and bubbly person. Like the sun,” Shizuka gushes, looking longingly in the direction you went. Miyoshi and Otawa both nod in agreement. They didn’t get to speak much with you, but you already left quite an impression on them.

Tsubakino surprises them all with his next words. “She might seem like that, but I know there’s more to her. Maybe you didn’t notice, but underneath that bubbly exterior, she seemed so…alone. And sad.”

They are all silent for a moment, contemplating Tsubakino’s observation. He’s good at reading people, so they believe what he says must be true.

Suddenly, Tsubakino breaks the silence, clapping his hands together enthusiastically. “Well, then we’ll just have to make sure she has the time of her life when at work!”

“You always did have a weak spot for all things broken,” Nakamura sighs, but mentally, he wholeheartedly agrees with Tsubakino’s plan.

You’re walking down Tonpu Shopping Street when you hear it.

“Hey, that hurts! Let go of me.”

Immediately, you zoom in on the source of the commotion. A girl about your age with one heavy-looking grocery bag on each arm is surrounded by a group of young men, one of them holding her wrist in a tight grip. It does look painful, you agree.

You don’t hesitate to march over to them, placing a hand on the shoulder of the perpetrator. “Hey,” you say cheerily, “she told you to let go.”

The young man eyes you for a moment before letting out a snort, and his friends all start laughing at you. “What are you shrimp gonna do, hm? Wanna join our fun?” A menacing look then takes over his features, and a split second later, a fist is flying your way.

You could almost laugh. These guys are pathetic, harassing a lone girl after dark, and they will come to sorely regret underestimating you. They are no match for you.

You dodge his fist effortlessly, twisting to the side and watching as the boy fall to the ground all by himself, unable to stop his momentum. You refuse to kick an opponent already lying down, so instead, you turn your attention to his friends. They all come charging at you at once, but it’s clear to you that they have no real fighting skills. Their movements are sloppy, their defences weak, their reflexes practically non-existent. In no time, all of them are on the ground too, knocked unconscious for the time being.

Well, you guess it’s also time for their leader to be back on his feet again.

And, sure enough, you can hear someone sprinting towards you from behind. Without looking, you jump into the air, using him as a springboard to do a backflip and end up standing right behind him. You send a kick to the back of his head, knocking him out for good this time.

When the five boys are all sprawled on the pavement around you, you turn again to the girl with the shopping bags, her eyes wide as saucers and her mouth agape.

And behind her, you see none other than Sakura Haruka, his expression a copy of the girl’s in front of him. It would have looked rather comical had you not been dreading this moment ever since you arrived to Makochi. You had really hoped that you could go just a little longer before people began shunning you.

You square your shoulders, preparing for the worst. You’re prepared to get ridiculed, to be told that you’re a freak. You think of all the nice people you’ve met so far and silently say goodbye to the bliss of being treated as just another normal teenage girl this week. Maybe, this is what’s meant by seeing your life flash before your eyes just before impending doom befalls you.

The girl snaps out of it first, and she marches over to you. You flinch, having to resist the urge to cower away from her. Will she slap you? Scream at you?

You already know that you won’t lay a hand on her regardless of what she decides to do. You’re not that type of person. No, you decided long ago that you would only use your strength to defend other people and to fight for justice.

And this girl, she’s innocent – even if she decides to slap you. You’d understand. It’s not her fault that you’re a freak.

But the girl doesn’t slap you. Instead, she stops right in front of you and bows deeply. “Thank you!” she breathes. Then, she straightens her back, a wide grin splitting across her face. “That was amazing! Where did you learn how to fight like that? That’s so cool! You make me wish I had put more effort into learning self-defence myself – don’t tell Ume though, he’ll just say ‘I told you so’. But I never bothered because Bofurin usually takes care of all the troublemakers here. Oh, and by the way, my name’s Tachibana Kotoha, a pleasure to meet you!”

You just stare at her, at a loss for words. Is she making fun of you? And who’s this Ume-person?

You don’t get the chance to answer though, because just then, Tachibana notices Sakura behind her. “Geez, you almost gave me a heart-attack,” she scolds. “Are you part of Bofurin? I’ve never seen you around here.”

First then do you notice that Sakura is wearing a Furin jacket. The single white band on his left sleeve tells you that he’s a first year – and apparently, he’s a newcomer, just like you.

Again, Tachibana doesn’t let him speak before she continues. “And what are you doing out so late at night? On patrol?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Sakura mutters before turning his attention to you. “You’re that girl. From the stairs.”

You smile hesitantly. You’re still not quite sure if they’re gaslighting you or if the people of this town genuinely don’t think you’re a weirdo. “Yes, nice to meet you again, Sakura-san.”

A tinge of pink sprouts across Sakura’s cheekbones.

“You two know each other?” Tachibana asks. “Did you come to Makochi together?”

“No, we didn’t,” you correct her. “We just happen to live in the same apartment complex.”

“Huh, what a coincidence. It’s not often we get someone new from out of town, and now, there’re two of you!” Tachibana hums thoughtfully. Then, her eyes suddenly narrow. “And what’s your excuse for being out alone this late?”

“Ah, just finished work,” you tell her truthfully.

She frowns. “They let you walk home alone, so late at night?”

You shrug. To you, there’s nothing wrong with that.

Pursing her mouth, Tachibana lets out a small sigh. “I guess you can take care of yourself alright.”

The three of you are silent for a moment before Tachibana again clears her throat. “Well, I was just out doing some late-night grocery shopping. The café where I work at was out of eggs.” She lifts the grocery bags showcasing multiple cartons of eggs. “Why don’t the two of you come to the café tomorrow? It’s called Pothos. I’ll make you omurice!”

You immediately feel yourself panic. You can’t come to her café tomorrow as yourself, because if you spent any more time with Sakura as you and you end up in the same class at Furin High, then he’ll definitely recognise you. Maybe, it was a bad idea to go out as yourself, but now, you’ve gotten a job and you have to go out as yourself at least three times a week. Hopefully, none of the Furin boys will frequent the Red-Light District. You don’t think that’s likely though, since they’re all minors.

Tachibana beams at you, and you glance over at Sakura who looks very uncomfortable.

Hoping that you’re not acting too presumptuous, you speak for the both of you. “Thank you, Tachibana-san, but I can’t go tomorrow. Sakura-san will be happy to join you though.” Sakura splutters behind you, but you don’t notice. You give Tachibana a wide smile. “Should we walk you to your café? In case you walk into problems again?”

“Just call me Kotoha. And it’s actually just around the corner, but thanks for the offer. Oh well, too bad, but promise you’ll come some other time. See you tomorrow, Sakura-san!” Kotoha waves and leaves the two of you alone on the dark street.

When Kotoha is out of sight, you bend down to haul the boy at your feet over your back. He’s heavy, but you’re strong, and you begin carrying him away from the middle of the street.

“What’re you doing?” Sakura asks.

“Well, we can’t just let them lie here!” you reason, huffing slightly as you gently place the boy on the ground in an upright position, leaning his back against a wall. Then, you walk over to the next boy, repeating the process.

“But…why?”

“Because they might get run over by a car or something,” you explain, a bit confused by Sakura’s questions.

“But…you beat them up! Knocked them out! Why do you suddenly care what happens to them?”

“I only knocked them out because they were hurting the girl – Kotoha-chan. But that doesn’t mean I want to just leave them like this in the middle of the street.”

Sakura just stares at you for a moment. But then, he walks over to another boy and hauls him over to his two friends already seated against the wall.

When all the boys are sitting in a neat row, you stand back to admire your handiwork. You purposefully chose a spot with an overhang so that they’ll at least have a little cover from the night.

You then turn towards Sakura. “Thank you for helping me again, Sakura-san!”

Immediately, Sakura turns scarlet before he practically starts yelling at you. “I-I didn’t do it to help you! I only did it because…because I’m walking this way tomorrow and they’d be in the way if they were still lying in the middle of the road!”

His yelling doesn't put you off in the slightest. You remember how he reacted when you thanked him for saving you the first time you met, and you realise that Sakura – just like he isn’t used to getting compliments – isn’t used to people thanking him.

It’s adorable, you think, but mostly, it’s kind of sad.

You give him a wide smile. “I want to thank you anyways! Regardless of why you did it, you still helped me. Should we walk home now?”

“You want to walk home…with me?” he asks incredulously, his face turning an even darker shade of red.

He really does have a generous blood supply to his face.

“Yes, we do live in the same place, so it makes sense, right?” you say, feeling yourself deflate slightly.

Maybe Sakura is not as accepting as Kotoha. Maybe, he doesn’t want to walk home with you – he did just witness you knock out five guys, after all. You’re just about to say that he doesn’t have to (although you’re not sure how to avoid walking home together since you’re going the same way), when he speaks up. “I guess so.”

You have to admit that you feel relieved.

Together, you walk back to your apartment complex. When you reach Sakura’s front door, he hesitates before entering his apartment, some inner conflict going on behind his heterochromatic eyes.

At long last, he turns towards you. “Spar with me, some time.”

“Eh?”

You’re confused. He wants to spar with you?

Sakura averts his eyes from your bewildered stare. “You’re strong. I want to fight you some time.”

“B-but…I’m a girl!” you blurt. Shouldn’t he say something like, girls are not supposed to fight? or never bother me again, you freak?

“Yeah, I can see that. So what?” Sakura shrugs, the tips of his ears turning pink.

What is it with these people?  

This isn't reaction you had expected at all. You had expected people to shun you once they realised what kind of person you are.

You can’t seem to find the words to answer him, and you feel a bit like a gutted fish with the way you repeatedly open and close your mouth repeatedly without a sound coming out.

“Never mind,” Sakura tells you, and before you can get another word out, he has entered his apartment and closed the door in your face.

The next morning is your day off and the day before school starts, so you decide that it’s time to head out as Ryo. It’s risky, with Sakura living so close by, but you’re pretty sure that he doesn’t know which apartment you live in. And besides, he should be at Kotoha’s café by now.

After a quick breakfast consisting of fridge-cold onigiri from the convenience store, you get to work.

First, the bandages. You wrap them tightly around your chest and secure the end with a metal clasp.

Then, you pick your outfit for the day. A pair of jeans that you have to roll up multiple times and secure with a belt because otherwise, the legs are way too long and the waist too wide. As a girl, you were only allowed to wear skirts and dresses at the orphanage, so you don’t own any jeans yourself. Hence, you’re borrowing your brother’s. You wear one of your own white t-shirts, though.

Then, the Furin jacket. The uniform is dark green, almost black, with an embroidered green and yellow pattern on the collar and wrists and one white band on the left sleeve, symbolising that you’re a first year. This was the last jacket you could find in your size, and it mostly fits you. The shoulders are a bit too wide, but you don’t mind, since it makes your own shoulders look broader.

Then, the hair. You pull it up into a tight bun, letting some strands of hair fall on either side of your face.

And lastly, your face. You fish out the small make-up kit your brother gifted you for your last birthday. Not because you like make-up – you don’t really care about stuff like that – but because he thought it would be useful for your disguise.

And he’s right.

You carefully contour your jaw, making it look squarer and then, your cheekbones and nose, sharpening your features.

When you’re finished, you study your handiwork in the full-length bathroom mirror. You still look feminine, but in your own opinion, you could easily go for a boy. Not for the first time in your life, you’re glad that your chest and butt are on the small size. You nod satisfactorily at your reflection before heading out of your apartment, wondering whether you’ll be seeing Sakura again. You won’t mind if you’re in the same class. You can’t believe that both him and Kotoha still want to be associated with you, even after witnessing what you’re capable of.

Hopefully, Sakura won’t recognise you when you meet him as Ryo.

As you head down the same street where you met Kotoha last night, the sight that meets you make you stop dead in your tracks.

In front of you, a whole gang of young men are approaching, led by the same ones you prevented from hurting Kotoha last night. And at the front of their procession their leader, the one you knocked down twice yesterday.

“You seen a girl around here?” he asks you, a sinister grin spread across his face. “Around this tall? Long hair – same colour as yours, actually. We have a score to settle with her.”

With dread, you realise that they must be talking about you.

And that they’re unaware that the girl they’re looking for is standing right in front of them.

Chapter Text

Sakura can’t stop thinking about you. And he can’t stop beating himself up for not asking you for your name again. Maybe you told that other girl yesterday, but he was so busy processing what he had just witnessed to listen properly to your conversation.

He doesn’t know what’s gotten into him. He’s never given girls much thought before – only thought of them as someone who would laugh at him and make fun of his name, his hair, his eyes.

But you aren't like that. And neither is that other girl…Kohata? Kotaho? Kotoha?

Kotoha also seems alright, but you were the very first person whom Sakura can remember ever showing him kindness. And for that, your face as you smiled at him and told him that his name was pretty will probably be edged into his mind for the rest of his life.

And on top of that, you’re strong. You single-handedly took down five guys twice your size and didn’t even break a sweat – that, Sakura can appreciate.

He was just walking around Makochi last night because he couldn’t sleep, and when Sakura can’t sleep, he tends to wander around. Sometimes, he’s up all night. And when he heard the telltale sound of a good brawl going on, he had practically sprinted towards the commotion, hoping to find an outlet for all his pent-up emotions.

The last thing he expected to see was you, but he can’t say that he was disappointed. In fact, he wasn’t even disappointed that he didn’t get to fight those losers, because watching you take them all out by yourself was almost as gratifying as doing it himself. You moved so fast, so…gracefully, as if the natural laws of physics didn’t apply to you.

Before he had seen you, he would never have thought fighting could look graceful.

So yes, Sakura can’t stop thinking about you, even as he makes his way towards the café where Kotoha said she worked. He tells himself that he’s only going because you promised Kotoha that he would come. And because he’s not one to say no to a free meal.

He’s definitely not going because he wants to ask Kotoha what your name is.

And that’s how Sakura finds himself staring down at a plate of perfectly shaped omurice. He takes a bite. And another. And another, and another, and another.

It really is delicious.

He’s quickly brought out of his stupor by Kotoha trying to make small-talk with him – which he still finds strange because people don’t try to make small-talk with him. Usually, they’re disgusted by his looks and avoid him as the plague.

This girl…why is she so chummy with me? Sakura wonders, not for the first time this morning. But then again, she wasn't freaked out by you either, even though you had just pummelled five guys in front of her. Maybe, the inhabitants of Makochi are used to witnessing violence up close.

“Wonder what that girl from yesterday’s doing today,” Kotoha muses, immediately catching Sakura’s attention. “I never asked for her name. Do you happen to know who she is?”

Sakura feels himself deflate. So, Kotoha didn’t get your name either.

“No,” he mumbles, glaring down at his almost finished omurice.

“How rude, you didn’t even ask her!”

“Well, you didn’t either!”

“Ah…fair enough, I guess.”

While finishing his omurice, Sakura also wonders what you’re doing. You seem like a nice person, and you’re pretty, so you probably have lots of friends – maybe you’re out with them?

It takes a while before Sakura realises what it was he just thought, but when he does, he’s choking on the huge gulp of water he just chucked and sprays droplets everywhere. Kotoha yells and jumps back in surprise.

Did he just think you were…pretty?

He doesn’t even notice Kotoha cleaning up his mess, muttering under her breath all the while.

He’s too busy dealing with an existential crisis.

Sometime later, Sakura is heading down the same street where he met you last night.

The sound of glass smashing catches his attention and when he looks up, he’s met with the sight of a whole crowd of younger men, some of them carrying bats. He easily spots the guy you knocked down twice yesterday, sneering at another boy wearing a Furin jacket. Even if it wasn’t for the single white band on the Furin boy’s sleeve, Sakura would easily have been able to tell that this is a first year. He’s much shorter and ganglier than most other boys their age, and there’s something delicate about his face that makes him look younger and almost feminine.

“Oh, another Furin punk, eh?” the gang leader sneers, looking past the boy in front of him and directly at Sakura.

“And another freak at that. Coloured contacts and meshed hair? You cosplaying?” The gang leader takes a closer look at Sakura, “Wait, that’s your real hair? And you got no contacts either.”

Snickering and laughter sound from the crowd in front of Sakura, and he smiles bitterly. This is more like it. This is the normal response when people see him.

Their leader looks down at Sakura with evident disgust. “Sickening--”

But he doesn’t get to say anymore, because just then, a fist collides with his jaw – and it's not Sakura’s fist sending the young man flying.

The clatter of a bloody tooth hitting the pavement can be heard in the ear-deafening silence that follows.

“Don’t you dare,” the other Furin boy snarls. “You’re just a couple of losers who’s picking on those you think are vulnerable. Does that make you feel better about yourselves? You’re pathetic.”

And then, as if broken out of a trance, the crowd charges. Sakura doesn’t hesitate to join in. This is his element. Because in a fight, it doesn’t matter how you look – only your fists count. And if you’re stronger, it means that you’re better.

He jumps high into the air, landing a roundhouse kick to the face of his nearest opponent. He kicks another one in the stomach, twirls around to dodge a fist and grabs the outstretched arm in front of him, throwing its owner into one of his comrades. He narrowly avoids being hit with a metal bat, punches the perpetrator in the gut and sends him flying several meters across the street. He jumps again, using his opponents as stepping stones as he kicks them to the ground.

As soon as Sakura has beaten all the gang members in his vicinity, he spares a moment to orientate himself and finds, to his great surprise, that the other Furin boy is not a bloodied mass of pulp on the ground. No, just like Sakura, he’s surrounded by a dozen or so unconscious gang members, lying in heaps at his feet.

So, this is what he can expect from Furin, Sakura thinks with grim satisfaction.

Then, the boy smiles at Sakura and for some reason, he feels his heart rate speed up and blood rush to his face.

Must be from the fight, he tells himself. He and the boy share another look, and Sakura can’t stop thinking that he’s seen this boy somewhere before.

He doesn’t have much time to think about it any further though, because just then, the rest of the gang charges at them.

Sakura feels a bit like he’s in one of those lame action movies when he stands back-to-back with the other Furin boy, readying himself to fight again.

“Hey punks! Quit ya punching!”

The boy behind him freezes, and Sakura follows his gaze. One of the gang members is holding Kotoha in a tight grip, a knife pressed against her chin. “Furin bastards can’t do jack when townsfolk are hostages, right?

You freeze. You’ve never encountered a situation like this before. Normally, it’s just yourself you have to watch out for, and you’ve got no idea how to react when there’s a hostage involved.

Which is kind of naïve, now that you think about it. You came to Furin because you wanted to defend the weak, but you can’t even protect a single girl?

Sakura, however, doesn't freeze. Instead, he sprints towards the armed man, pushing two others out of his way and with one of his signature kicks, he disarms the man threatening Kotoha and shoves him out of the way.

It took him less than five seconds to get Kotoha out of danger, Meanwhile, you were just standing there like a useless spectator.

“T-thanks!” Kotoha stutters.

“Don’t get me wrong! I just didn’t like his attitude! Bringing a knife into a fight…” Sakura scoffs as he faces the rest of the gang, standing protectively in front of Kotoha.

You hurry over to join him and together, you enter the brawl again.

It’s much harder fighting when you have to protect someone at the same time, you realise. You can’t move as freely as you’re used to, and you have to be aware of where Kotoha is at all times to make sure that no one slips past you to get to her.

It does help a bit to have Sakura by your side, but still. It’s a lot more difficult protecting others than you thought.

You have to admit that you’re impressed by Sakura. You’ve never seen anyone fight as well as he does, and if you were to spar with him as he suggested last night, you’re not sure who would win. Probably him, you think. You’re approximately the same in terms of skill level, but he has the advantage of height and weight, as well as the extra muscle mass that automatically comes with being a boy.

You’re so lost in thought that you don’t notice the man with the bat slipping past Sakura’s defences just before he’s right in front of you.

Crap, you think as you jump backwards until you're standing with your back pressed against Kotoha who’s pressed against a wall.

The man swings his bat again.

And you don’t think about how you can disarm him. You don’t think about how you can take him out. No, in your panic, all you can think of is taking the hit for Kotoha.

You can’t help but close your eyes...

...but the impact never comes.

Instead, someone says, “You two first years? You helped a ton by being here.”

You dare open your eyes again. In front of you is a tall boy with spiky hair, probably around two years older than you. You glance at his left arm and see three white bands adorning his Furin jacket, meaning he must be a third year.

He’s leaning in over you and…and it’s only now that you realise that he just took a hit from the metal bat like it was nothing!

You gape as he reaches over his shoulder, grabs the bat and shoves his elbow backwards. A sickening crunch, and your attacker drops the bat and falls to the ground.

The fighting between Sakura and the rest of the gang members stills, everyone turning to look at you and the boy with the spiky hair. You notice that three other boys in Furin jackets – second years, by the looks of it – have joined too.

In no time, the four newcomers from Furin have taken care of the rest of the delinquent gang, and a lot of the townsfolk have come out to greet and thank them.

“What the hell?” Sakura mutters. “What’s going on here?”

“They’re protecting the town,” you breathe, watching the four boys in awe. “Anyone past this point who causes pain, who brings destruction, who holds evil in their heart, will be purged by Bofurin,” you quote. It’s Bofurin’s motto and is written on the sign erected at the border of their turf. You memorised it long ago.

Sakura scowls. That almost sounds as if they’re heroes of justice or something, he thinks.

You suddenly remember that you haven’t presented yourself to Sakura as Ryo yet and supposedly have never met him before. You turn to face him to introduce yourself. “I’m Ryo. What’s your name?”

Sakura stares at you for a moment, looking contemplative, and you suddenly worry that he recognises you. But then, he mutters, “Sakura.”

“You were pretty amazing, you know that?” you tell him, because you feel like he has to know. He seems like the type who’s never had anyone telling him that before. In some ways, he reminds you of yourself, except that you least had your brother. But you don’t think Sakura has anyone.

In that exact moment, you decide that you want to be someone for him. You want to be his friend. You want to tell him that he’s worth something even if he doesn’t think so himself.

Sakura’s ears turn red by your praise, so you quickly change the subject – again, it’s not like you want to make him uncomfortable. “So, you starting at Furin tomorrow too?”

“Yeah. I’m gonna take the top spot there.”

You mull over that for a bit. Then, you ask, “Why?”

“Because if I’m the strongest, that means I’m better than them, right?”

“Hm…not necessarily,” you say, because as Sakura’s friend, you want to be honest with him. “I think it depends on your why. Because Bofurin’s not just about who’s stronger than whom. It’s about being strong because that’s what you have to be to be able to protect the things you care about.”

“I don’t have anything I care about!”

You offer him a small smile. “Maybe, but I can also tell that you haven’t given up on other people yet, Sakura-kun. Otherwise, why would you have saved m-- I mean, Kotoha-chan?”

Sakura shifts uncomfortably on his feet and winces. You immediately look down and see a nasty cut across Sakura’s ankle, probably from when he disarmed the man with the knife. You hadn’t even noticed him getting injured during your fight.

“Sakura, you’re hurt!” you exclaim.

“S’nothing,” Sakura mutters, but you’ll have none of that. Luckily, you brought extra bandages with you and fish out a fresh roll from the inner pocket of your jacket.

“I can help with that,” Kotoha offers.

She has been watching your interaction from the sidelines with interest – three newcomers to Makochi in only a week, and all of them formidable fighters, she thinks to herself (what she doesn’t know is that it’s really only two newcomers, and not three).

You don't hesitate to hand her the bandages, and she leads Sakura back to Pothos with her. Sakura looks at you over his shoulder with furrowed brows, as if he’s in deep thought. You wave at him, making him blush and duck his head as he follows Kotoha into the café.

Right before Kotoha is out of sight, she thanks you for saving her.

You frown. You didn’t save her at all.

“YOU OKAY?” someone shouts, and you jolt in surprise.

One of the second years is standing before you, with platinum blond hair falling into his dark grey eyes and a lollipop stuck in his mouth. You wonder if he’s fighting with it – it seems dangerous. What if he chokes? But maybe, he’s so skilled that he’s in no risk of choking. He’s also wearing headphones which must explain why he was shouting.

You tap your ear with your finger, and he removes his headphones so that he can hear you speak.

“I’m fine, really. Thank you for helping us out.”

“You held fine on your own,” he tells you.

“Not really,” you say miserably. “I couldn’t even save Kotoha-chan.”

You’re angry at yourself. You came here to protect people, to defend those who needed your help, and at first given opportunity, you screw up.

The boy’s eyes soften as he looks at you. “You were prepared to take that hit for her," he says seriously. "That means you protected her with all you’ve got. All you need to do now is just to build on what you’ve already got so that next time, you don’t have to take the hit because you can fight back.”

You’re silent for a moment. Then, your face split into a wide grin. “Thank you so much! I’ll do that! I’m Ryo, by the way. What’s your name?”

“Kaji Ren.” He returns your smile hesitantly.

“Well, thank you Kaji-san.” You bow, giving him one last smile before darting off.

After you disappear, Kaji puts his headphones back on, rather satisfied with the small peptalk he just delivered.

He’s getting better at this, he thinks.

Meanwhile, he completely misses out on what his Vice Captains and Hiragi are talking about behind his back.

“You think Kaji-san knows that boy?”

“He actually took his headphones off, did ya see that?”

“I’ve never really seen him speak to anyone by his own accord, unless if it’s because he’s pissed at someone.”

“He didn’t look angry at all though. I could’ve sworn I saw him smile, actually.”

“No, you’re kidding, right?”

Kaji is not entirely sure himself what drove him to walk over and talk to you. Maybe, it was because you looked so miserable after Kotoha had thanked you for saving her, and he gets that. He gets that it’s hard to have other people depend on you when you don’t think you’re good enough yourself.

So, he’d approached you and tried to console you. And to his own surprise, it had worked. You had smiled at him, and he had felt it as if you were his own personal sun, bathing him in its radiant light. He couldn’t help but smile back.

He finds that he wants to see that smile again.

And if going out of his comfort zone – taking off his headphones and making conversation with you – is what it takes, then, that’s what he’ll do.

As long as he gets to see you smile.

Kotoha helps Sakura bandaging his wound. He pockets the rest of the roll of bandages with the intent of giving it back to you when he sees you again.

This morning, his mind had been occupied by that girl, but now, he finds himself thinking about the Furin boy he had fought beside just moments before. Of course, he doesn’t know that both of them are you.

Which is also why he can’t explain why that fighting style of yours seems so familiar. He feels like he would remember it if he’d ever seen anyone fight with that level of skill – especially one looking so delicate that it’s hard to believe that they’re as strong as they are.

But, fortunately for you, Sakura is not the best at reading people, so he doesn’t make the connection between you and Ryo.

Not yet, at least.

Chapter Text

Next morning, you go through the same ritual again: Bandages, outfit, hair, make-up, and lastly, the Furin jacket completing the outfit.

You take one last look in the mirror before heading out. You have to admit that you’re quite nervous for your first day of school. How will your classmates be? Will you be in the same class as Sakura? Will they realise that you’re a girl?

But then again, you don’t think Sakura noticed anything amiss yesterday – and he’s even seen you as you before.

With high hopes for what’s to come, you head out of your apartment.

As you walk down Tonpu Shopping Street, people immediately react to seeing you. But it’s not the usual sneering and jeering you’re so used to from home.

No, far from it.

“You’re one of the Furin kids who were in that big scruffle yesterday! Everyone was talking about how great it was that you were there,” an elderly woman gushes.

“Hey kid, want some bread?” A baker stops you with a tray filled with freshly baked goods – melon pan, curry pan, croissants…

“You’re pretty tough! How about a drinking contest with me!” The owner of a sake store waves and holds up a bottle.

“Hey man, you were awesome yesterday!” A butcher smiles at you from behind the counter.

People didn’t really take much notice of you this past week when you walked around town in search of a job, even though you were a newcomer, but they do now.

Because you’re wearing a Furin jacket. And because you were in that brawl yesterday.

You don’t really get it. You don’t get why all these people are so happy to see you and want to thank you and gift you more food than you could eat in a week. You didn’t do much yesterday – yes, you beat up a bunch of older boys, but when it came down to it, you couldn’t save Kotoha. Sakura did that. And a third year had to save you because you were too weak.

You’re almost at the end of the street when you hear commotion from one of the side-alleys. You don’t hesitate to follow the sounds, but when you arrive, there’s no street fight going on. Instead, it’s two first-years from Furin, one of them Sakura, the other one a blonde boy with freckles and a violently purple shirt underneath his Furin jacket.

Sakura looks like he’s about to throttle the blonde boy and you quickly step in. “Sakura-kun! You shouldn’t beat up your classmates!”

Sakura turns at the sound of your voice. You wave and smile at him, making him blush. You’ve gotten so used to it by now that you don’t think too much of it.

Sakura, meanwhile, finds it quite alarming how much he seems to blush lately. Like, both when he spoke with that girl (you) who lives in the same apartment complex as him and now, with this boy (also you).

Maybe, he’s going down with a fever or something?

“Ah, no, it’s my own fault. I got a bit too enthusiastic, I guess,” the blonde boy says sheepishly. Then, his eyes light up. “I haven’t seen you around here before either! What’s your name?”

“Ryo,” you say, smiling.

“Ryo…?” the boy looks expectantly at you.

“Just Ryo.” You don’t have a last name. Your brother got one when he was adopted, but you still only have your given name. And it’s not even Ryo.

“Ah okay…well, nice to meet you! I’m Nirei Akihiko, and I’m part of Bofurin too, you know – part of this town’s protectors!”

Of course, you can already see that, but you humour him anyways. He seems like a nice guy.

“Wow, really! That’s also why I decided to attend Furin,” you explain. “To be part of a group who defends others.”

“That’s…that’s…” Nirei’s lips quiver.

For a short moment, you’re just about to panic because you think you’ve upset him or something.

But then, he beams, eyes sparkling as he looks at you. “…such a noble cause!” He fishes out a notebook and a pen and bolts over to you. “What’s your height, weight, blood type? Hobbies? Type of girls?”

To your horror, he then begins scrutinizing you as he frantically scribbles down his observations. “Below average height for a boy, that’s for sure, very lean muscle-- wait, is that make-up? And what’s this…” He’s patting you down and can feel the bandages around your ribcage, making you let out a very non-masculine sound.

“Eeeeeeek!”

You swat his hands away and shoot back, hitting the wall behind you.

“Sorry, got carried away again…” Nirei scratches the back of his neck and sends you an apologetic smile. “I just like gathering data on guys I like and think are cool – like Sakura-san and you!”

You smile wistfully as you brush some dust off your jacket. “Yeah, Sakura-kun’s cool, but I’m nothing special, really.”

“You’re pretty strong too,” Sakura mumbles, again feeling heat rushing to his face.

Seriously, what’s wrong with him?

“Just wait till we get to Furin,” you say knowingly. “Those guys are on a whole other level. And I promise you, when we get there, I’ll help you get all the way to the top!”

Sakura could be a great leader someday, you think. Right now, he thinks he doesn’t care about anything or anyone, but you know better. You’ve seen the kindness and selflessness and desire to belong somewhere that he hides beneath the façade he shows the world.

You know that he’s a person people will want to follow. To put their trust in. To rely on. Sakura only needs to realise that he cares.

“Me too! I’ll help too!” Nirei announces, his hand raised as if he’s in class and waiting for permission to speak. “I may not be of any help in a fight, but if it’s about the town or the folks living here, I’ll guide you!”

“Sakura-kun, Nirei-kun,” you address the boys, “Should we head for school now? It’s getting pretty late.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Sakura mumbles, cheeks still flushed and ears tinged pink.

Nirei, however, looks ecstatic. “Great! I can show you around!”

He hooks one arm under Sakura’s, another under yours and, under much swearing and complaining from Sakura, the three of you head to school together looking like Hades’ three-headed pet dog Cerberus.

The school looks pretty run-down, but not in a neglected sort of way. There’s graffiti everywhere and vines cover half the walls, but for some reason, you can tell that people here really care for this place. It’s hard to explain, and maybe it’s just because you know what kind of people Bofurin are, but you immediately feel at home here. More at home than you ever did at the orphanage.

To both yours and Nirei’s excitement, the three of you are all in the same class, Class 1-1.

And not that Sakura will ever admit it, but he’s also secretly happy that he’s in the same class as you.

Nirei continues to study the class roster and occasionally spurts out names that you don’t recognise. Suo. Kiryu. Tsugeura. Sugishita.

But when you ask Nirei if he knows all of these people, he just says, “Not at all! But they’re all amazing!” And then, he proceeds to list off enough facts about the people he apparently doesn’t know to fill multiple biographies.

When you reach the door to your classroom, Nirei suddenly turns serious. “Sakura-san, please promise me you’ll be friendly to everyone in class. Ya gotta smile. Smile!” He emphasizes his point by smiling exaggeratedly himself.

“Huh? You joking?” Sakura scowls.

“I-I’m serious!” Nirei stutters, waving his arms in front of Sakura. “Bofurin all gathered to protect this town, and because you’re a newcomer, people might think ill of that and ask why you came here.”

“Why don’t you say that to Ryo-kun then too, huh?” Sakura point an angry finger in your direction. “He’s also new like me, but I don’t see you lecturing him!”

Nirei fiddles with the hem of his sleeves, eyes darting left and right. It’s first when Sakura lets out an impatient little growl that Nirei speaks. “Because Ryo-san's…well, Ryo-san and you’re…you,” he says, as if this explained everything.

Truth is, Nirei has always been good at reading other people. And, he could tell from the moment he saw you that you won’t have any problem making friends here – even though he also knows that you don’t see yourself that way.

Meanwhile, Sakura…

“That’s not an explanation at all!” Sakura yells, but before the situation can escalate any further, you cut in,

“Should we go in and introduce ourselves?”

You don’t wait for an answer but slide the door to the classroom open before any of the boys can protest.

Immediately, you're met with thirty-or so stares from your new classmates. Behind you, the two boys freeze, but you manage to put on a convincing smile.

“Hey.” A boy with an eyepatch and tassel earrings approaches you with a friendly expression. “You must be Ryo-kun and Sakura-kun.”

Sakura is immediately on the defensive, pushing you behind him and raising his fists. “And what if we are? Who the hell are you?”

Sakura might not be good at reading people in general, but what he’s good at is telling if someone’s strong. And this guy in front of him is a threat. He knows you’re strong too, but if eyepatch guy as much as looks wrongly at you…

He’s so riled up that he doesn’t even take time to think over what he’s doing. That he’s protecting you. And Nirei too, because even though he knows that you can handle yourself, the other boy definitely doesn’t stand a chance against the boy in front of them.

But you just smile and side-step Sakura. “You must excuse Sakura-kun, he’s just easily excited.” You bow deeply.

“That eyepatch and the long tassel earrings,” Nirei exclaims as he also jumps in front of Sakura “There’s no doubt about it! You’re…”

The boy with the eyepatch tilts his head to the side, smiling. “I’m Leonardo DiCaprio.”

“Ehhh?”

“Seriously?”

“From overseas?!”

Sakura immediately starts stammering something in English, but is mercifully interrupted before he can embarrass himself further.

“Nope. I’m Japanese.” The boy still has that friendly smile plastered on his face and you wonder if it’s something he practices every day or if it’s just his resting-face.

You quickly find out that this boy is, in fact, not Leonardo DiCaprio, but Suo Hayato. And apparently, he’s quite the jokester.

Then, Suo takes a step towards you. He’s suddenly very close, his face is inches from yours and his sweet breath fanning your cheeks. He smells faintly of tea leaves and amber, and something else that you can’t really put your finger on, but which is distinctly masculine and musky. It’s a very pleasant smell.

It takes all of your willpower not to blush as you stare into his one visible brown eye. You can’t help but notice how handsome he is.

Suo raises his hands and for a split second, you think he’s about to hit you.

Maybe, Nirei’s right and they don’t take well to outsiders here.

Sakura growls threateningly at Suo from behind you – almost like an angry cat, you think.

But then, Suo claps both you and Sakura on your backs, congratulating you for yesterday’s street brawl as if you’d just won a football match.

Your classmates suddenly come to life, their previous frowns and suspicious stares replaced by looks of awe. They all start talking at once. Apparently, they all know about what transpired yesterday.

However, the chatter quickly subsides when someone asks, “So, why did you both come to a place like this from outta town?” and Sakura answers, “To take the top spot.”

And now, your classmates are back to staring at you again.

Nirei’s attempts at playing the middleman are interrupted by the door to the classroom being slammed open.

In the doorway stands a very tall boy with long hair and narrowed eyes.

Kyotaro Sugishita, the most dangerous guy in the whole school, according to Nirei. And judging from the quick withdrawal of your classmates, there must be something to back up Nirei’s claim.

Without warning, Sugishita charges at Sakura, and you reflexively grab Nirei by the collar of his jacket and drags him with you to a corner of the classroom. And not a moment too late, because just then, Sugishita’s fist lands where the two of you stood with Sakura just moments before.

Suo was just about to pull you back when he sensed Sugishita charging at Sakura. But now, he doesn’t know what to do with his outstretched hand. He should have known that you could handle yourself, judging from all the rumours he had heard about you from yesterday.

But still, there’s something about you that makes him want to protect you. You look so small and delicate. Almost…fragile. It’s hard to believe that you beat up over a dozen young men all by yourself yesterday. It’s not hard to believe that Sakura was capable of doing that, but you…you don’t look like the violent type at all.

He has to admit that you have his curiosity piqued. He wants to know more about you.

Why did you come to Makochi? How did you learn how to fight? What is it that his intuition tells him that you’re hiding behind all your smiles and cheery exterior?

He’s still holding out the hand he was about to grab you with, so without anything better to do, he places it on your shoulder instead. “Quick reflexes,” he says, smiling down at you.

You blush.

Suo can’t help but think that you look cute.

Meanwhile, Sakura and Sugishita are exchanging blows in the middle of the classroom.

“What’s up with Sugishita-kun?” you ask. Your eyebrows are curled into a frown, a slight crease of worry forming on your forehead. Suo has to restrain a sudden urge to reach out for your face to smooth it out. It’s not like he wants to be a creep – he only just met you, after all.

“In Sugishita-kun’s presence, it’s not wise to say, ‘taking the top spot’,” Suo explains. “He’s been a Bofurin member ever since middle school – the only one allowed to call himself that before entering high school. And his allegiance to the current top spot is almost like worship. So, when someone challenges that…”

“Don’t just stand there!” a boy with chestnut brown hair shouts at Suo. “Stop them!”

Suo sends him an innocent look, head tilted and tassel earrings swaying. “Huh? Why can’t you do it?”

“Are you crazy?! We’re just gonna get pummelled if we step in! And if someone doesn’t stop them, the new guy’s gonna get killed!”

“Nah, Sakura-kun can handle himself,” you say confidently. “I’m more worried about Sugishita-kun, to be fair.” That earns you a lot of sceptical looks from the rest of the class, but Suo’s inclined to believe you.

Right then, Sakura slips, just as Sugishita is about to land a blow to his face. But instead of falling on his back, Sakura lands in a wheel-pose and smiles up at his opponent as he prepares to kick Sugishita in the face.

The next thing happens so fast that Suo has to blink several times to make sure that what he’s seeing has really happened.

One moment, you’re standing beside him, the next, you’re standing between Sakura and Sugishita. Your fingers are wrapped around Sakura’s ankle, stopping his heel from kicking Sugishita’s nose into his brain.

Did you just…stop a kick mid-air with one hand?

What only you and Sakura know is that Sakura tried to stop his kick the moment he saw that he was going to hit you instead of Sugishita. Because even though he would like to try to spar with you one day, he would never actually hurt you.

“I told you not to hurt your classmates, Sakura-kun,” you scold gently.

It’s not often Suo finds himself unfazed, but he has a feeling that you’ll continue to surprise him if he sticks around you.

And he can’t wait to get to know you better.

Sakura feels horrible. He almost kicked you in the face. He almost kicked you. He’s never felt guilty about hurting someone in a fight before, but for some reason, this is different. He quickly gets to his feet and is about to tell you to get out of the way but then, he sees something that makes his heart lurch in his throat.

Behind you, Sugishita raises his fist again, ready to attack you for standing in his way.

Sakura is just about to shout a warning to you, but before he can open his mouth, Suo has already acted. He elegantly deflects Sugishita’s blow and places himself protectively in front of you and Sakura. “That’s quite enough, Sugishita-kun,” Suo says in a dangerously low voice. “What would Umemiya-san say if he knew you were picking fights with the new boys in town? And on their first day of school, hm?”

“So, now you’re suddenly interfering?” the same boy who asked Suo to stop the fight before groans in exasperation.

“I think Suo-kun’s got a little crush,” a pink-haired guy with startling green eyes and piercings teases.

“On Ryo-kun or Sakura-kun, I wonder?” another boy with a buzzcut smirks.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Suo-kun angry before,” a boy with a mane of orange hair says in wonder.

Suo ignores them and continues to stare down Sugishita.

Just then, it sounds as if a bomb has been detonated in the middle of the classroom. Everyone jolts in surprise.

But it’s not a bomb. Although it is someone talking over the speakers in a voice so loud that it might as well be a bomb – one that bursts eardrums.

“HEY! GRATS AND WELCOME TO THIS SCHOOL!”

“Tone it down, idiot. Just talk normally,” another, much more subdued voice says in the background.

“Huh? But this is my first speech!”

“Your regular voice is loud enough! We’ll get complaints from off campus!”

You glance at your new classmates around you. Everyone is staring intently at the speaker except for Sakura who, just like you, looks confused. You quickly get the answer to your question, though.

“I’m Bofurin’s leader, Umemiya Hajime.”

So, this is the top of Furin, you think. You can’t help but feel a little starstruck. This is the boy who changed the lives of everyone in this town. This is the person who changed Furin from a dog-eat-dog place to a stronghold for Bofurin, protectors of this town and defenders of the weak. True heroes of justice.

You wait, brimming with anticipation for whatever grand speech is bound to come next.

“Uhmmm…sorry. I forgot what to say.”

Eh?

“Oh, that’s right! You guys…enjoy your youth! Got that? I mean, you made it all the way to high school!”

By now, you and Sakura are not the only ones who are confused. Around you, the rest of the first-years are gaping, except for Sugishita, who’s nodding at the speaker, and Suo, who’s just smiling warmly at you when he sees you looking his way.

Umemiya proceeds to talk about going to the beach and eating shaved ice and other stuff before he, for the first time during his speech, turns serious.

“You guys…protect the town. The name given to us is ‘Bofurin’. ‘Guardians of Furin’. Live up to that name. Protect people, their property, their beliefs. Protect everything that you value. That is the one and only rule here!”

There’s a resounding, “Yes, Sir!” from all around you, and you hurry to join in.

Well, this Umemiya guy certainly is a character.

As soon as the speech is finished, chatter breaks out once again, and you turn with a bright smile to face Sakura, Suo, and Sugishita. “Well, don’t you guys need to make amends? Oh, I know! What about you shake hands and call it a truce?”

Suo looks at you for a moment, a contemplative look in his eye. But then, he turns to Sugishita and smiles sweetly at the other boy. He doesn’t think he could deny you anything when you smile at him like that. So, he reaches out his hand. “Truce?”

Sugishita shakes it reluctantly. Suo has to suppress the urge to crush the other boy’s hand.

You beam and then turn to look expectantly at Sakura. He's feeling torn, eyes darting between you and Sugishita. On one hand, he wants to resume fighting because Sugishita seems strong, and he has a score to settle with him – both for attacking him without provocation, but mostly for making Sakura almost hurt you. 

But, on the other hand, he doesn't want to let you down. And he doesn’t want to be the cause of your distress. So, he too forces himself to take Sugishita’s outstretched hand and shake it.

He glances over at you and sees that you're smiling widely at him, just like you smiled at Suo before, and his heart skips a beat.

“Sakura-san, why’s your face so red?” Nirei asks, and Sakura quickly lets go of Sugishita’s hand and turns his back to you and the rest of the class.

Which turns out to be a mistake. Because next thing he knows, both you and Sakura are lying on the floor, caught in a swarm of your classmates.

“Wow, you’re so flexible, Sakura-kun!”

“You held your own against Sugishita-kun!”

“Did you see how fast Ryo-kun was? I didn’t even see him move!”

“He must be super strong. That kick was wicked, but he just stopped it like it was nothing!”

Both you and Sakura are at a loss for words.

In some ways, the two of you are very similar. Both of you are used to being outcasts, weirdos, freaks. And you were both forced to learn how to defend yourself – how to fight – from a young age, and for both of you, brawling became a way to cope. Using your fists became a way for you to measure your worth.

However, that’s also where your similarities end. Because while Sakura measures his worth in terms of strength for strength’s sake, you measure your worth in terms of strength to protect others.

That will soon change, though. Once Sakura realises that he actually has something he wants to protect, you’ll both fight for the same thing.

All of that, however, doesn’t change the fact that neither of you know what to do with all your awestruck classmates. Before you came to Makochi, all the attention you received was the bad kind of attention. But not here. No, here, you’re admired for your strength. People here don’t think you are freaks.

It’s a strange feeling to be looked at with awe instead of disgust.

But both you and Sakura can’t help but bask in what you’ve been starved for, for as long as you can remember.

Sakura sends you a small smile from where he’s almost strangulated by the boy with chestnut brown hair – Anzai, you learn he’s called – and you return it with one of your own signature bright smiles. You’re practically glowing.

Sakura finds himself staring at you. And he’s not the only one.

Behind him, Suo also looks at you as if though he’s seeing the sun for the first time in his life.

Yes, Suo Hayato officially considers himself thoroughly infatuated with this new boy.

Chapter Text

Your first day at Furin High doesn’t go at all as you expected.

First, a second year who rolls an awful lot on his r’s bursts into the classroom (why can’t people here just open the doors normally?) and sends you out to the courtyard even though you just arrived for homeroom.

There, you’re met with a group of second- and third years, and you immediately recognise the boy with the spiky hair who saved you yesterday. You also notice that he has spiky teeth too and apparently, an unhealthy addiction to antacids. Poor guy must be stressed out max. But then again, it can’t be that easy to protect a whole town at only 17 years of age.

He tells your class off for taking a whole seven minutes, 48 seconds, and 26 milliseconds to come outside.

Yeah. Must be totally stressed out, you conclude.

You admit that you could’ve been faster – but you were so busy being swarmed by your classmates that you had to take some time to regain your bearings so that you could walk out of the classroom like the dignified member of Bofurin you are.

Then, the spiky-haired boy, who’s apparently called Hiragi and is one of Bofurin’s Four Kings (bless Nirei and his omniscience), pummels Sakura to the ground because he mentions Kotoha’s name in relation to the brawl yesterday.

Nirei is wringing his hands nervously as he watches from the sidelines, while Suo just looks amused. You frown. One thing is stopping Sakura from beating up his classmate, another thing is to stop one of Bofurin’s Four Kings from lecturing his underclassman. You’re not sure it’s wise to interfere and besides, from the sound of it, Sakura had promised yesterday not to mention Kotoha’s involvement. And you also know that Higari won’t really hurt Sakura.

And with that, you’re off to patrol the town in groups of six. You, Sakura, Suo, Nirei, and Sugishita head out together with Hiragi.

Sakura and Sugishita keep sending each other glares, and you promptly place yourself between them as you walk down Tonpu Shopping Street. Suo realises what you’re doing and subtly places himself between you and Sugishita. He doesn’t glare like Sakura does, but there’s a dangerous glint in his eyes as he smiles sweetly at everyone who so much as dares look at you the wrong way.

It turns out that Bofurin does a lot more than just brawling, and that your job as protectors of the town also involves changing light bulbs, chasing runaway cats, and painting over graffiti. You’re pleasantly surprised because that must mean that Bofurin really takes their mandate seriously.

And you think it’s fun – especially the painting part. There’s something oddly satisfying about rolling paint on a surface, making all the things underneath disappear. A bit like vacuuming. Or lawn-mowing.

“Wow, you’re really good at this, Ryo-san!” Nirei exclaims.

You glance over to his own immaculately painted wall. “You too, Nirei-kun.” You smile brightly at the boy who shyly lowers his gaze.

Someone clears their throat loudly behind you. “I brought extra paint!” Suo comes to stand between you and Nirei, handing you another bucket of grey paint.

“Thanks, but I think Sakura-kun needs it more than us.” You look to your other side and see Sakura glaring at his own piece of the wall as if it has personally offended him.

“Sakura-san, that part has an uneven coat,” Nirei comments helpfully.

Sakura just seethes.

As a thank you from the shop owner for helping paint over the graffiti, you all get freshly baked taiyaki. You happily munch on yours on your way through town – it’s really delicious, still hot, soft on the inside and crisp on the outside and filled with red bean paste so sweet that it almost hurts your teeth.

But you’re not complaining. You’ve always been a sucker for sweets.

Suo watches you from the sidelines, enjoying the way your face lights up in delight at the small, fish-shaped pastry in your hand.

“Here, take mine too.” He hands you his own taiyaki.

Your eyes widen in surprise. “But Suo-kun, that’s yours!”

“Yes, and I would like to give it to you. Since you seem to enjoy it so much.” He smiles at you, his hand still outstretched.

“You can have mine too!” Nirei suddenly blurts, offering you his own half-eaten taiyaki.

“Like hell you’re getting mine,” Sakura mumbles, cradling his own taiyaki close to his chest as if he’s afraid someone will come and rip it from him.

It’s not because Sakura won’t give up his taiyaki for you. It’s just because…well…he’s already bitten into it, and if you eat on top of his bite, that’s kinda like an indirect kiss, isn’t it? And he’s not into scrawny boys like you, regardless of how good of a fighter they are.

“You’re right, I really enjoy this taiyaki, but I would enjoy it even more it you enjoyed it together with me,” you say earnestly.

You’re still not really used to people being so nice to you, but maybe, it’s because you’re Ryo and not…you.

Suo just shrugs, sends you another smile, and takes a bite of the taiyaki, while Nirei hesitantly proceeds with eating his own.

Sakura feels weirdly relieved that you turned both boys down.

After some time, you reach a railway bridge with a lion’s head painted on it. You’ve never been to this part of town before and for some reason, you can sense that the atmosphere here’s different. More…ominous.

“Huh? That’s an ugly dog,” Sakura says critically.

Immediately, Nirei begins to panic. He huffs and puffs and runs around in circles, rambling on about some guys calling themselves ‘Shishitoren’, devotees of power. Apparently, this bridge marks the border between Borfurin’s and their turfs. “You should never, ever cause an issue on the other side of the overhead tracks,” he warns you. “Just like how different countries have different laws, our rules mean jack over there.”

Although you and Sakura are the ones who ought to be listening to Nirei’s lecture, being newcomers and all, Sakura just smiles, having stopped listening after “devotees of power”. “Sounds good,” he grins. “I like stuff like that.”

Meanwhile, you have already crossed the border to Shishitoren’s territory because you just spotted a middle school boy sporting a massive blue eye, fleeing from three boys in orange jackets.

“What the hell are you doing!?” Hiragi shouts after you. “Hurry and get back here!”

But you don’t listen.

And neither does Suo or Sakura, because as soon as they see what you’re doing, they don’t hesitate to follow. The two boys are soon followed by Nirei and Sugishita.

The middle schooler slips, and you see one of his pursuers reach out to grab him. He doesn’t get far, though, because a split second later, you land smack-first with your foot in his face, kicking him multiple feet away from the younger boy on the ground.

You land right in front of one of the other pursuers and are just about to block a punch to the face. But before you can even lift your arms, Sakura’s in your way, tackling your attacker to the ground.

“What have we done?” Nirei wails behind you. “W-we’re on enemy turf, and we struck first!”

“I don’t care about that,” you say, reaching out a hand to help up the middle schooler. “I’m gonna protect this kid no matter what. I don’t care about what side of that stupid bridge he’s on!” You move to stand protectively in front of the boy.

“Yeah, and if he’s one of us, then they struck first!” Sakura adds.

Nirei just whimpers, Suo smiles, Sugishita scowls (which he always does, by the way), and Hiragi looks extremely constipated.

The boy you kicked is still knocked out cold, but the one Sakura took down’s already on his feet again.

“Going down with one kick? So lame,” one of the Shishitoren boys (because you realise that that’s what they are when you see the logo on the back of their orange jackets) says as he pokes his unconscious friend on the cheek.

Or friend is maybe stretching it too far. Because what kind of friend laughs when his supposed friend is lying unconscious at his feet?

It rubs you the wrong way.

Then, suddenly, the Shishitoren boys aren’t laughing anymore. No, they’re practically shaking with fear, and you can almost see the sweat dripping off their foreheads.

“What’s going on here…?”

The newcomer's voice is low and soft and dangerous. Like, I-could-beat-you-up-while-in-my-sleep dangerous. And slow. It’s not often you get impatient, but you might be if you had to keep a conversation going with this person.

This person, who’s also wearing a Shishitoren jacket. His black, windswept hair is styled into a braid. You can’t see his eyes from a pair of round shades, their colour matching the bright orange of his jacket.

Why orange, though? You never really liked that colour. It reminds you of the ugly high-visibility-vests you were forced to wear at the orphanage whenever you went outside, or the traffic cones you place around car accidents or murder scenes.

Nothing good comes with orange, and this boy is no exception.

You can feel all the Furin boys tense up behind you. Well, Suo’s still smiling, and Sakura looks thoroughly unimpressed by the newcomer, but they tense up just the same.

“I saw an orange jacket zoomin’ by…” the boy says in a bored tone. “So I came chasin’ after y’all.”

“To think he of all people would show up,” Hiragi mumbles behind you. “The second-in-command of Shishitoren, Togame Jo.”

Togame lowers his shades, revealing a pair of bright, green eyes.

Well, green you can do with. Green is the same colour as matcha and melon soda and the cabbage you use for okonomiyaki, which you love. So yes, green is a nice colour. Doesn’t go very well with the orange though.

But then again, nothing really goes well with orange, you think.

“Why do we have Furin over here?” Togame drawls. It might just be your imagination, but you feel that his gaze lingers on you for far longer than the rest of your classmates and Hiragi.

You hold your chin high, trying to stare him down – which is hard, because he’s towering over you, his height emphasised by his geta sandals.

Then, Togame spots the boy at his feet. “Huh, Saruwatari? So, this…” His lips curl into a wry smile as he gestures at the boy on the ground, “was done by you guys?” He points at you and Sakura who're both standing at the forefront of your group.

Just then, Saruwatari chooses to regain consciousness. He immediately starts shouting about rules and territories and stuff you probably would’ve known if you had just listened to Nirei before. He's soon cut off, however, when Togame kicks him to the ground.

You gape. Aren’t they supposed to be on the same side?

“Ya lost, didn’t ya? That. Means. You’re. Weak.” Togame emphasizes each word with a punch to Saruwatari’s face.

“Stop!” you scream and, before you can think, you sprint towards Togame.

You don’t care that you were the one who knocked out Saruwatari just before. You only did it to prevent him from hurting that middle schooler. But now, Saruwatari’s the one being hurt, and you won’t stand for it.

You ram into Togame, making him stumble and land on his back with you on top.

Togame blinks.

Normally, no one – maybe except for Tomiyama and Umemiya – would be able to tackle him to the ground like that. But he had been so taken aback by your interference that he didn’t react when you pummelled into him.

One thing is preventing Shishitoren from beating up that middle schooler. Another thing is to prevent their second-in-command, him, from disciplining his subordinate. And on Shishitoren ground, no less. Either, you’re very brave, very full of yourself, or just very, very stupid.

Or maybe a combination of all three.

Togame quickly regains his composure and not a moment later, he flips the two of you around, and now, he’s the one on top. And it’s impossible for you to move. He’s sitting on your legs and pinning your arms down with his hands.

He eyes you curiously. You don’t look very threatening – you’re small for a high school boy, with delicate features and not a lot of muscle mass. But Togame knows better than anyone that looks can be deceptive. He thinks of Tomiyama – he’s small too, but he became the youngest leader in Shishitoren’s history. And you just kicked down one of their strongest fighters, like it was nothing, so he guesses you can’t be that bad.

“Aren’t you an interesting one?” he muses. “You must be new here…don’t you know to keep to your own turf?”

“I don’t care about that,” you repeat.

Togame doesn’t know if he should laugh or shut you up with his fists. He raises his gaze and sees that the boy with the black and white hair is glaring daggers at him, and that the boy with the eyepatch is no longer smiling, but standing with one arm in front of him, the other one behind his back. It looks like this one knows some kind of martial arts – aikido? Kung Fu, maybe?

“Can you tell Othello-kun and eyepatch guy to calm down?” Togame drawls as he glances down at you again. “I ain’t gonna kill you right now.”

“Why do you beat up your own guys?” you say instead.

“Huh? This guy?” Togame shakes his head in the direction of Saruwatari. “Nah…he lost.” Togame grabs both your wrists in one hand – his hand is so large that he can easily wrap his fingers around them both – and reaches out with his other hand to pull the orange jacket off Saruwatari. “Losing means you’re weak. And the weak don’t belong in Shishitoren.”

“So, your gang exists to beat up weak people so that you can call yourselves devotees of power? That’s pathetic. That’s lame.” You practically spit the last words in his face.

“Yeah, what a letdown,” Othello cuts in. “And here I thought you would actually be someone interesting. What a joke.”

“Pathetic…lame…a joke, you say?” Togame sounds amused although he’s anything but. “You’re all just a bunch of self-righteous kids who think you are something because you’re wearin’ those Furin jackets…it pisses me off.” Togame grins and looks at you over the rim of his glasses. “All right, that’s it. I’ll beat you to a pulp in a more proper setting…I won’t be forgetting you, pipsqueak.”

Then, he lets go of you.

As soon as he steps back, the eyepatch guy rushes to your side to help you up while Othello guy places himself in front of you, narrowing his eyes and barring his teeth like an angry cat at Togame.

Togame watches with intrigue as your expression changes one-eighty from furious to smiling as you grab eyepatch guy’s hand and let him pull you to your feet. With a pang in his chest, he can’t help but be reminded of how Tomiyama used to smile before…well, before everything. Togame continues to watch as you grab the collar of Othello guy’s jacket and pulls him back with you as you usher the other Furin boys back to your own turf.

Interesting, he thinks. You don’t look like much, but these other first years already seem to be following your beck and call. Not like his own subordinates follow his orders – trembling, with fear in their eyes – but like they do it because they want to, because they care about you.

It makes him think about what-ifs and could-haves. Things he hasn’t been thinking about for years.

No, he won’t be forgetting your face anytime soon, he thinks as he walks away with the three other boys from Shishitoren.

As soon as the four members of Shishitoren are out of sight, Nirei breaks down in earnest. “Gaaah, what have you done! There’s totally gonna be war now! WAR!”

“There there, Nirei-kun.” You pat him gently on the shoulder.

A bit further away, Hiragi pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation. These first years have no sense of self-preservation. He swallows a whole handful of antacids.

That can’t be healthy, you think

 “Hiragi-san, you should follow the dosage instructions,” you say, brows furrowing in worry.

“Yeah…” Higari turns his back to you and begins walking back from where you came.

And then, the full scope of what you’ve just set in motion finally hits you. You don’t regret that you interfered, but you understand now that you just pulled the rest of Bofurin into a war with Shishitoren and that inevitably, someone’s gonna get hurt because of it.

You never wanted that.

“Hiragi-san!” you call after him and run up to walk beside him. “I’m sorry. If Shishitoren’s fine by just taking me out, then that’s okay. I’ll hand myself in, if that helps with anything.”

“It won’t,” Hiragi says curtly, making your spirits deflate even further. “What’s done is done. Besides, I should’ve acted first. I’m sorry.”

At that, you stop up, but Hiragi just continues walking ahead.

You can’t believe it. First Kotoha, now Saruwatari. You came to Bofurin to protect people, but it seems that either, you’re too weak to do anything, or you drag down everyone around you.

You turn around and gesture meekly for the middle schooler to follow you. He presents himself as Sasaki from Han Middle School.

In silence, the six of you follow Hiragi back to Furin.

On your way back, Sakura pokes you on the shoulder. You turn around in surprise and see that he’s holding out the roll of bandages you gave to Kotoha yesterday

“Oh, thanks! I have lots though, so you can keep it if you want.”

“Why are you walking around with bandages anyway?” Sakura frowns.

“Ah well…” You’re not really sure what to say. You’ve always been a bad liar. “Just for, you know…stuff.”

“Stuff?”

“Yeah, like, injuries and…stuff.”

“What are you two talking about?” Suo smiles pleasantly at you from your other side. Then, he spots the bandages. “What’s that?”

“Bandages. Borrowed them yesterday.” Sakura shrugs.

“Bandages? What are you carrying around bandages for, Ryo-kun?”

“Just stuff, he told me,” Sakura says. To him, there’s nothing remotely suspicious about that. And they did come in handy yesterday, after all.

“Stuff?”

“Yeah, injuries and stuff,” Sakura explains – as if Suo’s the dense one.

“Hm.” Suo just hums, eyeing you thoughtfully with his one brown eye.

You have to resist the urge to squirm under his gaze. You have a suspicion that Suo’s highly perceptive and emotionally intelligent. You have to be a lot more careful around him than Sakura, even though Sakura’s actually seen you as you twice. You don’t doubt that Suo will eventually figure out the connection between you and Ryo if he ever sees you without your disguise.

When you arrive back at Furin, you follow Hiragi to the roof of the building to report everything that happened to Umemiya, Bofurin’s leader. You’re excited to see what kind of person he is.

You step out onto the roof and are met with the smell of damp earth. The roof is filled with what looks like gardening equipment and there are also multiple raised beds filled with all kinds of green stuff growing on the middle of the roof.

An older boy with white, backswept hair is kneeling in front of one of the raised beds with his back to you.

Hiragi approaches him. “Umemiya!”

So, this is him, you think. Sakura’s eyes widen in anticipation beside you. He, too, can’t wait to see for himself who this guy at the top is.

Umemiya turns around. “Oh, Hiragi? Take a look at this! The eggplants and green peppers a growing strong!”

You blink.

No, your first day at Furin High didn’t go at all as you expected.

Chapter Text

“Oh, Hiragi? Take a look at this! The eggplants and green peppers are growing strong!” Umemiya holds up two plants, showing them off like a proud parent would his kids.

Eh?

You feel the other first years gape beside you. Well, except for Sugishita who looks at Umemiya with such intensity that it would burn a whole right through any lesser man.

“Umemiya,” Hiragi repeats. He looks a bit like he’s in pain. “We’ve got trouble.”

 “Yeah, I know,” the leader of Bofurin answers.

You shouldn’t be surprised that he already knows. He is the top of Bofurin, after all. He probably knows everything that’s going on around he--

“The number of sprouts and pots don’t match!” Umemiya cuts off your train of thought. “I have one leftover pot. Anything you guys wanna eat?”

Oh, you see. That is also kind of a problem.

“I don’t mean the pots,” Hiragi deadpans. “Shishito--”

“Shishito peppers!?” Umemiya exclaims. “But you’ve got a weak gut! You sure that’s gonna be okay?” He sends Hiragi a worried look.

“T-they’re not on the same page at all,” Nirei whispers behind you, but you don’t listen because a riveting idea just popped into your head.

“What about sweet potatoes then?” you propose eagerly. “I looove sweet potatoes! If you roast them in the oven low and slow so they get all caramelised and then eat them with a nice pad of cold butter…” you go on dreamily.

“You’re so right!” Umemiya beams. “It’s the perfect snack! My favourite are the yellow ones with reddish skin, but the purple ones--”

“Are less tasty, but sooo pretty, right?!” you finish his sentence.

“Exactly!”

“Why am I not surprised?” Hiragi mutters as he looks between you and Umemiya. Both of you gesture wildly while you go on and on and on about the many versatile wonders of sweet potatoes.

“Ah. So that’s the cause of all Hiragi-san’s stomach aches,” Suo concludes.

“So that guy’s Umemiya…” Sakura mumbles.

Immediately, Sugishita has Sakura by the front of his shirt. “That man’s Umemiya-san!”

“Shut ya trap!”

They’re about to start fighting again, and your Sakura’s-being-unreasonably-hot-headed-meter spikes. You could almost call it a sixth sense. In the blink of an eye, you’re standing between the two boys, having just caught Sakura’s fist before it landed in Sugishita’s solar plexus.

Your fellow first years have of course witnessed your reflexes multiple times today already, but they still marvel at how fast you are. Really, speed is your true strength.

Sakura again feels horrified. This morning, he almost kicked you, and now, he almost hit you! But he also can’t help but feel extremely annoyed. Why do you feel the need to protect Sugishita, of all people? Like, you didn’t step in when Hiragi beat him up this morning.

Not that he needed your help or anything.

Before Sakura can dwell anymore on that, however, Umemiya peeks over Hiragi’s shoulder and Sugishita straightens his back. “Huh? Why’s everyone here? And who are you two, by the way?” Umemiya asks, eyeing you and Sakura questioningly – as if he hadn’t just spent the last ten minutes raving about sweet potatoes with you.

After the necessary introductions, Umemiya ushers everyone to sit at a bench while he presents you all his plants as if they were his children. Hiragi again looks extremely constipated. Maybe, he’s dealing with digestion problems as well as stomach aches, you think. Poor guy. Maybe, he should consider taking laxatives together with his antacids.

At some point, Sasaki can’t take it any longer. He feels like he’s about to burst with guilt and anxiety. He thinks it’s all his fault that Bofurin is in this mess. Yes, he’s eternally grateful to Bofurin for saving him, but he still doesn’t think he’s worth all the trouble.

He jumps to his feet, interrupting an argument between Sakura and Sugishita about whether eggplant sprouts are distinguishable from green pepper sprouts. “Please, let me just explain what happened!”

And explain he does. Apparently, he tried to stop a shoplifter and ended up chasing him into Shishitoren’s turf. And that’s when he was suddenly the one being chased.

When Sasaki has finished his story, he apologises yet again and bows deeply. You’re all silent for some time, waiting for Umemiya to speak.

You don’t think any of you expected Umemiya to thank him.

“You say you sparked a war between Bofurin and Shishitoren…but it’s a result of you trying to save the town and its people, yeah? Then, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for! And as for the rest…” Umemiya smiles and places his fist against his chest. “Leave it to your onii-chans!”

You feel your heart warm as Umemiya speaks those words to Sasaki. This is exactly why you came to Bofurin. To be someone who saves people.

However, you also can’t help but feel a bit like an imposter (well, technically, you are an imposter since you’re a girl in an all-boys high school, but that’s not what you mean). What you mean is that you’re not sure that you deserve to be part of Bofurin. You’re not sure you’re cut out to save other people even if that has been your goal for as long as you can remember. Just look at these past 24 hours: First, Hiragi had to take a hit from a metal bat to save you, then, you got pinned to the ground by a lame guy with ugly orange shades, and last, but not least, you started a turf war between Bofurin and their arch-nemesis, Shishitoren.

You feel dread pool in your stomach when Sasaki tells Umemiya about your role in riling up Shishitoren.

But again, Umemiya takes you all by surprise. He laughs. Loudly. The kind of slapping-your-hand-on-your-thigh laugh.

“But it was Ryo-kun and Sakura-kun who really sealed the deal with those last comments.” Nirei says, shoving you under the bus for the second time within the last 30 minutes.

“What? I only told their second-in-command that he was pathetic. And lame,” you defend yourself. You’re an honest person (except for lying about your gender, but please just forget about that tiny detail), and you just told Togame the truth. It’s like when people tell you you’re a freak. It hurts, but you don’t get offended and pick a fight with them, because it’s the truth.

“And I only told him that he was a joke,” Sakura says. Nobody has the heart to tell him that he’s only adding insult to injury. “Because they call themselves devotees of power, but they were beating up weaklings!”

“Not that you’re a weakling,” you hurry to tell Sasaki, even though the boy doesn’t look offended. “You’re just…still growing. Yeah, you’ve got a lot of growing to do.”

“I see, I see…” Umemiya walks over to stand in front of you and Sakura. Then, he raises his hands.

Is he going to hit you? You really don’t want to know what being punched in the face by the strongest guy in Bofurin feels like.

But he doesn’t. Instead, he pats you both on the head. “Well said, Imo-chan! Sakura-kun!”

Imo-chan? Did Umemiya just call you…sweet potato?

“Uhm, it’s Ryo--” but your attempts are interrupted by Umemiya again.

“I’ve also been thinking about how lame they’ve gotten lately,” he sighs. “I also heard about what happened on the main street yesterday. And today, the two of you saved Sasaki. So, thank you, for saving my family! I’m happy I’ve gained two more reliable younger brothers!”

You smile so much that at your cheeks hurt.

Sakura just frowns. This guy’s even crazier than you, he thinks.

But at the same time, he guesses he can see why people are drawn to him. People feel safe around him.

The two of you don’t get much more time to contemplate over the phenomenon that is Umemiya because just then, Hiragi receives a call from Kaji. You remember him as the second year with the headphones who went out of his way after yesterday’s fight just to comfort you. Already, he holds a special place in your heart for that expression of kindness.

Which is why you feel panic well up at the back of your throat when you hear the voice from the speaker of Hiragi’s phone whisper, “Shishi…toren…”

As if on cue, a voice echoes over the school grounds, amplified by a megaphone.

“Hello, hello, hello! I’m Shishitoren’s leader, Tomiyama Choji!”

Next thing you know, you, Sakura, Suo, Nirei, Sugishita, Hiragi, and Sasaki are standing in the school courtyard behind Umemiya as he confronts Tomiyama. There’s a trail of knocked-out Furin students behind him, like the trail of breadcrumbs Hansel and Gretel leave to be able to find back home again. You hope Kaji’s not among the bodies on the ground.

The leader of Shishitoren could have been cute – like the little brother you imagined you would have if you had one, even though you know he’s 17 and thus older than you. But Tomiyama’s anything but cute. He’s smiling and grinning all the time, but it never reaches his eyes that stays empty. Like two black voids. It’s uncanny. It’s creepy.

You can see Sakura beside you itching to get into a fight. By his logic, since Tomiyama is the leader of Shishitoren, it means that he’s even stronger than Togame and because of that, an even more exciting opponent to Sakura.

You’re itching to jump in too, but for a different reason. You want to take full responsibility for starting this feud between Bofurin and Shishitoren. But when you tried to follow Umemiya as he moved to confront Tomiyama, the older boy had just told you to step back and now, it seems like your feet are obeying him instead of your own brain and they won’t move.

Thus, you all watch as Tomiyama dances around Umemiya, trying to make him fight him in a one-on-one.

“Why do you want to fight so badly?” The goofy Bofurin leader giving out cozy big bro-vibes from before is completely gone. No, now he’s serious and diplomatic. Still giving out big-bro vibes, though, although they’re more of the authoritative, protective kind and not as cozy anymore.

“I want you, Ume-chan!”

Tomiyama wants Umemiya?

“Ever since I became the top, it’s gotten so boring. But you, Ume-chan, you’re also at the top but you seem to have fun all the time. That’s so unfair…” Tomiyama clenches his small fists at his sides. “So, I’ll take Furin, Ume-chan, and all for myself!”

Umemiya doesn’t bat an eye.

Not even when Tomiyama is joined by what must be the rest of Shishitoren, led by none other than Togame Jo. “Yo, pipsquak.” He looks at you through his orange shades. “And Othello-kun and eyepatch guy. Long time, no see.”

Finally, your feet seem to work. You take a step forwards. Then another one. And another one. You walk until you stand beside Umemiya, and the rest of the first years and Hiragi do the same.

“You want a one-on-one?” Sakura challenges.

“Does that mean that everyone here’s involved?” Tomiyama exclaims, gesturing towards your group.

“Huh?” For the first time, Umemiya looks unsettled.

“Oh, I don’t mean a brawl! Each fight is gonna be a one-on-one,” Tomiyama continues happily as if this is the best outcome he could’ve hoped for. “Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“If that’s the case, then…” Togame sends you a grin, “I want pipsqueak over there. You may be a pipsqueak, but you’re a strong one. And hella annoying, I might add.”

You square your shoulders. If Togame wants a fight, then so be it. You’ll fight for Bofurin.

“I’ll take the man-bun over there,” Suo says, surprising everyone. He would’ve punched you in the face if Sakura hadn’t stopped him, Suo thinks. He hasn’t quite forgiven him for that yet, and this event would be a perfect opportunity for him to let loose some of his…frustrations.

“I’ll take the guy with the long hair then,” a Shishitoren boy with half of his hair shaved off says. You recognise him as one of the three boy who chased after Sasaki yesterday.

“Can I go as well?” Another boy from Shishitoren raises his hand. “Against Hiragi-san.”

“Sako-kun…” you hear Hiragi whisper. Does he know this guy?

Tomiyama claps his hands together. “And then, it’ll be me and Ume-cha--”

“I’ll fight you.” You all turn to look at Sakura.

“No, Saku--” Umemiya starts, but Tomiyama cuts him off.

“Kame-chan told me about you. Well, as long as I get to fight Ume-chan afterwards, I’m cool with fighting you first.”

“Yeah, except that you won’t because I’ll beat you to a pulp,” Sakura says.

Nirei shakes his head furiously behind him. “You can’t win against him, Sakura-san! Just let Umemiya-san take care of this one and choose another one to fi--”

“Huh? But that guy’s the strongest. I wanna go up against him.” Sakura cracks his knuckles. “And besides, their second-in-command is already taken, and I won’t do with anything less.”

“Alright.” Tomiyama smiles. “We’ll invite you all over to us. Let’s all have a ton of fun and fight!”

These first years sure are something, Umemiya thinks as he’s heading to Pothos later that evening with the intent of showing Kotoha how much his sprouts have grown.

Firstly, there’s you. The sweet-potato-guy. It seems like you have a knack for seeking up trouble, like yesterday’s brawl and now today with Shishitoren. But at the same time, Umemiya also knows that you’re keeping the peace between Sakura and Sugishita and that you, in the very short time you’ve been in Bofurin, have already befriended a lot of the first years as well as Kaji, his second year Grade Captain. Even Hiragi seems to have developed a soft spot for you, Umemiya had to conclude in disbelief as he listened to Hiragi’s report on yesterday’s brawl where you were ready to take a hit for a stranger.

But maybe that’s just it. That’s the reason why you get yourself into so much trouble. It’s because whenever you see someone in need of help, you jump headfirst into danger without regard for the consequences. Like today, where you literally sparked a turf war just to save a random middle schooler. Umemiya would have done the same, but he’s also the leader of Bofurin – has grown up in this town, and has come to view all its citizens as his extended family and therefore, his responsibility. But you just arrived here.

And on top of that, you also saved a boy from Shishitoren, no less. You don’t distinguish between friend or foe. You don’t hold grudges. You judge people from their actions in the moment and don’t hesitate to help if someone’s in trouble.

Some might call you stupid, but Umemiya thinks it’s admirable. Although, he also can’t help but think that you’ve bitten off more than you can chew by going up against Togame Jo.

Speaking of biting off more than you can chew, there’s also Sakura to think about. Sakura, who’s supposed to go up against Tomiyama.

In a lot of ways, Sakura’s a lot like you. Jumping head-first into trouble without regard for the consequences. As far as Umemiya understands, he also played a big role in riling up Shishitoren. But the difference between you and Sakura is that you know that you fight for other people. Sakura doesn’t know that yet. He thinks he only fights for himself, but Umemiya can already tell that he cares about his fellow first years.

And as soon as Sakura discovers that he has something to fight for – something he wants to protect – Umemiya is sure that the boy will grow even stronger than he already is.

Umemiya can’t wait to see how far you and Sakura will grow during your time in Bofurin.

You’re sitting beside Suo in a booth at Pothos, the café where Kotoha works. Apparently, this is a place where Bofurin often hangs out, especially just before a fight. You’re grateful that you didn’t find work here because then, your cover would definitely get blown before you could even finish your first week at Furin High.

In front you is a place of steaming omurice. Now, you’ll finally get to taste Kotoha’s omurice since you didn’t accept her invitation to join her for breakfast yesterday.

You take a bite. It’s probably the best omurice you’ve ever had.

Opposite of you, Sakura’s shovelling in his own plate of omurice, while Nirei and Sasaki are nibbling at their food. Suo’s the only one not eating and has settled for a cup of tea.

“You should really try this, Suo-kun,” you tell him, pointing at your half-finished plate.

“If you say so, then I’ll have a bite,” Suo shrugs.

You scoop up some rice and egg and offer him your spoon. But instead of taking the spoon from you, Suo just lowers his head and lets you feed him as he takes the bite while looking at you the whole time with his one eye.

You can’t help but blush.

It’s nothing compared to Sakura, however, because his face turns as red as Umemiya’s tomatoes in late summer.

Speaking of Umemiya, the leader of Bofurin now bursts into Pothos. “Ko-to-ha-chaaan!” he sings and sprints over to the counter to show Kotoha something on his phone. Probably a plant, if you had to guess.

It turns out that Umemiya is some kind of older brother to Kotoha.

“We grew up in the same orphanage together,” Kotoha mumbles, then glares at you as if daring you to say something.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” you shrug, and Kotoha’s shoulders slump down in relief.

“Must be nice,” you then muse out loud without thinking. “To be so close with other children at your orphanage. It wasn’t at all like that where I’m from…”

It’s first when everybody falls silent to stare at you that you realise what you just said. It’s not like you’re ashamed of being from an orphanage – like you told Kotoha, there’s nothing wrong with that – it’s just that you don’t want them to hear you speak ill of those you grew up with.

“Ah, never mind me,” you laugh, a bit too loudly to be natural.

To everyone’s great surprise, it’s Sakura who breaks the silence first. “Well, if they didn’t like you, they suck.”

More silence. Then, as if realising what he just said, Sakura jumps to his feet in panic. “Gaaah, I didn’t mean that I like you,” he yells, waving his hands frantically in front of your face. “Well, I don’t hate you, I just don’t care, okay?” If Sakura was tomato red before, he’s now beet red.

“By default, doesn’t that mean that you suck, Sakura-kun?” Suo asks innocently.

That seems to finally break the silence and soon, chatter resumes among your fellow students and Kotoha. Umemiya dotes on Kotoha, Sugishita follows Umemiya around like a second shadow, Sakura’s scowling, Suo’s smiling, and Nirei’s writing down everything he’s gathered about the members of Shishitoren in his notebook.

At that moment, everything’s right in the world.

And for the first time in your life, you find yourself surrounded by friends.

The following day doesn’t look quite as bright. Because today is the day where you’ll face Togame Jo in a one-on-one fight.

You double-check that your bandages are secured and that your hair is in a tight bun. It always seems to loosen up throughout the day, and it’s even worse if you’re fighting. You debate for a while whether to put on the make-up, because chances are that it’ll smudge and make you look even more conspicuous than you already are. In the end, you decide to put it on. If Tsubakino can pull off being a boy wearing make-up, then you can pull of being a girl pretending to be a boy wearing make-up.

Later that day, you stand together with Sakura, Suo, Nirei, Sugishita, Hiragi, and Umemiya at the border between Bofurin and Shishitoren territory. Shishitoren is already waiting for you.

Tomiyama leads you towards their hideout, down a narrow street filled with pubs and eating places selling yakitori, okonomiyaki, and other foods that you would love to try if you were here on a less violent errant.

It turns out that Shishitoren’s hideout is an abandoned movie theatre, which you think is oddly fitting for this event. There are rows upon rows of plush seats – red ones, not orange, thank God – and a stage where you assume the fights will take place.

The first fight is between the boy with the shaved hair, Arima, and Sugishita.

The rest of you take your seats. Suo’s on your left and Sakura on your right with Nirei beside him. Nirei is frantically reciting everything he knows about Arima – he really is a wandering encyclopaedia when it comes to knowing other people.

The fight doesn’t last long. Arima gets in one hit, but then he goes on to offend Umemiya – a huge mistake on his part, but then again, how could he know that Sugishita is an Umemiya-fanatic? – and after that, it only takes one move for Sugishita to knock Arima unconscious.

And just like that, the first fight is over, and the next one is about to start. Shishitoren doesn’t seem the least bit concerned about their own. They even go as far as to complement Sugishita, and Arima is literally shoved off the stage and onto the floor.

That’s not right, you think. You jump up to move Arima into a seat, but Sakura grabs the hem of your jacket before you can get any further. “I know what you’re about to do, but now’s not the time.”

You look at him with wide eyes. Since when is Sakura the one to talk sense into other people? You do as his says, however, although you keep sending worried glances over at Arima.

Next up is Suo and the boy with black hair tied into a bun, Kanuma. He’s the one who tried to hit you after you had kicked down Saruwatari, and Suo hasn’t forgotten that. Actually, if it was up to Suo, he would also face Togame for pinning you to the ground, but he’s content with you letting take care of him yourself.

Suo gets to his feet, but before he steps onto the stage, he takes one of your hands in his own and bows at the waist. His lips barely graze the back of your hand.

Sakura splutters beside you. You blink. You knew Suo was a gentleman, but isn’t this a bit excessive? And why doesn’t he also kiss Sakura’s hand? He’s Suo’s friend too and just as much in this mess as the two of you are.

“Wish me luck.” Suo smiles widely at you before straightening his back and turning on his heels to saunter up to the stage.

Suo smiles even as he fights. He could’ve finished off Kanuma in a couple of seconds, but he doesn’t. No, he prefers to toy with him first. Humiliate him a bit in front of the rest of Shishitoren. And he also can’t help but show off a bit because he knows that you are watching.

Normally, Suo isn’t like this. He’s not a cruel person, he really isn’t. But seeing people try to hurt you, seeing people actually hurt you…it does something to him. It’s like he snaps, and then he has to find some outlet for all his pent-up fury. And the best way to do that is to punish those who hurt you.

This side of him surprises even Suo himself, but he finds that he doesn’t mind all that much. Again, this is just another thing that’s intriguing about you – the way you make other people around you, including himself, act.

At some point, Togame stops the fight because Tomiyama has literally fallen asleep. Apparently, the fight was too boring for him, but Suo doesn’t care. He didn’t fight for Tomiyama’s entertainment in the first place. No, he fought for Bofurin.

For you.

The next fight is between Hiragi and a boy named Sako. You wonder what history the two of them have. The way they fight, the way they look at each other, talk to each other…it’s clear that there’s something going on between them. But since Hiragi is now in Bofurin, and Sako is in Shishitoren, you figure that whatever happened between them didn’t end happily. You hope they’ll manage to talk it out sometime.

And that’s when you decide to somehow, one day, make Hiragi and Sako have a civil conversation with each other. Somehow, you’ll befriend Shishitoren after Bofurin wins this fight so that they can finally talk together properly. You’re not yet sure how to overcome years of animosity between your two groups, but you’ll make it work. Somehow.

Hiragi ends up winning his fight, even though Sasaki is a fearsome fighter. It just turns out that the title as one of Bofurin’s Four Kings isn’t just for decoration.

And then, it’s your turn. It was decided from the start that Tomiyama would go last, so you and Togame make your way up to the stage.

He grins at you.

You raise your fists. You’re going to smash those ugly orange shades, and then you’re going to win.

And then, you’re going to make him your friend. Him, as well as the rest of Shishitoren.

Chapter Text

You and Togame look at each other. Togame still has that lazy grin smeared on his face. “I should probably be ashamed of picking such a pipsqueak as yourself to fight...” he drawls. “But I was curious, you know…curious about the idiot who would go between Shishitoren’s second-in-command and his subordinate.”

That earns a lot of muttering from the other members of Shishitoren watching from the plush theatre seats.

“You shouldn’t beat up someone for no reason,” you say, not letting your guard down for a second – even though Togame still hasn’t made a move yet.

“No reason, you say?...I told you already…he was weak.”

“That’s not a reason!” you yell angrily. “If anything, that’s a reason to protect him.”

Togame snorts.

And then, he charges.

Suo has never really seen you fight before. And he can’t say that he hasn’t been curious. He’s a bit torn between feeling excited that he finally gets to see you in action and restraining the urge to sprint up to the stage and drag you back so that he can take on Togame himself.

But, once the fight begins, he can’t help but think that his anxiety is worth it. Because you’re gorgeous when you fight. You’re elegant and gracious, almost as if you’re dancing rather than fighting. You’re not very big, at least not compared to Togame. But what you lack in size, you more than make up for with speed and skill. You’re so fast that you’re sometimes only a blur on the stage, and Suo has to turn his head slightly sometimes to follow you around to account for his blind spot. He has never really minded only having one good eye, but now…now, he finds himself wishing that he had two.

Sakura is sitting on the other side of your empty seat. He has already seen you fight once (or actually twice, but Sakura doesn’t know that), so he’s not as taken aback by your skill as the rest of the Furin boys present for this event.

Still, he can appreciate watching. Only because it’s entertaining to watch two strong people fight each other, of course. It’s got nothing to do with you, per se.

At least, that’s what he tells himself.

Beside Sakura, Nirei is also watching you, just as he watched the three fights before yours. Occasionally, he notes down something on the pages he has dedicated to you in his notebook. He can’t help but feel a bit inferior as he watches one friend after the other go up against ever stronger opponents and walk away victorious.

Nirei joined Bofurin for the same reasons as you – because he admires them and wants to be part of a group that protects others. And when he first met you, he thought that maybe, you were like him. Weak and not a very good fighter, but still determined to make a difference in this town.

He couldn’t have been more wrong. You’re not like him at all. You’re strong and not a liability like he is.

But Nirei isn’t jealous of you. On the contrary, his admiration for you only grew when he discovered how strong you are. Which is why he has made it his mission to gather as much information about you as possible so that one day, he can be strong like you too.

He has written down his estimates of your height, weight, lean mass and fat mass, shoe size, and a lot of other facts he’s been able to gather in the short amount of time he has known you. And from all the data he has gathered so far, he now knows that he was right in his first assumption that you aren’t inherently as strong as most other boys at Furin. No, you must have trained and practiced extremely hard to get where you are now. In some ways, that’s reassuring, because it gives Nirei hope that with enough training, he can improve too.

There’s also another thing about you that Nirei can’t quite put his finger on. It’s like he’s missing some crucial fact about you, but can’t figure out what it is. He thinks back to when he first met you and felt something akin to bandages underneath your shirt. And he can also see that you’re wearing make-up – it’s subtle, and he doubts anyone else has noticed, but Nirei’s good at observing people.

Then, something hits him.

Maybe…maybe, you’re sick! That would definitely explain your shorter stature and frailer built. Maybe, the bandages and make-up are to cover up wounds or skin blemishes or something like that. He takes note to remember to look up diseases that cause people to suffer from growth retardation and when he gets home…if he ever gets to go home after this event. That all depends on whether Bofurin can win over Shishitoren, he thinks with a shiver.

Togame’s expression doesn’t change when he fights, you discover. He still has that half amused, half bored smile on his face as he charges, punches, kicks, dodges, and tries to throw you to the ground.

“You fight like a damn girl,” he taunts as you throw yourself at him.

You bite down your lip to avoid laughing because technically, he’s not wrong.

“You thought that was funny, huh?”

And then, Togame’s fist connects with your face, sending you flying. You land on your feet and feel something wet and hot trickle from your nose into your mouth.

You have to admit that maybe, you’ve bitten off more than you can chew by agreeing to fight this guy. He’s clearly in a whole other league than the other boys from Shishitoren you’ve seen fight so far. You don’t want to think about how good Tomiyama is if his second-in-command is this good because then, you won’t be able to concentrate on your own fight due to worry on Sakura’s behalf.

By now, your fight has been going on for far longer than any of the previous three, and both you and Togame are beginning to look pretty beaten-up. Dried blood is starting to crust around your nose, your lip is split, and you’re certain that you’ve got bruises all over your body. Togame is sporting a split eyebrow and there’s a nasty red mark on his jaw where you managed to land a hit.

“What’s up, baby face?” Togame sneers as you try to wipe the blood off your face. “Upset that your pretty face won’t be so pretty anymore when I’m done with you?”

Aww, he thinks you’re pretty. Well, you guess you do have a rather delicate face compared to other boys.

You jump, intending to land a kick to his abdomen, but he grabs your ankle and flings you to the ground like you’re no heavier than a toddler (you really hope he doesn’t go around throwing real toddlers, though).

Togame raises his foot. You see the bottom of his wooden sandal fast approaching your face, and you quickly roll to the side. From behind you, you can hear Shishitoren cheer and whoop for Togame. If he wins, that’ll be the first victory for Shishitoren during this event, and you will not let that happen. You grit your teeth and try to get to your feet, but Togame’s sandaled foot stamps down again and again and again, and all you can do is to roll around on the floor to avoid getting your face smashed in.

“Stay still, pretty boy,” Togame tuts as you squirm on the floor, probably looking ridiculous. But you don’t care – no, all you care about right now is getting back up on your feet again.

You can practically hear Nirei whimper from the front row seats. The other Furin boys are silent, though, which you appreciate. You’re too busy to notice how Suo clenches the armrests of his seat so hard that the fabric tears, or how Sakura mashes his teeth together, or how Hiragi frowns in worry.

Umemiya, meanwhile, has a faint smile playing around his lips. Not because he likes seeing you getting beaten up, but because he knows that right now, a very important conversation is taking place between you and Togame.

“You know, you’re pretty annoying for such a small person?” Togame says as he grabs you be the collar of your jacket and lifts you from the ground like a kitten. “Self-righteous Furin bastard. You think that uniform makes you strong? You think it makes you better than us? You call us pathetic. You call us lame. But right now, you’re the pathetic one.”

Your feet aren’t touching the ground now, but you won’t give Togame the satisfaction of seeing you kick in the air like a little kid throwing a tantrum. “I didn’t call you pathetic because I think I’m stronger than you,” you spit. “It’s because you beat guys who’re already down. And that’s what’s pathetic.”

Then, you twist in the air and a second later, Togame is holding your empty jacket while you’re standing on the ground in front of him. You grab him by the waist, using all your weight to throw him onto his back. His sunglasses are thrown off with a clatter and land behind him. Then, you get up again and wait for him to get back on his feet before you make another move.

You are not beating guys who’re already down (yes, that’s pretty dumb considering you’re in the middle of a fight with an extremely dangerous guy, but that’s just how you are).

Togame is no longer smiling.

“I know you’re strong,” you continue. “You should use that strength for something useful. Like, protecting others. Not chasing around middle school kids!”

At that, Togame’s face falls. “What…did you just say?” He talks even slower than he usually does.

“I said, I know you’re strong--”

“No, not that. What did you mean…middle school kids?”

You frown in confusion. “Well, you know. Children of around 11 to 14 years old who go to--”

Togame gets to his feet and grabs the front of your t-shirt before you can finish your sentence. But he doesn’t throw you to the ground or hit you. No, he’s looking at you with those startling green eyes with an intensity you didn’t think he possessed. “I know what a middle school kid is, pretty boy. I meant, what do you mean chasing around middle school kids?”

You tilt your head to the side. “Exactly what I said, Togame Jo. And my name is Ryo.”

Togame lets go of your shirt. “Excuse me,” he says as he walks off the stage. He stalks over to where Arima and Kanuma are both sitting huddled together in a corner of the movie theatre. They’re practically shaking with fear.

Togame lifts his fists, as if he’s about to hit them. But then, something you told him echoes in the back of his mind.

You beat guys who’re already down. And that’s what’s pathetic.

For some reason, that makes him hesitate. He slowly lowers his hands. And instead of bringing them down to punch Arima and Kanuma’s faces in, he simply grabs the collars of their jackets and strips them from their shoulders.

Then, he turns around and walks up to the stage again.

To where you’re still waiting.

For him.

You look at him with those large, curious eyes of yours. And he looks at you. Really looks at you.

It’s as if he’s seeing you for the first time.

You didn’t just go after his men because you’re a self-righteous pretty boy who thinks he is something just because he’s in Bofurin.

No, you saw a kid in need and didn’t hesitate to run straight into Shishitoren territory to help. And then, you saw him beat up Saruwatari and again, you stepped in to help. And today, now that he thinks about it…the reason why you haven’t finished him off yet is because you refuse to kick someone who’s already down.

Unlike him.

You really aree strange, he thinks. But also, really admirable.

Again, you make him think of the what-ifs. What if he’d stepped in that day where he had found Tomiyama beating up one of Shishitoren’s members who’d lost a fight to an outsider. Would Shishitoren then have been different today? Not a place where members chase around middle school kids for fun and where weakness is a sin worse than anything else. Not a place for bullies.

All he had ever wanted was to make Tomiyama smile again. Really smile, that carefree smile he always wore back before he became leader of Shishitoren. And it didn’t matter to him how he got Tomiyama to smile. That was why he beat up everyone to keep Shishitoren in place and skinned all the weak members from their orange jackets – all so that Tomiyama didn’t have to worry about anything but having fun.

But it didn’t work.

Tomiyama’s still miserable. And all Togame had managed to do was to make Shishitoren into a bully club.

You’re right, really. He is pathetic. He is lame.

But that stops now.

Togame raises his hands, his palms facing upwards. “You won.”

“Ehhh?” You gape at him, and had the situation been any different, he would have laughed at that priceless expression of yours.

“You won,” he repeats. “I don’t want to fight you anymore.”

You blink a couple of times before answering. “Okay…well, I won’t say that I won, but I’m alright with stopping now.” You frown. “But only if you promise to stop being pathetic and lame. Be a good guy. Use some of all that strength to do good.”

Togame smiles. Not his usual laissez fair grin, but a wide smile that makes the corners of his eyes crinkle. He walks over to the edge of the stage where he threw your jacket and picks it up. He hands it to you.

You smile up at him too. “Thanks.” You put on the jacket. Then, you walk over to where Togame dropped his sunglasses and hand them to him.

“Maybe, I’ll grow to like orange someday,” you comment, scrunching up your nose slightly as you look at him. “Although I still think you should get some shades with normal glass. The orange messes up your green eye colour. It’s a shame really, ‘cause it’s so pretty.”

Togame throws his head back and laughs. “I’ll make it my goal to make you like orange. It’s Shishitoren’s signature colour, after all.”

He puts on the sunglasses and looks at you over the rim, making sure that you can see the green of his eyes. “Thank you…Ryo-kun.”

You beam at him. There’s no loathing, not even the slightest hint of dislike in your features as you look at him. It makes something flutter in his chest and he feels warm and fuzzy all of a sudden.

He shakes his head to rid himself of those strange feelings. Then, he turns to Tomiyama. “We should call it off.”

But Tomiyama ignores him as he jumps up onto the stage and calls for his first opponent. “Othello-chan! C’mon, this is gonna be fun!”

“Choji--” Togame reaches out for his friend, but Tomiyama grabs his wrist and twists.

“You lost, so shut up.”

“Choji--” But then, Tomiyama’s foot connects with Togame’s face, and he’s thrown to the opposite end of the stage.

Togame struggles to get to his feet and sees that someone’s standing in front of him, blocking him from Tomiyama’s view. Protecting him.

But it’s not you.

No, it’s the boy with black and white hair. He looks over his shoulder and grins at Togame. “You’ve got some skills. Once you’ve become a super awesome guy that I wanna fight, let’s spar someday.”

Togame’s heart cracks.

You and Togame leave the stage to give way for Sakura and Tomiyama. Togame tried one more time to talk Tomiyama out of fighting, but the boy wouldn’t budge. He’s still dead set on beating Sakura so that he can move on to his real target: Umemiya.

You can’t deny that you’re sick with worry for Sakura. If Tomiyama can throw around Togame like that, then, does Sakura even stand a chance?

But Sakura’s just as determined as Tomiyama is for his turn, so you only send him an encouraging smile that you hope doesn’t look too strained as you leave the stage to sit beside Suo again.

As soon as you take your seat, Nirei scoots over to sit beside you, and Suo leans in.

“That was crazy, Ryo-san!” Nirei looks at you with wide eyes. “Like, I knew Sakura said you were strong, but that…” he shakes his head.

“Are you alright?” Suo asks, reaching one hand towards your face. He gently cups your jaw and brushes his thumb over your split lip, so gently that it doesn’t hurt at all. Suo himself doesn’t have a single scratch on him, and you feel slightly embarrassed that you got yourself beaten up so badly.

“I’m alright, just a bit sore,” you reassure him, although ‘a bit sore’ might be an understatement.

Suo looks at you with a dissatisfied expression.

Is he disappointed that you didn’t win your fight properly? That you couldn’t really beat Togame?

“Nirei’s right,” Suo says. “You do look stunningly beautiful when you fight, Ryo-kun, although I hate to see you getting hurt.”

You blink. Did Suo just call you…beautiful? And he’s worried about you? No one, except for your brother, has ever worried about you. It makes your heart swell in your chest and your eyes water.

Maybe these people really don’t think you’re a freak. Maybe, they really do tolerate you – no, not only tolerate – maybe they even like you. That’s such a foreign concept to you. The concept of being liked. The concept of having friends.

The only thing that bothers you is that these people don’t really know you. Because they know you as Ryo. Not as you.

But that’s something you’ll have to wallow in later. Right now, you just want to enjoy this while it lasts.

From a couple of seats further down, Togame watches as you’re pampered by your worried friends from Furin. The strange warm feeling from before has completely vanished and been replaced by something else he hasn’t ever felt before. Something oddly green. It’s unpleasant and makes his throat clench and his fingers twitch and it worsens times hundred when that eye patch guy leans in and touches your lip. The lip that he split, Togame thinks with an odd mixture of possessiveness and guilt.

And Togame’s not the only one who’s watching. From the stage, Sakura is also following your exchange with Nirei and Suo. Especially Suo.

That boy has had his eyes on you ever since himself, Nirei, and you stepped into that classroom at Furin High, Sakura thinks. Well, so has Nirei, but he’s not as direct about it as Suo. And for some reason, it annoys Sakura. Maybe, it’s because he doesn’t do romance, and when he’s surrounded by it, he gets uncomfortable and wants to flee in the other direction.

Yeah, that’s probably just what’s bothering him.

But why can’t he stop looking, then?

He doesn’t have much more time to think, however, because Tomiyama is waiting, and the leader of Shishitoren is not the patient type.

Sakura turns his attention towards his opponent, feeling that familiar surge of adrenaline course through him just before a fight.

He smiles.

This is gonna be good.

The fight between Sakura and Tomiyama lasts even longer than your fight with Togame. In the beginning, Sakura can’t do much besides dodging, which is a feat in itself when standing before Tomiyama Choji, youngest leader in Shishitoren history. That boy’s made of something entirely different, you think. He’s both fast and strong and incredibly skilled – a deadly combo.

But Sakura doesn’t give up. You watch with horror as his face is smashed into the ground again and again and again, but he always gets up. And it’s almost as if you can see Sakura develop throughout the fight. Every time he’s beaten down, it’s as if he gets a new boost of energy and fights with even more skill and vigour than before. You’ve never seen anything quite like it. You remember when you first saw Sakura fight and thought that you were on the same level as him. You take that back. You wouldn’t have lasted ten seconds against Tomiyama.

Beside you, the other Furin boys can’t help but marvel at Sakura’s skills either. Nirei is biting his nails furiously, but his eyes are wide with wonder. Suo is smiling widely, and even Sugishita pays close attention to the fight. Both Hiragi and Umemiya watch Sakura with a strange sense of disbelief as well as pride. Because even though Sakura himself is not aware of it, this is the first step for him to become someone who cares. Someone who values more than just strength for strength’s sake. Yes, it might seem that he only agreed to fight Tomiyama because he wanted to go up against the strongest guy in Shishitoren, but judging from the determination burning in his mitch-matched eyes, there was more to it than that. Even if Sakura himself is not aware of it.

Yet.

On the stage, Sakura is still nowhere near his limit. Tomiyama is without a doubt the most challenging opponent he has ever been up against, but Sakura has never been more determined to win. Watching his classmates go up against Shishitoren one by one…listening to your conversation with Togame…it has awoken a new kind of motivation within Sakura. He’s not sure exactly what it is, but for some reason, he feels like it makes him stronger.

“It’s not fair!” Tomiyama complains as he dodges a kick from Sakura. He gestures at Sakura and then to where you’re sitting with the rest of Bofurin. “Bofurin has so many strong kids. It’s nothing like us.” Tomiyama sighs. “Because everyone here is so weak, I can’t become free…”

Muttering breaks out behind you, and you genuinely feel sorry for Shishitoren. You can’t even imagine Umemiya saying one bad word about the members of Bofurin.

But it doesn’t seem like Tomiyama cares. A wide grin spreads across his face as he readies himself to charge at Sakura again.

“That your idea of being free?” Sakura laughs. “What a joke. You let Togame-kun do all your dirty work so that you can keep beating up anyone you want. That’s not freedom. That’s bullying. Shishitoren is nothing more than a fucking bully club!”

Tomiyama’s face falls. The movie theatre has suddenly become deadly silent.

Sakura can’t help but think that he somehow stepped over an invisible line. He can almost hear how something breaks within Tomiyama.

The boy lets out a furious wail and charges. With widened eyes, Sakura braces himself for the impact because there’s no way he’ll be able to dodge that. But it never comes – at least, not from the direction he was expecting. Instead of being pummelled to the ground by Tomiyama, someone pushes him to the side.

Sakura stumbles and looks up to see Umemiya now standing before Tomiyama. How on earth Umemiya managed move so fast, Sakura can only dream of.

“That’s enough,” he tells Sakura without moving his gaze from Tomiyama.

“Does that mean you’ll finally fight me, Ume-chan?” Tomiyama asks.

“No way!” Sakura shouts, “I’m not done yet!”

“Yes, you are,” Umemiya says firmly. “You did well, Sakura-kun.” There’s respect and pride in Umemiya’s tone as he says this, even though he still doesn’t look at Sakura. “But now, it’s time to swap.”

Sakura glances over at his opponent who now has all his attention directed at Umemiya and realises that even if he’s not done yet, Tomiyama is clearly done with him for now.

It makes anger boil in his chest, but he humps down from the stage nonetheless. Hiragi’s gaze meets his and the older boy smiles and nods in respect.

Nirei has gone back to his own seat and Sakura slumps down in the seat between you and Nirei.

“You held your own against Shishitoren’s leader for this long!” Nirei whispers in awe.

Sakura only shrugs. “Just wished Umemiya had waited to step in. Just a little longer, and I would have totally beaten him!” he huffs.

“I’m not so sure you would,” Suo mumbles. “There’s something seriously wrong with that guy.”

“Well, now I’ll never know, will I?” Sakura grumbles.

You just roll your eyes fondly. You can understand the rush of excitement from standing before a strong opponent, just as you felt it with Togame, but you’re not a masochist like Sakura apparently is.

The three of you turn your attention to the stage where Umemiya and Tomiyama are circling each other.

Tomiyama charges. His moves seem even faster than when he fought Sakura, who notices and practically seethes with anger. Not only did Umemiya stop his fight prematurely, but he doesn’t want anyone to pull their punches in a fight with him. No, he would rather be beaten to a pulp.

But the truth is that Tomiyama didn’t pull his punches while fighting Sakura. No, the reason why Tomiyama now seems more ferocious than ever is because something within him just burst.  

Tomiyama is like a storm. Or a wave. A wave that comes crashing down on Umemiya again and again and again with such force that any lesser man would’ve crumbled beneath him.

But not Umemiya. No, if Tomiyama is a wave, then Umemiya is a solid rock, deflecting blow after blow, kick after kick, but never really retaliating. Sometimes, he even lets Tomiyama hit him.

You realise that Umemiya doesn’t really want to fight Tomiyama. But if he doesn’t fight, how can he win?

“Huh, that’s weird,” Tomiyama says at some point, looking curiously down at his clenched fist. “I’m landing all of these hits, but…”

“Your fists have no weight,” Umemiya interrupts him. “Do you know why?”

“Huh?”

“Because you’re not fighting for anything.”

There’s a crazed look in Tomiyama’s eyes as the two leaders continue to fight. He looks…unhinged. He screams at Umemiya who only continues to rile up Tomiyama with every word he says.

And now, you think that you understand. It was never about winning for Umemiya. It was about having a conversation with Tomiyama.

That doesn’t make it any easier to watch as Tomiyama straddles Umemiya’s chest and bites his neck until he draws blood.

And then, Umemiya says something that makes Tomiyama retract. The boy is crying now, flailing at Umemiya like a child. Umemiya gently takes Tomiyama’s head between his hands, almost as if he’s comforting him. But instead, he headbutts him, and Tomiyama falls to the ground. And you swear you see him smile as he lies there, sprawled on the stage. Not that creepy, deranged smile that never reaches his eyes, but a small, content smile that makes his eyes crinkle slightly at the corners.

The fight is over.

Bofurin won.

Chapter Text

After Umemiya won his fight, you let Tomiyama and Togame have a moment to themselves before Umemiya suggests that you all patch yourself up before gathering to celebrate.

Of the six from Bofurin, you, Sakura, and Umemiya are by far the worst off, while Suo looks just as spotless as Nirei who wasn’t even fighting.

“I can help you with that, Sakura-kun,” you offer, pointing at his split eyebrow.

Sakura looks torn for a moment, but then, he nods. You lean in close to his face to study the injury, and Sakura’s face grows redder by the second.

But then, someone places a hand on your shoulder. “You need patching up yourself, Ryo-kun,” Suo says. “Why don’t you take care of yourself, and I’ll take care of Sakura-kun, hm?” He looks over your shoulder to glare at Sakura before directing his attention back to you, smiling widely.

“Okay,” you agree and return his smile before walking away to give the two boys some space.

Sakura would rather go at it again with Tomiyama than admit that he feels disappointed. Suo, however, would gladly admit to himself that sending you away from Sakura was for anything but altruistic reasons.

You spot Hiragi and Umemiya tending to their injuries and, completely forgetting Suo’s advice to take care of yourself first, fish out your roll of bandages and walk straight over to the two older boys.

“Umemiya-san, I’ve got spare bandages for your neck, if you’d like,” you offer. You know you said that bandages are expensive, but you don’t really care about that when they’re for treating your friends.

“Thank you, Imo-chan!” Umemiya smiles at you, happily accepting the bandages to cover the bite-mark on his neck.

“Uhm, it’s Ryo…”

Then, you notice Hiragi smiling at you too – not as exuberantly as Umemiya, but a smile nonetheless.

“Hiragi-san,” you say, suddenly remembering the promise you made to yourself right before your fight with Togame. “I think you should talk to Sako-san about whatever it is that’s been driving you apart. Now that Furin and Shishitoren are friends and everything!”

“Ah well…” Hiragi looks a bit uncomfortable. He knows you only mean well, but fixing things between him and Sako isn’t as easy as you make it sound – well, maybe to you it is, but everyone isn’t as kind and forgiving as you are. If they were, then there probably wouldn’t even be a need for Bofurin in this town, Hiragi thinks ruefully.

“Maybe next time I see him,” he ends up saying, before quickly changing the topic. “You’ve got some skills kid. You did well.”

Your chest swells. First Nirei and Suo praising you for your fight, and now Hiragi, of all people. You’re not used to being told that you’re good at anything – maybe except for the “half-decent” comment you got from your caretaker at the orphanage whenever you were on kitchen duty. And being praised for your skills in a fight is completely unheard of to you.

But at Furin, it’s different. Here, you can actually use your skills for something useful, and it’s even applauded. You can use them to fight for Bofurin. To fight for justice and to defend other people.

Just as you had hoped to do for so long.

You almost forget that you’re not even supposed to attend Furin, being a girl and all.

Almost.

Not long after, you’re sitting in a circle together with the other boys from Furin – as well as Togame and Tomiyama – on a folded-out cardboard box on the wet ground outside of the movie theatre. In the middle is a wide spread of all kinds of foods in takeout boxes from the pubs surrounding you.

Umemiya doesn’t hesitate to dig in and continues to rave about how delicious the food is. You and the other Furin boys hesitantly reach for the food too (well, except for Suo, of course).

But you can’t help but notice that neither Togame nor Tomiyama are eating anything. You turn to look at Togame, frowning lightly. “Why aren’t you eating?”

The boy doesn’t answer but instead places his plate and chopsticks on the ground. Then, he bows down in a dogeza. Tomiyama looks at his friend for a moment before following suit.

“I’m sorry,” Togame says into the ground. “This whole incident was my fault…the raid yesterday…how Shishitoren became rotten to the core…”

The others grow silent around you. This was unexpected.

After a moment Umemiya lets out a small chuckle. “You heard them, Imo-chan, Sakura-kun. You two decide.”

Sakura doesn’t hesitate to point a finger at Togame. “You absolutely have to become a cool guy and don’t do lame stuff ever again!”

“Yeah, no hard feelings!” You smile at Tomiyama, then at Togame. He’s not wearing his sunglasses at the moment. “Bofurin and Shishitoren are all friends now, right? Although, you seriously have to buy some normal shades soon, Togame-kun,” you add.

The others send you some weird looks, but Togame just returns your smile and promises, and finally, the two boys from Shishitoren join your small feast.

Tomiyama is like a whole different person now. You remember the first time you saw him and you thought he could be cute if he didn’t look so unhinged. He looks cute now, you think. His eyes are no longer empty, but sparkling, his smile genuine instead of manic. You’re happy for him. Happy that he realised that he has good things in his life already and that he doesn’t need to chase them. Happy that he realised before it was too late.

Beside you, Suo is the only one still sitting with an empty plate.

“You should try some of this, Suo-kun,” you say, handing him a yakitori stick.

He accepts it gingerly and takes a small bite. “It’s good, Ryo-kun.”

“You can have the rest,” you beam and grab another yakitori stick for yourself, completely unaware of the looks the other Furin boys are exchanging.

At Pothos’ yesterday, Suo claimed that he was on a diet – refusing to eat anything, even when Kotoha almost threatened him to accept her omurice. But still, he didn’t resist in the slightest when you fed him your own portion. Same thing when he tried to give you his taiyaki, but didn’t protest when you told him to eat it himself. And now, where Suo hasn’t really touched any of the food, but as soon as you hand him something, he happily eats it.

Either you’re very persuasive, or Suo’s got a soft spot for you. Probably the latter, which is not that surprising. You tend to have that effect on people.

It’s almost evening when your party finally breaks up.

“It was nice getting to know you,” you say as you wave goodbye to Togame and Tomiyama.

The two boys glance at each other. If they hadn’t gotten to know you better during the little celebration after your fight, they would have thought you were joking.

“You can come visit us on our turf anytime you want!” you continue unapologetically.

Togame and Tomiyama turns to look dubiously at Umemiya, but your leader just laughs and nods in agreement.

“We’d be honoured,” Togame says and bows. When he looks up again, he catches your gaze and sends you a crooked smile. “And you too. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. It’s the least we can do.”

“I’ll hold you up to that,” you promise before returning his smile with a radiant one of your own – one that makes Togame’s cheeks feel rather hot. As if your smile alone is warm enough to heat up its surroundings. Because there’s no way Togame is blushing.

Togame and Tomiyama watch as you and the rest of the boys from Furin disappear back to your own turf. Tomiyama is still clutching a plastic bag with a red bean bun he got from Umemiya before your group left.

“Kame-chan…I know that what I’ve done isn’t something a simple apology will fix,” he starts. “That said, I don’t know what I should do now.”

“Same goes for me,” Togame agrees as he takes the plastic bag from Tomiyama and opens it. “What I’ve done doesn’t simply go away. I’d like to make it up somehow. But after apologising, I don’t know what I should be doing.” He splits the red bean bun in two and hands one half to Tomiyama. “So, let’s look for an answer together.”

Togame thinks of you again. You told him to use his strength for something useful. To stop being pathetic and lame and do good. And Othello too – Sakura, he mentally corrects himself. Togame’s heart still aches when he thinks of the crooked smile Sakura sent him after defending him from Tomiyama.

How could anyone look at him like that, after everything he has done?

Well, all the more reason for Togame to do better. He really wants to try – no, not only try. He wants to succeed. Him and Tomiyama. Yeah, they’ll do it.

He’ll convince you that orange isn’t such a bad colour, and he’ll become a good guy so that he can spar with Sakura one day.

No matter what it takes.

After a brief stop at Pothos where Sasaki has apparently spent the whole day waiting for you, it’s time for you all to head home. You have to take a large detour before going back to your apartment to avoid going the same way as Sakura but eventually, you step into your small apartment.

You quickly shower and change into some comfortable pants and a hoodie that’s way too big for you because it’s your brother’s, before proceeding to stare longingly at your completely empty fridge.

You really should have stopped at a convenience store on your way home, but you forgot that you had absolutely nothing edible in your apartment before now. You sigh, grab some yen, and head outside.

It’s so dark that you don’t see the figure sitting at the top of the stairs right before you stumble over them.

For one with so good reflexes, you’re surprisingly clumsy.

You shriek and prepare to tumble down the rest of the steps, all the way to the ground. But instead, strong hands grab you and haul you back on your feet.

“Thought I told you to watch where you’re going,” someone grumbles.

Shoot.

It’s Sakura.

“T-thanks, Sakura-ku--san,” you manage to stutter, frantically pulling your hood over your head to cover your injuries. How will you explain the split lip and all the bruises?

Suddenly, you’re grateful for the darkness.

“What’s your name?” Sakura suddenly blurts.

You frown. Didn’t you tell him? Or did you only introduce yourself to him as Ryo?

Living a double life is a lot harder than you thought it would be. But then again, you didn’t think you would be living right next to one of your classmates. Or that you would make the same friends as both you and Ryo. Actually, you didn’t think you would make any friends at all, period.

You introduce yourself to Sakura again, but this time using your real name instead of Ryo. Then, you ask, “What are you doing out here, Sakura-san?”

Sakura turns red in the face. “Didn’t know which apartment you lived in,” he mumbles without looking at you.

“Oh,” is all you can think of saying.

You’re not sure you should tell him. Actually, it would be for the best if he doesn’t know exactly where you live. What if the Furin boys someday want to visit Ryo? How then, will you explain that you live in the same place as a girl who looks suspiciously a lot like yourself? Say that you have a twin sister?

And then, something hits you. “Wait, how does that explain what you’re doing out here alone?”

Sakura doesn’t say anything but hands you what looks like a small box of…cookies? “They’re not the same as those from the landlord, just from the convenience store downstreet. But since I made you drop yours last week…” He trails off, still not looking at you.

You just stare at the cookies. This is probably the sweetest thing someone has ever done for you (not counting your brother, of course).

But Sakura doesn’t know that. Right now, his heart is beating faster than it was when he was fighting Tomiyama earlier today, in fear of your reaction. Maybe, you don’t want a box of cheap convenience store cookies. Ideally, he would’ve just given you his own box of homemade cookies from the landlord, but they’ve gone stale, and he thought this would be better…

Maybe, he shouldn’t have given you anything at all. But he also just wanted an excuse to talk to you again so he could finally get your name. Although now, he kind of regrets his boldness. Usually, he avoids other people like the plague unless it involves fighting them and he doesn’t know what came over him on his way home from Pothos. He’d just thought of Ryo, and the way he had fought Togame – which for some inexplainable (very explainable) reason made him think of you when you fought Kotoha’s bullies. And then, his thoughts had wandered to your first encounter, and he was right in front of a 7-Eleven, and then…

“That’s so sweet of you, Sakura-san!” You smile so brightly at him that he swears the darkness around you wavers.

You immediately open the box of cookies and offer him one before taking one yourself. It might just be a cheap convenience store cookie, but right then, you don’t think you’ve ever tasted anything so good. Or maybe, it just has something to do with your slight sugar addiction.

Sakura takes a bite of his cookie. It’s not bad.

“Actually, I was just about to head to the convenience store myself to get some dinner, so I’ll see you later, Sakura-san!” you say as you munch on your second cookie.

Sakura nods. He doesn’t trust himself with words right now, so he sticks to keeping silent.

You quickly dart past him and down the stairs after stuffing the box of cookies into the front-pocket of your hoodie.

Sakura just stares after you. That didn’t go as bad as he had feared. Then, he slowly walks back to his own apartment.

It doesn’t at all occur to him how strange it was that you didn’t even bat an eye at his split eyebrow or the bruises covering half his face.

Or the suspicious way you covered your own face with your hoodie as soon as you saw him.

After the fight with Shishitoren, you’re finally beginning to believe that people here actually like you and that it’s not just some giant prank that the whole town is pulling on you.

Which is ironic, since in reality, it’s you who’re deceiving them. But you try not to feel too guilty about that.

Instead, you use the rest of the week getting to know the other boys at Furin better. You spend most of your time with Sakura, Suo, and Nirei, but you also seek up Kaji to see how he’s doing after Shishitoren’s invasion of Furin High.

It’s first now that you find out that he’s none other than the Grade Captain of the second-years, but that doesn’t deter you. If he doesn’t want anything to do with you, despite the kindness he showed you after the brawl at Tonpu Shopping Street, then that’s okay with you. As long as you get to see for yourself that he’s alright.

One day, you decide to go see him after your classes end. He’s in his classroom, surrounded by other second-years. You feel slightly intimidated, but square your shoulders as you wave at him.

Kaji’s face lights up when he spots you, and his classmates exchange puzzled looks at his reaction to seeing this random first-year boy. Kaji just ignores them, immediately removing his headphones and taking his lollipop out of his mouth as he strides over to you.

If his classmates were looking puzzled before, their eyes are basically bulging out of their sockets with disbelief at this point.

“Ryo-kun,” he greets you.

At that, the other second-years finally begin to understand. After all, they have all heard of the fight between Bofurin and Shishitoren a couple of days ago, and how the two new first years took on the second-in-command and the leader of Shishitoren.

But still, it’s unusual for Kaji to be this comfortable with another person. They all know that he’s close to Hiragi, but it’s more like how a mentee is devoted to his mentor than it’s like a relationship between two equals. Even with his friends among the second years, Kaji is always a little reserved. Speaks only when spoken to and always wears his headphones as a shield against the world. Or to shield the world from him, who knows.

But with you…it’s like he’s a whole different person.

That’s not to say that his friends are jealous of you, though – no, they’re only happy that Kaji has finally found someone he feels completely at ease around. And they can understand why. You practically radiate comfort with your sparkling eyes and infectious smile that makes the whole room seem a little brighter.

“Kaji-san!” you exclaim, smile growing impossibly wider.

“What are you doing here, Ryo-kun?” Kaji asks. Not that he’s not happy to see you – he’s actually been meaning to seek you out himself one of these days, just to check up on you after your fight with Shishitoren. He’s heard a lot of rumours, but he also wanted to see for himself that you’re okay.

Just like you wanted to check up on him.

“I just wanted to make sure that you were okay,” you tell him as you look him up and down critically. His bruises from when Shishitoren invaded Furin are beginning to turn bluish-purple, and he looks even worse for wear than he actually is.

Kaji frowns. Although he’s happy that you wanted to see him, he also doesn’t want to worry you – and besides, you look ten times worse than he does. Your lip is swollen, and what is visible of your skin is covered in black bruises. He also doesn’t miss the way you limp ever so slightly as you approach him.

“I’m alright,” he shrugs. “But what about you, Ryo-kun? I heard you defeated Togame Jo?”

His classmates begin to mutter behind him. They already know that you fought Togame, but to hear their Grade Captain confirm that, not only did you fight him, but you also defeated Shishitoren’s second-in-command…that suddenly makes it all the more real.

“Defeated or defeated,” you mumble, feeling self-conscious. “More like, he surrendered.”

“Still,” Kaji insists. “You made him want to stop fighting. And by the sound of it, Shishitoren and Bofurin are friends now, thanks to you.”

“Not only me,” you protest. “Sakura-kun and Umemiya-san too. But yes, I hope that Shishitoren and Bofurin won’t have any more fallouts from now on!”

More muttering from his classmates. They’re not sure if they believe that last part.

“So…” Kaji begins, although he’s not really sure what to say. All he knows is that he doesn’t want this conversation to end.

Fortunately, you are of the same mind. “Would you like to hang out some more, Kaji-san? We could go to the arcade or something? Or grab a bite to eat?”

For a long moment, Kaji doesn’t say anything, and you feel your spirits diminish by the second. Right, how stupid can you be. Of course, Kaji, Grade Captain of the second-years, whom you’ve only met once before, doesn’t want to hang out with you outside of school.

But then…

“…okay.”

You whip your head up to look at Kaji, your mouth forming a small ‘o’. “O-kay?” you ask, hesitantly, because surely, he didn’t just agree to hang out with you outside of school…right?

“Let’s hang out. Then, you can also tell me more about the fight with Shishitoren, if you don’t mind.”

Your face splits into a wide grin. “It’s a date, then!”

You’re too relieved and happy to notice Kaji suddenly becoming very flustered at the word date. You also don’t notice the knowing smirks Kaji’s friends send him behind his back.

After grabbing your stuff, the two of you head towards the city centre. It’s mostly you doing the talking and as promised, you tell him about the fight with Shishitoren. Kaji is actually a good listener (when he’s not wearing his headphones), and he nods and smiles at all the right times and asks elaborating questions to keep your conversation going.

You’re so engrossed in each other that you don’t notice the group of boys on the other side of the street before someone calls out your name.

“Ryo-san!”

Nirei waves at you. Behind him, a very red-faced Sakura is standing together with Suo and an orange-haired tall guy whom you only know as Tsugeura.

Tsugeura is a person who takes up space. Yes, he’s tall and muscular, but that’s not really the reason why he feels so big. No, it’s the way he holds himself, the way he talks, the way he grins wildly as soon as he spots you.

“Ryo-kun!” he bellows, striding over to you and Kaji. He eyes you over the bridge of his nose, arms folded over his chest. “I’ve heard so much about you! What’s your virtue?”

You don’t have to think long about that. “To protect others. Defend justice. Stuff like that. That’s why I’m here!” you beam.

Beside you, Nirei is furiously scribbling down every word you say in his notebook. Suo just smiles fondly, while Sakura scrunches up his nose as if words like “protect” and “justice” gross him out.

Tsugeura, meanwhile, looks like you just handed him an early birthday present. “That’s my virtue too!” he exclaims.

“Tsugeura-san has invited us to his favourite restaurant to talk about our virtues!” Nirei says eagerly. “All our other classmates were super busy and couldn’t go, but you and your friend are welcome to join us!”

Just then does Nirei realise who your friend is. His jaw drops and then, he goes into full-on fanboy mode.

To spare Kaji from Nirei’s antics, you hurry to step in. “Um, that sounds nice, but only if you’re alright with that, Kaji-san?” You turn to look at him.

At the sight of your friends, Kaji had immediately returned to his usual, reserved self, although he didn’t put his headphones back on. And now, he can’t help but feel conflicted. He’d really been looking forward to spending the afternoon just the two of you together, but he also understands if you would rather spend your time with your own classmates. Who’s he, to keep you from going out with your other friends?

There is of course also the possibility that he just politely declines and lets you join your friends yourself. But for some reason, that thought doesn’t sit well with him either.

So, even though he doesn’t really feel comfortable spending the afternoon with a bunch of first-years he’s only just met, as long as you’re there, he’s willing to step out of his comfort zone. That’s also what he promised himself he would that very first day he met you, after all.

As long as he gets to see you smile.

Chapter Text

You and Kaji continue to talk on your way to wherever your classmates were heading before you bumped into each other, although Kaji is a lot more subdued than when it was just the two of you.

Tsugeura and Nirei are leading the way, while Suo and Sakura have fallen behind you. Sakura can’t explain the unpleasant feeling blooming in his chest. It began the moment he spotted you walking with that platin blond guy who had also been fighting in the brawl on main street. He tries to write it off as something bad he ate for lunch. However, that doesn’t really explain the urge he has to walk over and tear you away from Kaji.

Suo, on the other hand, has no shame. He purposefully strides up to walk on the other side of you and places a possessive hand on your shoulder.

You glance up in surprise but then, you send him a wide smile. “Suo-kun! I was just telling Kaji-san about how you beat Kanuma-kun without breaking a sweat. It was really impressive.”

Out of nowhere, Kaji suddenly places his hand on your other shoulder and grumbles, “I could have done the same.”

“Oh, sure,” you answer happily. “I don’t doubt that. I saw you fight that day on the main street. You’re also very impressive, Kaji-san.”

Suo hums. Although he is immensely satisfied that you were bragging about him to Kaji, he also can’t help but feel annoyed. “Didn’t know you were so friendly with the Grade Captain of the second years?” He asks you, something he has been itching to do ever since he saw you with Kaji.

“Oh, actually, we’ve only met once before – but he’s really nice and we decided to hang out after school today.”

“Nice, hm?” Suo mutters to himself, but you just continue, undeterred.

“And that’s when we met you guys! I’m so happy to be doing stuff outside of school with my friends – I’ve never tried that before!”

You’re so upbeat that you don’t notice the faltering expressions of your friends by that comment. You don’t talk a lot about the time before you arrived to Makochi, and when they first met you, they had just assumed you were the type of person who’d always had tons of friends wherever you went. Like, how could people not want to be friends with you? But as your friends got to know you better, they began to realise that that was far from the case. They noticed the way you seemed surprised every time someone complimented you or wanted to hang out with you. They noticed how you squared your shoulders every time you did or said something, as if you were expecting people to ridicule or berate you. They noticed the small hints you dropped every now and then – like when you mentioned the orphanage you’re from, or how you’ve never tried doing anything with a friend outside of school.

Sakura especially can relate to how you’re feeling, because he has experienced much the same thing himself and can recognize a lot of your habits as his own. The only thing he can’t seem to grasp is how on earth a person such as yourself could ever be disliked. Himself, he can understand – with his off-putting looks, brash personality, and tendency to pick a fight with everyone who so much as looks wrongly at him. But you? You don’t look weird, you’re always smiling, and you’re easy to talk to. You’re everything that he’s not.

It’s nothing short of miraculous that you’re so friendly and cheery, with everything you must have been through.

You soon arrive at what is apparently Tsugeura’s favourite restaurant. It’s called “Muscle Power” and the interior is filled with what looks like posters of bulky men in very little clothes.

The six of you take a seat at one of the tables.

 “Ryo-kun, are you hungry?” Tsugeura shows you one of the menu cards which features about every traditional Japanese dish…made with protein powder. “I recommend the protein okonomiyaki!” He points at a photo that looks deceptively like a normal okonomiyaki.

Kaji takes one look at the menu, shakes his head, then proceeds to unwrap a lollipop.

“The photo does make it look delicious,” Sakura says as he scrutinises the menu.

“I’ll just have water,” Suo announces and for once, you don’t try to force him to eat.

“Sakura-kun, you like eating?” Tsugeura asks. “If you’re particular about that, that can be your virtue!”

Sakura’s gaze flickers towards you, but you’re too busy trying not to look at all the men in underwear lining the walls that you don’t notice anything.

“I’m not particular about anything,” Sakura mumbles, blushing furiously.

“You really are secretive, huh?” Tsugeura muses. “Well in that case…let’s fight!”

That manages to catch Sakura’s interest.

But before they can start a brawl over your table, two other people enter the restaurant. One of them is the pink haired guy with piercings you recognise as one of your classmates. The other one is a pretty girl your own age. They’re holding hands, and Sakura’s romance detector immediately goes haywire at the sight.

You just feel oddly sad, although you still send them both your signature radiant smile.

For some reason, it never really occurred to you that the other Furin boys might have girlfriends. Not because you’re jealous or anything, but because there’s no way that you would be able to get a boyfriend in this place. Firstly, because you live a double life, and if you were to get a boyfriend as you, you probably wouldn’t be able to keep your identity as Ryo secret for them. Meanwhile, if you were to get a boyfriend as Ryo, your relationship would be built on a lie and that would be unfair to them. And secondly, because you have a hard time believing that anyone would even want to be your boyfriend in the first place.

Well, it’s not like you want a boyfriend right now anyways. It just would have been nice to know that you had the option, if you wanted to.

“If it isn’t Kiryu-san!” Nirei exclaims. “How about you sit with us?”

Poor boy has no sense of propriety.

Kiryu ignores him and walks towards another table at the back. As he passes your group, however, he spots you staring at him and winks at you. You look away, trying to hide your blush.

Nothing about you escapes Suo’s notice however (except for your gender, of course). “He always was a shameless flirt,” he comments, sending Kiryu a smile showing off all his teeth. It’s not his usual pleasant smile, you think.

“Yes, he’s very popular with the girls,” Nirei adds without looking up from his notebook.

“And the boys, apparently,” Suo mutters.

Nirei finally glances up, frowning. “I haven’t heard of him going out with boys before, Suo-san.”

“Hm.” Suo sends you a suspicious look.

“Oh, so you’re interested in Kiryu-kun, Ryo-kun?” Tsugeura asks. And to your horror, he walks over to Kiryu and his girlfriend and slams his hands down on their table, scaring the poor girl out of her wits.

Kiryu, who otherwise seems like a nice guy, doesn’t look nice at all as he confronts Tsugeura. It’s actually quite impressive how Tsugeura manages to shrink before him despite being half a foot taller as he gets the scolding of his life.

“Tsuge-chan, have you thought about how other people perceive you?” Kiryu asks rhetorically, eyes cold and narrowed as he looks up at Tsugeura, “You’re big, and you look pretty powerful. And if someone like that is shouting, don’t you think girls would get spooked? If you stay like that, you’ll never get popular with the girls.” His eyes rest on you for a second before he adds, “Or the boys.”

Personally, you’re not spooked out by Tsugeura. He might be big and extremely straightforward, but you think Kiryu is laying it on a bit thick. “Kiryu-kun, don’t you think that’s a bit harsh?” you ask from your seat.

“This is bad news,” Nirei whispers from the opposite side of the table, expecting a brawl to break out any moment now.

“I see,” Tsugeura says, clenching his fists at his sides. You’re just about to get up to prevent a fight from breaking out between the two boys when Tsugeura bows deeply to the girl. “I’m terribly sorry about that!” He retreats slowly, bowing all the while and holding up his hands in apology.

“Don’t worry, Tsugeura-kun,” you say sympathetically as he gets back to his seat. “I’m sure the right girl will like you just the way you are.”

“That’s not it,” he sighs defeatedly. “Carelessly scaring other people is against my virtue.”

Kiryu, who seems satisfied with Tsugeura’s apology, turns his attention towards you. “Ryo-chan, was it?” he asks, looking at you from behind Tsugeura’s broad shoulders.

Of course, Kiryu already knows who you are. Like so many of the other boys in class 1-1, he took notice of you from the moment you stepped inside their classroom for the first time. There’s something about you that’s…different. Like Kiryu, you’re quite effeminate (of course you are, you’re a girl, but nobody knows that) which immediately drew his attention towards you. According to him, traditional gender roles are antiquated, which is also why he can’t stand Tsugeura’s loud macho attitude. Although, he has to admit that the boy is a lot more sensitive than he had first thought. Maybe you’re right and Kiryu was a bit harsh.

Well, anyways, then Kiryu is delighted to have another boy like himself as a classmate. He’s never gotten the chance to speak to you before, however, because others always seem to hoard you for themselves – Suo, Sakura, and Nirei being the worst offenders, and now the Grade Captain of the second years too, by the looks of it. But now that he finally has the chance to get to know you better, he jumps at it immediately. “It’s a bit rowdy in here, isn’t it? Why don’t you join me and my newly acquired acquaintance somewhere else?”

That earns ominous frowns from both Sakura, Suo, and Kaji.

You frown too, but you just look cute. “Maybe another time, Kiryu-kun, but right now, I’m with my other friends.”

“Alright, but can I get your phone please?”

“My phone?” You frown deepens. You still look cute, he thinks.

“Yes, let’s exchange contact details.”

Your mouth forms a small “o”. Kiryu just continues to smile, while silently praying that you won’t reject him.

Finally, you’re brought out of your stupor and quickly fishes out your phone, unlocks it and hands it to Kiryu – to his immense delight.

He accepts it, pausing in surprise when he sees that you’ve only got one contact labelled “Oni-chan” on your list. You otherwise seem like the popular type who would have tons of friends, but that’s clearly not the case. Still, he would have at least thought that you had Suo’s, Sakura’s, and Nirei’s contact information given how much time you spend with those three.

Well, he’ll be honoured to be the first one to give you his number besides your brother, and he can’t help but feel a bit smug when he enters his contact details.

He then quickly messages himself before handing you back your phone with a smile. You smile back, one of those bright smiles that people have come to associate you with.

Kiryu blinks several times, as if trying to recover after having stared at the sun for too long. Then, with a final wave, he leads the girl he arrived with out of the restaurant.

No sooner has the door slammed shut after Kiryu and his apparently not-girlfriend before Suo snatches your phone out of your grasp. “I’m adding my contact details too. I should have thought of this sooner,” he says as his fingers nimbly dance over your screen. He pauses for a moment and glares at something for a second.

Kiryu had added a heart emoji after his name in your contacts. Suo debates with himself whether he should delete it, but chances are that you’ve already seen it, so instead, he just adds three heart emojis after his own name. He can live with the heart after Kiryu’s name as long as he has more.

It’s petty yes, but he doesn’t care. You make him do all kinds of things he wouldn’t normally do, and being petty is just one thing on the ever-growing list.

“Oh yes, why didn’t we think of that before! Let’s all exchange numbers!” Nirei excitedly butts in and soon, you have not only Kiryu’s, but also Suo’s, Nirei’s, Sakura’s, and Tsugeura’s names on your contact list too. You have to help Sakura figuring out how to add people to his contacts which is both adorable and sad.

When you finally get your phone back, you blush profusely when you see all the hearts after Kiryu’s and Suo’s names.

Then, you turn expectantly towards Kaji. “Would it be alright if I also got your number, Kaji-san?” you ask hopefully.

So far, Kaji has refrained from participating in the big contact exchange that just took place, but he doesn’t hesitate to switch phones with you when you ask him. Because really, he’s only interested in getting your number, not the numbers of a bunch of random other first years.

You look at your 600% increased contact list and can’t help but smile down at your phone.

The bubbly feeling rising in your chest and making it feel as if you’re floating is short-lived, however, because just then, shouting can be heard from outside the restaurant. You don’t hesitate to jump to your feet and sprint outside.

What if Kiryu and the girl are in trouble?

The other Furin boys join you a split second later.

And get the explanation for why Kiryu had arrived at the restaurant with a girl he just met. Apparently, he had saved her from a guy who was harassing her, but now, said guy has brought a bunch of his friends.

And they’re angry.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be alright,” you try to soothe the girl who’s standing behind Kiryu, wide-eyed and shaking.

“Sorry I roped you all into this,” Kiryu apologises as you and the other Furin boys join him to face the offenders. Well, except for Nirei, who stands back with the girl

The inevitable brawl breaks out.

Soon, you’ve all fallen into your roles of the fight. Suo has taken up the duty as bodyguard and stands before Nirei and the girl, taking down anyone who slips past the front-line defence consisting of Sakura, Kiryu, and Tsugeura.

Kiryu keeps throwing his opponents at Sakura and Tsugeura, while he himself doesn’t actually take anyone down. You and Kaji take care of anyone out of Kiryu’s reach.

The fight doesn’t last long, and in a couple of minutes, all your opponents are lying sprawled on the road.

“Alright, time to get to work,” you mumble to yourself before you begin to gather the bodies (which sounds a lot more morbid than it actually is) and place them in a neat row against a building, away from the road.

“What are you doing?” Tsugeura asks curiously.

“We can’t just let them lie here,” you explain, just as you did to Sakura last time. “They might block traffic or get run over or something.”

Suo, Nirei, and Kaji are not that surprised to hear your reasoning. It’s just the type of thing you would do, and it only makes their respect for you grow.

Sakura, meanwhile, is reminded of another person who told him the exact same thing not too long ago. But that's gotta be a coincidence, right? Maybe, this is just what can be expected from thoughtful, tooth-rottingly sweet people like you (and you). He shrugs it off and starts helping you. The faster this gets done, the faster you can all be out of here.

Next thing you know, Tsugeura has grabbed your shoulders, shaking you so violently that your hair falls out of its bun.

“I knew you were a great guy!” he cries as he rattles your brain around in your skull.

“Hey, you.”

Two hands are placed on Tsugeura’s shoulders. One belongs to Suo, who looks murderous as his good eye stares at Tsugeura. The other belongs to Kiryu, who’s gaze again has that cold gleam from before.

Luckily for him, Tsugeura immediately takes the hint, steps back and hides his hands behind his back. “Oops. I did it again, didn’t I?” he says, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

“No no, it’s all right!” you blurt because the last thing you want is for Tsugeura to feel bad.

“I’ve never seen you with your hair down before.” Suo lets go of Tsugeura and walks over to you. He tilts his head to the side and studies your face. Then, he brushes a stray lock of hair away and places is behind your ear. “It suits you.”

You blush, and you’re not the only one. Sakura is even more red in the face than you are, and you briefly wonder if he’s embarrassed or jealous. Or maybe, it’s just Sakura who blushes if two people as much as express normal human decency towards each other.

Kaji can’t help but feel something in his chest sink.

“T-thanks,” you stutter as you hurry to pull your hair back into place.

The seven of you say goodbye to the shaken girl. Now that you’ve taken care of her harassers, she should be safe enough.

It must be hard being a girl unable to defend herself, you think. It’s been so long since you were that helpless yourself that you can’t even remember it anymore. You learned to defend yourself when you were still a little kid. In the beginning, it wasn’t because you wanted to, but because you had to. But then, you discovered that you were good at it, and fighting became your reprieve. The only thing you felt you were really good at.

You haven’t always been as…let’s say, nice, as you are now. No, you were a hot-headed little trouble-maker who got a rush out of a good brawl and if people so much as looked wrongly at you or your brother, you didn’t hesitate to punch them in the face.

Or, that was the case until that day.

The day that changed who you were to who you are today.

The first time you seriously hurt someone.

And realised, that maybe, other people weren’t in the wrong. That maybe, it was you who were wrong, and other people were right. You are a freak. An abomination. Nobody would want to adopt you. It would have been better if you hadn’t been born because you’re only a burden on society, an extra mouth to feed, and an extra body to take up space at the orphanage until you could be legally kicked out.

A waste of space.

After that day, you vowed to never hurt someone without reason again. You would only fight to protect others and to defend justice.

No matter what it takes, you’ll prove that even though you might be a freak, you’re still a human born into this world and that you deserve to be here. That you’re more than just a waste of space.

And being in Bofurin is the perfect way for you to achieve your goal.

“That sure went fast,” Kiryu whistles as he scans the row of unconscious boys. “You really are strong.”

Of course, he already knew that Kaji, Grade Captain of the second years, was strong but now he looks with newfound awe from Sakura to Tsugeura to you and Suo. As he does this, he also can’t help but notice how close Suo is standing to you. It’s actually quite fascinating to observe the dynamic between the two of you – every time you move, Suo moves too, as if some kind of magnetic pull or invisible thread is tying him to you.

And Sakura is acting strangely too. One moment, it seems like he can’t take his eyes off you, the next, he avoids looking at you as if doing so hurts him. Almost as if there’s an inner war waging within Sakura and that it somehow revolves around you.

Then, there’s Nirei, a mixture of longing and sadness in his eyes as he watches you and Suo standing so close together, as well as Kaji, the usually awkward and silent Grade Captain who has suddenly agreed to go out after school with a bunch of first years he doesn’t even know – again, because of you.

Yes, it is quite fascinating to watch.

Kiryu realises that he’ll have to find a way to weave himself into your little friend group if he wants to get closer to you – because there’s no way that those boys you spend all your time with will just let you go.

Not that he minds that much. Both Sakura and Nirei seem like fine guys to him, and Suo, known to be quite the gentleman, he might even like.

Thus, Kiryu finds himself exchanging numbers with all of your friends too (except for Kaji who holds himself in the background). He even exchanges numbers with Tsugeura and suggests that you all start a group chat.

Your party breaks up after that. Again, you have to take a long detour to avoid walking home with Sakura, but you don’t mind. Your eyes are glued to your screen as one message after the other pops up in your newly formed group chat. You probably shouldn’t walk while looking at your phone, but you can’t help it.

This is way too exciting.

You arrive home just in time to change before you have to head out again. It’s Friday today, which means it’s time for your second shift at Show Pub Ougi.

There’s a new spring in your step compared to last time you went there, and Tsubakino notices immediately. “Oh, hello dear, you certainly look radiant today!” he greets you when you enter the pub. “By the way, we have your uniform ready for you ­– you simply have to tell me what you think!”

“Tsubaki-chan!” you exclaim, “I hoped you would be here today too! Are you gonna perform again tonight?”

“Yes sweetie, and you’re welcome to watch if you want to. But enough about that, we have to get you ready before your shift starts!”

Tsubakino ushers you past Shizuka and Nakamura who wave and smile when they see you, and into what looks like a dressing room. Then, he shoves a bunch of fabric into your arms. “You can change in here, then come out and tell me what you think, alright?”

“O…kay…”, you say, but Tsubakino has already closed the door in your face.

You’re a bit confused. What’s all this about a uniform? You hold up the pieces of fabric Tsubakino handed you, which turns out to be: Your uniform.

It’s a maid outfit (no, not the overly-decorated ones they wear in maid cafés in Akihabara, but a real one). It consists of a black skirt that reaches just below your knees, a crisp, white shirt with buttons and ruffled edges, and a white apron. There are also some ribbons to tie up your hair with as well as white stockings.

You’re not the hugest fan of skirts because they’re inconvenient in a fight – unless you have a desire to flash your underwear to anyone in the vicinity, that is. But you don’t expect to be fighting while at work. You’ve also never worn anything so…girlish before. Yes, you wore skirts and dresses at the orphanage, but all of it was worn-out hand-me-downs in washed out colours.

What is Tsubakino thinking? You’re blushing just at the mere thought of wearing this uniform, so how on earth are you going to pull off serving customers in this thing? It’s not because it isn’t pretty – it is, it’s just that can’t really see yourself wearing it.

“Are you done yet?” Tsubakino’s muffled voice sounds from the opposite side of the door.

“Ehm, Tsubaki-chan…are you sure about this?”

“Yes of course! You’ll look gorgeous, just wait and see dear!”

Feeling extremely self-conscious, you change into the uniform and set up your hair with the ribbons. After taking a deep, calming breath, you step out of the storage room.

And discovers to your horror that not only Tsubakino, but also the rest of the staff and Shizuka are waiting for you on the other side.

“Oh, you look so pretty!” Shizuka squeals when she sees you.

“You’re beautiful, dear, you should really consider wearing dresses more often,” Tsubakino adds.

You shift uncomfortably on your feet and Tsubakino seems to notice your discomfort, because he shoos away the rest of the staff and tells them to get back to work.

“Do you feel uncomfortable in that dress?” he asks you, suddenly worried. “I’m sorry, I should have asked – I’m sure you’d also look dashing in a suit and we can get one tailored to you instead, if you’d rather prefer that?” He feels a bit guilty. Of all people, he should know better than to presume what kind of clothes other people would want to wear.

“Oh no, it’s fine, really,” you hurry to reassure him. “It’s just that…well…” You bite your lip nervously. “I’ve never worn anything pretty before, so I guess it takes some time being used to…”

“Of course, dear.” Tsubakino smiles softly at you. “Just know that you can change your mind anytime.”

You return his smile. “Thanks, Tsubaki-chan!”

Beaming, he conjures up a pair of black flats from seemingly thin air. “Then, I hope you don’t mind changing into these too…” He hands them to you and you look down at your own worn sneakers. They clash violently with the rest of your outfit, and you can’t help but giggle as you accept the shoes from Tsubakino.

“You look stunning!” he exclaims as he takes in your appearance. “You say you’ve never really worn anything pretty before? Well, we can’t have that! I seriously have to take you out shopping someday!”

You’re not a huge fan of shopping (or at least you don’t think so, it’s not like you’ve really tried it before), but if it’s with Tsubakino, you don’t think you would mind all that much.

You spend the rest of the shift serving customers – bringing out food, bringing back empty plates and such. You both get to see Tsubakino perform and Shizuka sing, as well as listen to Otowa play the piano. You’re having so much fun that it feels like your shift passes by in the blink of an eye, and before you know it, it’s time to close the pub for the night.

“I really had fun this time, everyone!” you tell them before you’re all about to head home for the night.

And just like last time, Tsubakino, Shizuka, and the members of Roppo-Ichiza watch as you disappear down the street.

“Well, how did you think it went this time, Tsubaki-chan?” Nakamura asks.

“She does seem a lot happier. Although I don’t think it has anything to do with us, really. I think something happened to her between last time and today. Something good. Although I’m not sure what….”

“She really did look great in that dress though,” Otowa comments, earning a smack over the back of his head from Tsubakino.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” he hurries to defend himself.

“Of course, sorry,” Tsubakino apologises sheepishly.

“Geez, don’t be so overprotective. It’s not like you’re her older brother or somethin’,” Nakamura mumbles.

“I said I was sorry!”

Chapter Text

  [Seven years ago]

You’re waiting for your brother. He’s gone to fetch the ball the two of you had been playing with before you accidentally smashed it all the way into the forest behind the orphanage.

It’s late autumn and the weather has turned slightly chilly, so the two of you are the only ones outside.

Or so, you thought.

“Hehe, look at her. Always getting into fights and playing football with her brother all day, getting all dirty. Think she likes being gross?”

“Well, she’s gross in the first place, she wouldn’t know any better, right?”

“It’s about time we teach her a lesson.”

Six girls and four boys are closing in on you on the playground. The girls are wearing neatly ironed dresses, their hair stuffed full of ribbons and bowties and small glittery trinkets.  

But despite their innocent looks, there’s a nasty glint in their eyes.

“What do you want?” you ask warily. This is not the first time you’ve been picked on by the other children, but you’ve never been surrounded like this before. It makes you uneasy.

One of the girls pushes you. You don’t stumble, however. She’s way too weak to make you lose your footing. Instead, you punch her back.

She wails and suddenly, all the other children charge at you and before you know it, you’re being restrained by two of the older boys, while the others take turns to hit you.

And then, one of the girls pulls a pair of kitchen scissors from the pocket of her skirt. “Why’re your hair so long anyways?” she snickers. “If you wanna act like a boy that much, we’ll help you look like one too.”

Snip. Snip.

Snip, Snip, Snip.

Snip.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!” It’s your brother. He’s usually a gentle soul, but right now, he’s mad. You don’t think you’ve ever seen him this angry before.

He grabs the girl with the scissors and tries to pull her away from you, but the girl lashes out and your brother screams in pain as the scissors cut him across his cheek.

You see red. You can take some beatings, but no one touches your brother.

No. One.

You shake off the boys who’re holding you down, as if they’re no more than wispy autumn leaves. You grab the girl who’s hurting your brother and now, the two of you are wrestling. She tries to cut you with the scissors while you try to pry them out of her grasp.

But you underestimate your own strength. Because you’re much stronger than her and as you hit her hand holding the scissors, it’s with so much force that her hand is forced back towards herself.

She screams and covers her face. Blood seeps out between her fingers.

And from one of her eye sockets, the handles of the scissors stick out. They’re orange, you notice, and they clash horribly with her bright green eyes. Her bright green eye.

The screams have finally summoned an adult.

The other girls tell the woman how you were trying to cut your own hair, and when they offered to help you, you went ballistic and attacked them. You even hit your own brother.

The woman ignores the words of protest from your brother. You don’t say anything. You don’t care if what the other girls say is true or not because they’re right about one thing: You hurt that girl. She’ll be blind on one eye from now on. She’ll probably get a nasty scar.

And it’s your fault.  

Your fault.

Your…fault…

Your hair grows out eventually. You never let anyone else cut it after that but prefer to do it yourself. You never cut it short again either but keep it as long as you can get away with.

The woman who owns the orphanage tells you that she has to inform any prospective adopters of what you did to that girl. She might as well have told you that you’re never going to get adopted.

And she’s right.

You never do. Even the couple who adopted your brother refused to take you in.

You don’t think your brother has ever really forgiven them for that, even if he eventually did grow to love his new parents.

You always tell your brother that’s it’s alright.  

It’s not their fault that you’re a freak, after all.

[Present]

The next morning, the first thing you check is your phone. Already, new messages are popping into the group chat with good mornings and emojis and stickers and gifs and other stuff that makes you want to squeal and giggle and kick your feet like any other high school girl.

The next message you get is from Nirei.

[Nirei Akihiko]

All of you were so awesome yesterday! Btw, we still haven’t picked our Grade Captain yet?

[Kiryu Mitsuki]

nire-chan u guys were absent a couple of days ago and we didn’t do it yesterday either. i’m sure we’ll do it today when everyones around

Grade Captain? You had completely forgotten that that was a thing.

Well, you’ve already decided who you want to vote for. You just have to convince your classmates to agree because in your opinion, there’s no one better for the job.

You hurry to get ready and practically run all the way to Furin High to hopefully get there before Sakura – which shouldn’t be too hard, since he tends to arrive last minute every morning.

As soon as you slide the door to the classroom open, you’re met with a chorus of good mornings.

“Good morning, Ryo-kun!”

“Morning, Ryo-san!”

“G’morning!”

“Morning!”

“Good morning, everyone!” You beam at Suo, Nirei, Kiryu, and Tsugeura who’re all sitting in a semi-circle.

“So, have you talked about who you want to nominate for Grade Captain?” you ask eagerly, taking a seat beside Kiryu. You don’t notice the triumphant smile Kiryu sends Suo, or Suo baring his teeth in a poor imitation of a smile at the pink-haired boy.

So much for trying to make friends with your friends, Kiryu thinks. He’ll have to control himself better in the future.

As always, you’re blissfully unaware of the not-so-subtle rivalry going on between all your boyfriends as you continue. “If you haven’t thought of anyone yet, then I think we should nominate Sakura-kun.”

Your friends are not surprised. In fact, they have all thought about Sakura themselves too. He’s a bit hot-headed and certainly not a walking ray of sunshine like you are, but that doesn’t make him any less fit to lead. Before the fight with Shishitoren some days ago, they probably wouldn’t have considered him, but as they’ve gotten to know him better, they’re beginning to see him for what he truly is: Someone who doesn’t give up even in the face of defeat. Someone who’ll go to great lengths to accomplish what he seeks out to do. Someone who doesn’t hesitate to help other people – even though he always finds an excuse for acting as he does because God forbid that someone gets the idea that he cares about them.

“Then let’s nominate Sakura-kun,” Nirei agrees.

“What about Vice Captains?” Suo asks.

You open your mouth hesitantly, but then shut it again.

“What about you, Ryo-kun?” Nirei tilts his head to the side, eyeing you expectantly.

“Well… I did promise Sakura-kun that I’d help him all the way to the top.” You bite your lip nervously. “But…I don’t think I’m fit to lead.”

Your friends exchange glances. You clearly don’t see yourself in a clear light. They all wonder why that is. Who told you that you’re not good enough? Who made you believe that you’re not the strong, kind-hearted, selfless person that they’ve all come to know you as? Whoever they are, all your friends are dreaming about being the one to teach them a lesson or two – something involving smashing their faces in, probably. Even Nirei, who’s by far the one among you the least likely to turn to violence.

Suo decides that it’s time someone told you how amazing you are.

“I think you’d make an amazing Vice Captain.” He smiles fondly at you. “You don’t hesitate to help others in need, regardless of who they are. You don’t even discriminate between friend or foe. You’re kind and selfless and the type of person people can’t help but follow. And you’re easily one of our strongest fighters. If I’m not mistaken, those qualities are what make up a great leader in Bofurin.”

The other Furin boys nod in agreement.

You feel tears gather in the corners of your eyes and are grateful that your make-up is waterproof.

By now, you’ve sort of gotten used to people liking you here, but you’re still not used to people saying such nice things to you. Your heart threatens to burst out of your chest and do a tap-dance in the middle of the classroom.

Your friends give you some time to gather yourself, and when you trust that your voice won’t crack, you speak again. “Okay, then I’ll run for Vice Captain. Thank you, everyone. Really. It means a lot.”

Suo smiles. He’s also certain that you would make a great Grade Captain, but he won’t pressure you into doing anything you’re not comfortable with. He had an inkling that you wouldn’t want to be under that kind of pressure, which is why he didn’t nominate you. And if you want to be Vice Captain, he’ll happily support you being a Vice Captain.

You don’t have any more time to discuss who should run for Vice Captain together with you, because just then, Sakura slams the door to the classroom open and marches over to Nirei.

“What the hell is a Grade Captain?” he yells, making half the class glance your way.

“Huh? W-why are you so angry?” Nirei stutters with wide eyes.

“Why do you guys send me messages about stuff you can just talk about here?”

“But the chat system’s so useful!”

You decide to swoop in and save Nirei before Sakura decides to chew the poor boy’s head off. “Sakura-kun, I know we see each other at school every day, but isn’t it also convenient to be able to talk to your friends when you’re away from each other? And nice?”

“Friends…” Sakura mutters, as if the word is foreign to him.

“The Grade Captain and Vice Captains for Tamon Team second years are here!” someone shouts, and you all turn your heads towards the door.

In steps Kaji and his Vice Captains, which you learn from Nirei are Enomoto and Kusumi. If you didn’t already know, you wouldn’t think Kaji would be Grade Captain with the way he hides behind the two other second-years, looking like he would rather be anywhere else than here right now.

You send him a wide smile in an attempt to make him feel just slightly better, and it must have worked somewhat because his tense shoulders seem to ease up a bit as he relaxes his posture and returns your smile.

“Wow! Amazing, these are the celebrities of the second years!” Nirei exclaims.

“You saw Kaji-san just yesterday,” you point out

“Yes, but not his Vice Captains!” Nirei looks like he’s about to faint from excitement.

“Rrrright herrre and now, y’all decide yer Grrrade Captain,” Enomoto announces.

You raise your hand.

“Oh, Rrryo-kun! Are you gonna volunteer?”

“Nope, Enomoto-sempai” you say happily. “I want to nominate Sakura-kun!” You point to where Sakura is sitting.

He’s looking at you with wide eyes. “Huh?!”

Ooops.

You had completely forgotten to talk with Sakura about your decision beforehand.

Kaji looks at you from where he’s sitting in the windowsill. For a moment, he thought that you were going to volunteer, and he must admit that he’s a bit disappointed that you didn’t. If you had, then the two of you would be spending a lot more time together as fellow Grade Captains.

Suo raises his hand too. “I agree. I think Sakura-kun would be a good choice.”

“Me too! I agree as well!” Nirei is jumping up and down in his seat with his hand raised.

One after the other, your other friends agree to nominate Sakura, and there’s a mumbling of approval from the rest of your classmates. He has earned himself quite the reputation after word had spread that he went up against Tomiyama, and people here are ready to put their trust in him.

Sakura has gone red in the face.

You turn to face him. “Sakura-kun, it’s okay if you don’t know what to do! Me, Suo-kun, and Nire-kun will help you figure it out!”

“I dunno…” Nirei fumbles nervously with his notebook. “Usually, there’re only two Vice Captains, and I’m really not suited for the role since I’m no use in a fight, so--”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Nire-kun,” you scold gently. “You might not be a strong fighter, but you’re super smart and knows a lot about other people and gangs and the neighbourhood and stuff, so you would be really helpful to Sakura-kun. If you don’t wanna be Vice Captain, then you can be our advisor – or counsellor of sorts! What do you say?”

Nirei’s cheeks turn pink by your praise.

Do you really think that highly of him? Do you really think he could be of use? That he could be more than just a burden?

“Okay, I’ll do it,” he agrees determinedly.

Meanwhile, Suo is feeling immensely satisfied that you included him without second thought when you told Sakura that you would help him. That has to mean that you trust him, right?

So far, so good. You, Suo, and Nirei are all set on helping Sakura. Now, you only need Sakura to actually agree to be Grade Captain.

Sakura, however, feels conflicted. As far as he’s understood, being Grade Captain means being top of this class, and isn’t that what he wanted? So why does he hesitate?

He already knows the answer to that question.

It’s because being Grade Captain also means being responsible for one’s classmates. And he’s not sure he’s fit to take care of anyone. Heck, why would people even consider him as a person to rely on in the first place?

“WHAT ARE YOU ALL DILLY-DALLYING ABOUT?!”

Half the class smacks their hands over their ears, while Sakura looks like a cornered cat as he eyes Kaji stalking towards him.

You grimace but then plasters on a smile before you get to your feet to meet Kaji before he bursts Sakura’s eardrums. You reach out a hand and gently tap his headphones. Kaji’s scowl disappears immediately, and he looks almost sheepish as he removes his headphones and returns your smile.

You don’t notice the stares of disbelief and awe your classmates send you and Kaji, or the dissatisfied pout Suo puts on, or the way Sakura’s frown seems to deepen. Of course, your friends saw you with Kaji yesterday, but the rest of your class can’t help but be surprised with how awfully chummy you seem with the Grade Captain of the second-years.

Then, Kaji turns his attention to Sakura, his scowl returning. “These guys are relying on you,” he says in a much more appropriate noise volume. “Nobody’s expecting a perfect performance from the beginning. If you end up being useless, someone else can just take over. Until then…” Kaji looks briefly to where you stand beside him, then narrows his eyes as he again looks at Sakura. “Protect them well.”

With that, it seems like Kaji got to say what he wanted to say, because he dons his headphones again, pats you lightly on the shoulder and returns to the windowsill to unpack another lollipop.

“That’s it! Done deal, then,” Enomoto declares, and just like that, Sakura is your new Grade Captain, you and Suo his Vice Captains, and Nirei his Advisor.

After that, Nirei sets up a giant group chat for all of Tamon Team’s first years. Then, school starts, but you already get to see Kaji again in the afternoon when it’s Tamon Team’s turn to patrol around Makochi.

You, Sakura, Suo, and Nirei are told to follow Kaji and his Vice Captains the first time to see how things are done.

Kaji lets his Vice Captains take the lead while he falls back to walk beside you, his headphones dangling around his neck so that you can talk. Sakura, Suo, and Nirei form the rearguard of your procession.

“S-Sakura-san, Suo-san, don’t glare so much!” Nirei begs, eyes darting nervously between his two friends flanking him. They both have their gazes fixed on your and Kaji’s backs as you walk in front of them.

“When again did Ryo-kun and Kaji-sempai get so close?” Suo asks Nirei, ignoring the other boy’s plea.

“Well, as far as I know, they talked after that brawl on Tonpu Shopping Street, and he sought Kaji-san out after your fight with Shishitoren to check up on him, but other than that…” Nirei shrugs. He has his suspicions on why Sakura and Suo suddenly seem so hostile towards Kaji, and if he’s not wrong, it has something to do with you. But even though Nirei loves spending time with you, he would never dream of getting possessive of you like Sakura and Suo seem to be. No, he’s just happy that you have friends outside of your year at Furin High.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Sakura growls and Nirei glances up just in time to see Kaji offer you his lollipop (which Kaji has already had in his mouth, mind you).

Both Sakura and Suo marches ahead, leaving Nirei behind. But before the two boys can drag you away from Kaji, an old lady addresses your group.

A girl has gone missing.

It turns out that the girl is none other than a white cat. You can’t help but feel relieved. You thought the old lady had lost her granddaughter or something.

But then, you immediately turn serious again. Just because this girl isn’t a human girl, it doesn’t mean that your job is any less important.

Yet again, you’re impressed by Sakura. It turns out that, not only is he a formidable fighter, but he knows parkour too, and you all watch in awe as Sakura scales a wall and chases the cat over the rooftops of Makochi.

The rest of you follow along on the ground beneath but soon, you run into a problem. You’ve just reached a bridge going over a canal when the cat jumps straight over the fence and into the water.

Sakura skids to a halt, his arms outstretched as if could still reach the cat.

You, however, don’t stop. You jump straight over the railings and into the water after the cat. It’s extremely stupid since you don’t know how deep the water is and you might get crushed on the stony bottom, but in that moment, you don’t care. You don’t even stop to think about what getting drenched will do to your disguise.

This might just be a cat, but you’ve already failed at saving so many. And you don’t want to fail again.

Sakura, Suo, and Nirei all watch with horror as you jump after the cat, and surprise is added to the mix when Kaji doesn’t hesitate to jump in right after you.

The three boys are snapped out of their trance by Enomoto. “You guys help them up. Kusumi-kun, you call grandma. I’m gonna find some towels.”

Without another word, all the boys run off to complete their respective tasks.

They arrive at the riverbank just as you and Kaji crawl out of the water, spluttering and wet. Kaji has one arm clutching the drenched white cat, while his other arm is draped around your waist.

Sakura, Suo, and Nirei, don’t hesitate to storm over to where you’re now sitting huddled together with your knees pressed against your chest, almost hiding yourself beneath your sopping wet, too big Furin jacket.

You panic when you see your three friends approaching. Luckily, your bandages are still in place, but your hair is loose, and all your make-up has washed off. It might be waterproof but not that waterproof.

And what’s worse is, your white t-shirt is now completely transparent.

You try to hide yourself behind your hair and refuse to take off your jacket despite how wet and cold it is.

“Ryo, you’re going to catch a cold!” Suo argues (completely forgetting to add honorifics to your name in his panic which is very unlike the otherwise very well-mannered Suo) when you accept the towel but refuse to take off any of your clothes.

Like Kaji, who’s now only in his pants and stands bare-chested in front of you with a worried look in his blue-grey eyes.

It’s not like it’s the first time you’ve seen a boy without a shirt. You’ve seen your brother without one plenty of times before as well as some of the other boys from the orphanage.

So why does your face feel so hot when the rest of your body is shivering with cold?

“Why are you so red in the face, Ryo-san?” Nirei asks you as he places a hand on your forehead. “Maybe you’re about to catch a fever!”

Meanwhile, Sakura stands a bit behind the three boys fussing over you, feeling guilty. He should have jumped in after the cat. He’s the Grade Captain, and people are relying on him. You should be able to rely on him to so that you don’t feel the need to jump into a river to save some stupid cat.

“Maybe you should go home now, Ryo-kun,” Suo says worriedly. “Take a hot bath or something. Do you want me to escort you?”

“I can also help!” Nirei volunteers immediately. “By the way, where do you live, Ryo-san?”

“I-I c-ca-can find home myself, y-you guys d-don’t have t-t-to worry about me…” You sniffle and sneeze. You really look a lot like a drowned mouse.

But Suo insists. There’s no way he would let you go home alone in that state. “No arguing. We’re taking you home,” he says firmly, and that settles it.

“You wanna come, Sakura-san?” Nirei asks over his shoulder. Sakura shakes his head. There’s something he wants to talk to Kaji about. Grade Captain to Grade Captain and all that.

And besides, Sakura doesn’t really know how to take care of other people. Maybe, because nobody’s really taken care of him before. He would just be an awkward addition to your trio.

So, he watches with a mixture of guilt and regret as the three of you head to wherever it is you live.

Chapter Text

There’s no use arguing with Suo and Nirei, so you lead them to where you live – in the same apartment complex as Sakura, although you’re pretty sure that they don’t know that.

They help you inside, fussing over you like two mother hens. However, when you really can’t postpone changing and leaving for work any longer, you almost throw them out of your apartment so that you can take a hot bath and change.

Your shift at Show Pub Ougi proceeds pretty much as your two previous shifts. You work while having tons of fun, and you’re especially getting close to Tsubakino and Shizuka. It’s like having a doting older brother and sister, and it makes you miss your own brother just slightly less.

When your shift is over you discover that your phone is filled with notifications from your friends, and your mood brightens even further.

[Suo Hayato❤️❤️❤️]

Are you feeling better now? Do you want us to come over with something to eat?

[Nirei Akihiko📓]

Did you remember to take a hot bath? I can come over with some cold medicine if you need it?

[Kaji Ren🍭]

Did you get home safe?

[Kiryu Mitsuki❤️]

ryo-chaaan!!! the other boys told us what happened r u alright??? btw what r u doing on our free day tomorrow?? we could hang out if ur feeling up to it 😉

[Tsugeura Taiga🏋️‍♂️]

I heard that you jumped into the canal to save a cat! You really do live up to your virtues! Remember to eat lots of protein to get your strength back💪

Your eyes almost bulge out of your head when you see that even Sakura wrote to you.

[Sakura Haruka🐱]

you alright

Their concern for you makes you feel all warm and fuzzy. And giddy. So, this is how it feels like to have friends who care for you.

Then, you notice the latest message Suo sent you.

[Suo Hayato❤️❤️❤️]

Ryo-kun, if you don’t answer soon, I’m going to show up at your apartment.

You check the time. Suo sent that message not too long ago, so you hurry to type a reply.

[Ryo☀️]

Sry I didn’t reply sooner! I was working and didn’t have my phone on me. But yes, I’m alright now. And thank u for helping me get home safe yesterday😊

It’s almost uncanny how fast Suo’s reply arrives.

[Suo Hayato❤️❤️❤️]

No worries☺️ I didn’t know you worked – what kind of work do you do?

You hurry to reply to your other friends before writing to Suo again. You take care to write an extra lengthy message to Sakura filled with all the cutest emojis that you know of because you want to introduce him to the wonderful world of text messaging. He doesn’t reply, even though your phone says that he read the message right after you send it. Maybe you overdid it with the emojis and Sakura’s feeling overwhelmed. Well, you’re sure he’ll get used to it sometime.

You also tell Kiryu that you unfortunately can’t hang out tomorrow because of work. He sends you a crying emoji as a response but wishes you good luck at work and a c u on monday followed by a heart.

You feel heat rise to your cheeks. Shaking your head slightly, you write to Suo again.

[Ryo☀️]

I work as a waiter at a bar. I also have a shift tomorrow.

[Suo Hayato❤️❤️❤️]

Oh well, then I guess I’ll first see you on Monday? I had otherwise hoped to ask if you wanted to do something tomorrow, since it’s our first free day after school.

Now, two of your friends have asked – independently of each other, mind you – if you wanted to hang out with them outside of school. That must mean that they really enjoy your company, right?

To you, that sounds almost too good to be true.

[Ryo☀️]

Yeah, sry about that. But we’ll see each other Monday!😄

[Suo Hayato❤️❤️❤️]

I’ll be looking forward to that ❤️

            [Ryo☀️]

You liked Suo Hayato’s message

The next day, you’re feeling weird. You don’t think much of it, however, and go about your shift at work as usual.

You’re slightly lightheaded in the beginning, but you blame it on skipping breakfast because of your lack of appetite this morning – which, when you think about it, should have been a warning sign in and of itself.

As the hours tick by, your body begins to feel heavy. Your feet drag over the floor, and the plates of food you carry feel like they weigh a ton.

Tsubakino has been watching you closely ever since you started your shift. At first, he noticed the slight glossiness of your otherwise bright eyes, but he didn’t think much of it. Maybe, you didn’t get much sleep yesterday or something.

But when he notices you starting to drag your feet and sway over the sink as you do the dishes, he marches over to where you’re standing. There’s a sheen of sweat covering your skin, and Tsubakino can literally feel the heat radiating from you even before he places his hand on your forehead.

“You’re burning up! Why didn’t you say you were sick?!” Tsubakino knows that he sounds strict, but he’s just worried about you.

“M’feelin’ fine,” you slur.

“No, you’re sick! You take the rest of the day off, and don’t you dare go to school tomorrow!”

“M’kay.” You’re too dazed to argue further. As if you’re in a trance, you change out of your uniform and into your normal clothes.

However, just when you’re about to leave the pub, Tsubakino stops you. “Now, wait a moment young lady. Did you really think I’d let you walk home alone in that state you’re in?” He tuts, shaking his head and clicking his tongue in dismay.

“You really don’ ‘ave to,” you mumble.

But Tsubakino will have none of it. “I’m walking her home, so please cover for me while I’m gone!” he shouts over his shoulder as he leads you out the door.

“B-but, you’re performance!” Shizuka splutters.

Tsubakino, however, just waves her off.

“Oh well, alright, I’ll do it!” she promises before shouting, “And get well soon!” just as you leave the pub.

Tsubakino practically carries you all the way home. His clothes are getting all wrinkled and his hair tangled with the way you cling to him and he clings to you, but Tsubakino doesn’t care. All he cares about right now is getting you home safe.

On your way home he makes a brief stop at a convenience store to buy you some cold medicine. He also throws in an electrolyte drink and a couple of onigiris, for good measure.

Shortly after, you’re at the door to your apartment. Tsubakino carries you (for real, this time) inside and gently places you on your futon. “Do you wanna change into PJ’s or something?” he asks.

You just shake your head once.

“Okay, your clothes don’t look too uncomfortable to sleep in, so I guess it’s alright,” he reasons before tucking the futon around you.

Then, he forces the cold medicine and beverage into you before getting to his feet. “There’re onigiris in the fridge if you’re hungry,” he informs you. “And! If I don’t hear from you tomorrow, I’m going to come over again to check up on you, alright?” he finishes, almost threateningly.

You just groan in response, which Tsubakino takes as a yes.

With one last look at your already sleeping form, he takes his leave.

Suo Hayato is worried.

You’re usually never late, and when Sakura arrives last minute – which, nothing strange about that – while you’re still not here, he knows that something is seriously wrong.

“Have any of you seen Ryo-kun this morning?” he asks no one in particular.

“Maybe, he’s gotten sick after all?” Nirei suggests, frowning.

“But I texted with him just yesterday and he told me that he was on his way to work,” Kiryu protests.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if Ryo-kun went to work while being sick,” Tsugeura comments. “That boy wouldn’t know when to relax before he actually passed out – that’s just how virtuous he is!”

Suo’s blood rushes from his face. What if…what if you passed out on your way home from work yesterday? He should have asked where you worked so that he could’ve escorted you home.

“Suo-san, where’re you going?” Nirei asks, making Suo stop dead in his tracks. He hadn’t even noticed himself move, but he’s already halfway out of the classroom.

On his way to you.

“I’m sure Ryo-san’s alright,” Nirei reasons. “We can go check up on him after school if you want to, but you can’t just skip classes.”

Suo’s fingers twitch and he clutches the doorframe so tightly that his knuckles turn white. But then, he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey.” Suo turns his head and is met with Sakura’s black and golden eyes staring into his own. “You know where he lives?”

Suo nods.

“Then let’s go.”

“I’ll come too!” Kiryu shouts from the back of the classroom.

“Me too!” Tsugeura bellows. “We should take care of a classmate in need. Education will take second place!”

“Hey, wait, you guys!” Nirei protests when what seems like half the class is about to head over to your apartment. “If Ryo-san really is sick, then he’s probably still asleep now. And sleep is the best way to get rid of a bad cold, so shouldn’t we wait till after school before we disturb him? Then, we can bring him food and something to drink and some cold medicine on the way? And besides…” Nirei pauses, nervously glancing around at all the faces suddenly directed at him before continuing, “Don’t you think Ryo-san would be more comfortable with only one or two people going to see him while he’s sick? I’m not sure he would be too happy if a whole crowd comes barging in unannounced.”

The boys mull over his reasonings for a bit.

After some time, Suo nods in agreement. “You’re probably right, Nire-kun. I’ll head over after school.”

“I’ll come with you,” Kiryu adds.

“As Nire-kun said, Ryo-kun probably wouldn’t want just anyone barging in while he’s sick,” Suo says, narrowing his eye at Kiryu. “Which is why I’ll be heading alone.”

“I think Sakura-san should go too,” Nirei chirps in.

“Huh?!”

“Didn’t you just volunteer to go with Suo-san before?” Nirei asks innocently.

“W-well…that’s just because I don’t like lit classes and wanted to skip!”

“Aww, you worried, Sakura-chan?” Kiryu giggles.

“N-no! As if!”

“Sure, sure,” Nirei nods absentmindedly. “But you’re also the Grade Captain and as such, shouldn’t you take care of your sick classmates? And your Vice Captain, no less?”

“If Sakura-chan doesn’t wanna go, why can’t I just go?” Kiryu complains.

Nirei sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Okay, I’ll just go then.”

“How does that solve anything?!”

Suo raises a well-trimmed brow at Sakura. “Don’t you have patrol this afternoon?”

“Well, technically, so do you, Suo-san,” Nirei points out.

“I don’t,” Kiryu quips.

But before further protests can be made, Nirei claps his hands together. “Okay, you can all come and help pick out stuff for him – we’re gonna stop by a convenience store on our way – but then, some of you have to do the patrol.”

After school, your friends stop by said convenience store. It’s mostly Suo, Nirei, Kiryu, and Tsugeura having fun picking out stuff they think you might like together with some cold medicine, while Sakura just sulks as he follows them around. At one point, however, he pauses to glare at a particular box of cookies and, after what seems like much contemplation, dumps them in the basket.

Then, after much heated discussion, it’s decided that Sakura will do the patrol as planned together with Tsugeura, who’s taking over for Suo – because that boy won’t hear talk of him not going to see you, and because Tsugeura volunteered.

Soon after, Suo, Nirei, and Kiryu reaches the building where you live.

“Should we just ring the bell, or…?” Nirei starts hesitantly.

“Of course, how else would you let Ryo-kun know that we’re here?” Suo asks rhetorically before ringing the doorbell.

Then, they wait.

And luckily, none of them notice that the name beside the door is not Ryo.

Your head hurts. Your throat hurts. Actually, your entire body hurts. You’re lying shivering beneath your futon and the two towels you own wrapped around you since it seems like no amount of layers is able to keep you warm. You haven’t eaten anything all day, but you’re not hungry at all. Actually, the mere thought of eating makes you sick.

The doorbell ringing makes your head hurt even more. Groaning, you manage to crawl over to the door.

Who on earth could be stopping by now?

You use the doorframe as a crutch to get to your feet and open the door to peek at whoever’s standing on the other side.

Then, you scream.

You slam the door shut again so violently that it feels like the whole building starts shaking. Okay, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but still.

On the other side of the door, Suo, Nirei and Kiryu are exchanging confused looks.

“What do you think that was about?”

Meanwhile, your cold is temporarily forgotten. You rip off the clothes you fell asleep in and are now fumbling with your bandages. Then, you throw on a t-shirt and some pants, before hastily pulling your hair into a messy bun. You decide that you don’t have time for the make-up.

After a quick glance in the mirror, you walk over to the door again. Whew, that was a close call, you think as you open the door for your friends.

“S-Suo-kun! Nirei-kun! A-a-and Kiryu-kun! What b-brings you here?” They don’t get a chance to answer though, because suddenly, it’s as if all energy leaves your body and you sway dangerously on the spot. Must’ve run out of adrenaline, you think sluggishly.

“Whoa, watch out!” Kiryu shouts and, without thinking, he rushes forward to catch you before you fall face-first onto the floor. You go limp in his arms, your face buried in the crook of his neck, and Kiryu carefully wraps his arms around you to steady you. He’s not the strongest guy and he’s not sure if he can carry you but…he doesn’t want to let go.

He tries to lift you, and, to his surprise, it’s not as hard as he thought it would be. Subconsciously, he tightens his grip on you, one hand behind your back, the other hooked beneath your knees. You’re surprisingly soft, he notices as your head lolls onto his chest.

Suo narrows his eye at the sight of you in Kiryu’s arms.

“I can take him from here,” he says, attempting to pry you away from Kiryu.

But Kiryu just side-steps Suo (who looks absolutely scandalized) and carefully cradles your head as he princess carries you over to your futon. Meanwhile, he also can’t help but notice how you’re practically burning up.

Stupid cat, he thinks, surprising even himself because normally, he thinks cats are the absolute cutest.

And then, Kiryu notices something else. The faintest smell of perfume clinging to your hair. “Did you see someone yesterday?” he asks, frowning slightly.

He doesn’t get an answer, but Suo’s reaction is immediate. “What do you mean by that?”

“Not now, Suo-san,” Nirei mouths, waving his hands frantically while he mentally begs Suo to, for once, let go of his obsession with you.

Suo pouts but does as Nirei says. It’s not like he wants to interrogate you while you’re sick, even though he is awfully curious.

You vaguely register your head resting against a warm chest before you’re carefully put down on your futon. Someone tucks the futon and towels snugly around you.

“We brought you some stuff, Ryo-san,” Nirei announces as he brings over their convenience store haul. He fishes out some cold medicine.

“Already got some,” you mumble. “Last night.”

“Well, now you’re getting some more,” Nirei says sternly. He places the small pills into your hand and holds a water bottle to your mouth while Suo supports your head.

Kiryu has backed away for the time being, watching your other two friends work.

“If you’re just going to stand there and be awkward, you can wet this with cold water.” Suo fishes out a handkerchief and basically shoves it into Kiryu’s hands.

Chuckling, Kiryu heads to your bathroom.

As he runs the handkerchief under cold water, his gaze lands on something which causes him to do a double-take.

Female hygiene products.

Frowning, he thinking about the implications of you keeping female hygiene products in your bathroom. As far as he can tell, you live alone. Do you have a girlfriend? The thought makes something in his gut squirm unpleasantly. Maybe, it’s a frequently visiting sister? Or are you so gentle-manly that you just have some in hand in case you come across a person in need? That’s something he himself would do, but he’s never encountered another boy beside himself who thinks like that before.

“Are you alright in there, Kiryu-san?” Nirei’s voice sounds from the main room, and Kiryu realises that he’s using up all your water. He hurries to close the tap and heads back into the main room with the now almost soaked handkerchief clutched in his hands.

You let out a small sigh of relief when you feel a cool cloth being placed on your forehead. After some water, the cool cloth, and pampering by your friends, you already start to feel a bit better. You scramble into a sitting position and finally spot all the grocery bags. They’re filled to the brim with various foods, snacks, and drinks. There’s even a crosswords magazine nestled in between it all.

“You guys…” your lips quiver and your eyes begin to water. Nobody, apart from your brother, has ever done such a nice thing for you.

“We just came over to make sure that you’re alright,” Suo tells you gently. “We’ll be off again soon, don’t worry.”

“I don’t…mind…your company,” you manage to get out, and you mean it. Despite the scare the three of them gave you by their unannounced visit, you’re immensely grateful that they stopped by. To have so many people care enough about you to even notice that you’re absent…you could cry from happiness.

“Just remember to drink lots of fluids and try to see if you can get some food in too,” Nirei instructs you as he gets to his feet.

“And write me tomorrow if you’re still feeling off, then I’ll stop by with some more stuff for you,” Suo adds as he follows suit.

“Thank…you…” you mumble.

The boys take one last look at you before they all file out of your apartment.

On their way out, Suo notices something that makes him halt dead in his tracks. On one of the shelves in the kitchen, a photo is propped up against the wall. He frowns. It’s a photo of a boy and a girl who both look a lot like you. Or well, a younger version, that is. He recalls that you have a brother, but you never mentioned anything about a sister. Now that he thinks about it, he doesn’t really know much about your life before you joined Bofurin, except that you grew up in an orphanage.

Well, all in due time. No matter how curious Suo is, he would never pressure you into telling him something you’re not comfortable with. Suo can be very patient if need be, and when it comes to you, he’ll wait for as long as it takes. Although he does hope that, someday, he’s earned enough of your trust that you will want to tell him more about yourself.

“You comin’ Suo-san?” Nirei glances curiously at Suo, who still stands with one foot inside your apartment.

He snaps out of it. “Yes, coming!”

As soon as the boys are out on the street again, Suo can’t hold it back any longer.

“What did you mean when you asked Ryo-kun if he’d been seeing anyone last night?” he asks – or rather, demands, to know.

Kiryu hesitates for a moment before answering. “You won’t like what I’m thinking, but I think…I think Ryo-kun might have a girlfriend.”

“…”

“WHAT?!”

When you wake up, you swear to never, ever fall asleep with bandages again. You’re almost scared to take them off to see what state your chest is in with the way it hurts. Geez, at this rate you won’t even need the bandages anymore because your chest has been permanently flattened.

Well, at least that would spare you quite some money.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), your breasts look pretty normal when you finally work up the courage to remove the bandages. You also pick up the cloth someone used to cool you down with which had fallen to the floor and notice that it’s actually a handkerchief. More specifically, Suo’s handkerchief, judging from the initials embroidered on one of the corners:

“S. H.”

For some reason, it feels kind of…intimate that he just left it here with you. You make a note to wash it so that you can return it to him as soon as possible.

Then, you check the time. It’s very early in the morning, but you’re not sleepy in the slightest. Well, you did also just sleep for about 14 hours straight, so maybe that’s not too strange.

You also don’t feel ill anymore, which means that now, you can actually feel how hungry and parched you have become. That’s when you remember all the supplies your friends brought over yesterday, and you hurry to check the grocery bags. You were so out of it yesterday that you didn’t even take time to notice all the things they had brought you.

There’s a soda claiming to contain the vitamin C equivalent to 28 lemons (is that even healthy?), some ‘immune boosting’ green tea, and various electrolyte drinks as well as some protein shakes (courtesy of Tsugeura, if you’re not mistaken). You take a large swig of something called Triple Cider. It tastes a bit like melted ice cream and claims to have a ton of probiotics in it. That means it’s healthy, right?

There’s also a taiyaky with red bean paste, a corn mayo bread, and some other pastries. You also find something sticky wrapped in a paper bag and a note written in what is unmistakenly Suo’s handwriting:

“Butter’s in the fridge ♡”

You tear the bag open to reveal a large baked sweet potato. A wide smile spreads across your face, and you don’t hesitate to jump to your feet to fetch the promised butter to happily eat it with the sweet potato. Of course, it’s no longer steaming as you prefer it, but still good. As you eat, you notice a box that must have fallen out of one of the bags and bend down to pick it up.

It's cookies.

The exact same cookies Sakura had bought you as ‘compensation’ for the cookies the landlord gifted you when you moved here. There’s no note, but you immediately know who picked these out for you.

Your smile grows impossibly wider.

Chapter Text

Your tiny kitchen is a mess.

There’s chocolate everywhere.

Literally.

On the counter, on the walls, on the cupboard doors, on the floor, in your hair…

But despite the chocolate mayhem surrounding you, you still have a wide grin on your face as you carefully tip the plastic mould on a cutting board and 24 perfect filled chocolates effortlessly pop out, so shiny that you can almost see your own reflection in them.

Whew, you think as you wipe imaginary sweat from your forehead. Tempering chocolate proved to be a lot harder than you initially thought, but you nailed it in the end – and you’re quite satisfied with the result, if you do say so yourself. You can’t help but think that all the effort and money (and the all-nighter you just pulled) were totally worth it.

You flip another mould, and another 24 filled chocolates join the ones already on the cutting board.

Then, you begin assembling your gifts. You carefully place six personalised chocolates in each box, tying some ribbon around and finishing off with a neat little bow.

Then, you do the same to the tin of tea leaves you bought for Suo, because although the tin is pretty in itself, you think it would look a lot more festive with a red ribbon. You’re almost certain that Suo wouldn’t want chocolate, but you’re also sure that he would eat it if you gave it to him just to make you happy, which is why you settled on buying him tea instead – because you don’t want to force him to eat chocolate if he doesn’t want to. You’ve picked a tea called milky oolong, per recommendation of the kind tea shop owner on the main street – whom you practically had to force to accept your money because she wanted to give you the tea for free when you went to her shop after school in your uniform. Perks of being part of Bofurin, you guess.

But well, the kind lady told you that the tea was suitable for people who don’t add milk and sugar to their tea because it’s milky and sweet in itself, and you thought that was perfect for Suo.

When you’re finished, you take a short moment to admire your handiwork before packing all the boxes and the tin into your schoolbag.

Then, you head to Furin High.

When you arrive at the school gates, you immediately spot a familiar bob of reddish-brown hair, making you speed up and shout out,

“Suo-kun!”

Suo turns around, his face breaking into a soft smile as soon as he spots you.

“Ryo-kun,” he greets you, slowing down so that you can catch up to him.

“Uhm, I have a thing for you…” you start, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

What if he doesn’t like the tea? What if he thinks it’s weird that you’re giving him gifts all of a sudden?

“You do?” Suo blinks in surprise, but then, his smile widens. “What is the occasion, if I may ask?” He has stopped walking and looks at you, head tilted to the side and suppressed excitement in his eyes. Not because he’s excited about what you brought him – you could bring him a dead crow and he would still find you endearing – but because you brought him something. Does that mean that you’re finally opening up to him? Have you finally realised how he feels about you, and do you reciprocate those feelings? Suo’s mind is spinning a hundred miles per hour, trying to figure out what this means.

“Because it’s Valentine’s Day, of course!” you beam.

Suo takes a sharp intake of breath. Does this mean what he thinks it does?

But then, he remembers something.

“Isn’t it usually the girls who give gifts to the important men in their life on Valentine’s Day?” he asks curiously – before hastily adding, “Not that I’m not honoured to receive something from you, of course.”

Oops. You had completely forgotten about that little detail.

“Oh, yeah, you’re right…” you fumble with your words, “Uhm, well, I just thought this was the perfect opportunity! I mean, to make chocolate! Like, I’ve always wanted to try to make filled chocolates, and what better way to do it than now? And, uh, well, the chocolate was on sale in the supermarket, so it only made even more sense to make a lot of chocolates now, right? And I can’t possibly eat it all, so well, I thought…and anyways, who says that guys can’t give other guys chocolate on Valentin’s Day?” You know you’re rambling, but you can’t seem to stop the word vomit leaving your mouth. However, to your relief, Suo just laughs.

“Okay, okay, I get your point. Does that mean that you brought me chocolate?”

“Ehm, well, not exactly…” You fish out the tin of tea from your bag and shyly hand it to Suo. “I thought you might prefer this over chocolate – although I still have some chocolates left at home if you would rather have that…” You bite your lip, nervously awaiting his reaction.

Suo’s eye widens slightly as he accepts the tea, taking it from your hands as if you were handing him his firstborn and not a metal tin with a red ribbon.

“I know it’s not much,” you continue, “but well, I just know that you often drink tea when we go out to eat, and I thought--”

“It’s perfect,” Suo breathes, interrupting your rambling.

It is perfect, Suo thinks. It’s so thoughtful and just goes to show how well you know him.

“Does this mean that I’m an important man in your life?” Suo asks teasingly, although it’s only half in jest. Because really, he has to know if this gesture means what he thinks it does.

“Of course you are, Suo-kun,” you answer, making his breath hitch in his throat. But then, you continue, “you, as well as Sakura-kun and Nire-kun and Kiryu-kun and Tsugeura-kun and Kaji-sempai and Tsubaki-chan and…oh yes, I also made some for Togame-kun!”

The happy bubble inside Suo bursts.

Of course, he’s happy that you brought him something and that you think he’s important to you, but still…he’s not happy about the fact that you didn’t only bring him something. Well, at least he can now conclude that your gesture doesn’t exactly mean what he had so burningly hoped it did.

What it does mean, however, is that he has to increase his efforts to win your affection.

Luckily for Suo, he doesn’t mind one bit showing just how much he cares about you. Quite the contrary, actually.

When you and Suo enter the classroom, you don’t hesitate to stride over to Nirei as soon as you spot him. After your success with Suo, you’re not nearly as nervous about giving gifts to your friends on this day – you could even go as far as to say that you’re excited to show all of your friends how much you appreciate them.

Nirei is sitting by his desk, scribbling furiously in his notebook and so engrossed in his endeavour that he doesn’t notice you before you’re standing right in front of him, clearing your throat.

“Ryo-san, I didn’t see you there!” he exclaims, in a hurry to give you his undivided attention.

“No worries, I just wanted to give you this before class started,” you say, handing him the small box of chocolates. Or at least, you try handing it to him, but Nirei just stares at the box without taking it, as if he can’t quite believe what is happening right now.

“F-for me?!” he squeaks.

You nod.

“Y-you d-do know what day it is today, r-right?” Nirei asks because surely, you’re not giving him chocolate because it’s Valentine’s Day, right?

Right?

“Of course, it’s Valentine’s Day today!” you inform him proudly. “And it’s a day where you can give chocolate to the important people in your life! Which means, even though you’re a guy and I’m a guy – because I’m definitely not a girl haha – and because we’re friends, then I wanna give you chocolate!”

Real smooth, you think, wincing mentally. But luckily, Nirei doesn’t notice anything amiss and finally, he reaches out his hands to accept your gift. He opens it, a look of deep concentration etched onto his face as if he was defusing a bomb and not opening a box of chocolate.

“Wow, did you make these yourself?” Nirei asks, feeling both impressed and incredibly touched as he takes in the six pieces of filled chocolates – all with Bofurin’s logo carefully painted on in golden food colouring. “That’s so-- so--” But Nirei can’t seem to find the right words. It’s like they’re stuck in his throat, maybe because his tongue suddenly feels very thick and swollen and his eyes stingy…

…and before he knows it, Nirei is bawling his eyes out.

“Y-you’re not allergic to chocolate or something, right?” you ask, horrified.

Nirei shakes his head violently and hiccups,

“I-it’s just-- just that-- I-I’m so happy right now!”

“Whew, I thought for a moment that--” but the rest of your sentence is cut off by Nirei flinging his arms around you, almost tackling you to the ground as he hugs you.

Nirei can’t even begin to describe how happy he is right now. He knows he probably isn’t the only person who will get chocolate from you today, but he doesn’t care – because even though the deepest parts of him wish that he was the only one, right now, just being one of those people is enough for him.

Tsugeura had just spotted one of the friends he admires the most being basically run over by Nirei and decides to go and see what all the fuss is about.

“Ho, what’ve you got there, Nire-kun?” he asks curiously, pointing towards the still open box of chocolates on Nirei’s desk.

“I brought him chocolate, because I want to show my appreciation for all of my best friends on Valentine’s Day,” you proclaim, answering Tsugeura’s question. “And I’ve also got some for you, Tsuge-kun!” you continue as you pull out yet another box of chocolate from your schoolbag.

“Wow, I’ve never received chocolate from anyone before, let alone on Valentine’s Day!” Tsugeura bellows as he happily accepts your gift.

“I made them with sugar-free chocolate and a protein-powder filling, since I know you care about your diet and stuff, and I actually think they turned out pretty well,” you explain.

“Wow, you really thought that through huh? But I guess that’s to be expected for one such as virtuous as yourself,” Tsugeura says, tone serious, before popping one of the chocolates into his mouth. His eyes widen momentarily.

“They’re so good!” he yells, making all your classmates turn their heads in your direction.

You just smile fondly at your loud friend before leaving to find your seat. Since homeroom starts now, you’ll have to wait until your next break to give your other friends their gifts.

Kiryu had arrived at Furin High this morning with mixed feelings…because he knows that today is Valentine’s Day.

Throughout middle school, he’d had no shortage of girls basically tripping over themselves to give him chocolate, but since he is now in an all-boys high school, he knows that that won’t be the case today. And he can’t say that he’s unhappy about that. Even though he sorta liked the attention, it also became rather tedious at some point. All those girls, their faces and personalities blending together because none of them really managed to make an impression on him. They were all kind of ­– well, the same. Boring. Unoriginal. Sure, all of them were probably nice people, but still…none of them could hold his interest for more than one date, at most. And besides, feeling obliged to buy gifts on White Day for all the girls who had brought him chocolate on Valentine’s Day was a chore – and not very healthy for his wallet.

Well, enough reminiscing. Today, for the first time in his life, he has brought chocolate for someone on Valentine’s Day. Yes, it’s usually the girls who give chocolate to the boys, but what if you were a boy yourself and the person you wanted to give chocolate to was also a boy? Nobody told you what to do then!

So, traditions and gender roles be damned, because Kiryu wants to give you chocolate and so, that’s what he’s planning to do.

At least, that was before he entered the classroom this morning just in time to see you gift Tsugeura a box of homemade filled chocolates.

Kiryu has been stealing glances at Tsugeura ever since homeroom started and continues to do so throughout the entirety of your morning classes. Actually, he’s surprised he hasn’t gotten a sore neck from all the times he has snapped his head back and forth.

But he can’t help it.

He’s always known that he had competition for your affection, but he’d never thought Tsugeura would be one of the suitors he should be wary of. No, so far, he’s mostly had his eyes out for Sakura, Kaji, and Suo especially.

Do you like Tsugeura, Kiryu can’t help but think. Do you like loud, buff types with no filter? He knows he’s being mean, but his jealousy makes it hard for him to think nice thoughts about the other boy – even if Kiryu has warmed up to him after their initial fallout.

And it doesn’t help that Tsugeura is everything that Kiryu isn’t – while Tsugeura is tall and muscular, Kiryu is short and delicate. While Tsugeura is loud and boisterous, Kiryu is mild and thoughtful. And what all of this means is that if Tsugeura is your type, then Kiryu doesn’t stand a chance with you.

He’s so busy wallowing in own misery that he doesn’t notice class ending and, when someone pokes him gently on the shoulder, he almost jumps out of his chair in shock.

“Eeeeek!”

“Sorry!” Kiryu shouts, panicking, because in his surprise, he managed to knock over not only his chair, but you with it.

“Are you alright?” He reaches out a hand and helps you get to your feet while he anxiously scans you over for injuries. He can’t stand the thought of having hurt you, even if it was only by accident.

“Oh no, I hope it it’s not broken,” you mumble and Kiryu is just about to throw a fit because are you talking about your bones but then, you fish out a paper box with a red ribbon and looks intently at it, as if you can x-ray it to see the insides. “Well, if it is, I have more at home,” you say, more to yourself than to him, before handing him the box.

Kiryu looks at the box in wonder.

You brought him chocolate too?

A huge wave of relief washes over Kiryu – because this must mean that you brought chocolate for all your friends, and not only Tsugeura. Of course you did, he thinks elatedly. That’s just how you are – always thinking about others and not caring that you’re technically not supposed to give any of them chocolate because, well, guys and gals and traditions and all that.

But like him, you don’t care about traditions.

He accepts your gift, handling it with reverence. Then, he bends down to fetch his own present for you from his bag and hands it to you.

“You brought me something too?” you ask, perplexed. “B-but…” You were just about to blurt out, but you’re a boy, before you remember that you are supposed to be one too.

“It’s nothing special,” Kiryu shrugs, trying to play it cool even though he’s feeling very self-conscious at the moment, “Not like you are-- I mean, like your chocolate is. You made it yourself, right?” he asks, having eavesdropped onoverheard your conversation with Tsugeura.

“Yes, I did! And I tried making yours look cute but well, I’m not the greatest artist…” you send him apologetic smile.

“Let’s open them together, shall we?” Kiryu suggests and together, the two of you open your presents.

“Wow,” you say, eyeing the chocolate he got for you with glee, “this type’s my favourite!”

Kiryu smiles at your excitement. He bought this chocolate exactly because he knows it’s your favourite.

Then, he looks down at the chocolates you made for him and lets out a small chuckle. You have painted small motives of cats and other cute animals, as well as plants and flowers in food colouring on the chocolates. It looks a bit messy, and he can see that you’re not used to painting.

Still, it’s cute, and he loves it.

When classes start again, Kiryu is in much higher spirits than before.

However, when he has finally does come down from his high another, not quite as pleasant feeling settles in his gut. Because you brought chocolate for all your friends, and not just him. Again, he knows he’s being unfair, but again, he can’t help it.

Kiryu isn’t used to being jealous. He isn’t used to being the one pining – typically, it’s the other way around. But with you, everything is different.

And he wouldn’t want it any other way. He just hopes that one day, you’ll see him as something more than just another one of your friends.

During lunch break, you dart off to where the second years’ section of the school is and skid to a halt right in front of 2-1’s classroom. Students are already filing out of the door, probably on their way to the cafeteria to buy lunch.

You patiently wait for Kaji to show up while you try to ignore the curious or awed glances the other students send you. Some of them recognize you from the last time you visited Kaji, while some of them have heard rumours about you as the new boy in town who challenged Shishitoren’s second in command – and returned victorious. Anyways, your reputation precedes you, and people stare.

When Kaji finally shows up, his gaze immediately zooms to where you’re standing – as if he’s subconsciously always on the lookout for you. He doesn’t even excuse himself when he abandons his Vice Captains, removes his headphones and lollipop and strides over to you.

“Well, see you after brrreak!” Enomoto shouts because he doesn’t expect to see Kaji before then. Kaji just nods vaguely in his friend’s direction before again turning his attention to you. He doesn’t notice the knowing looks Enomoto and Kusumi exchange as they leave their Grade Captain to his devices.

“I brought you something,” you announce, handing him the box of chocolates.

The flavours you chose for Kaji are very simple, just like he prefers them – like the way he always goes for plain noodle dishes when he visits ramen bars, or the way he always drinks water when he’s thirsty, forgoing all the other colourful drinks you can find in the vending machines littered basically everywhere.

It takes some time before Kaji figures out how to talk. He’s never been very good with words, and not for the first time when he’s with you, he wishes that he was.

“Thank you…” he finally manages to get out.

Immediately after, he wants to bash his head against something because that lame excuse of a thank you doesn’t at all convey how much he appreciates your gift.

“Wanna eat lunch together?” Kaji asks hopefully, attempting to make up for his social stuntedness.

“Sure!”

As you walk, Kaji is reminded of the last time the two of you hung out together and how your little date had been brutally interrupted by your possessive classmates. He keeps glancing around, as if he expects Suo or another one of your friends to suddenly pop up and jump-scare him.

But for once, the two of you are alone.

The thought of finally, finally getting you all to himself makes him both excited and nervous, making something flutter in his chest and heat rise to his cheeks.

“What would you like?” Kaji asks when you arrive at the cafeteria.

“Uhm, I’m not sure what they serve here,” you admit, because you’ve never actually bought anything from the school cafeteria. You usually pack your own lunch – it’s cheaper, and you like making your own food – but today, you didn’t have time to do that because of your little (very big) chocolate-making project.

“Is it okay if I just choose something for you, then?”

“Of course! I trust you, Kaji-sempai.”

Kaji’s heart skips a beat, and he immediately proceeds to pick out whatever dishes and beverages he thinks that you might like.

When you pull out your wallet to pay for your food, Kaji gently pushes you to the side and pays for both his own and all the food he picked for you.

“Oh, you really don’t have to do that!” you protest, but Kaji just ignores you, grabs your wrist and somehow manages to balance both of your trays in his free hand as he leads you over to a more secluded corner of the cafeteria.

“I wanted to,” he says as you sit down together. You open your mouth to argue again, but Kaji beats you to the punch,

“Please?” he murmurs quietly. He still hasn’t let go of you and is now rubbing soothing circles on the inside of your wrist.

“O-okay. Well, thank you, then,” you stammer.

And with that, the two of you enjoy a lunch date together.

And finally, Kaji has gotten you all to himself…

…at least for now.

On your way home, you take a detour.

Last time you stepped over the border to Shishitoren’s territory, it was to fight Togame in the turf war you and Sakura unintentionally sparked between Bofurin and Shishitoren, and your mind was filled with anxiety mixed with guilt, but also determination. Now, however, you’re strolling over the border during the late afternoon without a care in the world, actually hoping to find Togame.

And either, it’s fate or anime logic or whatever you wanna call it, but lo and behold, there is Togame, sitting alone on a swing at an empty playground. His usually heavy-lidded eyes widen ever so slightly when he spots you, but then, his face breaks into a serene smile.

“Didn’t expect to see you here, Ryo-kun,” he greets you, beckoning for you to join him.

“Well, I didn’t know when else I had the time to come and see you,” you reason, smiling back.

“Well, you timed your visit well. I’ve just finished patrol for today.”

It feels like forever since you last saw Togame, and you feel giddy with joy as you, without hesitation, fling yourself at him and hugs him tightly

At first, Togame is taken aback by your sudden display of affection – last time he saw you, you beat each other to a pulp, after all – but he quickly relaxes into your embrace and wraps his own big arms around your smaller frame.

“Geez, you’re cold,” Togame shudders before gently pushing you away, then proceeding to unzip his orange Shishitoren jacket.

“What are you doing?” you exclaim, but Togame ignores you as he wraps his jacket around your shoulders – it’s so large that it can easily rest atop your own Furin jacket. “You’re going to catch a cold!” you protest, trying to take off his jacket, but Togame simply tightens his hold on you and pulls you back to sit in his lap, making it impossible for you to remove his jacket.

“Relax, princess,” he purrs, his breath tickling your ear, making you blush. Hard.

“Thought I’d told you to quit it with those ridiculous nicknames,” you grumble, trying to hide your embarrassment with a scowl.

“But I did mean it when I called you ‘pretty boy’” Togame continues unapologetically, “You really are pretty for a boy – almost too pretty I dare say…hm, what’s your secret, Ryo-kun?”

Immediately, you feel yourself tense up. Togame can’t possibly know…

But then, he laughs, and your shoulders slump down in relief.

After a some time, Togame speaks up again,

“So, to what do I owe the honour? Or did you just miss me so much that you just had to barge into Shishitoren territory at first given opportunity?”

“I came to bring you some chocolate I made, but since you’re such a menace, I’m not sure you deserve it,” you pout.

Yes, you know you’re being childish, but you have to deal with your racing heart and flushed cheeks in some way.

“You brought me chocolate?” Togame’s otherwise slow and low voice lightens up. “For Valentine’s Day? You’re sure you’re not secretly a girl, right?” he teases, completely unaware of what his words are doing to your nerves.

Silently, you turn around in his lap and almost shove the paper box into his hands.

“Here.”

He opens it. Some of the chocolates are speckled with orange, Shishitoren’s colour, others green, the same colour as his eyes.

“I figured,” you say quietly, “that I’ve gotta find a way to like orange, somehow. It’s your colour, after all.”

Togame feels his throat clench and his eyes sting. What has he possibly done to deserve this second chance you’ve given him – after everything he did as Shishitoren’s second-in-command until you and Sakura came and beat some sense into him?

He buries his face in your hair and wraps his arms around you once again.

And he has no intention of letting go for quite some time.

You stayed with Togame for far longer than you had originally planned, and before you know it, it’s time for your shift at Show Pub Ougi. You sprint home to change before hurrying out again, only stopping briefly in front of Sakura’s doorstep to place the chocolate you made for him.

You’ve tried to get a hold of Sakura all day, but you were always interrupted before you could give him the chocolate – by classes starting, or by Suo mysteriously materialising at your side every time you tried to approach Sakura.

Well, you’ll just have to hope that he finds it when he returns from patrol.

At work, you find Tsubakino and Shizuka busy decorating the bar for Valentine’s Day. When they see you arrive with a paper box decorated with a red ribbon, they smile at each other before Tsubakino coos,

“Oh, and who’s the lucky guy?”

“It’s for you of course, Tsubaki-chan! As thank you for helping me find work here and always being there for me!” you say earnestly.

Tsubakino’s red-painted mouth forms a small “o” in surprise before he breaks into a wide smile.

“I’m honoured,” he says, tears lining the corners of his eyes as he envelops you in a tight embrace and accepts your chocolate. You used ruby chocolate, to match his hair, and dusted them with gold glitter because you know that he likes shiny and pretty things.

“Wow, did you make those yourself?” Shizuka exclaims excitedly when she sees the content of the paper box. “I wish I could do stuff like that,” she sighs wistfully. “I just bought mine at a supermarket…”

“Oh, and who did you bring chocolate for?” you ask even though you already have a pretty good idea of the answer. Shizuka blushes and fans her face with her hands as if she could make the red tinge on her cheeks go away like that.

“Oh, uhm, just you know, uhm…” she stutters.

“You better go find Nakamura-san before it’s your turn to perform,” you say seriously. Shizuka lets out a small squeak.

“H-h-how did you know?”

“Uhm, who doesn’t know?” Otowa butts in with a smirk, making Shizuka hide her face in her hands in embarrassment.

“Be nice,” Tsubakino scolds, although he too can’t help but smile.

“So, you brought chocolate for Tsubaki-chan?” Otowa turns his attention to you. Tsubakino doesn’t miss the hint of jealousy in Otowa’s voice and sighs. He knows Otowa thinks you’re cute, but you’re too oblivious to notice the signs – which is weird, since you seemed to have no problem figuring out that something is going on between Shizuka and Nakamura.

“Yes, it was the perfect opportunity to attempt making my own filled chocolates,” you explain. “I don’t really have a lot left since I also brought some for my friends at school, but next time, I’ll be sure to bring some for you to taste too, Otowa-kun!”

“Wait, does that mean that you have a lot of guy friends?” Tsubakino suddenly asks, eyes narrowed.

“Yeah, all of my friends are boys, actually…except for Shizuka-chan here, of course,” you answer, a bit confused over the sudden change in Tsubakino’s tone.

“Hm, and you’re sure they’re all just friends?” Tsubakino continues to pry. “You know, you’re such a sweet girl – and pretty too – and teenage boys can be real--”

“Ehem.” Nakamura has appeared, clearing his throat loudly. “Didn’t we talk about this already, Tsubaki-chan?”

“Oh hey, shouldn’t you go change for your shift, dear?” Tsubakino addresses you loudly and, even though you’re impossibly even more confused now than you were before, you head to the back to change, because Tsubakino is right – you actually are a bit pressed for time if you want to get ready before the first guests arrive.

As soon as you’re out of earshot, Nakamura rolls his eyes at Tsubakino and mumbles something along the lines of “overprotective mother-hen.”

When you finally return home from work, it’s well past midnight, and you’re exhausted.

You rub your eyes sleepily as you drag your feet up the stairs.

“What’re you doing out here so late?”

You slip.

“Oi!” For the third time since you moved here, you’re about to tumble down the stairs, and for the third time, Sakura comes to your rescue.

“You’re such a klutz,” he complains, pulling you to your feet. “Still wonder how you can fight as you do without accidentally hitting yourself in the face or somethin’.”

“Sakura-san, thank you!” you breathe, hoping your embarrassment doesn’t’ show. Why do you always have to bump into him when you’re tripping over something?

“Yeah, right,” he scoffs. You notice that it isn’t his usual “I didn’t save you” comeback which you take as a good sign.

“So, what’re you doing out here so late?” he asks for the second time, eyeing you with furrowed brows.

“Just returned from work,” you explain. “What about you?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” he shrugs. “And…” His eyes flicker from side to side and he opens and closes his mouth repeatedly without a sound coming out, as if whatever he was about to say is stuck in his throat. You wait patiently.

And then finally, Sakura manages to mutter something under his breath,

“…you…chocolate…”

“Sorry?”

Sakura clears his throat and repeats,

“Was it you who left that chocolate?”

“Oh, uhm…yes?” You were just about to say “no” because technically, it was Ryo who left that chocolate, and not you. Or at least, you meant to give it to him as Ryo, but now…

“Why do you say that as if it’s a question?” Sakura growls.

“I mean yes! Yes, it was me!” you admit, sounding more like you’re confessing a crime rather than the fact that you left chocolate for your neighbour on Valentine’s Day.

Sakura is silent for so long that you’re afraid that you’ve offended him in some way. But then, so quietly that you have to strain your ears to hear what he’s saying,

“…thank you,” he mumbles softly. He looks intently at you, standing so close that you can feel his hot breath caressing your cheekbones. Again, you’re hit with the realisation of how beautiful Sakura is. In the dim light, one eye looks silver, the other shines gold, and his black and white hair looks so soft that you have to restrain yourself from reaching up to run your fingers through it. Not for the first time today (or should you say yesterday?), you feel your cheeks flush with heat, and you’re not the only one. In front of you, Sakura’s ears are tipped pink – but he isn’t as red in the face as one would expect from him, given the circumstances. And he isn’t fleeing in the other direction either, despite being in so close proximity to a girl – and a very pretty one at that…and strong too (because of course Sakura would fall for a girl after watching her take down five guys twice her size in a brawl – that’s just his type).

Wait, did someone just say fall?

Well, anyways, the reason why Sakura isn’t as embarrassed as one would expect is because he’s too busy looking at you. And thinking about how you left that box with six immaculately shiny pieces of chocolate decorated with dried cherry blossom leaves – so perfect that they might’ve been storebought, but still so personal that he just knows they’re homemade.

That’s such a pretty name, he remembers you telling him the first time he met you.

Nobody has ever given him anything for Valentine’s Day before. Nobody has ever given him anything with so much effort and thought put into it before.

You’re the first.

Just like you were the first to thank him, the first to complement him, the first to make him think that maybe, this world isn’t such a cruel place as he has always believed it to be.

Subconsciously, Sakura leans even closer. The two of you are standing so close now that if either of you moved, your noses would bump together. Sakura can feel his heart thump in his chest, so loudly that he’s surprised you haven’t commented on it yet.

You look at him with wide eyes and for a split second, your gaze flickers down to look at his slightly parted lips. You’re just about to turn away (before you can embarrass yourself any further) but it’s as if Sakura can sense that you’re thinking of leaving because he grabs your wrist before you can move so much as a muscle.

“What about that sparring round you promised me?” he blurts out.

“You wanna fight me now?” you ask incredulously. Because of all the things he could’ve said, this was honestly the last thing you expected (but then again, this is Sakura we’re talking about and fighting you is probably the only way he knows how to flirt lmao).

“Yeah, now’s as good a time as any,” Sakura argues, and you stop yourself from pointing out that now is basically in the middle of the night. Instead, you send him a mischievous smile.

“Sure. Just don’t hold back on me because I’m a girl.”

Sakura sends you a crooked smile in return.

“I’d never.”

Chapter Text

You’re met with a strange sight when you arrive at school later in the morning. Sakura and Nirei are sitting huddled together, Kiryu a little further behind scrolling on his phone. Nirei is showing Sakura something on his own phone while pointing out various of your classmates, making Sakura scratch his head and scrunch up his nose in frustration.

“Mushroom-what now?!” you can hear Sakura yell from across the classroom.

“Y’know, the guy in the hoodie,” Nirei whispers back while pointing towards Kakiuchi.

“Oh, are you learning all the names of our classmates, Sakura-kun?” you ask excitedly as you walk over to join them. Kiryu perks up at the sound of your voice and puts his phone away so that he can greet you properly.

“Ryo-san!” Nirei jumps to his feet “I guess you’re feeling better now? If not, then I really think you should head back home!”

“I’m fine now, but thanks for worrying. And thank you so much for stopping by with all those things yesterday.” You smile at the three boys in front of you, ignoring Sakura’s “I didn’t do shit,” mumbled to his feet – because you can’t very well tell him that you know those cookies were from him without arising suspicions.

“And what about me, Ryo-kun, hm?” a voice whispers in your ear and you practically jump in surprise. A pair of strong hands steady you before you can fall over.

“S-Su-Suo-kun,” you stutter, turning around to face him. “Of course I also wanted to thank you, I just didn’t see you there, ha ha…” You wince mentally at how cringe you’re sounding.

Suo just smiles down at you and tilts his head to the side.

“And how do plan on thanking me?”

“Ehm…”

Luckily, you are spared from answering because just then, sound explodes from the speakers.

“ALL FIRST AND SECOND YEAR GRADE CAPTAINS AND VICE CAPTAINS! GATHER UP ON THE SCHOOL ROOF!”

“Damn it, Umemiya! You’re gonna scare’em with a sudden announcement like that!”

“HUH? OH RIGHT! UM, I NEED TO DO THE DING DONG DANG DONG THING, RIGHT?! WHAT DO I PRESS?”

“It’s too late for that now!”

“Just ban him from the announcement room,” Sakura seethes. Luckily, Sugishita is not in the classroom.

You, Sakura, Suo, and Nirei head up to the roof. At first, Nirei was opposed to joining you, because as he said,

“I’m not even sure ‘Advisor’ is a thing…”

“Nonsense,” you had scoffed and grabbed him by the wrist to lead him with you up the stairs. “I’ve just decided that it’s a thing. And besides, who else is gonna deal with Sakura-kun’s social ineptitude?”

“Huh?!”

And now, all four of you are on the roof. It seems that your group is the last to arrive. A large number of students are already gathered, and Sakura’s spirits immediately take a hit when he realises that, not only is he expected to learn all the names and faces of his own classmates, but also of all the other Captains and Vice Captains of the school.

“Don’t worry, Sakura-san!” Nirei reassures him. “If there’s anyone you don’t know, I can tell you about them. I know the names of faces of everyone in this school!”

“You’ve got them all memorised?” Suo asks, sounding impressed.

“Yeah. I borrowed the school list yesterday…”

“Wow, that’s amazing, Nirei-kun!” you beam. “I of course knew you were smart, but that’s seriously impressive! You’re just what we need to make sure Sakura-kun makes it all the way to the top!”

“Hmm, as for my role…” Suo hums thoughtfully. “I can handle the negotiations! I’m really good at convincing the opponent to accept my requests. And if that’s not enough, I can also make them cough up information in other ways…”

“Hehe, Suo-kun, that’s…kinda scary,” you laugh nervously. With him, you’re never quite sure whether he’s joking or not. You still remember the very first encounter with him where he introduced himself as Leonardo DiCaprio without batting an eye.

“So, if Nirei’s our advisor and Suo handles negotiations, then I’ll work on our image! You wanna give the impression of someone who not only our classmates, but the rest of Bofurin and the townspeople can rely on, no matter what it is!” you say happily. “It’s what I’ve always dreamed of doing, after all. To be part of a group that protects others.”

All three of you look expectantly at Sakura, but he has turned his back to you. He’s too embarrassed to show you how deeply your words have affected him. It’s like you’re ready to take on anything with him. You’ve only known each other for a short amount of time, but still, you don’t hesitate to lend him your full support to him as Grade Captain even though he doesn’t trust himself to be able to bear that responsibility.

“…okay,” he starts. “I’ll leave that up to you, Ryo, Suo, Nirei…”

“Oh wow! I’m so glad you know our names!”

“S-shaddup! O-of course I do!”

Soon after, it turns out that you weren’t the last ones to show up. A group of older students who just arrived – fashionably late, you think it’s called – are heading towards you, and Nirei begins to shake like a leaf.

“Agh, now there’re even more of’em…” Sakura mutters.

“Th-those aren’t Grade Captains!” Nirei whines. “Th-they’re the Four Kings of Furin High…and their Advisors!”

“Hey, I said Advisor was a thing, right?” you poke Nirei in the ribs to make him stop trembling.

Your voice carries over to the new group of students, drawing the attention of one particular person.

One of the Four Kings of Bofurin, no less.

And that person is none other than Tsubakino Tasuku.

“Huh?” Tsubakino stops dead in his tracks, his red-painted lips parting slightly in surprise and confusion.

Because in front of him stands none other than their newest hire at Show Pub Ougi.

You.

You don’t look quite like yourself with your bandaged chest, your oversized boy’s clothes, your too-large Furin jacket, and your make-up.

But as a cross-dresser himself, Tsubakino is one hundred percent sure that it is you.

He’s just about to call out your name – your real name – but then clams his mouth shut. There must be a very good reason why you’re here at Furin disguised as a boy. And he likes and respects you enough that he doesn’t want to blow your cover with his carelessness. Not before he’s gotten an explanation from you, at least.

“What’s up with you, Tsubaki-chan?” Hiragi asks, bringing Tsubakino out of his stupor. Hiragi follows Tsubakino’s line of sight and spots your group.

“Oh, that’s Sakura-kun and Ryo-kun. They’re new to town if that’s why you haven’t seen them before. I know that it’s uncommon for outsiders to move here with our reputation and such, but both of them have already proven to be worthy members of Bofurin.”

Tsubakino is afraid that his eyes might pop out of his head as Umemiya butts in and proceeds to explain, with much enthusiasm, how you and Sakura fought some delinquents at Tonpu Shopping Street and started a turf war with Shishitoren on your very first day of school, how the two of you went up against Shishitoren’s second- and first-in-command, managed to befriend Shishitoren, and now, how you have been elected as Vice and Grade Captain of your class.

So, Ryo’s the name you go by here, Tsubakino muses. And you’ve already made quite a reputation for yourself. To think that the small, bubbly girl he had offered a job turned out to live a double life like this…

Tsubakino shakes his head in disbelief. You still haven’t noticed him, but there’s no doubt that you will recognise him. Question is, will you know that he also recognises you?

You do recognise Tsubakino. How could you not? Even though he’s not in his usual attire from when he works at Show Pub Ougi, there’s no doubt that it’s him. That long, shiny hair with pink streaks that would make every girl jealous and his ability to pull off that elegant and feminine look despite being as tall and muscular as he is.  

And you do also realise that he recognises you. How else could you explain that look he just gave you where his eyebrows are lifted so high that they completely disappear underneath his bangs? Or why he quickly coughs and waves off Hiragi when he asks why Tsubakino looks like he just saw a ghost?

“…-san?”

“…Ryo-san?”

“Earth to Ryo-kun?”

Someone waves a hand in front of your face, and you snap your head to the side. Suo looks at you with a concerned expression.

“Are you alright?”

“You sure you’re not still feeling sick, Ryo-san?” Nirei asks as he fidgets nervously with his notebook.

“Hm…” Suo places his hand on your forehead.

“S-seriously, I’m fine you guys.” You send them all a wobbly smile. You can’t help but worry that Tsubakino will somehow expose you. Suo and Nirei don’t look entirely convinced, but Umemiya has just begun talking, so there’s no more time for you to chit chat.

“Thanks for gathering up, guys!” Umemiya addresses you. “But before we begin, I’ve got something I need you guys to know…”

Okay, time to get serious…

“I’ve safely transplanted the seedlings for this year!”

“Huh?!”

Just like the first time you had met Umemiya, that guy has a knack for turning one eighty and goes from gushing over his plants to jump directly into a heartfelt speech about how he appreciates your support and help to look after his friends and family in this town.

To others, it might appear as if he has a few screws loose, but it occurs to you that maybe, it’s simply just because to Umemiya, his vegetable garden is just as important to him as keeping this town safe. So, to him, there’s nothing wrong with bringing the two up right after one another.

Umemiya’s speech ends and is met with a resounding, “Yes sir!” from all the gathered Kings, Captains, and Vice Captains.

“So, now it’s time to gather up with the guys in your team and get to know each other!”

Which is how you now find yourself surrounded by the other members of the Tamon Team, including Hiragi and Kaji.

“Are you feeling better?” Kaji asks as soon as he gets the chance. “Nirei-kun told me that you’ve been sick.”

“Oh yes, I’m alright now! Although it was a pretty bad cold,” you admit.

“I’m sorry.”

Why is Kaji suddenly apologising?

“Huh? Why’re you sorry?”

“Well, if I’d just been there in time to stop you from jumping after that cat…but you’re pretty fast.” He smiles at you.

“If I remember correctly, you jumped in right after me!”

“Ahem.” Someone clears their throat loudly beside you. “Am I interrupting something?” It’s Suo, and he has his usual pleasant smile plastered on his face, although it does look slightly strained.

“Oh, you’re the one who beat Togame Jo!” a boy with a mohawk suddenly shouts and slaps you hard on the back.

You cry out in pain. This guy seriously doesn’t know the difference between a friendly pat and a bone breaking slap on the back.

“Hey, get your hands off him, asshole!” Sakura yells and smacks the boy’s hand away from you, but that doesn’t deter him.

“Sakura-kun! You went up against none other than Tomiyama Choji, right?” But before the boy can proceed to smack Sakura on the back too, Hiragi butts in,

“Don’t start spoutin’ whatever you want, Matsumoto-kun.”

“…”

Their bickering is soon interrupted by Umemiya as he approaches your team.

“So, the Grade Captain for Tamon’s first years is you, Sakura-kun, huh? And Imo-chan too! My two favourite newcomers to town!”

“Uhm, it’s Ryo, Ume--”

But Umemiya just ruffles your hair affectionately.

“Looking forward to working with ya all! I’ll be counting on you guys too, Nirei-kun, Suo-kun! But if you ever run into any problems, come to one of the sempai here. We’re like your older brothers, and we’ve got your back!”

He gestures to Hiragi and Kaji and their Vice Captains.

Then, Umemiya is off again, probably to see how it’s going for the other teams.

“It’s not like I’m your brother or anything!” Kaji blurts out once Umemiya is out of earshot.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not what the boss meant,” Enomoto comments.

“I know that,” you laugh. “It’s just a figure of speech." You poke Kaji playfully on the shoulder, and Kaji is immediately pacified.

“Just thought I would make it clear,” he mumbles. For some reason he can’t even explain to himself, the last thing he wants is for you to develop brotherly feelings towards him.

That would just be…wrong.

Hiragi eyes Kaji curiously. He’s known him ever since he was a kid, but he’s never seen him act like this before – so at ease and familiar with another person. Usually, it takes a lot longer for Kaji to let his guard down in front of new people, and the two of you can’t have known each other for that long.

Your extroverted and cheery personality must really have a good influence on him, Hiragi thinks.

After letting you get some time to get acquainted with your fellow team members, the meeting is broken up.

As you head down to your classroom again, you suddenly remember the handkerchief Suo lent you.

“Suo-kun?”

“Hm?” Suo hums and smiles down at you.

“Thank you for letting me borrow this.” You try to hand him back his handkerchief. However, instead of taking it from you, he just looks at you with a thoughtful expression.

“I-I washed it, if that’s what you’re thinking about!” you hurry to reassure him, but then, Suo grabs your hand and wraps your fingers around the handkerchief.

“Please keep it.”

“Oh.” You blush. “Well, t-thank you then, Suo-kun.”

“Hm, and another thing,” Suo says when you’re back in your classroom again. You have your back against a wall, and Suo positions himself in front of you, almost caging you in with his arms.

And then, without warning, he leans in over you, so close that you can feel his breath tickling your face.

“Kiryu-kun tells me you’ve got a girlfriend.”

“HE WHAT?!” you screech. You direct an accusing glare at Kiryu who has just joined you to see what schemes Suo is up to now.

“I what?!” he repeats, confused.

“YOU WHAT?!” Sakura bellows, eyes darting between you and Kiryu, fists balled at his sides and teeth grinding together so violently that you can almost hear his enamel slowly being turned to dust.

“Kiryu-kun…what?” Tsugeura echoes, for once being the only one in your company not shouting.

“I-I-I don’t recall Kiryu-san phrasing it like that,” Nirei hurries to clarify in an attempt to do some damage control. “He just said that he thinks that Ryo-kun might, uhm, well…” Nirei trails off.

“That I might what?” you ask even though you heard Suo perfectly fine the first time.

“Might…have a girlfriend?” Nirei finishes meekly.

“Of course I don’t!” you cry out, “Where on earth did you get that idea?”

“What about a boyfriend, then?” Suo asks, staring intently at you with one large eye.

“N-no! No girlfriend or boyfriend or anything-friend,” you hastily deny right before realising what you just said, “Or, I mean, of course I do have friends, like, normal friends,” you ramble on. “Like, you guys are my friends, but I certainly don’t have any friends with a prefix attached!”

“And no friends with suffixes attached either?” Kiryu butts in, “Like, for example, friends with benefi--”

“Alright, that’s quite enough,” Suo says firmly. “You’re all making a scene. And if Ryo-kun says no, then I trust him.”

Suo’s right. All your classmates now have their attention directed at your group of friends. Some just looks curious, others don’t even try to hide their snickering.

“What do you mean we’re making a scene?” Kiryu complains. “It was you who started this whole scene!”

“Whatever do you mean, Kiryu-san dear friend of mine?” Suo asks innocently.

“M-m-maybe we could just all go back to our seats?” Nirei suggests.

The rest of the week is nowhere near as eventful as your last one at Furin High, but you also guess that that’s to be expected. A fight with such a large and powerful group as Shishitoren is probably not a regular occurrence, even for Bofurin (well, you’re very wrong about that, but right now you don’t know any better).

You quickly settle into a routine where you go to school, then patrol the town together with various people from your class.

You also take time to experiment in your tiny kitchen. Your latest obsession is trying to make ramen from scratch, which might seem a bit pointless since it’s so easy to get really good, really cheap ramen if you just head to the city centre. But you can’t help yourself. It’s a challenge and it’s fun, especially making the noodles. It almost seems like magic when the dough that seems as dry as the Sahara Desert suddenly turns into a coherent mass perfect for cutting into noodles – if you’re just patient enough.

You would also love getting into baking again, but your kitchen unfortunately doesn’t have an oven. Maybe, when you’ve saved up enough money, you can buy a small toaster oven.

Before you know it, it’s already Friday and time for yet another shift at Show Pub Ougi. You can’t deny that you’re nervous because this will be the first time you’ll see Tsubakino again after that time on the roof.

And, sure enough, as soon as you step into the pub, Tsubakino grabs you by the wrist and leads you towards the back. Shizuka and the members of Roppo-Ichiza are used to Tsubakino’s overprotectiveness towards you, but they still think that he’s behaving rather strangely right now. Their eyes follow you curiously, but they don’t comment as Tsubakino drags you into the storage room. Maybe he just wants to make sure that you’re alright after last time where you had to head home because you were sick.

Usually, Tsubakino greets you with a grin and a hug but now, he just closes the door behind him and looks at you with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows curled into a frown.

You never thought you could ever feel uncomfortable around Tsubakino, but right now, you can feel cold sweat pouring from your forehead.

“You have some serious explaining to do, young lady,” he says, tapping his heeled foot on the floor.

“Uhm…” you wring your hands nervously, your eyes flickering around the room as you try to avoid making eye contact with Tsubakino. Who knew cardboard boxes could be that exciting?

“Geez, girl, there’s no need to be so nervous.” Tsubakino’s face finally relaxes into his usual smile as he gently places a hand on your shoulder.

“I just want to understand you, that’s all. It’ll also make it easier for me to cover for you if you explain yourself to me.”

You let out a sigh of relief. So, Tsubakino seriously doesn’t plan on ratting you out?

Truth is, Tsubakino has been thinking about what to do with you all week. On one hand, he doesn’t like lying and breaking rules. It goes against pretty much everything Bofurin stands for. But on the other hand, he can also see where you’re coming from. After hearing more about you from Hiragi and Umemiya, he has gotten a pretty good idea of why on earth you would go as far as to pretend to be a boy just so that you could attend Furin High.

It’s because you have a goal. And being part of Bofurin is exactly what you need to attain that goal.

And when Tsubakino seriously thought it over, he realised that it is pretty unfair that only boys can be a part of Bofurin. It’s just because traditionally, only students at Furin High are members, and since Furin High is an all-boys school, Bofurin too came to consist of only boys. But who’s to say that girls can’t have a desire to protect this town too? Who’s to say that girls can’t fight too?

Tsubakino actually goes as far as to feel a bit shameful. He of all people shouldn’t be so quick to assume the roles of boys and girls.

Which is why he’s decided to support you one hundred percent, even if it means breaking the rules. The only reason why he dragged you in here to demand an explanation is just because he knows that if he wants to help you, you have to open up to him a bit.

“I’m not going to tell anyone,” he reassures you. “Actually, I want to help you. You joined Bofurin because you want to defend others, correct? And you’ve already accomplished so much in such a short time. That you’re a girl shouldn’t make one ounce of a difference!”

Finally, you raise your head to meet Tsubakino’s eyes. They’re kind and understanding as he smiles down at you.

“Seriously?” you ask in a quivering voice. “You’re not gonna tell anyone?”

Tsubakino shakes his head.

You can’t help but burst into tears as you fling yourself at Tsubakino and wrap your arms around him. Tsubakino doesn’t hesitate to hug you back.

And you tell him everything. It hadn’t occurred to you before now how lonely you’ve been. Yes, you’re happier now than you ever remember being, but that doesn’t change the fact that so far, nobody knows the real you. And you’re scared that as soon as they find out that you’re really a girl, they won’t have anything to do with you anymore. You’ll probably get expelled from Furin High and thrown out of Bofurin.

But Tsubakino’s acceptance of who you are is a huge relief. It makes you think that maybe, other people might like you as you too.

Tsubakino listens attentively to your story and realises how similar the two of you are. That also means that he understands where you’re coming from more than most people. And even if you think that people here only like you as Ryo, Tsubakino knows that people here like you for being you. Because regardless of what name and appearance you take on, you’re still you. Actually, being Ryo means that for the first time in your life, you can be truly you, exactly because you don’t worry about what others might think of you.

It was the same for Tsubakino the first time he tried on make-up and high heels.

When you’ve finally finished your story and calmed down, Tsubakino leans back to look at you.

“So, I also take it that you’ve never been on a shopping trip before?”

You blink. This was not exactly the first question you had imagined Tsubakino would ask you after your confession.

“Well, I’ve just never really been very interested in fashion,” you shrug. “And the girls at my orphanage never wanted me with them whenever they went out together.”

“Hm…” Tsubakino drums his fingers on his chin. “I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to, but would you be very opposed to going shopping with me Sunday before your shift? I asked Kotoha-chan, but she’s meeting up with Ume.”

Tsubakino wants to go shopping…with you?

“We can look for both boys’ and girl’s clothes,” Tsubakino continues eagerly. “You might find that you actually like dresses and stuff – you do like your uniform, right? There’s nothing wrong with liking stuff that both boys and girls tend to like.”

It takes all your willpower not to start crying again. Right then, you don’t care that you might not like shopping because even after everything you’ve told Tsubakino, he still wants to spend time with you.

And besides, it’s not like you’ve ever outright disliked girly stuff. It’s just that you’ve always loved boy stuff a lot more.

“You often go out with Kotoha-chan?” you ask curiously when you’ve finally regained your bearings.

“Yes, but just you and me will be super fun too, just you wait!”

You smile so widely that your cheeks hurt.

“I’d love to go.”

Later that evening, you head home. You’re so engrossed in your own thoughts about your earlier conversation with Tsubakino that you’re not as attentive towards your surroundings as you usually are.

Thus, you don’t notice the tattooed boy with messy black hair and teal eyes who follows you down the dark streets of Makochi’s Red Light District.

Chapter Text

Endo Yamato is on a recon mission. The first milestone in his grand plan is to pick a target that will stir up the most trouble with Bofurin. He already knows the third years of Bofurin pretty well, given that they were all in the same year at Furin High. At least before Umemiya turned the school into a place for people who all think they’re some kind of God damn saints.

And out of everyone in Umemiya’s little inner circle, Tsubakino is by far the most emotional. Which is why Endo has been keeping an eye out for this particular boy for quite some time by now.

However, it’s not like he’s planning on just picking a fight with Tsubakino out of nowhere. No, he doesn’t plan on getting his own hands dirty just yet. And besides, Endo believes that targeting a person who’s close to Tsubakino instead of Tsubakino himself is a much better way of provoking the cross-dresser.

The obvious choice for this would of course be Umemiya. Endo is almost about to puke every time he thinks about the way Tsubakino has always been pining after Bofurin’s leader (which is ironic, given Endo’s own relationship with Takiishi).

But since the whole point of Endo’s grand plan is to save Umemiya for Takiishi, Endo has to pick another target for now.

In the beginning, he thought about that girl who sings at the pub where Tsubakino works. He knows the girl is from some poor area around Makochi and was taken in by Roppo-Ichiza and Tsubakino some time ago. And since Tsubakino has always had a weakness for small, delicate, broken things, of course he would grow to become extremely fond and protective of the poor girl.

But then, Endo discovered you.

He’s not exactly sure what your sob story is, but he knows that in no time, Tsubakino grew just as fond and overprotective of you as he is of that singer girl. So, just to make sure that he did his work properly, Endo took to stalking you.

And imagine his delight when he found out your little secret.

This is almost too good to be true. A small girl, dear to Tsubakino, who is also a member of Bofurin known as the first-year boy, Ryo. Even Endo has to admit that that’s quite ballsy. And, judging from his observations so far, you are not only dear to Tsubakino, but a great deal of Bofurin’s members have taken quite the liking to you too.

Everything considered, you’re the perfect target for this part of Endo’s grand plan.

Another day of school, another shift at Show Pub Ougi. You’ve just promised to meet up with Tsubakino tomorrow before your late shift, waved goodbye to your co-workers and now, you’re making your way down the dark streets of Makochi.

You’re passing a narrow alleyway when you feel the small hairs at the back of your neck rise and goosebumps forming on your arms. You snap your head to the side and are met with a pair of teal eyes reflecting the dim light of the streetlamps.

Usually, you take pride in your quick reflexes, but before you can even blink, you’re grabbed by a pair of strong hands and forcefully pulled into the alleyway. A split second later, you’re shoved against the brick wall and calloused fingers wrap around your throat.

“Shit man,” your attacker mutters under his breath. “Wasn’t planning on this.”

Endo hadn’t intended for you to see him. It would seriously mess up his whole plan if Tsubakino or someone else from Bofurin got wind of his plan prematurely. But your senses are sharper than most. Actually, had it been anyone less stealthy than Endo, you would probably already have noticed his presence long before now.

Well, so much for not wanting to get his own hands dirty.

“What to do, what to do…”

Endo is muttering to himself while you struggle for your breath and claw at his fingers constricting around your airways.

Your eyes are beginning to get used to the darkness and finally, you manage to catch a better look at Endo. He’s probably a couple of years older than you, has messy black hair, teal eyes, and a shit-eating grin spread across his face. He’s wearing a tank-top showing off his bulging biceps and a lot of tattoo-covered skin.

You attempt to say something, but only a wheeze escapes your throat.

“Ah, my bad.” Endo loosens his grip slightly. “Were you sayin’ somthin’…Ryo?”

Your eyes widen. He knows.

“Who are you?” you croak. Right. How original of you.

“I don’t think I’m gonna tell you just now,” he muses. “And you are also gonna keep this little encounter quiet, get it? If you tell anyone, I’ll expose your little secret to all your friends in Bofurin.”

Finally, he lets go and, as quickly as he had appeared before you, he’s gone.

You sprint all the way home. As soon as you get to the safety of your own apartment, however, you collapse on the floor, the last fumes of adrenaline having immediately dissipated as soon as you let yourself relax.

And just then, you notice how much your throat hurts.

You can’t believe how fast you had been rendered helpless by that boy. Pathetic. Had it been Sakura, he would at least have gotten a few hits in. Probably also a couple of snarky remarks. But you couldn’t even talk. It’s been so long since you’ve been that outmatched by someone. Your fight with Togame can’t even compare.

And he knows. That boy knows. The only explanation must be that he must have been following you for some time now. As to why, you’re clueless. And asking someone about it is a no-go unless you want everybody to know that you’re a girl.

You peel yourself off the floor with a groan and walk over to the mirror to look at your neck.

It doesn’t look good. Red marks in the shape of fingers adorn your throat like a necklace.

Well, at least now you won’t have to worry about your concealer running out of date because you use so little of it. Actually, you’re worried that you’ve got enough.

You decide to deal with that problem tomorrow. You’re way too exhausted right now.

The following morning, you’re again standing in front of the mirror staring at your neck. You think you’ve done a pretty decent job with the concealer, but you don’t have a lot of experience with make-up, so you’re far from sure.

Maybe, you should wear a hoodie just to be safe.

You meet up with Tsubakino at the mall he messaged you about earlier this morning. When he sees you, Tsubakino immediately tuts at your sense (or lack of) style as he takes in your oversized hoodie and baggie pants and goes on about how fortunate it is that he invited you to this shopping trip because you obviously need it. You don’t really care much about your appearance, but you decide to indulge him. And it’s not like you’re not having fun – just being able to spend time with a friend seems like a blessing to you, even if it revolves around looking at clothes.

Besides, Tsubakino is the only one who knows about your double life, and it’s a relief to spend time with someone you don’t have to walk on eggshells around.

“Let’s start here,” Tsubakino announces as he steers you towards one of the stores in the busy mall. “They have a wide range of different clothes, and it’s decently priced too.”

As you enter the store you’re immediately bombarded with impressions – different colours, shapes and sounds are everywhere and you whip your head around in attempt to take it all in.

“Anything in particular you’re looking for?” Tsubakino asks as his practiced eyes scan the different sections of the store.

“Not really.” You frown. “But I’m not sure I’ll be able to find anything on my own in here – there’s so much…stuff.Everywhere.” Honestly, you find it a bit disorienting.

“Why don’t I just help you pick a ton of stuff for you to try and then, you can tell me what you think?” Tsubakino suggests.

A ton?!

But Tsubakino has already grabbed your wrist without waiting for an answer and leads you over to what looks like a lot of frilly skirts.

Before long, you find yourself in a changing room with a mountain of clothes (although not quite a ton) – both from the women’s and men’s section, since Tsubakino is of the opinion that it wouldn’t hurt for you to experiment a bit with what you like and don’t like – it is your first time choosing your own clothes, after all. And besides, Ryo could really use some clothes that fit for once since you’ve just been using your brother’s clothes so far, even though you’re basically swimming in them. And now that you’ve found work so quickly after arriving to Makochi, you can afford to splurge a little.

You try on a pair of slacks paired with a cream-coloured turtleneck, loose enough that you won’t be able to see the bandages through, and you have to admit that it looks better on you than your usual attire. Also, a turtleneck might just be what you need if you don’t want to spend all your savings on concealer.

You also try on a couple of skirts, but you can’t really see yourself using them much – except for when you’re going to and from work. And besides, you’re much more comfortable wearing pants – no risk of flashing your underwear in a fight.

At some point, there’s a soft knock on the wall outside the changing room.

“Can I see some of the outfits you’re considering?” Tsubakino asks from the other side of the curtain.

“Uhm, sure.”

Tsubakino slips in and takes in the ‘maybe’ and ‘discard’ piles on the floor.

“These are good choices!” he exclaims as he holds up the turtleneck you tried on first. Then, he notices what you’re wearing.

“Oh my gosh, that looks so pretty on you! That colour really makes your eyes stand out.”

You look self-consciously down at yourself. You’re wearing the one dress Tsubakino convinced you to bring with you to the changing rooms. It hugs your figure snugly until past your waist where the fabric flares out at your hips, making it look like you have actual curves.

But then, Tsubakino’s smile falters and his eyes narrow as they fix on your neck.

“What’s this?” He moves closer and pokes a finger at your throat. It comes back smudged with concealer.

Right. Of course, Tsubakino would spot your messy attempts at covering up the marks on your neck. He knows concealer when he sees it.

“What happened to you, sweetie?” he whispers as he sees the marks. They were angry red yesterday, but they’re a lot darker now.

You try to put on a convincing smile even though your insides are panicking.

“Uhm…uhm…tripped!” you blurt out.

“Tripped?” Tsubakino repeats, sounding very sceptical.

“Y-yeah, on my way home yesterday,” you nod vigorously, then wince. Ouch, that hurt.

“And you just happened to land on your neck?”

“Uhm, well, it was a very unlucky fall, that’s all…”

Geez, you’re a terrible liar. You should think you were better at it given that you’re basically deceiving all your friends everyday as Ryo.

Tsubakino’s eyes narrow even further and you wonder if he can even see anything by now with his eyes almost shut. Then, he sighs,

“I don’t believe you young lady, but I also won’t force you to tell me if you really don’t want to. Just know that you can come to me with anything, alright?”

You nod again, this time a lot slower. You smile again and unlike before, it isn’t forced. Tsubakino’s heart melts at the sight, but he steels himself and tries to sound stern as he speaks again.

“But,” Tsubakino holds up a manicured finger in front of your face, “as payback for lying to me, I’ll buy you that dress! You don’t have to ever wear it if you don’t want to, but you’ll have the opportunity if you ever feel like it.”

“I’m not quite sure how you paying for my clothes is a punishment in any sort of way,” you mumble dubiously, but Tsubakino waves you off and insists.

“By the way,” he tells you when you’re once again back in your own clothes (Tsubakino had of course left the room when you changed), “Want me to do a little fashion show for you with all the things I’ve picked?”

After leaving the store, you take a bite to eat. Then, you go on to look at make-up. While Tsubakino tries on different lipsticks, you are crouching on the floor trying to pick out a new concealer – which turns out to be a lot harder than expected. You had no idea that so many different kinds of concealers existed. Concealers in every possible skin tone, some of them claiming to be hydrating, some to be waterproof, some zero-smudge, and so on. And they all have super flashy, super long names like Anastasia Beverly Hills Magic Touch Concealer, or J. Cat Beauty Stay surance Water-Sealed Zero-Smudge Concealer.

Honestly, you’re at a loss. You try to think of which concealer you have at home, but you can’t even remember the brand name. It’s probably nothing fancy because as much as your brother loves you, you doubt that he has the money to spend thousands of yen on make-up for you. At least, you hope he’s sensible enough not to do that, although, you never really know with him. He does tend to go a little overboard when buying stuff for you.

“I’m not sure I should help you here,” Tsubakino’s voice suddenly cuts through your train of thoughts.

“Huh?”

“I could help you pick out a nice concealer, but not if you’re only gonna use it to cover up injuries you don’t want to tell your friends about,” Tsubakino elaborates, arms crossed over his chest and one foot tapping disapprovingly against the tiled floor.

“I’m not only gonna use it for that,” you point out. Which is true. You also use it to cover up the fact that you’re a girl.

Tsubakino clicks his tongue but crouches down beside you.

“You gotta try them on, otherwise, you’ll never know which one fits with your skin tone. The one you’re wearing now is actually a tad too light,” he says as he grabs your hand and smears on concealer from a test bottle.

“Oh,” is all you can think of saying as you watch Tsubakino test out different concealers on the back of your hand, eyeing each one critically. After some trial and error, he holds up a bottle triumphantly.

“This one!”

You don’t object.

“Alright, with that out of the way, it’s now time for you to help me pick out a new lipstick,” Tsubakino proclaims, dragging you to your feet and leading you over to a different aisle. “So, I was thinking either this one or this one,” he says, holding up two lipsticks that are – according to you – the exact same colour.

“Uhm…”

“Ume says he likes whatever I choose to wear, but I still have a feeling he prefers red,” Tsubakino continues, more to himself than to you.

“Wait, you mean…Umemiya-san?” you ask, blinking. You’re surprised when Tsubakino blushes a deep red, almost matching the lipstick he’s holding, upon the mention of Umemiya. Then, something hits you.

“Uhm, Tsubaki-chan,” you start hesitantly, “Do you…I mean, do you like Umemiya-san?”

The deepening of Tsubakino’s blush is enough confirmation.

“Sorry,” you mumble, suddenly feeling bad for making Tsubakino uncomfortable. “I’ll stop asking now. It’s none of my business anyway.”

“Oh no, dear, it’s quite alright,” Tsubakino hurries to assure you as soon as he notices your expression fall. “It’s not really a secret anyways – even Ume himself knows!” Tsubakino lets out a nervous, but genuine giggle, and you immediately feel a lot better.

“Oh my god, that’s so cute!” you exclaim. “I’m also totally sure that whatever colour you choose, it’s gonna look good on you!”

“Gosh, you’re so precious!” Tsubakino squeals as he pulls you into a hug.

After that, it’s time for the two of you to head to work. You go around your usual business and make sure to take your break when it’s Tsubakino’s turn to perform and before you know it, your shift is over.

“Thank you so much for today, Tsubaki-chan!” you say as it’s time for you to head home. “I didn’t think going shopping could be that fun – although I guess it’s more to do with the company than the actual shopping part.”

“Oh my god, you’re so sweet!” Tsubakino coos ruffling your hair affectionately. “You sure you don’t want one of us to escort you home?”

“I can take care of myself – you should know that better than anyone,” you point out.

“And I also know better than anyone that you can’t ask for help for the life of you.” Tsubakino rolls his eyes fondly, but lets you go without any further protests.

“What on earth was that about?” Nakamura asks, having followed your conversation with progressively furrowed brows.

“Oh, we went shopping together earlier today,” Tsubakino replies airily. That wasn’t quite what Nakamura meant, but he decides not to pry any further.

“That sounds like so much fun!” Shizuka exclaims, clapping her hands together enthusiastically. “Please bring me next time too, Tsubaki-chan!”

Next day, it’s time for school again. You put on the pair of dark slacks and the cream coloured turtleneck you bought yesterday because that way, you won’t have to worry about covering up your neck. Your bruises are gradually turning darker and soon, they’ll be blue and purple and even harder to cover up.

Yesterday, Tsubakino also tried to explain to you how to properly put on make-up, but you just end up doing it as you’re used to. Because honestly, what difference does it make what brushes you use and which order you put it on?

At least, that’s what you tell yourself to make you feel better about your own ineptitude.

When you arrive at school, you overhear three of your classmates whispering among themselves,

“Where’s Anzai-kun?”

“He’s been acting strange today, and his face was hella bruised up.”

“I asked him, but he wouldn’t tell me anything.”

Anzai…isn’t that the boy who argued with Suo on your first day of school?

“What’s up, Ryo-kun?” Nirei asks, bouncing on his feet as he walks up to you, pulling you back to the present. He takes in your appearance and nods approvingly. “You look great today!”

Actually, that statement should maybe worry you a bit because as far as you can remember, it was Nirei who turned up in a violently purple shirt the first day of school. But you’re no fashion expert, so what do you know?

“U-uh, not that you don’t usually look great!” Nirei backpedals quickly when you don’t answer immediately.

Okay, now he’s just making stuff up, but you still think it’s very nice of him to say. Although that doesn’t surprise you. It’s Nirei after all.

“Thanks, Nirei-kun. You look really great too,” you say politely. Nirei blushes profusely and stutters something unintelligible.

“Ryo-kun, you should stop teasing him so much,” Suo laughs as he comes up to stand beside you. “Nirei-kun’s poor heart can’t take it when you look like that.”

“Like what?” You blink confusedly and Suo bends down to whisper in your ear,

“So…entrancing. It’s almost a crime to look as dashing as you do today, Ryo-kun. But then again, as Nire-kun says…you always look great.”

Your face feels like it’s about to burst into flames from embarrassment, and you have to restrain the urge to pull your turtleneck over your head and hide like some kind of ostrich.

“Just take the compliment and run, Ryo-chan!” Kiryu butts in and saunters towards you.

“Kiryu-kun!” you sigh in relief, rushing over to meet him as an excuse to put distance between yourself and Suo.

“Why doesn’t he greet me like that?” Suo pouts and narrows his eye at the pink-haired guy who now has his arm wrapped snugly around you in what Suo thinks is a little more than just a friendly hug. Kiryu is showing you something on his phone and you now have your back turned to Suo and Nirei.

Kiryu sticks out his tongue at Suo while you’re looking away.

“I just think you come on a bit too strong sometimes, Suo-san…” Nirei comments while carefully gauging for his friend’s reaction. Nirei has long since learned that Suo can behave very…well, unpredictably whenever you’re involved.

“Hm, you think so? But I was just stating simple truths…”

Just then, Sakura enters the classroom.

“Sakura-san, look!” you practically shove Kiryu’s phone into Sakura’s face. “Kiryu-kun’s been showing me cat memes, and this one looks so much like you!”

You’re showing him a picture of a black and white cat with golden eyes, almost the exact same colour as Sakura’s left one.

Sakura turns cross-eyed as he tries to look at what you’re showing him. He frowns,

“What’s a meme?”

“Uhm, that’s a bit hard to explain…”

“Sakura-chan, you have a lot to learn,” Kiryu sighs as he pats Sakura on the back as if comforting him. “But don’t worry! We’ll teach you!”

But Sakura’s no longer paying attention. No, he’s too busy looking at you and, the more he looks, the redder his face turns.

“Sakura-kun?” you wave a hand in front of his face. You really hope he’s not about to have a stroke.

“Huh?” He blinks repeatedly as he snaps out of it.

“Is something wrong?”

“Uhm, you look, uhm, different.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, Sakura wants to hit himself.

Meanwhile, you wonder just how bad you must have looked before today. Everyone seems so insistent on commenting on your new clothes, as if you usually show up in your pyjamas. Or rags, for that matter.

“You shouldn’t stare so much, Sakura-kun,” Suo scolds as he strides over to your little group, Nirei in tow. “It’s improper.”

And that’s coming from him.

“I-I-I w-wasn’t-- I’m not-- just s-shut up, everyone!” Sakura bellows.

After school, Tsugeura suggests that your group of friends head to Muscle Power again, but that idea is quickly dismissed by everyone except for Nirei. You do end up heading to the city centre together, however. As you walk, Kiryu is trying to educate Sakura on memes while Sakura looks like he would rather be anywhere else right now. You and Tsugeura continue your discussion on virtues from last time, while Suo and Nirei walk a bit behind you, the latter keeping a close eye on the former. Suo seems to have been restraining himself from hoarding all of your attention ever since that comment from Nirei, but that still doesn’t stop him from simply observing you. Although, observing might be an understatement, Nirei thinks. Actually, he’s surprised that a laser beam isn’t shooting out of Suo’s one good eye with how intensely he’s watching you. Nirei doesn’t miss Suo’s eyebrow twitching in annoyance every time Tsugeura gets a little too close to you, or the way his fists occasionally clench and unclench as if he’s trying to keep himself from snatching you away from Tsugeura.

When three sketchy-looking boys approach your group, Suo can’t restrain himself any longer. He strides up to you and Tsugeura, flanking you from your exposed side.

Sakura has also caught on to something amiss. He straightens his back and walks up to stand in front of you. Kiryu follows and positions himself on the other side of Tsugeura. Nirei can’t help but think that they look like bodyguards with the way they try to keep you out of sight – which he finds a bit ridiculous, since you more than know how to take care of yourself.

However, it’s not because they think you’re helpless – far from it, actually. But you’re just so small. Small and delicate, even more so than Kiryu. And you’re also everyone’s walking ray of sunshine. They just can’t help themselves, even though they know that you’re perfectly capable of protecting yourself.

“You keep back too, Nirei,” Suo mumbles when Nirei tries to peek over Sakura’s shoulder.

“You guys looking for something?” Sakura asks when the three boys stop in front of your group. He’s really getting comfortable with this whole Grade Captain thing, Nirei thinks proudly.

“Oh yeah, great timing,” one of the boys drawls. “Well, we were just looking for you people. Although not specifically any of you boys here.” The boys give you all a one-over. One of them lets his gaze linger on you a bit too long for comfort, which doesn’t escape any of your friends’ notice.

Sakura grinds his teeth in frustration, but holds it together. He knows he can’t just pick a fight with these guys unprovoked (wow, he’s grown so much since arriving to Makochi!). Suo takes a small step to the side, completely blocking you from view, while he stares coldly at the boys in front of you.

But they just side-step you.

“See ya around.”

And with that, they walk on as if they hadn’t just delivered a cryptic message that a villain might send the hero protagonist in a manga. A manga about delinquent gangs and a school full of self-sacrificing students protecting the town from said delinquent gangs.

You all turn to watch the boys disappear down the street.

“Th-that symbol!” Nirei whispers with a mixture of fear and awe in his voice.

“Yeah,” Suo says without taking his eye from the backs of the three boys. “It’s KEEL.” 

Chapter Text

“What’s a KEEL?” you ask no one in particular after the three boys have finally disappeared from sight.

“Well, I don’t know the details myself,” Suo answers, “but there aren’t any good rumours about that gang.”

“And they’re looking for us?”

“It sounded like they were looking for someone specific in Furin,” Kiryu comments, sounding thoughtful.

Just then, a shout a bit further down the street snaps you all out of your thoughts and, as the dutiful members of Bofurin you are, you all rush in the direction of the sound.

The sight that meets you makes you all stop dead in your tracks. Because right in that narrow alleyway, shoulders hunched and head down, sits your classmate, Anzai. And he doesn’t look good. No, he looks like someone beat him up and dumped his remains in this alley in a bad attempt to hide a body.

The lady who shouted for help invites you all to her monjayaki place and soon, your friend group and Anzai are led to a low table with a teppanyaki grill in the middle. You sit down on one of the pillows closest to the wall, and Kiryu hurries to take the seat beside you. Something dark passes over Suo’s expression, but it’s gone a split second later when he smiles so widely that it’s almost uncanny. Then, he grabs another pillow and unceremoniously throws it in between you and Kiryu before he squeezes himself in between you. Nirei rolls his eyes at his friends’ antics and takes the seat opposite you beside Anzai and Tsugeura. Sakura just opts to sit at another table altogether, although he keeps glancing at where your and Suo’s shoulders are touching each other, his expression souring. As usual, you don’t notice anything amiss, too busy assessing Anzai’s injuries.

In the bright light inside the restaurant, Anzai looks even worse. Heck, he looks worse than you did after your fight with Togame, and that’s saying something.

“What happened to you, Anzai-san?” Nirei asks the question that all of you have been itching to ask.

“Ahh, well, about that…” Anzai scratches the back of his head and lets out a breathy laugh. It sounds too shrill and forced to be genuine. “Uhm…a dog,” Anzai continues “…chased me into the back alley!”

“What?!”

“A dog thiiis big! It was like a bear!” Anzai gestures wildly with his hands, emphasizing the size of the dog. A dog which you’re pretty sure Anzai just made up.

“Hey you,” Sakura deadpans, interrupting Anzai’s rambling, “If you’re gonna lie, then try something more believable.”

You nod,

“Yes, it’s so obvious that even Sakura-kun can tell.”

Kiryu claps his hands in front of his mouth to stop from laughing out loud.

“No, really!” Anzai waves you off. “Anyways, I should get going!” He gets to his feet and begins to make his way towards the exit, but before he can make his grand escape, Suo speaks up,

“Anzai-kun, did something happen between you and KEEL?”

Anzai looks like someone just showed his naked baby pics to his first love.

“Wh-wh-wh-what are you talking about!?”

He’s like an open book.

Next moment, Anzai has fled out the door.

Oh well. You’ll get a chance to pester him more at school tomorrow, you guess.

The kind lady who owns the restaurant tells you to order anything you want from the menu, so the rest of you stay to eat. Or, well, except for Suo, who’s only planning on drinking tea as usual.

“Say, Suo-kun,” Tsugeura asks while Kiryu stirs the monjayaki batter, “How did you know that Anzai-kun’s involved with KEEL?”

As Suo explains how he put two and two together (which doesn’t surprise you since Suo’s quite perceptive), you think back to the conversation you overheard this morning. You silently curse yourself for not having noticed anything sooner. But then again, you’ve been pretty occupied with your own drama with that tattooed guy and Tsubakino lately. Although, you guess that’s no excuse.

“If Suo-san’s right, then we have to help him!” Nirei exclaims and smacks his hands down on the table. “Sakura-san, a classmate’s in trouble!”

“Wait, now hold on a sec!” Sakura argues. “He didn’t say a thing to us, which must mean that he’s got his own plans on how to deal with this. We don’t even know if he wants us to help him or not.”

You and your friends mull over that for a bit. On one hand, you can see where Sakura’s coming from. Like, you have our own battles that you would rather nobody meddled in. On the other hand, your desire to help another person – another classmate, no less – in need overrides your desire to respect Anzai’s privacy. You guess that just makes you a hypocrite, but whatever. You’re already a liar and a deceiver so yet another villainous title shouldn’t bother you too much.

“Well, Sakura-kun, even if that’s true,” you start, earning the attention of everyone around the table, “if there’s something we can do, then don’t you want to help? I know everyone has secrets they don’t wanna talk about, but personally, I think Anzai’s safety takes priority over his feelings. Did you see how beaten up he was? We can’t just ignore that!”

Sakura is silent for a while, but then…

“Tch.” He gets to his feet. “I’m leaving.”

And leave he does.

You feel yourself deflate. It wasn’t your intention to make Sakura mad at you. You’ve suddenly lost your appetite, but that doesn’t really matter because honestly, you’re not a huge fan of monjayaki in the first place. It’s too liquidy for your taste.

Meanwhile, Sakura is doing exactly what he just argued that you shouldn’t do, which is meddling. But something about what you said keeps nagging at him. He knows you can get very stubborn and can’t help but stick your nose where it doesn’t belong as soon as you get a sniff of injustice taking place. That’s also what makes you fit so perfectly in Bofurin.

Unlike him.

Bofurin isn’t at all what he thought it would be – a dog-eat-dog place where it’s every man for himself and the only way to earn respect and to get to the top is to beat up everyone in your path. A bit like how Shishitoren is – or used to be, he hurries to correct himself. But Bofurin is the exact opposite of that. Bofurin is a place where people fight for what they think is right and for what they care about, and a place where you rise to the top because other people let you and because they trust you enough to depend on you. It’s so sappy and yet exactly what Sakura needs in his life, even though he doesn’t realise it himself.

He also still can’t believe that others would put that kind of trust in him, and yet, here he is. Grade Captain and everything.

And about what you said earlier…it reminds him that people depend on him. His classmates depend on him. You depend on him. And as much as he kind of hates that thought (because hey, what idiots would do that?), he also has to acknowledge that they do and as Kaji told him that day where you chased that stupid cat into the river, he just has to try and live up to that.

Which is why he now finds himself silently shadowing Anzai as the boy meets up with a girl on a playground and, as soon as Anzai leaves, steps forward to get some answers since Anzai is so adamant about keeping the rest of Bofurin in the dark.

And answers he gets.

In return, he makes a promise.

The following day at school, Anzai’s cover story has blown completely out of proportion. His attacker has turned from a dog to a dog as big as a bear and now to a literal bear. You’re not even sure there are bears in this part of Japan, no less bears who would venture so far into the city.

You, Suo, Nirei, Kiryu, and Tsugeura have all been watching him with worried expressions for quite some time now, but none of you really want to butt in. At least not before your Grade Captain arrives.

As usual, said Grade Captain shows up just before class starts.

“Morning, Sakura-kun!”

“Moooorning!”

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, Sakura-san!”

Sakura give a noncommittal grunt in return and takes a seat beside you. You’re just about to open your mouth to say something – to apologize for making him mad yesterday or to continue trying to convince him to help out Anzai, you’re not sure – but before you can say anything, a boy you haven’t seen before enters your classroom.

“’Ere.” He hands Anzai an envelope. “Some guy showed me a pic of you and told me to give this to ya.”

All your classmates are following the interaction curiously. Anzai looks both excited and confused as he asks,

“Who did?”

The boy (Tochimoto from class 4, according to Nirei), scratches the back of his head in thought before answering,

“He had a hood on…and he looked real creepy…” Tochimoto shudders as if remembering something very unpleasant, and Anzai turns white as a sheet. Your friends send each other knowing looks. If that’s not KEEL, then you’re not a girl.

Anzai opens the envelope and pulls out what looks like a photo. As he looks at it, his complexion turns from white to sickish grey.

And then, he bolts out of the classroom.

“Anzai-san!”

A split second later, Sakura follows, and you don’t hesitate to chase after them.

“Sakura-san!”

“Ryo-kun!”

All three of you ignore the shouts following you out the classroom as you begin a wild game of tag down the stairs. At some point, Sakura skids to a halt, grabs the handrails and swings himself over, making him free-fall two flights of stairs down until he lands right in front of Anzai.

You don’t know what goes through your head as you grab the handrail, trying to imitate Sakura, since you’re nowhere near as good at parkour as he is. But well, here goes nothing.

You jump.

Sakura looks up just in time to see your form fast approaching the ground where he stands and reflexively holds out his hands. He catches you with a grunt.

And you find that you’re very happy that you’re wearing pants because otherwise, Sakura would have had first-row seats to you flashing your underwear.

Well, at least Anzai has finally stopped running, since you’re both blocking his way. And if he wasn’t in such a frenzied state of mind, he would have gaped at the way Sakura subconsciously cradles your body close to his own as if he never wants to let you go. Who knew their Grade Captain was such a softie.

“Uhm, Sakura-kun, thanks for catching me, but you can let go of me now,” you remind him because Sakura seems to be frozen with you in his arms. He quickly lets you go, while still being careful, as if you’re something delicate and precious.

“Why did you jump, stupid,” he mutters, his cheeks still tinged with pink as he avoids looking at you.

“Well, it was the fastest way down,” you point out cheerfully.

Anzai tries to use your distraction to get past you, but Sakura blocks his path yet again, clearing his throat and narrowing his eyes.

“I heard all about what happened yesterday from that girl who was at the park with you.”

You send Sakura a surprised look. So that was why he had hurried off yesterday – not because he was mad at you, but to follow Anzai and to get some answers. You suddenly feel as if a weight has been lifted off your chest. Not only because you would hate for Sakura to be mad at you (you know that might sound a little self-centred and narcissistic, but you’ve only just gotten used to having friends and you’re still scared that it’s all just a giant prank and nobody really likes you –  yes, you still have some massive self-esteem issues, but oh well), but also because this means that Sakura has decided to meddle. To help Anzai regardless of whether he wants your help or not.

“What?! Why would Tsuchiya-chan tell you?”

“Anzai-kun, please just let us help,” you plead. “You might not think this has anything to do with us, but if someone messes with one of our classmates, we think it has something to do with us. And we really want to help you.”

You can see Anzai wavering. At least, he’s no longer trying to flee.

“That came from KEEL, right?” Sakura asks as he snatches the envelope from Anzai’s hand. He pulls out the photo and you lean in to get a look. It’s all wrinkled now because Anzai has been crushing it in his hand, but the photo still makes your stomach turn.

It’s a photo of a boy with dark hair in a KEEL jacket. But that’s also the only features you’re able to distinguish from that photo, because they boy is so beaten up that it’s almost impossible to look at anything apart from all the bruises and blood. Surrounding him are other boys from KEEL, one of them laughing and holding the beaten-up boy by the hair while doing a piece sign with his other hand to the camera. Something in kanji is written over the photo,

“We beat the crap outta Nagato! We’ll be waiting for you at the abandoned Senkan Shipyard!!

“Tch. Utter scumbags,” Sakura growls, and although you’re not fond of degrading nicknames, you have to agree with Sakura on that one.

“Anzai-kun,” you say gently, “please tell us everything.”

Anzai explains how he ran into a KEEL member stealing a purse from some poor woman, only to later discover that that same KEEL member was his childhood friend, Nagato. Ever since then, Anzai has been trying to get Nagato out of KEEL but so far, that has only resulted in Anzai getting beaten up. And it also doesn’t help that Nagato doesn’t want to be helped, according to Anzai.

Although to you, that sounds just like the words of some self-sacrificing kid who thinks he’s too far gone to deserve help from anyone.

As soon as Anzai finishes his explanation, you and Sakura look at each other. Then, you turn to look at Anzai.

“Okay, then let’s go.”

“Huh?!”

But you and Sakura are already on your way down the stairs.

“Wh-why are you two going?!” he shouts after you. He sounds almost angry now. “This is my own personal problem! And we’re up against some really dangerous thugs! I don’t want to involve all of Furin--”

“Now, listen, Anzai-kun,” you interrupt, “it doesn’t matter who we’re up against. We’ll still help you.”

“Yeah, stop talking like you’re the centre of the damn world,” Sakura adds. “And besides, I promised someone that I’d drag that Nagato guy back. So, this is also my personal bone to pick.”

And with that, you and Sakura continue onwards.

Meanwhile, the rest of your classmates have arrived just in time to hear the last part of Anzai’s story. They don’t know exactly what happened or where they’re going yet, but they know that one of their own is in trouble. And that’s enough for them to want to skip classes so that they can pick a fight with a dangerous delinquent gang just to try and get some dude back none of them even know, all for the sake of their classmate.

That’s just how Bofurin is.

You smile as Suo, Nirei, Kiryu, and Tsugeura speed up to walk beside you and Sakura. Suo even managed to wake Sugishita up from his nap to bring him along (although he also did threaten Sugishita with Umemiya, who would obviously be very sad to find out that Sugishita was the only one who stayed behind while all of his other classmates heroically ventured out to rescue a friend of a friend from great peril).

Anzai looks like he’s on the verge of breaking into tears.

“Don’t worry,” your classmates tell him as your group walks out of the school building. “We just want to help a friend.”

As you leave the school grounds, you briefly wonder if the teachers are going to give the whole class detention for skipping school today.

Well, you guess you’re just going to have to deal with that later.

Your departure has not gone unnoticed and from the window 2-1’s classroom, one of the students watches you leave.

Enomoto gets to his feet and walks over to see what it is his fellow Vice Captain is pointing at.

“What the?” he blurts out. “What the heck’re those guys doin’?”

That catches Kaji’s attention – not that he can actually hear what it is his that Vice Captains are talking about because of his headphones, but he can see from their expressions that something is going on. He walks over to the window and glances towards the ground.

What he sees almost makes him drop his lollipop on the floor (what a tragedy that would’ve been), because what looks like entirety of class 1-1 is heading out to only God knows where, and he immediately spots you in the lead together with Sakura.

At the same time, he can feel his phone vibrate in his pocket – like an ominous warning that something big is about to happen. He pulls out his phone and sees that he’s received a text message. From you.

[Ryo☀️]

Our class is heading out for a bit. Pls don’t worry, but if we’re not back in 2 hrs, could you tell Umemiya-san to send someone to the abandoned Senkan Shipyard?

Kaji frowns down at the cryptic message on his phone. Normally, hearing from you always makes his heart leap and flutter and brings nothing but a smile to his face and sunshine to his day. But right now, the feeling in his chest is anything but pleasant, and your message makes him want to do anything but smile.

There’s something about the location you send him that irks him the wrong way. It causes an alarm to go off at the back of his mind and sends shivers down his spine.

But no matter how many times he reads and re-reads your message, he can’t seem to squeeze any more information out of it than he did the first time he read it. Giving up, he types in his reply,

[Kaji🍭]

Ofc. I can’t promise not to worry tho. You can’t tell me what’s going on?

            Pls?

He waits for a reply, but it never comes. You haven’t even opened his message.

The time was 08:33 when you wrote, and it’s 08:34 now which means that his class’s homeroom period will start in a minute. Then, classes will begin, and he won’t get a longer break before lunch at 12:30 pm.

Well, this wouldn’t be the first time he’s had to leave in the middle of class because of one of his duties as a Grade Captain in Bofurin. The teachers are usually very supportive of what their students are doing as protectors of the town (of course they are, they’re citizens too), and Kaji doubts that anyone will raise an eyebrow if he leaves early.

He decides that he’ll give you 90 minutes, which means that he’ll have to leave at 09:43, giving him 20 minutes to head down to the abandoned shipyard.

Because even though he intends to tell Umemiya where he’s going – like you asked him to do – he’s not going to wait for permission from Umemiya to go. No, he’s already decided that he will head to Senkan Shipyard himself.

And he also knows that he probably won’t be able to focus on classes because he’ll be too busy counting down the seconds until he can go and get you.

This is going to be the longest 90 minutes of his life.

Chapter Text

It’s about a 20-minute walk from Furin High to Senkan Shipyard. Nirei uses the time to lecture your class about everything he knows about KEEL, Suo adding some details here and there – although, it doesn’t seem like there’s much any of them know about KEEL except for some floating rumours. And none of those rumours sound pleasant.

Anzai can confirm some of the nasty stories about them, having experienced it on his own body. Apparently, they’re known for bringing weapons like bats or lumber into their fights.

Well, honestly, it doesn’t really matter to you what kind of gang they are. You’ve already seen what they’re capable of. The image of Anzai’s childhood friend – Nagato – beaten up and bloody, surrounded by a group of laughing KEEL members, still flashes before your eyes every time you close them.

And Sakura, it turns out, is of the same mind as you.

“It doesn’t matter who we’re up against,” he declares as he walks ahead as the leader of your group (well, he is your leader, but it still makes you all excited and proud to actually see him take on the role), “All I gotta do is drag that Nagato dude back and anyone who stands in my way is gonna get beaten down.”

Finally, you and your classmates arrive at the harbour. The air smells like salt and seaweed and rotten fish, and the sound of waves crashing onto concrete and the occasional screeches from seagulls tear through the air.

“Is this…it?” someone asks as your group stops in front of an old shipyard. Well, it has KEEL’s logo graffitied on the front, so you assume that this is it.

“It’s locked,” another one comments and points at the iron chains wrapped around the doorhandles.

You just smile and turn around to look at Sugishita. You haven’t exchanged many words with him in during your time in Bofurin (actually, you doubt that anybody has), but you still recall what Nirei told you about him on your very first day of school.

The most dangerous guy in the whole school.

Yes, in terms of pure, physical strength, Sugishita easily takes the top spot as the most dangerous guy at Furin High.

“Sugishita-kun,” you address him as you crane your neck to look him in the eyes. Sugishita frowns down at you – not that that surprises anyone since Sugishita’s range of facial expressions doesn’t seem to reach outside of frowns or scowls unless he’s looking at Umemiya. But that doesn’t deter you.

“Could you maybe fix that for us, please?” you ask, smiling up at him as you tilt your head to the side and point at the chains. With a huff, he sidesteps you, walks over to the doors and begins yanking at the chains.

“S-Sugishita-san, I don’t think that’ll be enough to make it budge…!” Nirei exclaims, but no sooner has he spoken before the chains snap and Sugishita yanks the doors open.

“Wasn’t it your who told me that Sugishita-kun’s the strongest guy in the whole school?” you ask a gaping Nirei as you gently pat him on the back.

“Only in terms of brute strength, though,” Suo mutters, sending Sugishita a nasty look. Suo still has a grudge against the guy – he’s still not over that time Sugishita almost punched you on your very first day of school. At least Suo got the chance to beat up the guy from Shishitoren who also tried to lay his hands on you, but it would be very unsportsmanlike of him to go around picking fights with his own classmates. Which also means that he can’t just get rid of his frustrations the same way he did in the one-on-one fighting tournament with Kanuma. Instead, he must resort to teeth-grinding and glaring.

When you first enter the shipyard it looks well….abandoned (it’s the abandoned shipyard, duh), but it’s still strangely empty and quiet compared to what you had imagined. Like, you thought KEEL would be standing ready to take you on or something. But there’s only what looks like a handful of people standing on some kind of platform – a balcony of sorts.

“What’s thiiis?” one of them drawls, “We’ve got a whole party breaking down the door today! We were only supposed to have an appointment with one of ya guys, though…oh well, whatever.” Then, he grabs a person from the floor and hauls him up for you to see,

“Hey, Nagato, your friend’s heeeere. C’mon man, gotta at least wave at’em.” And then, the KEEL guy has the audacity to shake Nagato’s limp hand in a sad imitation of a wave.

Seriously, this KEEL gang just…ugh.

None of your classmates move. No, you all have your eyes set on Sakura because for once, he doesn’t look thrilled at the prospect of a good brawl. Which means that KEEL must really have managed to piss him off.

“Hand him over,” Sakura demands, his voice the epitome of the calm before the storm.

“Naaaah, we don’t wanna,” the KEEL guy smirks, “this guy can’t even hit our quotas. He’s got a ton of shit he’s gotta--”

“I didn’t ask you for your damn permission,” Sakura interrupts. “Hand. Him. Over.”

The KEEL guy makes a puking sound. Sakura, who normally would have scowled at such a display, just looks unimpressed.

He’s got this whole deadpan vibe going for him, you have to admit that.

“All right,” Sakura says as he unblinkingly stares down the KEEL member holding Nagato. “I’ll just send all of ya flyin’ before I take him back.”

“Ooooh, sooo scaaary!” the KEEL guy coos before breaking into a wide smile, showing way too much teeth. “So, in that case…we’ve gotta defend ourselves, right?”

As if on cue (which is probably what it is), people in white jackets begin to appear from all around you. From the door that you left open, from cracks and holes in the walls, from the stairs leading down from the various platforms along the walls in the building. Slowly but surely, they close in on you, surrounding you and your classmates from all sides. They outnumber you at least three, if not four, to one, and all the KEEL members bear some kind of makeshift weapon – just as Anzai had warned you.

“Shit,” Anzai curses, “I’m sorry, everyone.” This wasn’t at all what he, nor his classmates had imagined they agreed to be involved in this mess.

Squaring your shoulders, you put on a wide grin.

“What’re you even apologising for?” you ask, spreading your feet and readying yourself to fight.

“Yeah, this’ll be a pinch,” Tsugeura says as he loudly cracks his knuckles.

“Let’s make this quick so we can go home already,” Kiryu adds.

“You mean go back to school, Kiryu-kun,” Suo scolds, making Kiryu giggle and roll his eyes.

“Umemiya-san would never forgive them for this,” Sugishita scowls as he glares at the KEEL members in front of him.

Wow, that’s the most you’ve ever heard him say in one go.

“You guys can step back,” Sakura says, raising his chin, “I can take’em all on my own.”

Your classmates look at the six of you as if you all just sprouted an extra head and then, they look at each other.

Then, they too smile.

You might all be mad, but that madness is infectious, they must admit. You and your friends remind them that even though they haven’t fought with Shishitoren or are Vice Captains or Grade Captains or crazy strong and confident like you are, they’re still part of Bofurin.

The rest of your classmates ready themselves for the brawl that is to come.

You hear KEEL snicker and scoff at your confidence.

They don’t know what hit them.

Then, what you assume is KEEL’s leader shouts,

“All right bros, END ‘EM!”

And like that, Bofurin clashes with KEEL.

It quickly becomes clear that your classmates are used to brawling. They’re all decently skilled, and they know how to navigate in the chaos. Just what you can expect from Furin.

But still, there are six of you who stand out – you, Sakura, Suo, Sugishita, Kiryu, and Tsugeura – and there are gaping holes in KEEL’s formation wherever each of you are. As soon as the fight began, you tried to spread out, forming a protective circle around the rest of your classmates so that you could take the brunt of the opponents coming for you, while those behind you could handle anyone who broke through your defences.

This is also the first time your classmates have seen the six of you in action. And they can’t help but marvel.

“Shit, they’re strong…”

“I knew Sugishita-kun was impressive, but that…”

“Damn Sakura-kun…I never knew he was this strong…”

“I can see how Ryo-kun managed to beat Shishitoren…that guy’s made of a whole different material…”

Apart from you six, there’s also another student who stands out, but that’s mostly due to his lack of fighting skills.

Nirei seriously wonders what he’s doing here. Like, not philosophically speaking as in “what am I doing on this earth and what is the purpose of my existence”, but more like, “what am I doing in the middle of this brawl when I can’t even defend myself, let alone fight?” Not that he wanted to be left behind at the school, but why, oh why didn’t he just wait for the rest of you outside the shipyard?

It's not because he’s a coward.

No, it’s because he knows he’s a liability.

He ended up close to you when the fight began and now, he can’t do anything but watch as you try to both take down as many KEEL members as possible while helping out your classmates in trouble and making sure that nobody sets foot within a six feet radius of Nirei.

And he feels even more useless than he did as a spectator to your fight with Togame.

You, on the other hand, are on a high. Because this time, you find that it’s not nearly as hard fighting while protecting another person. You don’t know if it’s because you’ve become stronger since the brawl on Tonpu Shopping Street or if it’s a mindset thing, but for some reason, it’s as if you’re suddenly acutely aware of everything happening around you, your senses sharp and your reflexes sharper, which makes it much easier to be multiple places at once.

Out of the corner of your eye, you spot someone with a bat charge at Nirei and you hurry to knock out the KEEL member you’re currently fighting with a head-butt before leaping right in front of your friend, blocking him from the KEEL member’s view. Nirei yells at you in warning as the bat comes swinging at your head, but you nimbly dodge and swivel around on the ground, swiping the KEEL member off his feet. He drops his bat, and you bent down to pick it up before throwing it towards another KEEL member who’re just about to finish off one of your classmates. As you intended, the bat doesn’t hit anyone, but just brushes the nose of the KEEL member, making him jolt back in surprise which gives your classmate time to get the upper hand again. The bat lands in a huge pile of debris, preventing anyone from getting their hands on it, and the now bat-less KEEL member at your feet scrambles away from the fight like a scared squirrel.

Shrugging, you turn around, ready to take on the next KEEL member, this one armed with two metal pipes.

To you, there’s nothing as empowering as being able to protect other people. It’s your life’s purpose, after all. Or, it has been, ever since you hurt that girl. Ever since you were told it would be better if you had never been born.

You’ll prove them all wrong.

You’ll earn your right to be here.

You’re not the only one who’s on a high. Sakura is too. He feels like he’s already failed his classmates so many times – actually, he didn’t think he was fit to lead them in the first place, but that feeling has only been confirmed with the stupid cat incident and his loss to Tomiyama. Because no matter how great everyone else tells him that he was, Sakura knows that he wouldn’t have been able to beat Tomiyama after he’d pushed the boy over the edge and Umemiya had to take over. And to Sakura, that means that he lost. That he failed.

So now, he’s determined to make a difference. Both for his classmate, but also for himself. He meant it when he said he could take on all of these guys himself. Actually, if it was up to him, he wouldn’t have dragged anyone else into this mess.

Oh well, not much to do about that now. The only thing to do now is to make sure that this thing ends as quickly as possible which means that as soon as the fight began, Sakura made it his mission to get him and Anzai to Nagato.

“Open up a path!” he shouts and his classmates immediately start to split KEEL into two groups, clearing up a path for him and Anzai – like Moses parting the Red Sea.

Anzai doesn’t waste time, but sprints towards the stairs leading up to the platform where KEEL’s leader is still sitting with Nagato. Sakura follows suit, covering his back, and when they reach the stairs, Anzai sprints up while Sakura holds back KEEL members trying to follow him.

However, not long after, the sound of a body hitting the floor behind him makes Sakura snap his head around.

“Anzai!”

So, it’s not for nothing you get to become the leader of KEEL. Figures. Anzai never stood a chance at getting Nagato back as long as he was guarded by that guy, Sakura thinks guiltily. He turns around with the intention of getting Nagato down himself but stops when he sees that a new person has just emerged from out of seemingly nowhere.

Actually, it’s not only one person Sakura notices as he scans his surroundings. It’s six new people. All of them with that same confident look he knows so well from himself when he goes into a fight, knowing he’s going to win before it has even begun.

And Sakura knows…he knows that these six newcomers are bad news.

“It’s about time for our VIPs to join!” KEEL’s leader shouts and, as one, the six new KEEL members jump down from the platforms where they’ve been waiting, right in front of Sakura, Suo, Sugishita, Kiryu, Tsugeura, and you.

“All right,” the boy that just appeared in front of Sakura drawls, “Time for round two!”

A KEEL member has just landed in front of you. He has bleached, messy hair and a smug expression plastered on a very unpleasant-looking face – well, maybe you’re just biased, but you think he looks unpleasant. It doesn’t help that he’s waving a long piece of lumber wrapped in razor wire – like, c’mon, that’s just plain dirty.

So far, it’s been Bofurin who had the upper hand in this fight – of course it would be, with the six of you working together to protect the rest of your classmates. But with the arrival of these six new KEEL members…it seems like the tides have turned. Because KEEL’s VIPs are in a whole other league than their common fighters.

The six of you quickly get your hands full trying to hold off the newcomers – and even though you would probably all be able to take them out with little difficulty under different circumstances, right now, you’re all too worried about your classmates to give it your all.

Basically, everything is suddenly turning out in KEEL’s favour.

“Keep close to me, Nire-kun,” you order him as you place yourself between him and the VIP. You’ve already decided that even if you can no longer help your classmates out, you’ll still protect Nirei. Because in comparison to your other classmates who at least have a chance at fighting through this chaos, Nirei is basically helpless.

Nirei quickly pockets his phone – what on earth has he been using that for? – and places himself close to you.

“Boohooo, worried for your boyfriend?” the VIP sneers as he swings his weapon at you.

That razor wire really is annoying because you can’t just grab onto the weapon and wrestle it out of his grasp, and blocking his blows will rip your skin to shreds.

So, before you figure out how to disarm him, you’ll have to resort to dodging.

Kaji is restless. He’s been counting the seconds ever since you wrote to him, checking his phone every other minute to see if you’ve been writing to him. It’s been about 53 minutes so far, so only 17 minutes until he can leave.

His Vice Captains knows that he’s on edge – actually, they don’t think they’ve ever seen him this agitated before – but when they tried to ask him about it, he basically lost his shit, flipped over his desk and began shouting. They quickly left him alone after that.

However, that doesn’t mean that they’ve stopped watching him.

So, when Kaji’s phone vibrates during class and Kaji practically jumps out of his chair with nerves, they know that something big is up.

Almost dropping his phone, Kaji opens the text message he just received.

But it’s not from you.

No, it’s from another boy from your class – Nirei Akihito, who was chosen as Advisor for your class’s Grade Captain.

[Nirei Akihito]

Pls, we need someone at the abandoned Senkan Shipyard ASAP. We’re fighting KEEL and things just turned bad.

Kaji actually drops his phone after reading that. And his lollipop.

“Enomoto-kun, Kusumi-kun. We’re going. NOW!!!”

His Vice Captains don’t question it. They just follow their Grade Captain as he sprints out of the classroom, out of Furin grounds, and towards the harbour.

Behind you, Nirei feels worse than ever. It was slightly better when it was clear that Bofurin was winning the fight, but now…now, when his classmates are surrounded and his friends are fighting one-on-one with the most dangerous guys in KEEL…when you are fighting against a madman armed with razor wire and can’t even give it your all because you’re protecting him at the same time…well, now, he just kind of hates himself.

He can’t go on like this. He just can’t.

Which is why, when he sees one of his unconscious classmates being held up by a KEEL member while another one is using him as a punching bag, Nirei loses it.

He darts away from your side even though you told him to keep close and tackles the KEEL member to the floor before he can land yet another hit on his unconscious classmate.

As they both land heavily on the ground, Nirei on top, he faintly hears someone shouting his name – it’s probably you – and when he turns around, he sees that another one from KEEL is fast approaching with an angle iron raised, ready to smash Nirei’s face in.

Well, that’s what he gets for not sticking to your side, Nirei thinks as he raises his arms to protect himself because there’s nothing else he can do.

“Don’t you dare touch him!” you roar and, faster than the eye can follow, you catch up to the guy with the ankle iron and kicks him in the back of the head. He slumps to the ground, unconscious.

Nirei slowly lowers his arms. And what he sees makes his blood run colder than it did when he thought he was about to get both his arms broken by an angle iron.

“You really shouldn’t turn your back to your opponent,” the VIP tuts behind you.

And, before you can react, your head explodes and the world turns black.

Nirei screams.

Kaji knew there was something seriously wrong when you wrote to him this morning. Now he knows why the location Senkan Shipyard sent shivers down his spine.

It’s because it’s the headquarters of fucking KEEL.

How could he have forgotten that? And why didn’t you write to him why you were going? If he had just known that you were going out to fight with one of the most unhinged delinquent gangs in the neighbourhood…

He should never have waited as you told him to. No, he should have headed out as soon he got your message so that he could stop you from going, or at least so that he could have gone with you.

All these thoughts are running rampant in his mind as he and his Vice Captains are sprinting for the harbour.

When they arrive, the sight of your whole class receiving a one-sided pummelling meets them as they skid to a halt in front of the wide-open doors to KEEL’s headquarters.

But Kaji doesn’t see the fighting going on. No, all he sees is a blond boy screaming while he uses his own body to shield an unconscious person, lying in alarmingly large pool of blood on the floor from a KEEL member holding a piece of lumber wrapped in razor wire, of all things.

Kaji is just able to glimpse some strands of long hair and a delicate hand sticking out from underneath Nirei.

Your hair.

Your hand.

Because that blood-stained, unconscious person on the floor underneath Nirei, is you.

It’s you.

Chapter Text

A scream tears through the shipyard, the sound echoing eerily in the sudden silence that follows as both Bofurin and KEEL members alike stop what they’re doing to look in the direction of the sound.

Because it’s a scream the likes of a wild, cornered, enraged, and frightened animal who has nothing left to lose. A scream that makes your blood run cold and sends shivers down your spine.

And when they turn their heads to see who let out such a horrible sound, they see one of Bofurin’s six strongest fighters on the ground in an alarmingly large pool of blood and a blond boy clinging to the body as if his life depends on it.

Suo sees red. Because even though he can’t make out the exact features of the person lying on the ground, he knows that you were fighting in that exact corner of the shipyard, and that you were fighting one of KEEL’s VIPs while protecting Nirei. And that right now, that VIP has a shit-eating grin on his face as he raises a piece of lumber wrapped in razor wire, ready to bring it down on you and Nirei again.

Something within him snaps, and Suo moves. But it it’s like one of those bad dreams where your feet seem like they’re glued to the ground, and your movements are sluggish and slow. Too slow, he thinks desperately as the weapon is brought closer and closer to hitting you and Nirei.

He’s too slow.

A bit further away, Kiryu is standing frozen in place. He can’t help but stare. He can feel his heart thumping loudly in his chest – not because of adrenaline from the fight, but from shear and utter panic.

You look even smaller than you usually do as you lie there on the ground, your too large Furin jacket tangled around you and your hair falling out of its bun and spreading out, surrounding your head like a halo.

It almost looks like you’re…

No, he thinks to himself. You can’t be. You’re too strong. Too lively.

He hasn’t even gotten the chance to ask you where you got that new turtleneck you wore yesterday. He hasn’t even gotten the chance to show you all the new cat memes he has saved on his phone just for you. He hasn’t even gotten the chance to take you out to his favourite café which is nothing like the rowdy places your other classmates favour.

He hasn’t even gotten the chance to tell you that he-- that he--

No. Don’t think like that. There’ll be plenty of time to tell you later – because Kiryu just knows. He knows that you’ll soon be on your feet again. He refuses to believe anything else.

In the meantime, he has a bone to pick with KEEL. Specifically, one specific VIP swinging around a piece of lumber wrapped in razor wire.

And Kiryu is positive that at least a couple of particular boys from your class will be more than happy to help him beat whoever hurt you to a pulp.

Suo and Kiryu are not the only ones about to completely lose it. Sakura’s been fighting not too far from you and already knows that you were struggling a bit to both hold off the KEEL VIP and protect Nirei at the same time.

But still, it didn’t seem like you couldn’t handle it. And then, he was just looking away for what felt like a split second, but that split second was enough for everything to go seriously wrong.

And now, he’s staring down at your unconscious form sprawled on the ground in a pool of blood. Where did all that blood come from? Surely, it’s not all yours? And surely, you didn’t get knocked out from a measly piece of lumber?

But then, Sakura notices the razor wire wrapped around said piece of lumber, and he feels bile rise at the back of his throat.

He doesn’t know exactly how, but he knows that somehow, this is his fault. He was supposed to protect you all. To protect you. He even told you that he could take on KEEL all by himself.

But yet again, he failed.

He failed.

Another one of your friends who feels impossibly even worse than Sakura does right now is Nirei. Because if it’s anyone’s fault that you got hurt, it’s his. He was the one who ran off by himself, for once to try and make a difference, but all he managed to do was to get you hurt.

Which is why the only thing he can think of right now is to try to shield your body with his own, to take the blows bound to come for you.

That’s not to say Nirei isn’t afraid to get hurt too. He is. But he wants to protect you anyways because right now, that is infinitely more important to him than his own fear. However, he still can’t help but close his eyes when he sees the KEEL VIP raise his weapon again.

Suo reaches out his hand, although he knows he can’t possibly reach you and Nirei from where he stands before it’s too late. Kiryu and Tsugeura shout your name, and Sakura sets into a sprint, but he too knows that he’s too far away to make a difference. That doesn’t stop him from trying though.

They all watch with wide eyes as the KEEL VIP swings his weapon again…

…only for it to be kicked out of his hand by a person moving so fast that he’s only a blur to the eye, while the KEEL VIP is sent flying into a pile of rubble in the other side of the room.

And in the settling dust stands Kaji, headphones around his neck and no lollipop in sight, looking angrier than a bull with a cloth in its face. Behind him stands his two Vice Captains, looking a lot more composed than their Grade Captain, but still slightly shaken at the sight that meets them.

“They gotcha guys good. Good thing we came after ya,” Enomoto comments, glancing down at you and Nirei on the ground.

“Enomoto-san…” Nirei whimpers. He’s never been so grateful for the amazing wonders of text messaging before.

Kaji kneels down beside you, hand shaking, and clumsily removes the loose strands of hair covering your face. You groan, and Kaji doesn’t think he’s ever been as relieved as he is when he realises that you’re not…no, he can’t even finish that thought.

Just when he’s about to get to his feet again so that he can beat the shit out of the guys who hurt you, you mumble something and he freezes, desperate to hear what it is you’re saying.

“…”

“…Ren…”

“…you came…”

Kaji swears that he can see the ghost of a smile on your lips as you say his name. Not his family name, but his given name. He would have been happy had he not been so angry that it pushes out every other emotion from his mind.

“’Course I came,” he mumbles. He looks torn as he thinks for a moment, but then,

“Enomoto-kun, take Ryo-kun and Nirei-kun outside, then come back in.”

His Vice Captain nods, then bends down and lifts you into his arms. Kaji swallows the sudden, irrational jealousy rising in his throat because he knows that it’s a ridiculous feeling to entertain right now. And although he would like nothing more than to carry you out and make sure you’re okay himself…right now, he doesn’t trust himself with you. Right now, he’s not sure he knows how to be gentle. As it is, he’s already having a hard time preventing himself from tearing this place down, piece by piece, until nothing but embers and ashes remain.

“Hey, that guy with the headphones…that’s Kaji,” one of the KEEL members whispers in the silence that followed the second years’ entry.

“Yeah…careful, if you get him fired up, he’ll go berserk and destroy every guy in sight.”

“Sorry to tell you man, but I think it’s already too late for that…”

“You know,” someone from KEEL shouts – their leader, judging from how he’s standing on his platform like a commander overlooking his soldiers going to war, “the only person we have beef with is that kid over there.” He points at Anzai, lying unconscious at the foot of the stairs. “Furin doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

“Are you stupid?” Kaji asks. He isn’t shouting, but his voice is low and threatening. “Bofurin protects the town, and that means everything in the town, including the members of Bofurin. And if there’s something – someone important to us…” his eyes flicker to the open doors where he knows you are, somewhere, out there, “…then it’s our job to protect it. You damn lizards…” Kaji’s voice gradually gets louder as he gets fired up, “You touched something important to me. That means you guys should already know WHAT KIND OF SHIT YOU’VE GOTTEN YOURSELF INTO!!!”

He roars the last part of his speech just before he and his Vice Captains throw themselves into the fight.

Sometime later, Kaji finds himself standing before none other than the leader of KEEL. He has already taken care of that scumbag who hurt you, and bringing down the one responsible for this whole farce is the best way he can think of to let out the rest of all his pent-up rage.

He even had to fight Sakura on the way here because the boy had gotten it into his head that the KEEL leader was his, and his alone to fight. Kaji couldn’t care less about what personal stakes Sakura has in this brawl – not when it interferes with his ability to lead his classmates.

And even though Kaji knows it’s unfair of him, he can’t help but blame Sakura for what happened to you. He had even told the other boy as much – and given him a good smack to bring him back to his senses.

“Damn, you idiot!” Kaji had shouted at him, holding Sakura up by the collar of his shirt, “You’re so distracted by that nobody up there that you can’t even deal with this small fry on your own! If you can’t even save your own classmates, then you shouldn’t call yourself their Grade Captain!”

Well, it seemed to have worked. After Kaji’s little lecture, Sakura manages to get his shit together so that he can finally beat that annoying VIP – who’s been practically dancing tauntingly in front of him this whole time – while he lets Kaji take care of the KEEL leader.

The KEEL leader, whom Kaji is now facing on a platform raised high above the rest of the fighting going on beneath them.

“So, I get to fight you, Kaji-kun?” KEEL’s leader asks in a silky voice, head tilted to the side. “Boy, am I delighted to get to fight someone as famous as you! And hell, it seems like we’re really similar!”

Kaji can’t help but frown at this statement.

“Just now, down there…” the KEEL leader continues smugly, “you beat your subordinate into submission, didn’t you? I agree with that method. The best tool to get absolute authority over others is…fear! It’s just the best feeling! You think so too, don’t you?”

If Kaji was angry before, he’s impossibly even more riled up now. How dare this guy…Kaji knows that he’s always had a short temper – you could even go as far as to say that he has anger issues, but he’s gotten a lot better since he was younger. Ever since Hiragi took him under his wings, got him his first set of headphones so that Kaji could tune out the world because that was better than raging until he had beaten up everyone and everything in sight.

But Kaji also can’t deny that this guy in front of him brings forth the things in him that he’s constantly trying to suppress.

“Why’re you tryin’ so hard to pretend to be one of the heroes?” KEEL’s leader presses on, “Truth is, you’re one of us, aren’t you? So, let’s make a deal…if I win, then you gotta join KEEL!”

And that’s the last drop that shoves Kaji completely over the edge.

Below the boss fight, Sakura takes care of the VIP he had such a hard time beating before in no time flat. He glances up to see his upperclassman take on KEEL’s leader, still wishing it was himself, but knowing better. He watches as they chase each other around on the platform, like a game of cat and mouse where nobody knows who’s the cat and who’s the mouse. They run up the walls, glide on the handrails, do backflips and somersaults, and it’s both brutal and beautiful at the same time.

Tearing his gaze from the sight, Sakura heads off to face his next opponent and sees that both Tsugeura and Sugishita have won their fights against the VIPs.

Kiryu is still finishing off his fight. It looks like he’s dancing around the VIP in front of him, probably annoying the hell out of him like only Kiryu is capable of. It doesn’t look like any of them has actually landed a hit yet, but Sakura knows it’s because Kiryu is just waiting for his chance to get close to his opponent.

And, sure enough, at first given opportunity, Kiryu rushes forwards and lands what can only be described as a slap to the VIPs face – and just like that, Kiryu has immobilized his opponent.

“It doesn’t matter if I don’t have the strength, because I can still beat you,” Kiryu drawls, smiling down at the KEEL member at his feet. “You should stop bragging about the things not worth mentioning…that’d probably make you a lot more popular with the girls.”

Kiryu finishes his little victory speech with a swish of his pink hair that has loosened from his usual hairclips, and then saunters over to join Sakura, Tsugeura, and Sugishita where they’re helping the rest of their classmates out.

It doesn’t take long for them to finish off the rest of KEEL’s common fighters – not with Enomoto and Kusumi having joined the fight too – and soon, there’s only a couple of KEEL members still standing, not counting their leader who’re still engaged in his fight with Kaji.

But Sakura doesn’t intend to let his guard down before every last member of KEEL is out of commission.

“All right,” Sakura says, “let’s go-- huh?!”

A KEEL member just landed right at his feet.

“What’s your deal, damn it?!” the KEEL member wails and there’s real fear in his eyes fix at  something – on someone – behind Sakura.

Sakura turns around and sees Suo striding towards him.

Although, it’s not the Suo he knows. No, the Suo he knows always smiles, is ever the gentleman, and so unfazed by everything going on around him that it annoys Sakura to death.

But still, Sakura would prefer the Suo he knows every day above this Suo. This Suo, who’s gaze is so cold that Sakura can feel the small hairs on his body rise. If Sakura were a cat, he would have arched his back, raised his fur, and hissed at the approaching threat that is Suo when he’s angry.

Suo doesn’t even flinch as he kicks the KEEL member in the face, knocking him out cold. And then, to Sakura’s horror, Suo proceeds to grab the KEEL member by the jacket and punch him in the face again and again and again, even though Suo very well knows that that guy isn’t getting back on his feet anytime soon.

This is wrong, is all Sakura can think when he grabs Suo’s wrist before he can land yet another hit on the KEEL member who was unconscious about five punches ago.

“What do you want, Sakura-kun?” Suo asks. Even his voice is cold, and Sakura has to suppress a shudder.

“That’s enough.”

“Wow, this is a surprise,” Suo says, sparing Sakura a glance over his shoulder, “who would’ve thought you’d be so calm? They hurt a lot of us. They hurt him.” Suo’s expression turns dark before he continues, “doesn’t that get on your nerves?”

“’Course,” Sakura answers while thinking that he’s lucky that Suo hasn’t punched him yet for intervening, “but most of all, I’m pissed as hell at myself – I talked big and look what happened. But getting pissed isn’t gonna help. We need to focus on what we have to do.”

That seems to momentarily snap Suo out of his fit of ice-cold rage, but it’s replaced by something possibly even more unnerving as Suo lets out a laugh, teeth and eye gleaming uncannily.

“Gosh, you’re right, Sakura-kun.”

Suo finally lets go of the KEEL member, blood dripping down from his knuckles – an unusual sight, since Suo always remains untouched and unbothered, even after a brawl. With an expression of curiosity mixed with satisfaction, Suo raises his hands to examine them – almost admiringly. Then, he brushes some dust off his jacket and begins walking away from Sakura.

“This isn’t the time to punish only one of them,” he mumbles, more to himself than to Sakura. A bit louder, he says, “I’ll take care of the enemies this way. Let’s finish this up quick.” He’s gone before Sakura can say anything to that, and Sakura can’t help but think that although Suo seems better than he did a moment ago, there was still something off about the way he laughed and talked about punishing.

Well, maybe Suo will finally come back to his senses once this fight is over, Sakura thinks as he heads in the opposite direction of his slightly unhinged classmate.

Because if there’s one thing Sakura agrees with, it’s that they should finish this up quick so that he can go check up on you.

Only because you’re his Vice Captain and it will be extra work for him and Suo if you’re out of commission the next couple of days.

It’s not because he’s worried sick about you.

Not at all.

While class 1-1 and his Vice Captains are finishing up below him, Kaji is also about to have let off enough steam to feel normal again. Now, all that’s left is to hand KEEL’s leader ten good smacks from Sakura, as well as ten from you. Not that you specifically told him to do that like Sakura did. Actually, Kaji doesn’t think you would appreciate him hitting another person who’s already down for you, but he does it regardless. And anyways, they’re more for his own sake than for yours.

However, the KEEL leader passes out before Kaji can land the twentieth hit and he’s not so cruel as to continue punching an unconscious person.

“Tch,” Kaji spits as he fishes out a new lollipop. “Just one more and that would’ve been twenty. You could’ve lasted a bit longer.”

Oh well, he thinks as he gets to his feet.

When he turns around, he sees that his Vice Captains have joined him on the platform which must mean that the lower floor must’ve been cleared up by now.

“Say somethin’,” Enomoto encourages him.

“Say what, exactly?” Kaji frowns. He doesn’t have time for this. No, now that he’s calmed down, all he wants to do is to rush down from here and outside where he knows you are waiting.

And before his Vice Captains can do anything embarrassing, like making him hold a victory speech or raising his hands in the air like some kind of Olympic champion, Kaji walks over to where Nagato is lying on the platform. Without saying anything, he hauls him to his feet and helps him down the stairs to where Anzai has just woken up after being knocked out at the beginning of the fight.

Then, Kaji leaves to let them sort out whatever landed all his underclassmen in this mess. He doesn’t think he’s needed for that conversation and besides, it looks like Sakura already has a thing or two to say to the two boys.

So, Kaji does what he’s been itching to do ever since he arrived at the shipyard which is rushing outside to make sure that you’re okay.

Although he’s not the only one. Someone already beat him to the punch, and when Kaji finally gets outside, you’re already surrounded by your friends, except for Sakura who’s lecturing Nagato inside. You’re practically sitting in Suo’s lap while you blink lethargically as if fighting to keep your eyes open.

However, that doesn’t prevent you from breaking into a wide smile as soon as you spot Kaji, looking at him as if you aren’t the sole person responsible for the sun shining today.

And all Kaji can think of is how grateful he is that you’re awake.

Chapter Text

“…is he...?”

“…know he always walks around with bandages, so I tried to…”

“Good thinking…”

“Ugh, seeing him like this just makes me want to…again.”

“…shouldn’t say stuff like that!”

“Ryo? Ryo? Please…please, just…wake up…”

“…please…”

When you wake up, the first thing you realise is that even though it felt like it, your head didn’t actually explode – because then, how could you possibly be alive right now?

The next thing you notice is that you’re lying on your stomach and that your head is resting on something firm, yet still soft, and that someone is stroking your hair with long, slender fingers.

You finally open your eyes.

And realise that the firm, soft thing is Suo’s thigh, and that you’re practically lying with your head in his lap.

His eye widens when he sees you looking up at him.

“Ryo-kun!” he exclaims, “how are you feeling?” His voice is slightly shaky, and the hand not in your hair is gripping your arm hard enough to leave bruises. You don’t even think he’s aware of it himself.

“You’ve got no idea how worried you made us, dude,” Tsugeura says, shaking his head as if ridding himself of something unpleasant.

“I’m so sorry, Ryo-san…it’s all my fault,” Nirei sobs beside you, his eyes red-rimmed and puffy as is he’s been bawling his eyes out (spoiler: he has).

“Maybe, we should bring him to the hospital,” Kiryu suggests, eyeing you with worry.

All your friends are talking on top of each other, and you can’t even get a word in because you’re bombarded with questions from left and right. At least until someone shouts for all of them to keep quiet.

“Just let him talk already, God dammit.”

You open your mouth to say something.

And then, you hurry to push Suo out of the way before you empty the contents of your stomach on the ground.

“’M’ sorry,” you mumble, embarrassed. “Please…don’t look.”

“That’s it,” Suo says firmly as he rubs soothing circles on your back and holds your hair as you continue to dry heave. “We’re taking you to the hospital. Nagato-kun’s going anyways.”

“Nagato-kun!” you exclaim, suddenly remembering the whole reason why you got into this whole mess. “Is he alright? And what about KEEL? And where’s Sakura-kun?”

“Don’t worry, Nagato-kun’s inside with Anzai-kun and Sakura-kun,” Suo reassures you as he practically reels you back to sit in his lap, “And we beat KEEL after the second years arrived.”

“The second years? Do you mean…”

As if on cue, Kaji appears before you. You blink a couple of times as you take in his appearance. Like the rest of your friends, he looks worse for wear. He’s bruised and scratched as if he’d been wiping the floor with his own face, and some blood is trickling down his right temple. But still, you can’t help but smile when you see him.

“Kaji-san!”

You try to wriggle out of Suo’s grasp, but the world starts spinning and Suo catches you before you topple over again.

“Ryo-kun!” Kaji kneels before you and reaches out to steady you. You wince, and Kaji immediately tries to retreat because he doesn’t really know where to touch you so that it doesn’t hurt – because everywhere he looks, there’re bruises and scrapes, not counting the nasty cuts you received from that scumbag with the razor wire. But you grab his arm before he can let go of you.

“Kaji-san, I’m so sorry that I roped you into this, but still, I’m so happy that you came!”

A fleeting feeling of disappointment passes Kaji’s mind – you’ve probably forgotten that you accidentally called him by his given name earlier – but he quickly pushes it away.

“Of course I did,” he mumbles softly, carefully caressing your cheek as if he’s afraid you might break if he were too rough with you.

Suo is still holding you by the waist even though he knows you won’t fall again now that Kaji is holding you. But still, he doesn’t want to let go. It just feels so…right. Holding you, he means. You’re surprisingly soft, he can’t help but notice – not that you don’t have any muscles, you do, it’s just not the rippling abs he has come to expect from people like himself and your other friends at Bofurin. But he finds that he doesn’t mind that you’re soft – on the contrary, he likes it.

A lot more than he probably should.

Meanwhile, he also can’t help but feel like a third wheel, witnessing you and Kaji’s little heart-to-heart moment. And he can’t help the horrible feeling wrenching in his gut as he watches you make starry eyes at Kaji.

He really shouldn’t feel like this – you’re hurt, for God’s sake, and if it wasn’t for Kaji, a lot more people would have been hurt today. If anything, he should just be grateful. But still, he can’t help it.

Suo clears his throat loudly and finally gets your attention again,

“Let’s get you to the hospital. You hit your head and probably have a concussion – and those cuts might also need stitches.”

“Alright…but what about KEEL?” you ask.

That earns you a lot of confused stares from your surrounding friends.

“He doesn’t have amnesia too, right?” Nirei asks no one in particular, his lips quivering. He’s only just stopped crying, but now, he’s about to start again.

“Ryo-kun, we already told you that we took care of KEEL,” Suo says carefully.

“Yes, I know that – I just meant, have you checked if maybe any of them would need to go to the hospital too?”

“He really did hit his head hard,” Kiryu mumbles.

“No, that’s just how he is.”

You all turn to look at Sakura who has just emerged from the shipyard with Anzai, Nagato, and the rest of your classmates in tow.

“Sakura-kun!” you greet him happily.

Sakura looks torn as he approaches you, a mixture of guilt and relief in his mismatched eyes. Reluctantly, Kaji moves a bit to the side so that Sakura can see you properly.

“I’m so glad that you’re alright,” you grin as you look up at him. Sakura lets out a sound that could both be a huff and a hiccup, then reaches out his hand and flicks your forehead.

“Ouch!”

“Hey, Sakura-kun, you know that Ryo-kun already has a concussion, right? No need to make it worse,” Tsugeura scolds, looking scandalized. Sakura ignores him and grumbles,

“You need to take better care of yourself, dammit.”

“Aww, were you worried, Sakura-chan?” Kiryu teases.

“Who weren’t” Suo mutters quietly.

“S-Shuddap!”

Just before you leave the shipyard, you stick your head inside to shout,

“If any of you KEEL guys need help going to the hospital, we’re leaving now!”

You ignore the collective “Are you serious?!” from your classmates.

The members of KEEL who weren’t completely knocked out just stare at you in disbelief, before one of them shouts back,

“Like we need help from the likes of you! And you’re probably just trying to lure us somewhere to finish us off or somethin’!”

“No, seriously, we would never--”

“That’s enough, Ryo-kun,” Suo says firmly before scooping you up and carrying you away.

“Well, at least I tried,” you sigh before continuing, “You know, you don’t have to carry me – I’ve already gotten blood all over your clothes, I don’t wanna throw up on you too.”

But Suo just shushes you and tightens his grip on you.

“I don’t care.”

His blunt answer makes you glance up at him and then, a sudden urge to touch his face washes over you. And maybe because you are slightly delirious at the moment, you reach up to gently touch his cheek.

“I don’t get how you always walk away from a fight spotless,” you sigh with a mix of admiration and envy as you gently brush your fingertips over his cheekbone.

A cheekbone that grows unmistakenly more red.

“Oooh, is that Suo-chan blushing?” Kiryu coos. “So, you’re the type who can dish out but can’t take any yourself, huh?”

You quickly look over to where the rest of your friends are walking beside you. Kiryu winks at you, while Sakura looks extremely closed off and won’t meet your gaze. Kaji has his eyes fixed on the hand touching Suo’s face, something unreadable in his eyes.

Sighing, you hide your face in the crook of Suo’s neck, too tired to feel embarrassed. Instead, you think that being carried like this isn’t so bad. Actually, you’re grateful, because you don’t think you would have been able to walk in a straight line by yourself.

After that, your classmates and the three second years begin making their way towards the city centre, while Suo, Nirei, Kiryu, and Tsugeura insist on following you to the hospital together with Anzai and Nagato. Sakura reluctantly trudges along (he’s not really reluctant though since nobody’s forcing him to come). Kaji would also have liked to join you, but he has to report to Umemiya, so instead, he and his Vice Captains make their way towards some restaurant where Bofurin’s leader is apparently spending the afternoon.

Meanwhile, back at Senkan Shipyard, Endo Yamato sits up with a sigh. He’s the only one awake in a sea of white jackets because the few KEEL members who could still walk after their encounter with Bofurin have all left, leaving their unconscious gang members to fend for themselves.

Well, Endo was never knocked out in the first place, only pretending to be after it became clear to him that KEEL was going to lose.

“Shit,” he mumbles to himself, “I came all the way here only ‘cause I heard they were gonna go at it with Furin. Why’d they go and lose like this?”

He curses and gets to his feet, glancing around.

“So, this is the end of KEEL, huh? What a damn waste…”

He peels off his KEEL jacket and tosses it to the ground.

“Oh well, thinking about it…I did manage to get some more intel on that girl…” he muses as he makes his way out of the shipyard.

Despite his better judgement (which probably isn’t very good in the first place), he can’t help but be fascinated by you. Like, faking your gender just to be in Bofurin? If that’s not exciting, he doesn’t know what is. And of all the things he’s heard about you so far – taking on Togame Jo, and then making friends with Shishitoren after that, and then now, where you were almost finished off by that KEEL VIP and yet still, you want to help them. You’re so confusing. Never doing what he expects you to do.

And during the time he has spent observing you, he has come to look forward to seeing what you’ll do next – it gives him a thrill whenever you defy expectations, something he hasn’t remembered feeling ever since the first time he’d laid his eyes on Takiishi.

It almost makes him sad to know that he’ll have to hurt you.

Emphasis on almost.

None of the hospital staff are surprised when they see a group of beaten-up boys in the waiting room of the emergency ward. Actually, the whole neighbourhood is used to a bunch of high school kids showing up sweaty and bloody everywhere. This is Makochi, after all, and nobody bats an eye as soon as they recognize the green embroidery on your jackets.

But still, it’s not often they see Bofurin here – firstly, because you usually know how to treat minor injuries yourselves, and secondly, because it’s not often your members get injured this badly in the first place.

“That’ll need cleansing and stitching,” one of the doctors tuts as she pulls a screen in front of you, shielding you from view as she examines your injuries. “We’ll also need and ABG because it looks like you lost quite some blood. And you need a head CT too.”

You just nod along, not really listening as a nurse cleans your wound and someone takes a blood sample from your wrist. At least, not until the nurse who cleans your wound exclaims,

“What happened to your neck, dear?”

“Looks like strangulation marks,” the doctor comments as she gently prods your neck. “But they’re not from today – I would say they’re about a couple of days old.” She then turns his attention to you,

“From another brawl? Or something else?”

On the other side of the screen, your friends are all standing with wide eyes. They didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but they can’t help but hear everything going on on the other side of the thin protective screen, and as soon as you leave with the doctor for your head CT, Nirei whispers,

“You think Ryo-san was in a fight this weekend? Without telling us?”

Suo clenches his fists so hard that his knuckles turn white, and Sakura places a hand on his shoulder,

“You need to calm down.”

But Suo just shakes off his hand and leaves, mumbling something about fresh air.

“He’s been acting strange since our fight with KEEL,” Kiryu comments. “He basically went berserk after Ryo-chan – I mean, I know we all kind of lost it after he got hurt, but Suo-chan’s just…” he trails off, looking uncomfortable.

“Yeah, I know,” Sakura says, frowning. He still can’t get the look of Suo as he beat up that KEEL member out of his head.

They’re all silent for a while, thinking.

Meanwhile, Suo is thinking too.

He didn’t lie about wanting some fresh air, but he also doesn’t want to walk too far from the hospital, so he ends up pacing in front of the entrance instead, ignoring the curious glances from patients, relatives, and staff alike.

He really thought he’d calmed down by now. But then, that doctor had mentioned strangulation marks on your neck which were apparently a couple of days old, and Suo yet again felt that burning, all-consuming rage flare up inside him.

Who had dared hurt you? Who had dared laying their grubby hands on you? And why hadn’t you told any of them? Don’t you trust them?

Don’t you trust him?

He knows you’re hiding something – he’s known almost since he met you – but he’d at least thought you would tell him if you got hurt like that.

But then again, maybe, it’s a good thing Suo doesn’t know who did that to you. Because he’s not sure he would be able to control himself if he did.

And he doesn’t want you to see him like that. He was just lucky this time that you didn’t see him snap after you were knocked out. He wonders what you would think of him if you ever saw him loose control like he did then – if you saw him beat another person even after they’d gone down and then continue beating them just because he could and it felt so good to punish those who’d hurt you.

Would you still smile at him? Would you still let him carry you, using those same hands he had used to beat that KEEL member until his face was nothing but a bloody mess? Would you still reach up your own hand to touch his cheek and risk defiling your own purity and innocence?

If Suo isn’t mistaken, you would.

Because if you’re able to worry about KEEL after everything they put you and your classmates through, he doesn’t doubt that you’d also be able to look past his own flaws.

That’s just the way you are.

Really, it’s Suo who’s too big of a coward to show that ugly side of him to you.

He stops pacing for a moment, sighing. Well, he’ll just have to ask you what happened to you and accept it if you won’t tell him. And if you do decide to tell him, he’ll just pray that he’s able to keep his cool.

He takes a deep calming breath. Then, he moulds his face back into a pleasant expression before heading back towards the emergency room.

“It’s all my fault,” Nirei sniffles sometime after Suo left.

“No, it isn’t,” Sakura says firmly, surprising everyone. “If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine. I was the one bragging about bein’ able to handle them on my own, but I couldn’t really do shit…we even needed the second years to wipe our asses for us…” Sakura looks down at his feet, clenching his fists.

“Stop being stupid.” They all look over to where Anzai is standing. “You helped getting Nagato-kun back. I feel nothing but gratitude for your help. So, thank you…Sakuka-san.”

“And hey…” Tsugeura adds, “it’s also our faults, for not being strong enough. To protect ourselves and our classmates.”

“He’s right, Sakura-kun.” Suo has joined them again, looking a lot calmer than before. “You shouldn’t try to carry too much by yourself. And you too, Nire-kun – don’t you dare take all the blame. I’m Vice Captain too, and I’m responsible as well. So, from here on, we can all stand back up together.”

Nirei wipes his eyes with his sleeve and nods resolutely,

"You’re right, Suo-san. We’ll stand back up – as members of Bofurin and as friends.”

Sakura looks from Nirei to Suo to the rest of his classmates gathered.

“Aren’t we friends…Sakura-san?” Nirei asks as he sees the conflicted look in Sakura’s eyes. Sakura doesn’t answer, but he also doesn’t have to. His friends already know – from the way he lowers his gaze and his lips quiver with barely contained emotions, threatening to spill over.

After what feels like hours, you are led back to your friends. Apparently, your CT scan was normal, so you can be discharged as long as someone watches over you for the next 24 hours.

“Do you have any parents? Guardian? Siblings? A significant other, maybe?” the nurse asks you as they lead you to the waiting room.

“Uhm, I do have a brother, but he lives pretty far from here, and I really wouldn’t bother him with this…uhm…” you gesture meekly down at yourself.

The nurse sighs,

“Do you live with anyone?”

You shake your head, then regret it immediately as the world begins to spin.

“Okay,” the nurse continues, “Either, you’ll have to stay here overnight so we can monitor you, or you’ll have to ask one of your friends to stay the night with you.”

“I can do it! You can sleep over at my place, I’ve got plenty of space!”

Both you and the nurse turn your heads to see Kiryu approaching. He puts a hand on your shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Is that your boyfriend?” the nurse asks, eyebrows raised.

“The hell he is!” Sakura yells and stalks over to where you’re standing, basically swatting Kiryu’s hand away and making all the patients and relatives in the waiting room turn their heads in your direction.

“Ooh, is it because you want to stay the night with Ryo-chan instead?” Kiryu waggles his eyebrows at Sakura who turns red in the face. But he doesn’t back down. Instead, he stays to glare down at Kiryu who – to his credit – doesn’t cower away from Sakura.

Suo purses his lips before walking over to you. You can’t help but feel caged in at this point, with Sakura leaning in over you, still glaring at Kiryu on your other side, and now Suo added into the mix

“No, he doesn’t,” Suo answers for Sakura as he wraps a hand around your wrist, trying to pull you towards him and away from Sakura and Kiryu.

Sakura sends Suo a nasty glare but is too embarrassed to object.

“Guys, I think you’re making Ryo-san uncomfortable,” Nirei tugs at Sakura’s and Suo’s jackets to make them back away.

They really should give you some space, Nirei thinks. You’re hurt, and they’re both clinging to you like lost puppies…or actually, that’s wrong. Angry guard dogs is a more accurate description. And besides, Nirei also has to admit that he doesn’t like it when they surround you like that, hoarding them all for themselves all the time. Instead, it should be him that--

“Why don’t we all just have a sleepover together?” Tsugeura suggests innocently.

“As long as Ryo-san gets to rest,” the nurse insists, eyeing your group of friends sternly, not knowing whether to feel amused or exasperated by all the boys fighting over you. It doesn’t seem like you’ve noticed, though.

“I really don’t wanna bother you,” you say with an apologetic smile, “I’m alright with just staying over at Kiryu-kun’s, since he offered, but the rest of you really don’t have to--”

“Let’s just have that sleepover, shall we?” Suo interrupts you before you can continue any further. He then turns to Kiryu, who suddenly looks hesitant.

“You said you had plenty of space, correct? So, would there be place for four more people?” He smiles sweetly at Kiryu who just huffs and throws out his arms in defeat.

Suo is loath to share you, but still, a group sleepover is a thousand times better than you spending the night alone with Kiryu. Who knows what that flirt is up to?

Not that Suo would let you spend the night alone with anyone else either, for that matter – at least, not if he has any say in it.

The nurse watches as you leave with the other Furin students.

“Boys when they’re smitten these days,” they mutter to themselves, “and that girl is seemingly oblivious to it all…ah well. Not that those boys are any better. I don’t even think they know she’s a girl…”

Chapter Text

Before you can have your sleepover, you have to make a stop at the restaurant where Umemiya and Kaji is waiting for you. As Grade Captain and Vice Captains, you’re supposed to give your report on your fight with KEEL, and Umemiya also wants to speak with Anzai and Nagato.

Umemiya is his usual eccentric self and doesn’t even bat an eye when Anzai and Nagato explain what happened, or when Sakura describes how your whole class had gone to KEEL’s hideout to drag back Nagato.

Instead, he just smiles.

“Great work, guys!” he beams before turning his attention to you,

“Did you get stitched up alright, Imo-chan? Kaji-kun told us what happened.”

Umemiya’s smile falters for a moment, a slight crease forming between his eyebrows as he studies the bandages around your neck.

“Oh yeah, it went alright,” you say, having long since given up on making Umemiya call you by your real (not real) name. 

“Hm.”

Umemiya hums, eyeing you thoughtfully. But before he can say anything else, the restaurant owner shows up with a tray laden with divine-smelling food.

Someone’s stomach lets out a loud growl, and you all take that as cue to dig right in – you and your classmates haven’t eaten anything since this morning, and it shows through the enthusiasm with which you basically ravage the food.

Well, that is to say, most of you do. To no one’s surprise, Suo doesn’t eat anything, but just smiles pleasantly as he nurses the complimentary green tea. What does surprise you, however, is that both Anzai and Nagato ignore the food too, their gazes downcast.

A wave of major déjà-vu hits you when the two boys kneel down in dogezas, and you’re suddenly very much aware of how long it is since you’ve seen a certain green-eyed, orange-clad boy.

“I’m really sorry for all the trouble,” Nagato says. You can hear his voice wavering, and you just know that he’s holding back tears.

You really feel like you can sympathize with Nagato. You know only too well that feeling of crushing guilt he must be dealing with right now and all you want to do is spring up to give him a big hug.

Although, you also know that that might be a little overwhelming for him. You’ve only just met the guy, after all.

Luckily, just like that time with Shishitoren, Umemiya manages to defuse the tension and cheer up Nagato, full-blown Umemiya-style. And soon, Anzai and Nagato join you in your eating and just like that, everyone is finally enjoying a hearty meal together.

Well, everyone except for Suo, of course.

When you’ve finished most of the food, Kaji and his Vice Captains say their goodbyes. Kaji stops halfway out the door, itching to go back and say something to you.

Only to find that he wouldn’t know what to say. He glances back over his shoulder and sees you laughing at something Suo said. Hunching his shoulders, Kaji walks out the door, telling himself that it’s alright.

You’re safe and you’re having fun, which is the most important thing.

Besides, Kaji can always speak to you later.

Alone.

Just the two of you.

Shortly after, you and your friends get to your feet to take your leave too. You all agree to meet up again in an hour, giving you all time to go home and clean yourself up. Sakura mumbles something about talking to Anzai and Nagato first before meeting up with you and darts off.

And then, the discussion of who should escort you arises.

Because, as your friends argue, the nurse had instructed them to watch over you for the next 24 hours, and your friends take that task very seriously.

“I’ll go with you,” Kiryu immediately declares.

“There’s no reason for that, Kiryu-kun,” Suo says cheerfully. “Then, you’d just have to go back and forth instead of directly home. It’d make much more sense if I--"

“I’ll help him.”

You all turn to look at Nirei. He has a determined look on his face as he stares down first Kiryu, then Suo, then Sakura, in a very un-Nirei-like fashion. Gone is his usual twitchiness that stems from his own insecurity, or the chipperness that follows whenever he talks about people he admires. No, this Nirei looks…tired. Weary.

Neither Suo nor Kiryu, who would normally have jumped at the chance to be alone with you, object when you and Nirei leave together.

“I think,” Suo begins quietly after the two of you are out of earshot, “that it’s good that the two of them get a chance to talk privately. About what happened, I mean. I know Nire-kun blames himself.”

“Yeah,” Kiryu agrees.

The two boys proceed to stare at your disappearing backs.

“Uhm, guys?” Tsugeura asks, snapping them out of their stupor. “I’m not exactly sure I follow…”

Back at the restaurant, Umemiya and Hiragi are left alone with the rest of the generous staff who insists on continuing to push food on the two Furin boys.

“So, what do you think, Hiragi-san?” Umemiya asks after swallowing a large piece of tonkatsu. Hiragi eyes him with a raised eyebrow, wondering just how much the leader of Bofurin can eat. And then, he wonders exactly what it is Umemiya is asking him – like, what does he think of what?

“Sakura-kun’s just like ya,” Hiragi says after a moment. “He’s gonna get real strong. And Ryo-kun…well, I could tell the others are shaken, after what happened to him. They really care about him.”

Umemiya smiles softly, eyes crinkling at the corners.

“Those two really are something, eh?” he muses.

Who knew that the two newcomers to town would turn out to be so interesting?

You’re like two sides of the same coin – like yin and yan, like day and night. You’re so different, yet so alike. You, with your bright smile and laugh and the desire to help everyone, even those who hurt you. Sakura, with his ever-present scowl and urge to beat up everyone and everything that so much as looks wrongly at him, but still caring so much about other people that it almost breaks Umemiya’s heart to watch.

Both of you are outsiders with questionable backgrounds – not as in, shady, but as in, nobody really knows much about what happened to you before you came to Makochi.

Although, one thing is for sure: Both of you came here to achieve something. Sakura came here to become the top, while you…well, Umemiya knows that you say you came to Makochi because you want to protect people.

And it’s not because he doubts your intentions – he knows all too well that look in your eyes when you talk about getting stronger, about saving others – it’s just that Umemiya also knows why you have that desire.

It’s because you think you have to prove that it’s okay for you to be here. That it’s okay for you to exist. To take up space in this world.

It makes him wonder if you’ve ever been on that same brink of despair he was once. Nine years old and standing on a bridge on the wrong side of the fence, staring down at the hard pavement seven storeys below. Thinking that if he just jumped, the guilt and self-hatred would finally end.

He wonders if you were saved, like him, by a friendly soul reaching out a hand to a kid in need, or if you had to pull yourself back from the edge all by yourself.

He wonders if you ever had someone you could call family before you arrived to Makochi – because as far as he knows, you only had your brother, and even he was taken from you when you were still both children.

In some ways, you’re much stronger than he was back then. Because you had to go through everything alone.

But not anymore, he finds some solace in thinking.

You and Sakura both, actually. Both of you have been alone for so long but have finally found people here who care about you – enough to want to share your burdens with them.

If only you’d let them.

Umemiya knows that you’re still not letting your friends in, even though they’re all standing at your doorsteps, banging on the door and begging for you to open up. He doesn’t know what made you think that you aren’t likeable – that you aren’t loveable. That you don’t deserve that kind of help and support and love from other people. That you’re a waste-of-space.

But just thinking about it…it makes him want to punch something.

A loud snap brings Umemiya out of his thoughts.

“Something wrong?”

Hiragi looks at him in alarm, and Umemiya quickly hides the wooden chopsticks he just snapped behind his back.

“Oh, just thinking how absolutely delicious they make their tamagoyaki here!” Umemiya bullshits (well, it isn’t entirely bullshit because the tamagoyaki is delicious, it just wasn’t exactly what he was thinking about). “It may even become my second-favourite egg dish after Kotoha-chan’s omurice!”

Hiragi narrows his eyes suspiciously, but Umemiya just smiles, teeth glinting in the lamplight.

After a moment, Hiragi lets it go.

The two of them continue eating (Umemiya significantly more than Hiragi) and chat about topics much lighter than dark pasts long since gone – however much they might still haunt.

Together, you and Nirei enter your apartment. Nirei’s eyes dart from you to the bathroom door and back again before he stutters,

“D-d-do you n-need help, uhm, s-s-s-showering?”

You look at him and he turns bright red in the face.

“Uhm, technically, I’m not allowed to before tomorrow, you know, because of…” you gesture vaguely at your bandaged neck.”

“Oh. Well, I can help you with your hair or something, then? Or I can just wait out here, I mean--”

“Thanks, Nirei,” you interrupt him, smiling. “I’d really appreciate your help.”

Inside the bathroom, Nirei helps you wash your hair over the sink without getting your clothes sopping wet.

He didn’t pry when you refused to take off your shirt but just asked you to lean your head over the sink. Now, he’s gently massaging your scalp as he works the shampoo into your hair, taking care not to get anything in your eyes.

After some time of companionable silence, he finally opens his mouth to say what he’s been working up the courage to say ever since you were discharged from the hospital. However, before he can even utter the first syllable, you beat him to the punch,

“Nire-kun?”

Nirei jolts in surprise, accidentally splashing soapy water all over the floor.

“Huh? I mean, yes?”

“Thank you.”

Thank you.

The two words echo inside Nirei’s mind, mocking him. He knows that’s not what you’re trying to do – gosh, you’d never say something to make him feel even the slightest bit uncomfortable – but still.

For some reason, those two words are what breaks the dam, and the guilt that’s been threatening to crush him ever since the fight with KEEL finally becomes too much.

“Why are you thanking me?” he asks bitterly. “It’s my fault that you got hurt. If I hadn’t-- if I’d just…” He can’t even seem to finish his sentence. He’s trying to find a word worthy of describing how despicable he feels right now, but nothing comes to mind.

“It’s not your fault.” You raise your head to look at Nirei, ignoring the soapy water dripping down on your shirt, on the floor. “You were just trying to protect a classmate, Nire-kun,” you say gently. “That’s nothing to be sorry for. If anything, I’m sorry that I wasn’t strong enough to protect you. And the reason I’m thanking you is because I know that you tried to protect me as well after I, you know, fell. And you also contacted Re-- Kaji-san and took care of me while I was out. So, thank you.”

You’re both silent for a while, and at first, you don’t think Nirei is going to answer. But then…

“I don’t deserve your thanks.”

“Nire--”

“I couldn’t really do anything in that fight. All I was was a liability – no, don’t say anything, because I know I’m right. I also know that you wrote to Kaji-senpai before I did, so the second years would have come anyways.”

“You’re too hard on your--”

“But still, that also means that from now on, I’m going to work hard. I’m going to get stronger so that I’m not a liability anymore. I’m going to become someone you can trust in a fight – maybe I’ll never be as strong as you are, but at least, I don’t want to drag you down anymore because you always have to protect me.”

You mull over Nirei’s words for a bit. Of course, you’re unhappy that he’s badmouthing himself, but when you think about what he really wanted to tell you with this, you also can’t help but smile up at him.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea, Nire-kun. You should ask Suo-kun if he could train you – he’s been learning martial arts from proper teachers compared to the rest of us who’ve just learned by trial and error, so I think he would be better suited to teach you. If you want to, that is.”

Nirei returns your smile. Then, he tells you to bend over the sink again so that he can rinse out the soap.

Nirei feels a lot better after getting that off his chest. He still feels guilty, of course, but at least now, he knows what to do. Because feeling guilty and beating himself up won’t change the past, but at least from now on, he can try to prevent anything like that from happening again.

And now that Nirei does feel better, he can’t help but savour this private moment with you. It’s so rare that he gets you for himself – actually, he thinks this is the first time he’s been truly alone with you without either Sakura, Suo, or Kiryu breathing down your necks. He loves them and he thinks they’re all amazing, but they can all be rather possessive and jealous whenever you are involved. And exactly because they’re all so amazing, strong fighters and just downright goodpeople, he lets them. He lets them be as possessive and jealous and petty around you as they want. He lets them fight amongst themselves and just watches, amused, but also sad that he can’t work up the courage to let himself be known too – except when he sometimes tries to put a damper on your other admirers’ enthusiasm, lest they smother you with their affection.

But that doesn’t mean that he can’t pine from afar. He knows you’ll probably never look at someone like him when you could have someone like Suo Hayato, which is why Nirei has never given you any sign that he’s interested in being more than just friends with you – not that he thinks you would notice it if he did. You don’t seem to notice Suo’s painfully obvious attempts at courting you, Kiryu’s shameless flirting, or how flustered Sakura gets around you.

You didn’t witness the boys lose it when you got hurt. You didn’t witness Kaji – or Suo –snap.

You really are oblivious.

And really, really dense, Nirei thinks to himself, half amused, half exasperated.

After that, you make a quick stop at Nirei’s before meeting up with your friends again. All the boys have brought their own futons, except for Sakura who still isn’t really in on the idea of a sleepover.

“Why the heck would people want to have sleepovers in the first place?” he scowls as you walk towards Kiryu’s place together. “What difference does it make if you sleep at home or together with someone else?”

“Oh, but Sakura-kun,” Suo exclaims, putting a hand over his heart, “you do much more than just sleep during sleepovers!”

For some reason, that makes Sakura turn very red in the face (and that’s saying something, since it’s Sakura, ya know). Suo eyes him curiously for a moment before realisation hits him.

“No, I wasn’t thinking that kind of thing,” he laughs.

“I-I didn’t say anything!”

“You don’t have to because you’re such an open book, Sakura-kun!”

“S-shaddup!”

A short walk later, you, Sakura, Suo, Nirei, and Tsugeura find yourself in front of a gate leading to what must be the biggest house with the most extravagant private traditional garden you’ve ever seen. 

You and your friends are all speechless with awe as you stare at the large gate leading to Kiryu’s house mansion.

“Wow…”

“Wh-wh-whaaa…”

“Wuh…”

It also just now occurs to you that you’re about to have your first sleepover with friends ever, and that excites you. And you’re not embarrassed in the slightest to have five boys sleep in the same room as you – like, you’ve share a bed with your brother plenty of times before when you were younger, and besides, you know that none of your friends are interested in you like that (lmao, keep telling yourself that, Reader-chan).

At the same time though, you also can’t help but let out a small sigh at the prospect of having to sleep with bandages again.

Just then, someone opens the gates from the inside, and Kiryu pops out his head.

“Okay guys…” he sighs before opening the gates completely to allow you inside, “you can all sleep in my room, but you have to be quiet. My dad’s supposed to be on a business trip, but you never know…”

He shrugs before leading the way.

None of you ask why Kiryu doesn’t just ask his parents if it’s alright that he has friends over. There’s something about the way he asked you to be quiet that makes you second-guess whether it was such a good idea to have your sleepover at Kiryu’s.

Oh well, a bit late for that now, you guess.

Even more “aahs” and “wows” can be heard as you step inside the gate, taking in the neat stone path twisting its way through a well-kept traditional garden. There’s even a little bridge going over a small, trickling river that runs through all the greenery.

Kiryu doesn’t lead you to the main house, however, but strays from the stone path towards what looks like an annex.

“This is my room,” he announces.

“So, this is what you meant by ‘plenty of space’. Impressive,” Suo hums while your, Nirei’s, and Tsugeura’s jaws go slack at the sight.

“What’s so special about that?” Sakura asks. “Everyone’s got a shed at home, right?” There’s something off about his voice as he says this, but you’re so distracted by Nirei suddenly throwing himself at Sakura that you don’t comment on it.

“No, not like this,” Nirei hisses, “don’t believe this is the standard for all people, please!” He gives Sakura an insistent hand-chop over the shoulder that Sakura doesn’t even seem to feel.

“Thank you so much for having us,” you beam as you finally enter Kiryu’s room – which is approximately the same size as your apartment.

Immediately, you are bombarded with colours. Pastel in all nuances meets your eyes, and small trinkets and plushies and colourful posters cover every surface and wall.

“So, you’re sure we shouldn’t ask your parents if it’s okay we stay over?” you say, just to make sure, as you place your things by the door and head further inside Kiryu’s…den, for lack of a better word.

“Nah, they don’t need to know. Please, take a seat!” He ushers you towards the bed in the corner of his room, which he insists that you get while he sleeps on the floor on a spare futon.

“Uhm, alright…whatever you think is best, I guess…”

“Alright, then!” Kiryu declares, throwing his spare futon on the floor right next to the bed.

Suo eyes the futon as if it has personally sullied his family name. Then, without a word, he marches over and unceremoniously pushes it out of the way just before Kiryu can take a seat. With a flourish, he rolls out his own futon and dumps it right beside the bed instead.

“Hey!”

Suo just sends Kiryu a serene smile before gracefully seating himself on his futon, probably to prevent Kiryu from pushing it out of the way again. Pouting, Kiryu turns to you, a bit like a child would turn to a parent to rat out another kid.

“Ryo-chan, tell Suo-chan to move. He only ever listens to you anyways.”

“Oh, I don’t mind sleeping beside Suo-kun,” you reassure him, not having noticed anything amiss with their behaviour – but then again, they always act like that around you, so how would you know any better?

“You’re missing the point, Ryo-chan,” Kiryu deadpans.

“Can I say something?” You all turn to stare at Nirei who has his hand raised in the air as if wanting to ask something in class, “Why don’t we just move the bed into the middle, and then the rest of us can put our futons around it? That way, uhm, you know, everyone can be happy with the sleeping arrangements? And also, we can keep a better eye on Ryo-san that way. I also suggest that we take turns waking him up – the doctor said to do that every hour during the night, right?”

“Ever the diplomat, I see,” Kiryu laughs before adding, “But Nire-chan, there’s no need to wake up Ryo-chan every hour if we don’t sleep at all! Why don’t we just stay up all night? Fun, no?”

“I don’t exactly think that’s what the doctor meant by plenty of rest,” Nirei points out.

“Aww, you’re no fun.”

In the end, you agree on going with Nirei’s plan – you’ve still got no idea what the problem was in the first place, but at least Suo and Kiryu now both seem somewhat satisfied with you squeezed in between them, so Nirei must have done something right.

“What about you, Sakura-kun?” you ask when you’ve finally finished trying to fit the bed and four futons together like a game of Tetris.

“Just gonna go home in a bit,” he mumbles. He’s been sulking in a corner ever since you entered the annex, mood turning gradually more sour as his failure as Grade Captain hits him. He knows Suo and Nirei and Anzai and the others have already reassured him that he did good and that nothing of this was his fault, but Sakura knows.

He just knows that he isn’t good enough and that this is his fault and now that all the drama is finally over, the guilt is catching up to him.

“Oh, but you can stay for a little while longer, can’t you? Please?” you beg.

For a moment, Sakura looks torn. Then, he offers a humph in response before seating himself onto Nirei’s futon.

He doesn’t know why, but for some reason, he can’t get himself to say no to you.

Chapter Text

You both love and hate the yearly excursion the orphanage takes you on, always around the time when the cherry blossoms bloom.

You love it, because it’s the only time of year when you have the chance to get away from the orphanage – from the cold, barren hallways and creaky wooden floors, away from the place that holds both the memories you most want to forget as well as the only memories you have.

But you also hate it. You hate it with as much vigour as your small, five-year old body can hold because it means that you’re forced to be together with the other children. The orphanage is always short on staff, so you’re all herded around like sheep and no one is allowed to stray from the group.

It just so happens, however, that you’re not one to follow rules. You’ll become much more obedient and righteous once you grow up, but right now, you are one little troublemaker. With a shit-eating grin on your face and mischief in your eyes, you turn towards your twin brother.

“Pssst. Onii-chan? Onii-chan? Nii-chan?”

“Why are you whispering like that?” your brother asks, although he’s smart enough to keep his voice down himself. He knows that look – the look you get whenever you’re just about to do something stupid.

Like, for example, wandering off on your own, even though you very well know the consequences for that will be a good beating and going to bed hungry.

Actually, now that your brother thinks about it, maybe that’s the reason why you’re so small and scrawny. Too many skipped meals as punishment for all the trouble you’re making. He always tries sneaking some of his own food out of the mess hall whenever he doesn’t see you among the other children, but more times than not, he's caught, which just ends up with him not getting dinner too.

If only you were the one doing the sneaking. You’d probably be able to pull it off.

But not him. No, he’s never been very stealthy – not like you are.

“’Cause I’m gonna go on a secret adventure!” you tell him conspiratorially, winking at the exasperated face he makes upon learning what you’re up to now.

“Wanna come?” you ask, bouncing on the balls of your feet in excitement.

“I really think we should just stay,” your brother begs, face edged with worry. “You know what the caretakers will do if they discover we’re gone!”

“I can take’em!” you declare confidently, punching the air in front of you for emphasis with eerie speed and precision, considering that you’re only five years old.

“And what’re you gonna do if they throw you out? Where’re you gonna go?” your brother asks, rhetorically.

You don’t answer.

And then, when he turns his head to look at you again, you’re gone.

Your brother sighs, taking on the look of one much older than he really is. If he gets all wrinkly and grey-haired at the age of fifteen, it’ll be your fault.

For now, all he can do is to try and cover for you if the caretakers ask for your whereabouts. It’ll probably get him nowhere except for earn him a beating and a hungry night too, but he couldn’t care less about that.

Not when it comes to protecting you.

You’re sprinting, full speed ahead, occasionally doing a happy twirl or backflip or somersault…until you remember that you have cookies in your bag. You immediately begin walking in a more leisurely pace, and just as well, because you’re already a good distance away from the other kids and you doubt the caretakers will notice your absence for quite some time – if ever, if you play your cards right and return before too much time have passed.

Until then, you’re going to savour every single second of your hard-earned freedom.

Soon, you find yourself entering a public park. Cherry trees are lining the paved roads, their branches heavy with clouds of pink in all imaginable shades – ranging from almost white to reddish-orange, a bit like the flesh of uncooked salmon. Some of the petals have already begun shedding, speckling the ground with pink.

It’s a beautiful sight to behold, and even your child’s mind understands how lucky you are to be able to witness such a wonder.  

An occasional gust of wind causes even more petals to join those already on the ground and, in a couple of days, the roads will probably be covered in a whole carpet of pink.

Small wooden benches are spread out underneath the trees, most of them occupied by couples, all lovey-dovey in this perfectly romantic setting.

On one of the benches, however, sits only a small boy who looks to be around your age. He’s sitting on his hands, his gaze is lowered and hair falling into his eyes as he looks down on his legs swinging back and forth, too short to be touching the ground.

And, lacking all the social inhibitions adults so often impose on themselves, you don’t hesitate to skip over to the boy, eager to make a new friend.

“Hi!” you beam, waving up at him.

The boy yelps and immediately jumps to his feet, towering over you as he now stands on the bench while you’re standing on the ground. He has one foot placed in front of the other and fists raised, as if ready to fight you.

That thought excites you.

“What’dya want?” he demands, not lowering his hands even one millimetre.

“Well, I’m not here to fight you – unless you want to, of course,” you reassure him as you unceremoniously jump up to take the seat on the bench beside him. “But then, it’s only gonna be for fun! Cause I wanna be your friend, and I don’t beat up my friends.”

At that, the boy rolls his eyes and scoffs, letting his stance relax ever so slightly.

“Ha! As if you could,” he sniffs before carefully seating himself beside you, so far away that he almost falls over the edge of the bench.

“Why’re you sitting here all by yourself anyways?” you ask. “And what’s with your hair? And your eyes? It’s not dye and contacts, right? Not that that wouldn’t also be cool, but it’d be much cooler if it were your natural hair and eye colour!”

The boy gapes at you.

As soon as you’d begun your sentence, he’d expected the worst. He’d expected you to call him a freak, an abomination, or to laugh and point fingers at him. At least, that’s the reaction he’s used to whenever people see him for the first time.

But instead, you think he’s…cool?

“You think I’m…cool?” he asks you, still half convinced that you’re gonna shout April fools! any second now.

“Hm.” You hum, nodding vigorously.

Despite himself, the boy’s heart swells. He doesn’t know whether he should try to push this new feeling away so that he doesn’t become addicted to it and will feel even worse once it disappears again – as it’s bound to do – or if he should cling to it, tooth and nail, to make it last for as long as possible, to stretch it thin so that it can maybe, just maybe, make his existence a little bit more bearable for as long as it lasts.

“What’s your name?” you ask the boy, unaware of the inner conflict going on behind those mismatched eyes of gold and black.

“Sakura. Sakura Haruka,” the boy mumbles shyly, half in fear that you’ll make fun of him, half in anticipation for what you’re going to say next.

“That’s such a pretty name!” you exclaim, and the boy blushes profusely. “Just like the flower – it fits you!”

Sakura’s heart explodes. It’s the first nice thing he ever remembers someone saying to him and he can’t help but stare at you, trying to suck in all impressions of you in this moment – the way your legs swing back and forth over the edge of the bench, the way you fiddle with your skirt as if it annoys you, the way your hair is just about to fall out of the bun on top of your head, the way you tilt your head to the side and smile at him, a smile so bright that Sakura swears he’ll go blind to anything else if he stares at it for too long. A little bit like staring for too long at the sun and then tearing your gaze away again, only to discover that your vision has gone all black except for the outline of the sun stubbornly staying on the inside of your eyelids every time you close your eyes.

And Sakura can’t say that he’d mind too much going blind if it means that he can get to see you smile at him like that for the rest of his life.

“What are you doing here alone, by the way?” you ask him – you ask a lot of questions, Sakura has noticed, but after having talked to you for a bit, he can’t say that it bothers him. On the contrary, he’s already dreading for the time when this encounter has to come to an end.

But your question also awakens a new feeling in him.

Shame.

He’s all alone because he has no one in his life who deems him important enough to spend this day with him. He’s all alone in this public park because it’s better than being all alone at the place he can’t bring himself to call home.

Will you think he’s pathetic?

Or worse, will you leave when you find out that he’s so hated, so scorned, that he even doubts anyone knows what day it is today?

He shouldn’t care. He really shouldn’t. Why should today be any more special than any other day just because today marks the day when he was born?

But he does care. Because he’s just a kid, and all he’s ever wanted until now is to be normal, to be wanted by someone, just one single person who’d show him enough interest and kindness to think that this day deserves to be celebrated. Just a little bit.

Will you be that person?

“It’s my birthday today,” Sakura admits, ducking his head and hiding behind his bangs, waiting for judgement to befall him.

“Wow, happy birthday, Sakura-chan!” you beam, jumping up and down in your seat and not caring the slightest that Sakura’s explanation isn’t an explanation at all to why he’s all alone out here.

“Here, have these!” you say, fishing out the box of cookies from your bag and handing them to him. “I baked them myself – they’re with chocolate chips, hope you like them!”

You know the caretakers will notice if the cookies are gone. You had been told to carry them because it was you who’d baked them, but they were supposed to be shared with the other children and the caretakers after dinner tonight. They’d even counted the cookies beforehand to make sure that you didn’t eat or give any away before it was time.

You’ll probably get punished when you get back and they discover that, not only did you lose one cookie, but the whole box.

There’s even a chance that they won’t ever let you bake again – which would be a shame, really, since baking and cooking is your only reprieve back in that godforsaken place…except for a good brawl, that is. But brawls aren’t exactly looked upon with mild eyes, which is understandable, you guess.

But right at this moment, you don’t care about being punished. All you want is for Sakura to smile.

Sakura looks at the box as if you’re handing him the Holy Grail.

“A present?” he asks, voice quivering and eyes wide.

“Yup,” you confirm, shoving the box into his lap. “You can have them all, if you want.” You smile at him again, making Sakura’s breath hitch in his throat and his pulse race and blood rush to his cheeks.

What is this feeling?

Carefully, Sakura opens the box and the enticing smell of toasty butter and roasted sugar and melted chocolate invades his nostrils, making his mouth water. Gingerly, he picks up one and takes a bite.

It’s sweet, so sweet, but not too sweet, and it’s slightly salty, making it almost addicting. The edge is crispy, but the inside is chewy and gooey and on the verge of being underbaked without giving you the risk of salmonella poisoning. The chocolate melts on his tongue as he chews, savouring the flavour.

Just then, a loud crack can be heard from above, and as one, you and Sakura whip your heads towards the sound.

“Watch out!” you shout, grabbing Sakura by the collar of his shirt and dragging him with you out of the way.

And not a split second too late.

Because where you’d been sitting only a moment before lies now a large branch which must have broken off the cherry tree right beside the bench.

“No…” Sakura whispers, and you follow his line of sight.

In the spur of the moment, the box of cookies had been dropped and now lies sadly at the foot of the bench, cookies spilling out and lying broken on the ground.

Why can’t anything ever go right for him? Why can’t he ever have anything good? Sakura thinks, tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. It’s not often Sakura cries – he hates crying, hates displaying weakness like that, but he can’t help himself.

His one and only birthday present for as long as he can remember…and now, it’s nothing more than crumbs and dust.

“Oh,” you say, sounding surprised but not the least bit sad or angry. “Don’t worry, I’ll make you something else!” you declare, grabbing his wrist and dragging him back towards the bench.

“Sit here,” you demand as you gently push him down to sit with his back against one of the bench legs. He does as you tell him, not caring that he’ll stain his pants.

You seat yourself cross-legged beside him and begin breaking off some of the thinner, flexible sprigs from the broken branch.

And then, you get to work.

You experimentally bend and twist each branch, looking them over for sharp edges and for those with the prettiest flowers, before carefully choosing which ones to use and which ones to discard. Your small fingers work nimbly as you begin to braid.

Shortly after, you triumphantly hold up a cherry blossom crown for Sakura to see.

Under any other circumstances, Sakura would have scrunched up his nose and probably told you to leave him alone with your stupid flower crown, but in that moment, all he can think about is how lucky he is, how blessed he must be, to have met you.

Sakura has always considered himself cursed, but maybe, all the hardship he’s had to endure in his five years of existence was what led him to this place. This place, where a small girl with bright eyes and a wide smile would tell him his name was pretty, would give him cookies, and make him flower crowns.

And if that’s the case, then Sakura can’t begin to regret all the bad things that has happened to him so far, as much as it pains him to recall them.

You clumsily place the flower crown atop Sakura’s head, now adorned with colours of pink and black and white. You beam at him before getting to your feet, brushing off the back of your skirt.

“Well, I better get back before they realise I’m gone!” you tell him, and Sakura notices that your smile seems to falter ever so slightly and that melancholy dulls the light in your eyes. And he knows that, despite all your smiles and the happy-go-lucky vibes you give off, you’ve had it hard too. You have it hard too, and now, you have to go back to the hardship, just like himself.

And he thinks that he’s never met anyone as strong as you – you must be, to be able to smile and greet strangers with such kindness despite having had to endure the cruelty of this world. You haven’t lost hope in other people, and, for your sake, Sakura hopes that you never turn out like himself.

“The crown suits you,” you say just as you bend down to give him a light peck on the cheek.

And then, you’re gone, like the cherry blossom leaves blown away by a gust of wind in early spring.

Sakura feels himself blush and touches the cheek where your lips touched him…only to find it wet with salty tears. He quickly wipes them away before getting to his feet too.

He only removes the flower crown when he goes to bed later that night. Nobody has come to check on him all day – otherwise, he’d have taken it off earlier to hide it in case he wasn’t allowed to keep it. He carefully places it beside his bed so that he can look at it while he tries to fall asleep.

It’s the last thing he sees before he closes his eyes, and the first thing he sees again the next morning.

As the days go by, the flowers wilt and the petals shed, one by one, until only bare branches are left.

He doesn’t throw it out, though.

And the bare crown remains the last thing he sees before he closes his eyes and the first thing he sees when he opens them again.

Meanwhile, Sakura dreams of you, of meeting you again.

Sometime, someday, in the future.

Chapter Text

You think you might have a heart attack.

And you’re only in your mid-teens, for God’s sake. Aren’t heart attacks supposed to be something old people get?

But then again, how else would you explain your racing heart and the feeling of your skin being on fire?

You’re currently sitting on Kiryu’s bed, hands slapped over your face and eyes closed so tightly that the muscles around them are beginning to hurt, wishing that you could erase the images burned into your retinas.

But alas, you don’t think that’s possible. Oh gosh, you’re gonna die. Die from embarrassment.

Because as soon as you had all settled into Kiryu’s room, all the boys had proceeded to strip, right in front of you.

Forget that thing about not being embarrassed about sleeping in the same room as all your guy friends. You severely underestimated yourself because there’s no denying it: You’re way beyond embarrassed.

“Are you alright, Ryo-san?” Nirei asks anxiously. “Does it hurt somewhere? Should we go back to the hospital?”

“No no,” you reassure him, although your voice still sounds way too high-pitched to be natural. “I’m fine. All good.”

“Are you sure?” Suo asks, voice laced with worry. You dare to peek through your fingers, but regret it immediately afterwards when you see Suo nonchalantly pulling off his shirt, revealing a very…toned stomach.

Seriously, you think you might just die now.

You thought this would be the same as when you have sleepovers with your brother. But no. For some reason, this is very different.

“Ryo-kun, are you sure you’re alright?” Suo places a hand on your shoulder, and you want to slap yourself for not being able to get even a single word out. “Maybe, you’ll feel better after changing into pyjamas and lying down for a bit.”

“Ryo-san, you have to tell us if you’re feeling unwell!” Nirei says sternly.

“Yeah, cut the bullshit,” Sakura – who, bless him, still has his clothes on since he’ll be going home later – growls from beside you.

“Yes, even if your virtue is to be strong for your comrades, it’s also important to admit when you’re hurt!” Tsugeura bellows as he places his hands on his hips, standing before you in nothing but his boxers.

Oh, why can’t he just put on some God damn clothes, you think desperately as you try to control your breathing.

“Oh shit, he’s hyperventilating!”

“Do we have a bag somewhere?”

“What, that’s actually a thing?!”

“Yeah, it’s because you’re exhaling all of your CO2 which causes cerebral vasoconstriction, so if you breathe in a bag, it helps with--”

“Please spare us the lengthy details Nire-kun.”

Shortly after, a plastic bag is shoved into your hands.

Well, might as well give it a try, you think as you begin breathing into the bag.

In, out, in out, in out.

And lo and behold, it does help with the growing dizziness and tingling in your fingertips.

“It’s perfectly normal to feel like this after everything that happened,” Suo tells you as he rubs soothing circles on your back.

You don’t correct the assumption that you’re having a panic attack because of the fight with KEEL, and not because you’re in a room full of half-naked boys.

And just as you’ve finally gotten some control over your breathing, Kiryu just has to ruin it all for you again by coming out of the showers…in nothing but a towel.

Really, what happened to modesty?

But then again, you guess it’s not that uncommon for boys to be able to be naked together without being weird about it. Like, didn’t you do that kind of stuff when you went to onsens and such?

Not that you’ve ever tried it. And you beg to whatever Gods are out there that your friends will never, ever get the idea to organize a hangout at an onsen.

When you’re all in pyjamas (you fled to Kiryu’s bathroom to change once he had finished up), you sit down in a circle, per Kiryu’s request.

“So, what’s the point of this, Kiryu-kun?” Tsugeura asks curiously, looking around the room as if he’s waiting for something to happen.

“Now,” Kiryu says excitedly, clapping his hands together, “we play a game!”

“A game?!”

“Hm,” Kiryu nods confirmatively, “we’re gonna play ‘Truth or dare’!”

“Huh?!”

“Isn’t that a game for kids? Or like, teenage girls?” Suo asks, frowning slightly.

“Who says boys can’t do what girls do? Or vice versa?” Kiryu lifts his eyebrows, challenging someone to disagree with this statement.

Nobody does.

“Well, it’s settled then! I’ll start by spinning this bottle,” he fishes out an empty Ramune glass bottle from his bag and places it in the centre of your circle. “And whoever it lands on must either answer one of my questions truthfully or do a dare that I decide.”

“Alright, that sounds simple enough,” Tsugeura shrugs.

“Sounds stupid,” Sakura mumbles, glaring at the bottle as if it’s containing an explosive instead of the sticky remains of blue soda.

“Can I add a rule?” Nirei says, hand raised. “No unreasonable questions or dares. And if there’s something you really don’t want to answer or do, you don’t have to.”

“Hm, I guess that would be fair,” Kiryu admits, although he pouts disappointedly when he says it.

“Is something wrong, Ryo-kun?” Suo asks. He’s noticed that you’ve been awfully quiet ever since Kiryu suggested that you play this game.

“Well, I just don’t really like this game,” you mumble. “Last time I played with some kids from the orphanage, they asked me to eat dirt. And jump out the window from fourth floor. And hold my hand over the stove for as long as--”

“Okay, we promise that we won’t ask you to hurt yourself!” Nirei hurries to reassure you. Your four friends are all looking at each other, then at you, stricken. They didn’t expect you to suddenly trauma dump them.

“Okay, we could also play ‘Never have I ever’?” Kiryu suggests, but you shake your head.

“No no, it’s alright. I want to try this.”

“Okay. But we can stop anytime you want.”

And with that, Kiryu spins the bottle. You all watch, mesmerized, as the bottle spins and spins and spins before finally slowing down and landing on…

“Nire-chan!”

“…oh no.”

“Truth or dare?”

“Uhm, uhm, uhm…”

“No need to overthink it!”

“Right, right…uhm, I’m gonna go with truth.”

“Did you actually think that horrible purple shirt you wore on our first day of school was cool?”

“…”

“Pffft!”

“That’s what you wanted to ask me?” Nirei splutters while the rest you snicker.

“Well, did you?” Kiryu persists. He looks genuinely curious.

“Well, no. Actually, I don’t really like those loud colours…”

“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” Kiryu winks. “Okay, now it’s your turn to spin the bottle, Nire-chan!”

Nirei spins the bottle, and it lands on you.

“T-t-truth or d-dare?” he stutters (it seems like he’s back to his usual self, to your relief).

“Truth?”

“Alright, uhm…right, I need to ask you a question,” Nirei mutters to himself while you patiently wait for him to tear down your dignity with whatever he’s going to ask you next.

“Right, uhm…”

There’re tons of thinks Nirei wants to ask you. He wants to ask you why you wear make-up. He wants to ask what the bandages are for. He wants to ask what it is that you hide – because he knows that you’re hiding something.

But despite the curiosity burning within him, he doesn’t ask you any of those things. All those questions seem too…personal. He knows that that’s what this game is about, but he also wants to respect your privacy.

So, instead, he decides to ask a rather dull, but hopefully safe, question,

“What’s your favourite colour?”

“Why’re you so boooring?” Kiryu complains. But you take Nirei’s question seriously and mull over it for a bit before telling him what your favourite colour is.

Then, it’s your turn to spin the bottle.

The game goes on like this for quite some time and you have to admit that you’re having fun learning more about your friends.

You learn that Suo likes teacakes and that he’s wearing an eyepatch because of an accident from when he was a child and not to seal in an ancient Chinese spirit like he claimed the first time you met him. You learn what type of protein powder Tsugeura prefers (Sakas Protein) and that it’s one of his virtues always to let his opponent get the first hit when he’s in a fight. You learn that Kiryu once accidentally dyed his hair orange instead of pink, and that his pet peeve is people who underestimate girls. You learn that Nirei has more clothes than can fit in his closet and that he loves hats and sunglasses, while Sakura only has one type of t-shirt in his closet and that he hates hats and sunglasses.

The first one to choose “dare” is Kiryu himself, and Suo asks him to show you the most embarrassing photo on his phone.

Reluctantly, Kiryu pulls out his phone and begins flipping through his absurdly many photos. The rest of you can’t see what he’s looking at, but at some point, he turns bright red in the face.

“I think I’m gonna choose truth instead,” he says, hastily turning off his phone.

Or well, he would have turned off his phone if not Sakura had snatched it from right under his nose.

Sakura looks down at the picture Kiryu tried to hide from you and scrunches up his nose.

“What is it, Sakura-kun?” Suo asks. Sakura scoffs and throws the phone to Suo, too high for Kiryu to reach it. Instead, the pink-haired boy opts to hide his face in his hands in embarrassment.

You, Nirei, and Tsugeura look over Suo’s shoulder to get a look at the photo too – because although you do feel a bit guilty for invading Kiryu’s privacy like this, then you also have to admit that you’re rather curious.

Because what could possibly make Kiryu, who usually never gets flustered like this, blush so hard that he could be put in the same league as Sakura?

Well, it turns out that it’s a photo of you. Or well, not only you. It also has Sakura, Suo, and Nirei in it, but you are still the one in focus while the other boys are slightly blurry, half out of the frame. You’re laughing at something, sitting on a table in your classroom at Furin High, and the sun is filtering in through the window, hitting you at an angle that makes it look a bit like you’re glowing.

“What’s embarrassing about that?” Tsugeura asks, bewildered.

“Well, it’s taken from before you even spoke to Ryo-kun the first time,” Suo grits out accusingly, eye darting between the phone and its owner as if he can’t decide which one deserves his ire more at the moment.

“Creep.” Sakura mumbles, glaring daggers at Kiryu.

“I wasn’t trying to be a pervert or anything!” Kiryu hurries to defend himself. “I was just-- well, it was just-- I mean…”

“I don’t mind,” you reassure him because really, you don’t. You know Kiryu didn’t mean any harm, and besides, it is a rather flattering photo of you.

“You’re too nice, Ryo-kun,” Suo mumbles, features softening as he looks at you.

After Kiryu chose dare, your other friends become more adventurous too. Tsugeura dares Suo to do twenty push-ups, and you have to avert your eyes to stop staring at the way Suo’s arms flex every time he does a push-up. You dare Nirei to shout out the window “I’M NOT LIKE A REGULAR MOM I’M A COOL MOM!!!” and Nirei dares Tsugeura to sing the Japanese national anthem backwards. Suo dares Sakura to say something nice about each of you, which makes Sakura turn red in the face and splutter as if the words are choking him on their way out.

“Y-y-y-y-our…you’re not as annoying when you aren’t shouting,” Sakura tells Tsugeura without looking at him.

“Wow, thanks, Sakura-kun, that’s really nice of you to say!” Tsugeura shouts, making Sakura’s eye twitch.

“Okay, that was one, Sakura-kun,” Suo says cheerfully, “now, what about me?”

“Uhh…”

“That’s not very reassuring,” Suo pouts.

“Just wait a moment, godammit!”

After a moment, Sakura finally says,

“Nirei isn’t as lame as I thought he’d be when I met him.”

“Well, you already told me that once,” Nirei points out, “but thank you, Sakura-san.”

“A-a-and I guess...” Sakura continues, looking like he’d rather go at it with KEEL again than saying what he’s going to say next, “I guess Kiryu’s got some pretty cool moves when he fights…”

“Awww, thank you!” Kiryu coos, batting his eyelashes at Sakura.

“And, uhh…” Sakura makes eye contact with you, his face going from bright red to burning-hot-red in an instant before averting his gaze again.

“I guess Ryo’s pretty cool too…and strong. And fast. ‘s got good reflexes,” Sakura mumbles to the clenched fists in his lap.

“Sakura-kun, you still haven’t said anything nice about me,” Suo reminds him.

“But Ryo-kun got a whole four compliments, so I think we’re moving on!” Kiryu declares and Sakura doesn’t hesitate to spin the bottle again before Suo can make any more unreasonable demands.

At some point, it’s Kiryu’s turn to spin the bottle, and the flask ends up pointing at you. And because you’re finally feeling safe enough, you choose ‘dare’

…only to immediately regret your decision when you see the smirk on Kiryu’s face. You’re just about to bury yourself underneath the covers when he says,

“Kiss me.”

Chaos ensues.

Nirei lets out a shrill shriek, Tsugeura kicks a chair, making it topple over him, Suo begins shouting profanities at Kiryu (you’ve never, ever heard Suo swear before), while Sakura turns even more red in the face than you do (poor boy’s gotta take care not to get an aneurism). Kiryu just giggles maniacally at their reactions.

“I thought we agreed on no unreasonable dares,” Suo hisses through gritted teeth.

“You really are a creep,” Sakura scowls.

“Well, he’s free to say no if he doesn’t want to,” Kiryu points out.

“Of course he doesn’t want to!” Suo seethes, eye twitching as he glares at Kiryu.

At this point, you’re not sure if you’re more shocked about Kiryu’s dare or the others’ reactions – especially Suo’s. Maybe, he’s still on edge after the fight with KEEL and that’s why he’s so overprotective of you.

Although, you don’t really see a reason for him to be. This is just Kiryu, after all.

“You don’t mind, do you, Ryo-chan?” Kiryu asks, and suddenly, all attention is on you.

“Well…”

Honestly, you’re a bit unsure of what to say. Because it’s not like you mind kissing Kiryu, but the murderous glare Suo sends him kind of deters you a bit. It’s not like you want to be responsible for one of your friends murdering your other friend.

“You don’t have to if you really don’t want to,” Kiryu says, but you can’t help but notice the slight wavering of his voice. There’s really no way to make all of them happy, is there?

In the end, you make up your mind.

“I’ll just give you a small peck on the cheek, alright?”

Immediately, Kiryu’s eyes lighten up, and he nods enthusiastically at your suggestion. He scoots over to you and you lean in, closing your eyes.

When your lips hit his cheek, you can’t help but think that this isn’t at all what a cheek should feel like. It’s soft and smooth, yes, but also oddly bony and uneven.

You open your eyes. And are met with the sight of Suo’s fingers.

“Eh?”

It turns out that the moment both you and Kiryu closed your eyes, Suo had placed his hand in between your lips and Kiryu’s cheek.

“What did you do that for?” Kiryu whines, swatting Suo’s hand away from his face.

Suo just looks awfully smug as he cradles the hand you just kissed as if it’s something precious, while he continues to smile sweetly at the extremely disappointed Kiryu.

Sakura also can’t help but feel relieved that you didn’t actually kiss Kiryu, although he isn’t gloating openly the way Suo is.

“Ehem.” You clear your throat. “It’s my turn to spin the bottle, right?”

You continue your game for a little while longer, although no one chooses ‘dare’ again. Not that you’re complaining – you also prefer ‘truth’ anyways because that way, you get to know your friends better.

“Alright,” Suo declares, bringing you out of your thoughts, “Ryo-kun, truth or dare?”

You hadn’t even noticed the bottle pointing at you.

“Uhm, truth, I guess.”

“Hm…” Suo hums thoughtfully. He suddenly looks serious – way too serious for a silly game like this.

“Ryo-kun, you know that we’re your friends, right? And that you can tell us everything?”

You freeze.

Your first thought is that somehow, Suo has figured out that you’re a girl. It wouldn’t surprise you if he had – he’s awfully perceptive and it’s just a matter of time before he sees right through you.

But you know you also can’t just jump to conclusions. Because you’re not 100 percent sure that Suo knows yet, and if you barf out your secret now, not only will Suo with 100 percent certainty know, but the rest of your friends will too.

So, you try to play it cool…

“W-w-what d-d-do you mean, S-Suo-kun?”

…and fail miserably.

“I mean, why didn’t you tell us that you were in a fight this weekend?”

You blink.

“Huh?”

“The marks. On your neck,” Suo clarifies, jaw clenching as he gestures at your bandaged neck.

“We didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” Nirei adds, looking crestfallen, “but we…we couldn’t help but overhear the doctor mentioning those marks. Those that looks like strangulation marks.”

Oh.

So that’s what Suo meant.

You can’t say that you’re as relieved as you thought you would be to find out that Suo has not, in fact, figured you out (yet). Because this is just another one of your secrets that has to remain just that – a secret.

But then again, if your friends just think that you were in a fight, which technically isn’t entirely untrue…

“Yeah, I was in a fight,” you shrug. You’ve always been a terrible liar – you don’t believe in lying (except about your gender, but that you deem a necessary evil in the name of the greater good), so you’re trying to mix in a bit of truth in the story you’re about to tell your friends.

“Just some random thug I bumped into on my way home from work.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Sakura asks angrily, although you know that his anger isn’t directed at you.

“Uhm well, it’s just that I didn’t think it was that important.”

Your friends exchange glances for the second time tonight.

“Ryo-kun,” Suo says sternly, “Everything that happens to you is important to us.” The rest of your friends nod in agreement. “And if anyone as much as touches a hair on your head…” The temperature in your apartment suddenly seems to drop several degrees.

“They’ll have us to answer to,” Kiryu finishes for him.

“Did you at least beat the guy to a pulp?” Sakura asks after a moment of silence.

“I wouldn’t call it that,” you wince, “But really, it’s no prob!”

Suo hums again. He trusts that you can take care of yourself from common thugs and random nobodies but still…he wishes that he knew who had laid his grubby hands on you so that he could make sure that the guy never got the use of them again.

“It’s getting rather late guys, maybe we should just call it a day?” Tsugeura asks because even though he might be a bit dense, even he can sense the tension that has sprouted between his friends.

As if on cue, you yawn.

Sakura immediately gets to his feet, mumbles a half-hearted “G’night,” and unceremoniously proceeds to stomp out of the annex.

“Wait!”

You shoot to your feet to follow Sakura out the door. Your head begins to spin and your vision blackens, but you still tumble out after Sakura, looking like a drunkard while ignoring the cries of alarm from your friends.

“Sakura-kun!”

He turns around just in time to see you stumble over your own feet and, before he can think, he’s at your side, catching you before you fall into the pond or something.

This gives him a strange sense of déjà-vu.

“Watch where you’re going, will ya?” he grumbles as he steadies you. “And what do you want?”

You fiddle a bit with your pyjamas and glance around the garden, gathering your thoughts. You think you catch a glimpse of a girl, observing you from the main house, smiling and winking at you. But she disappears again so suddenly that you think you might have imagined it.

“Well?”

Sakura’s voice snaps you back to the present. You clear your throat.

“Well, I just wanted to say…thank you.”

Sakura’s eyes widen in surprise. You take a deep breath before continuing,

“Thank you, Sakura-kun. For taking care of us, I mean. You only just became Grade Captain, and you’re already leading everyone. And this might sound presumptuous, but I also want to say that…I’m proud of you. Of course, I knew you would make a great leader – ever since I saw how you protected Kotoha-chan that day we met – but still. I’m proud of you.”

To no one’s surprise, Sakura is blushing by the time you’ve finished your little speech and despite himself, he can’t help but feel happy that you think that about him.

But at the same time, he also hates that your words make him happy because he doesn’t deserve your praise. Sakura knows Nirei blames himself for what happened to you, but really, he shouldn’t.

Because if it’s anyone’s fault that you got hurt, it’s Sakura’s.

“As I told the others, I didn’t do shit,” he scowls. “We were losing that brawl big time before the second years showed up, and that was only thanks to you and Nirei…”

“Nire-kun?” you ask, confused.

“Yeah, he wrote to Kaji-san before everything went to shit.”

“Huh. Well, anyways, if it weren’t for you, Sakura-kun, then we probably wouldn’t even have gone to KEEL in the first place, and then, who knows what would have happened to Anzai-kun and Nagato-kun?” you say rhetorically.

“You ran after Anzai when he got that photo too!” Sakura protests, and just then, you’ve just about had enough.

“Why can’t you just take a fucking compliment god dammit?!” you yell.

“…”

Sakura looks taken aback. He’s never heard you raise your voice once, let alone swear before – at least not when speaking to a…friend (for some reason he can’t explain, when that word applies to you, it doesn’t trigger the same warmth spreading in his chest as when Nirei asked him if they were friends earlier today. A bit like food just about to go bad, but not as spoiled yet that his tastebuds can detect it – it just tastes off…).

And then, you do something that makes him yelp in surprise.

The two of you are already standing pretty close, but you just slung your arms around him and are now hugging him, your still damp hair tickling his face.

Now, normally, Sakura’s first instinct would be to push anyone away who tried to initiate intimate contact with him like this. But for some reason, he can’t bring himself to push you away – no, scratch that. He doesn’t want to push you away. Even if he’s just standing there, stiff as a board, heart hammering in his chest and his cheeks so hot that you could fry eggs on them while you have your arms around him in this very one-way hug.

He screams at himself to just return your hug, but when he tries to lift his arms, they won’t move.

Then, after what seems like forever, but still not enough time, you pull away.

“Good night, Sakura-kun.”

And with that, you stumble back into Kiryu’s private shed.

Meanwhile, Sakura just stands there. His heart is racing, and his cheeks are burning, and he’s still just standing there like some God damn idiot.

He wonders what is wrong with him.

Then, he slaps himself, hard.

That finally seems to get his body moving.

Chapter Text

When you finally fall asleep, it’s a light and disturbed one. It also doesn’t help that you’re woken up every hour, so dazed that you don’t even realise being woken up before you fall asleep again.

And you dream.

It’s a weird dream.

People are talking in your dream. About someone named Ryo…is it you, they’re talking about?

But you’re not Ryo – Ryo is your brother.

But then, you remember that your friends don’t know that.

Oh, that’s right, your sleep-delirious mind thinks. To them, you’re Ryo.

“You like him, don’t you, Nire-kun?” someone asks – Suo, you think, judging from the softness of his voice.

“Eh?” Nirei squeaks, but he’s quickly shushed by a third person.

After some time, Suo speaks again.

“It’s alright.”

“…”

“Are you going to tell me to stay away?” Nirei then asks, voice quivering slightly.

“Of course not,” Suo states bluntly. “I would never do that. Not to you, not to him – I want Ryo-kun to have opportunities, not take any away from him.”

“That’s really big of you, Suo-chan,” Kiryu muses. “Then, I assume you also won’t mind that I’m--”

“As if anything I said could ever make you stop your shameless flirting,” Suo interrupts, tone dry.

“That’s rich, coming from you,” Kiryu snorts.

“I will say this though…” Suo’s voice suddenly turns dark, and you can feel goosebumps rise on your exposed arms, “If you’re not serious about this – if you’re just playing with him – then…” He lets the unspoken threat hang in the air.

“I’m not,” Kiryu answers, the coldness in his voice rivalling the one in Suo’s own. “I’d never. Not with him.”

“Good. I was just making sure.”

And then, like the flip of a switch, Suo returns to his usual pleasant self and the temperature in the room returns to normal.

“You guys really have it bad, huh?” Tsugeura yawns. “Well, it’s not that I don’t get it…if anyone’s virtuous, it’s that guy…”

The voices slowly drift out of your dream, and the world of sleep turns silent again.

Yes, a very weird dream it was indeed.

And when you wake up, you’ve forgotten all about it.

What you do notice, however, is that your hand is dangling over the side of the bed. And that your fingers are only millimetres away from where a certain someone’s hand is resting on the floor beside the bed.

Sakura never shows up for school.

At first, you don’t think too much about it – it wouldn’t be the first time he bolted in right before (or a couple of minutes after) homeroom started.

But as the day wears on and Sakura still hasn’t turned up yet, you begin to worry. And you’re not the only one who has noticed.

“Hey, have any of you heard from Sakura-san?” Anzai – whose spirits have lifted dramatically ever since he got Nagato back – asks your friend group during lunch break.

“No, he hasn’t even read any of my messages,” you sigh frustratedly.

You’re usually not one to be on your phone during class (that’s more up Kiryu’s alley), but this morning, you’ve been typing away furiously ever since you realised that Sakura wouldn’t be showing up.

“Maybe he slept in?” Tsugeura suggests.

“Past noon?”

“Let’s try calling him,” Nirei decides.

You all listen attentively as Nirei’s phone, which has been put on speaker, beeps repeatedly.

And then finally, Sakura picks up.

“Hello? Sakura-san?”

Something unintelligible comes from Sakura’s end of the phone line and even though you can’t exactly make out what it is he’s saying, it’s clear that his voice sounds just plain wrong. Like he spent all night shouting himself hoarse and then stuffed both his mouth and nose full of cotton.

“I’m just guessing…” Nirei starts hesitantly when the call is ended, “…but Sakura-san sounded like he caught a cold.”

Oh.

You immediately shoot to your feet, pull out your phone and begin typing some more.

“Where’re you going, Ryo-kun?” Suo asks, startled.

“Uhm, I need to-- to go-- to hurry--” you get out, only managing to confuse your friends even further. “You guys go pick up some stuff from the convenience store like you did for me when I was sick, alright?” you shout over your shoulder just before you bolt out of the door.

“What’s up with him?” Kiryu asks no one in particular.

“He’s probably just worried about Sakura-san,” Nirei answers, although he can’t stop his own worry from seeping into his voice. “Although he shouldn’t strain himself like that. He’s still recovering, after all.”

Suo hums thoughtfully and throughout the rest of the break, his eye never wavers from the spot where you disappeared out of sight.

After school, the majority of class 1-1 accompanies Suo, Nirei, Kiryu, and Tsugeura when they head to the convenience store. Everyone wants to help pick out their own favourites for their Grade Captain whom they’ve all come to respect and care for.

However, in the end, it’s only Suo and Nirei who actually end up going to Sakura with their haul – despite numerous protests from the rest of their classmates. Because, as Suo points out, Sakura probably wouldn’t feel comfortable with so many people coming to visit.

When Suo and Nirei finally arrive at the building where Sakura lives, they skid to a halt.

“Are you sure this is the correct address, Nire-kun?” Suo frowns.

“Well, this is the address I got from the school,” Nirei insists, although he too looks a bit taken aback.

Because in front of them is the exact same apartment complex you live in.

“What a coincidence,” Suo mutters.

Together, they ascend the stairs and stop in front of the door to Sakura’s apartment. They quickly find out that the doorbell’s broken, and that the door – weirdly enough – is unlocked. No one answers when Suo knocks, so, without further ado, they enter.

At first, they think they must have entered the wrong apartment, because it doesn’t look like anyone’s been living here for quite some time. Not because it’s dirty or messy or anything – but because this place is even more barren and devoid of personal belongings than some crappy Airbnb in the middle of nowhere.

But then, they spot Sakura’s signature sneakers thrown carelessly at the doorstep, and they know that they’re at the right place.

Or well, they would have found out regardless, because just then, the door separating the kitchen from the main room bursts open, and a mad Sakura starts yelling his head off at whoever dares trespass his apartment.

At least until he realises that it’s just his friends.

So, after that little misunderstanding, Suo hurries to usher Sakura back to his futon while Nirei trails hesitantly after them.

As the two boys enter Sakura’s apartment, they can’t help but think how different it is from yours, despite having the exact same layout. Because even with your sparse belongings, you’ve made your apartment seem cozy and lived-in, while Sakura’s looks, well…the exact opposite of cozy and lived-in. And they can’t help but wonder what happened to him to make him end up here, all alone in an infamous town full of delinquents. Of course, you are in the same situation as Sakura, but at least your friends have some kind of understanding of where you’re coming from.

But with Sakura, no one but himself knows how he ended up here.

“This ain’t anything to worry about,” Sakura mumbles into his futon, his voice unusually weak as his two friends settle around him. “I’ve always managed this kinda stuff on my own. I just need to sleep and it’ll go away.”

“But Sakura-san,” Nirei protests, “If you’re living alone like this, then that’s all the more reason for you to please lean on us a little more.”

Then, he hands Sakura the shopping bags filled with food and drinks,

“This is from everyone in class. They’re all really worried about you.”

At that, Sakura seems to find the energy to look up. His glazed-over eyes dart back and forth between the two worried faces leaning in over him.

“Where’s Ryo?” he slurs. Suo and Nirei exchange looks.

“Uhm, he was, uh, really busy – I think…” Nirei trails off uncertainly. Sakura visibly deflates.

Just then, the door to the apartment is flung open again.

“S-sorry…” you huff, gasping for breath after having basically sprinted all the way here. “Are you…alright...Sakura…kun?”

It’s almost funny how Sakura immediately seems to perk up at the sound of your voice – like a cat conditioned to listen for the sound of a can of tuna being opened.

“…Ryo-kun?”

Sakura subconsciously reaches out his hand towards you, but it drops to the floor with a quiet thud as if he doesn’t even have the strength to keep it lifted.

You hurry over to kneel beside him and take his hand. It’s cold and clammy, but you don’t mind as you proceed to rub soothing circles on his palm. You swear you can almost hear Sakura purr.

Meanwhile, Suo and Nirei have gone silent as they watch you with Sakura. Suo smiles sadly before getting to his feet.

“Let’s go home for today, Nire-kun.”

“Huh? Uhh, but…oh, okay.”

It doesn’t seem like Suo at all to leave you alone with another person, Nirei thinks. But then again, Sakura is sick, after all, so he guesses that it’s good that Suo is able to put his personal feelings aside for a minute and cut Sakura some slack.

But still, as soon as they’re out on the street again, Nirei can’t help but ask,

“Suo-san, wh-wh-why are we leaving? Aren’t you worried?”

Nirei doesn’t elaborate on whether he means worried about Sakura, or worried about you and Sakura being alone together.

“Well…” Suo contemplates his answer for a moment before continuing, “I don’t really think Sakura knows how to use friendship. And while he’s weak, like right now, he can’t use his mental or physical strength to handle anything that’s not normal for him.”

“Oh.” Nirei stops up, frowning. “B-but what about Ryo-san, then?”

Suo sighs.

“It’s different with him, I think. I don’t think Sakura-kun minds him as much because…well, you’ve noticed how similar they are, in some ways, haven’t you?” Suo finishes wistfully.

Nirei nods, but his frown doesn’t disappear. Instead, he clenches his fists and lowers his gaze.

“I understand what you’re saying. But still…I want him to learn about friendship. And Ryo-san too! I know both of them hide things from us, but I want them to rely on their friends and let us take care of them.” He raises his head again to look at Suo. “I want to be helpful to them! At least a little!”

Suo smiles.

“Well, I do know of one way we can work on that.”

[Earlier that day]

As soon as you heard that Sakura was sick, you wrote to Tsubakino for Kotoha’s number. Tsubakino didn’t really question your sudden request – he trusts that you’re doing the right thing no matter what schemes you’re pulling – but just sent you Kotoha’s number.

After that, you immediately wrote to Kotoha and asked her to do you a favour. The girl didn’t hesitate to comply but happily agreed to help you out, and you didn’t hesitate to skip the rest of your classes for today. It’s just as well because technically, you’re exempt from school because of your injuries – which is really saying something since this is Furin High, and students showing up to school injured is really not that uncommon.

Well, enough about that.

Because right now, you now find yourself in the kitchen at Pothos, learning how to make omurice because you know it’s Sakura’s favourite. And whenever you’re sick, you know nothing better than to be treated to your favourite meal, and you just hope that Sakura will feel the same way.

Originally, you’d just wanted to ask Kotoha if she could make a portion of omurice for you to take with you to Sakura. But then, when you’d showed interest in her cooking, she’d immediately put an apron over your head, stuck a pan in your hand, and insisted on teaching you how to make it yourself.

Not that you’re complaining that much – you do love learning new recipes, after all – but you doubt you’ll be able to do Kotoha’s famous omurice justice.

Well, you guess you’ll just have to try your best, since Kotoha insists, and when she sets her mind to something, she can be very insistent.

You both mentally and verbally thank Kotoha for sacrificing her remaining stash of eggs on you learning how to make a perfectly shaped omelette – one that’s just firm enough to hold its shape, but still soft and creamy on the inside.

She tells you it’s alright since she’s just going to use your failed attempts for the egg congee she’s currently making (which is probably going to consist of more egg than rice after you’re finished).

And besides, according to her, you’re actually doing pretty well for your first try.

“You’ll be able to serve customers here in no time!” she jokes, patting you encouragingly on the back.

“Actually, I already got a job,” you say, so focused on the omelette that you’re not really thinking about what you’re saying.

“Oh, where do you work?” she asks absentmindedly while she stirs your egg scraps into a donabe filled with rice.

“Uhm…just a pub somewhere,” you answer vaguely, not wanting to give away too many details in case Tsubakino has been talking about you to Kotoha. “I’m just a waiter, not actually cooking, but I’m hoping to eventually be allowed into the kitchen – but well, I only got the job when the school year started, so…”

“I’m sure that if you just asked, they’d let you help out in the kitchen too,” Kotoha encourages you. “You’re really skilled at cooking, I can already tell – you’ve almost gotten the hang of making the omurice – and it’s only your sixth try! I think it took me at least thirty tries before I could make a decent omurice.”

“S’nothin’ special,” you mumble, blushing profusely at her praise. You try distracting yourself by staring down the eggs slowly curdling in the hot pan.

“Don’t sell yourself short!” Kotoha scolds before continuing, “Everyone loves a man who can cook – it’s so sexy! You’ll have no problems charming girls with those skills.”

She must have noticed your expression changing, however, because she’s quick to add,

“Or boys, for that matter.”

Then, she smiles slyly and winks at you,

“I, for one, am sure that Sakura-san will greatly appreciate your efforts.”

You let out a nervous chuckle as you flip the omelette onto a plate of rice.

“Well, I hope that he’ll like it. I don’t think he’s used to other people doing stuff like this for him, and I just want him to know that he isn’t alone anymore. And that he has friends who care for him.”

Kotoha’s smile softens at your words and the truth behind them. Although, Sakura isn’t the only one they apply to.

“You know that you’ve got some great friends here too, right?” she asks as she inspects your latest attempt at making omurice.

It’s almost perfect, Kotoha thinks, impressed. When she looks up again, she sees that your eyes have become glassy, and a serene smile is playing around your lips.

“Yeah,” you reply in a distant, almost dreamy voice. As if you can’t quite believe it yourself.

“Yeah, I know.”

[Present]

After your other friends have left, you find yourself alone with Sakura.

“Kotoha-chan taught me how to make omurice,” you tell him. “It might not be as good as hers, but I did my best.”

Sakura sits up, and you carefully place the still warm plate in his lap. He doesn’t say anything as he starts eating, but you can tell that he likes it with the way he wolfs it down. Or maybe, he’s just really hungry, but you choose to believe it’s because you did a good job with the omurice.

“Did Suo-kun and Nire-kun bring you any cold medicine?” you ask as you rummage around in the shopping bags the other boys had left at Sakura’s futon. Without waiting for an answer, you fish out some Pabron and unwrap a cool plaster that you stick to Sakura’s forehead.

“Cooold!” Sakura screeches and immediately tries to peel off the plaster, but you swat his hand away.

“That’s the whole point, Sakura-kun,” you scold.

“…right.”

Sakura resumes eating the omurice while you take a seat on the other end of his futon. To your surprise, it’s Sakura who breaks the silence first.

“It is, by the way,” he grumbles.

You’ve got no idea what he means by that, but at least he sounds a bit better now that he’s gotten some liquids and food in.

Sakura must have sensed that you didn’t get what he meant, because he clarifies,

“The omurice. It’s different, but…good.”

What Sakura can’t bring himself to admit is that it’s even better than Kotoha’s. Not because of anything you did to it that she can’t do, but simply because it was you who made it, and because you did it for him.

“Oh.”

Your eyes sparkle at the praise. You’ve always loved it when people like your cooking.

But then, because it’s Sakura, he can’t just give a compliment without it being backhanded in some way, so he adds,

“Still, it was unnecessary. I could’ve made myself some food.”

“Well, you don’t even have anything to cook in – your kitchen is totally empty!” you point out.

“W-well, I could’ve bought it, then!”

You sigh.

“Sakura-kun, you need to rely on other people a bit more. Like yesterday with KEEL. I know you froze up because you were worried about us. And that’s probably also why you’ve got a fever now – because you always go all out and try to do everything yourself.” You huff, blowing away some loose strands of hair that has fallen into your eyes. “But truth is, Sakura-kun, there’s only so much you can do on your own.”

This was the exact same thing Nirei told him earlier, but for some reason, it hits differently when it’s you who’re telling him this.

Maybe, it’s because you understand him in a way few others do and again, Sakura is reminded of how similar your backgrounds are, and yet how different the two of you turned out.

Although, you both did end up here, he supposes.

He’s always handled things on his own. And before he got here, he would have puked at the sickly soft and fluffy concept of having friends that he liked. Of having people in his life that he cared about so much that seeing them getting hurt would make him freeze up and become practically useless.

It wasn’t his intention to make friends when he came here – actually, the thought didn’t even cross his mind.

But then, he met Suo and Nirei and Kiryu and Tsugeura and all the other members of Bofurin.

And he met you.

And seeing you getting hurt like that…

Just then and there, Sakura decides that he’ll never let anything like that happen again. Ever. He’ll never let you get hurt again. Or any other of his classmates for that matter.

So, if that means he’ll have to rely more on other people – on his friends – then, he supposes that that’s just what he’ll have to do.

Because there’s no way that he’ll ever be able to get rid of these sickly soft and fluffy feelings that’s been sneaking up on him ever since he arrived to Makochi.

Sickly soft and fluffy feelings like enjoying the company of his friends, or having fun with them without it having to involve a brawl.

Sickly soft and fluffy feelings like the fluttering in his chest and his brain firing every which way whenever you are close.

Sickly soft and fluffy feelings that he can’t make sense of right now.

But still, he finds that, to his own surprise, he wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

Chapter Text

[For as long as he can remember, Sakura has felt like he’s been walking on a tightrope – the only path that would allow him to accept himself for who he is. He’s been so scared of falling because he thought no one would come and save him. He’d been so sure that if he fell, he would die.

But now, he thinks that maybe, this tightrope isn’t the only path for him. Maybe, there’s another place where he can stand freely.

All he has to do is to take the leap.]

The following day, Sakura is feeling much better.

And he has a goal in mind.

He just hopes that Kaji can help him.

“Hey, Kaji-kun!”

Kaji turns his head from Kusumi who’s sitting on the other side of his desk.

“You’ve got a visitor!”

Immediately, Kaji seems to lighten up and doesn’t hesitate to bolt out the classroom while he removes his headphones.

“Oh, wait, it isn’t--” the classmate who called out to him starts, but Kaji is already out of sight.

“Well, he’s gonna be so disappointed when he finds out it isn’t him,” he sighs, earning a round of well-meaning snickering from the rest of his classmates.

Kaji eagerly looks around as he steps out of his classroom, but when he sees that it’s Sakura waiting for him in the hallway, his spirits immediately plummets and his face sours.

“Oh.”

For a moment, he’d thought it was you.

“I…wanna talk with you,” Sakura admits as if he’s allergic to asking for help.

When the two of them have finally escaped Kaji’s pestering classmates – who insist on congratulating Sakura for all his achievements since he arrived to Makochi – Kaji is leading Sakura to the roof because he’s heard somewhere that talking about hard stuff is easier when you’re in a place with a lot of room.

“You want to know how to rely on others, right?” Kaji asks as he seats himself on a bench, sighing at the prospect of having to play therapist.

He understands why Sakura would go to him with this problem, but still, Kaji isn’t very good with words and he’s even worse at giving others advice.

Still, he intends to try. Both because he – as much as he’s reluctant to admit it – has actually taken a liking to Sakura, but also for your sake. Because he knows that you care about Sakura. And because he knows that as your Grade Captain, it’s Sakura’s responsibility to protect his other classmates, including you. Thus, Kaji finds himself highly motivated to offer whatever advice he can give his underclassman.

And Kaji tries. He really does. He tries to make analogies using coffee and green tea and cats and dogs and a story about someone who thought they saw a ghost on this very same roof, but which just turned out to be one of Umemiya’s shovels.

And he thinks Sakura gets it.

Emphasis on thinks.

“It’s blatantly obvious to everyone,” Kaji says, wrapping up his little lecture, “That you’re scared out of your wits because you’re afraid of getting rejected. But really, none of your friends rejected you, even when they saw how you froze up and snapped during the fight with KEEL. And that’s because they’re not only seeing you for what you’re capable of, but for what you truly are.” He unpacks a lollipop and pops it into his mouth before continuing, “So, to me, it seems like you’re the one who’s not seeing them for who they are. But you need to trust them.”

“Trust them…” Sakura echoes quietly. He thinks about his friends. The way they’ve never given up on him, regardless of his rough manners and brash personality. Sakura knows that he’s not easy to be around, but still, his friends have never given him any reason to doubt that they’re rejecting him.

Not Suo, not Nirei, not Kiryu, not Tsugeura, or the rest of his classmates (maybe except for Sugishita).

Not you.

“Ryo…” he mumbles to himself without thinking.

“Huh?” Kaji narrows his eyes at Sakura. “What about him?” The stoic sempai-vibes he gave off before is gone now and back is Kaji’s usual scowl.

Sakura realises that he just said your name out loud without even meaning to and blushes profusely.

Kaji studies his expression for what feels like a long moment.

Then…

“Don’t tell me you’ve got some stupid crush on him?” Kaji makes it sound more like a threat than a question.

“W-what?!” Sakura looks like a cornered cat as his eyes dart around, looking at anything but Kaji.

“Because Ryo’s mine,” Kaji growls possessively. He can feel anger flare up in his chest and he’s just about to yell at Sakura for so much as entertaining the idea of making a move on you when someone else beats him to the punch.

“Well said!”

Mortified, both Sakura and Kaji turn around.

…and is met with the sight of both Umemiya and Hiragi appearing from behind a corner.

“Sorry,” Hiragi apologises sheepishly, “We didn’t mean to eavesdrop…”

“Gaaaaah!”

Kaji screams, lollipop falling out of his mouth and shattering on the ground. He tries to make a run for it but is prevented from fleeing by Umemiya who slings his arm around his shoulders.

“You’ve grown up so much!” he gushes. “By the way, about what you two were talking about--” But Umemiya doesn’t get any further than that because just then, he’s brutally interrupted by Kaji planting a fist right in his face.

As the top of Bofurin is thrown several metres away, Kaji flees the crime scene, donning his headphones and turning up the sound volume to max as if the music can drown out his embarrassment.

“That was your own fault,” Hiragi says in the silence that follows. Then, he adds, as if in afterthought, “I think you broke him.”

But Umemiya just gets to his feet, wiping away the blood trickling out of his nose.

“That was a great punch!”

“He should’ve kicked ya too!”

Meanwhile, Sakura is seething.

No way he’s got a crush on anyone.

After the initial shock of what Kaji told him has settled, Sakura braces himself for facing his classmates for the first time after the fight with KEEL.

He takes a deep intake of breath. Then, he enters the classroom.

[Sakura jumps.

The fear of falling is still there, but at the same time, a stronger emotion is filling up his heart.

Trust.

He trusts that at the bottom, a better place is waiting for him.]

“I gotta say something…to all of you!” Sakura shouts, and immediately, everyone’s attention is directed at him.

He takes another deep breath.

And then, Sakura apologises. He apologises for being weak, for having failed all of you when you needed him. He apologises for being a shitty Grade Captain and for causing so much trouble. He apologises for being who he is.

And when he’s finished, he looks down at his feet, waiting for his classmates to pass their judgement.

“You’re so stupid!”

Sakura raises his head just in time to see you barrelling into him, knocking him off his feet. The rest of his classmates follow soon after.

“Jackass!”

“Enough of your ridiculousness!”

“I feel insulted.”

“There ain’t no virtue in that, I gotta say…”

“That was really mean, Sakura-chan!”

Sakura looks at all his classmates in confusion.

“Get real, dude!” Anzai shouts, grabbing Sakura by the front of his shirt, “Nobody here cares how socially awkward you are, or what a pain in the ass you can be! You still charge straight into any trouble just to protect your friends, and you’re real cool too!”

“Seriously, Sakura-kun,” you say, whacking him over the back of his head, “Everyone here likes you for who you are! Ilike you for who you are!”

[Sakura’s body feels light.

His breaths are no longer ragged gasps, but deep and soothing, filling his lungs with the air he’s been starved for for so long.

He never knew a place like this existed.

And he realises that this is it.

This is it.

This is where he wants to be.]

The day wears on, and when school ends, Anzai practically threatens Sakura to go out with his classmates.

“We’re all gonna go out for a meal!” he declares, arms crossed over his chest and with a glare that could match even Sakura’s own. “We’re gonna do a get-together an learn more about each other!"

A chorus of agreements and yes’s and I want this and that erupts from your other classmates.

“Anything specific you want, Sakura-kun?” you ask over the noise.

“I…I want omurice,” he says quietly. Then, he looks at you, and you notice that he isn’t scowling or frowning or scrunching up his nose like he usually does. No, he’s looking slightly dazed, as if he can’t quite wrap his head around the concept of people liking him.

And you get it. You really do.

“Oh!” you exclaim, “Then let’s go to Pothos!”

When your class first shows up, Kotoha seems less than excited to have so many customers filing into the café.

“You want me to make enough omurice for your whole group!?” she yells just before spotting you weasel yourself in between your classmates to get to her. “Oh, it’s you, Ryo-kun.”

She reconsiders for a moment. Then…

“Alright, but then you gotta help me make those thirty servings, geez. C’mere, Ryo-kun!” She gestures for you to follow her into the kitchen, and you obediently trot along while your classmates look at you with newfound awe.

“Can you make omurice, Ryo-san?”

“Wow, I didn’t know you could cook!”

“That’s so domestic. My girlfriend keeps bugging me ‘cause I can’t cook shit!”

“You don’t have a girlfriend!”

You just shrug noncommittally before heading to the kitchen at the back with Kotoha.

“Good I restocked on eggs this morning,” she mumbles as she pulls no less than six pans out of a cupboard and dumps a huge container of rice into a wok.

An hour and ninety-plus-something eggs later, you’re all crammed together around the small café tables in Pothos.

After having finished working your butt off in the kitchen with Kotoha, you feel like you can really indulge in this little get-together with your friends.

“All right!” Takanashi announces once you’re all seated. “Since Sakura fessed up ‘bout him being a real dumbass, let’s all pitch in and tell each other ‘bout what makes us lame!”

Cheers and chattering erupt and soon, everyone takes turns to tell the others their fears (because somehow, lameness has turned into phobias at this point). Well, you don’t turn down an opportunity to learn more about your friends, so you listen eagerly with the rest of your peers.

That way, you find out that Takanashi hates bugs, and that Tsugeura is afraid of ghosts, because, as he phrases it, you can’t beat them no matter how much you train, right?

When it’s Suo’s turn, you can almost feel the excitement emitting from your classmates making the air static – because who wouldn’t want to know what class 1-1’s enigma’s biggest fear is?

“I’m…” Suo starts, dragging it out (he sure likes being dramatic), “…scared of manju, I guess!”

“Haha, haha,” you deadpan. Because of course Suo would make a literary reference as a joke instead of actually revealing something about himself. You’re beginning to think that he’s hiding something – or that he just likes the attention that comes with being shrouded in mystery.

“Didn’t you think that was funny?” he asks you, pouting.

“I know what Suo-chan’s scared of!” Kiryu suddenly butts in, mischief glinting in his bright green eyes. “He’s scared of Ryo-chan not liking his jokes! He’s scared of being rejec--”

“You don’t like natto, right, Suo-san?” Nirei interrupts, not having looked up from his notebook ever since your little game started.

“Goodness, Nire-kun, where did you hear those lies from?” Suo asks, clutching his chest in mock mortification. However, when he scans your classmates to find the culprit, you can’t help but notice how a lot of them seem to be shaking ever so slightly under his gaze.

Anzai and Kurita are immediately on a mission to find some natto to prove Nirei’s claim, but when Kurita is about to bolt out of Pothos to the nearest convenience store, Suo grabs him by the collar to hold him back.

Kurita struggles valiantly, but he’s no match against Suo.

“Ryo-kun, you hold Suo-kun back!” Anzai shouts and then, you’re pushed towards Suo who instinctively lets go of Kurita just to catch you. It ends up with Kurita being pushed to the ground and you falling on top of Suo who forms a protective cage around you with his arms as you both topple over Kurita sprawling on the ground.

Seems like you’re not entirely recovered from the encounter with KEEL because no way you’re this clumsy (Sakura thinks otherwise). You did get a serious concussion, after all.

“Haha!”

You all freeze in the silence that follows.

No, it can’t be, you think, almost with reverence as you glance over to where Sakura is sitting. Everyone has their eyes glued to him as he lets out a laugh.

A real laugh.

His eyes are closed and crinkle slightly at the corners, and the creases between his eyebrows are gone. His lips are slightly parted and teeth showing, not because they’re bared in a snarl, but because he’s smiling.

You don’t think you’ve ever seen anything as precious as the sight of Sakura laughing – genuinely laughing. You’ll treasure this moment until your dying breath, that’s for sure.

Unfortunately, Sakura seems to have noticed that your otherwise rowdy classmates have gone silent, and he opens his eyes with a start – as if he himself is surprised that he let out such a happy, carefree sound.

A split second later, his scowl is back in place.

“What?” he demands.

“Suo-kuuun!” you whine. “Now you really gotta eat some natto so that Sakura can smile some more!”

“I think it was your clumsy ass that made him laugh, not the natto,” Kurita points out, wincing as he wriggles himself out from underneath you and Suo.

Ooops.

You had completely forgotten that you’d landed atop your classmate. And that you’re sitting in Suo’s lap. It’s not the first time, of course, but last time was after the fight with KEEL where you were so dazed that you didn’t have the time to be embarrassed. You wriggle around, trying to get to your feet, but Suo tightens his grip on you to keep you still.

“Ryo-kun…” he says, his voice sounding oddly strained, “For the love of all higher beings above, please don’t move so much.”

“Huh?” You squirm, trying to get a better look at him because he almost sounds like he’s in pain and you can’t help but suddenly worry that he hurt himself during your fall. But you don’t get far before he suddenly pushes you off him, and you land with a thud on the floor. When you finally manage to turn around to look at Suo, he’s standing several feet away from you, in the process of adjusting his pants. A pink tinge adorns his cheeks, and, for the first time since you met him, he’s avoiding your gaze.

Roaring laughter can be heard from your classmates. Kiryu even has tears in his eyes as he practically rolls around on the floor – you only think you’ve seen people do that in cartoons. Sakura is bright red in the face, his blush extending all the way down his neck. He’s also glaring daggers at Suo for some reason, as if it was him who’d done something wrong and not you, the one who had actually managed to somehow hurt Suo.

“Are you alright, Suo-kun?” you ask, worried. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you! I just tripped and you caught me because you’re always trying to protect me and I’m so--”

Your classmates laugh even harder, drowning out the rest of your sentence. Suo just excuses himself and hastily makes a beeline for the restrooms.

“Y-you s-shouldn’t tease Suo-san so much,” Nirei scolds, slightly pink in the face himself.

“At least we now know that Suo-kun’s just a teenage boy like the rest of us and not some alien from outer space!” Kurita jokes.

“I don’t get what happened,” you say. You’re honestly super confused, because your own perception of what just happened and your classmates’ reaction don’t seem to align at all.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about that,” Kiryu says, patting the top of your head like he’s trying to comfort you. “When you’re a big boy, you’ll understand.”

That just confuses you even more.

Meanwhile, outside the café, one particular leader of Bofurin practically has his nose pressed against the window as he takes in all of class 1-1’s shenanigans.

“They seem to have a ton of fun,” Umemiya says excitedly. “I wonder what they’re chatting about.” He reaches out his hand to open the door, but Hiragi grabs his wrist before he can enter.

“I am not lettin’ ya go this time. Remember what happened this morning? Sheesh!”

“What happened this morning?” Tsubakino asks curiously, fiddling with a lock of his hair as he also looks in through the window, a fond smile playing around his lips.

“Nothin’ to worry about,” Hiragi grumbles, but there’s no stopping Umemiya,

“Just how our little Kaji-kun might’ve finally found someone he likes! Too bad he’s got competition from half class 1-1’s boys!” Umemiya cackles maniacally.

Hiragi pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation, but he guesses the cat’s already out of the bag and doesn’t stop Umemiya as he continues,

“Who would’ve guessed our dear Imo-chan would turn out to be such a heartbreaker?”

It takes a moment before the words finally sink in for Tsubakino.

Imo-chan? Isn’t that what Umemiya calls…

“Wait is it Ryo-chan you’re talking about?” Tsubakino asks, his investment in this conversation suddenly doubled…tripled…maybe quadrupled.

“Yeah,” Hiragi sighs.

“So, what you’re saying is,” Tsubakino starts, wanting to confirm something before he throws a fit, “that Kaji-kun and a lot of the boys in class 1-1…has a crush on Ryo-chan?”

“Well, it certainly seems like it!” Umemiya booms.

Tsubakino whips his head back to look through the window, just in time to see Suo get all handsy with you.

A feeling of fierce, brotherly protectiveness washes over him, and he prepares to storm into the café to save you from having your pure innocence defiled by a bunch of hormonal teen boys, when Hiragi grabs him by the collar of his jacket.

“Alright, that’s enough,” he says firmly, dragging both a hyped Umemiya and a thrashing Tsubakino away from the window.

To your great relief, Suo doesn’t seem to bear you any ill will, because the next day, he acts perfectly normal around you (at least normal for Suo’s standards when it comes to you).

You’re hanging out with your friends in the classroom, killing time before you all need to head home or out on patrol. Nirei is scribbling in his notebook, Kiryu is on his phone, Tsugeura does pull-ups at the window, Sakura is sulking, and Suo is playing with your hair while you copy down today’s homework written on the blackboard.

Everything seems right in the world.

At least until one of your classmates show up, sweating and panting with a panicked look in his eyes as he gasps out something about enemies on Bofurin turf – enemies at the gates of Furin High, no less.

“They’re… he’s…asking…for…Ryo…kun,” he finishes in between ragged gasps of breath.

In no time flat, you’re on your feet, sprinting out of the classroom, down the stairs, over the courtyard, and towards the school gates.

Is it the tattooed guy you met on your way home from work that day?

Because what other ‘enemy’ would be bold enough to show up at Bofurin’s stronghold, alone, and asking for you no less instead of, let’s say, Umemiya or something?

You speed up.

What if that guy’s here to out your secret? Or is he part of a gang and wants to declare war on Bofurin? What does he even want in the first place?

You’ve got no idea what tattoo-guy’s agenda is, but one thing is for sure: He’s bad news. Just from the brief encounter you had with him, you can tell that his strength and skill match that of Umemiya’s. You’d been extremely lucky to walk away from your encounter with him with only a few marks on your necks.

When you reach the school gates not long after, all your classmates have yet to arrive. Their reaction time is just as fast as yours, but most of them can’t keep up with your speed.

You skid to a halt, scanning the area for a black-haired boy with teal eyes.

But it isn’t teal and black meeting you at the school gates.

No, it’s orange.

And for the first time in your life, you’re relieved to be greeted by the colour orange. Happy, even. Because leaning against the open school gates stands none other than Togame Jo, orange Shishitoren jacket draped over his shoulders and orange shades resting atop his head.

He smiles when he sees you, and you can’t help but smile back.

Really, it’s been way too long.

Chapter Text

When you’d heard your classmate rambling about ‘enemies at the school gates’, your fantasy had immediately gone haywire. You’d conjured up all kinds of worst-case scenarios with a big brawl in the courtyard, your friends getting hurt, your secret being outed to all of Bofurin, ending up with everyone hating you and your own expulsion.

Really, the last person on your mind had been Togame. Because he isn’t an enemy anymore. Shishitoren and Bofurin are friends now, aren’t they? No hard feelings and all that, right?

“Togame-kun!” you squeal as soon as you spot him, speeding up impossibly even more and practically assault him with your enthusiasm.

“Whoa there, didn’t expect you to be so happy to see me, princess,” he says, surprised, but happy, that you seem to be so happy to see him.

He pats the top of your head affectionately before gently prying you away from him so that he can get a proper look at you.

Words spread fast, but not as fast as Togame would have liked.

He had first learned about the clash between Bofurin and KEEL very shortly after the fight had taken place and hadn’t really given it much thought – it wasn’t unusual for Bofurin to get into brawls with other gangs. But it had been a whole three days later when he’d found out that your class had been at the centre of the whole ordeal.

And that you had gotten hurt. Badly.

As soon as he’d heard the rumours, he hadn’t hesitated to stroll right into Bofurin’s turf and straight to Furin High. He’d been waiting at the gates for quite some time before one of the students had spotted him – him, and Shishitoren’s logo on the back of his jacket.

That had stirred up quite the commotion.

But Togame didn’t care. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t care, because he just had to see you, territories and gang rivalry be damned. He had to see for himself that you’re alright.

And besides, he’s used to people being scared shitless as soon as they see him, so it shouldn’t bother him that much when the townspeople eye him suspiciously, or when the students of Furin High immediately think the worst of him. He also knows that it’s his own fault. Yes, he’s trying to do better, but his reputation continues to precede him and it’ll probably take a lot more time and hard work before he can change that.

And he will change it. For Tomiyama’s sake, for Shishitoren’s, and for his own.

And for yours.

“Good to see that you’re in good spirits, despite everything,” Togame says, eyeing the bandages around your neck and the band aid on your cheek critically.

“Oh, yes, never been better!” you beam. “Still some headaches every now and then, and I sometimes get really nauseous and can’t eat a thing. Oh yeah, and razor wire really hurts like a bitch-- I mean, a lot. But otherwise, I’m completely fine!”

“Razor wire?” Togame repeats, not quite sure that he heard you correctly.

“Hm,” you nod absentmindedly. “Kaji-san took care of the guy who did it because I was completely knocked out. Never got a chance to see if he was okay after Kaji was finished with him, though, but I’ve heard that kick was wicked.”

“Don’t tell me you also tried to make friends with KEEL?” Togame asks, his otherwise heavy-lidded eyes almost popping out of their sockets in disbelief.

“Yeah, he did,” someone scowls behind you.

“Oh, hey there, Sakura-kun,” Togame greets.

Your friends have finally caught up to you.

Suo narrows his eye at Togame’s hands placed on your shoulders. Just because you have forgiven Togame, it doesn’t mean that Suo has – or maybe, that’s just an excuse for Suo to dislike the boy whom you’ve suddenly grown so fond of. Who knows.

Sakura is glaring too, eye twitching at the sight of you acting so chummy with Togame. Yes, he knows that you’re supposed to be friends now or whatever and that Togame’s supposed to be a cool guy now, but still. Last time you saw him, he was beating the shit out of you and calling you names!

The other boys who weren’t present during your fight with Shishitoren are even more wary of Togame. After all, they didn’t first-hand witness Togame and Tomiyama grovelling at your feet afterwards, promising to do better – to be better. And they don’t know what to make of you with the way you cling to Shishitoren’s second-in-command, or the way he ruffles your hair and smiles at you like you’re his personal saviour or something.

Like, when did the two of you become so buddy-buddy?

Kiryu tenses, readying himself for a snatch-and-run technique if Togame so much as dares thinking about hurting a hair on your head. Beside him, Tsugeura is cracking his knuckles. Nirei is fidgeting nervously with the sleeve of his Furin jacket but doesn’t seem quite as stressed out as the other boys. After all, he knows that Togame won’t hurt you.

You’re just about to ask if one of your friends want to tell Umemiya that there’s been a false alarm when you’re suddenly ripped out of Togame’s grasp.

“Keep your hands off!”

You blink and next thing you know, you’re staring at the back of a bob of platin-blond hair. Kaji has arrived at the scene.

“It’s alright, Kaji-san,” you say, trying to peek over his shoulder, but he just pushes you behind him again, hiding you from Togame’s view.

Togame, meanwhile, doesn’t know whether to be annoyed or amused. Your friends are just as protective and possessive as he remembers, and it seems like a couple of new faces have joined your little reverse-harem since then. It’s fun to watch, but still, they’re all seriously overreacting.

And he wasn’t done talking to you.

“Kaji-san, I told you Bofurin and Shishitoren are friends now, right?” you say, tugging at his sleeve to get his attention. “Togame-kun was just checking up on me after our fight with KEEL!”

Honestly, Kaji doesn’t think that sounds reassuring at all. Because how dare this orange-clad rando have the audacity to worry about you? Like, does that mean that Kaji now has yet another contender for your affection?

You’re way too popular for your own good, and you’re not even trying.

As if all your pestering classmates weren’t enough.

Togame just holds up his hands in surrender, although the corner of his mouth twitches in amusement.

“He’s right. Seriously, I wasn’t gonna try’na steel the princess or anything.”

That, apparently, was the wrong thing to say.

“PRINCESS?!!!” Kaji explodes.

You have to restrain the urge to smack your hands over your ears. Instead, you purposefully side-step Kaji and position yourself between him and Togame, arms outstretched as if that could protect Togame from your friends’ ire.

“It’s just one of his stupid nicknames for me,” you try to explain. “Please, Kaji-sempai, he just came here to talk!”

“Actually,” Togame quips, “I was gonna ask if you wanted to go out with me.”

“…”

Seriously, does Togame have a death wish?

“Ah well, could’ve phrased that better, I guess…” Togame admits, wincing at the uproar his little misspeak causes.

With a click of his tongue, Suo marches towards you, grabbing you gently, but firmly, and ushers you behind himself and Kaji yet again. Sakura and Kiryu are following close behind, placing themselves on each side of you.

The four boys’ internal rivalry is temporarily forgotten in the face of a new, external threat.

“Guys, don’t you think that’s a bit unnecessary?” Nirei, ever the voice of reason, has stepped up too. “You all know that Ryo-san’s perfectly capable of handling himself. And you also know that Shishitoren isn’t our enemy anymore. Besides, Ryo-san’s his own person and can do as he wishes without your consent!” Nirei’s eyes linger on Suo for a split second longer than the others. “So, if Ryo-san wants to go on a date with Togame-san, then that’s his decision to make, and he doesn’t need any of your permissions!”

“Not a date, though…” Togame mumbles, but nobody pays him any attention. No, Sakura, Suo, Kiryu, and Kaji have all turned their heads to look at Nirei. It must have taken up a lot of the courage from the boy to speak up like that, especially to four of the strongest boys in Bofurin.

But Nirei doesn’t balk. No, he just takes turns to stare down the four boys, as if they’re all some misbehaving kids.

Because as much as Nirei secretly hopes that you’ll turn Togame down, he refuses to let the others smother you with their misplaced overprotectiveness. He understands that they’re worried about you, especially after what happened with KEEL, but still. What became of Suo’s I want to give Ryo-kun opportunities, not take any away from him speech? Was that all just bark and no bite?

“Thanks, Nire-kun, although I’m sure they didn’t mean any harm,” you say cheerfully as you dart underneath Suo’s arm. “I’ll see you guys later!” you shout over your shoulder as you hook your arm underneath Togame’s and lead him away from the school grounds.

Togame blinks a couple of times, surprised by your forwardness. But then, he shrugs, and a smug grin spreads across his face. He can’t help but look back at the four stunned boys, watching helplessly as you drag him with you. In a moment of pettiness, he slings his arm over your shoulder and presses you against him, making sure to put on a show in front of all your possessive little friends.

Really, he’s no better than them.

“Choji says hello,” Togame tells you.

You’re sitting at a park bench, munching your way through a giant bag of pastries. Togame mentioned something about wanting to try a red bean bun from one of the bakeries on the main street, and you immediately dragged him to Cactus Bakery where you know they sell the best red bean buns. Again, you had to force the owners to accept your money, but you couldn’t possibly accept three of every pastry they had on display – one for you, Togame, and one for Togame to bring back to Tomiyama – for free. Togame also offered to pay, but you had just waved him off. Even if he’s invited himself over to your turf, he’s still a guest. And you want to spoil him a bit. Poor boy must’ve had it hard playing the bad guy for so long and now having to go through this whole redemption arc thing.

“Thanks, say hello to him from me too,” you say as you bite into a cream puff – your favourite.

“Umemiya-san’s right, they’re even better when they’re fresh,” Togame sighs contentedly, eyeing the steaming red-bean filled bun in his hands with wonder.

You just hum, mouth too stuffed to talk.

“So,” Togame starts after cramming the rest of the red-bean bun into his mouth and fishing out a melon pan from the bag, “Wanna tell me how your class managed to rope themselves into a brawl with KEEL? Although, I don’t have to be a genius to figure out that it somehow has something to do with you.” He pokes you in the side with a finger and looks sternly at you over the rim of his glasses.

“Hey, I didn’t do anything this time!” you defend yourself. “We were just trying to get one of our classmate’s friends back who’d somehow ended up in their gang. And it actually went pretty smoothly until their VIPs showed up. In the end, we had to be saved by the second-years.”

You scrunch up your nose before continuing,

“It was really lame of me, going down so easily. I’ll have to up my game – get stronger – if I want to keep up with Sakura-kun and the others.” You sigh wistfully. “All of my friends are super strong – like Suo, he just throws around people as if it’s nothing! And he always walks away from a fight without a single scratch. His clothes aren’t even getting dirty! And then, there’s Kiryu-kun – he might not look strong, but he really knows a lot of cool techniques. And Kaji-san, of course…”

Togame listens intently as you continue to rant. You’re cute when you’re like this, mouth stuffed with pastry and gesturing animatedly with your hands as you talk. You’re so expressive. It stirs something in his heart. Like, when you were mad at him when the two of you first met and he thought that he hadn’t felt so small before, and everything he wanted to do was to do better so that you wouldn’t be mad anymore. And when you’re frustrated, like now, he can’t help but feel frustrated on your behalf too. And of course, when you’re happy, other people can’t help but be happy too because that’s just how much joy you bring with you. It’s contagious, really. He’s also certain that if you were sad, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from getting onto his knees crying, begging you to tell him how he could somehow make it all better for you.

That’s just the effect you have on people. And he’s quite sure that you’re not even aware of it yourself.

When you continue to praise your friends to the skies, another feeling bubbles up in his chest. He can’t really put his finger on it – is it melancholy? Regret? He’s not entirely sure. All he knows is that he feels like he’s missed out – like, all the boys you’re speaking of so fondly knows you, and you know them. You’re going to school with them, going on patrols with them, fighting with them, eating and laughing and having sleepovers with them.

Togame finds that he wants to be part of that. He wonders if he could have been part of that if he’d enrolled in Bofurin. He would probably have been a year above you, but still.

Oh well.

No use wallowing over the what-ifs. And besides, if he’d enrolled in Bofurin, he wouldn’t have been able to be with Tomiyama.

So, Togame accepts that even though he can’t be part of your everyday life, he can still have these small stolen moments with you. Whatever time you’re willing to give him, he’ll be grateful to accept.

He’s so deep in his own thoughts that it takes a while for him to notice that you’ve gone silent.

“Sorry, I zoned out for a bit,” he apologises.

“No worries, I did go on a bit of a tangent,” you admit, scratching the back of your head. “It’s probably super boring just listening to me rant.”

“No!”

You both startle in your seats at Togame’s sudden outburst. He clears his throat awkwardly.

“Ehem, I mean, no, you’re not boring. You could never be boring – I mean…” he trails off.

Wow, way to go, he thinks sarcastically while mentally kicking himself. He usually prides himself with being a pretty smooth guy.

“That’s sweet of you to say,” you muse. “I always knew you were a good guy, Daidai-chan.”

Togame cocks an eyebrow at you. He’s trying very hard to act nonchalant, but you make it hard when you just spout nonsense out of nowhere. Like last time when you told him his eyes were pretty right after he’d beaten the living hell out of you (and you of him). It takes all his willpower not to blush like some frickin’ schoolgirl with a crush.

Geez, he really is no better than your group of simps friends.

He scoffs, hoping his voice sounds normal.

“Bullshit. You hated me when you first met me.”

“…yeah well, maybe I did,” you admit, before hastily adding, “But hey, I very quickly realised that you’re a good guy. That’s gotta count for something, right?”

“Sure, sure,” he chuckles.

But then, something suddenly hits him.

“Hey, wait a moment…”

“Hm?” You look at him again, your mouth now stuffed with corn mayo bread.

“Did you just call me orange?”

You swallow the huge mouthful of bread before opening your mouth to reply.

“Hey, if you get to call me princess, then I’ve earned the rights to call you something silly too,” you say, waggling a finger at him.

“If you say so, princess.”

You punch him in the side, and he shoves you down from the bench in return, making you land on your butt on the ground.

“Hey, these are some of my only nice pants!” you complain as you shoot to your feet.

Togame laughs heartily while you run around in circles, probably looking ridiculous as you attempt to brush off dirt from your behind.

You’re not really annoyed with him, though. Actually, it’s nice not being treated like a porcelain doll for once. You don’t know if it’s because you’re a girl and your friends subconsciously think you’re weak and can’t handle yourself, or if it’s because you’re somehow giving off damsel-in-distress-vibes.

What you do know, however, is that Nirei’s right.

Your friends do tend to be overly protective of you, and it’s only gotten worse after your encounter with tattoo-guy and KEEL. You meant it when you told Nirei that you don’t think they mean any harm, because you truly believe that they don’t ­– you’d just hoped that they would trust in you a bit more.

What you don’t know, however, is that your friends do trust you. And that they don’t think you’re weak at all. On the contrary, they think you must be one of the strongest people they know.

And the real reason why they act like they do is because you getting hurt hurts them. It hurts them, so much that they’d do anything to stop it from happening.

So, in reality, their overprotectiveness isn’t because they think you can’t handle yourself. It’s because they can’t handle it when you get hurt.

But Togame isn’t like that. Yes, he’s come to care for you, and he of course hates to see you getting hurt just like your friends do, but at the same time, he knows, at his core, that you’re strong enough to handle it.

Maybe, it’s because he’s the only one who has actually fought you before. The others have only watched you fight as bystanders, but he – Togame Jo – has been first-hand witness to your anger and determination and prowess. Has experienced it on his own body.

And he doesn’t think he’s ever experienced anything so terrifying, but at the same time so thrilling and beautiful.

So yes, Togame Jo knows that you’re not made of glass. Which is why he can push you down a bench and get your clothes dirty and still laugh about it because he knows that the two of you are just joking around.

The next day, you’re surprised – but pleasantly so – to find Kaji waiting for you at the school gates. You haven’t really seen much to him ever since you came back from your fight with KEEL.

Well, there’s a very good explanation for that. Ever since that day on the roof with Sakura, Kaji has been avoiding you – except for yesterday when he’d heard that Togame Jo had showed up at the school gates and that you had gone to meet him. At that point, he hadn’t cared about his embarrassment. No, he’d just dropped everything in his hands without hesitation to sprint to your aid (not that you needed it), just to go back to avoiding you again after that.

These days, it seems like he can’t even look Sakura in the eye without wishing to bury himself alive. Or Umemiya or Hiragi, for that matter.

But Kaji misses you. And, he hasn’t even gotten to check up on you after everything that happened with KEEL. So, for now, he has decided to set aside his messy feelings while telling himself that it isn’t procrastinating the inevitable, but merely waiting for a better time to confront his…ehem, massive crush on you.

Like, when did it even get so big?

“Can we talk?” he asks, his voice sounding rather clipped.

“Sure!”

You beam at him, and Kaji’s heart does a somersault.

“What it is, Kaji-sempai?” you ask, looking expectantly at him.

Kaji gulps. Why is it suddenly that much harder to talk to you? He doesn’t like it, but he knows that it’s entirely his own fault.

“How are you?” he settles on when he has finally worked up the courage to speak.

“I’m good, thank you for asking,” you answer politely. “And what about you?”

“I meant, how are you feeling after KEEL?” Kaji clarifies, eyeing the band-aids on your neck and cheek.

“Oh,” you say as realisation hits you. “It doesn’t really hurt anymore, and I can get the stitches removed next week already since they’re healing so nicely – although I was told they’ll probably scar. Not that I really care.” You shrug dismissively.

Kaji wants to tell you that you’ll look handsome – no, pretty, beautiful even – no matter what. Scar or no scar.

But the words are stuck in his throat, and before he can say anything, you beat him to the punch.

 “How are you feeling?”

“I wasn’t even hurt that badly,” he mutters, although he’s quietly very happy that you care enough about him to ask about his wellbeing. 

“Still,” you argue, “You went up against KEEL’s leader. And you saved me too – I never got to thank you properly for that.” You bow in a 45-degree angle, and Kaji takes a step back in surprise.

“Thank you, Kaji-sempai. For saving me,” you say earnestly.

“Ren,” he blurts.

“Huh?”

You raise your head to blink confusedly up at him.

“Please…call me Ren,” he says, then lowers his gaze, slightly embarrassed.

Silence stretches out between you and Kaji worries that he overstepped his boundaries.

Do you even know each other well enough to be on first-name basis?

“…okay.”

He snaps his head up again and sees you smiling at him. Of course you’re smiling. That same smile that melted his heart the very first day he met you. That same smile he swore he’d do his very best to see again and again and again.

That same smile that reminds him that he doesn’t have to feel embarrassed about anything when he’s with you. Because you make him feel safe. At ease. Like he doesn’t have to shield himself from the world and that the world doesn’t need shielding from him.

At least, not when you are here.

“I’m sorry that asking you to call me by my first name too isn’t something special,” you say apologetically, “because everyone already does so in the first place. But still, I would be honoured to call you by your first name…Ren.”

Kaji can’t help but think that he’ll treasure the sound of his name on your lips until the day he dies.

Who would’ve known he was such a sap?

Chapter Text

When you show up for your first shift of the week at Show Pub Ougi, Tsubakino immediately bolts for you and pulls you into a tight embrace.

At first, you’re surprised, but then you remember that you haven’t really seen him since your fight with KEEL.

“I’m so happy that you’re okay, honey,” he whispers into your hair while stroking the back of your head. “I heard about what happened from Ume-chan. Never, ever make me worry that much again, you get it? I’ll also need a good chat with your Grade Captain – dragging you all into a fight with KEEL of all gangs--”

“Ehem.” You feel like you have to say something, because it seems like Tsubakino is about to rile himself up. “It wasn’t Sakura-kun’s fault. Actually, he was really cool, it was just me who did something stupid. But it won’t happen again, I promise! I’ll train more and get super-duper strong so stuff like that won’t happen again!”

Tsubakino pulls back a bit to look at you.

“Promise?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” you say solemnly.

“Well, I guess I can’t ask for more then,” he sighs before finally letting you go. Then, he suddenly remembers something.

“By the way, what did you want with Kotoha-chan?”

“Oh, I wanted to bring omurice to Sakura-kun ‘cause he was sick,” you explain. “I originally wanted her to make some, but she ended up teaching me instead!”

“You like cooking?” Tsubakino asks, surprised.

“Yes, I love cooking! And baking, but I don’t have an oven at home. I hope to save up for a toaster oven after I’ve worked here for some time, though!” you gush, jumping up and down and gesturing wildly with your arms in your enthusiasm.

“Why didn’t you just say so sooner, silly?” Tsubakino laughs. “You know, I’m sure you’re allowed to use the oven in the kitchen here, if you need it. And if you want to help out with the food sometimes, I’m sure the cooks could use an extra hand when you aren’t too busy with serving guests.”

You feel your jaw drop.

“Really?”

“Really,” Tsubakino repeats, smiling. “Why don’t we go and ask them right now?”

It turns out that the cooks are happy to have you help them. The rest of your shift proceeds with you bringing out food and drinks and take back empty platters and bottles. You use the time in between to observe and learn how the various dishes served in the restaurant are cooked so that you (hopefully) one day will be able to replicate them. Your break is spent watching Shizuka perform (because you’ve watched Tsubakino so many times now that you feel like you also have to give your other coworkers some of your attention too).

It's not before Shizuka has finished her performance and is coming down from the stage to greet you that something out of the ordinary happens.

“Well, well, aren’t you too pretty?”

A sleazy-looking elderly man are eyeing you both with small, beady eyes from the table you were just about to serve. His gaze makes goosebumps rise on your arms, and you shudder involuntarily as you proceed to place their drinks in front of them, keeping quiet.

Shizuka stays by your side, eyeing you with worry. Thus, she doesn’t notice the hand that reaches out to smack her backside.

You do, however.

With one hand (the other one is still balancing a tray of drinks) you grab the man’s wrist, twists his arm behind his back and places your elbow between his shoulder blades, pressing him against the table.

“You little bitch,” another man hisses, reaching out to grab you by the hair, but you just twirl, and headbutts him, making him sink to the ground in pain.

Beside you, Shizuka is gaping, a look of newfound awe on her face. Behind you, Tsubakino, Nakamura are sprinting towards you, having just arrived from the back upon hearing the commotion coming from the restaurant. Otowa is also heading towards you, having abandoned his seat in front of the piano.

Otowa had looked up just in time to witness the man you’re currently pinning to the table trying to grope Shizuka and had immediately gotten to his feet to come to her rescue and ban the man from the pub. Or maybe just throw him into next week.

But before he could take more than two steps, you had sprung into action, moving faster than he had ever seen anyone move before. You hadn’t hesitated to onehandedly – literally – stop that sleazeball from touching Shizuka as well as immobilize the other man who had tried to grab you. On top of that, you’d managed to look totally unfazed as you did so, and not to break anything or disturb the other guests as you fought.

In fact, all the action is over before Otowa can walk the ten feet distance from the piano to your table.

“You’re both banned from coming here again,” you tell the two men before turning towards Shizuka, your features softening. “Are you alright?” you ask, worry making your eyebrows curl into a frown and your mouth purse.

She nods and bows deeply.

“Thank you, I didn’t even know you could fight like that!”

Slightly pink in the face, you wave her off.

“Oh, it was nothing--”

“You don’t have the authority to ban us from this pub!” the man who was rolling around on the floor moments ago spits as he gets to his feet. You don’t blink as he marches over to you and sticks his face right in front of yours, his breath reeking like alcohol and cigarette smoke. These men don’t scare you – you’ve already faced far more intimidating opponents, namely Togame Jo and the KEEL VIP. And besides, these guys are both old, drunk, and clearly unskilled fighters, so they don’t pose much of a threat.

“No, but I have.”

The manager, Hidaka, has just arrived.

“I’ll take over from here,” he tells you, offering you a nod in acknowledgement.

“Alright, thanks,” you say, back to your usual cheery self and step away, letting Hidaka drag the two men out of the bar.

“Oh, table seven needs more salad leaves,” you suddenly recall, immediately making a beeline for the back.

“What happened?” Tsubakino and Nakamura demand in unison as soon as you’re gone, Tsubakino’s eyes flicker between your disappearing form and Shizuka, while Nakamura wraps a protective arm around Shizuka’s shoulders without taking his eyes off your back until you disappear from sight.

“Where did she learn to fight like that?” Otowa asks, mouth still open in wonder and awe. He can feel the small crush he’s been nursing ever since he first saw you in that dress grow alarmingly bigger.

“What happened?” Tsubakino repeats, ignoring Otowa’s question.

“Well, that man,” Shizuka starts, shivering slightly, “he tried to-- well, he tried to touch me, but she stopped him. And when the other one tried to pick a fight with her, she knocked him to the floor, just like that!”

Both Tsubakino and Nakamura look like they want to punch something. It’s not the first time someone has tried to lay a hand on one of their female employees, but that doesn’t make it any less ugly whenever it happens.

They’re just eternally grateful that you were there to stop it this time.

Speaking of which…

“I didn’t even know she could do stuff like that,” Nakamura mumbles, still slightly dazed by this new knowledge. He thinks back to your first shift where he’d been worried about you walking home alone at night, and Tsubakino assuring him that you could handle yourself.

Well, he certainly wasn’t kidding about that.

And you’ve certainly given him something to think about, as the chairman of Roppo-Ichiza.

The next day, Nakamura, Hidaka, Otowa, and Miyoshi are waiting for you inside the pub.

Shizuka waves at you, and Tsubakino winks before they both disappear to give you some space.

“Uh, what’s up, Nakamura-san?” you ask, approaching the group of boys warily. You can’t help but feel your guts twist in anxiety.

Yesterday, you had just acted without thinking. You’d just seen that hand reaching for Shizuka and you hadn’t hesitated to intervene. It’s not that you regret what you did – you’d do it again in a heartbeat because no one dares touch Shizuka on your watch (or ever, for that matter), but at the same time, you can’t help but worry that you’ve grown too confident after having joined Bofurin. Not because you had doubted for a second that you’d be able to handle those two men, but because you’d almost completely forgotten how people used to treat you before you arrived to Makochi. Back in your hometown, people had called you a freak, a troublemaker, a disgusting tomboy as soon as they saw what you were capable of. But both as yourself and as Ryo, you’ve met people here who has welcomed you with open arms, even after getting to know you.

And that have made you careless.

After all, there’s no way of knowing whether Nakamura and your other co-workers are just as understanding as your friends at Bofurin.

Are you going to be fired? Are they all here to beat you up?

But then, you remember Tsubakino. He would never leave you with Nakamura if he thought you were in trouble. And besides, you know Nakamure – of course he won’t beat you up. Those thoughts calm your nerves ever so slightly, and you muster up the courage to square your shoulders and look the four boys in front of you straight in the eyes.

“You sure this is the girl you’re talking about?” Miyoshi asks, frowning. “She doesn’t look very…intimidating.”

“Don’t be rude, Miyoshi-kun,” Nakamura scolds.

“Oh, sorry. My apologies.” Miyoshi turns his attention to you, bowing. “We haven’t spoken much before, but I’m Miyoshi Akihito, and I’m also a member of Roppo-Ichiza.”

“Roppo-Ichiza?” you repeat, confused. Miyoshi turns an exasperated glare at Nakamura.

“You didn’t even think to tell her before you decided to recruit her?!”

“Tell me what?”

“Ah, well, there wasn’t really time to explain yesterday…” Nakamura defends himself, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Well, then better explain now,” Miyoshi says, rolling his eyes.

You look from Nakamura to Hidaka to Miyoshi to Otowa, the latter sending you a reassuring smile as you look at him. You return it, albeit still a bit uncertainly.

“So,” Nakamura starts, suddenly sounding all business-like, “we, Roppo-Ichiza, is a group of people employed in the red-light district who also protect the street. We both function as bodyguards, security, and escorts, we help with stocking and transportation of goods, and we help clean up the town at dawn on busy nights. Our goal is to ensure that people can entertain and be entertained without fear.”

After finishing his little speech, Nakamura sends you an expectant look.

“Well, that’s very admirable,” you say, just spewing whatever thoughts come to your mind since you still don’t really know what it is that Nakamura wants from you. “It’s a bit like my-- I mean, like Bofurin, right? Your turf is just Keisei Street.”

“Exactly,” Nakamura confirms, nodding at the comparison.

“Okay, now you’ve explained what Roppo-Ichiza is. Next, you need to ask her,” Miyoshi spells out, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Ask me what?”

“Oh yeah, right.” Nakamura clears his throat.

Why is he suddenly so nervous? It’s not like he’s about to propose or anything.

“Relax, it’s not like you’re about to propose or anything,” Miyoshi says, making Nakamura choke on his spit.

“Geez, just tell her!” Tsubakino has just appeared, hands on his hips. “The suspense is killing us over here.”

Shizuka peeks out from behind Tsubakino, a bit embarrassed to be caught eavesdropping like this.

Straightening his back, Nakamura looks at you again.

“We’d like to ask if you wanted to be a member?”

Your eyes widen.

“M-me?” you stutter, pointing a finger at yourself in disbelief. Nakamura and the three other boys nod.

“You’re strong, and you didn’t hesitate to protect Shizuka when she needed help,” Hidaka adds, sensing your doubts. “That’s exactly the kind of people we in Roppo-Ichiza strive to be. You’ll fit in perfectly.”

“Please don’t feel pressured, dear,” Tsubakino butts in, his big-bro instincts kicking into full gear, “I know you’re also busy with… other things.”

“Of course. It’s just an offer, and it’s completely up to you,” Nakamura agrees, nodding approvingly at Tsubakino’s input.

“Yes,” you whisper, heart clenching in joy, “I’d love to help you out. I’d love to…to help you protect this street.”

Smiling, Nakamura pulls out a tie clip from his inner pocket and hands it to you. You accept it with trembling hands, admiring the kanji written on it.

“Alright, it’s settled then. Welcome to Roppo-Ichiza!” Nakamura announces.

And just like that, you become the first girl in history to join Roppo-Ichiza, the Keisei Street gang.

Well, that was an unexpected turn of events, you think as you lie on your futon at home, staring up at the roof, unable to fall asleep from sheer and utter joy.

You came to Makochi because you wanted to protect others, and because you thought the best way to achieve that goal was to join Bofurin. Never in your wildest dreams had you imagined that you’d be invited – invited – into another group of valiant protectors. If anything feels validating to you, it’s got to be that.

You’re a girl and an outsider, and still, they want you.

And it’s different from being invited into Bofurin. You kinda just joined Bofurin by default when you enrolled in Furin High, and you even had to fake your gender in order to do so. But with Roppo-Ichiza, their chairman himself invited you to join even though they know you’re a girl.

How could you say no to that?

It makes you think that maybe, Bofurin would’ve been open to let a girl join too if you’d just asked them – not that there’s really anything to do about that now. You’ve already sneaked your way in by faking your gender.

But still…thinking that all the trouble you’ve been through and all the morally questionable stuff you’ve had to do to join Bofurin (a.k.a. forge some ID and lie to all your friends) might have been completely unnecessary…well, you try not to cry too hard over spilled milk.

You fiddle with the small tie clip, tossing and turning it in your hands. You’d immediately attached it to the collar of your uniform and proudly worn it for the rest of the night after Nakamura had handed it to you, and then carefully taken it off to bring it home with you after that.

After your shift, Nakamura had also pulled you aside to ask if you wanted to have a suit tailored instead of the uniform you usually wear. Before, you wouldn’t have batted an eye at accepting to wear a suit instead of a dress, but you must admit that you’ve grown rather attached to the dress Tsubakino gave you.

“Well, I have a suggestion,” Tsubakino had said upon noticing your hesitation, “What if we shorten your dress so that it doesn’t hinder your movements and get you a pair of shorts to wear underneath? Oh, and maybe some boots instead of those flats. What do you think about that?”

Happy to have found a compromise, you hadn’t hesitated to agree, only briefly stopping to worry about showing even more of your legs than you already do.

Well, you guess you’ll have to worry about that bridge when you cross it.

Which would be next week, but whatever…

It turns out that Tsubakino already has your altered uniform ready the next day.

“Ta-da!” he exclaims, showing you the shortened dress and apron, and the matching black shorts to put underneath.

“Try it on and tell me what you think,” he urges you before gently pushing you into the storage room together with the uniform.

Sighing, you hurry to put it on before critically looking down at your exposed legs.

Oh well, you guess you don’t really care, as long as it’s more practical to fight in.

To your surprise, Nakamura announces that you’re going on patrol this evening instead of helping with serving customers in the pub.

“You’re going with Otowa-kun and Miyoshi-kun.”

And with that, the three of you head out for your very first patrol as an official member of Roppo-Ichiza.

“So, we’re not that many in Roppo-Ichiza, only the four of us you saw yesterday as well as a handful of others – and now you included,” Miyoshi explains as you make your way down Keisei Street. “We do patrols in groups of two or three, usually one in the afternoon and one in the late evening. Most owners and other employees in the district also know to contact us if they’ve got any problems, like troublesome or drunk customers, or if they need help of any sort.”

You nod as Miyoshi continues his explanation of Roppo-Ichiza’s roles. It’s like when you started in Bofurin all over again. Luckily, you aren’t entirely new to the concept of doing patrols and stuff – although Miyoshi doesn’t know that, of course.

And just like your first day as a member of Bofurin, it seems like you’re simply incapable of having a peaceful introduction.

“Well, well, well, who do we have here?” a voice drawls, making you, Miyoshi, and Otowa stop dead in your tracks.

“Shit,” Miyoshi hisses, surprising you with his vulgar language – he otherwise seems like the Suo-type of guy with his cool demeanour and immaculate appearance.

But maybe, his exclamation is just a testament to the graveness of your situation

In front of you stand a group of young men led by a tall, lanky guy with a black trench coat draped over his thin shoulders.

“Out on a job?” their leader asks, smirking suggestively at you.

It occurs to you that it must look like you’re being escorted by Miyoshi and Otowa, with you walking between them in your maid uniform. Not that you mind, though. In fact, maybe it’ll even be to your advantage if your opponents think they only have to deal with two people instead of three.

“This is bad,” Otowa mutters by your side as Miyoshi confronts the men – the gang, if you aren’t mistaken. “These guys are dangerous – they’re known to have connections to the yakuza and sometimes even carry guns with them,” he explains to you in a rushed, hushed voice. “Their leader is eerily intelligent, but not the strongest fighter, but their second-in-command – the angry guy over there – more than makes up for that. I’ve heard some say he could rival the Four Kings of Bofurin in a fight.”

You feel all blood drain from your face. Otowa can’t possibly know exactly how much his words make you realise what you’re up against.

Because if what he says is true, then you three won’t stand a chance against these guys – maybe, if Nakamura had been with you, he could have taken on the second-in-command…but no, even if the entire Roppo-Ichiza and Bofurin were here you still wouldn't be safe from these guys. Not if they have connections to the yakuza.

“And don’t let that meek guy over there deceive you,” Otowa continues, pointing towards a boy with an uneven haircut. “He may seem weak, but he turns into a real beast when he fights. And watch out for the girl – she’s always carrying a dagger with her, and she knows how to use it.”

“They’ve got a girl in their gang?” you ask, suddenly intrigued. Otowa’s eyes widen in disbelief.

“That’s what you chose to take away from that?”

“What do you want?” Miyoshi asks, placing himself protectively in front of you and Otowa. Technically, the three of you are equal members of Roppo-Ichiza, but you guess Miyoshi feels like he has to protect the two of you, being the oldest and everything.

“Mind your manners when speaking to the boss,” a boy, also in a black trench coat, spits. His hair reminds you a bit of Sakura’s, except that the black and white parts are all mixed together instead of neatly parted down the middle.

“Oh, we’re just here for a stroll,” the leader answers in an annoying sing-song voice. “The roads here are so safe with you people protecting the streets, eh?”

He winks at you before side-stepping your group, the other gang members following.

You can see how Miyoshi almost turns liquid with relief once they’re finally out of sight.

“Shouldn’t we…stop them?” you ask, frowning.

“That scumbag,” Otowa scowls, cracking his knuckles and still facing the direction where the gang disappeared.

“Well, they technically didn’t do anything this time,” Miyoshi answers your question.

“This time?”

“We’ve had a few run-ins with them before,” Miyoshi explains. “They’re known as Yaken, and as Otowa-kun probably told you, they’re not to be taken lightly. They’ve always wanted to include the red-light district as part of their turf, and they’re doing their best to make Roppo-Ichiza’s job of protecting this street very hard. But,” he holds up a stern finger in front of your nose, “They’re dangerous. Usually, they’re just wreaking havoc for havoc’s sake – they break into bars and pubs and stuff – but other times, they’ve targeted members of Roppo-Ichiza specifically. So, watch your back.”

You nod along amicably.

Because of course, you could never dream of getting into trouble with a rivalling gang.

Satisfied, Miyoshi announces that you better go back to report to Nakamura immediately.

“Well, at least, I didn’t start a turf war this time,” you mutter to yourself as you make your way back to Show Pub Ougi.

Otowa sends you a strange look.

“Did you say something?”

“Uh, nope!”

“It seems like Roppo-Ichiza has finally gotten a new member,” Yaken’s leader muses once they’re back at their hide-out.

His second-in-command looks at him, wine-bottle stopping half-way towards his mouth.

“Huh?”

“It was just two of them on a job, right?” a boy asks, fidgeting nervously with his belt-strap.

Their leader sighs.

“Really, I’m surrounded by idiots!” he complains loudly, long arms and legs dangled all over the couch he currently occupies. “Do any of you have eyes?” he asks rhetorically.

“Get on with it, shitty mackerel,” his second-in-command barks.

The boy in the black trench coat purses his lips at the disrespect shown towards his boss, but bites back his scolding. It’s not his place to lecture the second-in-command, after all, when he himself is a mere foot soldier.

“The girl,” their leader says emphatically. “Didn’t you see the tie clip she wore at her apron?”

“No way, the girl?”

“Really?!”

“I didn’t even notice!”

“I thought she was being escorted somewhere…”

Their leader lets out a humourless chuckle.

“I think…that we’ll have some great fun with her.”

Chapter Text

“What’s gotten you in such a good mood?” Suo asks you over lunch the following day.

“Huh?”

You’ve been absentmindedly chewing on a piece of tonkatsu, daydreaming about Roppo-Ichiza. It’s still hard for you to believe that they want you in their gang, being a girl and all that.

“Did you see Togame Jo again?” Kiryu asks, making Sakura choke on his water beside him.

Kiryu meant it only as a teasing remark, but he still can’t help the slight bitterness that seeps into his voice. It doesn’t seem like you’ve noticed, though – but then again, you’re not the most socially adept person, which probably has to do with your upbringing. Just like Sakura, now that he thinks about it.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to go see him alone,” Suo remarks, frowning.

“But I thought he was one of the good guys now?” Tsugeura asks, mouth full of some kind of protein concoction.

“In theory, yes, but I still don’t think it’s a good idea to venture into Shishitoren territory alone,” Suo states firmly.

Of course, that’s not the only reason why he’s against you seeing Togame alone. Togame may just act so close to you for shits and giggles because he knows your friends don’t like it, but still, Suo’s sharp eye didn’t miss the way Togame also looked at you when he thought no one was watching.

It reminds him a bit too much of how he himself looks at you when no one else is watching.

“H-h-hey, guys?” Nirei speaks up, clenching his bottle of melon soda nervously. “Remember what we talked about earlier?”

Kiryu looks a bit guilty, but Suo doesn’t balk.

“I haven’t even seen Togame-kun since the day he came to Furin,” you point out.

And that is all it takes for the mood to lighten significantly at your table.

Throughout the week, you spend most of your free time patrolling, either as part of Bofurin or as part of Roppo-Ichiza. You’ve suddenly become very busy with both schoolwork, your job as a waiter and part-time cook at Show Pub Ougi, and as a member of both Bofurin and Roppo-Ichiza.

Still, you’ve never had more fun.

Although, you also have to admit that the appearance of Yaken has put a significant damper on your introduction to Roppo-Ichiza.

Geez, you really have a bad habit of getting yourself roped into turf wars first thing. That’s just your rotten luck – or well, maybe not, because if you hadn’t started the turf war with Shishitoren, you wouldn’t have made friends with Togame and Tomiyama.

Although you have a feeling that Yaken won’t be so easy to win over as Shishitoren turned out to be. Especially since you don’t have Umemiya’s charm to rely on this time.

Of course, you could ask Bofurin for help. But you don’t want to rope your friends into another turf war.

Well, if you can even call it that. Technically, nobody has declared war on anyone yet and so far, Roppo-Ichiza and Yaken are more on the rival-stage of their relationship.

But still.

If you have any say in it, your friends are going to stay out of this one.

The next time you encounter Yaken is when Roppo-Ichiza is called to a sake-shop where there’s been a break-in.

You arrive just in time to spot the perpetrators make a run for it. It’s five boys you haven’t seen before, all laughing their heads off as they sprint in the other direction. One of them carries an IV-pole with him, complete with IV bag and a drip inserted into his wrist.

You really hope it isn’t sake in the IV bag. You’ve heard of some taking alcohol IV, and it’s supposedly really dangerous.

“Yaken,” is all Nakamura says as he grimly observes the damage done to the shop. Multiple expensive sake bottles have either been stolen or smashed, and the floor is filled with shards of shattered glass and spilled sake that makes your shoes squeak as you make your way over to the shaken shopkeeper.

“Are you alright?” you ask, reaching out a hand to steady him.

The employees in the red-light district have become used to seeing you patrolling with Roppo-Ichiza, so they’re no longer surprised to see a teenage girl helping out with stuff like this.

“Yes, they luckily only went for the sake,” the shopkeeper shudders.

“We’ll help you clean, but unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll be able to get back your stolen goods,” Hidaka offers regretfully.

“Well, I’ll just be grateful for any help I can get. You boys are always so nice to lend a hand,” the shopkeeper reassures you before suddenly remembering something.

“Boys and girl, I mean! Sorry miss, I didn’t mean any offence.”

“None taken,” you beam, already in the process of trying to gather some of the glass with a broom before anyone steps in it.

Already the next day, Yaken is on it again.

This time, they break into a pub, scaring all the guests and ruining a performance. Again, no one was hurt, luckily, but you still arrived too late to actually do anything more than help with the cleanup.

For some reason, Yaken is really good at showing up, wreaking havoc, and then disappearing just as Roppo-Ichiza arrives.

“It’s that sneaky bastard of a leader they’ve got,” Nakamura scowls as he takes in the flipped tables and chairs, courtesy of Yaken as well as fleeing customers alike. “He’s the brain behind all their operations. He always knows when to push it and then stop right before they get caught.”

You have to admit that these almost-encounters with Yaken are beginning to get on your nerves. It was different that time with Shishitoren – it was one encounter, a direct confrontation, and then directly onto your one-on-one with Togame.

This however…this is more like guerilla warfare.

Your increasing worry doesn’t go unnoticed by your friends.

“Ryo-san, are your wounds still hurting?” Nirei asks you one day during patrol.

Absentmindedly, you rub the back of your neck. Only three thin scars on your neck, as well as one running along your left cheek, are left from your encounter with the KEEL VIP. Right now, they’re silver white and rather visible for anyone to see, but you’ve been told that scars fade over time.

Not that you care that much.

“No, they’re just a bit itchy,” you answer. “Why?”

“Oh, n-n-nothing, I guess…”

“What Nire-kun means to ask, I believe,” Suo clarifies, “Is that you’ve seemed a bit, well, off lately.”

Suo halts and takes both your hands in his own, somehow managing to look you deeply in both eyes with only one eye of his own.

“If something – or someone is bothering you, please tell me. I’ll…handle it for you.”

Sakura eyes Suo with alarm. He still remembers the scary, cold, ruthless person Suo turned into the last time someone bothered you. It’s not a sight Sakura has any particular desire to ever see again, to put it mildly.

“Oh no, it’s nothing,” you say, laughing airily. “Just, uh, math homework.”

“I get it,” Nirei nods in sympathy. “Math is just the worst.”

Suo very well knows that math isn’t really what bothers you, but that’s not to say that he won’t also help you out with math.

“If you’d like,” he begins, still clutching your hands in his, “Then I can help you.”

Your eyes seem to light up at the suggestion, and even though Suo doesn’t know what your real problem is, he’s happy that he at least seems to have lifted your mood.

And, if he gets to be alone with you – even if it’s just to study – then all the bett--

“Let’s all have a study session together!” you exclaim, turning to face Sakura and Nirei. “I’ll write to Kiryu-kun and Tsugeura-kun too! The weather’s supposed to get really nice, so we could maybe sit on the roof?”

You’ve already fished out your phone and begun to type, probably messaging Kiryu and Tsugeura.

Suo just sighs.

Spending some more time with your friends outside school and patrolling is just what you need right now, you think as you, Sakura, Suo, Nirei, Kiryu, and Tsugeura all head to the roof after school the next day.

You happily dump your math homework down on one of the tables, the others soon joining you.

A scraping noise can be heard from somewhere on the roof, and you all turn your heads towards the sound.

And realise that you aren’t alone.

“Hello, Sugishita-kun,” you greet the tall boy politely. Sugishita stop his weeding to look at you, frowning.

“Wanna join us? We’re doing math homework,” you explain. “Look, there’s room for you here.”

You scoot towards the edge of the bench and pats the spot beside you.

“Why’re you asking him to join?” Sakura hisses at you.

“Huh, why not?”

“Well, I don’t think you need to worry too much, Sakura-kun,” Suo reassures the seething Sakura. “I’m pretty sure that Sugishita-kun won’t have anything to do with--”

Suo shuts his mouth when Sugishita pulls off his garden gloves, picks up his bag resting against a large ceramic pot, and starts walking towards you.

He stops right before your table, eyeing the empty spot beside you for a moment. Then, he swings one long leg over, then the other, and slumps down on the bench beside you.

The silence is so thick that you can hear the birds chirping in the distance. Then…

“So, I already ran into problems with question 1b,” you ramble, proceeding to pull out your math homework and pointing at the various scribbles you’ve made in the margins of your notebook. Suo, who’s sitting opposite you, leans in and begins pointing out where you went wrong with your calculations while trying to explain the easiest way to solve quadratic equations to you.

Slowly, your other friends also begin to relax and soon, all the weirdness and awkwardness have dissipated.

Sugishita sits squeezed in between you and Nirei with Sakura in front of him, but he ignores everyone and just minds his own homework. Because to be honest, he doesn’t really like your group of friends. Or well, he doesn’t like Sakura, and since you’re all Sakura’s friends, that dislike extends towards your other friends.

Your other friends, but not you.

Had it been anyone other than you who’d asked him to join, he would’ve just scoffed and turned the other way, not even bothering to refuse.

But because it was you who asked, looking so happy and hopeful and excited upon seeing him, he couldn’t say no.

You just remind him too damn much of Umemiya.

You’re strong and always smiling and laughing, and – most importantly – you care about other people. You care, and you don’t hesitate to jump straight into trouble to help whoever needs help – friend or stranger or foe, it doesn’t matter.

And you like food.

Sugishita thinks he could listen to you and Umemiya rant on about the best way to cook sweet potatoes for hours on end without growing tired of it. He still remembers the first time you met Umemiya and it seemed like the two of you clicked immediately. And since Sugishita likes seeing Umemiya so happy – to see him being able to so passionately discuss sweet potatoes with a like-minded person – Sugishita couldn’t also help but see how similar your happiness and passion and enthusiasm were to Umemiya’s.

It was at that moment that Sugishita believes his admiration for you began. And it has only grown from that day on.

Of course, he’s only been silently watching and admiring you from the sidelines, not really bothering to get to spend time with you the same way he does with Umemiya – because you’re always surrounded by your group of friends and Sugishita doesn’t really know how to approach you when they always swarm you wherever you go, like moths to a flame, or like ants to a piece of sugar.

Another thing he has come to notice about you is, that despite all your admirable qualities (a.k.a. Umemiya-like qualities), you’re terrible at taking care of your hair. You’re always wearing it in a bun, never letting it down like Sugishita himself likes to wear his hair. Although, he guesses that’s not really what grates on his nerves. It’s how dry it looks and how jagged the edges are, like you just took some dull scissors and cut it yourself while blindfolded (spoiler: you did use a dull pair of scissors, but you weren’t blindfolded). Of course, he could give you the recommendations for hair products that he got from Tsubakino way back when he first got to know Umemiya’s friends.

But that’d just be too weird, right?

He looks up just in time to see Sakura observing him. Sugishita scowls before lowering his gaze again.

Just…ugh.

Because while Sugishita has been watching you, he has of course also noticed how similar, yet so different, Sakura is to you. Yes, Sakura is at least as strong as you are, and he gets just as headless and fiercely protective as you whenever someone needs help. He even likes food too.

But, contrary to Sakura, you are not spewing bullshit about making it to the top.

And to Sugishita, that’s what makes all the difference.

Maybe – just maybe if Sugishita thought Sakura were truly worthy of ever replacing Umemiya…maybe then, Sugishita wouldn’t hate the guy so much.

Maybe then, he’d even admire him as much as he has come to admire you.

Meanwhile, Sakura, who’s sitting opposite Sugishita, is dealing with the sudden wave of dread mixed with guilt washing over him right after Sugishita joined their little study session.

Because what he and his friends just did now, trying to gatekeep Sugishita…isn’t that considered bullying?

Sure, Sakura doesn’t like the guy, and he has the feeling that Suo isn’t too fond of him either. But just because Sakura would love to beat Sugishita in a fight, that doesn’t mean he has to act like an asshole.

Besides, as much as Sakura is loath to admit it, he also has to acknowledge that Sugishita is damn strong. And for that, he earned Sakura’s respect from the very first time they fought each other.

Again, not that Sakura would ever admit that out loud.

But still, he can still make an effort to be just a little bit nicer, right?

Right?

He looks up just in time to see Sugishita scowl at him. On reflex, Sakura scowls back.

Oh well…maybe not.

“Oh, are you guys having a study session?”

You’ve just finished your homework by the time Umemiya emerges on the roof, Hiragi and Kaji in tow.

“Ah, Sugishita-kun, I didn’t know you made such good friends with Sakura-kun!” Umemiya beams.

“Don’t push it,” Hiragi warns.

Sugishita ducks his head and avoids making eye contact with the source of his worship. He’s in a bit of a dilemma because he doesn’t want to openly contradict Umemiya, but he also doesn’t want to agree with him.

So instead, he just shrugs before proceeding to pack his stuff.

“Are you doing math homework?” Kaji asks, leaning over your shoulder to look at your notes.

“Yup. Suo-kun has been tutoring me in quadratic equations!” you say proudly, holding up your finished worksheet.

Kaji’s eye twitches and he gives his lollipop an aggressive suck before saying,

“Next time, just ask me. I can help with your homework.”

“But I thought you hated math?” Umemiya asks, bewildered.

“Well, then I’ll just help with lit. Or English. Or whatever you need,” Kaji shrugs, placing a hand on your shoulder.

“I thought you said you hated those too! Are you finally beginning to open your eyes to the wonders of general education-- Ouch!”

Hiragi’s subtle attempt to make Umemiya shut up by kicking his shin suddenly becomes very unsubtle as Bofurin’s leader whines and complains, jumping around on the roof on one leg while flailing his arms wildly.

Your group of friends and Hiragi let out a collective sigh.

Sometimes, it’s hard to believe that the guy at the top can act like such a goofball, when you all very well know what he’s capable of when he sets his mind to it.

At the same time, however, you also can’t help but think that you wouldn’t want Umemiya to be any other way.

Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on how you look at it – your next confrontation with Yaken is a direct one.

No more hit-and-run.

No more guerilla warfare.

No, this is a head-on street brawl like you’re used to from the time you’ve been in Bofurin.

Or at least, that’s what you thought.

The sound of glass smashing meets you as you head for work that day, already wearing your modified uniform since you've made it a habit to bring it home with you instead of changing at the bar. It’s Yaken, and they’re making their way down Keisei Street, smashing in windows and toppling over signs and outdoor tables and chairs on their way.

“Someone, call Nakamura-san, please!” you shout to the crowd of cowering bar owners, performers, and fleeing customers.

“On it!” a man replies, but you don’t stop to see who it is.

Instead, you place yourself right in Yaken’s path, bracing yourself as the gang approaches. By now, you’re mostly alone on the street.

You don’t mind being alone right now, though. You’re just grateful that everyone managed to flee without getting hurt.

“There she is!” someone whoops, pointing fingers and snickering at you.

Their leader smiles and he almost – almost – looks friendly, before he steps to the side and leans against a wall, arms crossed over his chest. As if he’s making himself comfortable for the show to come.

Or maybe not.

He fishes out his phone and the sound of some kind of game can be heard blaring from its speakers. His eyes are glued to the screen and long, slender fingers are dancing across it. He’s clearly skilled at what he’s doing.

Well, at least you’re now sure that he doesn’t plan on engaging in this fight himself.

You remember Otowa telling you that he isn’t the best fighter, more of a strategist, so maybe, that’s why.

Quickly, you turn your attention back to the rest of the gang – you’ve learned the hard way not to turn your back to your opponents.

And then, without warning, they all charge at you.

The boy with the uneven haircut jumps at you, hands outreached as if he’s preparing to claw your eyes out. You dodge but are then faced with a young girl with a dagger which she skilfully flips in her hand before coming for you. You remember how quickly Sakura handled the guy with the knife who threatened Kotoha during the brawl at Tonpu Shopping Street and feel a bit embarrassed for struggling so much with this girl who’s clearly even younger than you are.

But then again, it also quickly becomes apparent that this girl actually knows how to use her knife, contrary to the boy who threatened Kotoha.

Again, Otowa’s words echo in the back of your mind.

She’s always carrying a dagger with her, and she knows how to use it.

You spin, your skirt swishing around you as you try to land a kick. Luckily, the shortened fabric prevents you from getting tangled up in it, but it still feels weird. You’ve gotten so used to fighting in pants that you’ve almost forgotten how to navigate in a dress. Not that you haven’t done it before – at the orphanage, you were only allowed to wear skirts and dresses, after all.

No, it’s just been some time since you last fought in a dress. It makes your movements slightly clumsy and you miss at first, but you quickly get over it as you get worked up and soon, you land a round-house kick to the girl’s side, making her clutch her ribs and bolt over in pain.

You can’t help but feel bad for her.

You don’t have time to wallow in guilt, however, because just then, the boy with the uneven haircut is on you again.

“How dare you hurt--”

But you shut him up with your fist, the boy’s angered movements leaving him completely open to your attacks.

He slumps to the ground at the feet of the boy in the trench coat who scrunches up his nose at the sight. Then, he unceremoniously walks right over the boy on the ground.

If anything, it’s that action that grates on your nerves even more than whatever other ruckus this gang have made in the past weeks. Because if there’s anything you just can’t stand, it’s people who don’t care about those that are supposed to be close to them. That was also the reason for your initial hatred towards Togame.

“Don’t just walk right over him, you scum!” you yell, setting into a sprint and jumping high into the air. You land right on top of the boy, sending him flying.

Sakura would’ve been proud, you think as you turn around to face your next opponent. It’s his signature move, after all.

You see a guy with sunglasses to your left and another guy with a cigarette dangling from his mouth to your right, reminding you a bit of Kaji and his lollipops. They’re both sprinting towards you, full speed ahead.

Smiling, you twirl on the spot, and the two boys collide with a sickening crunch.

Ha, that was almost too easy.

“Geez, ya’all can’t even handle a single girl,” the second in command scoffs, cracking his knuckles.

You feel yourself tense.

All your opponents so far have been skilled fighters, but nothing you couldn’t handle. You’ve also been lucky that this particular street in the red-light district is fairly narrow, making it hard for them to come at you more than two at a time. So yes, you’ve come out mostly unscathed so far.

But you, going alone against this guy…

Yeah, this guy is a whole other story.

Because if Otowa’s words are true – which they have turned out to be, so far – then going up against this guy would be equivalent to taking on Hiragi. And you’re seriously not really geared for that yet.

Well, you’ll just have to try your best, won’t you?

Rolling your shoulders, you ready yourself to give it your all, even though you already know you’re going to lose this one.

The second-in-command smiles and begins walking towards you, calmly at, as if he’s just taking a stroll.

But then, he speeds up.

And you already know that you’re not fast enough to avoid his attack, so instead, you prepare to block – and probably break your arm in the process.

You’re just doing your best, alright?

All the air is knocked out of your lungs, and you’re thrown backwards. You manage to twist in the air and land on your feet, but you can feel your knees buckle as you try to regain your footing. Your arms feel numb after having blocked his punch – just how strong is this guy?

And now, he’s coming for you again.

You narrowly dodge another punch that would’ve broken your jaw had it landed…only to discover that it had been a feint.

Seriously, even his feints are that powerful?

You’re not fast enough to block the roundhouse kick that sends you flying into a wall. And you feel it when it happens. You can feel the bone break, hear the snapping, cracking sound it makes, and that is so much worse than the actual pain that follows.

Cradling your broken arm, you slide down the wall, unable to hold back a scream of pain. Your eyes sting and your vision turns blurry from tears.

Stop that, you tell yourself angrily, blinking furiously to clear your sight again. Because if you can’t see, then how on earth are you able to win?

No, not win, you correct yourself. You just have to stall for time, right? Until the rest of Roppo-Ichiza shows up.

Where are they?

The second-in-command looks down at you, mouth pursed and brows curled into a frown. A flash of something akin to guilt flashes over his eyes before they again turn unreadable. And then, he brings his leg back and you just know he’s going to kick you again.

Feebly, you raise your good arm to protect your head. Preparing yourself to get that broken too.

But the impact never comes.

The second-in-command is suddenly shoved out of the way and another person places themselves in front of you, blocking you from view. It’s a young man – or a boy – with messy, black hair and tattoos snaking all the way from his throat and down his bare shoulders and toned biceps.

He must have jumped from a nearby roof.

And just in time to prevent you getting your butt handed to you, it seems.

He doesn’t look back at you as he tilts his head to the side, and you can practically hear the disdain dripping from his voice as he speaks.

“…did I give you permission to touch her?”

Chapter Text

Endo grew up not feeling a lot of things. He was good at everything, and life was boring. Nothing more to say about that, really. It didn’t even occur to him that it wasn’t normal to feel so empty – for life to feel so empty, so purposeless that he often wondered why people even bothered. It wasn’t because Endo was suicidal or anything – he wasn’t exactly suffering.No, he was just…bored, he guesses.

That is, until he met him.

Takiishi Chika.

Endo recalls thinking he’d never seen anything as beautiful as Takiishi before, hands and clothes stained with blood glinting red in the moonlight. It had been a cloudy night, but the clouds had parted just as Endo glanced up at the sky, revealing Takiishi in all his gory glory as he balanced atop the rickety scaffolding, not worrying in the slightest about the long drop to the ground below that was bound to make lesser men cower in fear.

It was meant to be, Endo remembers thinking. They were meant to meet here. It had felt like an omen from the sky itself.

And Endo turned out to be right. Takiishi made Endo feel things – he makes Endo feel things. Ever since meeting him, Endo has felt awe, he has felt joy, he has felt confusion and uncertainty and fear. Endo treasures all those feelings equally, does not discern between them. No, all that matters to him is that he finally feels something. And he doesn’t care what it is, as long as he doesn’t have to go back to the emptiness.

Anything but that.

Endo has spent almost every breathing moment since he met Takiishi striving to be by his side. Doing everything Takiishi asks of him, whether it be paying for his extensions or starting a gang war for him.

For many, many years, Takiishi has been his whole life. His whole existence. Endo’s identity doesn’t extend beyond Takiishi. And for all this time, Endo hasn’t wished for anything more than that. All he wants is to see Takiishi happy because that’s what makes himself happy.

At least, that’s how it used to be, until very recently. Until a couple of months ago, to be exact.

At first, you were no more than another piece in one of his plans to make Takiishi happy. You were important to his plan, yes, and that’s also why Endo took to observing stalking you – but nothing more than that.

But as Endo learned more about you – as he learned about your secret identity and saw to what lengths you are willing to go to live by your morals, he also had to admit at one point that you are interesting. Nothing on par with Takiishi, of course, but interesting nonetheless.

So, Endo continued watching you. Both because he needed to know as much as possible about you for his plan to work, but also because it entertained him.

Endo can’t recall being entertained by anything that didn’t have to do with Takiishi ever before. Sure, it was his plans for Takiishi that led him to you in the first place, but he isn’t entertained by watching you because of Takiishi.

No, there’s something about you…about the way you fight, the way you smile and laugh despite having gone through what Endo knows must have been a less than pleasant childhood. The way you always do what’s least expected of you. It makes Endo feel things – anticipation, excitement, and other feelings he isn’t really sure what to make of yet. All he knows is that it’s different from the things he feels when he’s with Takiishi.

And then, now, an entirely new feeling is coursing through him. It burns through his veins like fire and makes the edges of his vision turn red. It makes him want to both scream and cry at the same time, makes him want to punch something, anything. And it elicits a strong urge withing him to punish.

Or, more specifically, punish whoever had caused you to scream out in pain like that.

Before he can think, Endo sets into a sprint. He’s jumping across the roofs because that’s much faster than navigating through the narrow streets of Makochi’s red-light district. And when he reaches Keisei street, he sees you.

You, face scrunched up in pain as you crumble against a wall, your arm hanging limply at your side in an odd angle. In front of you is a person Endo has never personally met before, but who he knows by reputation alone.

Yaken’s second-in-command.

Endo jumps. He intended to land right on the back of your attacker, but the second-in-command moves out of the way just in time to avoid being mashed into a pancake by Endo.

Well, not that it matters, Endo thinks as he straightens his back, shielding you from view as he positions himself between you and Yaken.

He’ll just make them pay in some other way.

“Did I give you permission to touch her?”

You blink once. Twice. Three times.

You wonder if Yaken’s second-in-command actually did manage to hit you in the head and that you’re now hallucinating.

Because in front of you stands the guy who almost strangled you some time ago, and you cannot for the life of you imagine why he’d suddenly go to such lengths to protect you.

Unless…unless he’s got some other plans for you, and you getting hurt prematurely would inconvenience him. Yeah, as unsettling as that explanation is, it’s the only even remotely plausible one you’ve got for now.

Yaken’s leader finally looks up from his phone.

“Oh.”

He sounds only mildly surprised by this turn of events, like he just discovered that they ran out of a specific brand of milk at the supermarket.

“Game over!”

You flinch at the sound blaring from his phone and watch as Yaken’s leader pockets it before his face falls into a pout – because of his game or because of the stranger in front of him, you’re not sure.

“This wasn’t part of the deal,” he mutters disappointedly.

“Well, better scrub off then, amirite?” your attacker-now-turned protector sneers.

You watch as the leader’s smile falters, just before it disappears entirely. His eyes look eerily empty, almost dead, and the rest of his face is just as blank. Gone is his teeth-flashing smile that you’ve always thought looked a little too wide to be genuine.

“We can’t,” he says, and his voice is several octaves lower than the sing-song voice you’ve heard him use so far.

“Well,” your protector sighs, cracking his knuckles, “too bad for you, I guess.”

“Don’t think I can take you on?” Yaken’s second-in-command growls, widening his stance and baring his teeth at his opponent.

“Stop.”

The second-in-command freezes, then slowly turns to face his leader who’s uncannily cheerful mask slips on again as he beckons for his second-in-command to back down.

“Mr. Fancyhat, we better call it a day.”

“The fuck?”

“I said, we better call it a day.”

“I heard what you said, shitty mackerel!”

“Well, why did you ask then, slug?”

It looks like the second-in-command is one second away from losing his cool and jump at his own leader. He takes a deep breath and adjusts his hat – which is rather tacky, you have to agree on.

“Fuck it,” he spits before turning on his heels. “You there!” he barks as he passes his stunned gang members. “Pick up those guys and let’s go.”

The other gang members scramble to obey, some of them picking up their fallen comrades before bolting away. Their leader is the last one to make his exit. He turns to look at you one last time, again with that cold, dead expression.

And then, Yaken is gone.

You look after them until they disappear from sight, still not really believing what just happened.

Was that just it?

After weeks of mocking Roppo-Ichiza like this – breaking into shops and stealing, ruining performances, and smashing bar windows – it’s over, just like that?

No heroic final stance for you? No huge brawl involving the entirety of Roppo-Ichiza and Yaken? No one-on-one tournament to decide the final winners like Bofurin had with Shishitoren?

Oh well. You guess not everything in your life has to be over-the-top dramatic. It’s not like you’re in an anime or something like that.

And it’s not that you complain, it’s just that…

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” you say once they’re gone. And then, you immediately regret speaking up because the boy in front of you turns around to face you upon hearing your voice.

You square your shoulders (or well, one shoulder, since your other arm hurts too much to move), looking up at him in defiance. There’s barely contained rage in his teal eyes as he looks down at you, his jaw pulled taught and a vein pulsing at his temple.

Maybe, you went straight from the ashes and into the fire. Maybe, this guy just saved you to have his own fun with you. Maybe, you actually do get to put up a final stance here, in the middle of the unusually deserted Keisei Street.

Maybe--

“You should get someone to look at that.”

And first then do you realise that he isn’t looking at your face, but at your arm. Something in his eyes flares up as you wince, the pain much more prominent now that the boy brought attention to it. His fingers twitch at his sides, as if he’s itching to reach out, to do something. But after some time, he just curls them into fists instead, knuckles turning white.

Then, he tilts his head to the side, sending you a lopsided grin completely at odds with the rest of his body language.

“You sure know how to get yourself roped into all kinds of trouble, aren’t you, Ryo?”

“Don’t call me that,” you hiss, surprising even yourself with your display of hostility. “And by the way, what are you doing here? And who are you even?”

“Just protecting my investment,” the boy in front of you shrugs. You don’t fail to notice that he failed to answer your last question – as well as managed to make you even more confused with his answer than you already are.

“Investment?” you splutter.

That sounds bad, you think. Because it confirms your suspicions that this guy has something in store for you, and that’s the only reason why he saved you.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about that now,” he laughs, some of the tension in his body finally loosening up.

You open your mouth to say something – to demand answers or to tell him to leave, you don’t know – but before you can get so much as a word out, a shout can be heard from further down the street.

“Hey, are you alright?”

A split second later, the tattooed boy is gone.

“Huh?”

You turn around. In front of you stands another boy, one you haven’t seen before. He has curly, platin-blond hair and golden eyes. Eyes, that right now are filled with worry on your behalf.

“Oh, yeah, thanks. Uhm, sorry, but who are you?”

“Wanijima Yugo.”

He bows lightly at the waist. You introduce yourself – you were just about to say I’m Ryo, but you catch yourself right before you let it slip.

Geez, even you are beginning to forget your real name. Maybe, it’s because you feel so comfortable being Ryo that you’ve almost put your old name behind you.

“Sorry, I just heard about a brawl going on around here,” he explains, “and I ran as fast as I could to help out.”

“Ah, well, it seems to be over now…uh, at least I think so.”

Wanijima raises an eyebrow at you.

“You think so?”

“Well, it didn’t really end like I’d expected,” you admit. “They just sorta…left.”

You shrug, then immediately cry out in pain.

Is it really that hard for you to remember that you’ve got a literal broken arm?

“What is it?”

Wanijima’s voice is sharp and his brows curled into a frown.

“Oh nothing,” you laugh, trying to turn your bad arm away from Wanijima, but he just repositions himself, making your efforts in vain.

“Can I see?”

You sigh. This guy is way too nice, and you really don’t wish to bother him anymore. But then again, if he insists…

Obediently, you stay still so that he can inspect your arm. His cool fingers brush against your skin, so gently that it doesn’t hurt at all.

“I think it’s broken,” he says as he finally pulls back again.

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” you say, wincing at the thought of the snap you’d heard when it happened.

Wanijima presses his lips together as he continues to stare at your arm – almost as if he could X-ray it to see exactly where the damage lies. You shift awkwardly on your feet, wondering if he’s going to say anything or if he’s just going to ogle your arm until it falls off (actually, what a morbid thought).

Just as you prepare to excuse yourself, however, he speaks up again.

“I know a bit of first aid from my time in-- I mean, I could help you make a cast, if you’d like? It’s not dislocated, so a cast and a sling should be sufficient for it to heal by itself.”

You purse your lips, thinking.

Your gut tells you that this guy is genuine – he’s been nothing but nice so far, and there’s just something about him that makes you want to trust him. It’s the way he talks, softly and calmly and almost soothingly. The way his eyes crinkle a bit at the corners as he frowns with worry. The way his lips curled into a dissatisfied pout when he discovered that you’re injured.

“Alright,” you say after some time. “But just wait a moment, I’ll have to tell Tsubaki-chan where I’m going first, otherwise, he’s going to freak o--”

You’re cut off by the sound of running footsteps fast approaching and the members of Roppo-Ichiza shouting at you in distress.

“Shit, are you alright?”

“We came as fast as we could!”

“Thanks for holding it on your own for so long!”

They’re all talking over the top of each other, but still, none of them can drown out Tsubakino’s panicked voice as it cuts through everything else.

“Are you alright? What happened? Was it Yaken? I’m so, so, sorry we didn’t arrive sooner! Oh, sweetie-- wait, who’s this guy?”

Tsubakino has just spotted Wanijima by your side and his wide eyes narrow into slits. He promptly pulls you behind him (by your good arm, thank God) and places himself between you and Wanijima. His otherwise kind expression is practically murderous as he stares the other boy down.

“Who are you?” he demands, almost accusingly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“This is Wanijima-kun,” you introduce him, peeking at the boy from behind Tsubakino.

“No need to draw hasty conclusions, Tsubaki-chan,” Nakamura mumbles. But Tsubakino doesn’t listen. No, he’s still glaring daggers at Wanijima, as if it was him who’d broken your arm.

Wanijima, meanwhile, just smiles pleasantly at Tsubakino. It reminds you a bit of how Suo smiles when he tries to pacify people who’re riled up.

“Wanijima Yugo,” he introduces himself again. “I heard about a brawl and came to help. But it seems like your newest member already took care of things here.”

“Help? How would you be able to be of any help?” Otowa asks suspiciously.

“Don’t be rude,” Miyoshi scolds.

“Oh, I just know some tricks and stuff to get by,” Wanijima deflects airily. Tsubakino frowns at him, but doesn’t say anything. Instead, he turns his attention to you, hands on his hips.

“Did you take Yaken on all by yourself? What did we talk about, about being careful? You should’ve just run!”

“Uh, well, I just thought that I could buy some time before you guys showed up,” you say sheepishly. “And nothing happened! Well, I think I broke my arm, but that’s beside the point…”

Tsubakino’s gaze immediately zooms in on your arm as he lets out a squeak of distress, startling you into silence.

“Take it easy, Tsubakino-kun,” Nakamura says, placing a firm hand on Tsubakino’s shoulder.

“Yeah, it’s no big deal,” you insist. “Besides, I was just about to go with Wanijima-kun because he offered to make me a cast, so--”

“You what?” Tsubakino screeches, nostrils flaring as he whips his head around to send Wanijima yet another glare, just for good measure. Then, he turns to look at you again.

“You are going nowhere with this guy, young lady. Geez, you really have no sense of self-preservation, do you?”

“C’mon, Tsubakino-kun,” Nakamura tries again, sending you an apologetic glance out of the corner of his eye. “She’s hurt, cut her some slack.”

“It’s Tsubaki-chan,” Tsubakino snaps, “And she’s gotta learn to take better care of herself – you wouldn’t want me to die of a heart attack before I turn twenty now, do you?” He sends you a pointed look.

You’re just about to say no, of course not, when someone clears his throat. Loudly.

“Ehem.”

You all turn towards Wanijima. His hands are raised, palms facing upwards ­– like a peace offering.

“I promise you I meant her no harm. I just wanted to help – I live nearby and have supplies for making a cast at home, you see. I completely understand why you would be distrustful of me, but I would also feel very bad for not helping out when I had the opportunity. So please, let me help?

He bows deeply, waiting for Tsubakino to answer.

“Well, you certainly know how to speak for yourself,” Tsubakino mutters. The hostility is gone from his voice, although he still sounds suspicious.

“How about this,” Miyoshi steps in, “Wanijima-san can go home and fetch the supplies, then come back. That way, we can keep an eye on both of them.”

Wanijima straightens his back, nods, and sends a smile your way before darting off. Shoulders slumping slightly, Tsubakino turns to face you again.

You look at each other for a moment. Tsubakino’s eyes soften, and his lips begin to quiver slightly.

Then, he pulls you into a hug – not the bone-crushing, mushing-his-cheek-against-your-hair kind of hug he usually gives you, but a very gentle half-hug, so as not to touch your broken arm.

“I’m sorry dear. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that. I’m just worried about you – I know that’s not really an excuse, and I promise that I’ll try to do better. But please…can you promise me you’ll be more careful?” He pulls away a bit to look properly at you. “I recall you promising that after the episode with KEEL, but this time, maybe mean it? Pretty please?”

He bats his long lashes at you.

“I’ll…try,” you say, more hesitantly than the last time you’d promised Tsubakino to be more careful. After all, haven’t you just shown how hard it is to keep that promise?

You’ll just have to get stronger, you think stubbornly. Stronger also equals getting hurt less, so that should do the trick, right?

Your group falls silent for a moment.

“Alright,” Nakamura announces after some time. “Maybe, we can help clean up here and then go back so you can tell us what happened?” He offers you a kind smile.

Tsubakino and Roppo-Ichiza help clean up the street as best as they can. You’re profusely banned from helping, and when you try picking up a sign Yaken had toppled over, it’s immediately snatched out of your hands by Otowa as he sends you an exasperated look.

Pouting, you walk over to the side to watch them work, trying to ignore the dull throbbing in your arm.

Soon, you’re joined by the shop and bar owners returning. It doesn’t take long before they start milling around you, thanking you for making a stance, for protecting them and their establishments. It reminds you of the aftermath of the brawl on Tonpu Shopping Street on your first day of school.

“It’s a shame that you’re still a minor. But when you come of age, you’re always welcome to whatever you want from my shop!” a man owning a liquor store tells you.

“Well, you’re always welcome at my bar! We also serve sodas!” a pub owner says, clapping you heartily on the back.

“I don’t know what we would do without you guys! Thank you for making this street a safer place!”

You blush and try to hide behind Tsubakino, but he always pushes you to the front of your group so that all the employees can pay their tributes to you.

“I barely did anything,” you keep telling them, but nobody’s listening.

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Tsubakino whispers in your ear at some point. “No matter how much or how little you did, you were still there when it mattered, and that’s what counts. So, just enjoy yourself! You deserve it, dear.”

He smiles fondly at you. You send him a bright smile in return.

However, as soon as he looks the other way, you feel your smile falter. Not because of anything Tsubakino said, or because you don’t feel like you deserve all the praise from the shop owners (although, you still think it’s way over the top).

No, it’s because you still can’t shake the feeling that something is off.

You’re sure you haven’t seen the last of Yaken. There’s no way they’d just leave like that, especially when you think about the cryptic answer their leader had given you after the boy with the tattoos had told them to scrub off.

“Well, better scrub off then, amirite?”

“We can’t.”

You can’t help but wonder what he meant by that. It didn’t sound like, “no, we don’t want to.” It sounded more like…someone is forcing them to attack the red-light district.

Who on earth would do that, however, you have no idea.

Wanijima shows up later with the supplies for a cast. He’s brought a whole bag full of them, and as soon as you’re back at the pub, he starts to unpack what looks to be various rolls in different shades of white. You had no idea a cast required that many kinds of materials, and you must say that you’re intrigued.

You and Wanijima go to the back to do your business while the others start preparing the bar for the first customers of the night.

Without a word, he places a couple of Bufferin tablets on the table in front of you together with a glass of water. You dutifully swallow the pain medication and then, he gets to work.

Gently, but swiftly, he pulls something that looks like a stockinette over your arm, with a hole cut for your thumb. Then, he starts wrapping layer upon layer of some kind of soft padding around, fingers working deftly – as if he’s done this multiple times before. He finishes off with a layer of plaster he’s had soaking in a bucket of water until now.

Lastly, he fishes out what is unmistakenly a scarf from his bag, folds it in some kind of fancy way – and voila, presents you a sling to rest your arm in.

When he’s finished, he steps back to eye his work critically. You look down at your arm to admire the cast and sling he’s made you – he put time and effort into it, after all, and you can’t help but think of it as a homemade gift.

“Thank you!” you beam, jumping down from the chair you’ve been sitting on and doing a small twirl on the spot. “It already feels much better like this!”

Wanijima smiles warmly at you.

“That’s the least I could do. It still needs to dry though – it’ll probably take around a day. You should keep the cast clean, but avoid getting it wet. After around four weeks, it should be safe to take it off – just ask one of your friends to help you.”

You pause for a moment, thinking about what this means for your duty as a member of Bofurin and Roppo-Ichiza.

“This means I’ll have to keep out of fights for the next two weeks, right?” you pout.

For a split second, Wanijima looks stunned. But then, his face splits into a smile and he lets out a chuckle.

“Yes, unfortunately.” He continues to look at you for a moment, eyes turning thoughtful. “You know, you remind me of a boy I knew once…” He sighs, smiling wistfully.

You cock your head to the side, curious. But before you can ask who he’s talking about, Wanijima beats you to the punch.

“If I may ask…what do you know of Yaken?” He suddenly sounds much more serious, and his eyes are intense as he looks at you.

“Uh, not a lot,” you admit, racking your brain to recall the lectures you’d gotten from Otowa and Miyoshi. “Just some facts about the members’ fighting styles, and then that they’re after the red-light district. Why do you ask?”

Wanijima presses his lips together, frowning. It takes a while before he answers, and when he does, it’s again in that airy, dismissive tone he’d used when Otowa had asked him how he knew how to fight.

“Oh, of no particular reason.”

For some reason, you don’t really believe him.

After another slight pause, he clears his throat.

“Well, I’ll better be on my way.”. He offers you a smile and a small bow before making his way over to the door leading to the bar. But just before he can turn the knob, you blurt,

“Is there something I can help you with?”

Honestly, then you don’t exactly know what makes you say that. You don’t know what the sudden feeling of urgency in your gut is – the feeling that the boy in front of you needs help, even if he refuses to ask for it.

Maybe, it’s because of the intensity of his gaze as he asked you about Yaken. Maybe, it’s the way he just randomly showed up right after Yaken had been wreaking havoc – most people would run in the opposite direction if they knew there was a brawl going on, right? Well, with the exception of people like those in Bofurin, Roppo-Ichiza, and even Shishitoren. Or maybe, it’s the way he knows so much about how to treat a broken arm despite looking like a high-school kid.

Of course, all of these observations could just be a coincidence. But you still want to make sure – to make sure that you’re not missing an opportunity to help someone in need.

Wanijima just looks at you for a long moment. Then, he smiles.

“No, but thank you for the offer.”

And with one last bow, he’s gone.

The following day is your day off from school. You also have the day off from work because your cast still needs to dry fully, and because your co-workers refused to let you work the day after you’d just broken your arm.

Oh well.

Suddenly, you don’t know what to do with all your free time. You’ve got no school, no work, and no patrols. There’s always homework, of course, but every time you try to sit down and concentrate, your mind begins to wander.

In the end, you give up on the homework too.

“Might as well go for a walk,” you mumble to yourself.

You end up taking a stroll along the outskirts of Makochi. You know it’s risky to venture outside of Bofurin’s turf, but you also don’t want to run into your classmates since you’re out of your disguise.

In the afternoon, you decide to stop by a convenience store. You could do with some ramen, and maybe that Triple Cider your classmates brought you when you were sick.

You’re standing in front of the fridges, debating with yourself whether it’s justifiable to splurge on a soy egg and some string cheese to put on top of your Shin Ramyun, when someone bumps straight into your broken arm.

“Ouch, sheesh!” you cry out just as the other person curses, “Oi, watch where you’re going you--”

As soon as you and the boy make eye contact with each other, you both immediately snap your mouths shut.

Oh no, you think, panicking. Not here. Not now. You can’t fight with this arm!

Because in front of you, a pack of cigarettes in one hand and a bottle of rather expensive-looking red wine in the other, stands none other than the boy who’s responsible for said broken arm.

Because he’d been the one to break it, not even twenty-four hours ago.

Yaken’s second-in-command.

Chapter Text

[13 years ago]

The Asahi Shimbun

Breaking News, January 26^th

Two civilians found dead near the slums of Yokohama

Yesterday evening, a young couple were found dead at the outskirts of the slums of Yokohama. It is presumed that they perished from blood loss after being hit by multiple gunshot wounds. As of yet, it remains unknown whether…

The Asahi Shimbun

Breaking News, January 27^th

Yakuza pleads guilty for the murder in Yokohama

On the evening of the 26^th of January, a member of the Inagawa-kai pleaded guilty for the murder of the young couple the night before. The kobun responsible, however, was found dead in his home not long after…

…it has later been discovered that the couple left behind two children, a boy and girl aged 2. They are currently being placed in the local Children’s Home while further investigation is…

[Present]

You and Yaken’s second-in-command stare at each other for a long moment.

You are just standing there because your brain is torn between fighting or fleeing, the two somehow cancelling each other out and rooting you to the spot.

Why he just stands there without doing anything, however, you’ve got no idea.

After some time, Yaken’s second-in-command lowers his gaze, almost…guiltily. He clears his throat.

“I’m…sorry. About your arm.”

You feel your eyebrows shoot towards your hairline.

He’s sorry?

“I didn’t mean to break it,” he mumbles, still without looking at you.

You don’t really know what to say to that. Well, except for…

“Uhh, thanks?”

The second-in-command snaps his head up to look at you again, eye twitching. Then, he scoffs.

You frown. You’re getting all kinds of conflicting vibes from this guy. You want to understand him – you want to ask why it is that Yaken can’t just leave Keisei Street be. Because after yesterday, you’re pretty sure they’re not just interested in the red-light district because they want it as part of their turf.

No, there’s gotta be something more to it. Question is just what that something is.

“Why did you do it then, if you didn’t mean to?” you ask after some time, cocking your head to the side. “And not just my arm – I mean, why’re you after the red-light district?”

“That’s none of your business,” the second-in-command says grumpily.

“Yes, it is,” you insist, “I’m part of Roppo-Ichiza and I work there. I have friends there. Of course it’s my business if you’re gonna continue to barge in like you did yesterday.”

“Listen, kid, stay outta it if you know what’s best for you. You don’t need to know any more than that.”

He side-steps you and makes his way to the counter.

“Are you even old enough to buy that?” you ask, wrinkling your nose at the cigarettes and wine.

“Like you’re one to talk, pipsqueak!” he snarls over his shoulder.

“I’m not the one buying smokes and booze,” you point out.

“I’ll need some ID,” the cashier cuts in.

The second-in-command whips out his driver’s license and practically shoves it into the cashier’s face.

“Seems valid,” the cashier shrugs before proceeding to scan in the cigarettes and wine.

Huh. You would’ve thought he was sixteen at most.

You hurry to pay for your own stuff before scurrying after the second-in-command as he leaves the store.

“Wait!” you shout, but he only increases his pace. You see him head for a shiny, red, motorbike parked against a brick wall.

If he first gets onto that, there’s no way you’re gonna catch up to him.

You set into a sprint.

“Oi, what are you--”

The second-in-command lets out a shout of surprise as you shoot past him, plastic bag with your cup noodle and Triple Cider swinging back and forth violently from your good arm, and promptly swing one leg over his bike, seating yourself in the plush leather seat.

“I’m not moving before you tell me what’s going on,” you say stubbornly, wishing you could cross your arms over your chest – but alas, it’ll be at least two more weeks before you can do that again.

“I could just push you off, ya know?” the second-in-command scowls.

“But you won’t. C’mon, you owe me for this!” you beg, beckoning with your head towards the arm in your sling.

Sighing, the second-in-command fishes out a cigarette from his newly purchased package. He lights it by the flick of a lighter and takes a long drag before leaning against the brick wall.

“I might’ve said I was sorry, but I owe you shit,” he scoffs, exhaling a cloud of smoke as he talks.

“Maybe, I could help you?”

 The second-in-command throws his head back and laughs.

“And what’s a pipsqueak like you gonna do against the yakuza, eh?”

The yakuza.

You can feel goosebumps rise on your arms despite the mild weather. You remember Otowa mentioning that Yaken had connections with the yakuza, but to get it confirmed…

You won’t say you know a lot about the yakuza – in fact, you’ve tried to stay as far from anything they’re involved with as possible. It’s them, after all, who’re responsible for the fact that you and your brother have grown up as orphans.

“What does the yakuza have on you? Or did they threaten someone?” you ask quietly.

The second-in-command chokes mid-drag, spluttering and coughing as he tries to clear his throat from smoke. When he has finally regained his bearings, he turns a sharp eye on you.

“What do you know?”

“It just makes more sense for the yakuza to want to control the red-light district than you guys. You’re just pawns, aren’t you?”

The boy’s shoulders slump slightly, and he takes another drag of his cigarette before answering.

“You’re not as stupid as you look, are you?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” you beam, your gloomy mood from before quickly dissipating. You eagerly lean forward on his bike. “So, does that mean you want to tell me what all this is about?”

The second-in-command pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing. And you know you’ve won.

“There’s just this guy the boss has a soft spot for,” he admits after some time. “Runs an orphanage nearby. Author or somethin’, writes a lot of sap.” He takes another drag, then exhale. “They threatened him and the kids.”

Hm, that’s a tricky one, you think, sticking out your bottom lip in thought. Threatening a normal civilian and a bunch of kids is a dirty move. In fact, it doesn’t seem like them at all.

You swing your legs back and forth on his bike, absentmindedly fiddling with your cast while the second-in-command finishes his cigarette.

No, it doesn’t seem like them at all, you think again, frowning.

There’s some stuff not adding up. Maybe…

Your eyes widen with realisation.

“Wait a moment…you’re sure they’re not just pulling your leg, right?”

The second-in-command looks at you as if you just spoke gibberish.

“I mean,” you clarify,” the yakuza lives by a very strict code of ethics. I don’t think they’d just target some innocent kids.”

“Eh? And how come you’re familiar with how the yakuza operates?” He looks at you suspiciously, eyes narrowed and cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.

“My parents were killed in a dispute between some yakuza members,” you explain. “I was too young to remember it, but I read about it when I got older. The yakuza took it upon themselves to execute those responsible for harming innocent bystanders.”

You’ve never really given much thought to how your parents died. You were too young to remember them anyways, and the way they died doesn’t change the fact that they did die. Which is also why you haven’t felt any desire to tell anyone about how you and your brother ended up in that orphanage before now.

It’s not like you get sad from talking about your parents. Sure, it would’ve been nice growing up with parents (the loving kind, of course), but you’ve always felt that as long as you had your brother, you were going to be alright.

And now, you’re here. You’re here in Makochi, in Bofurin, and in Roppo-Ichiza, where you’ve been welcomed with open arms. You’ve finally found another place than by your brother’s side where you truly feel at home. Where you feel like you belong. You’ve found friends who’d go through ice and fire for you and, as cheesy as it sounds, those people have become your family, on par with your brother.

So, you don’t really see the point in talking about your parents because you’re happy with what you have – a doting brother (even though you haven’t seen him in quite some time by now) and your friends in Bofurin and Roppo-Ichiza – and Shishitoren, of course.

But now, you find yourself telling this guy, second-in-command in a highly dangerous gang, who’d broken your arm as recently as yesterday, about your parents.

Weird, how things play out sometimes, you muse.

“That might’ve just been a one-time thing,” Yaken’s second-in-command waves you off. You scrunch up your nose at the smoke he sends your direction as he continues. “Besides, the boss may be a suicidal bastard and a pain in the ass, but he’s not stupid. There’s no way the yakuza could pull something like that without him know--”

He suddenly falls silent. You half expect crickets to start chirping, but the season's still a bit early for that. You just continue to look at the second-in-command as he thinks, and you can practically see the clogs turning behind his bright eyes as he thinks. You keep silent too – you don’t want to disturb him if he’s about to have an epiphany, after all.

After what feels like a long time, he suddenly speaks again, startling you and almost making you fall down from his bike.

“You! Get on the bike, we’re gonna talk to the boss.”

“Uh, I’m already sitting here?” you point out, confused. The second-in-command rolls his eyes before elegantly seating himself behind you.

“You can’t hold on to me properly with that arm, so you’re gonna have to sit in front,” he tells you gruffly as he unceremoniously places his helmet over your head and clicks it in place. Then, he wraps his riding jacket over your shoulders while taking care not to touch your broken arm.

“What about you?” you protest, trying to return the helmet, but he just puts his hand on your head to prevent you from taking it off.

“Just take them, alright?” he complains. “If you don’t take them, I’m not gonna wear them either. Then, none of us’ll get to wear it – that what you want?”

You turn your head to look at him, frowning.

“You sure you’re above twenty? ‘Cause that’s something a kid would say, you know?”

The second-in-command looks away without answering, the tips of his ears turning red.

“You can tell me,” you press on, “Don’t worry, I won’t judge you for faking your ID. Or driver’s license.”

Of course you wouldn’t. Because that’d just make you a hypocrite, right?

“I’m sixteen,” he mumbles after some time. Now, his cheeks are glowing red too.

“Wow, and you’re already a second-in-command in such a high-profile gang?” you say, impressed.

“Just shut up and sit still, will ya?” he scowls. You mime zipping your mouth shut. Then, you send him a bright smile before turning around in the seat again, making yourself comfortable.

“I’m so excited!” you gush. “I’ve never ridden a motorbike before!”

Yaken’s second-in-command doesn’t say anything as he leans forwards on the bike, caging you in with his arms as he places his hands on the handlebars and kicks the bike into ignition.

Your smile persists all the way to Yaken’s hideout as you feel the wind whip around your face, while the leather jacket and the boy behind you keep you warm.

Your destination turns out to be a tall brick building with a café on the ground floor. That surprises you – you’d expected something like the run-down, abandoned movie theatre where Shishitoren resides. You hadn’t expected anything so…nice.

“Oi, shitty mackerel!” the second-in-command shouts as soon as he’s kicked the door in. “Get your lazy ass down here, right now! I gotta talk to you, and you better give me a straight answer this time!”

Someone yawns loudly from one of the café booths, and you both turn in the direction of the sound…

…only to be met with the sight of none other than Yaken’s leader, hair sticking every which way and eyelids drooping heavily from having just woken up from what seems to have been a very long nap. At least judging from the state of his hair as well as the many wrinkles in his trench coat.

He smiles lazily at you before turning his gaze to his second-in-command.

“Oh, you brought the girl with you? And gave her your helmet and everything. Didn’t take you for such a gentleman.” He grins obnoxiously at his subordinate who looks like he has half a mind to strangle his own boss.

But the second-in-command restrains himself, instead opting for glaring daggers at his leader instead. You, meanwhile, hurry to take off the helmet and jacket and put it on a nearby table.

“You knew, didn’t you?” the second-in-command scowls. “You knew the yakuza wouldn’t actually blow up those kids, didn’t you?”

The leader doesn’t say anything, and the second-in-command apparently takes that as a yes.

“Then why have you had us running around like idiots, causing trouble in the red-light district for weeks now, if there’s no reason to? Giving us cryptic orders the whole damn time, telling us to smash up stuff and then making us pull back right before we actually make any progress?”

Yaken’s leader’s eyes turn hard, all mirth gone from his features. It’s eery, how fast this guy can just change his whole persona in the blink of an eye, like the flip of a switch.

“You’re lucky I already fixed the problem with the yakuza before you came barging in here,” he says, voice icy. “Otherwise, you might very well have caused the death of those children and their caretaker yourself.”

The second-in-command blinks in surprise as the leader continues.

“My orders weren’t for nothing. The threat was very much real, and it came from a kobun gone rogue. Apparently, the kobun wanted to climb the hierarchical ladder and decided that including the red-light district in his business would be the way to go about it. Too bad he broke the yakuza’s most important code of ethics in the process.” The leader tilts his head to the side, eyeing his second-in-command with a bland expression. “Don’t you get it? I merely had you keep up the ruse – pretending to go after the red-light district and Roppo-Ichiza to buy me time to gather enough evidence on the rogue kobun. I’ve already handed it in to the oyabun, and the kobun is being taken care of as we speak.”

The second-in-command opens his mouth, then closes it again. He does so multiple times, a bit like a fish gasping for breath on land.

You find yourself mirroring his dumfound expression. So, it was all just a ruse? Yaken wasn’t actually after the red-light district?

After all these weeks of running around worrying…

But when you think about it, you can’t bring yourself to be mad at Yaken. By the sound of it, they only did what they had to to protect those kids.

“So that’s why nobody got hurt,” you mumble to yourself. Well, except for you, but even that was a mistake.

Actually, the leader’s explanation makes a lot of sense. It explains why Yaken always disappeared just before Roppo-Ichiza could get to the scene – their leader didn’t want a direct confrontation. You being there yesterday must’ve been a miscalculation on his part.

You quickly pull yourself together as Yaken’s leader turns his attention towards you. He smiles brightly and yet again, you’re slightly unnerved by his mood swings.

“I’m sure the slug here didn’t figure all that out by himself,” he says, sounding almost kind despite the casual insult he just threw in his subordinate’s direction. “It was you who led him to that conclusion, wasn’t it?”

After a moment of hesitation, you nod.

“So, you aren’t stupid after all.”

“Uhh, thanks?”

“You gotta stop saying thanks when people are insulting you!” the second-in-command barks.

You frown lightly.

“I don’t think he meant it as an insult.”

“Of course not,” the leader drawls, clutching a hand to his chest. “I meant it as a compliment of the highest calibre, Miss.” He then bows down and takes your hand in his (the one not in a sling, mind you), bringing it to his lips and placing the lightest of kisses on your knuckles.

You feel your cheeks flush, but you are spared from having to answer when the second-in-command growls beside you.

“Oi, get your filthy hands off her!” The leader’s hand is unceremoniously swatted away from yours. “Don’t be a pervert,” he spits. “I only brought her here because it was her who pointed out your scheming to me, not for you to drool all over her.”

The leader scrunches up his nose and rubs his hand in dismay, but his second-in-command ignores him. Instead, he turns to face you, his features softening significantly.

“C’mon, I’ll drive you home.”

“O-o-okay,” you stutter as you let him lead you past the booths and back to where you came from.

On your way out, you spot the boy and girl you knocked out yesterday and feel a twinge of guilt twist in your gut.

You halt to a stop and bow deeply.

“I’m so sorry for hurting you guys. I was protecting my turf, but now I understand that you didn’t even want to hurt us in the first place.”

The boy in front of you turns pink in the face as he stutters his reply.

“N-n-n-no worries. We’re also sorry for scaring you, and--”

“And I guess I’m sorry for lunging at you with a knife,” the girl cuts him off. Her voice is oddly monotone.

“What kind of apology is that?” the boy squeaks, waving his arms frantically in front of you. “She means she’s very sorry she lunged at you with a knife, right?” He turns to send the girl a pleading look.

“I guess,” she shrugs.

“It’s fine, really,” you reassure them, beaming. “You did it for a good cause, so I totally forgive you! Actually, I think you were both super cool – and those moves with the knife!” you gush, turning to face the girl who just blinks at you in surprise. “So badass!”

The boy and girl just look at you as if you’ve got a few screws loose (which you probably do, but you digress).

“Well, I’ll be off then!” you announce after some time. “Mr. Fancyhat here promised me a ride home and I can’t wait to try out the motorbike again!”

The second-in-command doesn’t reprimand you for the nickname, but just scoffs before grabbing you by your good elbow and proceeding to lead you out the door.

“Bye! Hope we’ll meet again someday!” you shout just before the front door slams shut behind you.

The café is silent after you and the second-in-command have made your dramatic exit.

The boy is the first one to break it, his voice laced with wonder as he asks out loud,

“He let her ride on his bike?”

The leader lets out a loud cackle.

“Oh, I’m so gonna tease him about that girl! He’s never going to hear the end of it.”

“Of course,” the boy mutters under his breath, although he too can’t help but smile at the thought.

The second-in-command drives you home. You don’t know if it was the wisest to give him your address, but you honestly don’t think Yaken is a threat to you anymore.

When you arrive, the sun has just set, and the night air is rather cool. You feel yourself shiver as you prepare to take off the riding jacket with the intention of returning it to its owner. But just as you’re about to unwrap it from your shoulders, a firm hand snatches your wrist to stop you.

“Keep it,” he says.

“But I’m literally living just around the corner,” you protest. “It’s not like I’m gonna get frostbites in the few seconds it’ll take to walk from here to my apartment.”

“Just take it, alright?”

Before you can argue further, he wraps his fingers around your waist and firmly, but gently, lifts you off the bike, jacket still dangling from your shoulders. He carefully places you on your feet.

Then, he just looks at you for a moment, something unreadable passing over his eyes.

“Well…” you begin, shifting a bit on your feet. In the few hours you’ve spent with the second-in-command, you’ve actually come to like him. Sorta. Just a bit. Even if he did break your arm – but then again, you’ve long since forgiven him for that.

And now, you have to say goodbye. You don’t know if you’re ever going to see him again.

“I guess this is it,” you say, feeling a bit awkward.

He lets out a small huff.

“Yeah.”

“So…safe trip back?” you say, glancing pointedly at the helmet propped under his arm (at least he didn’t insist on giving you that).

Rolling his eyes, he dons the helmet and clicks it in place. You beam at him, and he sends you a crooked smile in return.

And then, before you can so much as get another word out, he kicks the engine into ignition again, does a sharp U-turn and disappears into the night, only a cloud of dust and a brake track on the pavement as proof that he was even there.

And his jacket, of course. It smells of leather and faintly of cigarette smoke, but also something else – something you can’t quite put your finger on, but which just screams bad boy. It makes you giddy.

Inhaling deeply, you begin walking towards the stairs leading up to your apartment. You haven’t gone far, however, before a crunch of gravel and a rustling of clothes make you stop dead in your tracks.

“Don’t be scared.”

You jolt and whip around on the spot, ready to take on whoever have followed you here, on a late Sunday night.

You really hope it isn’t tattoo-boy.

However, as soon as you spot none other than Wanijima Yugo standing behind you, hands in the air and eyes pleading, you immediately feel yourself relax.

“Oh. It’s just you. Seriously, you almost gave me a heart attack!”

“Ah, sorry about that,” he apologises, lowering his hands now that he knows you’re not gonna jump at him.

You tilt your head to the side, eyeing him curiously. Because there must be some reason for him to seek you up like this, right?

Well, turns out you’re just about to find out.

“I know this sounds weird, but I followed you and Yaken’s second-in-command,” he admits.

You blink. That wasn’t at all what you’d expected him to say.

“I promise I didn’t have any ill intentions,” he hastily continues. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t kidnapped or anything. And I also couldn’t help but overhear what you were talking about…” Wanijima lowers his head in shame.

“Don’t sweat it,” you tell him. “Seriously, you were just looking out for me! So, if anything, thank you.” You smile at him.

Wanijima just looks at you for a moment, eyes wide and lips slightly parted. Then, he lets out a hearty chuckle.

You really are something, he finds himself thinking. A fresh breath of air, a ray of sunshine. Like Choji.

He smiles back – he can’t help it, and he doubts anyone else is able to when you look at them like that.

“Funny you should say that,” he muses. “Actually, it’s me who should be thanking you.”

“Huh?” You curl your brows in confusion.

“Because you helped settle the issue with Yaken and the yakuza”, he clarifies. “I…uh,” he scratches the back of his neck, voice hesitant as he continues, “I volunteer at the orphanage that was threatened. That’s why I was following Yaken around – I was trying to find a way to solve the problem without them having to hand the red-light district over to the yakuza…” He finishes with a grimace.

“Oh. Well, I didn’t really do anything,” you tell him. “It was Yaken’s leader who ended up dealing with the threat. I just…pointed out some inconsistencies to the second-in-command.”

“But still. If Yaken’s leader hadn’t reached the conclusion that it wasn’t actually the yakuza, but a kobun gone rogue who’d issued the threat, you would still have solved it for us. And for that, I thank you.”

His tone is serious, and he looks you deeply in the eyes as he says this. For some reason, you feel your heartrate speed up. You don’t know why, but he reminds you a bit of Suo. With his mannerisms and small bows and kind, well-spoken words.

Why does that make your heartrate speed up?

You shake your head a bit to rid yourself of those thoughts.

You wish you could tell Wanijima about your friends in Bofurin. You wish you could introduce him to them – to Sakura and Suo and Nirei and Kiryu and Tsugeura and even Sugishita. Maybe even Togame and Choji. You think he’d like them.

But of course, you can’t. Because those are Ryo’s friends and right now, you’re not Ryo. You’re you.

So instead, you just say,

“I’m happy to have met you, Wanijima-kun. You seem like a good guy. Maybe, we’ll see each other again, someday.”

Wanijima bows his head slightly.

“And you seem like a delightful person. I won’t say that I frequent the red-light district, but I wouldn’t mind if it means paying you a visit every now and then.”

“I’d like that,” you tell him, smiling.

Wanijima returns it with a small bow and a small smile of his own.

“Then, let this be a ‘see you soon’ instead of a ‘goodbye.’”

You watch as he takes his leave, feeling a bit dazed. There’s been so much going on lately and you’ve met a lot of new people. It feels like this whole mess with Yaken have taken ages, but at the same time, you feel like time have passed like the blink of an eye – one moment, you’re sitting on the roof doing math homework with your friends, and the next, you’re visiting Yaken’s hideout with their second-in-command and having rendezvouses with strangers in your front yard.

You take a very deep, slow breath.

Man, what a week, you muse before finally ascending the stairs to your small apartment. To finally eat your cup noodles and drink your Triple Cider.

When Yaken’s second-in-command returns to the hideout, the sight of his gang members rustling and bustling about, packing down the whole place, meets him.

“What’s going on here?” he asks.

“I guess we’re done making life difficult for Roppo-Ichiza,” his boss drawls, overlooking his subordinates scurrying around like ants.

“But what’s gonna happen to your friend? And the kids?” the boy with the uneven haircut asks, peeking behind a tower of what looks like neglected paperwork – courtesy of his boss, if the second-in-command isn’t mistaken.

The leader pauses for a moment before answering, his voice unusually soft.

“They should be fine now. And besides, they’re better off without us now that the threat has passed.”

“I still don’t understand why you didn’t let me pummel that tattoo guy,” the second-in-command seethes, kicking an empty crate out of his way.

“Well, as much as I’d love to see you get your ass kicked, then I was in no mood for a hospital visit.”

The second-in-command turns around to face his superior.

“I could’ve taken him on. He was only one fucking person!”

“Not worth it,” the leader waves him off. “Besides, it’d delay us. We’re starting a new job in a couple of days, after all.”

“What’s this new job you keep talking about?”

“Well, I wanted to keep it a surprise for you for a bit longer, but I guess since the cat’s already out of the bag…”

“Just get fucking on with it already!”

“We’re moving.”

The second-in-command rolls his eyes in exasperation.

“I can see that, you shitty--”

Their leader holds up a finger to silence him.

“We’re moooviiing…” he repeats, drawing out the last syllables for dramatic effect, “…to Yokohama.

Chapter Text

Wrapping bandages around your chest is hard when you only have one functioning arm, but you manage. You still make sure to wear an extra baggy shirt in case you didn’t fasten them tightly enough, though.

You don’t struggle too much with the make-up since it was your non-dominant arm that got broken – thank God. Your hair on the other hand…well, it’s a mess. There’s no other word for it. You ran a brush through it which went alright, but when it comes to setting it up…

Yeah. Just no. It looks like someone put a ball of yarn on top of your head after a cat had already played with it, chewed it, and spit it out again.

Sighing, you look at your reflection in the mirror.

Well, it’s not like you can just go to school with your hair loose.

Right?

Besides, it’s too much work getting the elastic band untangled again. Actually, it wouldn’t surprise you if you have to cut if out of your hair later tonight.

Tsubaki-chan’s gonna have a heart attack when he sees it, you muse as you awkwardly drape your Furin jacket over your shoulders.

And with one last look in the mirror, you head out of your apartment.

It took you a lot longer than expected to get ready this morning, so when you arrive for homeroom, all your classmates are already there. Even Sakura arrived before you today, which is saying a lot, and your friends are just about to get seriously worried.

“Hey, have any of you heard from Ryo-san this morning?” Nirei asks. His eyes keep darting towards the door, expecting you to enter any moment now.

“No, he hasn’t replied to any of my messages,” Suo answers, his well-trimmed brows furrowed in worry.

Truth is that you’ve completely forgotten to answer your phone this weekend. So much has happened and you haven’t gotten around to replying to any of your friends’ messages yet, let alone comment on the +100 cat memes Kiryu has sent you over the last couple of days.

“Well, maybe he just slept in today,” Sakura grumbles. He’s pretending not to care, but he too can’t help but glance over at the door every now and then.

“That doesn’t seem like him at all,” Nirei argues. “Maybe, he’s--”

Just then, you push the door to your classroom open.

Your friends, who have all either consciously or subconsciously tuned in their minds to listen for exactly that sound, snap their heads in your direction.

You beam at them.

“Hi, all, sorry I’m late today!”

No one answers.

They don’t even look at your face. No, all their gazes are zoomed in on your heavily bandaged arm in a sling.

You shift uncomfortably on your feet.

“Uh…guys?”

The sound of a pen snapping in two echoes loudly in the silence, and you glance around for the source.

And then, chaos ensues.

Suo gets to his feet so fast that the table in front of him flips and his chair topples over behind him with a loud crash. He doesn’t even bother to pick them up as he strides towards you in three long steps, jacket fluttering behind him and tassel earrings swinging almost violently.

Sakura is not far behind. He’s mashing his teeth together so hard that it hurts his own ears, fists clenched and fingers digging into his palms, just shy of drawing blood.

Had someone hurt you? Did you fall? What happened?

All these questions are swimming around in his head like bloodthirsty piranhas and he gets a strong urge to punch something. Maybe that’s why his fists are shaking so much. He pockets them in an attempt to stop them from shaking, but finds that it doesn’t help in the slightest.

Kiryu is a bit slower in the uptake. For a moment, he just sits there, stunned. His grip on his phone tightens, his usually mild expression darkening.

There is, of course, the possibility that you just fell and hit your arm. But if he knows you as well as he’d like to think he did, then he also knows that that’s very unlikely.

What have you gotten up to now? Is that the reason why you didn’t reply to any of his messages yesterday?

He knows you work in the weekends, so it’s not like he was too worried when you didn’t reply. But now…now, he feels bad. If he’d caught on to it earlier, could he have somehow prevented you getting hurt? He can’t help but wonder.

Still, he pushes his guilt aside for now and instead gets to his feet. Because right now, it’s more important to make sure that you’re alright than sit here and wallow in his own feelings.

Tsugeura hurries to follow suit.

Nirei, meanwhile, remains in his seat. He’s looking down at the two halves of his favourite pen he’d just snapped in two, eyes wide.

Did he…do that?

His eyes shift to his hand, staring at it as if he’s seeing it for the first time. It’s shaking slightly, the two pieces of the pen rolling around in his palm. He closes his fingers around them and hurry to pocket them before anyone notices.

Then, he lifts his gaze to look at you, already swarmed by your other friends. Scrambling to his feet, he hurries to join you.

The rest of your classmates stay put. Sure, they’re curious as to what happened to you, but they’ve all learned to keep their distance when your closest friends get that look in their eyes – that look of deep worry sprinkled with a glint of danger, a hint for any outsider to stay away for the time being.

So, they all pretend not to openly eavesdrop as your friends fuss over you. Well, except for Sugishita, who just observes you from where he sits at his table. He, too, had noticed your broken arm as soon as you set foot into the classroom, but unlike the others, his gaze quickly rose to your hair.

Your hair. His eyes bulge a little when he spots the mess atop your head. What did you do to your hair? he thinks, half in horror, half in awe that you’ve managed to make it resemble a toppled-over bird’s nest so accurately that he might’ve just thought you did it on purpose.

But when his eyes again fall on your bandaged arm, he realises that you probably didn’t. He instinctively reaches up to touch his own hair, brushing away a silky smooth, shiny lock that has fallen into his eyes.

It’s such a shame, he thinks, that you care so little about your hair. He bets just a little bit of care would do wonders for it – all it would take is some good quality shampoo, maybe some conditioner. And just one round of hair treatment. He guesses a keratin treatment, or maybe some other kind of protein treatment would just do the trick. And maybe some oil, to finish it all off. He could recommend you his favourite brand of almond oil-- or wait, what if you’re you allergic to nuts?

Sugishita frowns, racking his brain. There’s of course also the argan oil Tsubakino favours, but now that Sugishita thinks about it, isn’t argan also a nut?

Why are all hair oils nut-derived?

Not that he even knows whether you’re allergic to nuts or not. It occurs to him that he doesn’t know very much about you apart from the snippets here and there he has caught up on while observing you these past months.

But he also doesn’t really know how to go about getting to know you better. He finds that he wants to, but he also doesn’t have a very strong desire to hang out with Sakura’s gang of friends.

Maybe, he could talk to Umemiya about it. Or Tsubakino.

After a bit of contemplation, Sugishita fishes his phone and pulls out Tsubakino’s number. A short while later, he sends a message.

[Sugishita]

Is argan a nut?

You feel just a little bit overwhelmed with all the boys flocking around you, their hands flailing as if they want to touch you but don’t dare to because they’re afraid of hurting you, all while talking on top of each other.

“What happened?” Suo asks, voice uncharacteristically sharp.

“Who did that?” Sakura growls, pointing at your arm with a slightly shaky finger.

“Calm down, Sakura-san,” Nirei squeaks, placing a hand over Sakura’s outstretched arm. “We don’t even know what happened yet. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”

Not that Nirei himself thinks that what happened to your arm was just an accident. But still, he wants to let you explain yourself before he starts pointing fingers at people.

“What were you doing yesterday?” Kiryu asks. “Weren’t you at work? Were you in a fight? Did you trip on a banana peel and hit your arm?”

“Uhh, actually, I wasn’t at work,” you explain, scratching the back of your neck sheepishly. “I had the day off because some gang member broke my arm the day before and Tsub-- I mean, my manager didn’t want me putting too much strain on it.”

The boys fall silent, gaping. But you just continue, eager to tell them about everything you’ve been up to this weekend.

“But then yesterday, I actually met the guy who broke my arm again and it turns out that he didn’t mean to hurt me at all, so it’s all good! He even took me riding on his motorcycle and it was sooo fun! Actually, I think I wanna get one as soon as I can get a driver’s license – and have saved up enough money, of course.”

You get a dreamy look in your eyes at the thought of owning your own motorcycle one day – which means that you completely miss the horrified looks your friends exchange in front of you.

“Y-y-y-y-you were in a fight? With another gang?” Nirei splutters.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Sakura demands.

“You…rode…on a bike…with another boy?” Kiryu whispers.

“Which gang was it?” Suo asks. His voice is quiet and deadly calm, but a vein is pulsing at his temple and his eye has turned dark.

“It’s called Yaken, and they’re actually super nice!” you beam, completely missing the ominous aura rolling off him. “Their second-in-command--”

“YAKEN?!” Nirei shouts.

You all turn to look at him in surprise – it’s not often that Nirei raises his voice like that – but before you can ask him, he has bolted back to his seat to rummage around in his backpack.

When he returns, he’s huffing a little, cheeks flushed as he frantically flips through the pages in one of his many notebooks.

“I know I’ve written it here somewhere…” he mutters, brows curled in concentration as his eyes scan the pages with practiced speed.

“Well, they’re a relatively big gang,” you offer helpfully. “Their leader isn’t the strongest fighter, but he’s supposed to be really intelligent. And then, there were these two super sweet members I talked to! One of them lunged at me with a knife, but I know she didn’t really mean to, so I still think she’s super cool. Oh, and then the second-in-command of course! He’s--”

“The most dangerous guy in the whole gang,” Nirei nods, still flipping through his notebook.

“KNIFE?” Sakura repeats, eye twitching.

“Oh, that was no biggie, really,” you wave him off. “As for the second-in-command…” you give a half-shrug with your good arm. “He did break my arm, to be fair. But as I said, he totally made it up to me after that. Actually, he turned out to be a pretty cool guy.”

Right then and there, the boys around you make the collective decision that they do not like this second-in-command guy. Of course, because he hurt you – that’s already an offence worthy of earning a life-long sentence of dislike – but they also don’t like the way your eyes seem to light up when you talk about him.

And what’s this thing about you riding a motorcycle with him?

Sakura blushes at the mere thought – because that must mean that you’ve been very sitting very, very close to this guy, right? And Sakura tries very, very hard not to think about exactly how close.

The thought makes an ugly, green feeling rise in his gut that he can’t really explain. All he knows is that it’s uncomfortable, and that he would give a lot for a chance to sucker-punch the guy in the face.

Suo also tries his very best to push the image of you sitting flush up against another boy, arms wrapped around his waist and face pressed against his shoulder – or maybe the other way around, with him behind you, arms caging you in and nose buried in your hair – away. Suo has already flipped one table today and the last thing needed right now is for him to break even more of Furin High’s property.

Kiryu, meanwhile, thinks that maybe, he should get his own driver’s licence for a motorcycle once he turns sixteen. You seem to have liked it a lot, and he can’t help but imagine what it would be like to be the one taking you for a ride instead of that clearly toxic macho-type you’re talking about.

“Well, where is he now?” Sakura suddenly scowls, cracking his knuckles.

“Uhm, probably back at their hideout or something,” you say, frowning. “Why?”

“’Cause I wanna fight him, of course!”

“Uh, I don’t think that’s--

“Alright, let’s go then,” Suo announces. Sakura nods, and without further ado, they both start walking towards the exit.

“Wait, where are you going?” you ask. You’re so confused right now.

“To Yaken’s hideout, of course,” Kiryu explains as he pulls up his jacket that normally dangles from his arms.

“Alright, I’m in!” Tsugeura bellows, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.

Your eyes widen as you realise what it is they’re about to do. Beside you, Nirei does the same.

“No, wait wait wait a moment!” you blurt. “Didn’t you hear what I just said? It’s all cool guys, no need to go anywhere. It’s not like I started a gang war this time. Besides, class starts in a bit!”

Suo presses his lips together, fists clenched at his sides. When he speaks, it’s again with that deadly calm voice that makes the small hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

“They hurt you.”

You frown lightly. To you, that doesn’t really explain anything. They did apologise and everything, after all.

“…so?”

Suo snaps his head to look at you. There’s a fire burning in his eye, and you can almost feel the heat rolling off his body in waves. The other boys around you notice it too. Instinctively, Sakura braces himself for impact, while Nirei takes a step back. Even Tsugeura shifts a bit on his feet, clearly uncomfortable.

Kiryu angles himself so that he’s ready to pull you away should anything happen – not that he thinks Suo would ever harm a hair on your head on purpose, but Kiryu has come to learn that there’s more to Suo than what meets the eye. And Kiryu is rather convinced that he doesn’t want you in the line of fire when the explosion happens.

The rest of your classmates have fallen silent too, having given up on pretending not to eavesdrop some time ago.

Suo doesn’t spare any of the others a glance, however. No, he just looks at you while you look at him.

“…Suo-kun?”

It’s as if your voice snaps him out of it. He blinks. Then, he glances around him, like he’s only first now realising that everyone’s attention is directed at him.

If Suo is uncomfortable with all the eyes following his every move, he doesn’t show it. No, he just turns to look at you again, his expression much softer.

“You don’t want us to go?” he asks in a gentle tone.

You shake your head. Suo lowers his gaze, a small smile playing around his lips.

Of course you don’t, he thinks fondly. He should know that by now. He closes his eye and breathes in deeply, imagining all rage leaving his body as he exhales. It doesn’t work as effectively as he would have liked, but enough for him to control it for now.

And when he opens his eye again, he’s in a much clearer headspace than he’d been just a mere moment ago.

“Alright,” he declares. “If that’s what you want.”

It’s like the whole classroom lets out a breath of relief. Your friends visibly relax around you.

You beam at Suo, wishing you could fling your arms around him and hug him. You get that he was upset because you were hurt, but really, he shouldn’t be.

Sakura pouts a bit, but doesn’t object. Kiryu and Tsugeura, who’d both seemed ready to leave the classroom at a moment’s notice before, also seem to have accepted that you aren’t going anywhere right now.

And just as well, because just then, your homeroom teacher arrives and shoos you back to your seats.

As the day passes, it seems like your friends calm down a bit – even though Sakura can still be heard grinding his teeth every now and then, and Suo sometimes get a faraway look in his eyes before he again snaps back to the present to send you a blinding smile that seems a bit too bright to be natural.

Still, you’re happy to finally be back with your friends without having to worry about Yaken.

When it’s time for lunch, they all immediately flock to your desk as they’ve done during your previous breaks. But this time, instead of cramming themselves around the small table, they start rummaging and bustling about.

“Let me take that for you,” Kiryu says, snatching your backpack from you just as you’re about to swing it over your good shoulder.

You send him a grateful smile.

“Oh, thanks!”

“And I can take this,” Suo says, neatly folding your jacket over his arm.

“Uh, thanks, but it’s really not--"

“And I took lots of extra notes for you!” Nirei announces happily. “Actually, I should have said that earlier, but I just thought about it a little while ago. I looked it up, and it says that it takes at least two weeks for a broken arm to heal. So, I’m gonna take notes for you for the next three weeks, just to be on the safe side. Oh, and I also thought we could organise another study session, like that time on the roof!” He turns to look expectantly at you, eyes sparkling.

“Oh, that’s super sweet of you, Nire-kun,” you tell him, smiling. “Although, you don’t have to take notes for me. It was my non-dominant arm he broke, after all.”

Nirei deflates a little, looking so disappointed that you start to feel bad. A shadow passes over the other boys’ faces when they’re again reminded of exactly how – or rather who – broke your arm. Silence falls over your friend group yet again.

“Ehem.” You clear your throat. “Actually, Nire-kun, I’d love to have a study session again sometime soon. And if you insist, then you can also help me with notetaking.”

Nirei’s eyes immediately light up at the notion, and you feel rather satisfied that you managed to lift his spirits. Even if you do think it’s a bit excessive.

“Is there something I can do?” Tsugeura asks eagerly once that’s settled. “Ah, I know!” He claps his large hands together, making all of you jump on the spot at the sound. “I’ll send you my meal plan and my workout routine so you can keep your body strong and healthy while your arm heals for the next three weeks!”

You let out a nervous chuckle.

“Ah, haha, thanks, Tsugeura-kun. That’s really…uh, super thoughtful of you!” You beam at him while thinking that there’s no way you’ll forego your carbs and live on a diet consisting of ninety percent protein for the next three weeks, let alone survive a single day of Tsugeura’s workout routine.

But you appreciate the sentiment, nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Sakura is panicking a little on the sideline. So far, all your other friends have offered to help you, but he’s still just standing there, doing absolutely nothing. He guesses they’re all eager to help you with whatever they can since it’s too late doing anything about that Yaken gang. And while he still wishes he could give the guy who’d hurt you a good pummelling, he also gets why that’s not really an option right now.

He fiddles a bit on the spot, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He can already feel heat rise to his cheeks.

“Uh…” he racks his brain for something. “I could, uh, help you…walk?”

“Sakura-chan, he broke his arm, not his legs,” Kiryu points out, snickering.

Sakura turns full-on red in the face, droplets of spit flying as he splutters at Kiryu.

“S-s-s-s-shaddup! Of course I already knew that!”

“Sure, Sakura-kun, sure,” Suo nods emphatically.

A little while later, you all make your way to the cafeteria to eat lunch. You’d told them earlier that you hadn’t brought any, since you didn’t have time to shop for groceries yesterday. And besides, cooking with only one arm might also have been too much of a hassle, if you’re being honest.

So, here you are, in the busy canteen where students are milling about, the sound of chatter and laughing and chewing and clinking of plates and glassware meeting you as you enter.

“Let’s go over here,” Suo says, gently steering you towards an unoccupied table.

“Alright, then I’ll go buy you something to eat!” Nirei offers. “What would you like?”

“Me too, I’ll also buy you something,” Kiryu chimes in, immediately making a beeline for the queue to get food. Nirei hurries after him, shouting over his shoulder,

“Okay, we’ll just pick a lot of different stuff for you to choose!”

“Wait for me!” Tsugeura shouts, scrambling after them. “I’m in charge of the meal plan, after all!”

“Alright, but no more than one protein shake! He also needs…” Kiryu’s voice fades into the background as they disappear into the crowd.

“Thanks guys, I’ll pay you back later!” you shout after them, already having given up on protesting.

Suo looks after them with a small pout. He’d have loved to buy you some food too, but he’s also not complaining about being the one to keep you company while the others are buying you lunch.

Meanwhile, Sakura again stands there, not really knowing how to help. How come he’s so bad at this? he thinks bitterly.

When you, Sakura, and Suo reach your table, Suo hurries to pull out the chair for you. Unbeknownst to you, Sakura had just been about to do the same – because that would be something he could contribute with, right? – but as usual, Suo beats him to the punch.

Heart deflating a little, Sakura quickly hides his outstretched hand in his pocket, fingers curling into a fist.

“Are you cold?” Suo asks you.

“Uhm, maybe a little,” you say. The A/C is a bit chilly, you must admit. “But if you could just put my jacket around my shoulders, that’d be--”

You don’t even get to finish your sentence before a warm jacket is placed around your shoulders. A jacket significantly larger than your own.

You glance up at Suo and see, to your surprise, that he has given you his jacket instead of just giving you back your own, which is still folded neatly over his arm.

“I thought you’d appreciate a warm jacket,” he explains, sounding immensely satisfied as he sees you sitting there, enveloped in his jacket.

What is it with boys insisting on giving you their jackets? you think, a little confused, but grateful nonetheless.

You haven’t been sitting there for very long when you spot Kaji approaching your table. He’s practically running, slaloming between students and tables and chairs, his Vice Captains following close behind.

“Hey, Kaji-kun, slow down, will ya?” you hear Enomoto huff, “I’m surrrre, he’s alrrrright!”

But Kaji ignores him. A split second later, he skids to a half in front of your table, chest rising and falling rapidly. As if he’s been sprinting all the way down here from class 2-1’s classroom (which he has).

“I heard someone say you were injured?” he pants, eyes scanning over you, almost frantic. They quickly fall on your bandaged arm. His eyes narrow into slits. “Who did that?”

It’s a bit funny how none of them asks how it happened, but who did it. It’s like they think you’re always getting into trouble or something.

“Just some guy from a gang I fought this weekend,” you say airily. “But he didn’t mean to – actually, if it hadn’t been for the yakuza--”

“THE YAKUZA?!” your friends all splutter in unison, eyes bulging. Kaji and his Vice Captains exchange confused looks while Suo turns a stern look at you.

“I think you forgot to tell us that little detail, Ryo-kun.”

“I did?” You tilt your head to the side, frowning. “Well, there was a rogue kobun who threatened to blow up an orphanage if this gang didn’t do as they were told, and that’s why I got into a fight with them in the first place – the gang, not the yakuza,” you hurry to clarify as your friends’ eyes widen in horror.

Suo is the first one to regain his bearings.

“Ryo-kun,” he implores, voice serious and looking at you with one large, pleading eye. “Please, please tell me you didn’t get yourself involved with the yakuza?”

“Uhh--”

“Here, we grabbed some different stuff because we weren’t sure what you’d like!” Kiryu announces, sparing you from having to answer.

A moment later, not one, but two trays stuffed to the brim with different foods and drinks are placed in front of you. It’s rather obvious who picked out what – you’re quite sure the dressing-free salad and protein drinks (yes, in plural) are courtesy of Tsugeura, while Kiryu must’ve been responsible for the heaping plate of pastries and strawberry milk.

Your friends all take a seat around the table. Kaji is called to a meeting with Umemiya and Hiragi, but before he leaves, he sinks down on one knee before you, eyes boring into yours.

“Ryo-kun…”

You blush, but not as much as Sakura does. Suo and Kiryu both send nasty glares Kaji’s way. You’re all thinking the same thing – that it looks an awful lot like Kaji is just about to--

“...next time, tell me if you’re in trouble,” he mumbles. “I’ll help you. I’ll even help you talk to Umemiya-san, to get Furin involved if that’s what you need.” His gaze darkens for a moment, thinking back to the incident with KEEL.

How come he’s always the last one to know when you’re in trouble?

He doesn’t like it – no, actually, he hates it. He hates feeling so helpless, so useless. He wants to be there for you, whether it be to face the yakuza or help you with your math homework, even if he sucks at math himself.

You smile down at him, and Kaji feels his breath hitch in his throat.

“I’ll…try,” you say. To be honest, then you’re not too keen on involving your friends in trouble if there’s no need, but again, you appreciate the sentiment.

It just goes to show how amazing your friends are.

Kaji nods, satisfied for now, then gets to his feet and disappears again with his Vice Captains.

Apparently, your friends’ fussing isn’t about to end anytime soon (actually, there’s always a base-level of fuss, but it seems to have escalated quite a bit with you being injured and everything). Because after school, they all insist on escorting you home.

You agree, but only because you know Sakura will be on patrol together with Tsugeura and Kurita this afternoon. You still haven’t told Sakura that you’re neighbours, and by now, you don’t even know how you would go about it. Luckily for you, it’s as if fate keeps Sakura from being there every time your friends visit your apartment.

Again, Suo, Kiryu, and Nirei insist on carrying your things for you. Nirei quickly backs off, however, when Suo and Kiryu get into an argument over who should get to carry your bag. It ends up with Suo getting the honour after a round of rather aggressive-looking rock-paper-scissors, the two boys deeply concentrated as they stared down each other, trying to predict their opponent’s next move.

Honestly, it’s not a big surprise that Suo won that match. He can be eerily perceptive when he puts his mind to it.

On your way home, the boys insist on stopping to buy you some food for the upcoming days. This time, you insist on paying yourself, much to the others’ dismay – although they do seem to be in a bit of a better mood when you tell they can carry the grocery bags for you, if they want to.

As you walk up the stairs to your apartment, Nirei makes sure to hover close by, ready to catch you in case you should trip (it seems like they think you’ve suddenly grown fragile just because you can’t use your arm) since Suo and Kiryu have their hands rather full with your bag and groceries.

They follow you all the way inside your apartment to place your stuff on your small kitchen counter. Then, they prepare to take their leave again – because although they’re a bit reluctant to let you be alone, they also know not to overstep their boundaries. At least, they’d like to think they do.

And you can’t say that you complain, because right in this moment, you can feel your bandages slowly begin to loosen around your chest, probably because you didn’t fasten them properly this morning.

You thank them profusely, then bid them goodbye just before you barricade yourself in your bathroom as you feel the bandages unwind dangerously fast.

Thus, you don’t notice that your three friends don’t leave immediately after.

No, they’re currently all standing frozen in place, glaring at something. That something being the leather jacket hanging just beside the front door to your apartment.

Suo’s eye twitches. Again, images of you together with that delinquent who broke your arm flashes in his mind. It gives Suo a strong urge to break a couple of arms himself.

Is this another little detail you forgot to mention? Just how close did you get to that delinquent? Is there yet another guy – as hard as that is to believe – that he has to worry about?

And the fact that Suo knows absolutely nothing about this new boy only makes it so much worse. At least, he has a pretty good idea of where you stand with your other friends and admirers. It makes Suo think he should ask Nirei for some intel about this Yaken gang.

Meanwhile, Nirei himself feels his heart sink a little lower in his chest as he looks at the jacket.

So, that’s your type in boys, huh? he thinks.

Boys, who wear leather jackets and ride motorcycles and who’re strong enough to be second-in-command in a high-profile gang.

He’s never going to be one of those boys, is he?

Nirei feels his heart clench. He knows it’s stupid to hope that you’ll ever look his way – he’s always known that – but getting it confirmed still hurts.

Beside Nirei, Kiryu is thinking along the same lines. Because he, too, knows that he’ll never be the type to wear leather jackets. Yes, he might get a motorcycle at some point (he’s just now wondering if they come in pink), but he’s just not that type of guy.

Kiryu doesn’t know why he decides to torture himself even further, but he can’t help but take a step closer, reaching out to brush his fingers over the smooth leather of the jacket. When he gets closer, the faint smell of cigarette smoke, oil and…something Kiryu recognises as a very expensive brand of cologne reaches his nose. Despite himself, he has to admit that it smells damn good.

The sound of rustling fabric brings Kiryu back to the present. He glances over his shoulder, only to be met with the sight of Suo in the process of removing the embroidered silk jacket he wears underneath his Furin one.

Narrowing his eyes, Kiryu watches as Suo hangs it on top of the leather jacket, hiding it from view. When he’s finished, he turns to look at Kiryu with an innocent expression.

“What?”

Scrunching up his nose, Kiryu beckons for his two friends to get going. Smiling widely, Suo complies, Nirei following close behind with his head hanging low.

Kiryu feels a twinge of sympathy for the other boy as he follows after.

Just before he leaves, however, he discreetly pulls off his own button-up shirt and leaves it on top of Suo’s luxurious silk jacket.

Sometime later, you finally emerge from the bathroom, bandages fixed. Immediately, you notice that instead of only one, three pieces of clothing are now hanging beside your door.

Nonplussed, you wonder how on earth Suo and Kiryu managed to forget those while they were here.

You don’t see anything to Yaken after that. It’s like they were never even there, and you only have the taped-over windows around Keisei Street to remind you that your encounters with Yaken actually happened.

It’s weird, to say the least.

It’s like one of those filler episodes in an anime with no consequences for the main plot whatsoever. You’ve never really been a fan of those, to be honest, but you guess real life can be like that too, sometimes – that stuff just happens without it having to fit into some greater scheme of things.

And just a week later, all bar- and shopwindows at Keisei Street have been fixed, and you don’t even have that to remind you of what happened anymore.

Well, except for Tsubakino and Roppo-Ichiza asking you if you know anything about why it suddenly seems like Yaken has disappeared into thin air.

When you explain to them what had happened on your free day, they all react not unlike your friends in Furin – with outbursts ranging from disbelief to horror to worry and exasperation. Especially Tsubakino fusses over you, but you can’t say you mind that much when it’s him.

It feels a bit like having your brother here. It makes you miss him just a tiny bit less.

You also don’t see any more to Wanijima – which is a shame, really. He seemed like a nice guy, and if you hadn’t been so shocked and all around the floor when you’d met him, you might have asked some more about him. All you know is that he’s the type of person who volunteers at an orphanage, and confident enough to seek up a brawl to help out a stranger instead of steering clear like everyone else tends to do.

That’s just something you’d expect from Bofurin, but you’re pretty sure that Wanijima isn’t in Bofurin.

Otherwise, Tsubakino would’ve said something…right?

Chapter Text

Another out-of-the-blue announcement loud enough to burst eardrums, another unprompted meeting on the roof just so that Umemiya could get a chance to brag about his plants.

Yeah, just another regular day at Furin High.

Although, to be fair, this meeting isn’t entirely unprompted.

Tsubakino isn’t usually a manipulator, but he might – he just might just have tweaked some strings when he hinted to Umemiya that he should show off how big his vegetable garden has grown lately to all the new first years.

He also might just have done so because he’s itching for a chance to get to meet all of your – ehem – friends from class 1-1.

And not only because Tsubakino is excited to meet the renowned Sakura Haruka himself, who’s been stirring up at least as much commotion as you have since he arrived to Makochi.

No, Tsubakino also might just have another reason for wanting to meet the new first years.

Namely, to see for himself and make sure that they’re all treating you right and that they’re not just a bunch of playboys who’re using you for their own entertainment. He already knows Kaji, of course, that precious little cinnamon roll, but all your other admirers…

Not that Tsubakino doesn’t trust Umemiya and Hiragi when they assure him that your friends from class 1-1 all have hearts of gold and that it isn’t like them at all to toy with other people’s feelings or cross boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed. It’s just that, well…Tsubakino knows that he has to see it for himself before his mind can be completely at ease again.

Or, at least so much at ease as can be with the knowledge that at least a handful of boys all have the hots for you. But well, as long as said boys all have their hearts in the right place, Tsubakino might just have to accept their advances while doing his very best to restrain the urge to ferry you far, far away from all that teen testosterone.

Tsubakino knows it isn’t really his place to meddle in your love life like that – because as much as he wishes it was so, he isn’t your older brother (like Nakamura loves to point out every chance he gets). But who else is supposed to protect your virtue? You’re an orphan with no parental figures in your life, and your only brother lives halfway across the country.

So, Tsubakino has taken it upon himself to be that person in your life while you’re staying in this town.

“You must be Sakura-kun, right?” he asks as he stops right in front of the dual-coloured boy who’s about to have a heart attack from being showered in Tsubakino’s excitement ­– because, yes, Tsubakino is excited to meet Sakura, despite beforementioned reservations he might have towards the boy.

“Agh! It’s Tsubakino-san!” one of your other friends – the blonde one – squeaks, something close to reverence in his eyes as he spots Tsubakino.

“That’s a guy?!” Sakura exclaims, clearly taken aback.

You and Suo just laugh overbearingly at Sakura, while Nirei gives him a thorough lecture in manners.

“It’s fine, dear, I have the same stuff as the rest of you guys,” Tsubakino reassures him, winking at you when your friends are looking the other way.

Tsubakino is used to that reaction when people first meet him – you had the exact same one, and he doesn’t hold it against either of you. What he does care about, however, is how people react after they find out that he is, in fact, a guy.

“Say, Sakura-kun,” Suo starts, trying to suppress his laughter, “you’ve seen Tsubaki-chan before, remember? You never thought anything of it? We are in an all-boys high school, after all.”

Tsubakino doesn’t miss the way you suddenly become very busy with studying your frayed shoelaces, but he doesn’t think anyone else notices.

“Y-yeah,” Sakura stutters, not knowing whether to feel embarrassed or annoyed, “But I didn’t give it much thought!”

“You probably didn’t even think that a person born as a man could dress like this,” Tsubakino giggles. “Sorry, love, but I do hope you get used to how I dress!”

There’s a slight pause. Then…

“It’s not like there’s anything wrong with dressing like that,” Sakura grumbles. “Boys or girls, it’s not like it matters to me what people like or how they dress. Ya don’t have to apologize to me.”

Tsubakino is not the only one who’s heart melts at Sakura’s words. You have a sudden urge to pull Sakura into a tight embrace, but Tsubakino beats you to the punch.

“Aww gosh! You’re so sweet!” he coos as he mushes his cheek against the top of Sakura’s head and squeezes all the air out of him in a fit of cute aggressions.

Tsubakino decides then and there that he likes Sakura. And Nirei too, he guesses.

Suo, he’s still not so sure about. Because despite seeming like a pure-bred gentleman, there’s a mysterious aura surrounding that boy, making it hard for Tsubakino to gauge the true intentions behind all his smiles and pleasantries.

He doesn’t really have any more time to psychoanalyse your friends, however, because just then, Umemiya arrives with a tray filled with bowls of pork soup, and Tsubakino immediately busies himself with adjusting his clothes and smoothing down his hair before Umemiya comes over.

Tsubakino takes a sip of the pork soup Umemiya hands him and wants to swoon on the spot.

“Gosh! You always make me fall for you over and over again!” Tsubakino blurts out before he can stop himself.

Oh well. Now you guess you know why Tsubakino’s secret crush on Umemiya isn’t really a secret. Sakura splutters and turns red in the face beside you. Of course he does because, duh, romance.

“Imo-chan!” Umemiya bellows as soon as he spots you. “I think you’ll like this!”

He hands you a bowl of soup, and you gratefully take a sip. Your eyes widen, and your mouth spreads into a wide grin.

“It’s so good!”

Umemiya beams at you – he always loves it when people like his cooking, especially if it’s such a food connoisseur as yourself. However, when his gaze falls on your arm still in a sling, his smile falters a bit.

He can’t help but feel sad every time he lays his eyes on it. Sad, that you didn’t think you could ask Furin for help. Sad, that you got hurt, and that he was one of the last people to know about it, and then only because Kaji told him days after it had actually happened. The second-year had been beside himself with worry and pent-up fury at the people who’d hurt you, and Umemiya must admit that he, himself, felt a strong sense of brotherly protectiveness and ire wash over him at the news.

It's no secret by now that Umemiya has developed a soft spot for you. Firstly, because you’re an orphan, and those will probably always hold a special place in his heart. Secondly, because you’re the kind of person people just can’t help but like – with your bright smile and kind soul and all that positive energy spilling over, making it very hard for anyone in the vicinity not to smile too. You wear your heart on your sleeve, for the world to see, and it truly is a beautiful sight to behold. Something that makes people want to do anything to make sure that that smile of yours stays bright.

Just look at your classmates – you already have all your friends wrapped around your little finger. Kaji as well. Even Hiragi has a weak spot for you, and Tsubakino practically sees you as his little brother.

And Umemiya gets that, he really does. Because he feels the same way.

“So…how’s you’re arm?” he asks after some time, trying to mould his features back into his usual, happy-go-lucky expression.

“Oh, good, good,” you tell him, nodding absentmindedly. “It’s still a couple of days before it can come off, but it doesn’t really hurt anymore!”

You think back to yesterday, when your friends insisted on playing rock-paper-scissors to see who should help you take off the cast. You still don’t get what’s so exciting about that, but you guess it’s not every day you get to cut open a cast. It had turned into a whole tournament, which Suo, of course, won – really, they should choose another game if they don’t want Suo to win every time.

Umemiya smiles softly at you.

“I’m happy to hear that.

When everyone has drained the last droplets of Umemiya’s divine pork soup, Tsubakino lets out a contented sigh and turns around to face Sakura. He winks at the boy.

“So, Sakura-kun…wanna go on a date with me?”

“asdfghj d-d-d-daaate?!”

That might just have been the thing to break everyone’s favourite tsundere boy.

For your date, Tsubakino brings you, Sakura, Suo, and Nirei to see Ito, the now widower who, together with his wife, had been the very first people to accept Tsubakino with his love for everything cute, glittery, and, for lack of a better word, girlish, just the way he is.

“The sudden loss has sent him into depression,” Tsubakino explains to the four of you on your way to Ito’s house. “We visit him every now and then, just to check up on how he’s doing, and I thought it might be nice and refreshing for him if some new faces showed up.”

Of course, another reason why Tsubakino invited you and your friends was for the chance to further inspect how the other boys act towards you – especially Suo.

But it turns out that Tsubakino’s doubts about your friends’ character are thoroughly put to shame as soon as he sees how attentive and eager to help out they all are, as well as how serious they take this endeavour.

Also, from the way Suo subtly places himself between you and the traffic-filled road as you walk, the way his eye practically sparkles every time you laugh, and the way he smiles every time he looks at you even when you aren’t looking back, Tsubakino can’t deny that the boy genuinely cares for you. Suo Hayato may be a mystery, but his feelings for you is plain as day for anyone with as much as an ounce of social aptitude.

And when you and all three of your friends offer to come visit another day, promising to do everything you can to help Ito get better, that seals the deal for Tsubakino: He might just have found his three next-favourite underclassmen among the first years.

So, Tsubakino has decided that as long as none of them breaks your heart, he guesses that he has no reason to pull the protective big-bro card. Although, it also seems like you’re too oblivious at this point for your heart to be in danger of breaking in the first place. Actually, it’s more likely that you will be the one inevitably breaking a heart or two (at least), but Tsubakino knows that you won’t be doing it on purpose, so he doesn’t blame you for that.

It's not your fault that you’re so cute, alright?

“Ryo-kun?”

“Hm?” you answer Suo absentmindedly, lost in thought after Tsubakino’s heartfelt story about how he learned to accept himself. It hit so close to home, it’s almost eerie.

“You said you’d never been to a movie theatre before, right?” Suo continues, eyeing you closely.

“Oh, yeah, that’s right. I haven’t,” you confirm, thinking back to the conversation you had at Ito’s house. Tsubakino had suggested going to the movie theatre as a way to go out more, and you’d had a hard time suppressing your excitement at the prospect.

Suo hesitates before continuing, “So…would you like to go to a movie theatre…with me?”

That catches your attention.

“Really? You’d wanna go? With me?” you ask, eyes alit and a wide smile spreading across your face.

“I’d go with you anywhere,” Suo replies, without missing a beat.

“That’s so nice of you, Suo-kun!” you gush because as always, you’re denser than the Tokyo metropolitan population. In the spur of the moment, you don’t think before grabbing Suo’s hand and squeezing it tightly in happiness.

Suo blinks a couple of times in surprise. It’s not because it’s the first time the two of you have touched – far from it – but it’s the first time you have initiated that touch. Today is indeed a great day, Suo thinks with reverence. Maybe, he should mark today in his calendar – no wait…maybe, he should reserve that for when you and him are officially engaged? Or married?

Oh shoot, he really needs to be better at controlling his wandering thoughts.

“Where’re you going?”

And of course, your other friends just have to burst Suo’s bubble, making him tumble down from cloud nine and crash back into the harsh reality.

What a bummer.

“Me and Suo are going to the movie theatre!” you proclaim proudly.

“Is it a date?” Sakura asks suspiciously, eyebrows twitching at the thought.

“Oh, so you do know what a date is, Sakura-kun?” Suo teases as he pulls you closer and wraps an arm around your good shoulder. The little shit can’t help but gloat a bit.

“Yeah, it’s totally a date,” you say, making everyone present choke on their spit before you continue, “and you guys should come too, Sakura-kun, Nirei-kun! And of course, you can come too, Tsubaki-chan, if you want to. We should also invite Kiryu-kun and Tsugeura-kun…and oh, I know! Is it alright with you guys if I invite Kaji-san and Togame-kun too? And maybe Tomiyama-kun, so that Togame-kun doesn’t feel too out of place with all us from Bofurin.”

“I don’t think Ryo-kun knows what a date is, though,” Suo mutters under his breath, sounding so disappointed that your other friends almost feel bad for him.

Emphasis on almost.

Ryo created this group chat

Ryo named this group chat ‘Group chat’

Ryo added Kiryu Mitsuki to the group chat

Ryo added Suo Hayato to the group chat

Ryo added Nirei Akihiko to the group chat

[Kiryu Mitsuki❤️]

oooh what’s this?

HA! i got added before suo-chaaan😝

[Nirei Akihiko📓]

Ryo-san, Sakura-san, Suo-san, Tsubaki-san, and I talked about going to the movie theatre together, and Ryo-san wanted to invite all of you guys too.

[Suo Hayato❤️❤️❤️]

Pettiness does not befit you, Kiryu-kun.

[Kiryu Mitsuki❤️]

lmao as if ur any better😘

wait what’s with all the hearts???

Kiryu changed Suo’s name to [Suo the Pirate🏴‍☠️]

[Ryo☀️]

Guys, srsly, I just added u according to when u were added to my contact list

And it wasn’t me who added the hearts, u guys did that yourself!

Ryo added Tsugeura Taiga to the group chat

Ryo added Sakura Haruka to the group chat

Ryo added Kaji Ren to the group chat

Suo changed his name to [Suo❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️]

Suo changed Kiryu’s name to [Jigglypuff]

Kiryu changed Suo’s name to [Ryo simp]

[Ryo simp]

I don’t mind that nickname.

I think I’ll keep it.

[Jigglypuff]

suit yourself

[Sakura Haruka🐱]

why am i a cat

Ryo changed Sakura’s name to [Everyone’s favourite Neko🐱]

Ryo added Tsubakino Tasuku to the group chat

Ryo added Togame Jo to the group that

[Ryo simp]

Hey, since when did you have Togame Jo’s number, Ryo-kun?

[Jigglypuff]

yes i’d also like to know that

[Togame Jo🍊]

What’s this?

Oh, you wanna go to the movie theatre?

[Ryo☀️]

Yup, that’s the plan!

Can u add Tomiyama-kun to the group chat pls, Daidai-chan? I don’t have his number

Ryo changed Togame’s name to [Daidai-iro🍊]

[Jigglypuff]

hey since when did togame-kun get such a cute nickname??

[Ryo simp]

Yes, I’d also like to know that.

Tsubakino changed his name to [Tsubaki-chan💖]

Togame added Tomiyama Choji to the group chat

[Jigglypuff]

i want one tooo😭😭😭

[Ryo simp]

You already got one, Jigglypuff.

[Tomiyama Choji]

i’m on!!! i looove the movie theatre, it’s so much fun!!!

and why’re this group chat named group chat?

isn’t that a bit boring??

Tomiyama changed his name to [Choji]

Tomiyama re-named this group chat ‘Boshitoren’

[Daidai-iro🍊]

Lol

Geesh, that’s so cringe, Choji-kun

[Tsugeura Taiga🏋️‍♂️]

I like it! It symbolises the united front of Bofurin and Shishitoren! So virtuous🤞

[Choji]

i like it too!!!

although tbf i just used some random free online ship generator

Togame re-named this group chat ‘Ryo’s Harem’

[Everyone’s favourite Neko🐱]

what the fucks a jigglypuff

[Ryo☀️]

Ryo sent a sticker

[Kaji Ren🍭]

Ryo-kun, what’s happening? There’re so many notifications…

[Ryo☀️]

Wanna go to the movie theatre one of these days?

[Kaji Ren🍭]

Just the two of us?

[Ryo☀️]

Actually, everyone in this chat is invited

[Kaji Ren🍭]

Oh

Well

I guess I’ll go if you’re going

[Ryo☀️]

I am😊

So, which day would fit u guys best?

I can’t go on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays bc of work

ofc u could also just go without me

[Tsubaki-chan💖]

Wouldn’t that defeat the whole purpose, silly?❤️

[Everyone’s favourite Neko🐱]

what the fucks a harem

[Jigglypuff]

google it

[Nirei Akihiko📓]

What about next Tuesday, then? We could watch the Jujutsu Kaisen compilation movie that’s just come out?

And don’t do it, Sakura-san

[Ryo☀️]

That’s a great idea, Nire-kun! I love jjk!

[Ryo simp]

I’m free that day. As long as it’s after patrol.

[Jigglypuff]

me too🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

[Tsugeura Taiga🏋️‍♂️]

Me too!

[Togame Jo🍊]

Me and Choji-kun were actually planning to visit someone that day…

[Choji]

can’t we just invite him too?

hey, ryo-chaaaan, can we bring one of our friends?

pls???

[Kaji Ren🍭]

I already said I’d go

[Ryo☀️]

Ofc @Choji!

The more, the merrier!

[Tsubaki-chan💖]

I can’t that day, sry😭

But you guys can just go without me.

Although I would’ve loved to see Gojo on the big screen

*sigh

[Ryo☀️]

Yeah, he’s pretty cool bc he’s so OP. And he’s got such pretty eyes!

[Tsubaki-chan💖]

Gosh, yes! And that hair! Just mwah😍😍😍

[Ryo☀️]

Actually, he reminds me a bit of Umemiya-san

Like, with the hair and blue eyes and being the strongest

Even their voices are kinda similar

[Tsubaki-chan💖]

Oh, I guess you’re right…

Never really noticed that before haha

[Jigglypuff]

who’re you talking about?

oh, gojo

personally i don’t see the appeal

he’s a total douche

a bleached wannabe

[Ryo☀️]

I think that’s supposed to be his natural hair colour tho

[Ryo simp]

Funny that should come from you @Jigglypuff. Don’t tell me your hair is naturally pink?

@Jigglypuff

[Jigglypuff]

there’s nothing natural about gojos hair! he’s an anime character!!!

and i’m perfectly fine with admitting that pink isn’t my natural hair colour

simp

@Ryo Simp

[Ryo☀️]

I also said supposed to

[Nirei Akihiko📓]

I just checked and the movie runs at 18:35 pm next Tuesday.

Should I just reserve some seats for all of us?

[Ryo☀️]

Yes pls!

[Nirei Akihiko📓]

Alright, done!

[Ryo☀️]

Ty!!

[Ryo simp]

Thank you, Nire-kun.

[Choji]

cool can’t wait for tuesday!!!

see u guys soon!

[Ryo☀️]

See u!

[Ryo☀️]

Btw, did you find out what a harem is, Sakura-kun? bc I’d also like to know

[Ryo☀️]

Sakura-kun?

[Ryo☀️]

Sakura-kun?

[Nirei Akihiko📓]

I did tell him not to google it…

[Everyone’s favourite Neko🐱]

i did google it

it says its the part of a household reserved for women

[Ryo☀️]

But you're not women?

[Everyone’s favourite Neko🐱]

no

we’re boys

[Ryo☀️]

Yeah, I don’t get it

[Everyone’s favourite Neko🐱]

me neither

[Jigglypuff]

🤦

According to you, Tuesday can’t seem to arrive fast enough.

You don’t think you’ve ever been as excited for something before – like, going to the movie theatre? Watching the new Jujutsu Kaisen movie? With all your best friends?!?!

If someone had told you before you moved to Makochi that this would be your life, you’d have rolled your eyes and laughed hysterically, while mentally crying tears of sorrow for a life you knew you’d never be able to have.

Except, that you do.

You do.

And you love it.

When Tuesday finally does arrive, you, your friends from class 1-1, Kaji, Togame, and Tomiyama agree to meet up in front of the small movie theatre near the main street.

Nirei and Tsugeura are leading the way, engrossed in a very serious discussion on whether Nanami Kento’s work ethics can be considered more virtuous than Kunikida Doppo’s or Iida Tenya’s.

Meanwhile, you try to catch Sakura up on season 1 Jujutsu Kaisen since he’s neither read the manga, nor watched the show.

“So, there’s like this boy called Yuji Itadori who accidentally eats the finger of the King of Curses--”

“Why’d he wanna eat that? Sounds gross.” Sakura scrunches up his nose, looking illegally cute as he does so.

“Well, I don’t know, but I guess there wouldn’t really be as story if he didn’t swallow that finger…” You think for a moment before continuing with a shrug. “Well, anyways, he eats that finger from the King of Curses – curses are the monsters the sorcerers are fighting in the story – and then--”

“Sorcerers?” Sakura asks, brows furrowed. “So, a bit like, uh…what’s it called…Harry Potter or somethin’?”

“No no no, not that kind of sorcerers! More like, uhm, people who can control their cursed energy? Although, I’m not one hundred percent sure how it works…”

“I thought curses were the bad guys?”

“Yes yes, they are, but I said cursed energy…”

“Sounds complicated,” Sakura scowls.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll get it!” you say encouragingly. “And I’m sure you’ll like it too – there’re some super strong guys in this show, and Gojo Saturo is the strongest of them – like, he’s suuuper strong.” You make a big circle with your arms to emphasize just how strong Gojo is, and Sakura’s eyes light up at the prospect of some good fight scenes.

“Gojo this, Gojo that,” Suo mumbles under his breath, so quietly that it’s only Kiryu walking right beside him who can hear it.

“Can’t believe you’re getting jealous of an anime character,” he snorts.

“Wasn’t it you who called Gojo a bleached wannabe douche?” Suo raises an eyebrow at the other boy.

Kiryu immediately whips his head up to look at Kaji who’re walking in front of them, together with you and Sakura. Luckily, it doesn’t seem like Kaji heard Suo’s insult – no, their upperclassman is way too enamoured by your talking and wild gesturing to listen in.

“You already wrote it in the group chat,” Suo points out. “And Kaji-sempai is in it.”

Kiryu’s shoulders sag slightly before he again looks back at Suo.

“Well, what I said had nothing to do with being jealous,” he sniffs. “That was just me stating plain facts.”

“Sure, sure.”

Togame and Tomiyama are already waiting for you when you arrive, as well as a third boy whom you’ve already met before.

On Keisei Street.

You freeze as soon as you spot him. Yes, you’d hoped to meet him again, but…not like this. Not like this, in front of all your other friends from Furin.

What if he recognises you?

Your arm is finally out of its sling, but still…

The boy beside Togame and Tomiyama smiles politely at you. Despite your anxiety, you can’t help but smile back.

Because right there, beside Togame and Tomiyama stands Wanijima.

Chapter Text

“Hey there,” Togame greets your group just before his heavy-lidded gaze zooms in on you. A smile tugs at his lips and, without warning, he reaches out and grabs you to pull you into a tight hug. A very well-thought-out tactic to get to you before any of your friends has a chance to protest.

“Ouch!”

Reflexively, both Suo and Kaji takes a step forward, but Nirei’s words from last time they tried to keep you from Togame stop them from interfering. Suo puts his hands behind his back to keep himself from doing something he’s going to regret, while Kaji busies himself with aggressively sucking his lollipop.

Nirei sends them both a thumps up behind your back.

Togame freezes, with you still in his arms. Then, he starts speaking unusually fast, especially for his standard. “What is it? What’s wrong? Does it hurt? Where does it hurt? Did I hurt you? Please, just tell me--”

“No no, it’s fine,” you say, waving him off. “My arm just came out of its cast, so it’s still a bit sore, that’s all.”

“…cast?” Togame echoes. His grip on your waist tightens, and you can feel him tense beside you. He’s standing so close that you can feel his breath in your hair – and maybe, it’s just your imagination, but you think it’s turning just a little faster.

“Oh yeah, that’s right, you don’t know.” You scratch the back of your neck self-consciously. You’re not sure you should tell him – Wanijima stands right there, after all, and won’t he figure out who you are if you go into too much detail?

Togame narrows his eyes at you. “Don’t know what?”

The other boys watch you and Togame closely.

“Uhm, just broke my arm some weeks ago,” you explain. “It was an accident, don’t worry about it!”

“You call getting your arm broken by some yakuza member an accident?” Sakura hisses, annoyed that you always play down your own injuries and needs (never mind that he does that himself too).

Oh well. So much for keeping that from Togame, you think exasperatedly.

And besides…

“He wasn’t in the yakuza,” you point out. “Besides, it was an accident. He told me he didn’t do it on purpose, how many times do I have to say it!”

Togame splutters beside you. That, you can also feel in your hair, but you don’t mind.

“You-- you were-- what are you-- why didn’t you write to me?” Togame doesn’t know why those last words were the only comprehensible ones he could get out, but he must admit that it bothers him. You exchanged numbers the last time he came to visit you and have texted each other on multiple occasions since then. So why – why didn’t you tell him that you’d been hurt?

Is it because you don’t trust him? Do you even see him as a friend? Or is it because you seriously don’t think it’s that big of a deal?

The last notion makes him both sad and angry at the same time. Sad, because you should know that whatever happens to you is a big deal. Maybe not to you, but to him. And he knows that there’s at least a few other boys who think the same way. And he’s angry, not at you, but at whoever made you feel like you getting hurt doesn’t matter.

He grits his teeth. Just the thought of who those people could be makes him want to--

“Ehem.” Wanijima clears his throat behind him, interrupting his train of thoughts. “Don’t you want to introduce me to your friends, Jo? Choji?”

Wanijima turns to lock eyes with you, and you have to restrain the urge to hide behind Togame.

“Right!” Tomiyama answers, bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly.

“Bofurin, this is Wani-chan, Wani-chan, this is Bofurin! We fought these guys one-on-one and they’re all suuuper strong, like suuuper strong!” He sounds a bit like you did when you talked about Gojo. “And I finally got to fight Ume-chan! He was like…and then Ume did…and then Ume also…and Ume’s…”

Everyone has fallen silent, watching Tomiyama with bemused expressions.

When he notices, he halts in the middle of a sentence, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah, so I fought Ume-chan and then Bofurin and Shishitoren all became friends!”

“That’s it? You became friends, after years of rivalry between our gangs?” Wanijima asks, although he doesn’t sound sceptical. More as if he’s…testing the waters. He again looks at you. “I must admit I was rather shocked when I just got a message from Choji to meet at a movie theatre located on Bofurin’s turf, no less…It seems like I’ve missed a lot since I left Shishitoren.”

Our gangs. Shishitoren, you think as revelation dawns upon you. Oh, but that makes so much sense! No wonder Wanijima knows how to fight – and maybe, Tsubakino even recognised him when he saw him on Keisei Street that day you broke your arm.

Wanajima looks at you for a long time, brows slightly furrowed. “Have we ever…met before, perchance?” he asks.

He’s quite sure that you have – because what are the chances that yet another person was involved with the yakuza and got their arm broken some weeks ago, and that that person just so happens to look just like you? But he still phrased it as a question because he can sense that it’s a sensitive topic for you. Besides, then he knows Furin High is an all-boys high school, and last thing he checked, you weren’t a boy. But then again, what does he know?

For a split second, you freeze, before you finally remember how to speak Japanese. “Uh, nope. Nope, I would definitelyremember if I’d seen you before. Uhm…”

Togame tuts at Wanijima. “Real smooth, Yugo. But I’m afraid to say that you’ll have to get in line if you wanna court this boy.” He pats your head for emphasis.

Wanijima nods. “I apologise. You just reminded me of someone I met some weeks ago. My mistake.” He bows at the waist – yes, this is just the Wanijima you remember, alright.

“Well, nice to meet you, Wanijima-kun! I’m Ryo,” you say, also bowing.

“You too, Ryo-kun,” he muses. He doesn’t ask you how you knew Wani-chan stood for Wanijima – because again, it’s not his place to pry. Although he must say that he grows increasingly curious about you the more he learns.

No wonder so many people are enamoured by her. Or is it a him? he thinks, eyeing the way both the Furin students as well as Togame have their eyes on you, with expressions ranging from fondness to worry to what Wanijima recognises as unmistakable jealousy.

“Well, should we head inside?” you say, the words jumbling out of your mouth in your haste to move on.

“Yeah, let’s,” Togame drawls, and then proceeds to steering you inside, arm still tightly wrapped around your shoulder – your good one, this time. Subconsciously, you lean against his warmth.

Meanwhile, Togame tells himself that keeping you this close is only because he thinks it’s fun to mess with your friends.

You’re like a kid in a candy store – or well, you are a kid in a candy store. Eyes sparkling, you eye all the different colours and take in all the different smells, wondering just how much sugar you can take in one go without going into a coma.

“You really like sweets, don’t you, Ryo-kun?” Suo asks you, a fond look in his eye as he watches you roaming the candy aisles.

“Well, yes,” you admit sheepishly, standing on tiptoes as you try to reach a package of orange-coated almonds that caught your attention.

“Here, let me,” Suo says, gently placing his hand on your waist to still you as he moves behind you and reaches up to grab the bag for you. Totally unnecessary – like, he could just have helped you in a normal way, but God forbid he forgoes a chance to fluster you – but oh well, this is Suo Hayato, after all.

“U-uh…thanks,” you say as he hands you the bag, feeling your cheeks flush. You occupy yourself by studying the ingredient list on the back of the package, then scrunch up your nose at what you see.

“Can you put this back for me, please?” you ask Suo. He takes the bag from you, smiling, and places it back on the shelf, but not before he takes note of its contents.

So, you don’t like orange chocolate, huh, he thinks, filing away that information for later. Big or small, Suo wants to learn everything about you.

In the end, you settle for some caramel popcorn (which are far superior to the salted ones in your opinion), a package of watermelon Hi-Chew, and a milk tea. You tried looking for the Triple Cider your friends bought you when you were sick, but apparently, that’s a 7-Eleven exclusive drink. Not that you’re that disappointed – you’re a sucker for milk tea too.

When everyone is ready, you all head towards the cashier together to pay.

To no one’s surprise, Kaji dumps a large package of multi-flavoured lollipops on the desk, and Suo is opting for only unsweetened iced tea from the vending machine (since he claims the tea they serve at the café is too astringent for his refined taste). Sakura gets some regular popcorn (because who wants to eat that sweet shit, as he describes your caramel popcorn) and a bottle of water from a very particular brand. Tsugeura brought a protein shake from home but also gets some beef jerky.

One by one, the others pay for their items, and when it becomes your turn, you put your stuff on the counter while rummaging around in your pocket for change. However, before you can hand the cashier the small roll of yen, you’re interrupted by a chorus of outbursts from your friends.

“Let me pay for that, Ryo-kun.”

“I’ll pay, Ryo-chan!”

“I-I-I c-can pay for t-that, if it’s alright with you, Ryo-san.”

“Let me pay!”

“My treat, princess.”

The cashier sends you a baffled look, and you almost you drop your money in surprise. Turning around to look at your friends, you are met with Sakura, Suo, Kiryu, Kaji, and Togame are all glaring at each other. Tsugeura marvels at how virtuous your friends are for offering to pay for you like that while apologizing profusely for not offering to pay himself. Nirei just looks like a deer caught in the headlights, gaze flickering nervously between your other friends.

They know better than to start a fight in the middle of the shop…right? you think, finding yourself suddenly worried.

Tomiyama, meanwhile, is slightly confused. He eyes his best friend with a thoughtful expression. He recalls Togame telling him how hilarious he thinks your friends are for fighting over you like a bunch of ravenous dogs over a bone and how Togame loves messing with them. But Tomiyama doesn’t think Togame looks very amused right now, and it makes him wonder if his friend only offered to pay for you to mess with your friends, or if there’s a deeper meaning behind the gesture that not even Togame himself is aware of yet. The thought makes Tomiyama smile to himself.

“Do they always act like this?” Wanijima bends down to whisper theatrically in Tomiyama’s ear. Tomiyama nods slowly, still observing his friend closely.

“Thanks, guys, but I can pay for myself,” you argue.

All your friends immediately abandon their staring contest to look at you instead.

“It’s your first time in a movie theatre, right?” Sakura asks, eye ticking, making his question almost sound like an insult – but you all know better by now. “Then, it’s only right if one of us pays for you.”

“But Sakura-kun, isn’t it also your first time in a movie theatre?” you point out. “If that’s how it works, then someone should pay for you too, right?”

“Ehem.” The cashier clears their throat, trying to sound stern, while obviously suppressing a fit of laughter at your shenanigans. “If you wanna catch the movie before it starts, you better hurry up a bit.”

“Oh yeah, sorry, you’re right,” you say, doing a small bow before handing the cashier the roll of change (which is definitely more than what your snacks cost). “Keep the change,” you say with a smile before skipping towards the exit.

“Are you coming, guys?” you ask over your shoulder.

Your friends exchange one last dissatisfied look before following you out the door.

Well, your friends fighting over who should pay for you was only the first hiccup of the night. Maybe, it wasn’t the greatest idea to invite all your boyfriends out on the same time.

You all file into the movie theatre, on the lookout for the seats Nirei reserved for you.

“It’s row 5,” Nirei informs you, and you walk to the respective row of plush seats.

“It doesn’t matter where we sit, right?” you ask, and when Nirei shakes his head, you slump down into a random seat.

Kaji immediately takes the seat to your right, squeezing unceremoniously past Sakura.

“Hey!” Skulking, Sakura eyes the seat on your other side longingly, but when he catches both Suo and Kiryu eyeing the seat too, determined looks in their eyes, he just shrugs and takes the seat on the other side of Kaji.

It’s not like he wants to sit beside you in the movie theatre anyways, he thinks with a scoff. Besides, Kaji might get the wrong (completely right) idea about him again.

Anyways, there’s still an empty seat to your left.

And then, the fighting begins.

Suo and Kiryu begins grappling with each other, both fighting for the seat (again, ravenous dogs fighting over a bone is a pretty precise analogy). Suo keeps trying to flip Kiryu over into the other seat, while Kiryu attempts to hit one of Suo’s vital spots. Fortunately, there’s a limit to how much of a ruckus they can make here – otherwise, this might have gotten serious – but as it is now, none of them really manages to get the upper hand.

At some point, Suo ends up in the seat with Kiryu right on top of him.

“Maybe, I’ll just stay here,” Kiryu muses, proceeding to make himself comfortable in Suo’s lap, but Suo pushes him into the seat beside him.

“Can’t keep it in your pants?” Kiryu teases, referring to the…incident at the restaurant after your brawl with KEEL.

“Sorry, you’re not my type,” Suo sniffs, turning his attention away from Kiryu to engage you in conversation instead.

Admitting defeat, Kiryu leans back in his seat, pouting.

“Are you done with your little game of fruit basket?” Togame drawls. He has been watching the struggle with for quite some time now, leaning against the row of seats in front of you with his arms crossed over his chest. “Because then I’ll just squeeze past here…” His long legs step over both Suo and Kiryu until he stands right in front of you. Then, without warning, he swoops you into the air – taking care not to touch your still healing arm – and seats himself beneath you before carefully placing you in his lap, arms wrapped tightly around you.

Suo clenches his jaw so hard it lets out an audible crack, eyebrows twitching. Kiryu is pouting worse than ever, and Kaji mashes his teeth together so violently that it threatens to grind his enamel into dust. Sakura turns bright red in the face and directs his gaze at the screen, trying to abolish the sight of you being all cuddly with Togame from his mind (without success).

“Seriously, guys?” Nirei sighs weakly, facepalming in second-hand embarrassment for his friends, while Tomiyama hides his mouth with his hand to avoid laughing. Wanijima just eyes the whole spectacle as one would study a newly discovered species of deep-sea creatures.

You let out a small squeak, but don’t protest much. Neither do the others (not out loud, at least) since the lights have just been dimmed and the movie about to start. Nirei hurries to take the seat beside Sakura, while Tsugeura takes the seat beside Kiryu.

Tomiyama and Wanijima seat themselves beside Tsugeura, trying very hard not to look at each other – because if they did, there’s no way they would be able to contain the just barely contained laughter they’re both trying to hold in, lest it spill over and draw even more attention to your group of friends.

You have to admit that sitting in Togame’s lap is pretty comfy. Sure, he isn’t as soft as the movie theatre seats, but he’s big and warm, and his steady heartbeat threatens to lull you into sleep as you rest your head against the hard planes of his chest.

To think that you hated his guts the first time you laid your eyes on him.

And now…now, he makes you feel safe.

Togame has to admit that he spends more time looking down at you than at the screen in front of him. He cradles your body close to his, arms wrapped safely around you, savouring being this close to you. He doesn’t remember when his intentions changed from wanting to mess with your friends for fun to just wanting to be close to you. Sure, it has probably always been a combination of two, but it’s only recently it changed from being primarily the former to being almost solely about the latter.

But he can’t help himself. You make him feel like he deserves forgiveness. Like he deserves all the good things in his life, like Tomiyama’s friendship and the devotion of Shishitoren.

You make him…happy.

Throughout the movie, Tomiyama also can’t help but sneak glances to where his friend sits with you in his lap. He remembers very well the time after your one-on-one, and how Togame wouldn’t shut up about you. Sure, he also talked plenty about Sakura, but mostly, he would steer conversation towards you – probably without even realising it himself.

At first, Tomiyama had thought it was just a phase. You and Sakura were the first real friends the two of them had made after their reign of terror over Shishitoren, after all. You were the two people, together with Umemiya, who had finally managed to beat some sense into them. You spurred them to make Shishitoren into a better place – a place for devotees of power not just for power’s sake, but for power to look out for each other and to protect their turf, like it was always meant to be.

But it didn’t take long for Tomiyama to realise that this wasn’t just a phase. He watched as Togame’s expression changed from merely excited to longing whenever you were brought up. His green eyes would soften, and a small, content smile would play around his lips whenever he talked about you. And then, when he’d heard that you had gotten injured in a fight with KEEL, he hadn’t hesitated to walk, not only straight onto Bofurin’s turf, but straight up to the gates of Furin High, just to see if you were alright.

Yes, Tomiyama knows that Bofurin and Shishitoren are supposed to be friends now, but he also knows that far from everyone in Bofurin would like their former archenemy to just show up at their doorstep without warning.

But Togame hadn’t cared about any of that. He hadn’t even asked for permission or waited for Tomiyama.

And afterwards, it had taken all of Tomiyama’s skills of persuasion to stop Togame from going straight to KEEL’s hideout to beat the living daylights out of any remaining KEEL member he could get his hands on.

Again, Tomiyama smiles to himself. If anyone deserves to be happy, it’s Togame. Tomiyama knows all the horrible stuff Togame made himself do just to keep Tomiyama satisfied, and it still breaks his heart to think about.

So, if you’re the one who makes his best friend happy, Tomiyama can’t think of anyone better for Togame.

Beside Tomiyama, Wanijima has also gotten a lot of information to chew on. It’s been so long since he last talked to his friends in Shishitoren and he can hear that he’s missed a lot – especially after you and Sakura came to Makochi.

He originally left Shishitoren to take care of some family business, but he hadn’t meant to ghost his friends for as long as he ended up doing. And he must admit that he’s happy to be back. Happy, that Tomiyama and Togame seem to have sorted out their struggles with Shishitoren, and that they are both happy.

And he’s grateful to you – you, and Sakura, and Umemiya, and the rest of your friends in Furin, because he knows that it’s largely because of you that his friends are now more carefree and happier than they’ve been since he left. He’s grateful because you were for there for them when he couldn’t be.

He glances over to where Togame is sitting with you on his lap. Wanijima can tell that friend isn’t paying attention to the movie at all, but seems perfectly content just to stare at you and play with your hair every now and then.

Looking up at the screen again, Wanijima smiles.

Yes. He’s very happy that Togame has found you.

“So, what’d you think?” you ask Sakura, eager to hear what he thinks of his first Jujutsu Kaisen-experience, once you’re all out in the fresh air again.

“I thought you said that Gojo was the strongest? Why’d he go and get caught, then?” Sakura complains, frowning.

“He is, he just fell for a dirty trick.” You let out a sad sigh, although it doesn’t take long before your eyes light up again. “So, who’d you say is your favourite character?”

“Uhm, I guess that pink-haired guy’s pretty strong,” Sakura admits, thinking back to the fight scene between him and the blue patchwork guy with the creepy laugh. “And he’s a bit like…” A bit like you. Strong, easy-going, and easy to like, but also fiercely protective of those you care about. Sakura stops himself before he can finish saying the sentence out loud, however.

“Oh, you mean Yuji? Yeah, he is.” You nod enthusiastically without noticing anything amiss. “Would you say that he’s your favourite character then?”

“I dunno. His friend – that grumpy guy--”

“Oh, Megumi?”

“Yeah, he’s pretty cool too.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” you agree. “But I’d still say that my favourite character is Inumaki. He’s got a super cool cursed technique and it’s so cute when he speaks in only onigiri ingredients” you say while ticking off all of Inumaki Toge’s virtues on your fingers, before suddenly snapping them in realisation. “Oh, and he’s like a carbon copy of our very own Ren-sempai!”

You pat Kaji’s shoulder affectionately. Kaji, who’s walking beside you, looks immensely satisfied although the tips of his ears are turning pink.

Your other friends, meanwhile, have all stopped dead in their tracks.

“F-f-f-f-first n-n-n-n-na-name b-b-b-basis…” Nirei stutters, eyes wide, “…s-s-si-since w-w-when?”

“Uhm--” you start, but Nirei interrupts you again, waving his hands frantically.

“N-n-not t-t-that it’s a-a-a-any of our b-b-b-b-business!”

“Oh, I don’t mind,” you reassure him. “I guess it was…some weeks ago?”

“Aha. I see, I see,” Nirei mumbles, nodding profusely.

Your other friends avert their gazes, all deep in thought. They all think about how they can persuade you to call them by their first names too – asking you now would certainly make them sound too desperate, right? (there’s nobody to tell them that everyone already knows they’re head over heels and to just get it over with).

Togame scoffs. You already gave him his very own cute super cool nickname, so he couldn’t care less if you are now on first name basis with some other random dude.

Actually…why would he care in the first place?

Shortly after, Togame, Tomiyama, and Wanijima wave goodbye. It’s getting late, and they still need to get back to their turf, and you all have school tomorrow.

Just before you all part, you turn towards Sakura, a new idea having just formed in your head. “If you wanna watch another anime sometime, maybe, we could watch My Hero Academia together? There’s this guy who looks a lot like you with red and white hair and blue and grey eyes – and he’s one of the strongest guys in the whole series, and he’s super handsome too, just like you!”

When Sakura doesn’t answer, you continue. “Well think about it. See you guys at school tomorrow!”

And then, without mercy for the poor boy’s soul that just left his body, you dart off, leaving a spluttering Sakura behind.

As usual, you head in the opposite direction of where Sakura is going. You wonder why Suo, Nirei, and Kiryu haven’t mentioned anything about it yet since they know where you live. Not that you complain.

You also wonder what Sakura would think of you if he ever realised the two you are neighbours. He would be bound to think you were avoiding him and didn’t want to tell him – which is technically true, but not just for the reasons he would think.

The thought makes you a bit sad.

Because despite of how much fun you are having with your friends, you also can’t deny the fact that you continuously lie to all of them. And not just a white little lie about who ate the last cookie.

No, this is big.

You’re an imposter. An intruder.

You’d never thought lying about your gender would cause you so much anguish. But then again, you’d also never imagined that you would make friends when you decided to join Bofurin. Friends, who you wish you didn’t have to lie to. Friends, who are bound to abandon you if they ever learn the truth.

You won’t blame them if it comes to that.

All you can do for now is savour their friendship and company. And when they’re gone, you can treasure the memory of them forever.

Suo, Nirei, and Kiryu all wonder, not for the first time, why you always head off in the complete opposite direction of where you live. They can’t help but suspect that it has something to do with you not wanting Sakura to know.

None of them have said anything about it, however. They know you’re not the type to have any ill intentions, so there must be a very good reason for why you are keeping this little fact to yourself.

A very good reason which probably has to do with whatever it is that you’re hiding from all of them. They aren’t stupid – they know there’s something you’re not telling them. They don’t know what it is, or why it is that you feel like you can’t confide in them.

They wish you would.

Is it because you don’t trust them? Is it because you’re scared? Ashamed?