Chapter Text
Back at ‘home’ Sakura had enough capacity to care for himself. He didn’t starve nor was he ever horribly dehydrated but he just.. got by.
Part of getting by as a young kid with a terrible immune system is the dreaded sickness. Sore throats, the flu, even the common cold were small yet important battles fought alone. After coughing so much he threw his guts up once he decided if he ignored it, maybe it’d get the hint and leave him the hell alone.
And that tactic worked…
In his head.
In reality he was terrible when sick. Hacking coughs, stuffy noses, always throwing up, and.. the clinging part of needing care.
As a child, he learned to push that feeling down, cling to blankets and pillows. Because who’d really care for someone like him? But in Makochi? He sure as hell had plenty of people who’d help him.
The first one to notice was Suo, how hard was it to not notice the dewey look in his eyes and wobbly steps?
“Sakura? Are you okay?” The burgundy haired boy asked, concern lacing his voice. They’d been through the same part of town twice. Not that they hadn’t done that before, it was necessary to survey the area better—but with Nirei trying to sniff out danger, the reason of the three was gone.
Sakura stopped abruptly, Suo halting just a few centimeters ahead of him. The duo looked at eachother confused, what did Suo say? Sakura couldn’t quite hear him correctly over the wind. Or was it the chimes that were too loud?
“Sakura? Hellooo? You there?” The multicolored haired boy was yanked out of his thoughts with a snap directly in his ears. He hissed at the loud(?) sound, scowling at Suo
“What the hell?” He grumbled, the scowl not-so-slowly morphing into a pout.
“What was that for?”
“Are you okay Sakura? You seem a little… out of it.” What? What? Out of it? Sure his head seemed to hurt a little and he felt a little dizzy but he’d called that a training success and set the symptoms aside for the day. Had he really gone that hard while training? He did continue for longer than usual after getting told his movements were sloppy—but he’d woken up late too! How was that really his-
“Sakura!”
BAM!
The lights in the infirmary were bright—too bright. Wait a minute, did Furin even have an infirmary? If it does why the hell is he here? He hadn’t remembered anything after his conversation, well, concerned montage with Suo.
He didn’t even remember finishing patrol.
Did he finish patrol?
Sakura shot up from the bed he was in, quickly regretting it as pain spiked through his head in an instant. He groaned in pain, slowly lowering himself back down on the cotton sheets.
Hold on—cotton? What kind of fancy ass infirmary has cotton sheets? Or lamps? Or strange life sized replica of his friend?
Wait.
What?
Sakura slowly turned his head back to the figure. It only took a few seconds to realize that was just Nirei. The discomfort clear in his sleeping expression.
Once the lights didn’t seem as bright, Sakura slowly sat up from the bed. Surveying the area slowly. In the left corner of the room was definitely Nirei. Not a clone. The room seemed cozy, a bedside table on the right of him and a perfectly spaced desk on the left. Definitely NOT an infirmary.
Whos room was he in? And whos bed was he, apparently, sleeping on? He let out an irritated sigh because, hell he’d never just take up someone else’s space.
He was halfway off the bed when the door quietly opened, his body relaxing when he saw the familiar eyepatch and earrings.
“Sakura? What are you doing out of bed?” The boy sounded concerned, though not as much as earlier.
“Uhm… leaving?” The boy condescendingly said. That was common sense right? So why’d he ask that question like some dunce?
“Oh uhm.. no, Sakura you can’t.. go.. yet…” Suo slowly explained, as if Sakura was a toddler. What did he even mean by can’t? Sakura will get up and walk his ass out if he so pleases. The only thing keeping him glued to this comfortable ass bed was that Suo decided to stand between his legs. He was really trapping him here.
“Why can’t I go? I’m… sorry for falling asleep in your bed-“
“Oh this is Nirei’s house!”
“Ugh- Nirei’s bed.. but I have to get home so-“ The boy was promptly cut off by Suo pushing him back onto the bed, he fell back on the plush covers with a soft thump.
“No Sakura. You passed out on patrol today-“
“I what?!” The boy shot back up before getting pushed down again with a sigh.
“You passed out. Me and Nirei took you to the clinic, and you mister, are sick.” Sakura looked at the boy as if he’d grown another eye, how was he sick? He didn’t do anything out of his routine and his immune system hasn’t failed him since those forgotten years.
“Me? Sick? You’re mistaken.” Sakura waved a dismissive hand at Suo, flopping his head to the side. He just had a rough day is all, no need for all these sick allegations to arise.
“No we’re definitely not mistaken Sakura. Trust me, it’s best to stay in bed.”
“You can’t believe everything people tell you Suo.”
“Yes but I will believe the certified nurse. So rest up! I’ll bring you food and water.” Suo headed towards the door rather quickly, definitely trying to avoid confrontation with the stubborn boy. He shut the door even quicker, letting out a sigh of victory.
He’d successfully gotten Haruka Sakura to sit down and be cared for— MUCH to the boys soon dismay