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Suo stood tall, his clothes slightly disheveled and dust-streaked. His usually clean-shaven face now bore the marks of a blow, and his breathing was slightly irregular. He rubbed the corner of his lip, which had taken a hard punch from the black-and-white-haired young man. The blow clearly channeled deep-seated anger.
Far from where he stood, the sound of a raucous commotion echoed, swallowing the cold atmosphere. Suo was completely frozen in place; for the first time, he felt defeated by the overwhelming sense of defeat enveloping him. His lips were sealed, his gaze still. He looked at Sakura in front of him. The young man still wore a look of annoyance beneath his thin smile, then his gaze shifted to the three people surrounding him.
Suo exhaled softly, trying to control himself.
“This looks like a mess, doesn’t it,” Suo said softly, offering a thin smile. A smile meant to hide the turmoil within his heart that he might no longer be able to bear alone.
Sakura snorted, “That’s a line for yourself.”
“Wow, should I be amazed now that I see Suo-chan all beaten up, huh?” Kiryu said with a faint smirk, though the look in his eyes seemed uneasy.
“That’s right. Finally, I see Suo can’t run away like he used to.” Tsugeura chimed in, cracking his knuckles and neck with a crisp sound.
The corners of his lips turned up slightly. “Goodness, you guys really don’t need to go to all this trouble.”
“I already told you,” Sakura interrupted quickly.
His expression showed that he had no mercy whatsoever. Not once toward his opponent, nor toward his friends.
“Who do you think is causing us trouble, huh?” Sakura replied coldly.
Suo finally fell silent again, a look of distress visible behind his small smile. From the start, he had stopped raising his hands or fighting back. It was just that these crazy fighters in front of him didn’t seem willing to calm down without teaching him a lesson. Whatever the reason, it was surely due to the anger and disappointment they felt toward him. Suo knew that well. That was why Suo deliberately put up a fight, dodging every punch and kick aimed at him, even though he eventually became overwhelmed.
Especially by one figure who had been hiding his emotions behind the others from the start, yet it was he who managed to knock Suo off balance. His eyes shifted to her, and his gaze softened slightly.
“Is that what you think, Nirei-kun?”
Sakura had opened his mouth again to retort. But Nirei, who had been holding his tongue, restraining himself from speaking and controlling his emotions, finally lost his composure as well.
“Stop smiling that stupid smile of yours!” Nirei without warning shouted a little loudly with an angry face.
Nirei clenched his fists without moving a muscle, as if the reddened knuckles of his fingers weren’t enough to raise his fist. But a voice deep inside him said there was no point in hitting Suo again.
Suo fell silent at being shouted at like that. He wasn’t offended, but his eyes never left Nirei.
That night, in the middle of a winter that was growing ever colder.
Nirei and the others had Suo Hayato back.
More accurately, Suo was forced to raise his hands, kneel, and surrender. How could he possibly stand up to a whole group of 1-1 Tamon students all by himself?
No cheers echoed among the crowd of boys there. A group of classmates, releasing their emotions, simply watched the scene before them with a mix of feelings and expressions —relief, joy, and a sense of being moved, and certainly the victory they felt.
This wasn’t just a battle. No, it was far greater than anything they had ever experienced.
Even in the beginning, when everything seemed certain from what they had heard, what he had said, and what he had done, his friends still chose to stand by him without hesitation. “We’re friends.” It was such a simple phrase, yet it left no room for doubt. It meant being there for each other, no matter what.
And it all started because of one person’s persistence.
They went out of their way to chase after him, to look for him, to bring him back, as if he had once been the one saving them. Suo couldn’t quite put into words what he was feeling right now. All he knew was the quiet shame settling in his chest, knowing he had caused all of this. He noticed that the wounds on Nirei’s face had almost completely healed, but that expression was something else entirely. It hurt in a way he couldn’t ignore. His hands trembled without him realizing it.
Suo lowered his gaze. He knew Nirei was the one who had been hurt the most, the one who had suffered more than anyone else. And yet, he was also the one who refused to let him go. The one who had even managed to bring Sakura and the others together. A quiet sadness rippled through Suo’s eyes, shifting with emotions he couldn’t separate. Joy and regret tangled together, leaving him overwhelmed.
Was there anything he could say for this “warm” reunion after such a long separation?
But Suo quickly swallowed the words he wanted to say the moment he saw Nirei look up. His eyes met the two large, swollen eyes, followed by large tears falling endlessly.
A smile was etched on his disheveled face, revealing both relief and longing.
“Welcome back, Suo-san,” Nirei said between sobs.
Suo gazed at Nirei a little longer, a sense of anxiety tightening his throat. Then, with a faint smile and a soft, whispering voice, he greeted Nirei.
“I’m back, Nirei-kun.”
***
Three days later, the sky had been looking grayer since yesterday. Snow was falling gently, making the school grounds stand out against the white expanse of snow.
Suo still hadn’t returned to school yet. Nirei and the others had heard from Sakura that Suo still had to take care of something like paperwork and re-enrollment. It was unclear why all that was necessary, especially since Suo’s withdrawal letter from the day before hadn’t been approved by the school yet.
Nirei and his friends had gone to great lengths to find Suo and managed to drag him back to Furin. But the reality wasn’t as simple as Suo Hayato just showing up at school the next day. In class, they were all anxiously waiting for Suo to appear. Hoping that all the effort Sakura had put into this wouldn’t be in vain. That’s what Nirei was thinking right now. She hadn’t even stopped staring at the classroom door, waiting anxiously for the past three days. Kiryu and Anzai had always tried to calm her down so she wouldn’t get that worked up.
Suddenly, the door slid open. Nirei jumped to her feet with a tense expression. Her eyes widened as she saw Sakura appear from behind the door.
Everyone who had been holding their breath finally let out a resigned sigh.
“Disappointed?” Sakura asked, his voice sounded cold and raised one eyebrow.
Nirei immediately changed his demeanor. He rubbed his cheeks shyly, making them even redder, and spoke awkwardly.
“I’m sorry, Sakura-san. It’s not like that … but it looks like Suo-san won’t be coming to class today.” He let out a small, awkward laugh.
Sakura snorted under his breath. He glanced at Nirei, then sighed. There was no point lying to him, not when he was clearly waiting for something better than that. And judging from the looks on everyone else’s faces, they weren’t buying it either.
Sakura sighed again, this time heavier, before pushing the door open wider. “I was gonna tell you later, but whatever. Hey, get in here. At least say hi.”
He called out to someone just outside the classroom, earning a bunch of confused looks from the others. Then, in the next second, everything shifted. Sakura stepped aside, leaving the doorway open and a familiar voice broke through.
“Wow, you’re really cold, Sakura-kun. What, are you planning to stay mad until graduation?”
A very familiar figure appeared, long tassel earrings swaying, an eyepatch still in place. Suo’s complaint earned him an immediate glare from Sakura.
“Yeah, I am. I’m remembering this all the way to graduation, so don’t even think about pulling something like that again. Uh, damn it.”
Suo only gave a faint smile, the usual playful glint in his eyes nowhere to be found. He stood there in the doorway, tall and still, facing his friends with quiet regret.
But the heavy, complicated atmosphere that should have lingered dissolved almost instantly, swept away by a wave of enthusiastic cries. Some of them even threw themselves at Suo without a second thought. He was welcomed with warmth in the dead of winter, surrounded once again by his friends, and it was clear they accepted him back without question. Though what had happened still cast a shadow over all of them, leaving behind a quiet kind of trauma, a silent, collective wish that nothing like it would ever happen again.
As for Nirei, he stood there, his gaze fixed on Suo. It was impossible to tell what lay behind his eyes—whether it was the familiar sparkle that defined him, or something far more fragile, glistening at the edges. He smiled, bright and full of joy, yet his mind was quietly tangled, etched with thoughts too chaotic to be read. No one noticed. Nirei made sure of that.
Amid the lingering excitement, Sakura, as the class leader, stepped in to steady the situation. He guided the others back, gradually creating space. One by one, they moved aside until Sakura stood at the center—only to step back again, leaving a clear distance between Suo and Nirei, who had remained silent the entire time.
Nirei glanced around in confusion. He hadn’t expected Sakura to consider something like this—neither had Suo.
But they all understood.
They knew how close the two of them were. How they had stood side by side, covering for their class leader’s shortcomings, supporting the entire class through every situation. How Nirei Akihiko had grown stronger because of it—and how Suo Hayato had always remained himself whenever he was with them.
Everything had started with the two of them.
Sakura and the others had only heard the story from Nirei. Suo had suddenly withdrawn from school, seemingly cutting himself off from everyone. But that was one thing—Suo striking Nirei, his own friend, was something else entirely. They had every right to feel angry, to judge him for it. But Nirei himself didn’t want that. Still, it would be selfish to simply say “I won’t forgive him” or “let’s just forget it ever happened.” Sakura understood that better than anyone. Suo had taken full responsibility for what he did that night to Nirei, the vice class of Tamon 1-1. Everyone still remembered it clearly, the story lingering in their minds like something dark and difficult to shake.
T
hat was why, today, there was something Nirei and Suo needed to settle. Suo had noticed it too, how much calmer Nirei seemed now, how he wasn’t showing the same explosive emotions as before. And at this point, Suo had already made up his mind.
He was ready to be hated. It was a decision he had made since the last time they met. He had thought that his harsh actions would push Nirei away for good. But he had underestimated just how much Nirei cared—how deeply he held on, or maybe … he had let his guard slip back then, revealed something weaker than he intended. Even Suo wasn’t sure anymore.
“Something’s missing, Sakura-san,” Nirei said suddenly.
They all turned to him at once, confusion written all over their faces. Suo looked at Nirei in silence, unease creeping into his chest. Right now, his thoughts felt unsteady—he couldn’t quite grasp what Nirei was thinking.
“We haven’t tied Suo-san up yet. Like I said before.”
The classroom fell into complete silence.
…What?
Sakura was the first to move. He clapped his hands once, his expression lighting up as if he’d just remembered something important. “Ah —you’re right.”
Then he glanced around at the others. “Anyone have any rope?” he asked casually, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, half-expecting someone to just have a length of rope lying around in their bag. Tsugeura shook his head, baffled. Kiryu only let out a quiet laugh.
Rope? Suo was still trying to process what was happening when, all of a sudden, Kakiuchi and Anzai grabbed hold of him. He could only look from side to side, confused, a strained smile tugging at his lips.
“Are you serious, Nirei-kun?” Suo hadn’t expected this turn at all.
“Completely,” Nirei replied, his tone cold and unwavering.
Behind him, Kiryu and Tsugeura froze as they watched Nirei pull out a thick coil of rope from his desk.
…He’d been keeping that there this whole time? Nirei stretched the rope out and gave it a sharp tug, as if testing its strength.
“I brought a special rope just for you, Suo-san.”
Kiryu quietly remarked on how ruthless Nirei had become, while Tsugeura could only stare, stunned, realizing that the Nirei he knew, small yet strong virtue, could turn out like this. Suo swallowed. His eyes blinked again and again, as if he were trying to make sense of the figure standing before him, the Nirei who no longer felt quite the same.
The others holding Suo pulled him down into a chair, forcing him to sit. Nirei stepped closer, Sakura at his side.
“Because I’ve already made up my mind,” Nirei added softly. “I will bring you back, even if I have to tie you up and drag you.”
Suo faltered for a moment, then smiled, uncertain whether he found it amusing or suffocating.
“I… see.” There was no escaping this. Maybe this was karma. Or maybe this was simply Nirei’s anger taking shape in its own way. Together, they worked to bind him to the chair he used to sit in, ropes wrapping tightly around his body. All Suo could do was smile faintly—guilty, and strangely resigned.
Laughter broke out around them. They teased him about the marks on his face, the small cuts, the scattered bandages, like proof that his old reputation of never getting so much as a scratch had finally been shattered.
Suo smiled along with them, though for a brief moment, his gaze lowered. He felt like he deserved this. Now, he was with them again.
This was what he had wanted all along. Their efforts had brought him back, and he couldn’t stop the tears welling up in his eyes. His emotions were laid bare, as clear as glass—transparent, fragile, as if they could shatter at any moment. There was nothing he could hide behind the reflection in his pupils. Amid the noisy, laughter-filled warmth of the classroom.
Nirei simply watched, once again wearing that same smiling mask.
***
Since that night, Nirei had often found himself swallowing the sadness he felt. He did not know how to put into words the turmoil that pierced through him, as if it were pulling everything inside his heart into darkness and stripping away his certainty, leaving him standing still as though roots had grown from his feet and held him in place. He could not forget the memories he had made during his time at school. From the very first day to nearly a full semester, he had spent his days as a student of Furin. For Nirei, every day had been a precious chance to grow stronger, to become someone worthy of standing beside his friends. He carried himself by watching, observing, and piecing together what he learned from others, searching for openings so that he would not become a burden.
If he could not be useful on the battlefield, then he would lay out the path.
Even so, seeing how his friends continued to grow and become stronger than him still left a trace of frustration behind. That was where Suo had been for him, back when he was still learning how to become strong. With Suo, he learned to control his fear. With Suo, he changed from someone who could only curl up in fear into someone who could stand on his own feet and face forward without hesitation.
Everything Suo had shown him, even the simple sight of Suo standing naturally among the others, became something important to Nirei. Even though Suo had always spoken in half-answers and never allowed himself to be fully reached no matter how hard or deeply Nirei tried, there was always something solid in the way, something that kept Nirei from uncovering his past. Still, one thing Nirei believed without doubt was that Suo had always been himself. The smiles, the sincerity, and the care he showed were real.
Even then, Nirei came to understand that Suo was capable of telling lies that could hurt. He could feel it, how the fire burned beyond something he could contain.
It was still there, flickering in his chest, slowly consuming whatever remained.
"Nirei-kun."
Nirei was pulled back to reality. He looked up with a blank expression, eyes widening in surprise when he realized Suo was standing right in front of him. He had not even noticed he had drifted off. As his gaze lingered a little longer, his attention fell on the small bandage at the corner of Suo’s lips. To him, it felt unfamiliar, something he had never seen on Suo before.
"What happened, Nirei-kun?" Suo asked, his voice laced with concern.
Nirei quickly shook his head. "No, no, I’m fine," he replied in a rush.
"Then why did you suddenly go quiet?"
Nirei scratched his cheek, where a small bandage rested as well. "Um, I just thought it’s a bit strange seeing you with a bandage on your face, Suo-san."
It had only been two days since Suo returned to Furin. Maybe that was why everything still felt a little awkward between them.
Suo smiled softly, his eyes curving slightly as he nodded. "Hm, you’re right. This is thanks to Nirei-kun for landing such a precise hit."
Nirei kept his smile as he listened to Suo trying to joke about it.
"Sorry."
Suo’s smile faded just a little. "You don’t need to apologize, Nirei-kun."
In winter, there was no lingering warmth left behind by the sunset. Only the cold wind grew sharper, and night would slowly take over, just a little later than in other months. That day, they walked home together after school. Or rather, Suo had run into Nirei by chance. He had been standing absentmindedly in front of a taiyaki stall, and it was Nirei who suggested they walk home together, since they were heading in the same direction anyway. Suo had no reason to refuse.
Wrapped in warm layers, they made their way down the familiar streets they used to walk side by side. Back then, they would fill the silence with small conversations, anything that came to mind. This time, the silence lingered longer. Suo had been ready for Nirei to bombard him with questions, but the boy stayed quiet the entire way.
Suo himself did not feel like he had the right to start a conversation. Or maybe he was afraid of saying the wrong thing. It felt wrong, standing next to Nirei again, walking beside him as if nothing had happened after what he had done.
"Suo-san, what’s wrong?" Nirei asked, breaking the silence after catching a glimpse of the tension on his face.
Suo slowly slowed his pace, and Nirei matched his steps.
They stood there in silence for a moment. Suo let out a quiet breath, a faint smile forming as he turned to look at Nirei.
"I just thought… maybe you still hate me," he said softly. There was a strange hint of certainty in his voice, but his gaze dropped, unable to meet Nirei’s eyes.
Nirei paused, then tilted his head slightly, confusion clear on his face. "What do you mean, Suo-san?"
"I don’t feel like I deserve any of this… from all of you, and from you, Nirei-kun," Suo added, his voice low.
The words left Suo’s lips, and without warning, they struck Nirei cold. He spoke so quietly, as if admitting fault, as if ready to accept the blame.
"Why would you still say something like that, Suo-san?"
Suo did not respond. Even after he spoke, he could see the displeasure on Nirei’s face when he turned to look at him.
“I’m sorry, Nirei-kun—”
“There’s no need to apologize, Suo-san,” Nirei cut in without thinking, his voice rising.
His shoulders drew in, his hands clenching tightly at his sides. Nirei lifted his head, trembling but unyielding. Suo remembered that expression. It was the same anger he had seen that night.
“If you’re talking about what you did to me that night, I don’t hate you.” There was a pause. Nirei spoke calmly, though something unsteady flickered beneath his eyes. “But I don’t fully forgive you either.”
What had happened would remain in the past. Nirei understood that, yet he still could not turn away from it. He had never regretted what happened that night. He did not completely hate Suo either. But there was one thing he was certain of. He would not go back. Nirei was not angry that Suo had lied to them all this time. He had faked his home address, hidden his past, and never truly trusted Nirei. Nirei was not even angry about being beaten that night. He knew his strength was nowhere near Suo’s, and he did not blame him for that.
If anything, he blamed himself for not being strong enough, for not being perceptive enough to understand Suo. Nirei clenched his teeth until his jaw tightened. His brows furrowed, and his tired eyes lowered to avoid Suo’s gaze. His hands tightened into fists, then slowly loosened, as if he were forcing his anger to slip away before it could take hold.
On the other side, Suo fell silent. The tips of his fingers twitched as his eyes took in every small shift in Nirei’s expression and posture. It was a face he knew well. The face Nirei wore when he was hurting, angry, and helpless.
“I was angry, but it was because of what you said. You made it sound like we were never there for you, like we meant nothing. You even used that to make me hate you. And I hate that even more, Suo-san.”
Nirei looked away and lowered his voice. “You started a fire in my heart, and it’s been burning me ever since.”
Suo froze. It felt as if his heart had been pulled tight all at once. His eyes widened, his gaze trembling as it stayed fixed on Nirei. It was barely more than a whisper, something that could have been lost to the air, yet he heard it clearly. It happened beneath an empty night sky, when the suffocating air pressed down on the quiet park under the dim glow of streetlights. Nirei stood there, and Suo stood right in front of him, placing an invisible wall between them as he spoke those hollow words meant to be a goodbye. It was hard to accept, and Nirei felt irritated by the way he acted. What followed only proved that Suo had not simply left behind a physical wound, but something far worse, something that burned.
And then Nirei realized something. No matter how deeply his emotions turned and twisted, circling endlessly without an end, he began to question it. What was wrong with himself?
That was why Nirei chose to keep his distance right now. Not because he was still clinging to that night or unable to move on, but because he was afraid of what remained inside his heart, afraid that it would grow into something he could no longer control. He never said it out loud. Maybe he could not put it into words, or maybe it was something better left unsaid. Because since that night, Suo Hayato had lit a fire within him. It started small, but quickly spread through him, burning its way deeper while Suo had already walked away, leaving Nirei to endure it alone.
Nirei did not complain, nor did he turn away. He simply froze, holding onto the pain he had been given, something that made no sense, something he wished had never been real.
Since that night, what remained in Nirei’s mind was a moment completely out of his control. A moment where he never imagined Suo would leave him, leave all of them, and say goodbye on his own terms. Those twisted words stayed with him. We are nothing. They hurt far more than anything else. The physical wounds Suo left behind had already faded, nothing more than a faint trace. What truly lingered was how Suo hid his pain behind lies —that was what hurt the most.
In front of him, Nirei lowered his head. His shoulders were tense as he held his breath. His eyes fixed on the ground, slowly blurring, growing warm. When he spoke again, his voice trembled.
“So I’m the one who should apologize. Even though I was the one who asked you to come back and stay with us, I still can’t forget. I can’t just let you erase what you turned me into, Suo-san.”
From the very beginning, Nirei knew he could put those feelings out on his own. He could forget the bitterness before it all turned to ash. But he chose not to. Even if the heat hurt him, the pain was proof that he had truly grown, that he had changed and become stronger. So Nirei wanted Suo to see it. He wanted him to see the fire burning in his heart, the one Suo had left behind.
Suo did not know why his hand lifted, as if he wanted to reach out and rest it on Nirei’s shoulder. He stopped himself and pulled it back, letting it fall stiffly to his side.
Nirei had always been the easiest one to understand, and now he had become the hardest. How could it be that after everything Suo had done to him, after deliberately planting hatred in the quiet corners of Nirei’s heart, Nirei had instead broken it apart into something else, picking through it, finding the cracks within it.
Suo finally understood. The boy he once guided had already surpassed him. And for the first time, he felt relieved.
“Nirei-kun.”
A cold breeze brushed past them beneath the gray sky, yet that soft call sounded warm in his ears. It was the same voice he had heard all this time, woven into his days. When he looked up, he froze. His breath caught, his heartbeat quickened. In front of him, Suo wore a faint smile. Nirei was not sure how to describe it. It looked gentle, almost happy, yet there was something fragile in it at the same time.
Suo reached for Nirei’s hand and held it carefully. He opened his mouth —no apology left his lips.
“If that fire ever burns stronger, take me with you. I want to feel what started in you.”