━━━━ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗝𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗗 as they watched Sakura and Sugishita clash.
Meanwhile, Suo smiled, enjoying the scene in front of him. "Nice. Wonderful. Sparks are flying!"
Your expression sulked slightly. "We're about to get free entertainment, and I don't have burger and coke to enjoy this fight."
"What's so nice about this?" Nirei's face blanched with horror as he looked at Suo and you. "You're seriously thinking about food in this situation?"
Nirei's remark got disregarded by both you and Suo as if it never existed.
"But.." Suo murmured, causing Sakura to look at him over his shoulder. "Sakura-kun, when in Sugishita-kun's presence..."
Sakura sensed an attack coming his way. He swiftly backed away before Sugishita's fist could pummel him.
"It's not wise to say "taking the top spot." Sugishita-kun has been visiting here often since middle school. His passion and talent have been recognized, and he was the only person who was allowed to say he was a Bofurin member even before entering high school and his allegiance to the current top spot is more like worship, perhaps."
"It's a bit much from a third-party perspective. He's a fanatic believer of the top of furin... And since you said you'll take that spot, well..." Suo explained, watching the fight from the sidelines.
"In other words, he admires Ume so much that it won't be a lie to say he's down so bad for him." You spoke bluntly.
Suo chuckled softly while the entire class perspired and stared at you in disbelief.
Sugishita got petrified on the spot due to shock and began to question his feelings. Whether it was admiration or love.
"You mean..." Sakura's face flushed to grasp the meaning behind your words. "He's gay?"
"Only for Ume, I guess." You nodded.
"Don't just stir the pot! Stop them!" One of the students cried out, staring at you and Suo.
Suo blinked. "Huh? Why can't you do it?"
"We can't! If you don't hurry up and stop them, that outsider gonna get killed!" He exclaimed, his voice heavy with trepidation.
"Done with your barking?" You cocked an eyebrow. "Now pipe down and just watch. There's no need to get too worked up. Sakura would be okay."
"How can you be so chill?" The student perspired at your laid-back demeanor.
Sakura's legs slipped due to shards of glass on the floor, knocking him off balance as Sugishita attempted to punch him. Before Sakura could hit the ground, he pressed both of his hands into the floor to keep his balance and avoided Sugishita's fist.
"I'm past my WWE phase, but that pose sure brings back memories." You deadpanned.
"That means you know how to do spear and Rko" The boys looked at you in awe. since it was rare to find female WWE fans in Asia.
You placed one hand on your hips and smugly flipped your hair with your other hand. "Of course."
"The thing I'd do just to make her marry me" A boy gushed in awe. His friends nodded in agreement.
"Get in line, then." Akari scoffed.
"Too bad. You whiffed." Sakura grinned and swiftly moved his leg to kick him in the chin, breaking his nose. Sugishita stumbled backward and wiped his nose with aggravation.
Sakura did some flips and stood up. He grinned smugly. "A fanatic, Huh? So you can't think for yourself and you can't decide anything on your own, huh? Someone like that can't take me down."
"Y/n stop them! You're our class rep!" A student shrieked, almost piercing your ear with his shrill screams.
'Damn, teach.' You mentally cursed your teacher for making you this class rep. Because of that, you had to deal with trouble on your first day of high school.
"Give me a break." You exhaled before approaching them.
Sakura and Sugishita were about to punch each other again.
You stopped their fists with your hands. "I believe this is enough to showcase your hidden talent. We understand that you two are hot stuff. " Your grip on their fist got tightened. "Now settle down while I'm asking nicely."
Sugishita felt shivers run down his spine just picturing Umemiya flipping over him.
"When did she get here?" Sakura pondered, taken aback by your sudden appearance between them, as if you had teleported there.
"Ah, uh... Mic check, check, check." Umemiya's goofy voice echoed through the speaker, hushing everyone in the class.
"Hey, which button should I push? Wait, it's already on? You should have told me that, jeez!"
"I did tell you!" You could hear Hiragi snapping at him.
'Poor Hiragi. He has rough.' You contemplated, feeling sympathy for him.
'What the hell?' Sakura pondered, staring at the speaker in bewilderment.
"Hey! Grats and welcome to this school!" Umemiya's shrill voice caused everyone to cover their ears to protect their eardrums from being ruptured by his piercing screams.
"Tone it down, idiot. Just talk normally!" Hiragi bellowed.
"Huh? I mean, this is my first speech." Umemiya attempted to justify his actions.
"Your regular voice is loud enough! We will get complaints from off-campus!" Hiragi hissed.
"The hell? They interrupted when things were getting good. What do they want?" Sakura grumbled with aggravation before turning himself to face Sugishita. Sakura motioned with his hands for Sugishita to come at him. "Aight, let's keep going!"
Sakura blinked in bewilderment when he noticed that everyone was listening to the speaker and no one was paying attention to him. 'What the? The entire room..' Sakura refocused his attention on the speaker. 'Who the hell is that?'
"Well... let's get back to this. I'm the bofurin rep, Hajime umemiya."
Sakura clenched his fists and grinned widely in exhilaration. 'So this is the top of Furin. The strongest guy in Furin.'
"Yeah." You nodded.
Sakura robotically turned his head to look at you, shock was still evident on his face. "H--How did you know? Can you read people's minds?"
"Seriously?" You looked at him blankly. "You're like an open book, Sakura. I don't need mind-reading skills to tell what's going on in your head."
"Umm... sorry. I forgot what I was going to say. Oh, that's right! You guys, enjoy your youth! Got that? I mean, you made it to high school! Go make lots of memories and make your lives meaningful!"
The majority of the students got perplexed by Umemiya's remark, while Sugishita nodded, earning a weird look from Sakura.
"It'd be nice to go to the beach or the mountains. By the way, I prefer the beach!"
"Wow, I could care less.' Suo smiled with closed eyes, looking completely uninterested. Suddenly realization dawned upon him. 'Wait, beach. That means...'
The vivid image of you in [s/c] swimsuit was imprinted in Suo's mind as a portrait of perfection, the way it hugged your delicate curves and teasingly revealed glimpses of what lay beneath took his breath away, leaving him utterly mesmerized by your ethereal beauty that he could stare for eternity without averting his gaze, along with some unspoken desire.
Unbeknownst to you, Suo slowly opened his one eye and cast a sideways glance at you. He could feel the faint warmth of blush on his cheeks, barely visible but impossible to ignore. 'Unless you come.'
"Nobody asked about your preferences, Ume." You chuckled softly. 'He's so silly.'
"All right. we'll all head out to the beach this summer! Let's eat shaved ice!" Umemiya's cheerful voice abruptly became darker. "If anyone looks at Y/n weirdly. They're so dead."
"I guess My life expectancy is going to drop in a few weeks." Suo stated casually, startling you.
You looked at him with concern. "Where did that come from? Are you sick or something?"
Suo smiled softly, pressing his finger against his lip. "secret"
"Now I'm curious." You experienced a rush of insatiable curiosity to find out.
"You're such a sinner, Y/N." Akari snickered from beside you. "If something happens to Suo, we will hold you accountable for it." Kiyoko simply nodded in agreement.
"Bitch, what?" You looked at them, stick marks twitching on your temples.
"You heard us, right Suo?" Kiyoko asked playfully.
"I won't mind at all." Suo smiled.
'What a good boy!' Akari and Kiyoko exclaimed mentally before patting your back proudly. "You hit the jackpot there"
"These three." You could feel your brows furrowing in irritation.
Nirei quivered at Umemiya's dead serious tone. "Sudden Death Threat." He blinked with peculiar expression. "Wait, shaved ice?"
Sugishita hovered over Nirei's alarmed figure with a pissed expression and clutched his hair tightly. "Was any of that weird?"
Nirei shook his head fervently. "Oh not at all, that's preposterous! Your god and Buddha's grateful words make me extremely delighted!"
"Oh, I just said all outta habit. But with this many guys, I'm sure some won't get along. I'm sure a lot of stuff will happen too. Though, surely nobody's gonna get into slugfests on the first day!" Umemiya remarked.
Everyone in the classroom turned their attention to Sakura and Sugishita, who had been fighting earlier. Sakura remained unfazed, while Sugishita aggressively wiped the blood from his nose with his arm.
"I won't tell you guys to get chummy, but y'all get along, okay?"
Sugishita nodded at Umemiya's statement.
"You can wipe the blood off your nose, but everyone saw you fight." Suo stated with a small smile on his lips.
"That's why you need to completely wipe evidence Sugishita. Remember we live in a world where crimes dissolve into thin air if there's not a scrap of evidence or a single soul to testify against you." You remarked.
"You're so scary, Y/n-san." Everyone flinched, grasping the meaning of your words.
"In other words, You'll remain innocent if no one can prove you guilty." Suo innocently described your words in a simple sentence.
"Don't join her, Suo!" Students exclaimed simultaneously.
"I guess her persona is rubbing off on him so badly." Kiyoko and Akari deadpanned.
"What?" Sakura furiously pointed his finger at Sugishita. "He's the one who attacked first!"
"But you were the one who made him do it, Sakura." You pointed out.
"Ha?" Sakura frowned and glared at you for siding with someone else. But in reality, you simply told him the truth.
"Anyway, I know I've to say at least this. You guys, protect the town. The name given to us is Bofurin. Guardians of Furin. Live up to that name. Protect people, their property, and their beliefs. Protect everything that you value. That's the only rule here!" Umemiya clarified.
"Yes, sir!" You and the rest of the class, excluding Sakura, exclaimed together.
"That's it! All right, I'm leaving the rest to you guys! Okay, I'm done. let's go get some grub!" Umemiya chirped, making others sweatdrop.
"You're still broadcasting!" Hiragi shrieked.
"Wicked! Umemiya-san is awesome!" Students began whispering among themselves.
'It's not like he's standing right in front of us. What's this sense of solidarity?' Sakura pondered with stupefaction. 'Would simply being a strong fighter do this much? Umemiya, what kind of guy is he?'
"Hey, both of you." Suo called, appearing between Sakura and Sugishita, making them flinch at his unexpected appearance. "Don't you need to make amends?"
"I know! Perhaps shake hands and call a truce. That's the spirit of youth. " Suo smiled, clasping both of his hands together in handshake.
"Why should I? We haven't made amends to begin with!" Sakura pointed his finger at Sugishita. "We haven't even settled the score! He's the one who assaulted me!"
"Sakura-san, why is your face so red?" Nirei asked from behind and got smacked on the head by Sakura.
"Sakura is just super sensitive to---" Sakura quickly covered your mouth with his hand from behind, silencing you completely. You could feel his heartbeats on your back due to his proximity to you.
"There's no need to let the whole world know about that. Keep your mouth shut." Sakura whispered into your ear. So only you could hear him.
"Sakura-kun." Suo's expression darkened when he noticed Sakura's proximity to you. He didn't like how Sakura casually invaded your personal space. "You're too close."
"I guess Sakura doesn't understand the concept of "personal space." No wonder he's so casual about doing this." You murmured against his palm.
The way your warm breath tickled his skin as you spoke against his palm sent chills runs down his spine, and his intimacy with you caused heat to rise up to his cheek.
Sakura got flustered and embarrassed, so he quickly let you go. "I-I was just tryin' to hush her, nothing more." He tried to justify his actions, but the blush on his cheeks led Suo and others to doubt his statements.
"Why is your face so red, Sakura-san?" Nirei enquired.
Sakura punched him in the head. "Who cares about my damn face?"
"How can a guy who can't even do something this simple become Top of Furin? Sakura, if you want to be at the top, something like this should be trivial." You stated, startling him.
"Sugishita-kun. If Umemiya-san heard that you attacked and punched your classmate, what do you think he'd say?" Suo gave him a questioning look.
"Think about how your actions would hurt Ume. He would be devastated and ashamed if he found out you were involved in such a situation, Sugishita. Do you think your poor heart can handle such looks?" You remarked, causing Sugishita to freeze on the spot.
"Gaslighting at its finest." The entire class muttered simultaneously.
"But in a good way." Akari and Kiyoko snickered.
Sugishita slowly extended his hand towards Sakura.
'We're shaking hands?' Sakura stared at Sugishita's hand in bewilderment. 'For real'
"Sakura-san? H-Hurry! Take his hand!" Nirei whispered.
You noticed Sakura was still staring at his hand. He seemed hesitant to grab Sugishita hand. "Don't be so shy, just do it. It's just a handshake. What are you getting so scared of?"
"I'm not! Just watch." Sakura snapped at you before shifting his focus to Sugishita. 'I just need to grab his hand. Not slap it away or fling it aside.' Sakura slowly stepped forth and extended his hand in trepidation. 'Touching someone else outside of a fight...'
Their hands met together with a small clap. 'Feels strange.' Sakura contemplated. They both averted their gaze, unable to face each other due to the awkwardness. The rest of the class looked relieved to see they had finally reconciled.
"Great. Nice! This is enjoying youth."
Suo smiled proudly at them, hands interlocked behind his back.
"So real." You nodded. "Even though they are trying to break each other's hands in order to determine who's the strongest. Kinda look like I'm watching rivalry between cat and dog."
"Yeah." Suo nodded.
Sakura and Sugishita immediately let go of each other's hands to feel the amount of damage their grip was causing them and turned their backs on them. They both looked down at their hands and pondered simultaneously. 'Is he a gorilla, or what?'
Suddenly, the entire class threw themselves at Sakura, knocking him face-first to the ground.
Sakura sat on the ground and glared at them. "OW! What the hell are...?"
A student cheerfully patted Sakura's back, who was in a chokehold from another student. "You're really something! You actually landed a blow on sugishita!"
"That kick was awesome!"
"You're so flexible."
"I bet he can walk while doing the bridge."
"I can do that, too!"
'Now that I think about it...It's been nothing but stuff like this since I came to this town...' Sakura paused, recalling past events.
The student who had put him in a chokehold noticed Sakura's sudden quietness. "What's wrong? You're quiet."
An alarmed student crouched slightly to look at Sakura. "You didn't strangle him unconscious, did you?"
Sakura felt his lips curl into a faint smile, unnoticed by everyone except you.
'At least, he's slowly opening himself up.' The slight development of Sakura's character made you smile, even though it was subtle at first.
Suo couldn't bear the sight of you lavishing attention on someone else besides him. His smile was strained, masking the turmoil within him, and his hand longed to cover your eyes. So you could never see anyone but him with those affectionate gazes. However, the mere fact that you weren't his prevented him from covering your eyes and violating friendship boundaries.
"You seem to be very fond of him, Y/n." Suo smiled with closed eyes but you could tell his smile wasn't pleasant.
"That's not true." You quickly refused.
"He's just fun to hang out with."
"I see." Suo felt a wave of relief wash over him when he realized there was no hint of lying in your tone.
Sakura jolted out of his chokehold and punched the guy in the chin, causing him to rotate in midair. "You think I would go down that easily?!"
The poor boy landed face-first on the ground.
'The human body is much warmer than I thought.' Sakura contemplated.
𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 5 𝐌𝐀𝐘 2024