Chapter Text
Sakura didn’t know what to expect when they widened their patrol areas like this. It was a divide and conquer operation—cover as much ground as possible without weakening the strength of any one patrol group too greatly. And they had been successful in that, at least.
The real goal of these new patrol assignments, though, was yet unrealized—
They hadn’t been able to find Suo.
Not even a trace of him.
Honestly, it was infuriating. How the hell could one guy just up and vanish so quickly and so thoroughly?
“This way, Sakura-san,” Nirei said, guiding them down a winding set of narrow streets. The streetlights were sparse and dimming at this hour and stretch of Makochi, though a few shops and homes had lights on that illuminated the way in a dingy yellow glow.
Sakura nodded and followed, glancing at Nirei as the boy reviewed his notebook. He assumed Nirei had written the directions for their new patrol route and was using them to guide them both now. Nirei was good at that kind of thing, and neither of them had been anywhere near this part of Makochi before.
When Nirei looked forward, eyes keenly open, Sakura did the same. Dark clouds blotted the sky, bringing murky shadows and the promise of rain. Sunset wasn’t for a while, but the gloomy atmosphere encroached upon Sakura’s mind such that he couldn’t help but think. It was those same incessant thoughts that kept him from sleeping or eating or just functioning normally as of late.
Why the hell did you do this, Suo?
It was as if Suo had just disappeared from the face of the earth entirely in less than three days. And weeks later, they still hadn’t found anything to suggest he was still here, still somewhere within reach.
But no matter how Sakura’s chest ached, he continued searching. Continued hoping that something, no matter how small, would appear. There had to be something left of Suo besides the love and anger and frustration and worry and care that remained in the hearts of Furin.
Suo couldn’t just exist in their memories. It wasn’t an option. Not until Sakura had the chance to talk to him. Nirei had asked, pleaded for Sakura to help him bring back Suo.
They would find him. They would make him talk.
Admittedly, Sakura had wanted to beat Suo black and blue when they found Nirei in the park that night. He still did somewhat, at the very least to knock some sense into him, if nothing else. But more than anything, Sakura needed to find Suo so that they could talk.
Sakura wouldn’t let Suo leave like this. It was weird and hurtful in ways Sakura didn’t have all the right words for that Suo thought his shitty escape plan would work. That wasn’t what Bofurin was about. Suo had been one of the loudest, strongest voices in teaching Sakura that. So, really, it wasn’t Suo’s choice to just leave like he did.
If only they could find the bastard to get that through his thick skull!
“Which way, Nirei?” Sakura asked as they approached another fork in the road. Seriously, this place was like a maze. No wonder there was hardly anyone out here.
“It should be a left,” Nirei replied. To Sakura, this meant: Definitely go left. So, he did, Nirei close at his side.
Suddenly, though, Sakura stopped. He put his arm out in front of Nirei, stopping them in their tracks. It nearly knocked the boy over because he was looking through his notebook to determine their next move in this back-alley labyrinth.
“Wh—Sakura-san? What are—”
“Stop.”
Nirei did. He and Sakura stood frozen, quietly bracing for something that the grade captain had apparently sensed. Just as Nirei was about to whisper-ask Sakura what was wrong, he heard it too.
Footsteps.
Hushed, but rushing. Like shadows perfectly out of sight, an untraceable but felt presence. Nirei had to strain his ears to get a better listen.
There was his own heartbeat, and voices and words he had never heard before. But he knew the venom behind them well. These were words spat with hatred.
“You damn brat.”
“What would shixiong say at the state of you?”
The first voice snickered in response.
“Pathetic.”
The word was spat with such vitriol that it made Nirei’s skin crawl. Sakura was still alert next to him, arm still outstretched, but his eyes looked like a predator watching for prey.
Those hushed footsteps moved again, barely crunching gravel beneath them in the abandoned alley. Nirei realized then that these people were trained.
But what could they want with this far-off corner of Makochi? What kind of hatred could draw them here on a night like tonight, even under the threat of rain and the rising moon?
“I thought you’d learned your lesson the first time, but I guess you just learned to hide it better.”
Another sneering, spiteful sound followed. Then, another voice. There had been two or three already, and Nirei didn’t recognize any of them, but this one froze his blood instantly. Because he did know it.
“Haven’t we had enough of this?”
Nirei’s heart skipped a beat.
Suo.
His voice was… unnatural. Not the light and airy melody Sakura and Nirei had grown familiar with. It lacked its usual musicality, its teasing lilt. It felt wrong.
Wrong, and… strained?
“It’s not your decision, or mine. It’s shifu’s,” Suo rasped. There was a controlled edge to his next words. “Or did you forget?”
The strangers snarled again.
One of them spat, “You’re a disgrace.”
For a second, Suo laughed. It was short, bitter, and entirely sardonic. It sounded like he was struggling to get enough air.
The next second, there was a terrible crunching sound from beyond the corner of the next alley.