Chapter Text
“SAKURA-SAN!! Just stay there! We can do it on our own!!”
Two days had passed since Furin defeated the Noroshi group led by Endo Yamato and Chika Takiishi, and Makochi Town had been restored to peace, but there had been some property damage caused by some thugs.
Now we, the first and second years of Furin, were working together to repair the town.
“Nire-kun is right Sakura-kun, shouldn’t a injured person be in bed?” A boy wearing an eyepatch smiled as he walked over and snatched back the repair toolbox.
Of course, protecting and restoring the town was the responsibility of every person in town, not just Furin’s students, but there were still a few people who shouldn’t be here and were shamelessly staying.
“Don’t be stupid! I’m perfectly fine. Give it back!” Another boy shouted, his face covered in bandages, his legs seemingly unsteady. He was one of the key figures in the recent Great Fires of Extinction - Sakura Haruka, who defeated Noroshi's Endo Yamato.
"No way Sakura-san! We're happy that you're here but you don't need to do anything! Go sit over there and rest." The boy with sunny blond hair pushed Sakura's back. His face was covered in paint and dirt.
"Gr..uh..." Sakura's face twisted but he still let his friend Nirei push him away.
"Haha, there's no need to be so upset Sakura-kun, there's still a lot of work to restore this town, so even if you've fully recovered, there's still some for you to do." Still with that calm and wise attitude, Suo tried to comfort the stubborn class president of his class.
"..."
Sakura stood in a corner, sulking as he watched his classmates and second-year seniors work hard to repair a corner of the town. His thoughts began to wander, thinking about the time his classmates stood up to defend the bridge, then his fight with Endo, then Umemiya. He was lost in his thoughts, not paying attention to his surroundings.
"Ahh! Sakura-chan! Be careful!"
!!!
A bucket of paint fell from the roof near where he was standing, he reacted in surprise but only dodged the bucket and the dirty paint splashed all over his shoes and pants.
"Ugh..."
There was a moment of silence, no one dared to speak, all eyes nearby were on the two-toned haired boy.
"HEY!! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING??!" He shouted angrily, pointing to the roof where that bucket fell. There, Kiryuu and Tsugeura were repainting the graffiti-stained walls.
"Oh, sorry Sakura. I don't know when the bucket fell."
"Geez!! You had one job! AND couldn't do it properly!" he angrily shouted.
Sakura didn't bother arguing with them anymore, and annoyingly walked away. Sitting in a quiet corner, he cursed under his breath as he took off his shoes and shook off the water. His signature black shoes were now covered in dirty paint stains and the smell of dirty water made him frown even more.
Sakura held the shoes that he had been wearing for who knows when and stared at them.
'When did I get these?'
These shoes had been with him since before he set foot in Makochi Town. They had been present in every battle he fought ever since he joined Furin.
'Huh...They're indeed......durable.'
He continued to look at it, the more he looked, the more he felt like he had forgotten something. Something important that he had forgotten for a long time. Then slowly a figure appeared in his mind, this person was a head shorter than him. The face was... too blurry, he couldn't remember. But he remembered that person had directly shoved a relatively large box at him and then ran away.
-//-
"T-This is for you! Happy birthday!"
Sakura just stood there, eyes wide open, his brain unable to process what had just happened. He stood there like a statue watching that figure run away. When he could no longer see that figure, he finally looked down at the box he had been holding. It was a box simply wrapped in wrapping paper, with a small bow in the middle.
'? What is this?' He was curious
Opening it with curiosity, inside was a pair of black sneakers with white soles that looked very neat and comfortable.
-//-
'! 'Is it a birthday present?' Sakura frowned, recalling the memory of him receiving the shoes in his hands.
'... I got a present?' He was confused, scratching his head trying to remember who gave it to him.
"....ra-san..!"
"Sakura-san!!"
"Woahh!!" Sakura jumped, causing the shoes he was holding to fall.
"W-What's wrong with you guys? Can't you talk normally??" He quickly turned around, pointing at Suo and Nirei. His heart was pounding as if someone had caught him doing something bad.
"Isn't Sakura-kun the most abnormal one so far?" Suo raised his eyebrows, tilting his head to look at Sakura.
"Suo-san is right Sakura-san! You were so absent-minded today, we were really worried."
"Also... we've called you so many times, but you're just sitting there staring at your shoes. Is it because they're dirty? I didn't know Sakura-kun was a clean freak! Haha.."
'Suo-san....' Nirei sweated.
"W-What!! I didn't look at anything! Not at all!!" The two-toned haired boy blushed, jumping up and denying it all.
"You're done with today's work, huh.. That's why you're so leisurely annoying." Sakura said and picked up his shoes and put them on even though they were dirty.
"I'm going home. Goodbye" he said, putting his hands in his pockets and walking towards his rented home.
".... Ah... yeah, see you later...I guess..." Nirei said in confusion.
He and Suo stood there watching their class president, walking home alone. They couldn't help but think.
'There must be something bothering him...'