The One Who Never Told | P5

34

Saying that Suzuki was tired would've been an understatement.

He had considered not going to school the following day. His body ached all over. Although the metaverse was some sort of cognitive thing, that didn't Suzuki had done more exercise than he ever had before.

It didn't matter if he had somehow tricked his brain into thinking he did it or not, he was tired nonetheless.

He let out a big yawn as he leaned against the back wall as he waited for the train to finally arrive. He blankly stared at his lit up phone screen for a moment. He was more than out of it.

"I...I made it!"

Suzuki's head turned as he heard a familiar voice, beside him was a tired Ryuji. He was clearly out of breath, and from the bags that had formed under his eyes, Suzuki could tell he didn't exactly have the best night of rest either.

Suzuki stopped leaning on the wall and better turned to face the man as he caught his breath. "Are you alright?" He asked a look of concern on his face.

Ryuji wiped the sweat off his brow and nodded. "Yeah... I slept in, so I ran without eating breakfast..." He admitted with a tired sigh.

The black haired male besides him couldn't help but chuckle a bit. He took a second to dig into his bag a bit before handing Ryuji one of the snack bars he had stuffed into the pocket. "You should probably take up running again." He pointed out as Ryuji gratefully took the snack from him.

There was a comfortable silence between the two of them for a moment before Suzuki broke it. "How's your leg...? Was it alright after yesterday?"

Ryuji munched on the bar as he leaned against the wall with Suzuki. "Yeah. It's healed a lot since then, so don't worry too much about it." Ryuji knew how Suzuki felt about the old wound. He felt guilty for it, although there was nothing either one of them could do about in at the time. It felt like so long ago, but it was no more than a year ago.

"You really think he changed?" Ryuji questioned, giving Suzuki a side glance.

Suzuki hummed as he looked straight ahead. "I hope so..." He admitted as he turned to look towards the blond. "I really, really do."

Ryuji met his gaze. "You know, you've changed a lot since track, Naka." He pointed out, a crack of a smile on his lips as he finished up the rest of the snack bar. "It's not a bad thing though! It's just... you used to be really sad." He paused for a moment and threw away his trash before returning. "It's nice to see you smile though. I haven't really seen that since middle school." He added.

Suzuki didn't say anything for a moment. Had he really known Ryuji that long? It seemed like it. He could admit that he had been happier though. Although the last week had more than enough ups-and-downs for a lifetime, it had been the first time Suzuki had felt released from the grip his father always had on him.

He was never home, and when he was, his father wasn't. It had been the first week in a long time that Suzuki didn't go home with more bruises on his poor body. He couldn't stop the smile that cracked his emotionless mask. Yeah, he definitely was a lot happier.

Without him realizing, Ryuji had caught the small smile. "Oh? Is that a smile I see?" He teased as he wrapped his arm around the smaller boy's shoulder, before pulling him closer.

"Look at you, Naka!" Ryuji laughed as he messed up Suzuki's already messy hair as he continued to tease the boy. However, Suzuki surprisingly didn't hate it.

It was a morning filled with laughter.

Before Suzuki had even realized it, lunchtime had rolled around. As usual, Suzuki found himself alone and on the rooftop. Although, he wasn't on the rooftop itself, but resting on the staircase just beside the door that led to the top. He had been minding his business, when someone approached him.

He turned his head as he saw a familiar brown haired female.

"Niiji-san..." He commented as he pulled out his earbud.

"You aren't outside today." Makoto pointed out as she looked up at the boy from her spot halfway up the staircase. "Well, I was looking for you." She admitted as she stopped next to him before crouching down to his height.

The sound buzz of the bass from Suzuki's music could be heard as he turned towards the female curiously. "How come?" He asked as he offered a bit of his store bought bento to her. It was strangely unlike her to check up on him.

Makoto shook her head, denying the food politely. "Is it true that Kamoshida is having you expelled?" She asked softly.

Suzuki was silent for a moment. Of course, it made sense that the news had also gotten to her, considering that she was the student council president. He took a piece of the last egg roll in his lunch before eating it. "Mhh, yeah..." He replied after a moment.

"There are rumors that Mr. Kamoshida has placed himself under suspension." Makoto sighed as she looked over at Suzuki. "I heard that your expulsion might be put on hold. Did you do something to Mr. Kamoshida?" She asked, a look of concern on her face.

Suzuki gave a soft chuckle and shook his head. "Not yet, but if he came to school, I just might've." He admitted, Makoto's frown deepened.

"Don't do anything stupid, Nakamura." Makoto stood up again and looked down at her old friend. "You won't be able to get into a good college at this rate, you should show more concern for your future."

Suzuki didn't spare her a glance. It was nice that she cared a bit, but college and university were always on her mind. Although, that boat had long departed for Suzuki. "You should worry about yourself, Niiji-san..." His words came out as cold as ice as Makoto left soon afterwards.

He didn't even feel like eating afterwards.

Instead, he put his half-eaten bento to the side and unlocked his phone. He began playing random apps to past the time, until the phone vibrated in his hand with a new message. It was from Ryuji.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

@ RYUJI: I'm gonna be doin' some trainin' today after school. You wanna come with?

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

He paused for a second before typing up a response. Of course he was down.