ββΒ°βι²ι’¨ι΄ βΒ°ββ
ββΒ°βι²ι’¨ι΄ βΒ°ββ
βThey wonβt understand a thing, until you beat it into them.
Suo looks at the Shishitoren members with a smile, his tassels swaying as he moves his head. Quickly, the one with the hat walks up and yanks on Suoβs gakuran with a cackle. βThen why donβt YOU try it, Punk?β
βHeyβ¦β Tomiyama interjects βYouβre not the one whoβs going to face that kid.β
βStand down,β He orders, a threatening aura surrounding the leader. The order makes the two Shishitoren flinch and quickly walk away.
βOkay, Letβs go! Next, Next!! Whoβs up next?βΒ
βGreat. Iβll go andββ Sakura gets cut off by Suo.
βDonβt be dumb. Based on the order, Iβm next,β Suo informs him.
βWHOβRE YOU CALLING DUMB?!β Sakura yells.
Suo turns his head to face the anxious man-bun guy who is nervously biting at his nails. βYou game, little baby?β Suo teases the male. βYou seem pretty stressed. Why donβt we do a bit of exercise to loosen up those muscles, hm?β He smiles.
Kanuma stands up, getting out of his seat and walking towards the stage. Turning around in his seat, Tomiyama cheers βYEAH! NUMA-CHAN, GET HIM!β
βY-YEAH! KANUMA, TEACH THAT KID A LESSON!!β other Shishitoren members call out to him, wanting to get a rise on the Bofurin member and hype up the anxious teen whoβs about to fight.
βSakura-kun,β Suo stands up while he addresses the rambunctious male.
βWhen you said you came here to usurp the topβ¦ I did think you were pretty stupid.β
βYOUβVE BEEN TRYINβ TO PICK A FIGHT WITH ME FOR A WHILE NOW! SURE, LETβS GO ASSHOLE!!β Sakura sits up angrily, making bot Nirei and Ryuu go to calm him down, Ryuu stretching his left arm across Sakuraβs torso.
βI mean, Iβm sorry,β Suo laughs at himself βI thought those were just empty threats.β
βBut what I found is a solid CORE in both your words and actions.
And that makes me think youβre pretty cool.β
Sakura looks at Suo with wide-ish eyes at the compliment.Β Suo turns his head slightly to look at Sakura, cherry-brown hair flowing gracefully along with his tassel earrings, a handsome smile on his face.
βSo, in order for me not to lose to youβ¦ Iβm going to give it my all, too!βΒ
βJβ¦JUST HURRY YOUR ASS OVER THERE!!β Sakura turns with a bright blush on his cheeks before Suo walks away and up onto the stage.
βSo, about that kidβ¦β
β...Whatβs his deal?βΒ Sakura asks.
βOh, Yeah! Kanuma-san, right?β Nirei flips through his book, trying to find the Shishitoren member.
βIβm not asking about the loser!β
βHuh? You mean Suo-san?!βΒ
βHeβs been famously strong ever since his junior high days,β Nirei explains.
βDuh! I can tell heβs strong just from lookinβ at him! Donβt you have anything else?!β
βWHAT?! YOU CAN TELL JUST FROM LOOKING?!β
βWHO CARES ABOUT THAT RIGHT NOW?!β
β...β Nirei stays silent for a bit before continuing. βWell, about Suo-sanβ¦ Heβs famous, but there arenβt a lot of detailsβ¦ Not about him, or exactly who he won against.β
βWhat?! Howβs that even possibleβ¦?β
Ryuu stays quiet, enjoying the interaction beside him. Heβs enjoying listening to their voices as it distracts him from the upcoming fight he has to go through. He breathes, holds it, and releases.
βIβve heard his name quite a lotβ¦ But I donβt know nothinβ βbout the kidβ¦ he went to a different junior high.β Hiragi cuts into their conversation.
βI donβt know much about Suo either. But..β Umemiya smiles up at the stage βIt was clear to me when I met himβ¦ No question, this guyβs a gentleman.β
Up on the stage, Kanuma bites at his nails nervously before speaking, keeping his hand near his mouth. βThanks to you assholesβ, Arimaβs turned into a joke,β He says.
βOh?β Suo smiles like he always does, his eye closed βYouβre mad for your friend, huh?β
βThatβsβ¦β He pauses, remembering what happened when they first met at the entrance of the Shishitoren land. βQuite different front the first time we met.β He teases.
βArima and I were always together,β Kanuma became more and more anxious. βAnyone would be pissed if their bro got beat into the groundβ¦β
βHahaha,β Suo laughs at the situation βSo basically, you only complain when YOUβRE the victim.β
βYouβre not any different from a whiny child.β
Ryuu shakes his head. βThis guyβs a gentleman my ass, heβs scolding the dude like heβs a kid right now,β he thinks.
βYou must have had it so hardβ¦ Little boy.β
Suo teased, the air surrounding him becoming threatening, the smell of Sandalwood and Bergamot invading his nose
βDoes that face really belong to someone whoβs supposed to be a gentleman?β Sakura thought as he, and the rest of the guys, watched the interaction.
At that, Kanuma snaps before rushing forward and aiming a punch towards Suo, only for it to hit his palm, the fist being grabbed by Suoβs quick hand, and pushed away; the Bofurin student dodging gracefully and getting behind the βlionβ. Such a quick movement from Suo made the audience watch in amazement.
βSorryβ¦β He sighs as he turns βbut tantrums never look cuteβ¦ Well, not outside of grade school, that is,β Suo teases. βNowβ¦β Suo brings his left hand up, his right hand coming to comfortably sit on his back βWhy donβt you come with meβ¦ and take a step up the staircase to adulthood?β
As he asks that, he smiles.
This time, his smile doesnβt reach his eyes.
In front of the stage, the audience mumbled and muttered about what just happened.
βIn a flash, he got behind me?!β Kanuma asks himself βThereβs something up with his movementsβ¦ In that caseβ¦β Kanuma takes a stance.
βI just needa hit him fast enough so that he canβt dodge!!β and he pounces, fist forward, which is again; only grabbed by Suoβs swift and gentle hand before Kanuma is spun around, being dragged by his hold on the Suoβs pant leg, and slammed to the floor, which entices a loud grunt from the male in orange.
βHeh heh heh,β Suo chuckles as he stands above the fallen male βThat was a nasty fall,β he teases with a closed eyed smile.
Kanuma blushes in embarrassment, quickly sitting up and grabbing Suoβs loose pants while calling out a βYOU ASSHOLE!β
Suo stays silent as he quickly spins the piece of clothing thatβs being grasped around his leg, locking the male's arm before he kicks him away with that same leg. Ryuu huffs a smile, looking quite proud at the quick movements of the cherry-brunette male.
The Shishitoren member hits the ground harshly with another grunt, sitting up instantly, his face becoming a brighter pink every second due to embarrassment. βIβve got a question for youβ¦β Suo starts βWhat do you thinkβ¦ is the key piece you need to become an adult?β he asks.
Kanuma stares upΒ at the smiling teen in curiosity before gritting his teeth and dashing towards his humiliator. βQUIT SPOUTING BULL-SHITβ¦ THAT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS!!β He yells.
βW-Wowβ¦β Nirei stares in amazement βIt looks likeβ¦ his opponentβs just falling on his ownβ¦β He says as Suo pushes Nakuma down to the floor again.
Yelling came from behind them.
βGET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!!β
βSTOP FOOLINβ AROUND!!β
βYOUβVE GOTTA BE SHITTINβ ME KANUMAAA!!!β
βyOUβR NOT TAKINβ THIS SERIOUSLY AT ALL!!β
βThey donβt even knowβ¦ ME?! FOOLING AROUND?!β Kanuma grits his teeth in anger and embarrassment, a vein pulsing at his temple. βEven if I push, if I pull, or if I grab himβ¦ Heβd turn it around on me in the blink of an eye.β
βIF YOU GUYS GOT COMPLAINTSβ¦ THEN YOU TRY TO FIGHT THIS GUY!!
Umemiya laughs βHeβs not just kind, is he?β
βThere isnβt even a fragment of kindness in this,β Sakura denies βAll he's got is a rotten, garbage personality.β
βHuh?β Nirei turns to Sakura, confused.
Ryuu nods, closing his eyes.
βHeβs keepinβ the guy weaker than him alive in a living hell,β Sakura explains βHeβs just making a fool of his opponent.β
They watch as Suo swiftly pushes Kanuma down to the floor again.
βThe poor guyβs forced to face the overwhelming difference in their strengths over and over,β Sakura frowns. βIf it were me up there, Iβd rather be killed than let That go on.β
βI-I see. Thatβs a bit too brutal.β
βNot like Iβd end up in his shoes.β
βHeβs embarrassing himβ¦β Ryuu starts, making Sakura and Nirei look at him βHumiliation takes control of many emotions, which makes Nakumaβs moves become more and more desperate, so heβs able to feel accomplished.β
βEach desperate move becomes more and more readable for Suo, which clouds Nakumaβs thoughts with more shame and embarrassment,β Ryuu looks at Sakura and Nirei from the corner of his eye before looking back at the fight. Ryuu re-crosses his left leg over his right leg, crossing his arms, and leaning back as he watches the fight.
βWellβ¦β Hiragi says βIβm sure he has his own thoughts after watchinβ the Shishitoren punks.β
βBut Iβll admit Iβm surprised to see him get so emotional.β
βI mean,β Hajime grabs their attention. βThis is probably one of those cases, right?β
βWhere someone close byβ¦ is drawing out that side of him,β Hajime finishes.
Nirei stares up at the stage, remembering Suoβs words to Sakura before he went up to the stage.
βHeyβ¦β Sakura leans forward.
βYeah?β Nirei responds.
βWhat do you think I gotta do to make him fight me seriouslyβ¦?β Sakura asks.
βHUh? Why would you?β
Up on the stage, Suo makes Kanuma fall to the ground again, Shishitoren members in the crowd yelled and complained as they watched the repeating scene.
βHEY, GET THE HELL UP!!β
βSTOP SCREWINβ AROUND, KANUMA!β
βARE YOU EVEN BEING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!β
Kanuma ran around the stage, before doubling down, hands on his knee as he breathed heavily before running forward towards Suo again. His punches are dodged quickly, a calm but taunting smile on Suoβs face as he dodges or blocks each punch, pushing the teen in orange back and making him fall and making him get up again.
Kanuma jumps back before going to punch Suo again, only to get smacked and then punched on the side, pushing him back each time. Suo grabs Kanumaβs wrist and throws him to the floor, making the Shishitoren member grunt, before heβs made to get up again and then thrown to the floor again.
Kanuma gets up quickly, going in to tackle Suo, only for Suo to grab him and majestically spin around and throw Kanuma to the floor again.Β
βI have to give it to that Shishitoren memberβ¦β Ryuu says βHeβs quite determined!β
Kanuma throws another punch at Suo, only for Suo to dodge it and quickly move himself behind Kanuma, grabbing at the hood of Kanumaβs hoodie, spinning him around before bringing his arm back and knocking him in the neck with it, before Kauma is thrown down on the ground again. He stays still there for a while, silently panicking at the loud call outs
Kanuma looks into the crowd, glancing at where his leader and second-in-command are sitting. What he sees is a disappointed Togame and an asleep Tomiyama. The sight made him shudder in fear, his brain creating image after image of him in the place of Saruwatari, being beaten and his baseball jacket being taken away by Togame.
βHuh? No wayβ¦ at this rate, I'm gonnaβ¦β
βAbout timeβ¦β Suo interrupts, making Kanuma gasp. βYouβre starting to figure out the answer. I can see those gears turning,β Suo teases, tilting his head to the side.
βNoβ¦Not againβ¦β Kanuma shakes βThisβ¦ isnβt happeninβ.β
βTHIS ISNβT HAPPENING! THIS ISNβT HAPPENING! NOT TO ME!β
Kanuma stands up, quickly turning and rushing to throw a punch at Suo like he has been trying for the past few, long, minutes, yelling out in frustration; only to be stopped by the bottom of Suoβs kung fu shoe.
βWhy donβt Iβ¦β Suo smirks βTry guessing what youβre thinking right now?β
Kanuma freezes, sweating with his lips trembling.
βYouβre overlapping the image of the man you once laughed atβ¦ with your own self.β
βTHATβS the answer to my questionβ¦ What you need to become an adult isβ¦ The Power of Imagination.β
Kanuma pushes himself away, falling on his ass with a THUD and a scream of fear. Suo looks down at him with a serious face before he opens his arms. βNowβ¦ After youβve done it once, youβll be on your way to success!β Suo smiles βSo, before you forget how it feels, let's move on to the next step!β
βWhat do you think is necessaryβ¦ in order to strengthen that imagination?β Kanuma stares at Suo, sweating and hair a mess in fear.
βWell,β Suo brings his hand up, pointing up βThe answer isβ¦ to make your imagination..β Suo smiles at the male βInto a Reality.β
Suo gets into a fighting position, making Kanuma freak out and call out a shaky βWβ¦WAIT!β
From the corner of Ryuuβs eye, Togame stands up. βAll right, stop,β Togame calls out βThatβsβ¦ enough.β
βSorry, eyepatch-kun. Can you step down?β
βAaAhβ¦ I, UhH,β Kanuma trembles out, βWh-whyβ¦?β
βDonβt embarrass us any further,β Togame scolds βOr, I guessβ¦ Itβs not really an embarrassment anymoreβ¦β
βSince youβre off the team now.β
Those words shatter Kanuma, his dreams, his heart, his everything.
Suo steps forward, face serious, and he walks away.
βTo become an adultβ¦ means that you have to engage in other peopleβs feelings. Thatβs where youβll need both imagination and experience.β
βYouβveβ¦ managed to take at least one step up those stairs.β
Suo says as he walks down the stairs into the audience.Β