WINDBREAKER SUO ARC (209-213) ANALYSIS+ SPECULATIONS FT. NIREI!!🎐🫖📝🌸
I'd like to explain this moment since a lot of people are only focusing on the part that nirei saw through suo when he SAW his pained expression and landed the punch and while that is true, the more important point is actually that: nirei clearly stated this "it WASN'T just the moment when I landed the punch but during the WHOLE TIME that I could feel it" "that suo san was SUFFERING"
Everyone else in the class had already believed suo's lies and were shaken up after simply listening to nirei's account of what had happened between him and suo. which is valid considering everyone knew of suo and nirei's closeness so even NIREI ending up like that and then those words are enough to shake anyone up. Anyone BUT NIREI. Because he, who was literally the one who had those harsh words and lies spoken to his face in person and gotten brutally beaten up was still the one defending suo. Still the one who believed suo. The one who UNDERSTOOD suo. Which makes nirei being the only one meeting suo instead of literally ANYONE ELSE in their class make SENSE. it explains EVERYTHING. No matter what suo does or says, nirei will be the ONE who will SEE THROUGH IT ALL AND WILL ACTIVELY SEEK HIS TRUE SELF OUT, the TRUTH out, TEARING AWAY HIS LIES AND MASKS. Which makes the theory of suo somewhere deep down wanting to send a signal of help, smh, wishing for it to reach despite his desperately put up fake cold exterior (cuz he has no choice) make sense why meeting nirei would be best. (Aside from his pure love and care for nirei and him really just wanting to see him one last time) SUO TRUSTS NIREI. AND BELIEVES IN HIM TO UNDERSTAND HIM DESPITE EVERYTHING. NIREI is the one who he can trust to send his cry for HELP "please save me"
AND NIREI TRUSTS SUO. BELIEVES IN THE LITTLE INSTANCES OF SUO'S REALITY THAT HE'S SEEN AND FELT. TRUST IS SIMPLE AND YET COMPLEX cuz not everyone can have it. And this is what suo and nirei's bond has. And what ultimately the furin trio's bond has too. All sakura needed was a push from nirei, from someone he TRUSTED. to help him TRUST his other friend. Which is where nirei plays the center role by pulling both sakura and suo together to keep the trio up and together
Even before seeing that broken expression of suo's nirei had been trying to break suo's wall cuz he could SEE that suo's words, actions and smiles were all FAKED. That smth was clearly wrong. That his emotions were not aligning with what suo was trying to come off as. That everything was contradicting itself. And all this went on in nirei's head even tho he was getting brutally beat up by the person he considered so close. NIREI clearly understood even after all that experience which would've pushed ANYONE away, that suo's plan of pushing them away and making them hate him or lose trust in him wouldve succeeded if it was ANYONE else, that for some reason, suo was pushing him away. For some reason, he was hiding his emotions and what was troubling/hurting him until the end. Which is exactly why nirei SNAPPED at him- "STOP SMILING!"
because he doesnt want to see that fake smile, he does not want those lies, he does not want suo to run away, to push him away, to PRETEND everything is okay the way it is, that him leaving school is "not a big deal". which is why nirei got mad at him and immediately threw a PUNCH at him. TWICE
"we aren't anything" and nirei got pissed off cuz he knew suo was lying and even after nirei so clearly showed concern was not opening up to him, even until the end. he was smiling, all fake. and even when he was laughing and trying to ACT cold "sorry, I don't have a handkerchief"
so basically nirei was pissed off and cried NOT cuz he believed suo. It's actually the opposite. Its BECAUSE he DIDN'T BUY HIS BULLSHIT AT ALL (he already understood suo, refused his lies and saw through him, his real emotions like that. What witnessing this expression after his punch did was SOLIDIFY it, CONFIRM HIS DOUBTS and STRENGTHEN HIS RESOLVE OF HELPING SUO AND SEEKING HIM OUT IF EVEN BY FORCE)
So the fact that suo kept hiding his troubles is what actually ANGERED him. which is why it makes sense why nirei was the one who saw him last. Idt anyone else would've read suo the way he did. Not even sakura BECAUSE sakura wouldn't be able to handle that "alone". When he was faced with this situation he needed nirei and kiryu's help to be back on his feet which is completely understandable and valid. He obviously trusts suo BUT it's just that after everything he's been through (and like me, cuz I've personally been through smth similar) I think he still has abandonment issues/trauma deep within, his trust in the friendship was shaken for a moment which makes sense since everything is new to him. He's never had a friend leave him so this happening would obviously make him doubt, feel shaken. If even for a moment. So he needed nirei to pull him back up.
Nirei otoh is imo mentally one of the strongest among them. Aside from being highly observant and loyal, his determination and will are so strong that no matter what he faces, once he's decided smth, nothing can break that. Which is exactly why sakura needs him by his side which is why I believe nirei was the best person to initially face suo. Others would've gotten thrown off by his fake words and especially if they'd gotten physical. But it's NIREI'S unwavering inner strength that makes him not lose against suo's facade and allows him to SEE suo
