Work Text:
Sakura should've seen something like this coming sooner or later. He wasn't the most lucky person after all..
It started out as a normal day. They had a few hours of class before going on patrol. You know, the usual stuff. A fight breaking out between several members of class 1-1 and some thugs also wasn't out of the ordinary. It got a bit dangerous however when their opponents took out knives and other weapons to fight back with.
Fights like these were always tricky. If they got one good hit in on you they could do some serious damage, if not end your life. That's why with fights like these the class usually let their strongest members handle the most dangerous individuals. Anyone with a weapon who looked like they knew how to use it got swiftly driven into the arms of one of their top fighters, who then disarmed the thugs without much issue.
At least, that's how it usually goes.
Sakura honestly thought they had it handled. He, Nirei and Suo had been the ones to encounter the group and called for back-up as soon as any weapons were shown. He and Suo could easily handle a group of this size, but with weapons in the mix they also had to keep an eye out for Nirei, who was still learning how to fight. This would mean that the brunt of the attack would land on Sakura while his one-eyed vice protected their friend. That's why they ended up sending an alert in the group chat, which resulted in two other patrol teams coming to their aide.
It was going well so far. Most of the thugs had been brought down already now that help had arrived. Just a couple more and they would be done here. Sakura was currently exchanging blows with a guy who kept on jumping around him, dodging his kicks and punches like a damn monkey. He was clutching a large pocket knife in his hand. He seemed like an experienced fighter too as he kept up with Sakura's quick movements pretty well.
The two-toned boy's eyes were entirely trained on the guy before him. The guy's unpredictable behaviour was really starting to annoy him. He was getting slightly out of breath, but not to the point that his attention should falter. Which is why what happened next was so surprising to him.
Suddenly, he felt himself being grabbed from behind. Two pairs of hands gripped his upper arms tightly, limiting his movements. Sakura's heart jumped in his chest. He'd been in this position plenty of times before. People grabbing their victim and holding them still so someone else could throw them a punch in the gut.
It was a coward's move.
He snapped his head back to look in front of him. He needed to be ready to kick out at whoever tried to attack him in this position. Sure, he wouldn't go down so easily but he'd rather not take more damage then necessary.
But it seemed that he was already too late.
It all happened so fast. The moment he turned his head around the person in front of him was already moving his arm down in a swinging motion. He thought he saw something glimmer in the guy's hand and tried to push himself back to avoid whatever the object was, but it was to no avail.
Pain exploded at the right side of his face as the guy's arm whizzed past. In a bout of panic the bi-colored teen tore himself out of the grip of the other guys and jumped back. His hand instinctively came up to his face, clutching at the place of impact. His right eye was squeezed shut as a burning pain ran through it.
When he pulled his hand away, it came back bloody.
He sucked in a breath and looked at the person who had attacked him. It was the same guy he had been fighting with before and the bastard looked more than pleased with the result. Sakura's eye tracked to the man's hand, where his now blood-covered knife was still held.
His stomach dropped. Fuck, this could be serious. That thing just struck him in the eye! He wasn't stupid enough to think he could fix this himself later and continue fighting like nothing was wrong. He didn't want to end up like that bastard Suo and walk around with an eyepatch for the rest of his life!
No matter how much he didn't like depending on others, he needed help.
"Suo!" he called out, kicking at the thugs while still grabbing at his face. "I need help over here!" His vice captain looked in his direction as he called out to him. His lone eye widened at the sight of red dripping from his friend's face and quickly took out the guy he was fighting before rushing over to him. "What happened? Are you alright?" he asked as he took a defensive position in front of the other boy.
As soon as he knew he was safe, Sakura took off his Furin jacket and pressed the bunched up fabric against the wound. "They got me good. I can't continue fighting." he hissed. Suo nodded, not taking his sight off the gang as their classmates slowly dealt with the remaining members of the group. "We'll get you fixed up soon. This shouldn't take much longer." he replied as he quickly knocked out a guy who came a bit too close to him and his captain. "What's the damage?"
The two-toned boy lifted his jacket off his face and looked down at it. It was already thoroughly soaked in blood. He cussed under his breath and put it back in place, applying more pressure while also trying not to touch his aching eye. "Took a knife to the face. Might've nicked my eye. Not sure how bad it." he filled his friend in.
The auburn-haired boy's eye narrowed. He clenched his fist and drove it into the face of the nearest guy. "We're going to the clinic as soon as we're finished here. You're not going home with that." he stated, his voice leaving no room for argument. Sakura huffed, which immediately made him grimace in pain. "I wasn't going to.." he muttered in response.
While his friend took care of his wound, Suo's eye scanned the area for the culprit. His blood was boiling and he needed to make sure that bastard got what he deserved. Fortunately, or unfortunately for him, he found the guy already sprawled out in the ground. He wasn't sure who took him out, but it was clear it was the right guy judging from the bloodied knife still in his hand. On any other day he would've loved to inflict some more damage, but he needed to protect his captain right now. He couldn't leave him vulnerable with a wound like that.
The fight didn't last much longer. Their classmates quickly dealt with the remaining thugs until Bofurin was the only one still standing. Beside the usual cuts, bumps and scratches the other teens weren't injured, which made the grade captain feel even more like an idiot. Why had he been the one to take a hit like that?
Though, if someone had to receive it he was glad it was him instead of one of his friends.
"Sakura-san!" The two-toned boy looked up as he saw his blond vice captain approaching. The other teen looked very worried, his hands already waving around in anxiety. "I saw you take that hit! Does it hurt? We gotta go to a doctor immediately!" the boy cried out, hand reaching out to tug at his captain's white shirt.
"Alright, alright! I'm coming already! Jeez.." Sakura said as he let his friend pull him away from his classmates and presumably into the direction of the local clinic. He wouldn't really know as he hasn't been there before. He usually treats his wounds at home because he simply hates anything doctor or hospital related. But even he knew he couldn't avoid going to a doctor for this one.
Suo swiftly popped up beside him. "I left Kiryu-kun to handle the aftermath. How are you holding up?" he asked. His face looked as calm as ever but the clear concern audible in his voice betrayed his true worry. Sakura moved the fabric pressed against the wound away and hissed slightly as it pulled at the blood that was trying to clot. "My whole face hurts like a bitch and I can't tell big the cut actually is." he replied with a huff.
The one-eyed boy pulled him to a stop and grabbed the side of his face, careful to avoid the afflicted area. He frowned deeply as he studied the wound. Sakura, despite the pain, flushed slightly at the close proximity between him and his vice captain. Soon enough the auburn-haired teen leaned away and helped Sakura press his jacket against the wound again.
"This is gonna need stitches, that's for sure." Suo said as he directed the other towards the clinic again with a hand on his back. "I just hope the damage is superficial. The placement makes me very worried.." he trailed off. Sakura nodded with a grim expression.
He could only hope for the best outcome.
"You're quite a lucky one, Sakura-kun."
The boy looked up at the doctor with a confused gaze. Lucky? Someone slashed his face open and he's calling him lucky?
The doctor looked down at his clipboard and read his notes. "It's honestly a miracle the only damage your eye sustained was a shallow graze that should heal pretty quickly. It was probably the angle of the knife that saved your vision. You could've easily lost your eye in this fight." he told the teen.
Sakura looked away. He was well aware of what could've happened, but that didn't really matter anymore. You can't change what happened anyway. "What about the cut?" he asked. The doctor frowned a bit. "The rest of the wound is a different story, I'd say." he replied.
Currently, the right side of Sakura's face had bandages taped all over. He probably looked ridiculous right now, but when does he not? With his hair and eyes he already stands out anyway.
"I stitched it up the best I could, but I can't say much about the healing process until your follow-up visit. I'm a bit worried about the placement as there's a lot of muscles in your face that constantly move, which could result in the wound reopening. If you notice any excessive bleeding or irritation, visit me immediately. If not, I'll see you back in a week to check on it and possibly remove the stitches." the man told the boy.
Sakura nodded and thanked the doctor before leaving the room. Outside Suo and Nirei stood waiting for him. The two immediately perked up when they saw him approaching. "How is it? What did the doctor say?" Nirei immediately started throwing question after question at him, overly worried about his friend. His captain, of course, quickly waved his concern off. "Everything's fine. I'll just have to come back in like a week to get the stitches out." he replied with a sigh.
Suo looked at him with concern. "Your eye really is okay then?" he asked. As someone who lived with only one functioning eye he was quite worried about that part of the injury. He really didn't want his friend to suffer the same fate as him. Sakura's demeanor softened when he saw the worry on his face. "It's fine, thankfully. I'll just have to be careful about sunlight 'n shit. And I got some antibiotic eye drops." he replied, patting his pocket where said medication was hiding.
His vice captain sighed in relief. "Ah, good. For a second I was worried we would become a matching pair." he told the other with a small smile. His bi-colored friend blushed and looked away. "L-like hell I'd wanna look like you!" he stuttered out as he began walking away. Suo just chuckled and followed while Nirei ran after them, notebook out and ready to draw up a treatment plan for his injured friend.
Everything will be fine.
Everything will not be fine.
A week had passed and Sakura was once again sitting on a bed at the doctor's office. The man had already removed the bandages and was now busy taking out the stitches. The wound was healing pretty well, according to him.
"And that should be the last one." the man said as he pulled one last stitch out from his still healing skin. "It's still gonna look red and scabbed, but your skin has successfully grafted itself back together and as long as you don't do anything too strenuous it shouldn't reopen. So refrain from taking any hits to the face for at least another week, yeah?" he told the boy with a small smile.
The boy nodded and watched as the older man cleaned off his instruments and disposed of the bandages and stitches. Then, a worrying thought came up in his head. Something he had thought about every day since he got injured but didn't get to ask at the previous visit.
"Uhm-" he started, getting the attention of the doctor. "This cut. It was pretty deep, right?" he asked. The doctor agreed. "Yes, that's why it will take a while to completely heal." he replied. Sakura bit his lip. "Will-" he hesitated. "Will it leave a scar?" he finally asked.
The doctor looked at him and he saw something like guilt cross his eyes. The man sighed and sat back down in the chair before him. "Yes, this wound will most likely leave a permanent scar. Or at least one that won't fade away for a long time. But I'm pretty sure you already suspected that, am I right?"
The boy looked away with a frown. The man was right. He already knew it would scar. He wasn't a stranger to being slashed or stabbed and had plenty of scars to prove it. Even shallow ones left clear marks on his pale skin. And this one, with how deep it had gone, would definitely stay with him for a very long time.
He had just hoped that maybe he was wrong about that..
"Thank you for your help." he said as he hopped off the bed. The man again reminded him of how he should return if anything seemed off, but after that he left the building. He went straight home, not daring to look anyone in the eye until he had reached the confines of his own apartment.
He thought about just going to bed and sleeping the rest of the day away, but he couldn't. He had to know. He needed to see how bad it actually was. He hadn't seen a thing yet between the blood covering everything and then the bandages hiding the wound from sight. And with his whole face hurting he had no idea how big this wound even was.
With that, the boy strode into his bathroom. He turned on the light and closed his eyes as he stood in front of the mirror. A small part of him didn't even want to know, just ignore this for the rest of his life so he didn't have to deal with the aftermath. But he needed to know!
He took one last deep breath and opened his eyes.
His heart stopped.
Now that the bandages had been removed, he could finally lay his eyes upon the wound underneath. The wound that would most likely result in a permanent scar.
It was one single long line, stretching from just above his black eyebrow down to his chin. It cut through his eyebrow, his eyelid and across his cheek before curving slightly to cut through the outer corner of his mouth. The wound was deep and left a clear dip in his previously unblemished skin, a mark that would never go away.
His hand gripped at the bathroom sink, knuckles turning white. He'd always hated his left side. The white hair and golden eye were unnatural and made him stand out. His left side was the source of all his problems! But he'd always thought that at least he still had one side of him that still looked normal. Normal black hair and a normal dark blue eye. But now..
Now that side had a big scar running through it. Any chance of being perceived as normal had gone out the window as soon as that knife made contact with his face.
He was fucking disfigured.
A shuddering breath left his lips as Sakura tried to keep it together. He tried looking away, but he couldn't. His wide mismatched eyes kept staring at the reflection in the mirror. Both sides of him now stood out. And this wasn't something he could hide either.
He could dye his hair.
He could wear contacts.
But he could not hide this scar.
His chest heaved rapidly as panic, anger and sorrow filled his mind. Old memories flooded his mind. People staring at him, pointing at him, yelling at him. Calling him awful words that now he was starting to believe himself.
Ugly
Appalling
Hideous
Repulsive
Disgusting
Disgusting
Disgusting
Sakura screamed.
Suo was worried. Three days had passed since Sakura was supposed to get his stitches removed, yet he hadn't returned to school. His classmates and him had texted the boy to ask about his absence, to which he only replied once to state he was sick at home.
Nirei suggested they'd visit him after school to deliver some get well gifts, but when they arrived and knocked on the door no one answered. They tried the doorknob but unfortunately it was locked (the lock had been repaired a little while ago).
Eventually, they just placed the bag in front of his door and sent him a text informing him of the gifts before leaving.
The next day they tried again, but got the same results. The gift bag still sat in front of his door, untouched. Looking at the chat, Nirei informed his one-eyed friend that their message hadn't even been read yet. That was quite unusual as, despite being terrible with phones, Sakura always read their messages and often made sure to let them know he did by sending a short reply.
So that brings them here, on day three, back on their grade captain's porch. The gifts still sat in front of his door, but now it seemed like some kind of animal had gotten some use out of its contents. Nirei went about cleaning up the mess as Suo knocked on the door once more.
"Sakura-kun? Can you please open the door for us?" he suppressed the slight tremble in his voice. He was really getting worried now. Last time the boy had fallen ill he had joked that he might be laying dead in his apartment just to mess with Nirei, but now those words were starting to sound like a bad omen. Had something gone wrong at the doctor's? Did he get an infection that made him sick? Had something rendered him unconsciously and unable to communicate with them?
Right, fuck this.
Nirei jumped up in surprise as his auburn-haired friend deliver a hard kick to the locked door. "S-S-Suo-san? W-what are you doing?!" he cried out. Suo raised his leg again. "Breaking in." he stated as his foot collided with the door again. He huffed as the only object standing between him and his friend didn't budge.
Nirei gaped at the other boy before nodding. He too knew this had gone on for far too long. "Aim at the lock. It's easier to get in that way." he instructed. Suo did what he was told and kicked again, finally breaking through. He shook out his aching leg a little bit, because doors are a lot sturdier than people, before walking into his classmate's home. His blond friend swiftly followed him inside.
"Sakura-kun, we're coming in." Suo called out into the dark apartment, followed by a "Sorry for intruding!" from Nirei. The two boys walked into the short hallway and peaked in the few rooms lining the wall. First was the kitchen, which looked more empty than usual. Not even the usual take-out boxes on the counter.
Then, they came across the bathroom. Nirei gasped as he looked inside. There was shards of glass all over the floor and in the sink. A broken mirror stared back at him. Even in the dark, his eyes quickly noticed the red stains on the glass, sink and floor.
Suo poked his head in as well, his grown deepening as he observed the scene. A bad feeling was brewing inside of him and he didn't like it one bit. "Come, we need to find him." the one-eyed teen said as he pulled the shocked boy with him out of the room.
There was only one place left; the main room. By God he hoped Sakura was there. What would they even do if he wasn't? They still hadn't heard anything from him, even while walking around in his apartment. Suo placed his hand on the door and took a deep breath.
Then, he opened it.
It was dark here too. The blackout curtains they had gifted him sometime ago were drawn, making it hard to see anything. Still, that didn't prevent them from finally finding their captain.
He was here, sitting in the corner of the room. He had a blanket draped around his form like a cloak, covering up almost every inch of his being. He didn't react to their arrival. In fact, he barely moved at all. They couldn't even see him breathe from this angle.
The two vice captains slowly approached the hunched over figure. "Sakura-san?" Nirei called out quietly. Their friend moved slightly, but didn't respond. Suo got closer and slowly knelt down before the boy. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" he asked the boy, worry clear in his voice. Sakura didn't reply for a long moment, but just when Suo opened his mouth to speak again he finally replied.
"Go away."
His voice sounded very hoarse, like he'd been screaming for hours on end. His hand, covered in small cuts and blood, clutched his blanket tightly and pulled it down more. Nirei knelt down next to his classmate and reached out to his captain. As soon as his fingers made contact with the boy's shoulder he flinched, making the blond retract his hand like he had been burned.
"Sakura-san, what's going on? What happened?" the boy asked gently. The figure only curled in on himself more. Nirei tried to peek underneath the blanket, but his friend swiftly turned his head away. It was like he didn't even want them to look at him.
The two vice captains were at a loss of what to do. They had never seen such behavior from their friend. Yes, he tended to be grumpy and anti-social sometimes, but this was on a whole new level.
Suo silently observed his friend for a minute before moving to sit cross-legged in front of the boy. "Suo-san?" the blond questioned. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong." the eyepatch-wearing teen stated calmly. Nirei stared at his friend before copying him. He too needed to know what was bothering their friend so much to the point he had isolated himself for three days straight. Because that's what it was. No illness, just self-imposed isolation.
The three of them sat there in silence for a long time. One minute turned into ten, ten into thirty, and thirty into one hour. During that time Sakura didn't move a single muscle. He just sat there, curled up against the wall, while his friends continued to look at him with concern. Nirei was honestly starting to wonder if the boy had fallen asleep when he suddenly heard his bi-colored friend mutter something.
"I'm disgusting.."
The words were spoken very quietly, but both of them heard it anyway. Their eyes widened and they looked at each other. What was this about all of the sudden?
"W-what do you mean by that?" Nirei asked gently. The mound of blankets moved a bit before the boy spoke again. "I look fucking hideous now." he hissed. His voice trembled and he almost sounded like he was in pain. His distress was very noticeable. Whatever he was talking about, he was really struggling hard.
While the shorter boy looked on in confusion, in Suo's head something suddenly clicked. How had he not thought about this earlier? It was so obvious to him now what the issue must be. "Is this about the wound you sustained last week?" he tried, hoping his intuition was correct. Sakura flinched again and pulled the blanket down more to hide himself. It seems he was spot on.
Another moment passed before the boy spoke again. "I'm gonna have to walk around with this hideous thing on my face for the rest of my life. Like I didn't get enough crap for my looks already." he said quietly. Nirei dug his fingers into his thighs. "I'm sure it's not that bad, Sakura-san. What's a scar gonna change? It's still you!" he exclaimed, hoping his words would reassure his captain. The mound of blankets moved again and two mismatched eyes glared at him.
"You guys may not think it's that bad, but other people will. I don't want the people in this town to look at me like I'm a freak. And even if they don't, I don't want their pity! No matter what you say or do everyone will stare and change their view of me because I'm fucking disfigured now!"
There was so much pain visible in those eyes that the two other teens couldn't even speak up. They knew their friend had been ridiculed for his appearance his whole life up until he moved to their town. They knew he still had deep-rooted trauma because of it. They had often tried to show Sakura how much they cared for him, that his looks didn't matter, but all that effort had just gone down the drain because of one asshole with a knife.
Sakura looked away from them. His hands tightened on the blanket so hard his knuckles turned white. "I don't want any of you to look at me like I'm ugly.." The words were barely audible yet probably hurt the most of anything he had said before. The two vice captains stared at their friend with sad looks on their faces. The boy had sunken so far down into despair. How were they supposed to help?
Suo stared down at his hands for a minute before he reached up and undid the strap holding up his eyepatch. He let the black piece of fabric fall down into his lap before he looked back at Sakura. "Do you think that I'm ugly?" he asked quietly.
The bi-colored teen didn't look up, but he could hear him inhale sharply. "Of course not." he snapped, curling in on himself more. "Look at me." the auburn-haired teen said. The other didn't move. "Please." he tried again. There was a moment of silence before he heard a soft sigh. Slowly, the blanket moved and a yellow eye peeked out from underneath.
"Why would you-" Sakura trailed off as he finally looked up at his friend. His eyes widened ever so slightly as he took in his classmate's face.
Dual-colored eyes stared at the place his friend's left eye should have been. A deep scar ran across the sunken lid, splitting it in two. It wasn't long, but it was wide. Like his face had been pierced with a big object. A sliver of pink flesh was visible between the scarred lids, making it clear that there was no eye underneath anymore.
"So? Do you think I'm ugly?" Suo asked again, a small sad smile on his face. The bi-colored boy just stared at him in shock. He had never seen his vice captain without his eyepatch. The sight was horrible, almost too graphic for a lesser man. But did it make him ugly? "No.." he muttered, eyes finally looking away. Of course Suo wasn't ugly. He was stupidly handsome, even with a scar.
"Well then, that settles it!" the one-eyed teen proclaimed proudly. "You don't think I'm ugly and I don't think you're ugly either. And as the only people here with facial scars, we have the last word on this matter." he stated with a smile. The other glanced back at him and Nirei. Suo gave him an encouraging smile while the blond beside him nodded furiously.
Sakura sighed. He finally let go of the blanket, letting it drop down from his head and onto his shoulders. The angry red line on his face stood out, even in the dark room. Yet, neither of his friends acted like they noticed. "There you are.." Suo commented. Sakura huffed and crossed his arms. "Are you happy now?" he grumbled. His friend smiled. "Very much so!"
"U-uhm-" Nirei's voice made Sakura snap his head around to look at his other vice captain. The boy looked at him with a determined look on his face. "F-for what it's worth, I don't think you're ugly either!" he proclaimed loudly, almost startling the other boy. "If anything, it makes you look really cool! Like a superhero who has won many battles! O-or something l-like that.." he trailed off.
The two-toned teen looked at his friend in shock. Cool? He really thought he looked cool? "B-but-" he tried to argue, but Suo interrupted before he could even voice his complains. "Personally I think he looks more like a pirate but yeah, superhero works too." he said with a grin. Nirei side-eyed the one-eyed boy. "We're supposed to make him feel better Suo-san.." he muttered. The other just looked at him innocently.
"Pirates are cool too, you know."
"Pirates are criminals."
"People have told me I look like a pirate."
"Yeah but you literally wear an eyepatch.."
Sakura couldn't help but smile as his vice captains bantered. His heart was still racing, but he felt a bit calmer than he did before. Just seeing his friends behave like normal even when he looks like this made him feel like maybe they were telling the truth. That he was just making up scenarios inside his head while in reality the only one who was bothered by his new appearance was he himself.
"Okay, okay! I get it already!" he said, finally breaking up the battle of words between his friends. He sighed and looked his friends in the eye. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have freaked out like this. I was just being dumb." he muttered. Nirei shook his head. "No, you weren't. You had every right to be concerned. I just wished you wouldn't worry about other people's opinions so much. We would never ridicule someone over how they look. No one at Furin would. And even if someone did, we would make sure they took those words back."
The two-toned boy hummed. He supposed his friend was right. He had a tendency to forget that he had people who cared about him now. They never judged him for his looks before, so why would they now? He really needed to stop letting his insecurity get the best of him.
The boy startled a bit when Nirei suddenly stood up. "Have you eaten yet? If not I'll go pick something up now." he offered. Red tinted the teen's cheeks as he looked away. "I haven't really eaten anything since.." he trailed off. His other vice captain tilted his head. "Since when?" he asked. Sakura looked very guilty, which made him even more worried. "When did you last eat, Sakura-kun?"
"Uhm.. since before my doctor's appointment?"
Nirei gaped at his friend. "Sakura-san?! That was three days ago!" he cried out. The other curled in on himself again. "Didn't really have the motivation to.." he replied, quite embarrassed about the situation. His shorter friend let out a sigh. "Alright, I'll go pick up some food for us. Suo-san, do you have any preferences?" he asked, always sure to ask his one-eyed friend because of his diet. Said teen just shook his head. "Just bring me something light, if you will." he responded.
The blond boy nodded and quickly left the building, determined to feed his captain three days worth of meals in one go.
That left the two other boys to sit on the floor of the apartment. Suo looked down at the eyepatch still in his hand. "You know, I can recommend you some cream to reduce the scarring if you want." he told the other teen. "I used it too after the accident. It may not make the scar fade away completely, but it works quite well."
Sakura mulled over his words for a bit. "I think I'd like that." he answered. His friends may have convinced him that having a scar wasn't a bad thing, but he still felt like that if there was a possibility of reducing the severity of it he should take it. His friend nodded. "I'll bring you some once your wound has healed." he replied before moving to put his eyepatch back in place. The other boy was just a tad disappointed by that. It was rare to see Suo without the patch, after all.
The auburn-haired teen finished putting his eyepatch back and stood up. He left the room for a little bit only to return with the small first aid kit he kept in his bathroom. For a moment he wondered why, but when his friend gently grabbed his hand he understood. The hand he used to strike the mirror a few days ago was covered in red and angry marks. Most of it was already healing, but there were some small splinters of glass still lodged in his knuckles.
The one-eyed boy retrieved some tweezers from the first aid kit and carefully began removing the small shards of glass. It wasn't a lot, thankfully, but it was still better to get those out before the wounds completely healed over. Once he was done he took out a roll of bandages.
"I really meant what I said earlier." Suo told the other as he wrapped his hand. "You're not ugly. You've never been and you never will be." The words were spoken with such conviction and sincerity that Sakura couldn't help but become flustered. The auburn-haired teen smiled at the sight. "Not even a scar could ruin that face of yours." he added with a smirk.
"S-stop doing that.." the other boy bit back, face beet red. His friend tied the bandages off and closed the kit again. "Doing what?" he grinned. The other boy huffed in annoyance. "Being all nice to me! Go back to being a bastard! You're way easier to handle like that!" the two-toned boy yelled back, making his vice captain let out a genuine laugh.
"Alright, alright! I'll seize with the compliments."
"Thank god.."
"You're welcome, pretty boy."
"H-hah? W-what did you j-just call me?!"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You fucking bastard! I'll punch you-"
The two bickered back and forth until Nirei arrived with their food. By the end of the meal all tension was gone and the two vice captains felt safe to leave their friend alone for the night, although they did make Sakura promise to call them if he ever felt those doubts creep up again.
Once his friends had finally left, the bi-colored boy traveled back to his bathroom. One of his friends must have swept up the shards of glass earlier as they were now all neatly disposed of in his trashcan.
The teen went to stand in front of the remnants of his mirror that were still stuck to the frame. He took a deep breath and looked up. The scar was still there, red and glaring at him. It was ugly, it was hideous, and somehow he found that he cared just a little less about it than before. It would take a while to get used to, that was for sure, but it wasn't the end of the world.
It ain't pretty, but it's still him.