A few months had passed since the KEEL incident. Despite the big revelation of Sakura's true nature, the class dynamic had stayed roughly the same (much to the two-toned boy's relief). However, there was one thing that had changed.
Weekly wing grooming sessions.
Sakura had protested against the idea at first, not wanting to bother his classmates with this, but his friends managed to convince him to let them do this for him. They had argued that, if left alone, his wings would return to the bad shape they had been in when they'd first seen them. And yeah, they probably had a point there..
So that's how they ended up having a wing grooming session at least once a week. Much to the bi-colored teen's surprise, pretty much everyone in his class wanted to participate at least once (except Sugishita, but he didn't want that bastard touching him anyway). By now, all his classmates have had a go at fixing up his wings. And while some left it at one time, deeming it something that just wasn't for them, a lot of his classmates wanted to keep helping him with this.
Takanashi and Nirei had taken it upon themselves to teach the others what to do and so far everything had gone quite smoothly. Sure, there were a few guys who were a bit too rough with his feathers but eventually everyone had learned how to gently but efficiently groom his wings.
The only issue they kept running into was where they should hold these little get-togethers.
Obviously Sakura's apartment was the first place they did this at. And they would've kept doing it at this location if they hadn't been rudely interrupted by his landlord the last time they were there. Sakura barely had any time to make his wings vanish before the old man barged into the room to yell at them about getting a noise complaint. To be fair, they had been a bit rowdy but come on! It was only once a week!
So yeah, after that Sakura refused to let his classmates back in his apartment as he really didn't want to risk getting kicked out. He also wasn't a big fan of letting his true form out at any of his classmates places as the chance of a family member or neighbor seeing was quite big. This meant that there really weren't that many options left.
There was one place, however, that had become a more frequent spot for their little sessions. An empty and unused classroom at Furin. Somehow Sakura wasn't as afraid to get caught here at school. Maybe knowing that his classmates had already accepted him made him feel like the other kids here also wouldn't have a problem with him. And even if they did, he knew his friends had his back.
It was sometime after school and most students had gone home for the day. Their class didn't have patrol today so they wouldn't be missed if they stayed hidden for a little while. It was the perfect time for their weekly meet-up.
It was a small group today consisting of Sakura, Kiryu, Suo and two others. After everyone had been taught how to groom his wings, they had made a schedule to divide everyone up into smaller groups. Only a few individuals would attend these sessions at a time to avoid attracting unwanted attention. They found that four or five people at a time was the most efficient way to do this.
They had stashed some pillows and blankets into one of the closets there that they took out to sit on during their sessions (the wooden floor tended to get a bit uncomfortable after sitting on it for a while). There were also some cups and plates stocked here in case someone brought over some food or drinks. It really was quite a cozy room to do their thing in.
Sakura let out a small sigh of content as he felt his friends run their fingers through his feathers. Ever since they started these grooming sessions the state of his wings really has improved. They were clean and didn't itch anymore. The missing feathers at the base of his wings had also grown back by now thanks to Takanashi's hard work.
For a moment he had hope that with the great care his wings now received his flight feathers would also return to their former glory. Unfortunately, they retained their unevenly clipped state. It didn't look like it would ever improve either..
Nevertheless, Sakura was quite happy with these developments. Beside him being more comfortable in his own skin, it had also helped create a better bond with his classmates. Sure, he was still terrible at names, but now he knew at least a little bit more about the other guys in his class. And he had to admit that even though he only saw these people for a few hours a day at school, he was starting to see them as some kind of weird little family.
He would never ever say that out loud though.
The bi-colored teen unconsciously leaned his head back as he felt two hands beginning to comb through his hair. He wasn't a stranger to these actions anymore either. The person subjecting him to these ministrations giggled behind him. "Comfortable, Sakura-chan?" Kiryu asked him with a grin. The other boy just hummed and leaned into the touch.
The pink-haired boy had made it a habit to 'groom' Sakura's hair as well when he was done with his part of the wings. It wasn't really something that was necessary (he took great care of his hair, thank you very much), but Kiryu insisted on combing through the monochrome locks at every chance he got.
Obviously the bi-colored teen had protested fiercely at first, but he eventually gave in when the other boy kept pestering him about it. By now it had become some kind of routine and Sakura had began to appreciate the gesture. Having hands running through your hair was more pleasant than he ever thought it could be.
Kiryu grinned when he saw the content look on his captain's face. "That's right, relax Sakura-chan. Just let me do my thing~" he said as he untangled another small knot at the back of his neck. In addition to just untangling the black and white strands, the piercing-wearing teen also made it a habit to add small things to his hair. Sometimes he'd put small clips somewhere in the two-toned locks while other times he would make minuscule braids at the back of his head that were a pain to get out.
He didn't have the heart to stop his friend from doing it..
The pink-haired boy let out a small sigh. "I just wish your hair was a bit longer. It's really hard to practice cool hairstyles at this length." he whined. Sakura just rolled his eyes. "I'm not your damn practice dummy. If you want someone with long hair ask Sugishita." he replied with a scoff. Kiryu tugged at a small knot, making him let out a grunt of pain. "Yeah right. I don't have a death wish." his friend answered amused. "Just do me a favor and grow your hair out already. It would look so good on you!"
"I am not growing my hair out for you."
"Oh come on! I could teach you how to braid!"
"I don't even want to learn how to braid!
"How about hair accessories then. I got some cute ones that would go great with your hair color!"
"You're not putting any more shit in my hair you jerk!"
One of his other classmates snickered behind him. Sakura turned his head around to glare at the boy. "What?" he snapped. His classmate looked at his captain with barely contained amusement. "This almost sounds like Kiryu is an owner trying to dress up his grumpy cat." he replied with a smirk. This made his other classmates laugh as well. Suo hid his smile behind one of his hands as he joined in. "Sakura-kun is like the class pet, isn't he?"
The two-toned boy flushed red at that. "You guys are all idiots.." he muttered as he turned his head back to let his pink-haired friend continue fiddling around with his hair.
One thing that still surprised him to this day was just how quickly he had adjusted to this new kind of platonic intimacy he now shared with his classmates. Before all of his he could barely even tolerate a hug, and now he was letting multiple people touch his wings, one of the most fragile and vulnerable parts of him.
He supposed that it was just a part of him being created as an angel (yes, an angel. By now he had learned to accept that he wasn't a monster or a demon). Angels are beings of love, so naturally he would be very susceptible to other people's affection. And he'd been starved of such a fundamental part of his nature that as soon as they showed him this kind of love he just immediately accepted it without question (after the initial outburst, of course).
Sure, he was still cautious about anyone outside his class, but that was because he didn't know other people. He had only moved here a few months ago and between school work and Bofurin obligations he just didn't have time to mingle with others. The only ones he spent a lot of time with was his friends and classmates, so of course he trusted them above anyone else.
It helped that he and his classmates now spent these wing grooming sessions together as well. It really strengthened their relationship. And naturally, as he and his classmates got more comfortable with each other, the curious boys started asking more questions about his status as an angel.
Some questions had him thinking quite hard, like how old he was.
"Hey Sakura, since you're like not human and all, are you also like crazy old? I mean, you don't look like a 6000 year old guy to me but.."
"Uhmm.. I don't think so? I don't really know how long I spent in heaven because for me it felt like 5 minutes but it could also have been years. I've only ever known my existence here on earth, so that would be about.. twelve years?"
"YOU'RE TWELVE?!"
"SHUT UP I'M NOT TWELVE!"
Other questions were along the lines of 'can you speak to God?' or 'have you ever seen a demon?', which were easily answered with a 'no'. Sometimes, because they are all still stupid teenagers, the questions got a little bit weird. Like 'do you poop?', which he outright refused to give an answer to. And let's not even start with Suo's question of whenever or not he had 'male reproductive organs'. Sakura spent the rest of the day avoiding his friend like the plague for that one.
(The answer was yes, by the way).
That being said, he didn't mind the questions. He himself had a few too. He was an angel pretending to be human, so every once in a while he would ask his friends to make sure he wasn't acting 'abnormal'. They always assured him that he was behaving just fine, but he couldn't help but worry that other people would notice that he wasn't human.
What would others say if they found out about him? Would they be surprised? Disgusted? Scared? Would they chase him away despite his classmates' approval? He really hoped he wouldn't have to find out any time soon.
And right at that moment, the door to the classroom slammed open.
The five boys yelped in surprise. They all whipped their heads around to look at the doorway to see what just happened, who just entered the room. Sakura's eyes met the shocked gazes of Umemiya and two of his heavenly kings.
For a moment, no one moved.
Then, Umemiya slowly raised a hand to point directly at the winged teenager.
"BIRD!"
Sakura's eye twitched.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A BIRD?!"
Hiragi looked over the white-haired teenager's shoulder at the scene before them. "What am I even looking at..?" he questioned, hand already reaching for his pills. Tsubaki blinked at the small group of boys, eyes immediately falling on the big pair of wings on one of his favorite underclassmen's back. "Well, that isn't something you see every day." he commented with wide, surprised eyes.
Sakura stared up at the three while he sat on the floor, frozen in place. Shit, shit! This wasn't supposed to happen! He wasn't ready to show himself to these guys yet, especially not Umemiya. He would've been fine with literally anyone else! But Umemiya was the top, the boss, the leader. He wasn't ready to show his true form to the representative of Bofurin!
He had the unbelievable urge to make his wings disappear, but he knew that wouldn't help him now. The older teens had already seen them anyway so it was no use hiding them now. It would only cost him energy that he may need later if he had to get out of here. Not that he thought the three would do anything to him, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
"Ah, good afternoon Umemiya-san, Hiragi-san, Tsubaki-san. We didn't know you were still on school grounds." Suo said as he greeted their leaders with a smile, though it looked a bit strained. He too seemed on edge about the situation.
Kiryu leaned a little closer to his side, almost defensive. Of course, he didn't really need protection from anyone, but it still made him feel a bit better knowing that his friends had his back in this. No matter how the newcomers would react.
Sakura tried not to show his nerves as he looked up at Umemiya. He didn't like how the other hadn't really reacted other than the little outburst when he first entered the room. Was he not freaked out? He swallowed how his nerves. "What are you even doing here? We thought this room was abandoned." he asked quietly, trying to get the older boy to react.
This seemed to shake the older boy from his shocked state as his face immediately changed back to his usual bright grin.
"This is where I keep my seed!"
"Your what?!"
The white haired teen entered the room and strode up the closet where they had kept their blankets and pillows. He opened the door and grabbed a small cardboard box. Inside were lots of small colorful bags. How had they never noticed that there?!
"My plant seeds! I ran out earlier so I came here to grab some more. I've always stored them in this room because they won't get stolen here!" the teen explained excitedly. "Like anyone would try to steal your stupid plant seeds.." Hiragi grumbled as he popped a pill into his mouth. He was already so done with all of this.
Sakura let out a soft groan. Of course it was something plant related. He watched as the leader of Bofurin dwindled on about some type of tomato or something. He didn't get it. Why wasn't Umemiya saying anything about the very obvious elephant in the room?!
The white-haired boy was just about to start a monologue about beetroots when Sakura snapped. "Aren't you gonna say anything about this?" he burst out, wings flaring up behind him.
Umemiya blinked at the boy. "Why?" he questioned. The two-toned boy grit his teeth. His frustration was starting to boil over. "It isn't natural, is it? Aren't you upset about it?" he spat. He wanted to know the other's thoughts. He needed to know what Umemiya's stance was in all this.
The Bofurin representative let out a sigh. He passed the box he was holding to Tsubaki and stepped forward until be was right in front of the small group of first years. Sakura felt his friends tense up beside him. This was it, the moment of truth. What will Umemiya do?
A hand patted him on the head.
"You're a good kid." the older boy said as he smiled down at his underclassman, hand ruffling the two-toned strands of hair. "I don't care what you look like. Whether it be angel wings or demon horns, as long as your heart is pure you'll always have a place here at Bofurin."
Sakura let out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes for a moment. It felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. These were the words he desperately needed to hear.
Having Umemiya's approval meant the world to him. It meant he didn't have to be afraid of being thrown out by anyone here at Furin as everyone adored and admired the white-haired teen. Damn, what had he even been afraid of? Of course Umemiya would accept him. That guy would have a tea party with his worst enemy if given the chance.
He really should learn to trust people more.
When the boy opened his eyes again, he suddenly found himself face to face with Tsubaki. He yelped in surprise, accidentally hitting his friends as his wings fluttered behind him.
The long-haired boy before him looked at his wings from over his shoulder with amazement. "They're so pretty!" he commented excitedly. The bi-colored teen's face flushed red and he tried to look anywhere but at his upperclassman. "T-thanks.." he muttered.
"Can I touch them?" the taller boy asked. Sakura nodded without hesitation. He knew he could trust Tsubaki. "Just, be careful okay?" he commented. The upperclassman was a kind and caring person, but tended to forget his own strength at times (he's pretty sure he once cracked a rib during one of Tsubaki's hugs).
The older teen smiled brightly as stepped around the boy to reach his wings. A moment passed before a gentle hand moved itself though the feathers on his left wing. "So soft!" Tsubaki all but squealed in excitement.
His classmates moved back as the third year walked around him, caressing his wings with tender hands. "I've never seen anything like this before! They're so big!" he commented as he used his hands to stretch out the appendages to their full width. "Hey, careful! They're fragile!" Sakura yelled as he felt the muscles protesting. Thankfully, the older teen released the wings in favor of inspecting the feathers close up.
"Are you an angel? Can you fly? Can you do magic? How long have you guys known about this?" that last question was obviously directed at his classmates who were watching the interaction with suppressed grins. They were clearly enjoying the sight of him being pet all over like a goddamn cat.
They didn't even get the chance to answer as the heavenly king immediately moved his attention back to Sakura. "Can you do some magic? I'd love to see it if you can!" Tsubaki asked again, eyes wide and hopeful.
The winged teenager hesitated. Yes, he could do some magic, but it would take a lot of energy. He didn't really want to disappoint the older boy though. He liked Tsubaki and couldn't bear to see him upset.
He let out a sigh. "Fine." he said. He looked around the room for something to use when his eyes fell on the box of seeds Umemiya was holding. An idea popped up in his head. "Can you get me one of those?" he asked as he pointed at the box. The long-haired boy followed his gaze and immediately went to get some.
As the boy left, Suo moved to sit down beside him. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked, concern audible in his voice. Sakura nodded. "It's fine, I can handle it." His vice captain frowned but didn't comment further.
Ever since the class found out about Sakura's status as an angel, the boy has been more open to using his powers around them. This let to them discovering some interesting details about said powers. Like how he could teleport small objects to himself with a simple movement of his hand. Or how he could heal cuts and bruises by touching the injuries briefly.
Yet, when it came to bigger tasks the boy started to struggle.
His limitations became very clear one day when he tried to heal someone's broken arm after a fight. An assailant had gotten a lucky hit on one of his classmates and naturally he tried to help the other boy out as best as he could.
It started out fine, but the longer the healing went on the weaker he seemed to get. His friends started to get concerned when sweat began beading on his forehead. They urged him to stop, but like usual he was too stubborn to listen.
So, what happened? Well, as soon as the arm was healed completely Sakura just.. passed out. And he stayed down for a good three hours, which really freaked his friends out. After that whole debacle he relented and promised to not overdo it like that again, even if it was to help someone out.
As Tsubaki returned with a small package of plant seeds, Sakura momentarily glanced at his one-eyed friend before accepting the seeds. He knew Suo was worried, but he was just going to show their upperclassman a little bit of his power. Nothing to be worried about.
He shook the package until a single seed landed on his open palm. He gave the rest back to Tsubaki before looking down at his hand, brows furrowed in concentration. He had never used his power on something like this before, but he was confident he could do something cool with it.
"You ready?" he asked. Tsubaki nodded enthusiastically. Hiragi and Umemiya also stepped closer to get a better look, equally as intrigued as their friend. Sakura stared at the seed in his hand and took a deep breath. As he breathed out, his left eye began to emit a golden glow.
For a moment nothing happened. Then, the seed in his hand began to glow as well. The seed seemed to vibrate in his palm before suddenly splitting open. A small green sprout began to grow from the crack. Roots began to grow and tangle on his hand as the sprout grew larger.
Sakura gritted his teeth as he felt fatigue starting to take hold of him. Seems like growing a plant was a lot more taxing than healing a small wound.
But he wasn't done yet. Just a bit more! The sprout grew and began to develop a few leaves. It was a good few inches tall by now. He looked up to see his upperclassmen absolutely infatuated by the sight. Tsubaki was smiling from ear to ear and Umemiya's eyes seemed to shine brighter than ever. Even Hiragi looked amazed by the display.
He wanted to show them more. Come on, just a bit taller, just a few more leaves! He can do that, right?
A hand clasped down on his shoulder. "Sakura-kun, that's enough." Suo's voice sounded. The boy's eyes stayed focused on the plant in his hand. Just a little more. "Stop." Sweat began to drip down his face as he watched the plant grow even bigger. Just a little more. He was sure he could get something to bloom on there.
"Sakura!"
That finally snapped the angel out of it. His concentration faltered and let out a gasp as his power shut off. He barely managed to keep hold of the plant as he careened to the side, slumping against vice captain. Suo grabbed onto the back of his jacket to stop him from toppling over as he gasped for air. Sakura didn't even have to look up to know that his friend was making an 'I told you so' face at him. And he was tempted to agree with him as well. He really should have stopped sooner..
He took another breath, sucking oxygen back into his lungs, before thrusting the hand holding the plant forward. "H-here." he stuttered out. Tsubaki, while visibly worried about his well-being, carefully took the plant from his hand. The plant had grown quite tall and had the beginning of a flower bud forming at the top. It wasn't quite ready to bloom just yet..
"It's beautiful." Tsubaki uttered quietly, a small smile adorning his face. He turned to face Umemiya and showed him the plant. The Bofurin representative crouched down next to the other and took the plant from Tsubaki. "Incredible! This is at least a few weeks worth of growth!" he exclaimed, eyes filled with wonder. It almost put a smile on Sakura's face. Seeing the upperclassmen fawn over his work made him incredibly happy.
A soft hand wrapped itself around his bicep. "You okay?" Kiryu asked quietly. The two-toned boy nodded. "Yeah, just tired.." he responded. The pink-haired teen huffed and helped him sit back up instead of letting him stay slumped against his vice captain.
"Maybe listen to Suo-chan next time. He seems to know your limits better than you do." he said as he glanced at the one-eyed boy beside them. Suo shared an exasperated look with the other boy before turning his attention back to their captain. "Please refrain from overusing your power next time. We still don't know if it has any lasting effects on your health." he sternly told the winged boy. For all they knew he could be doing serious damage to himself by doing this.
Sakura just shrugged. He knew his friend was probably right, but he found it hard to believe that something he was created with could actually hurt him. Why would God give him these powers if not to help others?
"Sakura," At the mention of his name the winged boy looked up. Hiragi was looking at him with an unreadable look on his face. "I know you probably want to show off a little, but don't hurt yourself just to please others. That power doesn't seem to come without cost so be careful, okay?" he told the younger boy with a stern look. He already got enough stomach aches from Umemiya alone so he really didn't want or need another idiot to worry about.
Tsubaki nodded furiously in agreement. Umemiya carefully put the plant in the box with seeds and looked at him as well. "Hiragi is right! As amazing as it is to see you work your magic we can't have you endangering your health. So yeah, listen to your friends and don't overdo it!" the white-haired teen boasted with a smile.
Great, now the older boys were also worrying about him. He looked back at his friends, looked at the upperclassmen, and sighed. "Fine.." he groaned. As much as he didn't want anyone telling him what to do he also didn't want to cause them too much trouble with his own idiocy.
Umemiya suddenly seemed to remember what he was here for and gasped. "My plants! I gotta plant these seeds before the weather turns!" he yelped. He stood up, box in hand, and bolted out of the room. Tsubaki waved at the younger boys. "I'll be going with Ume. Have fun you guys!" he said with a smile before leaving as well.
Hiragi stayed back for a moment longer. He looked at Sakura with scrutinizing eyes. "Does your whole class know?" he asked. Sakura nodded. "Yeah, but they're the only ones aside from you three." he replied. Hiragi crossed his arms. "And I'm assuming you don't want to tell anyone else, right?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow. Sakura nodded again.
The older boy let out a sigh. "Well, you're gonna want to do something about that door if you want to do.. whatever you're doing here. Anyone can walk in at any time." he all but scolded the boy as he pointed at the open door. The bi-colored teen looked away with a slight blush. It was not his fault there just wasn't a place with privacy anywhere.
Hiragi then rummaged through his pants pocket and took out a key ring. He looked through all the different keys before removing one of them from the ring. He then tossed the key at Sakura, who fumbled to catch it. "That's the key to this classroom. Just don't lock it when you're not using it. This is the only copy and someone else might need to use the room from time to time. Also, make sure to let Umemiya in if he needs to get to his damn seeds again."
Why Hiragi was even carrying all these keys around he didn't know, but right now he was very grateful to the older boy. And it must have been showing on his face as the Tamon leader grinned at him. "You're welcome." he said before turning around and leaving the room.
"Well, that was something.." Kiryu commented after a moment of silence. He released his hold on Sakura's arm and sat back. "You doing alright now?" he asked the winged boy. Sakura dragged a hand across his face. "Yeah, just need a minute." he said. He let his head hang for a moment as he let the events of just now sink in.
"He called me a bird.."
"You kinda are like a bird, Sakura-chan."
"Hey!"
He looked down at the key in his hand. "At least we got something out of this whole ordeal." he commented quietly. He then got up from the floor, stumbled a bit, before walking to the door and locking it. As he turned around he came face to face with Suo. The other boy was holding his arms out like he was preparing to catch him if he fell over.
"Maybe we should call it a day. That stunt you pulled earlier took a lot out of you.." the one-eyed teen said. And while that was true (he found himself actually having trouble staying upright) he didn't want to stop their wing grooming session so soon. He really liked these weekly moments with his friends. As much as he disliked the idea at first, he now actually looked forward to it every time.
He shook his head. "Don't worry about me." he said before stumbling back and plopping himself down on the cushioned floor once more. Suo watched him for a moment before also returning to his place at his friend's side.
The tension in his shoulders immediately began to dissolve as the hands of his classmates returned to work on his feathers again. It wasn't like there was a lot of work left (they were basically already done with grooming) but the motions were relaxing and comforting to both the angel and his friends. It was almost like some type of therapy.
They sat there for another hour or so before one of them decided to call it quits. "I think we're done here for today." Suo said as he removed his hands from where he had been stroking a patch of jet black feathers. Sakura blinked his eyes open at those words. Much to his embarrassment he had begun to drift off.
"Yeah, I guess it's time to go." he sighed. He folded his wings away before standing up. His classmates began putting the pillows and blankets away before he could even grab one to help. Soon, everything was cleaned up and they were ready to go. Sakura unlocked the door and left it unlocked as per Hiragi's request.
At the school gate the students said their farewells as they each went their own way. Sakura stood at the gate for a moment longer, contemplating today's events. It felt good to know that the leader of Bofurin and his kings had his back in this. It made it a little easier to breathe.
Maybe, someday, he'd be able to show his true self to more people without worrying about rejection. Maybe he'll just pop his wings out in the middle of town someday to see the townsfolk's reaction, who knows. I mean, probably not, but you never know..
Despite the unpredicted events of today, Sakura was still quite content as he also made his way home.
When Sakura dragged his hand through his hair later that day, his fingers got caught on something. Confused, the boy felt around to see what it was. Then, he let out a loud annoyed groan as he realized what it was.
A fucking braid.
"Goddammit Kiryu!"
