BLOOM | NI-KI - Chapter 7: Chapter 7

FOR THE FOLLOWING WEEK, Saori breezed through the school days with a blissful smile on her face. Ni-ki finally seemed to be letting her in, allowing her to get to know him better. They had routinely begun to walk to the arcade together, and Saori was happy—despite the shady business that continued to happen right under her nose.
As she walked into the classroom, the radiant grin on her face didn't go unnoticed by Sakura, who sat at her desk with her chin in her hands. She'd been watching Saori for the past few weeks, taking note of her change in demeanor.
She hadn't been this jolly before.
"Saori," She called to the dark haired girl, who turned to look at her. She didn't miss the way Saori's grin noticeably faltered, morphing into a reserved smile.
"Sakura." She approached her, taking a seat right across from her.
"You look happy, anything new?" Saori blinked, a blank expression coating her features before she answered. "No, I guess I'm just happy exams went well."
The lie slipped right through her teeth easily, too easily, she noticed. Saori hadn't been one to keep secrets in the past. In truth, she was painfully open about how she felt and what was going on in her life, but she's since learned from that.
Being open only set her up for disappointment.
Sakura tilted her head, eyes studying the girl in front of her. She wasn't stupid, she knew there was something more to Saori's happiness. And as much as she didn't want to believe it had to do with Ni-ki, she was certain he played a part.
"But Kura, I've been meaning to ask you something." Saori said sweetly, reaching her hand out to grasp the paler girl's. Sakura blinked, sitting up straighter, her full attention on her.
"You know at the assembly, when principal Suzuki talked about Sunoo? Well I've just been curious about what everyone's talking about, what happened to him?"
Sakura shut her eyes, exhaling lowly. Of course Saori hadn't let this whole Ni-ki thing go, she'd been naive to even entertain the thought. She pondered her next words for a moment.
If she gave in and told her about the situation, maybe Saori would let the whole thing go. On the other hand, if she entertained it, Saori might be pulled in even deeper.
"All I know is Sunoo died for something someone else did." She blurted after careful consideration. Saori paused, a far off look in her eyes.
So Sunoo really was killed, it wasn't a suicide like they painted it out to be. Then why was even the school trying to make it out to be a suicide?
She also wondered how Sakura seemed to know a lot more about the situation than she was letting on, but that was something she would look into later. She simply hummed in thought, before turning to ask her another question.
"Do you think Jay had anything to do with it?"
To that, Sakura's blood ran cold, her expression hazing over with a darkness Saori had never seen before. She leaned in, her voice just below a whisper.
"Don't ask questions you're not ready to hear answers to." And with that, she abruptly rose out of her seat, muttering something about needing to use the restroom. Saori watched her retreating figure, a scoff leaving her lips.
There was something off about Miyawaki Sakura, she just didn't know what.
𓇢𓆸
Ni-ki had gone completely radio silent. She hadn't seen him, hadn't heard from him, hadn't even heard anyone talking about him. It was like he had disappeared into thin air, like he never existed in the first place.
It was driving her insane.
One week, they were hitting it off, she was finally getting closer to understanding him. The next, he's gone MIA, completely ghosting her.
But Saori couldn't give up now, she still needed to help Ni-ki. She wasn't sure how, or in what way, but she just felt attached to him—like some invisible string had connected them through fate alone.
So she went to the only place she could imagine he was: the rooftop. And there he was, curled up in a corner near the ledge. Knees pulled to his chest, back pressed against the crumbling ledge.
His eyes were squeezed shut, an oversized hoodie adorning his body, the hood pulled way over his head as if he were trying to hide himself—or disappear. She stood at the doorway, slowly shutting it, her light footsteps being the only noise that could be heard.
But Ni-ki couldn't hear her. He hadn't seen her either, too immersed in his music, in his own misery to care if anyone caught him up there. "Ni-ki?" She tapped his shoulder, a wave of deja vu washing over her.
He sighed, pulling an earbud out to look up at her. She softly gasped at his condition. The bags under his eyes were dark and deep, a fresh new purple bruise running along his temple.
She immediately reached a hand out, fingers brushing against the bruise. "What happened?" She questioned, her tone filled with panic. He pushed her away, pulling the hood over his face even further.
"Nothing you need to worry about." His voice was cold, completely devoid of emotion. But Saori knew he didn't mean it, he was just hurting. He just felt alone.
But he wasn't. Not when she was here.
"Ni-ki, I want to be here for you. Can you let me?" She pleaded, crouching down to face him. He refused to look at her, staring at a crack on the floor instead.
She let out a sigh of exhaustion, slouching down in front of him. "Talk to me." She said simply, tilting her head from under his to force eye contact. He sighed, resting his head against the wall.
"I just have a lot going on." She hummed in understanding, urging him to go on.
"Does it have to do with the business you handle at the arcade?" She queried, scooting closer to him. He didn't say anything, just nodded his head ever so slightly.
"Are you working for someone?"
Silence.
They bask in it, the two finding comfort in each other's presence. Then he finally answers. "I am, but it's not because I want to." He explained, turning to look her in the eye.
She nodded, her lips twisting into a frown. "Why, then?"
"It's for Sunoo. His family, they're not doing too well. They used to rely on Sunoo to help out, but now that's he gone.." He trailed off, his voice ever so slightly cracking at the mention of his late friend.
He sucked in a breath before continuing. "The school didn't give them anything. No apology. Nothing."
Saori looks down, her mind reeling. She couldn't believe that behind the facade of an apparent prestigious private school lay deep, abominable corruption. It was bad enough that they were trying to spin his murder into suicide, but to not even reimburse the family? There was no forgiving that.
"So I've been taking fights and running small jobs to get them money." He said, his eyes still glued to the floor. Saori glanced at him, and even though he was physically there, it felt like mentally he wasn't.
He looked like a shell of a person, and she hated that there was nothing she could do about it.
She'd be lying if she said she wasn't stunned—not by his actions, but by how much he was willing to sacrifice. Sunoo must have meant the world to him, and to have him ripped away so suddenly would be devastating.
"I'm sorry," She whispered, her hand tracing just below his jawline to comfort him. He leaned into her touch, his arm snaking around her waist to pull her closer to him.
He'd never been this vulnerable before, not with his family, not with his friends, not even with Sunoo. But there was something about Saori that made it easy, made it easy to forget the noise in his brain, the responsibilities, the danger, the trauma. Even if it was just for a moment.
"Is there anything I can do to help you? With the money and everything? I mean this ring, I'm sure I could pawn it—"
"No. I don't want you to get involved in my mess."
She shook her head, opening her mouth in protest, but the look he gave her told her to drop it. So she did. For now.
"But we know Jay was there, he had to have done it. Why don't you just report him, then they'd have to pay."
Ni-ki let out a strained sigh, the skin around his eyes tightening as he clenched his fist. "I can't prove anything. And I'm not the golden boy, I'm just the troubled kid who's always in a fight. I'd never stand a chance."
Her frown deepened, and she grabbed his cheeks with both hands, moving his head to look at her. "You're not a troubled kid, and they'd know that if they gave you a chance."
A light shade of pink dusted his cheeks, their eyes remaining locked. In that moment, the two saw each other, deeper than just surface level, deeper than what one can see with just the naked eye.
They saw each other's souls. Each other's pain. The things neither of them had the courage to say out loud. They truly saw each other.
"I don't like hurting people. But I hate standing still even more." He said, his voice below a whisper. And at that moment, Saori didn't see a criminal.
She saw a boy dragging a coffin behind him—and calling it justice.
Bloom.