You hadn’t even had time to drop the veil before Suguru walked away to smoke, though he was obviously staying close enough to rush at you if you collapsed again.

Under his calm composure, you could see the slight tick of his jaw as he tried to keep a blank stare, the small tremble in his hands as he brought the blunt to his lips, the way he held the smoke in his lungs for longer than normal.

You couldn’t blame him- this mission was terrifying. He had watched you—his childhood bestfriend— almost die because they were ambushed by more curses than expected, and he didn’t have the strength to stop protect both himself and you.

His world almost ended when he saw you slump against the wall after being thrown like a rag doll.

The air smelt of blood-..or maybe it only smelt that way because that was all you tasted on your tongue. You had one or two broken ribs, and larger gash across your thigh that Suguru had wrapped a makeshift tourniquet around with the sleeve of his uniform jacket, leaving him in his white button up.

You coughed up another few specks of blood, groaning meekly as you waited for the chauffeur to arrive with the car and take you back to school so you could see Shoko, but the way Suguru tensed as you coughed didn’t escape your gaze.

The subtle look he shot at you—almost as if to check you were still there..still alive..still with him—didn’t go unnoticed.

He had so many things to say, but not enough composure to say it…so he bit his tongue and sucked back a longer drag from his blunt, his back to you.

For someone you’ve known for years, it infuriated you that you couldn’t read him. But you could tell he was upset…annoyed..maybe even angry.

Great.