Okay so something I realised whilst rewatching WBK after reading the newest chapter.
So Nirei was able to land a hit on Suo, and at first I thought that Suo let him. I mean, it makes sense, right? How, in that moment, would Nirei be able to land a punch to Suo's face?
But then as I was rewatching the scene of Suo training Nirei, I realised:
Suo closed his eyes.
Nirei punches Suo directly after he laughs at him. And when he laughs at him, his attention is obviously diverted and he closes his eyes.
The surprise on Nirei's face upon realising he landed a blow 😭💔
Immediately after he lands the punch, Suo knocks him out:
Now the thing with Suo closing his eyes. If you remember when Suo trained Nirei, the one thing he made sure to teach him was to NEVER close your eyes.
Because if you do, you will get hit!
Throughout the series, in all of Suo's fights pretty much, one thing that always stood out to me was the fact he like- maintains eye contact with the person he's fighting:
Even when delivering a flying kick 😭
So in that moment, he lost focus - possibly from seeing Nirei crying and clinging to him; "Aren't we friends?!" (that would break me too). And so, Nirei managed to hit him! #Deserved
I mean, was he technically laughing at Nirei and that's why he lost focus? Yes. But personally, I believe he forced himself to laugh 'cuz otherwise he would cry
I am also 100% on board with him having fucked up. 10/10, no notes, this story is feeding me so well right now. I love exactly where it’s at, as well as all the potential the story has for future development.
Character/story exploration below, so if you don’t want anything to do with critical analysis, look away.
The first way Nirei fucked up: He fell for Suo's verbal bullshit, landed right in the same trap he's seen Suo set up for others over and over.
Do I find it believable that Nirei fell for it? Yep. Nirei doesn't expect Suo to pull that shit on him, nor is Nirei especially adept at defending himself from such behavior.
The second way Nirei fucked up: He chose violence.
Nirei. Was. The Aggressor.
Even if he's a sweet little blorbo and is all that is beautiful and good in the world, he is still the one who started the fight. Suo did not choose to fight -- he answered Nirei's demand to fight and defended himself. (Not just that, but based on what was shown, Suo defended himself properly and directly, rather than “playing with his food” as he often does. However, this post is not about Suo, so I’m setting that aside.)
The moment Nirei chose to fight, he lost. Suo, Nirei, and we the audience all knew there was no shot in hell Nirei could win in a physical fight. What outcome was Nirei hoping to achieve by choosing violence? He wanted answers, but forcing answers out of Suo through a fight was not something he was capable of achieving. Which means Nirei fucked up by choosing an action that was highly unlikely to achieve his desired outcome.
It makes complete sense that Nirei chose to fight for a lot of reasons, which is why I'm enthusiastically on board with him having made the wrong choice:
The people Nirei admires use fighting to communicate and resolve issues. Nirei is striving to be like those people, especially Sakura.
Given his current circumstances in the story, Nirei is stressed and anxious and not thinking straight. He panicked.
He's an information guy but not a master strategist -- he failed to think of an alternative solution under pressure. His opponent is a master strategist, as the story has established in multiple ways.
I love conflicts where character behavior rings TRUE, and everything about this situation rings true to me.
Did Nirei have other options to take if he'd been thinking straight? Yes.
He could have used his phone to call for back up while doing EXACTLY what Suo taught him: keeping his eyes on his opponent. He could have stalled for time and followed Suo. But, c’mon, narratively, that’d be a helluva lot less interesting, at least in my opinion. This situation opens the door for so many great possibilities in the story, and I’m GIDDY to see where Nii-sensei is going to take it.
If Nirei hadn't fucked up, this would all be over way too quickly.
I hope this is going to be fuel for Nirei’s personal growth because that’s something I’d love to see. We’ve seen Sakura growing in leaps and bounds, and I feel like this is a great time to put some story fuel into Sakura's first real fan and #1 backer.
I kid you not I looked at this panel and was honestly terrified of Suo
Nirei is so freaking persistent and he cares so much about Suo omg I had to put my phone down everytime he got hurt
He is asking the questions everyone has been asking. WHY SUO. WHY. [ also Kiryu apperance?! Kiryu darling go tell our husband Suo to come home so I can punch him ]
I CRIED WHEN I SAW THIS. I had to put my phone down and just sob into my hands. Nirei is so precious to me. How is Suo just STANDING THERE
I hate how pretty Suo looks when he laughs. I hate how much I love him. I hate how much I relate. I HATE HIM.
I lied I love him. I love him because he would laugh at Nirei’s honest reaction. I love him because I knew deep down he cares. I love him because he’s so cute
YES NIREI-KUN!!!! The first time we ever see Suo get punched, AND IT’S BY NIREI?!? I’ve never been prouder [ I can see Nirei anon cheering ]
He is just so beautiful in this scene. The small bruise showing the impact Nirei’s punch had. He cares so much about Nirei. He loves them all so much. There is no way he doesn’t. I love Suo so much, he’s so beautiful. What in the world is making my darling act this way.
Sorry everyone, I just asked Suo to come home so that’s why he’s saying bye to Nirei
ദ്ദി -ᯅ-ς)՞°·.
all jokes aside, I was bawling at this panel. Suo wdym this is goodbye. No it’s not. Come here. Suo please.
My final thoughts on this chapter is that everything is so painstakingly beautiful that it hurts to read. It’s like being stabbed with a knife engraved with golden flowers. The art is this is phenominal as always. Yet, I can’t phatom the idea of Suo leaving. [ look at me using big girl words ]
