This is my favourite frame, because it speaks so much at who Suo Hayato is at the core of it. We may jest in cursing him, but beneath all the masks he’s worn, he cares, he will always care, as sick as his methods are. It’s the fact that he’s willing to hurt Nirei to end it, perhaps thinking that one fight is enough for Nirei to hate him.
Him gently placing the leaf on Nirei’s head as the latter is unconscious feels like a kiss to me. A farewell kiss. Or a pat on the head. However you may want to interpret it.
It’s Suo’s last act of kindness before he comes back to whatever life of lies he used to live.
#WB211