(Wind Breaker) The Green Rose's Thorns

Part 4

Several days later, Aoi emerged from the back room with a fresh change of clothes and his bag hanging off his scrawny shoulder. He stumbled, leaning into the doorway between the kitchen and cafe.

"Hey! You shouldn't be up yet!," Kotoha blurted out louder than she intended to, and all eyes turned toward her. Aoi shot a look at the faces of two boys seated at the counter, wearing the same uniform as Tsubaki and staring back in shock. One had white hair, the other bleached hair spiked up.

"Kotoha! You brought someone weird in again!," the bleached one snapped out.

"Hiragi, shh! We woke the kid up, I think!," the white-haired one shushed his clearly stressed companion while keeping his eyes on the boy. The boy who, despite Kotoha's continued protests, was slowly making his way out from behind the counter and to the door.

"Aoi! Hey-Tsubaki brought them in. Hey!," Kotoha explained to Hiragi and the other boy in the middle of slipping out from behind the counter to grab the escapee. Just then, the door opened with the familiar bell chime and Aoi froze in his tracks. Blocking his path was another boy, wearing a middle school uniform and flashy earrings, who blinked down at Aoi standing there. Then at Kotoha, who was leaning into the counter and letting out a relieved breath.

"Suo. Sorry, uh. I don't think he can stay here, so-"

"Where're gonna have him go then? The orphanage?," the white-haired highschool boy chimed in. Kotoha shook her head, earning an exasperated groan from Hiragi. While that happened, Aoi tried to slip out beside Suo and kept getting blocked by the other boy matching his side-stepped approach with a big smile plastered on his face.

"Hello!," the white-haired boy burst into their little stand-off, startling Aoi. The younger boy started to fall backward, the one responsible for the reaction reaching out to catch him. Aoi caught his balance and jumped back, just out of reach.

"Hm? Well then, looks like you're fine. Oh! My name's Umemiya! I'm gonna take you to a new place to stay, although I don't really think Kotoha should just leave some strange kid in her apartment. Oh well, let's go!," Umemiya held out his hand as an invitation for Aoi to follow him. The younger boy eyed him warily, taking another step back and wobbling unsteadily.

"I guess he doesn't trust you. Well, you did just meet. Suo, can you go with them? I'll whip something up for you while you're gone," Kotoha adjusted much faster than Umemiya did, making another request at the young boy she had only met a few days ago. The relationship between the two seemed unclear, but at the very least Aoi knew Suo already.

"I'm already going home," Aoi spoke up finally. It was the third time Suo had heard his voice, and the first time hearing him speak in an almost normal tone. Almost, because it was weirdly flat and emotionless.

"I wouldn't really call that...a home," Suo teased. He hadn't meant to share that thought aloud, but it seemed to stop Aoi's protests. The boy flinched, and bowed his head as the random trio stepped outside.

Umemiya babbled on and on as they walked, neither of the other two really trying to keep up with his words. More than once, Aoi swayed and looked close to falling over. He vehemently refused to accept any help from either of the other two boys. Finally, Suo just held his hand out until Aoi handed over the bag. At the very least, he could carry that.

"Are you two friends?," Umemiya hadn't been completely oblivious to the antics of the two walking behind him. He had even adjusted his pace to match theirs, though they didn't seem to realize it.

"Hm?"

"Huh?"

The confused responses prompted Umemiya to turn all the way around to look at them. They both looked at him, then at each other with the same blank expressions. The corners of Aoi's lips twitched, and he quickly looked away. He stared at the ground, a hand over his mouth and his ears slightly red.

"We sorta just met the other day," Suo sort of explained. Umemiya turned around, arms folded behind his head, and started walking again.

"Hm. You seem to get along well."

"You think so?," Suo was genuinely curious about that. Umemiya just shrugged, stopping only after Aoi collided with a light post. Suo snickered, bursting into a full laugh at Aoi's flustered glare. Aoi's face was bright red, and he looked ready to punch the laughing boy.

"Shut up!," Aoi shouted.

"Sorry, sorry. You really should watch where you're going, though. Ow!," Suo did in fact earn a hard jab for that remark. The two kept bickering back and forth the rest of the way to the apartments that Kotoha stayed at. He guided them up the stairs to the second floor, stopping to fish through his pockets at the far door. His face went white, his hands returning from his pockets empty.

"Ah! I forgot to get the key!," his sudden realization stopped the other two from picking at each other as they both stared deadpan at the older boy. He flashed a goofy, somewhat apologetic smile at them and apologized with a half-bow. Then he ran for the stairs, jogging in place as he thought of something else.

"Oh, I'm gonna go get it! Try not to get beat up by that little kid!," and he was off. After another moment or two of the pair staring dumbfounded at the base of the stares, they settled in for their wait. Aoi sagged down against the stone wall that served as the railing for the raised exterior of the building. Suo dropped the bag down between them and sat down next to it.

"I'm not a little kid. I start high school next year," Aoi grumbled through clenched teeth. He curled up into himself, resting his face against his knees so only his nose up was visible.

"Eh? Ow," Suo earned another hard swipe for daring to be confused at that statement.