(Wind Breaker) The Green Rose's Thorns

Part 12

The group split after returning to Furin's side of the tracks. Aoi said he had work, Suo followed him for a bit, and Hiragi wandered off lost in his own head. Sakura and Nirei followed along with Umemiya and Sugishita for a while, getting pulled into all sorts of odd requests as they went. They finally caught a break, bogged down with snacks that they started into as they rested on the steps of a closed down shop.

"So, I get why he's always followin' you. But why'd he get so mad when those guys were eggin' Aoi?," Sakura spoke through a mouthful of bread, pointing at Sugishita who tensed up at the question. Umemiya snickered at Sugishita's reaction, then finished off his food in one big bite.

"They're friends, why else?," Umemiya's explanation once again fell short. Nirei prodded him for something more than that, trying to keep Sakura from having another outburst.

"I guess it was not long after he moved over, but they got into a pretty gruesome fight. It was not far from here, actually," Suo popped up out of nowhere, startling everyone.

...

Aoi sat on a couch, the stress of his ever-changing situation reaching a breaking point as he stared at the floor. Standing in front of him, with hands on her hips, was Kotoha Tachibana. She took him in, and patched him up, but she was a little too persistent about certain things. Things that Aoi was not willing to compromise on at all. Their discussion reached a feverish pitch, then Aoi went dead silent and unresponsive. He felt his body growing hot, blood boiling, then icy cold when the strands of hair half-obscuring his vision suddenly were lifted away. The boy recoiled hard into the sofa, eyes wide at the girl's curious stare.

"You're pretty good-looking, you should cut your hair if it's too hard to take care of it," Kotoha blurted out the first thing she thought as she studied her new roommate's features. Even with his face all twisted up the way it was now, she was firm in her assessment.

"Don't!," Aoi shouted suddenly and batted her hand away. He held a hand over his mouth, where the corners were twitching and curling up. His face was red, but he seemed genuinely angry instead of just regular embarrassment.

"Hey-"

"I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to be here either. Fuck!," Aoi shouted out from under his ragged mop of hair. He snatched up the mask that was beside him on the sofa, then rushed for the door and disappeared.

Three days later, there was a knock at Kotoha's door. She opened it hoping to see Aoi, but instead she saw three other concerned faces looking back at her. One she was well used to showing up unannounced. The second usually wasn't far from the first, and the third was a newer addition to the recurring visitations.

"Ume, and Suo?," Kotoha invited them in, breaking out some drinks as they settled in around the small living room. It was a small, one-bedroom apartment, with the bathroom next to the bedroom's door. The sofa had a duffel bag beside it, the contents spilling out somewhat. There was a coffee table, which is where Suo chose to sit instead of overcrowding the small couch.

"So, why're all three of you here?," Kotoha's tone was somewhat irritable whenever she spoke to Umemiya, though it was softer today.

"That kid's not here?," Umemiya was charging ahead on his own, stating a key detail that each of the guests had noticed already.

"No," Kotoha's face dropped as she answered. She hadn't seen Aoi since their argument, and it had been worrying her like crazy.

"I was actually here looking for him. He hasn't been at school for a few days, or answering his phone," Suo took that chance to explain his presence.

"Did ya have a fight?," Umemiya hit the nail right on the head with that question. Kotoha's face got even darker, as did Suo's.

"An argument, not a fight," Kotoha clarified for Suo's sake, and his shoulders relaxed a little bit. "He's been gone for about three days."

"Did he go home maybe?," Umemiya asked, lacking some key details. Or he forgot them entirely.

"His stuff's still here," Sugishita spoke up finally, pointing to the bag beside Umemiya's feet. After a brief review of the situation, the three boys headed out to see if they could find Aoi. It was decided that he wasn't likely to go over to Shishitoren's turf, but tracking him down turned out to be harder than expected. At some point they split up to expand their net, with Suo and Umemiya being the only two to regroup at the designated time. They headed in the last direction they saw Sugishita go, down a particularly desolate street.

"So, you and Aoi're good friends?," Umemiya struck up a conversation with his younger companion. He had heard a little bit about the pair from Tsubaki, but there were tons of holes in that story too. Suo didn't answer, and when Umemiya hazarded a look his way it was clear that Suo was worried about something. His brow was pinched tight, a hint of a frown pulling his usually cheery face down.

"Worried he got hurt in a scrap?," Umemiya softened his tone a little bit, and Suo finally looked up. He started to shake his head, the long golden tassels of his earrings swaying with the motion, then let out a sigh and straightened his posture.

"He's not supposed to be fighting."

"Right, Tsubaki mentioned that he wasn't fighting as much these days. Some sort of deal between you two or somethin'?," Umemiya's boundless curiosity was matched only by Kotoha's. Before Suo could answer, one of the townsfolk came crashing down the street at them.

"Ume! It's bad! Sugishita-"

The older man stumbled, Umemiya catching him and helping to steady him. Suo's expression went rigid again as they both waited for the man to catch his breath and explain what he was so freaked out about.

"Sugishita. And that kid! It's not lookin' good, you gotta stop 'em."