(Wind Breaker) The Green Rose's Thorns

Part 20

"AAAAH!"

"STOP!"

Two pained cries echoed off the rafters and caused a temporary pause in the fighting across the whole warehouse. All eyes turned toward the source, where they were greeted with a horrifying scene. One guy was pinned to an old shipping crate, literally, with a knife stabbed right through his hand into the thing. A few feet away, Aoi was standing over the back of another guy with one of his arms wrenched around his back. It was bent at an odd angle, an unnatural twist where Aoi's shoe lifted up from, and fell with a sickening thwack onto the concrete floor as Aoi scooped up the discarded bat and slowly walked over to the pinned Keels member.

There was a shudder around the room as Aoi crunched the guy's fingers on his other hand under his heel. Someone shouted out a name, not his so he didn't respond at all. Instead he raised the bat high over his head with a dark look in his eyes that made the poor guy shrink back and flail uselessly underfoot.

"You brought weapons in, but didn't think they'd turn against you? Here, I'll show you how to use 'em," Aoi started his swing, aiming the bat at an angle that for sure would have crushed the guy's skull in.

"Aoi! Aoi, don't."

At the sound of a familiar voice, tinged in something wholly unfamiliar, Aoi froze statue still. The bat had stopped mere centimeters from its target, while the boy who had just been spared burst into a blubbering mess of tears. His words were unintelligible as Aoi slammed the end of the bat's handle into his jaw to knock him out. He pulled the knife free, tossing it away so it slid under a pile of scrap. Aoi pulled at the mask, tying a knot in the broken string and sliding it back over his face to hide that nasty snarl that refused to leave even after he had been pulled out of his rage. He kept the bat as he returned to his patch job on the two who were already knocked out, and the fighting picked back up with a fever pitch as their leader called for a swift end to the conflict.

Aoi moved through the battlefield undisturbed in his duty after that, chucking any discarded or dropped weapons into a pile in the corner as he fixed up his comrades. He headed up the stairs, slipping past where Kaji and the leader were still going at it and kneeling down beside the whole reason for this fight.

"Hey, now! Don't think I'll ignore you after that display!," the leader of Keel taunted Aoi, who had unfortunately gained his attention. Kaji railed into him again, still just barely lucid with his own boiling rage.

"C'mon! He might be even better than you, Kaji! Hey, I know. Let's up the ante, if I win you and that kid gotta join-"

Kaji kicked away one of the guy's weapons, and got a healthy blow dealt back. Aoi gently brushed dark hair out of a boy's face. He was on the floor, barely conscious and covered in bumps and blood. Aoi gingerly sat him up against the shipping crates behind him and inspected every inch of the boy that he reasonably could.

"What's your name," Aoi ignored the boy's pathetic pleas and pushes, treating each wound in turn and focusing on what was most important.

"I-"

"Name."

"Nagato," the boy answered finally. His voice was weak, barely audible over the clanging and banging of the fights just out of sight. Aoi asked a few more questions, and while the boy seemed confused he was able to give the right responses.

Aoi stood up to survey the field, realizing that the fighting had died down for the most part. Kaji stood victorious over the leader's conked out body, and his vices raised his arms to announce and inspire their victory.

"Hey, you shouldn't be helpin' anyone," Kaji snapped at Aoi again, turning around to see the bloodied boy attempting to help Nagato to the stairs. Kusuri and Enomoto quickly relieved Aoi and they met up with Anzai at the bottom floor just as he snapped to. While they had their heart to heart there, Aoi wove in and out of the crowd of Furin boys and patched them up. Sakura was last, his face burning red hot at how unbothered Aoi was with the constant intrusions into everyone's personal space.

"Why..doesn't anyone try to help him?," Nagato asked meekly. He watched as Aoi, despite his own gushing wounds, carefully applied bandages and salves for each of the battered boys. He even wrapped up the most egregious wounds the Keels members suffered before Furin regrouped to move out and return home.

"He's a special case. Only certain people can touch him," Suo explained. Nirei was still out, and Tsugeura scooped him up onto his back to carry him. Aoi pressed a spare bandage into his side, where blood had soaked through his shirt but was still somewhat hidden by his Furin jacket.

"You guys helped me, even though I've done so many awful things," Nagato's face fell again as he walked with the group. Aoi let out a strained groan, his frustration spilling into other areas now.

"And I nearly killed two guys today, so we're not all shining heroes here," Aoi huffed out that remark and got a few wry looks from the small crowd. The group's attention was redirected as Nirei came to, and Suo gave him a hard flick to the forehead for his reckless charge. Then they all had a heart to heart with Sakura, while Aoi wilted from the constant stops and stalls. He had seemed unfazed to the others, especially earlier, but Suo kept a close eye on him as they walked. He hung back to walk beside Aoi as he got slower and slower, all without the gang noticing. Nirei caught on somewhat and nagged a few times, but Suo just waved him away so Aoi didn't have to expend energy turning his attempts down.

They were crossing a small bridge, almost at their destination, when Aoi finally lost his strength. He stumbled at first, then his legs completely gave out and he started to fall over the side of the bridge. He was pulled back, by Suo who tried to support his friend from below. Aoi still resisted, even though the light in his eyes was nearly out entirely, pushing against Suo's lowered arm.

"Don't," he wheezed. By now, a few heads had turned to the scene at the rear, and some were flying into full panic mode again.

"I won't," Suo reassured him in that same sweet tone that seemed to be the secret switch for Aoi's blinding fits. Those two words were all it took for Aoi to cave, falling into Suo's body as his consciousness threatened to leave him for good. He clung to Suo's shirt, a buzzing ringing drowning out the alarmed cries ahead of the pair.

"Aoi," Suo frowned, brow drawn together as he held his friend. Aoi clung to his shirt, still trying to stand up on his own through ragged breath and a soaked shirt.

"Hey, what's holdin' us up!," Kaji snapped from the front of the procession. Kusuri tapped his shoulder and pointed through the crowd of heads toward Suo and Aoi. Kaji was about to rip into them, but stopped once he realized what was going on. Nirei broke away from the crowd, but stopped short at Suo's behest. With some effort, Suo managed to hoist Aoi up on his back and they started moving again. The others were going straight to Umemiya to report on the day's events, while Suo turned off with Nirei to take Aoi directly to Kotoha.

"Sorry," Aoi had repeated that apology several times since Suo picked him up, but this time his voice was almost actually there. He had been slowly sinking down on his perch, clutching Suo's jacket tightly in his balled up fists. His nails dug into his chariot's shoulders, but Suo didn't complain at all. He felt something wet on his neck, falling past his collar, and felt a rush of panic at first. Until he realized that it wasn't blood, or Nirei would have flipped out all over again. It was something else, trailing down Aoi's face as he leaned into the crook of Suo's neck and his shoulders shook.