(Wind Breaker) The Green Rose's Thorns

Part 33

As the minutes dragged on, Qing found herself all alone in the empty bar. With nothing else to do, she let out a long exhale and set about clearing up dirty dishes and wiping down tables. She felt a pang in her chest as her mind was given the time to wander. First she imagined the worst, for her friends and coworkers. That was a thought she easily shook away, noting how even the freckled blonde was learning how to defend himself somewhat.

With those thoughts chased away, other worries began to pile up. She knew at least some of Shizuka's story, and the part of town she was from originally. She suspected that whatever brought her to the red light district was part of the reason behind the recent attempts by different groups to steal her away. Thinking about that dirty, festering part of the city's outskirts made Qing's stomach twist like a knife. Memories, none good, breached the dam that normally held them back and gushed out. A shack with a rose emblazoned on the door. The whir of a tattoo gun, and so many other smells and sounds and sensations that made her skin crawl as she traced the tattoo on her thigh. Two roses, with thorny viney bands that wrapped all the way around her leg.

If, by some cruel twist of fate, her friends learned of her past there. Learned of the awful things she had done under the orders of her taskmaster. If they knew what she had done before just to survive, how would they react?

Those that knew her as Qing, would they be afraid? Would they still be so friendly, or would they turn against her. The image raced through her mind with dizzying clarity. The look of horror on Shizuka's face, Kanji shielding her from Qing and ordering her to get lost. The way Tsubaki's face would twist with worry, then disgust as he realized the wretched awful things she had done before. The ways she had disrespected her own body and boundaries just for scraps.

Those that knew "Qing" as Aoi, what would they say? He already had a good taste of their horrified looks and whispers, usually after he had snapped in another fight. He knew well the strained tension and pressure put on everyone at Furin as they tried to tread around his guards and rules. Nirei was like to faint if he heard even half of what Aoi had done before. Sakura would for sure find it disgusting and weak. As for Suo, that was a thought he had dared not linger on lately.

He didn't want to, but it did. Constantly. Suo had been the most understanding with him and his situation. He never asked questions, didn't pry or prod into his personal affairs at all. Not usually, but sometimes he would push into Aoi's space a little bit. Never with any ill will, and always with the lightest of touches. If he knew what Aoi was really, under the carefully crafted guise, would he still look his way with that kind smile? Would he be so quick to protect Aoi, defend his name like he did with Arima and Kanuma. Would he still look so sad when Aoi got hurt? Still hold him so close, like he had that night in the back room of Pothos?

"Qing?"

Tears threatened to spill from his eyes, there in the middle of the unusually quiet bar. He was spiraling like mad, breath ragged despite his best attempts to steady it and the heart crashing into his ribs. A hand on his shoulder nearly made him yelp, but he remembered his place and managed to keep it to a startled gasp.

"Qing, we're back," Seiryuu was the one who had reached out to pull her out of her head. She blinked away the extra moisture in her eyes and surveyed the bunch of bruised faces that had spilled into the establishment while she was lost in thought. There were the familiar faces that had filled the chairs earlier, and several new ones.

Shizuka stepped out from the crowd and bowed her head in front of Qing, offering a heartfelt apology for her foolish actions that led to the girl being left alone. Qing was sure Shizuka had mistaken her temporary depression for something else, but she happily took the out and forced an angry pout. She flicked Shizuka's forehead hard, then shot a look at Tsubaki before she pulled her friend into a gentle embrace. Qing was left to tend to Shizuka in the back room while the others got patched up. Then it was back to business as usual, Qing flitting back and forth between the bar, the kitchen, and the main floor like a cracked out little butterfly. It was busy, but she was glad for something to keep her moving. On one of her trips out, she scooped up the plates from one of the long floor tables where a boy with chopped bangs sat along with Tsubaki and the Furin group.

"Aoi?," the boy uttered the name in his shock at seeing what he believed to be a familiar face there. Other than Shizuka's, another little urchin who found their way out of the hellhole on the south side of town.

Qing flinched, nearly answering the call out of habit. He didn't recognize the boy, but from how he looked he was obviously not from a well to do area. The only feature that might give away her disguise was the one tattoo she didn't cover with makeup, the one on her thigh of the two roses. And the only people who could possibly know that mark were people she had taken great care to avoid up till now.

"Qing, do you need to take five?," Kanji noticed how pale she was but missed the reason behind it entirely. His question made Qing jump, nearly dropping the dishes she had stacked in her hands. Kanji took them and left her there, insisting that she should rest if she needed to.

"Oh, we can handle things here," Tsubaki cupped his hand over Qing's as she tried to return to her task of clearing their table. The two exchanged glances, the latter letting out a deep sigh and fishing for her notepad. Tsubaki read the long-winded note there and nodded, then Qing disappeared through the door she and Shizuka had gone through before. All eyes were on Suzuri once she was out of sight, and he flinched under the pressure.

"I was mistaken. I think. Sorry-"

"It's fine. But, can you boys stay a little after things wrap up here?," Tsubaki's face hardened as he asked that of his little posse. They all nodded in silent agreement, the rest of their evening now booked.