(Wind Breaker) The Green Rose's Thorns

Part 35

Nirei (9:03 AM): i was wondering, but how many piercings do you guys have? Like, total

Kiryu (9:14 AM): hm? I wonder, haven't kept count

Suo (9:32 AM): i just have the two, but Aoi and Kiryuu have a lot more

Kiryu (9:34 AM): 9? I think

Sakura (9:44 AM): For you, or for Aoi?

Kiryu (9:56 AM): Aoi definitely hasn't hit that many yet

Nirei (10:11 AM): Aoi has four, right?

Suo (10:14 AM): wow, you really pay attention to others Nirei

Kiryu (10:15 AM): :O that's close! It's 5 afaik

Nirei (10:17 AM): five?! Where even is the 5th one?

Kiryu (10:25 AM): ;P i'll give you 3 guesses

Nirei sent a sticker: :thinking-cinnaroll:

Suo (10:32 AM): i think there's a hint there for you, Nirei

Sakura (10:38 AM): Where else would anyone even have piercings? Kiryu's got some on his face but Aoi doesn't.

Nirei (10:41 AM): tongue piercing?!

Suo sent a sticker: :thinking-sun:

Aoi (10:47 AM): ...

—

Kiryu (12:02 PM): are they arguing? O.o'

Sakura (12:05 PM): Why don't you just ask them?

Kiryu (12:09 PM): vibes are off bro, no way

Nirei (12:11 PM): guys

Sakura (12:11 PM): What's that even mean?

Nirei (12:13 PM): i really don't think we should talk about that here

Nirei sent a sticker: :nervous-cinnaroll:

Kiryu (12:20 PM): wow, they're really leaving us on read. It must be bad

Suo sent a sticker: :question-mark-sun:

Aoi sent a sticker: :unamused-fox:

—

"You wanna fight?," Sakura posted up in front of Aoi, who had been sitting on an old crate glaring daggers through his skull the whole time he had been painting. Kiryu and Anzai were with their group for the day, and they exchanged a glance as their classmates did whatever it was they were doing.

"Huh?," Aoi responded with an equally violent tone but his face said that he hadn't even been aware he was staring. He hopped down from his little perch and sighed. He started down the alley, toward the main road.

"Where're you goin?," Sakura snapped at him under the assumption he was just ditching them. Aoi just pulled out some earbuds and put them in, shooting a text to Sakura as he walked around the corner.

Drink. You guys need anything?

"Huh?"

"What'd 'e say?," Kiryu peeked around Sakura's shoulder at the phone in his hand, startling the poor boy.

Aoi heard a startled yelp from behind just as he started his music. He was sure to get chewed out by Hiragi, or worse Kaji, by the end of the day. He knew that, but even the looming threat of their combined fury wasn't enough to keep his mind from chasing down the next gloomy thought. He knew he was overthinking things, he had to be. But there was always that tiniest sliver of a chance that what he thought was there actually was real. And that was terrifying, to the point that Aoi was legitimately losing sleep over it.

He heard of some sort of declaration from a former Furin member during the chaos a couple weeks ago in the red light district. There was a meeting between the top brass and the class reps about it, and patrols were split into even smaller groups. Rotating out so the less proficient fighters of the student body could build up their strength, and the stronger guys could duke it out on the other days. That should have been more than enough to keep him busy, but he still found time to worry. Like right now, when he should have been working double time to help out the townsfolk since there were even less hands to go 'round.

He saw the clerk's mouth moving as he slid his drink over the counter, grabbing a couple extras when Sakura texted him back finally with requests. He pointed to his ear, surprised that the man couldn't hear the music blaring out from his headphones. The man nodded, and flashed a smile while Aoi paid for the drinks and left with a little wave.

Aoi retraced his steps, both literally and figuratively. He had narrowed his anxieties down to a few specific instances over the past few weeks. There were certain times, like when on patrols or when Aoi was helping Nirei with drinks and odd tasks to support the others. Just little things, like Suo focusing hard on whoever he was talking to. That seemed normal, but as it all built up Aoi was sure that Suo was avoiding him to a pretty severe extreme.

He hadn't noticed before, or maybe he took it for granted. But Suo, while deeply respectful of his boundaries, had always been a little more friendly than most. Little gestures here and there, almost touches and every so often the warmest of embraces. Always stealing glances, or checking in on Aoi when he lagged behind in conversations. That attentiveness was something Aoi thought annoyed him, but now that it was gone he felt like there was an unfillable hole somewhere. An ache that gnawed at him from inside out and was near driving him mad. Why won't he just look my way at least?

"Why do I even want him to look?," Aoi muttered his thoughts under his breath with lips pursed into a pouty frown. Arguing with himself, a habit he had slipped into more recently.

"Want who to look? At what?," Kiryu pushed his luck, sneaking up behind Aoi and plucking one of the earbuds right out of his ears. He got an elbow to the ribcage for that move, accepting his dues gracefully. He held the earbud out, Aoi taking it and replacing it with a cold drink.

"I guess you're not gonna answer my question?," Kiryu sat with Aoi, a little further away from the other two as they all took a break. The air was humid, under cloudy skies and rising temperatures as summer approached.

"What question," Aoi lowered his drink, having chugged a significant amount down in one go. He wiped his chin where some condensation from the bottle slid down and screwed on the cap, staring hard at that so Kiryu couldn't see his eyes. It wasn't possible for anyone to see his thoughts or fluttering heart just by seeing his face, but he kept dodging glances like that while battling his inner demons.

"Did you and Suo have a fight?," Kiryu lowered his voice and asked more clearly this time. He wasn't anywhere near as close to Aoi as some of the others, but he felt like he could at least hear him out like this. Aoi shook his head slowly, but the way he bit at his lower lip told Kiryu that wasn't exactly the truth. The boy beside him folded his knees up to his chin and made himself small. Almost as small as he felt, sharing his baseless fears and anxieties as the sun crept further toward the skyline.