(Wind Breaker) The Green Rose's Thorns

Part 36

Across town, Suo was faring no better than his counterpart. He had been hyper aware of every little bump and brush with Aoi since the fight with Gravel. That whole experience in the red light district had been overwhelming really. The bright lights, the all out brawls. Eager shopkeepers and restaurant workers hounding them as they walked down the street. The lore drop of Aoi's past in the Sunaba district was more than just a little distracting. Things were kept pretty vague, but what he did hear was enough for him to fit in several pieces he had been missing before. Several pieces that Aoi had understandably kept a secret, another thing that bothered him. It shouldn't have, their friendship was built on all kinds of secrets they kept from each other. Neither prying into the other's history, and neither sharing their own unless it was absolutely necessary.

That policy covered verbal communication, but for physical stuff they were far from private or secretive. Aoi didn't ever really acknowledge it when he ended up clinging to Suo's sleeve or the even rarer instances that they were essentially snuggled up into each other. He would occasionally flinch or push back when Suo reached out, but that had started happening less and less. He was shockingly complacent during the whole red light district incident, or outright aggressive about some of his gestures.

Don't think about that. Not here. Not now.

Suo shook his head, the light jingle of his earrings serving as a little beacon for his mind's eye. It was a sound that he found calming, but even with that his mind was wandering. Images lingering like a burned out television screen, memories of sensations tickling his fingertips. The ever so slight change in texture between Aoi's face and the smoother part near his ear. The silky feeling of his hair versus the fluffy bristles of his eyelashes. All the shades of his skin as the eyes traveled from his face, to his shoulders, to the areas that saw far less sun. The various shades of red and pink that would color the tips of his ears or his nose.

"Suo?"

Nirei was in a small squad with him, and had been babbling beside him for a while. It was pretty normal for Suo to remain quiet while he chattered away, but it wasn't normal for Suo to go for long periods with zero acknowledgement for his words whatsoever. Even when his name was called, Suo's face hung low without even a trace of a smile or smirk. Nirei reached out to pull at Suo's sleeve and the boy finally reacted, somewhat startled as he was ripped from his thoughts.

"Did..did something happen?," Nirei got straight to the point, just like Kiryu did, but he was still careful about how he went about it. Just like Aoi, Suo was one to keep a lot of things private. Unlike Aoi, he tended to be more gentle in his reproaches. Just like now, when he pretended not to catch Nirei's meaning and smiled cluelessly back at him.

...

Back in the schoolyard the next day, everyone was working hard to train up after some sort of announcement was made that morning. It was cryptic, calling for all the team leads to meet up on the rooftop, plus Aoi. It was odd that he was specifically called out over the loudspeaker, but he had also missed the last couple of meetings. He still wasn't an officially appointed representative but he shrugged it off as a Sugishita type of situation.

Nirei was practicing with Suo, leaving Aoi to tend to refreshments and other tasks by himself for the day. He assured everyone else that he was fine to do it, but as the day dragged on he felt his face pulling tighter and tighter. The looks and tense reactions from others told him that his frustration must have been present on his face in full force, but he just couldn't help himself as he snarled under his mask. Kiryu lingered nearby on his breaks, shooting glances at Aoi but keeping quiet as he sipped his drinks. As much as Aoi didn't want anyone to worry about him, the fact was that several people had noticed his disheveled state and the dark circles under his eyes.

"You did great, Nirei."

"O-oh. Thanks."

Things came to a head when the two Aoi had been glaring at stopped to rest for a moment. They came for drinks, the more skittish of the two unable to hide his emotions on his face. He felt an intense pressure as Suo offered plenty of positive reinforcement, all while continuing to give Aoi the cold shoulder.

"Go flirt somewhere else," Aoi spat out suddenly. Kiryu's eyes shifted over toward Aoi, but he didn't turn away from his screen. He paused his music, waiting to see if things exploded then and there. Waiting to see if he needed to step in and run damage control, lest the whole school be subject to one hell of a lover's quarrel.

"Hm?," Suo looked Aoi's way for probably the first time that day. Or at least, the first time Aoi had been aware of it. Kiryu had kept his eye on Suo when he wasn't busy, and felt like there might have actually been an increase in secret stolen glances.

"Uh, Suo. I think-"

"Shut it," Aoi cut Nirei off, shooting him an equally nasty look as his hands balled into fists. He was so wired up that the veins in his arms were visible in the dim cloudy light. Kiryu moved to take out his earbud and jump in to break them up but ended up not needing to. Not exactly as he imagined at least. Aoi sucked in a breath and spun on his heel, kicking over a cooler and storming off into the school building.

"Alright! Since some of us are a little off today, let's go ahead and go to the roof for that meeting!," Umemiya's booming voice cut through the heavy air. He clapped his hands for extra measure, pulling everyone's focus to himself.

"The rest of you guys keep workin' hard! We'll be back in a little bit."

Several of the higher ranked students started to shuffle up the steps and inside. Kiryu held Nirei back from the group, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leaning in close so no one overheard what he had to say.