(Wind Breaker) The Green Rose's Thorns

Part 49

"Aoi?"

Aoi sat in a seat on a crowded train, wedged between Nirei and Tsubaki. His face was ashen, starting from nearly the time they met up and lasting well into the train ride to their destination. They were leaving the city they called home, headed to an inn located near the beach elsewhere. Apparently Kiryu had a relative who just bought up the place, and was letting them help with a test run of the facilities after it was freshly remodeled. They were one of the last batches of students to make the trip, heading out later in the evening to swap places with the group before them.

"Ah. Sorry about that. His second employer...found a few things out recently. So he's a little distracted," Tsubaki tried to explain the situation to Nirei. About why Aoi had been honestly dead on his feet for the past week and a half since summer break started. That was part of it, the other being how he had been working nonstop between Pothos and Ougi. Something about needing to cover expenses for a few accidents as well as the shopping trip Tsubaki and Shizuka had dragged him on to prepare for the little excursion. He stayed largely unresponsive until their next stop, where they were changing trains and things were only getting more crowded.

Even without their matching school jackets, it was obvious that they were a relatively large group traveling together. A group that by general standards stuck out like a sore thumb despite the huge swarms of people shifting around the station. Sakura was on edge the whole time, but unlike Aoi who ducked between his classmates he was front and center. Right where everyone's eyes pointed, along with Tsubaki who was attracting quite a bit of attention himself.

"I guess we kinda stand out," Kiryu sidled up beside Aoi on the next train. They were relegated to standing room, most seats being either full already or the shifty uncomfortable gazes telling Aoi he was better off not taking the spot beside someone else. Aoi's height reared its problematic head with that though, making him strain to reach the hand grips above. Kiryu smiled to himself at that a little bit, taking hold of one of them with his arm raised just beside Aoi. The smaller boy begrudgingly took hold of his loose sleeve, deciding that humiliation would be far better than taking a tumble onto a classmate or worse.

"Wow, those tattoos."

"And that hair! There's two with dyed hair."

"Look at them, d'you think they're..y'know?"

Several whispers stuck out among the jumbling of the car over the rails and the random nervous chatter of fellow Bofurin members. Thankfully the second leg of their traveling was much shorter, though Aoi still felt suffocated under the judgemental leers and jeers of all the random onlookers. He nearly collapsed once they stepped off the train and regrouped outside the station, prompting them to take a short break.

"This sucks," Sakura joined him on a bench, expressing his distaste for the return to more normal reactions at his appearance. Tsubaki seemed relatively unfazed, babbling away and looking at several nearby shop windows. He was used to it, still experiencing similar reactions even back home. Aoi, though, had never left the city and was wholly unprepared to draw so much attention. He expected to stand out a little bit, with his long hair and the mask despite being nowhere near cold season. The reaction felt a little extreme though.

"I guess that explains why you're like that," Aoi concurred with Sakura's statement, leaning into his shoulder a little bit. His back was twisted into all kinds of knots from the stress of it all, on top of his exhaustion from other things weighing him down. Things that crept up when he had a rare moment to himself, twisting up his guts and making his heart race. They crept up occasionally when he was alone with a certain someone, too. Making him react weirdly to even the most basic of touches or whispers. It felt like he was going mad, burning curiosity and overwhelming urges crushing his psyche with each passing day.

"What's this? You're seriously back here?"

"What? What? Does he have a boyfriend? Yikes."

Two people, a man and a woman, stopped in front of the pair seated on the rickety old bench. They seemed to recognize Sakura, openly voicing their disgust at the sight in front of their eyes. Sakura revved up in an instant, but Aoi held him back gently and shot a nasty look at the faces looming over them.

"Hm? I didn't think people here were so openly rude," Suo made his appearance finally, throwing a sly jab at the couple. They flushed and sped off, not wanting to get caught up in anything then and there. Sakura thanked him, quietly and with a red-faced pout, while Aoi withered away on the spot.

"We're heading for the inn now," Suo scooped up Aoi's bag, hoisting it over his shoulder where his own belongings hung down. Nirei joined their group, the four of them lagging a little behind the main group as they walked through bustling streets.

"Wow, you guys really do stand out," Suo appeared to be his usual self, easing some of the tension from the other two.

"You're not really any better," Nirei pointed out. That earned him a swift flick from Suo, and a tense snicker from Aoi.

"Kiryu said his family owns the place we're staying at. So maybe things'll be a little more chill once we get there?," Nirei tried to offer some kind of reassurance to Sakura and Aoi. Aoi smiled back at him, forgetting for a moment that the gesture would be largely lost under his mask. Soon enough, asphalt blended with soft sand under their feet as they neared the parking lot of their temporary residence. They were only staying for two nights, giving them a whole day for the beach and exploring the city. But even with that short window, seeing the facility it was obvious just how generous that offer really was. There was a large deck wrapping around three sides of the raised building. They walked up a short set of wooden steps, glistening in the sun, and stepped into the cool air conditioned lobby where they were greeted by a bubbly Umemiya. He had been there the longest, facilitating the nightly barbeque with each group and having the time of his life after his long recovery.