pokebox | LOCKED TO blazingspirit

LOCKED TO blazingspirit

[He doesn't remember much about his execution.

Oh sure, he remembers the lead-up to it; he remembers how the others looked on as he was led away and sure, he remembers Ishimaru's screams. He doesn't remember the death cage nor does he remember the sudden pain before it was all over.

It made waking up here incredibly confusing.

"Here" must be some sort of afterlife, but Mondo hasn't been able to figure out what it is, exactly. It's obviously not heaven (he's killed two people, he doesn't belong in heaven), but it doesn't seem to be hell either. Things are monotonous, yes, but they're not bad.

That leaves the option of purgatory, which Mondo is more or less fine with. It's better than spending an eternity suffering. It's probably not right for him to stay here instead of moving on to hell, but he doesn't know how or when that will happen. He's content to leave it at that for the time being.

This place is a rather large city - half of it is full of native English speakers, whom Mondo tends to avoid (his English is atrocious, after all), the other half is full of Japanese speakers. The city itself doesn't seem to be anywhere Mondo has ever seen, but it's large and spread out, with plenty to explore and do. Mondo hasn't seen everything there is to see though; he's only been here for a few weeks, and he knew if he wanted to make ends meet, he'd need a job first. Exploring could wait.

It's convenient that there's a carpenter's shop just down the road from the apartment Mondo woke up in. It might not technically be his, but he's been staying there until he can afford to properly rent it out. No one has complained so far, so he figures it's fine for the time being. The carpenter works him to the bone and he's never been so exhausted in his life when he comes home, but it's a good kind of exhaustion that means he's doing something productive. He can't make up for what he's done in the past, but he can help out here.

He's off work for the day, lounging around in what serves as the living room of his apartment, flipping through the newspaper. The dates here are all screwed up - it's almost winter here and he knows he'll have to put some money away toward buying proper winter clothes. That's only a minor concern though, because he has much bigger things to worry about.

In a city this large, it's possible that he's just missed seeing the others. He hasn't been looking very hard, admittedly. He's not sure what to say to them when he does see them. "Sorry" simply won't cut it for Fujisaki. He doesn't really want to see Kuwata, Enoshima, or Maizono either. He's sure it's only a matter of time before one of them finds him, or before someone else shows up here.

All he can do is hope that it won't be Ishimaru.]

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Yeah right.

[He could comment on what happened during the trial, but he doesn't want to bring that up. He's content to let it go for the time being.]

'Sides, you're my brother. There's no such thing as being too good to you.

[...Well, sort of. He couldn't resist repeating Ishida's words back at him, alright.]

[That seems to make him happy, anyway; his grip tightens a bit as he nuzzles up a bit more.]

Yeah, well. I love you, okay?

[The ease with which Ishida says it makes Mondo flush straight to his ears. Of course he's heard it before, but he hasn't heard it since he was a little kid, and even then it was the sort of thing Daiya really only said jokingly. To hear it now, without any sort of teasing behind it, flusters him for some reason.]

Y-Yeah, well I love you too!!

[He's a bit forceful with his words, but he buries his face in Ishida's shoulder to die of embarrassment in peace, alright.]

[Ishida just laughs a bit at that, messing with Mondo's hair a bit.]

Hey, come on! You don't have to be all embarrassed about it!

[Sorry, what was that about doing this in peace?]

Sh-Shut up.

[That's mumbled into Ishida's shoulder though, and Mondo tugs lightly on Ishida's hair.]

I just don't hear that all that often, that's all.

[...Mondo, that was almost depressing just now, holy shit.]

W-Well, you should.

It's... it's not that Daiya didn't love me! I mean, obviously. He just didn't really say it, y'know?

[...And let's not even discuss his parents.]

[...that's just going to get some more cuddling, okay.]

Well, I'm gonna fucking say it, okay? Because you deserve it.

[...Yep, back to burying his face in Ishida's shoulder.]

Y-Yeah well...! You deserve it too, alright!?

[He just laughs again, going back to playing with Mondo's hair.]

I don't know anyone who doesn't deserve to hear that shit from someone once in a while! But you're my brother and I fuckin' love you, so I don't see why I shouldn't say it to you, you know?

[He's fairly sure he can't possibly go any more red than he is at this exact moment. That said, his grip on Ishida tightens with those words and despite the mumbling into Ishida's shoulder, it's clear that he's quite pleased with that.]

Well... I appreciate it, alright!?

I'm glad! I wouldn't do this for just anyone, you know!!

[So much messing with your hair, kyoudai!]

You gonna be okay?

[It's nice to hear that Ishida wouldn't do this for just anyone, though why that is escapes Mondo. He leans into Ishida's touch, finally giving his friend a sheepish grin.]

Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll get used to it! 'Til then I guess I'm gonna be a bit embarrassed by it, y'know?

You'd better get used to it, because I'm not gonna stop anytime soon!

[He seems pleased, though, nuzzling up against Mondo again.]

Look, I'm really glad to be here with you again. This shit's nice.

[He's quick to return that nuzzling, making a soft, pleased sound.]

It really is. I'm so glad I'm here with you.

[Sure, he would like to be with Ishimaru or Daiya, but Daiya would make fun of him for latching on like this and Ishimaru... well, Ishimaru's gone. Ishida is great though, and Mondo really does love him.]

[And after that, everything seems to go amazingly.

It doesn't take Mondo and Ishida long to pick up where they'd left off; once in a while they argue, but it's never anything serious - simple personality clashes, nothing more, and they're always easily resolved. Ishida doesn't storm out anymore, unless he's just heading to another room to give himself some time to calm down and keep himself from wanting to lash out and hit; it's never long before someone finally cracks and apologizes, though, and they usually spend the rest of the night roughhousing until they exhaust themselves, or cuddling on the bed until they fall asleep.

On top of that, things continue to go well at work. Ishida is content to mostly work in the back, organizing shit for stocking and generally avoiding the customers when he can; when he is out working the floor, Kirihara is usually there to save him from any interactions that get too awkward or risk going profane. Needless to say, she ends up saving him a lot, as controlling his language isn't something he's particularly good at, nor is it a skill he's interested in building; she seems to decide eventually that that isn't going to fly, and it isn't long before she starts inviting him to join her when they break for lunch.

He comes to know the cafés and small restaurants around the area; the food is crap, but Kirihara insists that the point isn't the food, it's learning how to interact with people. He doesn't know how much his conversational skills are improving; he manages to learn a lot about her in a short period of time.

The closest they come to discussing their situation is the time she asks him what he was doing before he came to town (she asks him so casually, like he chose to be here, like he just moved into the area on a whim one day) and his temper flares, for a reason he doesn't quite understand; he demands that she should answer first, and he immediately flinches back when she tells him that the last thing she remembers is being out with friends and falling off a train platform onto the tracks.

He's quiet for a moment, twitching and clenching his hands under the table and trying to find something to say; he eventually averts his eyes and tells her that he was in a car accident.

He doesn't understand why, but that conversation seems to relax her; maybe she'd just been wanting to tell someone about it, maybe there's no need for inhibitions after you've shared shit like that with someone. Either way, she doesn't bring it up again, and they agree to buy some sort of stupidly sugary dessert to help them get over it; she seems chatty for the rest of the day, back in the shop, and he's startled when he tells her he's checking out and her response is to kiss him goodbye.

It's sudden and chaste but unmistakably a kiss, her mouth pressed firmly against his for a good, long moment before she pulls away and tells him she'll see him tomorrow; he barely manages to stammer out an agreement before storming out, trying to get his blush under control before he gets home.

He doesn't tell Mondo about it, for some reason he can't work out; too embarrassing, maybe. But the fact is that she's interested, and he definitely can't say he's not interested, and when she finally drops a hint so large that even he can't miss it that they should just start dating and get it over with...well, he agrees to think about it.

They kiss again before he leaves, though; he starts it that time.

Needless to say, he's going to be more full of energy than usual when he returns home; knowing Ishida, that's saying something.]

[Saying that things have been going well is an understatement. Things have been going wonderfully. The few, brief arguments that they have are over and done with in a few hours and by the end of the day they're long forgotten. Mondo's feeling a lot better about himself as well - the usual bouts of self-loathing have mostly stopped, and when they do happen, they're only for brief periods of time and no longer interfere with his work.

All in all, things are really looking up.

He's even doing better with his job as well; he's still not allowed to make anything on his own yet, but he studies with his boss and works very hard to do the best he can, and he's never disappointed. He comes home aching every day, but it's worth it. He hasn't earned enough for a bike yet, but every little bit he saves up gets him closer to his goal, and Mondo's just proud that he's managed to do this without resorting to stealing. He feels a lot better about himself now that he actually has a job and is earning a living.

If there's one thing that's changed though, it's his feelings toward Ishida. The "I love you"s are still common, but they always make Mondo incredibly awkward. It's taken him awhile to figure out why, but now that it's become clear, it's incredibly obvious.

He does love Ishida. He just doesn't love Ishida as a brother.

The realization simply came with a sense of "oh"; it was so obvious he felt stupid after realizing it. He's not embarrassed or ashamed of it, and really, it makes sense. He hasn't bonded with anyone like this in a long time, so of course it figures that he'd fall in love with Ishida. He can't say he minds though, and continues spending time with him as normal, determined to find some way to properly express his interest without screaming. Not that that would really matter, since he's certain Ishida would just scream back at him. In a way, it's comforting to know that.

He is a little nervous that Ishida will reject him on account of their close bond, but he's not going to get anywhere if he doesn't try. He's just waiting for the right opportunity.

Mondo is home before Ishida today - it was a shorter day in the shop because the boss had a delivery and didn't need Mondo's help with it - so he's downstairs, reading one of those books Ishida had suggested. He's not really a big fan of reading, but the subject material is fascinating, and he has to wait for Ishida to come home anyway.

He glances up when the door opens and grins.]

Hey, kyoudai! How was your day?

Kyoudai - you're home early!

[He doesn't sound mad or anything, though; really, he just grins and throws himself down on the couch next to him.]

It's been great, it was...really, really fuckin' great, I feel amazing - and how was yours?!

That good, huh? What the hell happened to get you so pumped?

[He laughs though, reaching out to tousle Ishida's hair.]

Mine was pretty good. Boss had to go deliver shit, so I got let off early. It was a pretty good day, but yours sounds better. What happened?

[He is so excited he's practically vibrating, Mondo.]

Well, you...you remember Kirihara, right? That girl I work with?

We were talking, and she said she's interested. She wants to date!

[...Oh.

For a moment Mondo's grin falters and he just looks confused, before he forces that grin to reappear. It was just a momentary weakness, he's sure Ishida will write it off as him forgetting who Kirihara was. Right?]

Ah, no way, really? Congrats!

[He should have figured for this. Ishida's a little odd, yes, but he means well and he's a good guy. Doesn't it just figure that someone else would make a move before he could? If he had just pulled himself together sooner and actually said something--]

So you guys are dating now?

[The disconnect between his words, expression, and thoughts is pretty impressive, but he's seeming a little more distant than usual.]

...I don't know - I mean, I said I'd think about it, but we haven't really...decided on anything, we've kinda kissed a couple of times and that was nice, but...

[...look, he's pretty damn oblivious, but he's not that oblivious.]

Hey. You okay?

[He can only imagine that that was Ishida's first kiss. He doubts Ishimaru has ever had a girlfriend before, and hell, even if he had, this still would have been Ishida's first kiss. For some reason that really bothers him; it's such an insignificant thing, but he would have liked for Ishida's first kiss to be with him.

...God, he really has gone soft.]

Huh? Yeah, 'course I'm okay! Why wouldn't I be?

[Quick, he needs to come up with a suitable explanation!]

...I guess I"m kinda jealous that you managed to get a girl before me, but you don't meet a lot of girls working in a carpenter's shop!

[He laughs. Just pretend the sound isn't fake.]

[This isn't striking him as right, but Ishida's never really been good at reading people; he isn't as trusting as Ishimaru was when it comes to believing that he'd never be lied to, but he can't imagine what the issue actually...is. Mondo's always been kind of awkward over the whole...girl-thing; maybe that really is what this is about.

It bothers him, but he'll keep an eye on it; for the time being, he just nudges him a bit.]

Hey, come on, don't girls tend to think that kind of thing's hot? We just have to find you the right one, that's all!

Yeah, I guess so!

[Only there will never be a right one because the right one is sitting right here next to him!

Of course he manages to contain that thought, still grinning. Well, it's a grin, but it almost looks more like he's barring his teeth. He might be a little pissed at himself for not acting sooner.]

LOCKED TO blazingspirit

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