LOCKED TO blazingspirit

[diamondo]

[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.]

Comments

[blazingspirit]

[Ishida doesn't follow him right away; he's not sure what's going on, but he's pretty sure Mondo wants his space. But it has been a pretty long day, and after a while he makes his way upstairs to dress for bed.

He finds Mondo sitting on the edge of the bed; he's not sure what do with that, but he tries to shake it off.]

...weird noise up here earlier; did you hear it?

[He can't exactly be sure whether it was the neighbors or...something that'd happened up here; c'mon, kyoudai, give him something to work with.]

[diamondo]

Huh, really? Nah, I didn't hear anything.

[Whoops, next time he should probably try not smashing things. At least it temporarily felt good. He finishes with the towel and tosses it toward the laundry hamper, flopping down on his side of the bed and folding his hands on his stomach, just staring up at the ceiling.

He knows he should probably say something, but he can't come up with anything. He finally rolls onto his side and tugs the covers up to wrap himself in a burrito. As much as he wants to cling to Ishida and never let go, he figures it's best to have some space for now.]

'Night.

[blazingspirit]

[For some reason, that hurts; he may not really understand why Mondo's getting like this, but given how they usually sleep, the implications of what he's doing with the blankets aren't lost on him at all. Ishida can feel his temper flaring up at it, but he manages to bite back anything he could have said to that; if Mondo's wanting to get like this over a fucking girl of all things, then he's more than welcome to.]

...Whatever, kyoudai. Get some fucking sleep.

[He'll just be going back downstairs to read, then, goddamn; if he falls asleep down here, then so be it, he'll stay down here all fucking night.]

[diamondo]

[As long as he's happy. As long as he's happy. As long as he's fucking happy.

Mondo manages to drift off eventually, but he doesn't stay asleep for long. The nightmares haven't lessened any since he arrived, and he finds himself dreaming. This time it isn't about Hope's Peak at all. It's about here, when Ishida left because - as usual - Mondo had screwed things up. The nightmare makes no sense whatsoever, but in the moment he can't really tell that - it starts off during that time, when Ishida has left but it warps into Ishida being happier with her and leaving him entirely. He said he wouldn't leave, but he's leaving anyway.

He wakes suddenly, breathing heavily and heart pounding. It wasn't as bad as some of the nightmares he's had, where he's woken up screaming or crying - but this one resonates with him. If he fucks up again, Ishida might just leave permanently. He stumbles to the bathroom in the dark to get a glass of water and try to calm himself down.

He needs to talk to Ishida about this before they break out into an argument and Ishida leaves again. He can't lose Ishida. He just can't.]

Ishida?

[Is he even upstairs? If not, Mondo will go check downstairs to see if Ishida fell asleep down there.]

[blazingspirit]

[Ishida hasn't come back upstairs; he'd spent some time pacing around the living room and just trying to work some frustration out, and once he'd gotten to a point where he could actually remain still for more than three minutes without wanting to throw something, he'd thrown himself down on the couch to try to get some rest. He doubted he was going to sleep much, if he slept at all; however, the emotions running high all day - some good, some bad - had apparently worn him out more than he'd thought, and he'd drifted off soon enough.

Whatever sleep he manages to slip into is fitful, though; he's twitching quite a bit in his sleep, and he seems to be having some issues keeping still. He's out of it enough to not hear Mondo calling for him upstairs, however; sorry about that, man.]

[diamondo]

[Mondo's relieved to find that Ishida's still there, that he hasn't left. He stands around for a moment, not really sure what to do since he doesn't want to wake Ishida, but he doesn't really want to leave him down here either. He can't keep an eye on Ishida that way, and even if Ishida has no plans of leaving, that dream has left Mondo paranoid enough for it to worry him. After a moment of thought (and that's really all it is, a brief moment), he moves to pick Ishida up and carry him upstairs.]

[blazingspirit]

[He stirs a bit at that, though it doesn't seem to be a bad thing; he nuzzles against him a bit while he's being carried upstairs. It's hard to tell if he's awake or just kind of resettling in his sleep, but either way he seems to appreciate it, and judging from the way a lot of the tension leaves his body he's feeling perfectly safe being held like that.

His words are slurred a little when he finally speaks once they've reached the top of the stairs, his voice thick with sleep; he doesn't quite open his eyes, but he looks like he's considering.]

...everything okay, kyoudai?

[diamondo]

Yeah. Everything's fine now. I told you that couch was shitty, dumbass.

[But he's clearly teasing and once they're in the room, he sets Ishida down on the bed gently before joining him. This time he doesn't bundle himself in the blankets, instead cuddling close to his friend. He absently ruffles Ishida's hair before pulling him into a tight hug.]

[blazingspirit]

[Ishida just kind of laughs a bit, the sound soft and a bit tired, but he seems to wake up some once Mondo starts playing with his hair; he doesn't pull away, instead returning that hug firmly.]

...What changed? You were pretty pissed at me.

[diamondo]

I wasn't pissed at you. I was pissed at myself.

[...Like this explains everything. He remains silent for a little while, continuing to mess with Ishida's hair. Eventually he pipes up again.]

I just had a bad dream. It felt weird not having you here, that's all.

[blazingspirit]

[...it...kind of doesn't, but Ishida isn't really sure how to ask about it; thankfully, Mondo speaks again before he can drive himself too crazy trying to figure out what to say.]

...you wanna talk about it any?

[diamondo]

[He doesn't really, but he figures it won't hurt to talk about it. He leans against Ishida's shoulder so he doesn't have to look at him, but he doesn't let up on that hair-playing.]

...I dreamed that I'd fucked things up again and you were gonna leave.

[And that is quite simply that. He doesn't elaborate any.]

[blazingspirit]

[Ishida just lies there for a moment after that's out there, trying to process it fully before he says anything.]

You haven't fucked up, kyoudai, it's okay.

[It seems like as good a place as any.]

[diamondo]

...I'm glad to hear it.

[He certainly is, if the way he tightens his grip on Ishida is any indication.]

I don't wanna lose you, 'specially not to something like that.

[blazingspirit]

[Ishida hesitates again, the pause long and awkward, but he eventually nuzzles up against him.]

...So are we okay now?

[diamondo]

[Mondo returns that nuzzling immediately.]

Yeah. 'Course we are.

[But it hurts to say that, to act like everything's okay when it really isn't. He doesn't want to lie to Ishida, but he can't exactly tell him the truth either. What matters most is that Ishida's happy, and he'll be happy with that girl. Maybe this is for the best.]

[blazingspirit]

...Can you at least tell me what I did? I get that you said you were pissed off at yourself and not me, but I...

[...he isn't sure how to finish that; there's not much of a way to finish that that doesn't sound strange, but he just kind of forces himself to continue anyway.]

People don't fucking act like they don't want to touch you if they aren't pissed at you.

[diamondo]

[Mondo winces, but he doesn't draw back. Instead he continues messing with Ishida's hair while he works out what to say.]

I wasn't pissed at you. I just... shit, I dunno. I didn't wanna touch you like this 'cause...

[He's going to have to tell him, isn't he? Mondo bites the inside of his lip while he tries to come up with some way around it. He can't. He finally takes a deep breath and sits up, though he still keeps a hand in Ishida's hair.]

I'm gonna tell you something, but you've gotta promise not to get too upset with me, alright?

[blazingspirit]

[Ishida tips his head a bit before sitting up as well, ducking out from under Mondo's hand and sliding back to brace his back against the headboard of the bed. He curls up, wrapping his arms around his knees where he's drawn them up against his chest; he's looking more curious than defensive, though.]

Yeah, of course, kyoudai - what is it?

[diamondo]

[Well, hopefully he can do this without shouting...]

I... shit, I really like you. Not as in... friend-like or anything like that. I mean, fuck, I do like you as a friend, that's not what I'm trying to say! I like like you, as in I'm jealous of that girl 'cause she gets to date you and I don't. That's why I'm so fucking pissed off, 'cause maybe if I'd said something sooner... fuck, I dunno.

[While he's not flat-out screaming, he's still much louder than he really needs to be. Mondo ducks his head and folds his arms, frowning.]

But I get that the most important thing is making sure that you're happy. So I'll... fuck, I dunno. I'll deal with it. I'll be fine.

[blazingspirit]

Wh...what?

[Well, whatever he'd been expecting, it had clearly been anything but that; for a long moment he just kind of stares, as though he's not even sure he's heard Mondo correctly.]

How long has that been going on?

[diamondo]

Um... a little while now... I don't really know when it started, it just sorta... occurred to me one day, y'know?

[Wow, this is way more awkward than he thought it would be!]

[blazingspirit]

Why didn't you tell me, then?

[diamondo]

'Cause I didn't wanna make things awkward between us, or... or fuck it up somehow! You know I'm not good with shit like this!

[Well, hopefully the neighbors aren't too fond of sleeping past three in the morning...]

[blazingspirit]

[If they don't like it, they can fucking move!!]

Why would this have made anything awkward?! It's more awkward not saying anything, isn't it?!