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]

[He falters a bit at that.]

Should it...?

[diamondo]

Well, no, don't get me wrong, I don't want things to change between us! I just... wanna make sure you're okay with that, y'know? I mean, I was being pretty fucking immature about the whole uh... dating thing.

[blazingspirit]

[Ishida pulls back, giving Mondo a strange look.]

...Why are you so afraid you're gonna fuck things up? You're always acting like I'm about thirty seconds away from leaving you forever.

[diamondo]

It's not anything you've done. It's just... I don't wanna be alone, y'know? That's kinda... one of my biggest fears.

[It hurts that Ishida pulls away, and Mondo settles for resting his hands on his knees, staring down at the covers instead.]

I just don't wanna fuck things up.

[blazingspirit]

Hey. Hey.

[He reaches out, resting a hand on Mondo's shoulder.]

I'm not ever gonna leave you alone like that, okay? Even if I get pissed off and need my space for a while, I'll always come back - it won't be forever. And no one's gonna take me away from you, either.

[diamondo]

[He does relax at that, glancing back up at Ishida. It feels good to hear that Ishida won't leave permanently, but...]

You promise?

[It's almost childish how he has to ask, but he needs this.]

[blazingspirit]

Of course!

[No hesitation whatsoever.]

You have my word as a man, kyoudai - I'm never going to leave you like that, you hear me?!

[diamondo]

[Mondo fully relaxes then, grinning at Ishida. He's so pleased to hear that.]

Good! I'm really glad! I mean, I didn't think you would, but it's good to have that confirmed, y'know?

[blazingspirit]

[Ishida shifts a bit and pulls him into a hug, holding him tightly.]

Of course, kyoudai - like I've said, I love you and I'm not going to let you be lonely like that!

[diamondo]

[Mondo latches on immediately, nuzzling against Ishida.]

Thanks. I'm so fucking glad to hear that. The fucking last thing I want is to lose you.

[blazingspirit]

I'll do anything for you, you know that!

[diamondo]

Yeah, I do! It still means a lot to me to hear that.

[So he'll just go back to nuzzling and cuddling and kind of wishing Ishida was interested in him!]

[blazingspirit]

[Ishida's obviously rather pleased with this, judging by the rather affectionate way he's returning that nuzzling and the soft, content noise it gets out of him; for a while he's perfectly happy to just stay where he is and enjoy the feeling.

Eventually he moves, though, even if he doesn't really want to.]

You going to be able to sleep again?

[diamondo]

[Mondo is equally pleased to stay like this forever, and when Ishida does move he makes a small noise of protest.]

I think so. Probably. I mean, shit, I need to get to sleep if I wanna be awake at all at work tomorrow.

[He finally forces himself to lie down, but it doesn't take long for him to roll onto his side to look at Ishida.]

Thanks again. You're too fucking good to me.

[blazingspirit]

[He just smirks at that.]

How many times do I have to tell you that there's no such thing? Besides, you don't have to thank me for anything.

[diamondo]

Yeah, well. I really appreciate everything that you do for me, okay? I hope I can be just as good to you.

[blazingspirit]

You are, though!

[...again, no hesitation at all.]

[diamondo]

Ah, really? You think so?

[But he's been... pretty bad to you, even here. He's caused you to storm out once and even now he's being clingy.]

[blazingspirit]

W-Well, yeah, why wouldn't I?

[Like it'd never occurred to him to question otherwise.]

[diamondo]

I haven't been... all that great to you. I keep hurting you; even if it is accidental, it's unforgivable!

[blazingspirit]

What? You've been fine! So we don't always fuckin' agree - who cares?!

[diamondo]

Well, yeah, but even with this I'm being really clingy and shit!

[blazingspirit]

How the hell is that hurting me?!

[diamondo]

[...]

Well, it's not hurting you, exactly, but it's really fucking annoying!!

[blazingspirit]

What's fuckin' annoying is having to argue it in the first place! You aren't doing anything wrong!!