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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You better not.

[It's not entirely serious, though; he trusts that Mondo means what he says, because Mondo is one of the only people he still trusts entirely.]

Yeah, well, I'm not going anywhere either. You make me happy, kyou-

[...............]

...wow, that's awkward.

...Yeah... Why do you think I haven't been calling you that lately?

[Mondo laughs, though the sound is awkward.]

Guess we'll have to get used to calling each other by name!

[A brief pause, then he returns to what Ishida was saying.]

You make me really happy too! I'm so glad this worked out!

Me too -

[...wait.]

...What, so you want me calling you by first name or something?

Yeah! It'd be weird to call me by last name now, wouldn't it?

Huh.

[Just. Kind of headtilting a little before he seems to realize and fixes it.]

I guess I could get used to that - it'll be kinda weird for a while, but it'd be nice.

Yeah! I'd definitely like it!

[Mondo tightens his grip on Ishida for a moment, very pleased with Ishida's words.]

We'll get used to it!

[jfc mondo you are just going to be getting all the nuzzling tonight]

Yeah, of course we will!

[For awhile, things were really looking up. Mondo and Ishida went on dates and got used to the whole idea of dating. Things were even going well at work for Mondo; he no longer had to be watched like a hawk and was allowed to work on his own.

They had two weeks of peace, then something awful happened.

The part of town they lived in wasn't a bad part at all, but it wasn't all that far from it. Mondo had been tasked with delivering something to the bad part of town. He had no problems delivering the item and was making his way home when he was accosted by a thief.

Mondo has always been good in a fight and it didn't take much for him to defeat his assailant. What he wasn't counting on was backup - and a lot of it. He managed to take out a few more of them, but ultimately the guys snatched his wallet (thank god there wasn't much in there) and stabbed him, leaving him for dead.

The knife wounds are deep enough to be life threatening, but it's the amount of blood that he's losing that worries Mondo. He passes out while attempting to use his coat to stem the blood flow.

Word reaches his work quickly enough and from there, the older man running the front shop quickly departs to the book store where Ishida works, hoping to get the message across.]

[Oh, the message gets across just fine.

Ishida and Kirihara have been on decent terms, even after he told her that he wasn't interested; he hadn't said anything about having found somebody else, but he suspects she knows anyway - he's been happier than he can remember ever being before, and she's commented on it at least once. Either way, she's seemed happy for him; their employers are likewise happy that Ishida is actually attempting to talk to people at this point as opposed to just getting frustrated and deploying colorful language.

He isn't expecting it when Kirihara comes into the back, telling him there's someone there to see him; her voice is strange, quiet, and Ishida hesitates before following her out onto the main floor of the shop, mentally running through the last week and trying to figure out what the hell he did and what he's in trouble for now. He doesn't know what to think when he sees one of the guys that works with Mondo there; it isn't long before any rational thought at all goes right out the window. The most he understands is that there's a hospital involved, and Ishida's fully prepared to beat the guy's face in before he tells him which one; he storms out without saying anything else, and even if he's pretty sure he's likely just fucked himself over job-wise with whatever scene he just caused (and it's a matter of seconds before he can't even remember whether he properly caused a scene or not) he can't bring himself to care - what matters is that he's terrified and so pissed off that he can hardly see straight.

The fact that he's crying might also have something to do with that last part; he's in the process of stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to take angry swipes at his eyes when Kirihara catches up to him.

She doesn't say much to him, which is good because he's not in the mood for talking; she just grabs his hand and leads him off in the direction of the hospital Mondo's been taken to. He's still pissed and he's shaking and he hates the fact that she's seeing him cry; he can't bring himself to be too mad at her, though, especially not when she's much better at talking to the nurses than he is. She leaves him in the waiting room while she deals with it; Ishida doesn't sit down, instead pacing around and clenching his fists so hard that it starts hurting, eventually releasing them just to feel the dull ache of his hands trying to unknot themselves before starting the process again. He isn't sure how long it is before he can't stand the waiting anymore and drives his fist into the wall; it's hard enough to make the others in the room jump at the sudden noise, hard enough to hurt but not hard enough to cause any damage, and for some reason the fact that it didn't manage to do anything - destructive or otherwise - just frustrates him further. He repeats the strike against the wall, over and over again until someone's grabbing him by the arms and turning him around and making him sit, and he's dully aware that he didn't even realize they had proper security in hospitals before he realizes that he doesn't care.

He lashes out hard, and promptly gets sedated for his effort.

It's not enough to knock him out, but it's more than enough to send him completely blotto for the next good while. Kirihara is somewhat annoyed when she returns (at least, he thinks she's annoyed, that part's a little hazy and he's not too sure who she's annoyed with but he's pretty sure he calls her cute at least once before she shushes him) but she sits next to him anyway, pulling him over to rest his head on her shoulder until they can get some concrete information about what's going on.]

[They'll get information eventually; Mondo's condition is severe, but it's no longer life-threatening. The most the doctors can really say is that he's been stabbed; it looks like he was in a fight with someone. They can't give any more details than that, but it looks like Mondo will make it out alive, albeit with quite a few stitches and a nasty wound. They're going to keep him in the hospital to keep an eye on the injury for a little while longer, but Ishida should be able to see him tomorrow, assuming his condition doesn't worsen.]

[He doesn't hear most of it, though it's less due to the sedatives (which are beginning to wear off) and more because he can feel himself entering that cold, shocked state where nothing matters anymore; he understands that he should return tomorrow, but in the end that's about it - not that he cares, because that's all that matters. He tells Kirihara not to walk him home, that he'd rather be alone; he manages to fully believe that until he actually manages to get the door unlocked (somehow, despite the fact that he's started crying again and he's fumbling badly with the keys) and he just sort of has a breakdown on the couch.

He doesn't scream; at the very least he manages that much. But just the same, it's a long time before he can force himself to stop crying; he doesn't really remember deciding to go upstairs but he finds himself there eventually, and the motions are weirdly mechanical as he makes his way to the closet, finding one of Mondo's coats and shrugging it on before sitting down on the bed with his back pressed up against the headboard, drawing his knees up to his chest and pulling that coat tightly around his body. He's not crying anymore, but he can feel himself shaking; he already knows he won't be sleeping at all that night, and after a couple of hours he gives up on the pretense that he's gaining anything by being here - whether it's rest or peace of mind.

He returns to the hospital sometime in the middle of the night; he fully intends to stay there until visiting hours are declared open. He's still got that coat with him, for some reason he doesn't quite understand, though at least he isn't wearing it at this point; he's got it folded up and draped over his arms, holding it to his chest. At least he's not causing any sort of scene this time around; if anything, he's gotten to a point where he looks a bit dead in the eyes.]

[The nurses take pity on him, and about thirty minutes before visiting hours are technically starting, they allow him into Mondo's room.

Mondo's asleep and he actually looks pretty peaceful despite what happened. He has an IV in his arm and the covers are pulled up high enough that the injury is covered. His breathing is a little shaky, but at least he's breathing on his own.

One of the nurses warns Ishida that Mondo might not wake up immediately; he's on a lot of pain medication, after all. Ishida's free to stay until visiting hours close that evening, however. He'll probably be up at some point during the day.]

[Ishida doesn't move to disturb him or try to wake him up - somewhere in there even he knows better than that - but he's quick to drag one of the chairs over next to the bed and seek out Mondo's hand with one of his own; his grip is tight, and even though he only really intends to put his head down for a moment, it isn't long before he falls asleep that way.

He doesn't sleep well, and as usual it's more than a bit fitful; thankfully, he doesn't really remember anything he was dreaming about, but judging by the way that his heart is hammering in his chest, he's sure it can't have been anything good. He's quick to check on Mondo, to make sure he's still breathing, still alive in general; he's relieved to see that he is, turning his focus toward calming himself down afterwards.

It's going to be a bit of a long day.]

[Indeed it is. Mondo doesn't wake up for the first few hours of Ishida's visit. When he does wake, it's with a start and he jolts a bit.]

Where...?

[A hospital. He's in a hospital. That seems to calm him down immediately and he finally glances to his side, where his hand is being held.]

Ishida!

[Oh boy, this isn't going to be good.]

Shit, I'm so sorry. How long have you been here? It hasn't been too long, has it? I didn't mean to scare you like that.

[He's sure Ishida was scared, even if he won't admit it.]

I was attacked by some bastards, they took my wallet and shit too. I guess they left me for dead.

[Speaking of which... He pulls the covers aside to examine the bandages wrapped around him, wincing at the red stains seeping through.]

Shit. Looks like they got me pretty good.

[Ishida jumps when Mondo does, and he's honestly a bit too taken aback by that sudden...bombarding there to really respond to any of it; he just sort of stares wide-eyed for a good, long moment, as though trying to ascertain whether this is really happening or if he's just fallen back asleep again and is having a particularly bizarre dream. And then Mondo's pulling those covers off and - ]

Shit, will you just relax for a second? You're okay for the time being - at least, they said you're gonna be okay, and if they fuckin' lied to me I'm gonna have some asses to kick.

Speaking of, as soon as you're capable of it you're gonna describe whoever the hell it was that did this to you, you understand?! But for now, just relax, I've been here for a few hours but I'm doing fine.

I don't want you going after 'em. Like I said, there were a lot of 'em and I don't want you to get hurt.

[He finally leans back though, pulling the covers back up. He doesn't like looking at the bloodstains and he's sure Ishida doesn't want to see those either.]

I'm glad you're doing okay. I wouldn't want you to worry too much, y'know?

I'm not going to get hurt.

[Ignore the fact that he sounds sullen as hell and is not saying that he won't go after them. He lets himself flop back against the chair irritably, but he isn't letting go of Mondo's hand.]

Look, I'm fine, don't worry about me. Just worry about yourself, you hear me?

[Mondo doesn't reply to Ishida's first statement. He knows Ishida didn't say he wouldn't go after the thugs that stabbed him, but as long as Ishida doesn't know what they look like or where they were, he should be fine. Mondo doubts Ishida would run off while he's still in the hospital anyway.]

Hey, you know I'm gonna worry about you. You're my boyfriend, 'course I'm gonna be worried.

[But there's a slight teasing tone behind that, and Mondo smiles.]

I'm sure I'll be fine soon enough! So don't worry too much about me either, alright?

[That assertion about Ishida being Mondo's boyfriend gets a bit of a startled sound out of him, and he's quick to look away; he's still not used to thinking things like that, much less hearing them, and it still rather obviously manages to fluster the hell out of him.]

Yeah, well, your own logic applies to you too, right?! Why shouldn't I be worried?!

'Cause I'm gonna be fine! And there's no need to yell!

[He squeezes Ishida's hand tightly, hoping to get him to calm down some.]

I'll be fine, the doctors said so, right? So try not to worry so much, okay?

[Well, at least the hand-squeezing is kinda comforting...]

Look, I just...I don't want to lose you, okay?!

You're not! The doctors said I'll be fine!

[Still, he seems slightly surprised by that and tips his head a bit.]

I'm not gonna go fight 'em again, if that's what you're worried about. Yeah, it hurts my fucking pride to just let 'em go like that, but it's better than getting stabbed again. I don't wanna worry you. So I'm not gonna try to get revenge or anything.

I didn't think you would - and besides, you'd better not!!

[He falls back into frustrated silence after that, however; he's not expressing himself very well, but he isn't sure how to say what it is he wants.

So for now he'll just. Settle for tightening his grip on Mondo's hand, okay.]

[He tightens his grip in return.]

'Course I won't. Everything'll be fine, Ishida. Okay?

...If you say so.

[It's not terribly genuine, but at least he isn't arguing the point. Not now, anyway.]

I was here last night, but they wouldn't let me in to see you. Probably for the best; I didn't exactly make a great first impression on security.

LOCKED TO blazingspirit

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