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Mondo Oowada was in class on time. This was incredibly unusual for him; after all, he’d much rather sleep in and not care about things for just a while longer before finally getting up and dragging himself to class. But recently, he had broken this habit. Originally, it confused most of his classmates, but soon enough it became apparent why he was actually bothering to show up to class, even if he’d spend most of it asleep.
The reason was Kiyotaka Ishimaru. He was the reason Mondo dragged himself out of bed every morning, even though his body protested. He was the reason Mondo showed up to class on time with more in his bag than a single pencil. He was the reason Mondo actually tried with his studies.
Ishimaru cared passionately about school and Mondo cared passionately about Ishimaru. He was too afraid and embarrassed to actually bring it up, so he did what he could and showed up to class, knowing it’d make the dorky hall monitor happy. Really, that mattered more to him than getting an extra hour of sleep.
It was ten minutes until eight and Mondo was beginning to worry. Usually by this point, he’d be fast asleep. He had come to class, and since that was usually enough for Ishimaru, he’d fall dead asleep until the bell rang. However, he couldn’t think about sleeping when the seat in front of him was empty. Ishimaru was absent, and that was far more unusual than Mondo showing up to class. Ishimaru was never absent. Hell, he was never even late! Most of the time he’d show up to class an hour early, eagerly assisting the teacher with anything they needed to start the day. It was basically unheard of for him to not be present. If it were any other student, Mondo wouldn’t have worried. Plenty of people slept past their alarms, got sick and stayed in bed or simply didn’t feel like going. But not Ishimaru. Ishimaru was always awake at the same time each day. The one time Ishimaru had gotten a cold, Mondo had to basically drag him to his room so he wouldn’t overexert himself. And nothing mattered more to Ishimaru than his schoolwork, so of course he wouldn’t just take the day off!
Finally, Mondo gave in and whipped his phone out. He knew that if Ishimaru really wasn’t in trouble, he’d be mad as hell for texting in the middle of class; but he just had to make sure he was alright.
Hey, where r u? Mondo typed. He put the phone back in his pocket. It usually took Ishimaru a long time to text, seeing how he was so unused to doing it in the first place. And if he wasn’t in trouble and was just busy, he probably wouldn’t text at all. But much to Mondo’s surprise, his phone vibrated a few moments later.
Kyoudai, are you in class? Don’t text in class! You should be paying attention! The message said. Mondo rolled his eyes but smiled. If he was talking like that, he had to be okay.
i’m in class but where the hell r u? Mondo replied.
It’s not important. Just get back to studying, Kyoudai!
Not until u tell me where u r. i’m worried.
I’m in the hospital. Please, get back to work and copy the notes from today for me if you can. Thank you and pay attention!
Mondo’s stomach turned when he read the message. In the hospital? What the hell happened to him? Why was he there?
Why r u in the hospital what the fuck happened kyoudai???
No response.
I know u want me to study but pls tell me what happened!!
The longer Mondo waited, the more anxious he got. He tried to imagine exactly what could have happened to someone like Ishimaru. Was it a family emergency? Did he get mugged or attacked? Was he in an accident?
Mondo shuddered at the thought. What if Ishimaru had been in an accident? What if he had gotten badly hurt? What if he was going to end up like Daiya?
Mondo couldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t have another brother of his taken to the hospital, only to die a few hours later. He couldn’t be left alone again. And most of all, he couldn’t let the person he cared about most be taken away again.
Mondo stood up and ran out of the classroom, too focused on what could possibly be going on with Ishimaru to care that the teacher was yelling at him that he’d get detention if he didn’t come back.
Ishimaru awoke groggily, his tired eyes begging to stay shut. It took a moment for him to remember where he was. He was in a hospital bed, his body aching from the night before. After adjusting to the light, he noticed his phone was in his lap and sighed. He had completely forgotten he was texting Mondo, his weary body having forced him to sleep. He hoped that Mondo had listened to him and studied, but knowing the biker, he was probably on his way right now. He reached for the phone and awkwardly placed it on the table by the right side of the bed. Now that it was broken, Ishimaru realized just how much he used his right hand, even if it wasn’t the dominant one.
He let out a heavy sigh. Honestly, he hated being like this. He had to be doing something to feel good about himself. But here he was, lying around in a hospital with absolutely nothing to do. Hopefully Mondo would bring him some homework to work on or at least keep him company later. The room was painfully silent, save for the constant beeping of the machine next to him.
"Kyoudai!!!" Mondo shouted, bursting into the room. Just by looking at him, Ishimaru could tell Mondo had rushed here. He was out of breath, his face was sweaty and his pompadour was sagging down a little. He took a moment to catch his breath and looked upon Ishimaru in horror. He was a mess: his left eye was blackened, his cheek was scraped up and scarred, his right arm was broken and done up in a cast and his head was wrapped in bandages.
"W-what- what happened to you?!" Mondo asked frantically. "What did they do to you, kyoudai?!"
Originally, Ishimaru had planned on scolding Mondo. Not only had he texted in the middle of class, but he had ditched school to come all the way to the hospital see him. But he forgot all about scolding him when he saw just how panicked the biker was. He was shaking and looked to be almost on the verge of tears. He had never seen Mondo this panicked before, so he smiled at him weakly, hoping to calm him if he could.
"Kyoudai, it’s fine…" Ishimaru said. "Some gangsters were bothering a girl and I told them to leave, is all. And when they wouldn’t leave, I was forced to use physical contact instead! There were six of them, so it proved a bit of a challenge…" Ishimaru was too preoccupied with telling his story to notice the tears running down Mondo’s cheeks. "Luckily, the woman got a-away though!" Ishimaru continued, "I’m so glad for that!!"
As soon as Ishimaru had finished speaking, Mondo quickly pulled him into an almost painfully tight hug. Mondo had a vivid imagination and he could just picture Ishimaru, trying so desperately to help some stranger, only to get the shit beat out of him. He was a moron, Mondo thought; so willing to put himself in harm’s way when he could’ve just called someone or reported it or just think it through before jumping in. He was like Daiya; so willing to selflessly throw himself away for the sake of someone else.
He knew he had to protect Ishimaru. He had already lost a brother. He wasn’t going to lose this one, too.
"K-kyoudai… D-don’t you- don’t you ever do that again, ya hear?" Mondo sobbed, clinging onto Ishimaru. "Let me do it!! I’m here!!"
Ishimaru didn’t know what to say at first. He had never seen Mondo like this. He was always so tough and strong and tried to distance himself from anything he deemed as “weak”. But here he was, crying like a baby, and clinging on to him like he’d die if he let go. He couldn’t help but tear up; he had never had anyone worry this much about him, let alone cry for him. He hugged Mondo back as best as he could with his broken arm and smiled.
"Alright, Kyoudai. I promise." Ishimaru said. "We’re in this together."
He held onto Mondo for a long time, gently rubbing his back and comforting him while he trembled and sobbed. They stayed like that until Mondo’s sobs subsided into soft whimpers. He pulled away from Ishimaru and wiped his red eyes on his sleeve.
"I’m, uh, sorry about that." Mondo finally said. "Didn’t mean to get all whiny outta nowhere."
"You don’t have to apologize for something like that! I mean, I cry all the time!" Ishimaru replied. "But you should be sorry for not listening to my instructions!"
"Your… what?"
"I told you to stay and study, didn’t I? And copy the notes for me!" Ishimaru gasped. "Oh no. I’m going to fall behind at this rate! Mondo, I need-" He sat up straight and hissed in pain, effectively shutting him up.
"What ya need is some fuckin’ rest, Kiyo!" Mondo said, pushing Ishimaru back down on the bed.
"B-but… the notes!!"
"I’ll text Chihiro and get em to ya later, okay?" Mondo said. "Just try and relax."
"That’s fine, I suppose." Ishimaru said. "But still, I don’t like just lying here all day! I need to be preoccupied with something."
"Then be preoccupied with me!" Mondo pulled up a chair and sat beside Ishimaru’s bed.
"You’re supposed to be in class!"
"I drove all the way out here and I’m not leavin’ just for one goddamn class." Mondo argued. "Besides, it’s not any fun without ya."
"You can stay for a few minutes" Ishimaru said. Honestly, as much as he wanted Mondo’s company, he knew he had to go back to school and at least try to study. "But thank you for spending some time with me."
"Why wouldn’t I? We’re kyoudais, right?"
"Yes, we are." Ishimaru smiled. "But you’re the first visitor I’ve had. I really appreciate it!!"
"The first? What about your parents?"
"Oh, they were much too busy with work to drop by."
"What the fuck? Their son’s in the hospital and they can’t be bothered to come?! What’s their goddamn problem?"
"Mondo, calm down. It’s not worth the drive to visit someone like me."
"Of course you’re worth it! I woulda walked all the way here if I had to!" Ishimaru blushed at Mondo’s statement and looked away from him, not wanting to embarrass himself.
"Well… regardless…" Ishimaru finally said, "it’s my fault I’m in here. So it doesn’t really matter."
"How is this your fault? Ya just wanted to help someone."
"I guess… but Mondo, do you think what I did was the right thing?"
Mondo hesitated. His first thought was no, of course not. What kind of person tried to fight six people all by himself? And it could’ve been so much worse, too. Ishimaru was good at kendo, he had some muscles on him, so it wans’t like he was completely defenseless. But what if he wasn’t? He could’ve been hurt so much more… He could’ve ended up like Daiya…
Mondo shook his head. He couldn’t think like that! He knew Ishimaru didn’t care much about his injuries; all he cared about was helping that stranger be safe. And that was truly what mattered, wasn’t it?
"Yeah, I think ya did the right thing." Mondo said. "Ya did it wrong, though. Ya shouldn’t just go into a fight with six people when you’re all alone! That’s stupid! If it happens again, ya gotta… call someone. Call me, call the police, just don’t do something like that again!"
"I know! I already promised, Mondo."
"But yeah… ya did the right thing. Helpin’ someone in need is always the right thing to do."
"I’m glad you think so. But honestly, I knew you would agree."
"Oh? What makes ya say that?"
"Because that whole time last night… I was asking myself what you would do in that situation. And that’s why I did it."
"What? Why’d ya do that? Since when has anything I’ve ever done been a good idea?"
"I just… I got scared, Mondo. I didn’t know what to do. At school, I can just write a detention slip or threaten them with trouble, and they’ll stop. But… it was so much different last night. I wasn’t at a school where I could just get help from an adult if I needed it… But then I thought about you. What you would do in that situation. And I knew that I had to be tough; that leaving just because I was scared would be nothing short of dishonorable."
"Don’t ever try that again." Mondo repeated. "But… I’m proud of ya."
"Ah… thank you, Mondo!!" Ishimaru replied happily. "Really… it means a lot!!" Mondo reached forward and ruffled his hair affectionately, being careful to avoid the bandages wrapped around the boy’s head. He couldn’t stop staring at them. He had gotten himself hurt countless of times and had had to wear a cast more than once, but he never had anything that bad happen to him. He was thankful that Ishimaru’s head didn’t get damaged too much, but he couldn’t help but worry.
"Kyoudai… does this hurt?" Mondo asked, gesturing to the bandages. "It looks pretty shitty."
"This? Well…" He put his hand on his bandaged forehead and winced at the contact. "Yes, but only when you touch it. But you can’t expect a head injury to heal quickly."
"I guess, but, uh…" He wasn’t sure what came over him. Maybe it was the thought of Ishimaru being in pain, the thought of him being hurt so badly he was in a hospital like this, that did it for him. But Mondo leaned forward and kissed Ishimaru’s forehead gently, his face heating up the whole time. He pulled away and mumbled, "I-I hope it, uh, feels better soon!!"
He regretted it the moment he did it.
"Kyoudai?" Ishimaru asked. He stared at Mondo, his cheeks a little pink, too. "D-did you just kiss me?"
"What? No!! ‘Course not!" Mondo nearly shouted. "Well yeah, I did, but, uh-" He tried to quiet down his voice and keep his cool, but was having trouble at it. "Ya do that when someone gets hurt!! Didn’t your parents ever kiss a scar or bruise you got as a kid?!"
"No. I’ve never heard of that at all." Ishimaru replied.
"W-well, it’s real thing!! Gettin’ injuries kissed by people who care about ya a lot helps!!"
"Really?" Ishimaru beamed. "Well, I’ll remember that next time you get injured, kyoudai!"
"Wh-what?"
"You get injured so often… so I’ll remember to do that too, and make you feel better even quicker!!"
"Uh…I…" Mondo’s couldn’t even image how red his face was right now. He thought he would avoid fucking up by coming up with that excuse, but Ishimaru took the bait and that somehow made things even worse. He couldn’t help but imagine getting tended to by a worried Ishimaru after a fight, and having him kiss his bruised face and- "I- I GOTTA GO MAKE A PHONE CALL!!"
"I’m sorry, what?" Ishimaru asked, confused.
"I mean, I uh, I gotta call the school!! Tell ‘em where I am!! Wouldn’t want to get marked absent, right Kyoudai?!"
"Are you feeling alright, Mondo?"
"Yeah!! I’m fuckin’ great!! I’ll be right back!!" He stumbled out of the room hurriedly, leaving Ishimaru to stare at the room’s entrance in confusion. He could hear Mondo’s heavy footsteps slamming down the hall, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. Being cared about by someone as sweet as Mondo was something he had never expected. Especially to the point of being kissed by him… Ishimaru blushed and covered his face with his hand, as if trying to hide his face from some invisible audience. He was embarrassed, of course, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t happy. He had wanted to kiss- or be kissed- by Mondo for awhile now, but had never had the guts to do so. He smiled to himself and felt relief wash over him; because now he knew that Mondo cared just as passionately about him as he did about Mondo. Just as he had said earlier, they were in this together.