Chapter Text
Mondo was not looking forward to tomorrow. Like, he was really not looking forward to tomorrow.
First of all, the only reason he was doing what he was doing was because he didn't want to disappoint his best friend: Kiyotaka Ishimaru. His friend had basically scolded him that this would be highly beneficial for not only him but also everyone else. Something along the lines of, "Once we reach adulthood, this will allow us to begin not only satisfy a basic need but to also to do so in a way that guarantee that everyone will have energy to carry out anything they set their minds to. Including you, bro."
Now, if it were anything else, he would have agreed with his bro's judgment. But what the hell was this "beneficial" thing that would somehow champion him into a brighter future?
A fucking cooking class.
As much as he loved his friend (in a platonic way of course), Mondo was fairly certain that a cooking class wasn't going to do all the incredible shit that his friend thought it was gonna do. Like, most of these people are just gonna gorge themselves in instant ramen once they get to college. And as far as he was concerned, they ain't gonna spice it with healthy shit like Kiyotaka would like to hope. Plus, Mondo already knew that this class wasn't gonna have the Five Basic Food groups. (Was it five or was it like six or seven? He didn't fucking care.)Especially knowing who the "assistant" was, he knows damn well that that bastard isn't gonna try to seduce the ladies with like broccoli and shit.
Oh yeah. The other reason I'm gonna hate this class.
You see, the professor of this cooking class decided that this year they were gonna take on an assistant. The most obvious attempt to get cred within the teachers' society to say you "taught one of the best of the best". Of course, there was only one option of who could be the assistant.
Teruteru fucking Hanamura.
Mondo hated this bastard. After he basically harrassed Chihiro, Mondo wanted nothing more than to fucking bury this little terp into the ground. But no, it wasn't meant to be.
Instead of doing even the bare minimum of jackshit, the board at Hope's Peak kept Hanamura around because he's just so goddamn talented! Like, hey, let's completely ignore all the creepy shit he is trying to do to every female on campus because we just love his soup so much! Hell, he probably roofied the damn thing.
At least Taka believed him. Even he was uneasy about having him still at the school. Unfortunately, Mondo learned that the hall monitor doesn't have as much power as he assumed they did.
"I've reported his behavior multiple times and they've said they'll talk to him! And yet, nothing seems to change!" Taka groaned one night as he sunk his head into both of his hands.
Mondo had grabbed on of his hands (platonically) and rubbed he thumb across the pale boy's knuckles.
"I know man. You of all people, the goddamn hall monitor, and yet they didn't even listen to you. These adults are a travesty, man."
Kiyotaka sighed and fully took Mondo's hand into his (totally not causing the latter to almost wanna pass out from how hard his heart was beating out of his chest), "I think I just need to put more effort into my case. On one hand, if I can provide more sufficient evidence to Mr. Hanamura's actions, then maybe the Headmaster will finally do something. On the other hand, with my power as the Ultimate Moral Compass, I could simply implicate my authority on the matter and try to reform Hanamura's actions."
"Dude," Mondo scoffed, "If the adults don't believe you of all people, they ain't gonna do jack no matter how much you present to them."
"All I can do is try, Mondo," Kiyotaka asserted, squeezing Mondo's hand.
He turned his face away and stared at some nondescript spot on the carpet. They remained in the silence with nothing more than the whizz of the dorm air conditioner filling in for white noise. This sort of interaction was nothing new to them. Taka rarely would do this sort of thing in front of his other classmates but Mondo was different because best friend privileges and all. Apparently, little bastards from his previous schools made fun of him for it. Kids can be real dicks sometimes. Besides, all he was doing was just thinking about what he was gonna say or do next. It wasn't this complicated calculation thing or that he was too dumb to answer right away. The guy just needed time sometimes, you know? Certainly better than Mondo where he just vomits whatever the hell his brain thought in that moment.
After a few seconds longer, Taka finally looked up and dramatically stood up.
"As the prospector of effort and hard work, I am well aware of the bias of talent, especially in this school. After all, this is a curse that I've had to live with for my whole life. All because geniuses use their talents to take advantage of people who actually put effort into their work. So, if they wish to play by the rules of geniuses, then I must play my cards as the moral compass! That is why, if I were to fail at convincing them once again, I AM DETERMINED TO REFORM HANAMURA'S ACTIONS!"
Kiyotaka had let go of Mondo's hand at this point (totally not causing him to feel disappointed and crave for the warmth to return) leaving Mondo with that same dorky smile he gets everytime Taka went on these "speech rants" as he calls them.
There's that explosion again, Mondo thought, fondly.
At some point, Taka took notice of Mondo's silence and stared expectantly at his friend for a response. For some reason, Mondo replied with him starting to giggling like an idiot. Taka's face shifted from one of anticipation to confusion.
"Did I say something wrong?"
Mondo started to slow himself down when he stood up and gripped his friend's shoulders. He took one last joyful breath before stating, "No... No, man. I'm just... you just make me so happy. You know... the way you are. You are like... the most determined guy in the world and it just makes me... I don't know, giggle! You make me giggle and shit!"
Taka just continued to stare at his friend before chuckling, "You are confusing."
Mondo moved his hands to Taka's biceps briefly, almost ready to let go entirely before Taka stops him. With that huge smile of his, Taka simply said, "However, I am glad to hear that I make you happy! Especially because you make me happy, too!"
Before he could even stop it, the already dorky smile grew ten times larger after hearing Taka say that. Even more so, he knew he was probably blushing (from embarrassment of course, nothing else) and, without any obvious escape, slammed his face within the crux his friend's neck.
Taka went tense for a short time before assuming this was a very lopsided way of giving a hug. At least, that's what Mondo assumed was going on due to the fact Taka attempted to place his arms on Mondo's back while still being constrained by Mondo's hands still grabbing his biceps.
This prompted Mondo to envelop his best friend in the most aggressive, playful hug in the universe, causing both of them to fall over in pile of snorting laughter.
They stayed like that for who knows how long just getting lost in each other's presence. At some point, Mondo was the first to speak up, his voice still filled with mirth, saying, "Man, what are we?! A buncha middle school girls or somethin'?!?"
Taka replied, his sentences being broken up with remaining fits of laughter, "We aren't! We... are merely... having a joyous... time, bro!"
Mondo in return, coughed his last remaining spurts of laughter before sighing, "What the fuck do you do to me, man?"
Taka looked to his friend in confusion, prompting Mondo to continue and clarify, "If my gang found out I was cuddlin' and gigglin' and shit, they probably string me out to dry. Hell, they probably would hogtie me on the back of the motorcycle and drag me 'til my face smears the asphalt, ya know?"
Taka made a loud huff at this before looking up at the ceiling, saying, "That's idiotic. All that because of such petty reasons, like having fun or, as you said, giggling and stuff."
Mondo responded with a heavy sigh and taking a gander at the ceiling above them, dryly stating, "Look, there's just things ya gotta sacrifice if ya wanna be an intimidating leader. I have to be strong for them cuz if I don', they might hurt cuz of my actions. You know... put a face up. Just the rules of the gangs."
Taka's frown seemed to deepen as he groaned, "I understand the nature of it but I still can't help but be angered by it. You of all people should be allowed to be happy."
Mondo's face was painted a nice shade of red (embarrassment obviously. Wait why is he embarrassed?) which prompted him to turn his face as far away as humanly possible from his friend. He sheepishly stuttered, "Th- thanks, man."
All of sudden, Taka shot straight up and pumped his fist in the air.
"NO MATTER! Now is not the time for such discussions. We must focus on the present at hand! Especially if we plan to get this school back in order as soon as possible! Now, let us brainstorm together!"
Mondo just chuckled before saying, "Sure, bro."
From that night onwards, Mondo doesn't remember anything else that happened despite Taka making this detailed plan on how he goes about talking to Teruteru.
Man, it was such a nice night. Why'd it have get ruined by that fucking bastard?
Well... maybe not ruined per se. He just forgot about the whole Teruteru thing and, honestly, he wished he could have stayed that way.
It didn't matter anyway, not when his bro was talking to passionately. It just reminded of Mondo more of the remnants of that explosion still lingering.
No matter how many times he's seen his friend do it, he'll never get tired of the pure confidence he had in his philosophy. To be so optimistic about the change you can produce to the world was one Mondo would never have had subscribed to, especially not after Daiya. From day one, Mondo has always been convinced that the world was out to get him. From the fact his father was a no-good-peice-of-shit to when he entered into Hope's Peak. Mondo was anticipating the inevitable; that he was never gonna amount to anything in these fuckers' eyes. As far as he was concerned, he was pretty sure his talent was only made to mock him, practically screaming at him, "HEY LOOK EVERYONE! Let's all gawk at the shitty little street rat who killed his brother for a title he doesn't even deserve!"
He probably would have carried this pessimistic worldview throughout all of high school. Hell, he was even determined to basically use his talent to intimidate any shithead who dared fuck with him. However, that all changed the moment he cane to an understanding with the ultimate shithead of them all: Kiyotaka Fucking Ishimaru.
They hated each other when they first met. It seemed like everyone in universe all knew they were destined to be at each other's throats for all eternity. And yet, somehow, they became amazing friends. Hell, soul brothers even. There wouldn't be a day where you wouldn't see the two at the hip, shocking everyone at first but now seems more so annoying now.
But Mondo didn't give a shit if it is was annoying. He loved this guy (in the soul brother way) and no one was gonna take that away from him. The shit that this guy instilled within Mondo made him feel more energetic and yet calm all at once. He loved it. Mondo has always been a ticking time bomb of a person. He was well aware of feelings of adrenaline and pure, blackout anger. But he has never experienced this feeling of explosion before. This was different. Almost like, this slow igniting flame as it travels it's way to every part of the body until it fill with pure volcanic light. But do you think that's where the explosion ends? Hell no! That was just the beginning. Even if you have the lighter and your trail, you can't do shit until you have a circuit. So, for however how long, that light just sits there, waiting for that circuit.
He's never really sure when it comes. He just knows when it does, it feels amazing, like flames filling every part of his body in this tantalizing heat.
The more bigger explosions always come when something depressing or joyful comes into their lives. For him, the one that always stuck out was when he took Taka to go see Daiya's grave for the first time. At the time, it was very cold. Not really snowing but it was a bit icy when they both arrived. At first, he remembers it being vaguely awkward as they just kind of just stood there. Even though Daiya was dead, Mondo couldn't help but have this feeling of wanting his approval of his friend. Not only that but Taka was so... quiet.
If you know anything about the guy, you'd know he has no sense of volume control. So, for him to be so stoic was so... ominous. On top of that, Mondo couldn't even get a read on his expression, another strange thing considering how expressive he always was.
Mondo had nervously gripped the fabric on the inside of his jacket pocket thinking, Shit. This was a terrible idea. What kinda fucked up person takes their friend to cemetary? He probably realizes how much of a murderer I am, practically showing my victim.
Mondo hated that word. Daiya never deserved that label. Daiya was a stronger, better man than he could ever be and Mondo took him away.
All these thoughts only made the whole situation worse as he just continued to fidget his hands with his coat pocket. Eventually the pressure inside his head was becoming too much to handle. Everything seemed to disappear around him like any shred of color that was originally there became enveloped by a blurry world of nothing but splotches of white and grey. All at once, Mondo felt this deep freeze within his body, enveloping him slowly and painfully. It practically felt like the universe heard his cries for escape and punished him to eternally stare at that cursed tombstone.
As he fell further and further into his stupor, he didn't register the feeling of weight on his shoulder right away. It was only when that same weight began to travel to his chest and wrapped around him in a tight hug did he remember where he was. Looking down at Daiya's tombstone was when he noticed how cold his face was. Not surprisingly, he had been crying. No, it was more like bawling considering that his face seemed covered in ice.
More importantly, Mondo glanced down at the arms around his chest. Not to his surprise, they belonged to his best friend. What did surprise him is the rhythmic trembling that seemed to be vibrating behind him; he was crying as well.
"Y-you okay, man," Mondo managed to croak out.
Taka squeezed further into Mondo's back as a response.
Mondo, unsure of how to form his own response, placed his hands on Taka's. His hand felt so cold yet it brought so much warmth in his heart. Just even knowing he's still here let alone hugging him was enough of a comfort for him. He didn't even mind the fresh tears beginning to flow once again. Mondo brought up both of his arms and embraced his best friend in a tender back hug.
They stayed there for what felt like an eternity, just soaking in the feeling of each other. He didn't know when but eventually he felt the spark and it grew more and more the longer they clung to one another. At the time, the spark was still unfamiliar to him. Honestly, it scared the shit out of him. It seemed to just come out of nowhere one day and was just part of Mondo's reality now. It didn't help that it's such an intense feeling that Mondo practically thought he was gonna die. In the beginning, he would always try to bury the feeling like how he attempted to with all his intense emotions. But in that moment, with Taka practically clinging on to him, he was too exhausted and content to care about hiding it away.
All of a sudden, Taka had let go of him. Before Mondo could even question it, he was spun around by his friend before settling his hands on Mondo's shoulders.
Taka stared at the ground under them, gulping in one final sob before setting those intense, red eyes on his friend.
"I... I... I know I can never replace him. Even though I claim to be your soul brother, the bond with a tried and true blood relative can never be meddled with. However, um, I just wanted to say that I hope you can... rely on me. Especially because... I want to be there for you. You know as well as I do that I've never really had any friends. My experience with you has truly shifted everything I knew and... I just-I just... I want to be with you. Every step of the way. Especially in times like this. Because I care and I would hate to think you thought you had to go about it alone. So... promise me you won't."
There it was. It was the first time he ever felt it; the explosion. All that intensity from the sparks finally came to a head when that explosion of warm resolution pulsed throughout his body. It was frightening and intense, Mondo practically felt like his body could melt away. And yet, he didn't mind it. Still terrifying yet beautiful all at once that he felt the need to hold on to it. He didn't want to push it away, not this time. He didn't know why or how but this was the first time in a long time where he felt exposed yet wanted to relish in it. It had been so long to have that actual, unbridled confidence that wasn't just being put on to keep appearances. This was how it was supposed to feel. Funny enough though, the explosion still felt... soft in way. It wasn't sharp or painful like a real explosion. It just felt... airy and light. You would think that would make the warmth not as intense but somehow it does. It was just so... magical.
"I'm sorry if that sounded all silly. Please ignore me and let's move on.'
Mondo's trance had been broken by the sound of Taka's voice as he remembered where he was. Mondo had took notice of the worried look on his friend's face before he sprung onto Taka in an intense, tight hug. Taka, while being surprised by this, took in the hug nonetheless with as much intensity.
To Mondo, this was one of the most beautiful moments of his life. He was here with his best friend (Mondo.)just basking in each other's presence once again. (Mondo.) All those feelings of wanting approval and self pity just seemed to disappear. (Mondo!) He could've reveled in that feeling for the rest of his life. It was... amazing. Nothing could ever take him away from here.
"Mondo! Are you alright?!"
Mondo suddenly jolted out of his thoughts of the past to suddenly remember what was happening.
Right. Teruteru. Plan. Not being at a cemetery.
Mondo slowly looked to Taka's worried eyes, which prompted feelings of guilt within him for scaring his friend like that.
"S-sorry man. I just had a lot going on is all," Mondo croaked out, loathing his stutter before thinking, Really? "A lot going on"? God, Taka must think I'm a moron.
Taka inhaled before groaning, "Clearly! You have been staring at the wall for... who knows how long!"
Mondo scoffed, "C'mon, I'm sure it wasn't that long."
Taka's scowl seemed to only deepen before replying, annoyed, "Well, forgive me if I care about your wellbeing! This better not become a common occurrence, especially if this is becoming intertwined with your studies!"
Mondo proceeded to roll his eyes before looking at some banal spot in the room. He didn't like it when Taka practically treated him like a child. Then again, that was just part of Taka's nature. He always made sure everyone was following on their best behavior. Besides, Mondo was the one who scared him into thinking there was something wrong. So, as far as he was concerned, he had no right to talk.
Taka had cleared his throat before returning to his stiff, soldier-like standing position before stating, "Now if there aren't any further distractions, I would like to continue fleshing out the plan."
Mondo just chuckled to himself before saying, "Sure, man."
Maybe Mondo was just blowing the whole thing out of proportion. After all, Taka was gonna be there. Maybe... maybe tomorrow wasn't gonna so bad after all.