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Mondo never would have thought that he would ever hang out with Kiyotaka Ishimaru in the middle of the summer, sitting lazily under the shade of a big tree and eating ice-cream. Of all people he could have befriended, the gang-leader had to choose the pristine hall monitor with his ironed uniforms and polished booty and award-winning smile. How did it even come to the friendship the two of them were currently sharing? …As if he didn’t knew, it was a memory he put himself back into again and again, sighing fontly, accompanied by a slight chuckle as he remembered that their competetive nature, one of the things they had in common, caused them to become best friends, bro’s, kiyoudais. And he wouldn’t want to trade it for anything in the world. He blinked into the sun, groaning slightly and quickly shielding his eyes, even though his obnoxious pompadour would have been enough to protect him from the assaulting light. It was hot outside. Really hot. He could have sworn he saw Leon try to fry egg’s on the street while wearing nothing but swim-trunks with a giant ice-cube tied to his back. It was amusing how much the red-head hated the heat.Mondo chuckled lightly at the memory, before turning his head to look at the boy next to him, his perfect white uniform abandoned in favour of a blue shirt with black shorts. He didn’t seem to sweat too much, he was apparently resistant against the heat, an ability Mondo envied him for, because he was sweating through his white tank-top, his gang-jacket abandoned next to him, because it was simply too unbearable hot to wear it without melting on the sidewalk. Ishimaru had a peaceful expression on his face, which was a sight to behold and a gift to see, for it was very rare to see Ishimaru relaxed. Ever. Usually Ishimaru feels emotion’s to an extreme degree, he is extremely happy, extremely serious, extremely angry, extremely sad or extremely anxious. It is rare to see his face so peaceful, so neutral, his hand stroking absentmindedly the fur of a straying cat that decided to join them. The cat had black fur and intense blue eyes Mondo didn’t know what to make of, but Taka enjoyed the animal company, so the furball can stay, even though Mondo preferred dogs over cats any day.The gang-leader reached over to his coat and fished his phone out of one of the pockets, taken an absentminded gaze at it. August 17th, 3 PM, a beautiful fucking day, in fact so beautiful he felt the urge to vomit his gratitude in the from heat dying grass. Summer was far from Mondo’s favourite season. His jacket was too warm to wear in that time, even driving his bike was a hassle, since only warm air was blowing in his face and through his hair. Which he, obviously, hated. There was just never any motivation in summer, because it was always too hot to do anything. At least he had now Ishimaru to hang out with, he never had anyone he could actually consider friend, apart from Daiya, who was no more…He never considered anyone in his gang as a friend. He had a few people he liked to hang out with, Leon was a prime example for that, but he wasn’t sure if they could call each other friends yet. He was a bit of a moron and the both of them didn’t had any intense bro-nding moments so far. Maybe some day.“You know, Kiyoudai…” Mondo perked up at the sudden voice of Ishimaru invading his brain and startling him out of his thoughts, causing him to focus back on the prefect, who had a distant look in his usually intense red eyes, staring into the clear sky. Not a single bird was in sight and the sun was glaring down on them, but still, Ishimaru was calm. But he didn’t seem to be enjoying himself either. Mondo blinked a few times before realizing that he hadn’t said anything yet and therefore replied quickly: “Yeah?” Ishimaru’s gaze didn’t change in the slightest as he answered with complete honesty in his eyes as he glared at the sun, answering: “I hate summertime.”This genuinly surprised Mondo, he didn’t expect this at all. Sure, Ishimaru never looked like he truly enjoyed summer, but he also never showed any indication that he hated it either. ‘Hate’ is such a strong word too, a word Ishimaru usually never used, mainly because he never openly admitted his distate for many things, despite breaking school-rules, and even then did he never state that he hated it when someone broke the rules. Leon and Mondo broke them all the time and Ishimaru still befriended them. “Oh? Really?” Was the only thing he could really say. He didn’t know what to say to that, it was so unlike Ishimaru to openly hate something.Ishimaru nodded weakly as he continued: “I just feel like…. it’s going on and on and not making any progress, you know? Summer is always the longest season, and I can’t stand it anymore.”Ishimaru did have a point. Summer began to start earlier and earlier with each year and simply refuses to leave for some bizarre reason. What was summers business? If he could, he would beat summer up so it would make finally room for autumn, a much more bearable season. Mondo nodded with a grunt and glared at the street nearby, the stoplight currently glowing read for anyone who wishes to walk over the street, indicating them that they had to wait. The street wasn’t busy, car’s could just run over the street without a care in the world, there was no risk for an accident. It was simply a beautiful day.He and Ishimaru had met up at noon and ate lunch together, before they drove with Mondo’s bike to a rather secluded lake and swam for a bit, then they got ice-cream when they returned and now they were here, being lazy in the sun, something Ishimaru usually doesn’t do and something Mondo usually does far too much. At least he spends the time now with someone, so at least it’s not wasted. Time with Ishimaru was never wasted. Mondo didn’t want to admit it, but he seemingly evolved not-so-brotherly emotions for his bro. Feelings he didn’t know how to react to. Should he confess? He had to confess one day, but he simply didn’t feel ready for it on this one. He was far happier with admiring his bro in secret, observing how the sun glistened in his intense red eyes, how his hair seemed to shine and to jostle from the slight wind, how he was to slim but had very well-defined muscles underneath his regular school clothing. Someday, Mondo kept telling himself. Someday he would tell his kyioudai how he feels. But this day will not be today.“I know what you mean… It just never seems to end, does it?”Ishimaru hummed before answering: “It certainly does not.”Mondo blinked in confusion and shot Ishimaru a quick glance, who returned it for just two seconds before grinning sheepishly and getting up, the cat now comfortable in his arms. “Let’s go somewhere else. I can’t stand the sun anymore. How about we go to your place and study for a bit? Do you still have some of our homework?”Mondo rolled his eyes. Of course Ishimaru wanted to study, rather than just laze around and have a good time. …But the biker couldn’t deny that he did have in fact quite a lot of paperwork he still needed to attend to, so he supposed that a little bit of studying couldn’t hurt, only bore, him. So he smiled slightly and got up from his comfortable spot in the grass, walking alongside Ishimaru, talking about numerous topics, before stopping when the prefect took a deep breath and focused on petting the cat, instead of looking at the biker.“You know… you became one of the most important people in my life kyioudai… I care deeply about you…” Mondo didn’t expect that at all. He blinked, his eyes wide as he tried to process what Ishimaru had just said. It was so out of the blue that it took the biker completely by surprise and caused his cheeks to take on a tinge of red as he tried to mutter an answer, his throat constricting and only sounds escaping, which caused Ishimaru to laugh heartily. He always did that. Always complimented Mondo and turned him into a blushing mess. And Mondo was always unable to reply, he was blushing too hard or thinking about a proper answer too much and then it was already too late to answer for anything Ishimaru said to him. And this time… it was no different. Mondo kept brooding over a proper answer while trying to control his furious blushing with Taka laughing next to him, before he yelped when the cat suddenly jumped out of his arms and threatened to walk onto the crosswalk with the currently green stoplight.“Hey! Come back cat! It is dangerous for an animal like you to just run over the street like this!” Called the prefect after the animal, before taking off to retrieve the cat and most likely escort it over the street to make sure that it got to the other side safely.Mondo chuckled affectionately and watched the hall monitor sprinting down the sidewalk, an unusual side, as he rushed towards the cat to rescue it. Said feline is already on the street, looking around cautiously while Ishimaru came to it’s rescue. Mondo watched the scene with a smile, before his gaze shifted slightly, causing him to notice that the stoplight had switched colour and was now glowing in a shade of bright red. Mondo’s eyes widened as he realized that and made one step forward, stretching one arm out as he yelled: “KYIOUDAI, DON’T!”He didn’t do more, because there wasn’t more time. Because Ishimaru was already on the road. And as soon as the cat heard Mondo’s voice it took off, leaving the prefect on the street, just in the moment where a truck came speeding around the cornor, not expecting someone to stand on the street and in his way. Ishimaru whirled around, his eyes widening but the shock freezing him in place, he only would have had two seconds to react anyway, which wouldn’t have been enough. Nearly not enough. The truck honked, but it was too late for that. The next thing Mondo heard was a sickening sound accomanied by a loud scream as his bro flew a few feet through the air before crashing back onto the ground with a sickening crunch, his body twisted in unhealthy way’s, the once red eyes that were usually shining with life were now dead, not a single trace of emotions visible. Blood was dripping down his forehead, chest, stomach, leg and shoulder, staining his clothes, skin and the road. And all Mondo could do was stare with wide eyes, the tears already forming as the realization slowly settled in. He was currently in the moment where he SAW what was happening, but he didn’t quite realize it just yet, causing him to feel empty, the only thing currently filling him being shock. And then came the realization. And it was far worse than the numbness from before.Ishimaru died. Ishimaru Kyiotaka, his bro, his Kyioudai got hit by a truck…. just like his actual brother… and now both were gone. Gone the same way. The world took Ishimaru from him. The tears finally fell as he screamed for Kyiotaka and sprinted down the way to where his bro was currently laying, unresponsive, with the driver of the car next to him, checking for vitals but quickly backing off with wide eyes, shaking his head in disbelief. The guilt must be heart-wrenching, but Mondo couldn’t care less about this dude. Mondo collapsed on his knees, right next to Ishimaru’s broken and battered body and cradeled his bro in his arm’s, just like he did with Daiya all this time ago…. with the only difference being that Ishimaru was dead. His lifeless eyes stared up at him, widened in fear that no longer belonged to him. Mondo’s massive form trembled, the fear and grief evident in his eyes as he clutched his bro close to his chest and began to cry, not caring who might watch, he just lost Ishimaru… he just lost another brother… how was he ever going to live with this? He felt Ishimaru’s blood soaking his tank-top and flowing down his skin. How was he ever going to live with this? He could only shakily reach out and close Ishimaru’s eyes, give him some kind of peace, he just wanted him to find peace. How was he ever going to live with this? Ishimaru looked peaceful now, if it weren’t for all of this blood, he might aswell be sleeping. How was he ever going to live with this? Ishimaru and Daiya looked eerily similar right now. They had the same peaceful expression on their face, with the only different that Daiya had been smiling back then. HOW WAS HE EVER GOING TO LIVE WITH THIS?! Two brother’s died, and it was his fault!His tears fell onto Ishimaru’s face as he quietly cried, his shoulders shaking with silent sobbing. What did he ever do? What did he do to lose two brothers the same way? What did he do? He couldn’t live with this… He couldn’t…. live with this…He felt his eyes droop and a strange blue light that was causing him to look up. A blue illusion stood next to him, the body big with the same gang-jacket that Mondo was usually wearing, the black hair in a pompadour, similar to Mondo’s. Even the eyeliner was put on the same way. And Mondo couldn’t believe what he saw… it was Daiya…. Daiya was here, standing next to them… was he here to take Ishimaru with him? To never appear again? But his older brother was staring directly at him, his spectral eyes causing Mondo’s vision to blur. The gaze was intense, but he felt dizziness taking over. He didn’t feel Ishimaru in his arm’s anymore, or the howling sirens of the approaching ambulances, couldn’t feel the sun on his skin anymore. All he could see was black. Did he pass out? Was the shock to much? Was he dehydrated and this moment gave him the final blow? He had to admit, he wouldn’t be sad if he died aswell. He would be with Ishimaru and Daiya… he couldn’t imagine something better… He would miss Leon and Chihiro though… because yes… they were his friends. They were important to him… but they would just come after him… he just had to wait, right? He looked weakly up and noticed the blue spirit of Daiya, directly in front of him, looking down at him, behind him clocks. So many clocks, all of them blue, all of them showing a different time and all but one of them ticking. The only clock that wasn’t ticking was right behind Daiya, an odd feeling spreading in Mondo’s mind and heart. He flinched when Daiya suddenly pulled back and punched the clock, effectively shattering it and causing Mondo’s world to go blank, only two word’s, spoken in Daiya’s voice haunting him to act, to do something.“Save. Him.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
With a violent flinch, Mondo’s eyes opened and he sat upright in his bed, his whole body shivering, violet eyes wide from fear, sweat running down his face. What was that? What happened? Was that.... a dream? Was he so excited to meet up with Ishimaru that his mind formed such a complicated nightmare? He looked around frantically, but it was of no use, he was definetly in his own room, the posters of various motorcycles and dogs were proof enough of that. He blinked, trying to regain all of his senses, spotting his phone on the nightstand and reaching one well-trained arm out to receive it. When the screen lit up and showed the date and time, Mondo’s heartspeed involuntary sped up. August 17th, 8 AM... His dream had the exact same date... just that it was 3 PM... was it not a dream? Did Ishimaru really die? Mondo’s eyes screwed shut at the memory of the mangled corpse of his bro, of the illusion of his blood-related brother, the sight of him smashing one of many clocks... Calm down Mondo, deep breaths, breath in for four, hold for seven, exhale for 8...He kept this pace up until he was able to think clearly again, even though he was still clearly in distress. He casted a glance out the window. The weather was the same as he remembered in his dream... It was sunny and warm out... but it would rain when he and Ishimaru went swimming, but they enjoyed it greatly nontheless. They would eat something together and then take a break under the tree, meeting the stray cat that Ishimaru would pet lovingly, before he get’s run over by the truck, causing his death... Mondo shook his head violently and casted the blanket aside, getting out of bed and heading for the bathroom. It wouldn’t help him if he stayed in bed the whole time. He would get ready for the day and meet up with Ishimaru. Maybe it really was just a dream his messed up mind fabricated for him. His feet slapped against the cold tiles of the floor as he opened the bathroom door and stepped inside, looking at his reflection in the mirror. Sometimes he really wanted to punch this blasted thing for making him look so ugly, but if this was what he really looked like, then he could hardly blame his reflection for being ugly. He had bags under his reddened eyes and dried tears were staining his cheeks. His hair was a complete mess of black and bleach and his white tank-top was rumpled. He sighed heavily and looked away from his reflection, stepping in the shower to wash the dream off of him. The warm water was surprisingly helpful, considering how hot it was outside. But he just needed something warm right now. Mondo was never bothered by the heat, at least not as much as other people.Yes, he would kill for ice-cream as much as the next person, but he was able to run around in his crazy-diamond jacket without breaking in too much of a sweat. He still sweated a lot and usually abandoned his gang jacket, but it never stopped him from running around in it. Leon was the worst example for heat-resistance. He simply can not take heat, and heat can not take him. It has been a hateful relationship for many years now and poor Leon would always look like a crispy piece of bacon at the end of summer. The poor guy just can’t get any tan, unlike Mondo who already had a pretty dark teint, considering he was out almost all day every day. He remembered how Ishimaru in his dream said how he doesn’t like the summertime. He would have to ask him later if he really thought that. He always enjoyed summer, ever since he was a kid. It was a good time to drive around with his bike, even when it was insufferably hot.He turned the water off and stepped outside of the shower, grabbing a towel and getting to work with drying his hair. It always took the longest to try, but he still wasn’t planning on changing anything about his appearance. He liked his hair. After the job was done he grabbed a hairbrush and got to work with working the knots out. He was always a bit too rough with his hair, but who had the time to be gentle? He had places to be! He didn’t bother with his usual pompadour since he knew that he and Ishimaru would go swimming together. He remembered very clearly how Ishimaru would splash him and pull him underwater and ruin his pompadour anyway, so when it really was not a dream, then he saw no reason to bother. He tied the bleached hair back into a man-bun and left the black hair flowing down his head and neck before he went to work with his eyeliner. After 5 minutes he went back to his room to put on the clothes he wore in his dream, a white tank-top, similar to the one he wore in bed, black baggy pants, no socks, and some sneakers he wore when he wasn‘t out with the gang. He looked presentable enough.He went to his nightstand to pick his phone up to look once again at the time. 8:30 Am... Daiya’s words echoed in his head, sending a shiver down his spine as he heard the “Save. Him.” Of his brother again and again, pounding against his skull and urging him to do something, what he wasn’t sure of. He made sure everything was secured at home before finally leaving it, closing the door behind him after he made sure that he had his keys, before walking down the front porch. It was just like in his dream.... He was a little creeped out... It would get seriously scary when-“Hey Mon!”....Leon would cross his way and talk to him. No, this wasn’t possible. How could his dream predict this?! Was it really not a dream?! How was this happening right now?! Mondo blinked, trying to recover from his initial shock and shot Leon a quick glance. The punk looked like he did in his dream, he was wearing all of his usual piercings, black shorts and a white crop-top that displayed his lean and slightly muscular figure. When he looked back up he noticed that the roots of Leon’s hair were slowly starting to turn brown again, he apparently needed to redye them later.“What are you doing here Leon?” Was the only thing he could come up with. That was weak, Owada, Leon was your somewhat-friend, you could at least come up with a better greeting, and one that didn’t make him sound like he wanted to punch the punk in the face.Thank god was Leon one of the few people who actually knew him, so he only shrugged and leaned against the fence, a sly smirk on his face. “I’m actually going on a date! Just like you.” He sang the last part, causing Mondo’s eyes to widen. His singing voice got exceptionally better, did he really get lesson’s from their upperclassman Ibuki Mioda? It certainly sounded like it. But it didn’t matter, since Leon just assumed that he and Ishimaru were going on a date, and Mondo was having none of that.“Shut up! It’s not a fucking date!” He yelled, giving away that he was nervous and causing Leon’s grin to widen. He fucking hated this guy sometimes. But at the same time would he die for him, Leon was a great friend when he wanted to be, but only in these moments.Leon shrugged innocently and then sang: “Whatever you sayyyyy...” Before brushing past Mondo, his walk sly as he build a respectable distance before grinning backwards and yelling: “HAVE FUN ON YOUR DATE!” Before running off, the biker only able to yell “IT’S NOT A FUCKING DATE!” After him, before the punk was completely out of sight. Mondo cursed quietly, because he wanted Leon to be right. He wanted it to be a date so much, he cared way too much about Ishimaru, it was almost ridiculous, but he just wanted Ishimaru to be happy, alive and well, not necessarily in that order, he preferred alive over happiness, even though both were very important.He sighed as he walked down the sidewalk, lost in thought as he was getting to the place he and Ishimaru would meet up. Was it really all just a dream? It was a little bit too convenient for everything to play out exactly like it did before... is it? Did Ishimaru really die? ....Did he allow his bro to die? And the same way his real brother died nontheless? And did Daiya really reset the day? Was it a second chance he was getting? If so, he wouldn’t fucking waste it. He will save Kyiotaka Ishimaru, and if it will be the last thing he will do! His thoughts stop for a moment when he sees Ishimaru already waiting for him, wearing a blue shirt and black slacks, just like in his dream. He also got a fair amount of teint, even though it wasn’t nearly as much as Mondo, and his red eyes shined like ruby’s in the morning sun. Ishimaru finally spotted him and waved him excitedly over, yellong: “KIYOUDAY! OVER HERE!” As if Mondo hadn’t already seen him. His smile was bright and blinding, Ishimaru had the best smile in the entire fucking world and Mondo always died a little inside when Ishimaru smiled just for him. He wanted to treasure him and always keep him near him... not only because he had feelings for him. Ishimaru kept him somewhat grounded and distracted him from his anxiety, at least enough to the degree that he wasn’t openly rude to everyone out of fear or entered many panic-attacks. And even if he did, Ishimaru would always lead him through them. He got some of the best advice against panic-attacks from Ishimaru.Mondo walked up to him and smiled down at the smaller prefect, causing Ishimaru to beam up at him. “You look great!” Complimented Ishimaru, probably happy that he didn’t have his usual pompadour and settled on a more normal hairstyle for today. Mondo smiled gently as he responded with a smooth: “You are not looking bad yourself.” Ishimaru’s outfit was simple but effective. The fact that he wore casual clothes showed Mondo that his bro cared enough for him to let his facade crumble and just be himself around him. People would say that Taka cares when he dresses up for them, when really, it’s the other way around. But Mondo never tells them that. Shall they leave in an illusional world, it’s not like they will believe him anyway.And the slight blush on Ishimaru’s face, sent Mondo’s heart into overdrive, while his mind was already working at that speed, but for a whole different reason. He was nervous. Anxious that Ishimaru might die this afternoon. He would protect him.Ishimaru would live. He would make sure of that.