#0001tlfl

“Are you sure it’s gonna be okay?”

“Naegi, sit still.”

“I mean, what if it’s not? Kirigiri, it’s been four days!”

“I will hold you down with my own hands if you don’t stop squirming. Those bandages on your head need to be replaced and you’re making it hard on the nurse!”

“But—”

“The doctor said it’s fine. Trust him. Ikusaba is fine.”

The pair sat on some chairs in the waiting area. Kirigiri’s crutch rested on the side of her seat and she held a cup of stale coffee in one hand. Beside her was Naegi, whose bandages were now pristine white and clean. In the aftermath of the Enoshima encounter, his head became a muddle. He hadn’t noticed that a piece of rubble fell and scraped the top of his head, blood trickling down the side of his face. He was lucky that was all the injury he sustained, same with Ishimaru, Oowada, and Fujisaki. They were all extremely lucky. But whatever luck had worked in their favor did not bode well for Ikusaba, who was retrieved from the house’s kitchen barely alive. In spite of it all, she was saved. And she was recuperating. Naegi knew not what life awaited her when she woke, but if he could impart her some of his luck he would.

Ishimaru appeared, his arm in a sling. He smiled at the pair, though it was more for the sake of formality as it did not reach his eyes. “How is she?” he asked.

“Ikusaba’s still unconscious,” Naegi replied. “Shouldn’t she be awake by now?”

Kirigiri placed a hand on top of his shaking one. “Relax. The injuries she sustained are far worse than yours. She’ll need a lot of sleep to repair them.”

He nodded, believing her.

Ishimaru cleared his throat. “Naegi, I…” He sighed. He rubbed the back of his neck, his frame limply hanging over the two. “I’m sorry I… I wasn’t able to help. Y-you know, when we were there. I wanted to! I really did! But something came over me, I don’t know… and I was frozen. I couldn’t move. I was—”

“You were scared,” said Naegi. “It’s understandable.”

“I was cowardly. There is simply no excuse.”

“You’re being too hard on yourself,” Kirigiri countered. “You got Naegi out of there in time. Only short moments after your escape all probable exits from your position had been blocked by rubble. If you hadn’t been there, Naegi wouldn’t have made it out at all. You saved a person’s life, Ishimaru. Are you really demeaning yourself for that?”

The grip on Naegi’s hand tightened. He looked at the detective in awe. He hadn’t been aware of this piece of information. “Wow.” Turning to the prefect, he gave a bright smile. “Thank you, Ishimaru. I feel like I owe you so much now.”

Ishimaru shook his head. “No, not at all! You owe me nothing!”

“You’re a great friend,” Kirigiri said. Ishimaru was on the verge of tears.

“I…” Ishimaru changed the subject before the waterworks could continue. “I just came from Fujisaki’s room.”

Fujisaki had been given a different concoction too. She’d been asleep all throughout. Even as Oowada slung her small frame over his shoulder and got her out of the fire, which had crept up her legs by the time he got to her. She had second degree burns on the sides of her legs, but other than that she was fine. The burns will heal. They will, perhaps, scar badly, but they all had been scarred emotionally for the rest of their lives anyway. Other physical scars seem minor now.

“Is there anything she said? About Enoshima or when she was taken captive?” Kirigiri asked.

“Nothing. She’d been walking home when somebody grabbed her from behind and placed a handkerchief over her nose. After that she woke up in this hospital with no recollection at all of what had taken place.”

Kirigiri nodded. “I didn’t expect there to be much information anyway.”

“And how is she?” Naegi inquired.

“She is fine, don’t worry. I left her with Mondo. She’s getting to be more talkative.” There was a fond smile on his face as he spoke. The expression was fleeting, however. The smile turned down, lines appearing in the space between his brows. “Can I ask? Enoshima, she is…?”

“Dead,” Kirigiri quipped. “It was all part of her plan, to have us witness her suicide. We were all pawns in her chess game. Me, especially. I was the most foolish of all of us.”

“Then it’s over.” The relief in his voice was unmistakable.

“Yes,” she said. “Please rest easy, Ishimaru. Thank you for everything and I’m glad you are safe.”

“I should probably be thanking you, Kirigiri-san! You were very smart! And Naegi, standing up to Enoshima like you did. You were so brave.”

Naegi laughed. “It was more of plain stupidity than anything else.” He got a chuckle in response.

“I should head back to Fujisaki now. Please alert us if anything happens to Ikusaba.” They agreed and Ishimaru walked away.

The moment that he was out of earshot, Naegi turned to the detective. “Kirigiri…”

“You saw through it, didn’t you? Do you think he noticed anything?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think anyone else could’ve noticed. I’m just getting better at finding out when you’re lying. Now tell me, what actually happened to Enoshima?”

They locked eyes, Kirigiri’s lower lip trembling before speaking. “They never found the body.”

Naegi swallowed, his heartbeat hammering at the mere thought of Enoshima’s still living body. “That’s impossible. There was a big block of cement on her lap. She wouldn’t have been able to move at all.”

“I’m stating the facts as it is. After you got out, they managed to retrieve Ikusaba. I told the firefighters the perpetrator was still inside. It took them another few moments to get the fire under control, but they claimed not to have seen any sign of another human still inside.”

Before Naegi could form a reply, a doctor turned up and commanded their attention. “She doesn’t seem to have any family, and you were the ones she came in with, so… Mukuro Ikusaba is awake now if you would like to visit her.”

-

Ikusaba suffered from minor burns, a fractured arm, three broken ribs, and some internal bleeding. But her eyes were open and lit up with unfathomable emotion when she saw Naegi and Kirigiri approaching. Naegi made an effort to look encouraging, shooting her a warm smile. Kirigiri was her usual stoic self, ready to get down to business as soon as the luckster finished the formal greetings.

“I’m really glad you’re okay,” he started. Relief flooded on her face.

“But I’m going to jail. I must pay for my misdeeds.” Her voice was scratchy and it took a while for her to speak. She grimaced. “Thank you, though. For deeming me worthy of saving.”

“Naegi’s faith in you was unwavering.” Kirigiri approached her bedside. “I hope you realize what a huge honor that is.”

Ikusaba averted Kirigiri’s stern gaze. “I do realize. I dare not ask for more than that.”

Naegi took in her frail disposition, her eyes glazed with sadness. Ikusaba spent her entire life being manipulated by her own sister, to the point of her own destruction. She’d fashioned herself… No, Enoshima fashioned her to be the perfect killing machine by instilling in her the idea that no one else would care for her other than Enoshima. And she’d followed until she completely dehumanized herself.  Now that she’d betrayed Enoshima and with the prospect of lifetime imprisonment hanging over her head, what could she possibly think was still in store for her? He wanted to give her hope, but he did not know how.

As always though, it was Kirigiri who had the solution.

“I have a business proposal to you, Ikusaba. Enoshima has escaped from the fire.”

To his surprise, Ikusaba scoffed. “That sounds like her, alright.”

“I need to track her down, for good. And also each and every member of her despair group. I can’t have a single one of them walking free and unharmed.”

Ikusaba nodded in understanding. “You think… I could supply you information about them?”

“Yes. I understand Enoshima, to a certain extent. I thought I did fully, but recent events have proved that I am only partially inclined to what goes on in her mind. I need someone who really knows her. And who better to understand her than her former right-hand woman?”

“I don’t know a lot about… the despair network,” she admitted. “I know most of the members, but some of them are out of my reach. In fact, I knew nothing about Mrs. Matsui until I was given the order to shoot her son.”

“The members that you know are students at Hope’s Peak, aren’t they?”

Naegi’s eyes widened at the statement.

“Yes, they are. I don’t know what will happen to them now that they think Enoshima is dead. I would like to hope that without her they’d be harmless.”

Naegi knew that would be too much to hope for, even for him.

Kirigiri spoke again. “I would also like to propose a partnership, once you’re fully recuperated, that is. You’ve proven yourself time and time again a reliable and stealthy fighter. One that would prove indispensable to my investigations.”

“You’re asking me to-to fight alongside you?”

Even Naegi was surprised. For all the doubts that Kirigiri had on her character, this kind of proposal was definitely a huge turn in reverse. “Naegi trusts you, and I trust his judgment. That is all I have to say on the matter. Should you choose to cooperate and testify against Enoshima in the succeeding trial, I’m willing to negotiate with the force on the repercussions of your crimes.”

“You don’t have to answer right away, of course,” Naegi said, breaking out of his astonishment. “This might be too much to ask of you, going against your sister and all.”

“I’ll do it,” Ikusaba said. “I have no doubt in my mind that I want to put an end to Enoshima’s schemes. I will assist in your investigations to the best of my ability.”

A sly smile materialized on Kirigiri’s face. And if Naegi hadn’t just finished an encounter with Enoshima, he would’ve thought that he was the only person in the room who wasn’t completely insane.

-

Kiyotaka Ishimaru had much more than what he bargained for when he decided to take that leap of faith and become friends with Mondo Oowada. From that stemmed the rest of the chaos that would scar him for life. And yet from that also stemmed even more friendships and experiences he’s sure to never forget. If there was anything he learned, it’s that the world was so much larger, madder, better than he initially perceived.

From across the hall, he looked at Oowada, calmly picking at the lint from the bandages on his arm. His hair drooped lazily over his brows, spilling onto the bows of his eyelids. The biker caught his eye, and they shared a knowing smile. His face said it all - I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad you’re alive. And with me.

“What’re you lookin’ at?” said Oowada in a teasing tone. “Am I too handsome?”

The rest of the weekend passed by without much more event. Ishimaru’s wounds had healed up considerably through adequate resting and proper hydration. Granted, there was still a slight crook along the bridge of his nose and a dark red line still ran through the length of his bottom lip, but they didn’t bother him as much. He could only look forward to going back to school just as he always did on the verge of a Monday morning. More so now than usual, actually. After all the craziness of the past few days, he craved for nothing more than the normality of being an average Hope’s Peak student again.

He took his usual route to school, heading out of the door with a brief greeting towards his mother. The skies were a bit gloomy, but he didn’t let that bring him down. The wind was awfully strong, the trees swaying in an entrancing rhythm all around him. He hoped that it wouldn’t start raining, for he’d forgotten to bring an umbrella that day.

The familiar sight of the Hope’s Peak Academy’s entrance gates brought about a wave of relief in him, seeing that normality was only just a few dozen steps away now. He walked through with a calm air. When he was a short distance away from the front door, a pair of light arms came to wrap around his torso and he jumped in surprise.

“Ishimaru!” said a familiar voice. He turned to see the smiling face of none other than Chihiro Fujisaki, who looked like there were sparkles hanging in the air all around her. Ishimaru relaxed and patted her head.

“Chihiro! You scared me for a second there!”

Fujisaki stepped back and shoved a little rectangular box at his chest. Ishimaru stared at it for a few seconds and shook his head. “I do not know what I am to do with this.”

Fujisaki laughed and it was like the angels from heaven were singing. Why was she so happy? “It’s for you, silly! Happy birthday.”

The hall monitor stood still, the whistling of the wind becoming louder in his ears. He stared at the gift, then at Fujisaki, then back at the gift. “It’s… It’s my birthday?”

“Don’t be such a spoilsport. Of course it’s your birthday!” Fujisaki bounced on her heels and toes. “Now open the gift! Go on!”

He took the box with deft fingers, muttering to himself. “I honestly didn’t know…”

“You’re joking, right?”

Ishimaru shook his head. Fujisaki let out an awkward smile. “How did you know?” he asked.

“Naegi-kun and I have a calendar with everyone’s birthdays in it!” she answered, “I seem to recall you telling me your birthday, but that had been a long time ago. And now you… forgot?”

“Birthdays aren’t exactly significant to me or to the people around me. That’s why I normally don’t bother with them.” Ishimaru opened the door and held it open for Fujisaki to enter, him following behind her. The halls were filled with the usual bustling of the students going about their own pre-class businesses. Ishimaru wondered if even one of them had a weekend just as wild as he had.

“You know what, Ishimaru? I have a feeling this birthday’s gonna be a lot different than your previous ones.”

Ishimaru let out a small smile. “You think so?”

“Yes! Now open the gift!”

They entered the classroom, which for now didn’t have any other student in it. Fujisaki sat down on Naegi’s usual place and watched Ishimaru intently as he tore through the wrapper of the gift, revealing a dark leather journal underneath. Ishimaru went still and then he shoved the object back at Fujisaki. “I can’t possibly take this!”

“What? No, no, I told you, it’s yours!” she said, handing it back.

“This cost you time and money! I didn’t mean to be an inconvenience.”

Much to Ishimaru’s surprise, Fujisaki stood up on her seat and slammed the journal on his desk with staggering force. “I said take it, hall monitor!”

Ishimaru froze in shock, then nodded. Fujisaki’s expression went from seething to cheerful in a split second. She giggled. “I’m glad you like it!”

Ishimaru took off the rest of the wrapping and ran his hands down the length of the journal’s spine. He opened its pages, taking in the clean slates waiting for his writings. He’d never had a journal before. He always just kept his schedule in his head. And this one seemed to be one of the very expensive ones too. Tears stung his eyes as he looked back at the programmer, his mouth quivering. “I don’t know what to say…”

“You don’t have to say anything,” she replied, beaming. A couple of other students began filing through the door and Fujisaki walked to her own seat. Every time someone would come in, Ishimaru would unconsciously lift up his head and hope to see a certain person, but he never came. There was only two minutes left before class started and Mondo Oowada’s seat was empty. He tried not to let this bother him. Maybe he was just sick with the flu or something of the like.

But the last time Oowada hadn’t attended class it turned out it was because he was injured and confined in a hospital. Again, he tried not to let this bother him. He tried hard. He was a prefect, for crying out loud! He had more important responsibilities to get to than to worry about what his reckless best friend was up to.

Naegi gave him a brief greeting when he entered the room and Ishimaru smiled gratefully. They made small talk. Ishimaru asked if Naegi had visited Kirigiri already, to which he replied in the affirmative.

“She’s in good condition, thankfully. But she’s gonna have to be on crutches for the next few days.”

Ishimaru nodded. “That is very good news indeed.”

Naegi turned to the back of the room, eyes scanning everyone. Then, he whispered. “Ikusaba isn’t here.”

“Oh?” Ishimaru confirmed this for his own. Three vacant seats today, then. “I wonder why.”

“Do you…” Naegi gulped visibly and spoke in a lower tone. Ishimaru had to strain his neck to hear him. “Do you think this has something to do with what happened to Kirigiri in the paint factory?”

“I think it might.”

Naegi’s eyes were filled with sadness as he turned back to face the front. “Yeah.”

“But I thought you believed that Ikusaba was innocent?”

Naegi shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t know what to believe in anymore.” He broke his grim expression and took on a smile. “But hey, it’s your birthday. We shouldn’t be talking about sad stuff right now.”

“It doesn’t bother me at all! If the situation is truly hopeless, I don’t think it would do us any good to pretend that everything is alright.”

“I don’t think the situation is hopeless,” Naegi replied, his fingers fiddling with the lapels of his blazer. “There’s always hope in any situation. When everything and everyone else has turned their back on you, that is the one thing that you can always count on.”

Ishimaru let his words sink in for a moment. Once again, he was astounded by the amount of optimism such a small person could have. Maybe hoping a little wouldn’t hurt…

He glanced back at Oowada’s empty seat and a sinking feeling formed in the pit of his stomach.

-

Ishimaru finished his after school duties as he usually did. The school staff that were out sick the past week had been healed now and he was grateful to see that everything was up and running properly again with more people on the job. He finished his duties a half hour earlier than expected. The skies were still as gloomy as they were that morning, still heavy with the amount of rain that they refuse to let go of. Ishimaru exited the school and found Naegi standing idly by the front doors.

“Oh! Ishimaru, you’re out early!”

“Yes. It seems I wasn’t needed very much today. I went to the faculty room to ask if they wanted me to help with anything, but they said it was all covered and that I can go home. That was most unexpected, but I’m happy that order and authority is now back to normal in this school.”

Naegi nodded. “Wow! That’s amazing!”

“And what are you still doing out here, Naegi?”

Naegi opened his backpack and took out a small plastic bag with a brand name written on the surface. “Yeah… Sorry, I don’t know how to wrap gifts. Mom usually does them for me, but she was out of town yesterday and I was kinda left to my own devices. Anyway, happy birthday, Ishimaru!”

The hall monitor took the gift from him, his eyes already shining with tears. “This is very thoughtful of you!”

He peeled back the plastic to reveal a thin rectangular box with a fountain pen inside. The color of the fountain pen matched the cover of the journal from Fujisaki. He laughed. “Thank you so much. You didn’t have to do this.”

“It’s not a problem! Also, it’s still early. We can go to that ice cream shop nearby if you’d like. You don’t have to pay for anything, of course.”

“No! I-I don’t want to be any more of an inconvenience to your financial status!”

Naegi shook his head, laughing. “Ishimaru, it’s just ice cream. It’s not gonna hurt anyone. Plus, it’s your birthday. We’re allowed to spoil you a little.”

Ishimaru still looked a bit hesitant, so Naegi continued to speak. “Come on! It’s gonna be fun, I promise.”

“F-fun?”

“Yes, fun!” Naegi beamed and adjusted the straps of his bag on his shoulders. “I’ll race you there!”

“Wait, what?” But Naegi had already taken off, getting several feet of head start. Ishimaru’s competitive side won out, his own feet lifting off the ground of their own accord. His strides were longer than Naegi’s and he was able to catch up easily. The luckster gained speed, his usually wild hair falling flat on the top of his head as he braced against the wind. Naegi turned right on a corner and Ishimaru followed a few steps behind. He could hear Naegi’s laughter ringing out as the ice cream shop came into view. Ishimaru watched his pacing and waited until they were only a few feet away from the shop’s front entrance, then he straightened his back and made strides quicker and longer than before, easily beating the shorter man to the door.

The hall monitor opened the door, smiling. “You were an admirable competitor, Naegi!”

Naegi’s face was coated in sweat, but he still smiled. “Y-yeah? That’s good to know,” he said in between pants. Ishimaru was a little worried that he might start wheezing. As for the prefect, other than the quickening of his heartbeat, there was no evidence that the sprint had affected him at all. They entered the shop, sighing blissfully as the cool air of the air conditioning blasted on their faces. Somewhere in the corner of his eye, Ishimaru saw someone wave.

“Over here!” Fujisaki yelled, waving her hand in the air frantically. Ishimaru and Naegi went to sit on the table with her.

“It’s good to see you, Chihiro!” Ishimaru said.

She nodded in enthusiasm. “Naegi and I figured that we’d do something special for your birthday! Order anything you want. It’ll be our treat.”

Ishimaru may have looked very shocked by this. He turned to Naegi, who gave him a thumbs up.

“Well, I guess I should know by now that it’s useless to refuse whatever you guys give,” Ishimaru said, scanning the menu for anything that he might like—and that wasn’t too costly. “Thank you for your kindness.”

They ordered their food: a slice of cookies n cream ice cream cake for Fujisaki, a double scoop strawberry ice cream with one of those fancy candy cones for Naegi, and a triple dark chocolate sundae for Ishimaru. Ishimaru was still a bit stunned that these two were doing these for him, so he didn’t have a lot to say. Luckily, Naegi and Fujisaki made sure that there was no dead air at any time. They filled the table with merry stories and rings of laughter. Ishimaru observed the sky turning into a deep indigo outside the shop’s window. He sighed.

“I really do thank you,” he said thoughtfully, his lips refusing to dissolve his smile. “You two have been nothing but kind to me, and I only wish I can return the favor in any way. This has truly been the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

“Awww!” Fujisaki said, wiping imaginary tears from her eyes. “We’re really happy to hear that!”

“But it’s not over yet,” Naegi said, causing Ishimaru to turn to his green eyes, which were currently shining with amusement. “Hope it’s okay if you stay out a bit late tonight.”

“Oh?” Ishimaru asked, worried. “I mean, you’ve already done enough! We can pretty much call this a day now.”

Fujisaki shook her head. “It’s not done yet, and we both know that you know it too. You’ve been missing someone, haven’t you?”

Ishimaru blinked and averted his gaze from theirs. It was true. Though he was grateful beyond words for Naegi and Fujisaki’s actions, he couldn’t stop himself from wondering why it was that Oowada was nowhere to be found. He shook his head. “I’m sure Mondo is just busy with something else. Maybe he’s sick!”

Naegi brought out his phone and typed on it for a few seconds before pocketing it again. “Yeah, maybe.”

Fujisaki piped up. “There’s nothing wrong with admitting that you miss your boyfriend, Ishimaru!”

“Wh-wh-whaaat?!” Ishimaru’s face grew hot in the span of only a few seconds and he suddenly felt dizzy. He slammed his fists on the table, causing the silverware to clatter. “N-n-no! You’ve got it wrong! Mondo isn’t my boyfriend! We’re not boyfriends!”

Naegi and Fujisaki shot him looks that made it clear that they didn’t believe him. “We’re not boyfriends,” he said again.

Fujisaki rolled her eyes and stood up. “Sure, Ishimaru. Anyway, we should head out now.”

“Where are we going?” asked Ishimaru when they’ve exited the shop.

“Back to Hope’s Peak,” Naegi replied. They walked the short distance in silence, Ishimaru growing more and more puzzled with each step. It was already nighttime and everyone in Hope’s Peak Academy had probably gone home long ago. What were they planning to do there?

They entered the gates. Ishimaru was surprised that it was unlocked. They climbed up the steps to the front entrance, but just when they were about to open the door, they stopped.

“This is where we go, Ishimaru,” Fujisaki said, confusing the prefect even more. Ishimaru jolted when Naegi thrust a flashlight on his hand.

“W-wait! What’s going on? You can’t make me go in there alone! Where am I gonna go?”

“Just trust us, okay?” Naegi said. Ishimaru knew that if he were to place his trust on anyone, these two people would be at the top of the list. He nodded.

They opened the doors and pushed Ishimaru in. The doors closed after only a second, and he was immersed in complete darkness.

Ishimaru stood there for a while, the sound of his breathing barricading his ears. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now. Should he get back out there just to ask them? What were they even up to anyway and why did it involve this?”

A sound erupted from the other end of the hall. Ishimaru stiffened and strained his ear to listen. If it was an attacker, maybe he could use the darkness to his advantage. There was a loud footstep, whose sound reverberated through the hallway and struck straight into Ishimaru’s loudly beating heart. There was a loud scrape of an object against another object. And then another footstep. The rhythm repeated, growing louder and louder and nearer and nearer until he was sure that it was only a couple of feet away. He took a deep breath and turned on the flashlight, aiming straight at the intruder’s direction, and was met with a pair of steady, lavender eyes.

“Come with me,” Kyouko Kirigiri spoke with certainty, as if Ishimaru had no choice but to agree to come with her. The hall monitor’s jaw dropped, his flashlight traveling down the length of her body to discover that she was holding a crutch under one arm and that one of her legs was wrapped in a cast,

“Kirigiri! You should be in the hospital!”

She raised an eyebrow. “I’m working on a case. A silly little bone injury should not impede my professionalism. Now, come with me. And keep that flashlight trained ahead.”

He nodded and did as she said. The interior of Hope’s Peak Academy didn’t at all look intimidating or elegant in the dark. Like this, it looked like it was in the middle of deep hibernation. They approached the elevator and Kirigiri pushed a button on it.

“Uh, does this elevator even work?” Ishimaru asked, considering that it was nighttime, it wouldn’t make sense for the elevator to still be operating.

“Oh, silly me. We should probably take the stairs,” Kirigiri drawled sarcastically. Ishimaru nearly slapped himself. Crutches, right.

The lights above the elevator doors came to life and a few seconds later, they opened, the inside emitting a light that shone through all the way to the end of the hall. They entered and Kirigiri pressed the button for the topmost floor.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” he asked, wanting to be sure that this didn’t strain Kirigiri in any way. She shot him another of her serious and rather intimidating stares.

“I am in perfect working condition, I assure you.”

Ishimaru nodded, deciding not to push it. He was afraid he’d made her angry. Kirigiri reached into the pocket of her blazer and took out a small plastic-wrapped object. “Happy birthday,” she said, handing it to him.

Ishimaru glanced left and right, not sure why this was happening so many times today but concluded that this time, it was definitely best that he didn’t object to the gift. He took it from her and opened it to reveal a set of fountain pen ink refills. Ishimaru opened his mouth, but Kirigiri beat him to it.

“I am not very good at giving gifts,” she said softly as the doors opened and they stepped out. “In fact, such acts of socialization are usually beyond me.”

“I understand completely how you feel.” He put the refills inside his pocket and slowed the pacing of his walk so as not to leave Kirigiri behind. It was hard to discern the halls in the dark, but based on his memory it seemed that they were heading for the greenhouse. “In fact, I am very surprised at your actions today. You and Naegi and Fujisaki. It was quite lucky for me that the sick teachers got healed today and I didn’t have much work to do anymore.”

“Did they send you out the moment you stepped in?”

“Y-yeah, actually, they did.”

Kirigiri smiled. “Naegi told them that it was your birthday. That’s why they let you go early.”

Ishimaru frowned slightly. “Did Naegi tell you this plan?”

She shook her head.

“Then how do you know for sure?”

“Naegi is the most predictable person I know,” she said fondly. “And strangely, also the most interesting.”

“You know him just like… like you know the criminals that you chase, don’t you?”

“No,” she said sternly. “Nothing like that at all.”

He nodded. “You and Naegi, you really are very good for each other, aren’t you?”

“Where are you going with this line of questioning?”

“N-nothing! I was just… observing.”

They were quiet for the next few minutes. Ishimaru spoke again, “So, what do you plan on doing now? About the killer, I mean.”

She sighed. “I admit, before I can execute any proper plan, I’m going to need some time to… recuperate.” She glanced down sorrowfully at her broken leg. “I will just have to hope that she won’t be making her next move any time soon.”

They stopped before the doors of the greenhouse. Kirigiri stepped off to one side to lean on the wall and fish something from her pocket.

“Isn’t this supposed to be locked?” he asked. His eyes widened completely when he saw Kirigiri take out a single key.

She handed it to him, her lips curled up into an amused smile. “Yes, Ishimaru, I am a detective. However, you are also forgetting that I am the Headmaster’s daughter as well. Now get in there.”

“What?” Ishimaru blurted out, but Kirigiri had already opened the door and shoved him inside before he could fully process what was happening. The door closed behind him and he was swallowed in complete darkness again. “Wait!” He yelled, hoping she was still there and that she could hear him. “Aren’t you coming with me?”

“Calm down, Ishimaru. I’m just right outside this door,” she replied calmly. “Just be quiet and wait.”

“A-are you sure? This is starting to scare me. Honestly.” Ishimaru gulped and adjusted the collar of his shirt. A deafening silence filled the room, and though there was a soft light that came from the night sky due to the glass dome above him, it still wasn’t enough for him to see around him. He took a deep breath and heard nothing but the sound of his heart hammering wildly in his chest. He took a step forward. One beat. He took another. Two beats. Three.

There was a rustle of movement behind him. Ishimaru braced himself when suddenly a hand came to settle on his hip and he felt the length of a forearm resting along the back of his waist. In a flurry of movement, he gasped, spun around on his heel and slammed his fist on the intruder’s face.

“OWWW! SHIT PISS MOTHERFUCKER, FUUUUUCK!”

Ishimaru’s stomach dropped as he narrowed his eyes in the darkness and gasped. “Mondo?! What on earth are you doing?”

As Ishimaru’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out Oowada’s moving figure as he clutched his jaw and groaned in pain, his purple eyes glaring daggers at his own. “I was gonna surprise you, dumbass! Fucking hell! Why’d you punch me?”

“I’m sorry! I am truly, deeply sorry! But kyoudai, sneaking up on me in the dark isn’t exactly the best way to surprise me.”

Oowada’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Duly noted,” he grumbled.

Ishimaru was about to inquire about his injury when suddenly Oowada’s face became clearer, his whole form illuminated by a soft ambient light coming from behind him. The entire room was lit up with little fairy lights draped all over the flowers and the trees and the bushes. Ishimaru looked around, his mouth open, as every single piece of greenery shone with beautiful gentility, greeting him in the most wonderful and relaxing way possible. He looked back at Oowada, head tilted in confusion. It was only then that he noticed that the biker looked very different. He stood straighter. His Hope’s Peak uniform was in pristine condition, despite the fact that he didn’t even attend classes that day. The knot of his necktie was done perfectly in a way that made it obvious that he didn’t tie it on his own. Oowada’s eyes shone with slight amusement mixed with anxiety. Above all though what was even more alarming was his hair, which was gelled back and swept gracefully at the top of his head instead of forced into his usual pompadour.

Oowada took note of Ishimaru’s scrutiny and a faint shade of pink arose on his cheeks. “I-I look ridiculous, don’t I? In fact, this whole thing is stupid and really, really cheesy. Hell, this was all Chi’s idea. I swear, I’ve got nothing to do with this.”

“I like it,” Ishimaru replied promptly. Softly. Oowada was stunned into silence and the hall monitor spoke again. “Your hair, I mean. It looks good on you.”

Oowada made a strangled choking noise and replied nervously. “Just shut up. Really, shut up.”

Ishimaru smiled and took a deep breath. “I was wondering where you were the entire day, but now that you’re here, I’m glad!” He gestured towards the room and asked, “But what is all this for?”

“Well, Chihiro… She, uh, thought it would be umm…” The biker’s face flushed deeply as he spoke. “…Romantic.”

Red pupils blew wide for a moment before staring off at the ground. “Oh…” Ishimaru replied, wringing his fingers behind his back. He bit his lip to keep himself from smiling, not knowing why he was even having the urge to smile in the first place.

Oowada cleared his throat, causing the hall monitor to look back up at him. “I have to… I’ve some stuff I gotta say, which was why I brought you in here actually.”

“You couldn’t have just told me these things under more… usual circumstances?”

He shook his head. “Nope. It’s a bit more serious than that. Go over to that bush over there,” Oowada said, pointing towards a pile of rose bushes a few feet away. Wordlessly, Ishimaru did as he was told and found something dark and leathery on the ground behind the pile of leaves. He stooped over and picked it up. It was bigger than expected. He held it up in the air as it unfolded before him. His jaw dropped as he saw that he was holding in his hands Oowada’s Crazy Diamonds jacket.

“M-Mondo? What is your coat doing here?”

“Ishi, I quit the gang.”

Ishimaru’s head snapped towards him at lightning speed. “You what?“

Oowada shrugged, but in his eyes there was sorrow. “I remember all that stuff you told me, about how I shouldn’t be tryina’ be someone I’m not and I should be my own person or some shit. Right now, I have no idea who that person is, but I’m willing to try and find out.”

A small frown appeared on Ishimaru’s face as he looked back at the coat in his hands. “So you just walked in there and told them you were done? That’s it?”

“Obviously it was a bit more complex than that. Look, Ishi, it’s not a big deal.”

“Those people looked up to you, Mondo. You were their leader.”

“And I feel sorry for leaving them. I really do, but this whole gang business thing… trying to be like aniki… It’s just making me more miserable.” He approached the hall monitor, his hands shoved in his pockets. “Kyoudai, look at me.”

Ishimaru shifted his position to face him fully. They stood four feet apart. The tails of the jacket grazed the ground as Ishimaru held onto it with limp arms.

“I’m done with it,” Oowada said, his voice coming to life with clarity. “I’m done living in my brother’s shadow. I’m done wasting all my efforts into making sure he lives on because obviously, he’s dead as a doorknob and there ain’t nothing I can do about that.”

“Mondo…”

“I’m done with the gang, and with the violence and all that shit. And I may not be done with the swearing because that’s a part of me you’re just gonna have to learn and live with, but I’m definitely done with everything else from my past that has done nothing but hold me back when I’m only tryina’ move forward.” Oowada released a deep breath and took a step closer, eyes locked intently on Ishimaru’s.

“What exactly does all that mean?”

Oowada reached inside his blazer and procured at item from it, which he then handed to Ishimaru. “Happy birthday.”

Confused, the hall monitor folded Oowada’s jacket neatly and set it down on the ground. He looked down at what he’d been given and was met with the sight of bright red-orange flames on a paperback cover. Daiya’s book. “No,” he whispered hoarsely, eyes welling up with tears. “Mondo Oowada, what on earth are you thinking? This is the only remembrance you have of your brother, I-I can’t possibly accept this!”

“It’ll be much better cared for in your hands than mine. I want you to have it.”

Ishimaru tried to hand it back to him. “No,” he said firmly. “You can give me any gift you want, but not this one. It’s too important to you.”

Oowada frowned and placed his hands over Ishimaru’s, pushing the book towards the hall monitor’s chest. “It’s not important to me anymore. And I know you’ve always wanted it, so I’m giving it to you. Why can’t you just accept it and be done with it?”

“Because I don’t understand what’s going on!” Ishimaru yelled in frustration as he looked up at him. “First, you lead me into this place for no apparent reason, then you tell me you quit your gang, and now you’re handing me a significant item of remembrance from your brother and expect me to be ‘done with it’! Mondo, what is really going on?”

Oowada let out a low growl, his hands coming to rest on Ishimaru’s shoulders. He closed his eyes, but the crinkle present in the space between his eyebrows made it evident that he was still strained. “Kiyotaka…” he whispered. The prefect stiffened a little, surprised to hear him use his first name.

“It’s okay,” Ishimaru replied in a noticeably calmer tone. The frown on Oowada’s face let up a bit. “Hey, I’m not mad. I would just like to hear an explanation. A proper one. As you know that I am always clueless about social interactions.”

Oowada opened his eyes and let out a smirk. “Yeah, I know that very well. Trust me.”

“So please explain to me why you are giving me something that is obviously very important to you.”

“Because you’re more important,” he said, voice crystal clear. “I always thought my life sucked, but I never really had the guts to actually find out why it sucked, so I just went along. But then you came in and you basically made my whole world look like shit in comparison. I realized what was wrong with the way I lived, that it’s because I’ve been holding on to too many ghosts.”

Ishimaru shook his head. “You figured that out for yourself, Mondo. I can’t take all the credit.”

“No, I didn’t! I’m stupid, remember? You really think my life would be worth half what it is now if I hadn’t met you?”

Ishimaru may have stopped breathing. The world dissolved around him until he was left with only the sight of the intense expression on Oowada’s face. His heart skipped a bit. “No,” he said, “Under no circumstance did I think that I could have much of an effect on you. I always just thought that you hung around with me because you pitied me for my lonely disposition.”

Oowada gritted his teeth, his nails digging into Ishimaru’s shoulders. “Do you even have any idea how much time I wasted just thinking about you, you asshole?”

“I told you, I—”

“Don’t ever tell me you’re worth nothing to me. Don’t you ever do that and don’t you even allow yourself to think of such bullshit like that.”

The hall monitor hugged the book he’d been holding to his chest, as if the act would relieve the clenching in his ribcage. “Okay.”

“And especially not when I am trying so hard to be romantic here.”

“You’re being romantic?” Ishimaru asked, blushing.

“Yeah, and you’re not helping. So let me finish what I was saying, alright?”

“Alright.”

“Okay, uhh…” Oowada’s hands fell limply at his sides as he stared off into space. “Fuck. Chi told me to say something, but I completely forgot what it was.”

“Just say what you mean, Mondo. I am sure that it will be just as heartfelt.”

The biker took a deep breath, his form quivering slightly before letting out his words all in one go. “I’m an idiot. I don’t know shit about anatomy and science and fractions still confuse the heck out of me. I beat up people for fun and I’m pretty much a useless addition to society. I always thought I wasn’t meant to be born, you know? Like I was just crashing this one big party. But then I met you, and I was finally worth something. I felt that maybe, maybe I can make myself useful if I can make you feel just a little bit better. And if you’re happy, really truly happy—and not just cardboard smiles on a politician’s face happy because that shit’s pretty terrifying, then I’d have done all that I should. Oh, and uh, Kiyotaka Ishimaru, will you be my boyfriend?”

This time, Ishimaru was sure that he really stopped breathing. He opened his mouth but he found himself at a loss for words. His heart pounded in his chest, growing even louder up to his ears as he felt warmth from head to toe. He bit his lip and could not bring himself to meet Oowada’s inquisitive gaze. The soft lights that radiated from the plants glowed even brighter, giving him a sense of calm even though his insides were heated with staggering activity. He snuck a glance at Oowada and never had he seen him look so vulnerable as he was now. Was it true, then? Could he really affect Oowada that much?

He took a step closer and breathed in his musky scent. Oowada had actually taken an effort today and he smelled of flowers and perfume. His insides were a muddle of racing thoughts and emotions, of joy and adrenaline and confusion and courage. He looked at his biker with a new set of eyes, ones that held stars in them. His brother. His best friend. The person that taught him how not to be lonely anymore. The one who showed him how to live beyond his horizons. While he was thankful for the company that Naegi and Fujisaki provided, Oowada was different, had always been different from the start. He craved for Oowada’s company like he craved no other thing. He wanted to stay by his side for however long he was allowed to. He wanted to feel the safety and certainty that his arms provided. Ishimaru had always thought that he was strong. He always faced his problems all on his own and was quite good at it. The universe conjured up an entire life around him that made it clear to him that he was meant to walk alone, and he accepted that fate wholeheartedly. Until Oowada came and he realized just how weak he was, and just how much he wanted to rely on another person from then on.

He could see the anxiety in Oowada’s features as he waited for his answer. Ishimaru pressed his forehead at the base of Oowada’s neck, just right below his collarbones. He sighed and breathed in the intensified scent, let it fill up his thoughts and send butterflies to his stomach. “I love you,” he murmured, his eyes drifting shut. His heart sped up to its extremity. The tips of his fingers tingled with sensations that shot up his arms and concentrated on his midsection area. He spoke again, this time with more certainty. “I love you, Mondo.”

He felt Oowada freeze against him. “Wh-what? Why the hell would you do that?!”

Ishimaru shook his head, his face still hidden on Oowada’s chest. Tears poured freely down his cheeks and he made light sniffles against Oowada’s shirt. Oowada placed a hand gently on his chin and brought up his face so that they looked eye to eye. Ishimaru whimpered. “I do. Most ardently. Don’t ask me how or why, because I am very bad at these things. A-and there’s a huge possibility that I am not suitable to be a romantic partner and that I will fail a lot of times and you will be very frustrated with me, but I love you. I don’t know anything else.”

“You… you nerd,” sweet and romantic Oowada replied. “God, you’re such a moron.”

“Hmmm.”

“But that’s a yes, right?”

The hall monitor lifted his head from Oowada’s chest and looked up at him and very firmly nodded. Oowada let out a stuttering breath that played past the huge grin that slowly took up his face. The blush on his cheeks became even more prominent as he used his thumbs to wipe away the hall monitor’s tears. He placed his palm on Ishimaru’s cheek and leaned in until their noses brushed. Ishimaru closed his eyes, obviously waiting, but Oowada shook his head. “I…” he said gruffly. He cleared his throat, figuring that he should probably ask for a proper permission now. “Damn. I… I really wanna kiss you right now.”

Ishimaru turned his head away, blushing. He bit his lip in a way that made Oowada go nearly mad with want. At the same time, though, he also found it adorable. “That idea… is not unwelcome,” the prefect said shyly.

Chuckling, Oowada perched Ishimaru’s chin on his hand and captured his lips in a chaste but sweet kiss. Ishimaru hummed happily against it, his mouth pulling up into a huge smile.

They pulled back quickly, too embarrassed to take it further. The two stared anywhere but at each other, both wearing flushed faces and lopsided grins. Ishimaru took another look around the place. “Thank you for all this, by the way. It is evident that you worked hard and I appreciate the effort. And the things that you said, thank you for that too. However, I do not think that you should quit your gang.” Ishimaru lowered his head and handed the biker back his coat. Oowada frowned.

“What? I thought you’d be happy about me quittin’? What’s with all this?”

Ishimaru shook his head. “While it does relieve me of a heavy heart to know that you will be a lot safer, being a gang leader is what defines you. I can’t take that away from you, Mondo.”

“But you aren’t—”

“At least take some time to think about it. You’re making a huge decision here, and I do not want to be the cause of your misery should you regret it in the future,” the prefect replied firmly. When Oowada looked like he was about to argue, he added, “Do it or I shall be obliged to punch you again.”

Oowada took a step back, genuine fear written all over his features. Ishimaru smiled triumphantly. Oowada sighed. This nerdy hall monitor really was gonna be the death of him.

With everything that had happened, they decided that it was time to call it a day and walked out of the room together. Kirigiri greeted them with her usual smile, the smile that didn’t make it look like she was smiling at all. But as Ishimaru peered down at her face and saw with more clarity, he knew it was there. When they exited the gates of Hope’s Peak, they found Naegi still standing on the pavement. His eyes lit up when they approached and he jogged over to them.

“Naegi, you’re still here,” said Ishimaru. He looked around for a bit and added, “Where is Chihiro?”

“Oh. Uh, she said she wanted to go home early. Wanted to work on another project or something. It’s computer stuff and I don’t really understand,” Naegi replied, smiling.

“Why didn’t you go home too? Surely there was nothing enjoyable about standing alone on a sidewalk,” Ishimaru said. He felt a jab to his ribs and looked over at Oowada, who raised his eyebrows at him, his eyes sweeping repeatedly at Kirigiri’s direction. Ishimaru made a loud “Ah! I get it!” and Oowada facepalmed.

“Anyway,” Oowada said, breaking through the brief moment of silence, “I’ll be taking Ishi home. You guys stay safe or whatever.” He walked off, getting a head start already. Ishimaru followed, but then stopped and turned back to see Naegi shyly taking Kirigiri’s hand and they walked in the other direction. Ishimaru smiled. This was truly a day for good things. He faced forward once again and found Oowada even farther off. He hastened his steps, feeling the night hugging him, forming pictures and sceneries around him. He kept his eyes on Oowada, and it was as if the universe was serving him entirely, handing him every thing he’d ever wanted on a silver platter. Ishimaru was a man of dreams, but at the moment, he knew he couldn’t want anything more than reality.

-

However dreamlike the past few events had been, the universe did not bide its time in reminding our beloved teenagers of the severity of the situation they were in. This manifested itself the very next day, when a frantic Oowada entered the classroom and strode straight over to the purple-haired detective. He was breathing heavily, his face a mess of strenuous activity. Ishimaru, who had been arranging some papers on his desk, saw this and went over. He placed a careful hand on Oowada’s shoulder. “Are you alright?”

Oowada paid him no mind and kept his eyes on Kirigiri, waiting for her to look up at him. When she finally did, she took one look at him and stated, “She’s gone, isn’t she?”

Oowada clenched his fists at his sides. “I can’t find her anywhere! Damn it, I tried everything!”

Kirigiri fixed him with a grave expression, the gravest they’d ever seen on her considering her usual gloomy air. “I’m deeply sorry.”

Oowada pounded his fist on Kirigiri’s desk, getting a small startle out of her. Faint terror was reflected in her irises as she struggled to remain her composure. “Where. Is. Chihiro?” Oowada said through gritted teeth.

Ishimaru gasped and rubbed his arm. “Mondo. Mondo, please. Just calm down. I’m sure we can sort this out and—”

For the first time since he entered the room, Oowada looked at the prefect, Ishimaru’s speech faltered instantly upon seeing the urgency in the gang leader’s eyes. Oowada took a long, hard look at him and his expression softened slightly. He grabbed Ishimaru’s hand on his arm and gave it a firm squeeze.

“I need you to meet me back here later after class,” Kirigiri spoke in a way that made them know how much danger they were in. “We’ll figure it out from there.”

Waiting through an entire day was agony for Oowada, but the time finally came when he, Ishimaru, and Naegi met with Kirigiri that afternoon. They waited until they were the only people left in the room before Kirigiri brought out another piece of paper and showed it to them.

Alarmed?

It’s all in your hands now, little Sherlock.

Naegi gulped visibly, taking the paper with trembling hands. “Kirigiri, do you… Do you know what this means?”

Kirigiri’s body was laid out on a stretcher the moment Ishimaru set foot in the emergency room. About half a dozen EMT’s came to her aid. Ishimaru explained the situation as briefly as he could and an oxygen mask was placed on her face to alleviate her wheezing.

She was whisked into a room where she could be attended to more fully, her purple eyes hooded as Ishimaru offered her a silent look of concern. He stood dazed in the middle of the room, back at the place with the painfully white walls and floors. It was only when he sat down on an empty chair that he realized that he was in pain too.

“Sir?” A nurse’s voice called out to him and he turned to face her.

“Yes?”

“You have a cut lip and a broken nose. You may want to come with me so we can take care of that.”

Ishimaru nodded dumbly and followed her onto an unoccupied bed in one side of the room. He sat down, his long and tired legs dangling at the side. The nurse prodded at his nose and he winced as a dull throb came off it. He looked down at his shirt and saw specks of blood littering the white surface. His knuckles were grimy, decorated with small bright pink cuts that stung when he thought of them. He could only imagine how awful he looked at the moment, shellshocked and groaning in pain.

After the nurse patched him up, Ishimaru debated on whether he should go home or stay and wait for a report on Kirigiri. He didn’t know if she had any relatives other than the Headmaster, and it’s not like he had a way to contact them either. He’d contact Naegi, since he’d probably want to know about something like this, but she told him not to tell Naegi about any of it. This puzzled him. Why would she not want Naegi to find out?

Plus, there were other things too. What was Kirigiri doing in the burned down paint factory? How did it explode? Was someone out to kill her?

He shuddered. Knowing that she was a detective, he should have already considered the dangers that she was accustomed too, but this was far more than what he expected. What if this was somehow related to the serial killings?

“Sir,” the same nurse that attended to him appeared at his side, her lips pursing with disapproval at the disgruntled teen. “You’re fine. You can go home now.”

He shook his head. “I-If it’s alright, I’d like to stay and see if my friend’s okay.”

The nurse looked on him with apathy, but nodded. “They’re gonna be done with her in a few. You can talk to her for five minutes, after that I’m gonna have to send you out.”

“Thank you.”

She walked away without another word. For the next half hour, Ishimaru sat there alone with his thoughts. The lights in the room were so bright he was squinting. Each minute that passed constricted his lungs further and further until he was so stuffy that he couldn’t bear to sit still. He stood up and walked around.

When the nurse finally came back to tell him that he could see Kirigiri, he nodded, thanked her promptly, and entered the room that Kirigiri was in. There were other patients as well, all in their own beds and sleeping soundly. It then occurred to Ishimaru as he walked with caution that it was pretty late in the night already.

Kirigiri laid on the bed, a cannula stretched along the expanse of her face, across her nose. Her hazy purple eyes struggled to focus on Ishimaru as he approached. He hesitated slightly before he brought out a hand to brush her bangs aside so that they didn’t obstruct her vision. She let out a soft smile.

“Ishimaru,” she said. Her voice was deep and hoarse and it sparked concern in the hall monitor, but she shook her head, silently telling him that she was fine. “I am sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?” he asked, confused. “There’s absolutely no reason for you to apologize!”

“I didn’t mean to get you into this mess. You look terrible,”

“You didn’t know. It was a coincidence, and I couldn’t have been able to refuse helping you.” Then he added in a softer tone, “This wasn’t your fault.”

“It is. I have put you in grave danger.” Her eyes closed as she spoke. The corners of her eyelids shone with the beginning of tears. “You’re not safe. She’s going to come for you. You, and Oowada, and Fujisaki, and… and Naegi.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ishimaru, I’m deeply sorry. I did a stupid move. I let her get away.”

“I don’t understand. Who did you let get away?”

“The killer. Well, not exactly the killer, but an accomplice,” Kirigiri sighed, “I should have ended it then and there.”

Ishimaru looked down at his feet. “If you already know who the killer is, why don’t you turn them in? Justice must be served!”

“I wish it was that easy,” she replied, “But I know that if I do that, there’s a big possibility that we’d all be dead soon after. We didn’t win the fight in there, Ishimaru. They let us escape. They’re toying with us. So no, this must end with one way only: the killer’s death.”

“Kirigiri, how do you—” the prefect’s brows furrowed. He swallowed the lump in his throat. “How do you know all this? You know way too much about this killer. It’s almost as if… as if you’re the killer.”

She opened her eyes, peering up at him. Even stretched out on a hospital bed, she still managed her stoic face with ease. “I know because I understand.”

Their voices were dropped to a whisper so that they didn’t disturb anyone else in the room. Ishimaru shifted his feet. Kirigiri spoke again. “Can I ask you a favor?”

He nodded. “As long as it’s not too troublesome, I’ll make sure to do it.”

“I’ll give you the address to my house. Please go there and… And tell Naegi that I won’t be coming home tonight,” her voice was so frail that he had to strain his ears to make out the words.

“But you told me not to tell Naegi about any of this.”

“I changed my mind. Tell him.” Her hands fidgeted on top of the sheets that covered her body. “Tell him that I… I never meant to hurt him.”

“O-okay.”

Ishimaru stepped back out into the hospital lobby and made for the phones on the wall. He made a quick call to his home and told his mother that he would be out very late. He made the message brief. He didn’t think he could handle any of her questions for now.

The next thing he did was to fulfill Kirigiri’s request. He started for her home. The pain on his nose had subsided into a dull ache, but he was still mildly uncomfortable. The air felt cold and it stung when he inhaled. The sound of his footsteps thudding against the pavement became a soothing monotony to calm his nerves. At last, he reached her house, and sure enough, Naegi sat on the pavement with his elbows on his knees. When he spotted Ishimaru, his eyes lit up momentarily, followed by a look of confusion and concern. He stood up and straightened his shirt, his mouth hanging open as he took in Ishimaru’s disgruntled state.

“Naegi,” the hall monitor began, “I’m afraid Kirigiri will not be able to meet with you tonight.”

Naegi’s eyebrows drew together in surprise. “Why not? Did something happen?”

“She’s…” he sighed, not wanting to shock the luckster any further. “Kirigiri is in the hospital right now. I saw her inside the paint factory moments after it exploded. She said she met with the killer there.”

In a flash, Naegi was right in front of him, his pale hands gripping the front of Ishimaru’s shirt. The hall monitor bowed his head and was met with a look of pure, unabashed panic in a pair of green eyes. “What happened to her?”

Ishimaru’s body shook as Naegi tugged on his shirt multiple times. “She is alright. I brought her to the hospital where she’s been resting. Naegi, there’s no need to worry, I—”

“I have to see her.”

“Visiting hours are over, and—”

“Who cares about visiting hours?”

“Naegi, I’d advise you to calm down—”

“If you want me to calm down then tell me where she is!”

“I already told you, she’s in the hospital.”

“I mean what room. It matters too, what room she’s in.”

“Just a standard ward. She isn’t in intensive care, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Naegi’s grip on the hall monitor’s shirt loosened and his arms fell to his sides, defeated.

“So she’s fine,” he said, but it didn’t sound like he said it to anyone but himself.

“Yes. She wasn’t affected by the blast itself, only by the smoke that filled her lungs. And she broke her ankle too. But other than that, there are no more injuries.”

Naegi breathed out a sigh of relief so hard, Ishimaru felt it fan out on his face. “Oh thank god.”

“She also told me to tell you another thing. She said that she never meant to hurt you.”

Naegi’s eyes flashed with emotion, fists now clenched at his sides. “She damn nearly did,” he said gravely.

“Are you alright?” Ishimaru asked in a serious tone.

To his surprise, Naegi let out a short laugh. “I think I should be the one asking you that question.”

Ishimaru looked confused for a moment, then he remembered that he probably looked far worse than the luckster that stood before him. His hands came up to cover his nose. “Ah, yes, I got into a little tousle in trying to retrieve Kirigiri’s notebook, but this is nothing.”

Naegi froze. “You… you fought the killer to get Kirigiri’s notebook?”

“The killer’s henchmen, not the actual killer.”

“Yeah, but you did it to save Kirigiri.”

“Makoto Naegi, if you think I am the kind of person to just leave a helpless citizen in a pile of dust, then you’ve thought—”

Ishimaru’s words died at his throat as Naegi’s lanky arms came up and wrapped around him. He stiffened at first, surprised. But as he felt the desperation in Naegi’s grip, he relaxed a bit and patted his back.

“Thank you,” Naegi said, and Ishimaru’s heart welled up with joy. “If anything had happened to her and I wasn’t there… I could never forgive myself.”

“I’d do anything to help out a friend.”

Naegi stepped back, smiling. “You’ve done more than enough.” He looked up at the dark blue sky, his hands shoved in his pants pockets. “I guess I should be going home now.”

“Yes. M-me too,”

Naegi raised an eyebrow. “Hang on a minute. I think there’s someone else who needs to know about what happened to you.”

“Who?” Ishimaru was genuinely confused.

“Oowada, of course! You’ve just escaped an exploded factory and attacked by a couple of guys and you’re not gonna tell him?”

He shook his head. “Why should I tell him? He wants nothing to do with me.”

The air around them turned cold at the seriousness in Ishimaru’s tone. Oowada. He hadn’t thought of Oowada at all during the past few hours. His mind had more things to wander to, but now that Naegi put him back, Ishimaru realized there was no way for thoughts of the gang leader to escape him now. The pain in his red eyes was evident as he stared at Naegi, who wore an expression of sympathy and confusion. The shorter boy whispered, “We all know that’s impossible.”

“It’s possible,” the prefect replied, swallowing. “He has made that very clear to me, so I’ve been out of his way ever since.”

“No, I think there’s a bit of a miscommunication here. Oowada… Oowada likes you, Ishimaru. Anyone can see that.”

“H-he might have used to, but that isn’t true anymore. I’ve… I’ve done something wrong, you see. It’s all my fault.” Tears started pouring down Ishimaru’s cheeks and he made no attempt to stop them. “I-It’s my fault.”

“Hey, hey, don’t cry!” Naegi said, clasping a hand on his shoulder. “None of this is your fault. Look, just talk it out with Oowada, okay? I’m sure this can be easily resolved.”

“I’m so confused.”

Naegi stared at him for a few seconds and he released a huge sigh. “Ishimaru,” he said with conviction, like a revolt leader inspiring the masses and it was an odd thing, to hear that tone from Naegi of all people. Still, it cut through Ishimaru’s mind like a blade and he snapped up to listen. “I have no idea what happened to you, or why you think this is your fault, but I am sure about one thing: Oowada is crazy about you. Yeah, it took me a while to notice, and it was Chihiro who first brought it up to me, but when she did it became so obvious!”

A quiver of a smile broke out on Ishimaru’s face in amusement.

“And I have a piece of advice for you. I said this to someone else and it worked wonders,” Naegi continue, his eyes twinkling with glee. “Do what makes you happy.”

“Okay.”

“So what’re you gonna do now?”

“I have absolutely no idea whatsoever.”

“Would you like me to stay with you until you figure it out?”

Ishimaru smiled gratefully at him, but shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. Thank you for your… kind words, though.”

Naegi glanced at the side, looking at Kirigiri’s house. “Ishimaru,” he said, “Did you notice that Kirigiri’s house is completely dark?”

Ishimaru confirmed his observation. “That is quite odd. Do you know if she lives with anyone?”

“She’s not a very open person.”

The prefect nodded in understanding.

Naegi turned towards the road, running a hand through his messy brown hair. “I really should be going now, then.”

“Yes, of course,” Ishimaru replied softly, “Naegi?”

“Yeah?” he paused, turning his head to Ishimaru.

“Y-you said that Oowada… likes me, right?”

The luckster paused a bit before nodding. “Yeah, of course he does. Why do you ask?”

“I think Kirigiri likes you too.”

The biggest of smiles formed on Naegi’s face and it made Ishimaru feel ten times lighter. He smiled back. Naegi’s smile turned into a laugh and so did his. “Y-yeah, I think she does,” Naegi said, still smiling. Ishimaru could not remember a time he’d seen him happier than how he was at the moment. “Guess I’m a really lucky guy.”

Ishimaru chuckled. They shot each other one last round of smiles and bade their farewells, setting off in opposite directions. By his estimate, it was probably nearing midnight. The row of street lamps in front of him cast an ethereal glow on the ground. It made his head lighter with the mindset of going to a destination that was worthwhile.

The backs of his legs burned with exhaustion. His eyelids drooped with the urge to fall into a deep, uninterrupted slumber, but his mind was plagued awake with the thoughts that bothered him. He thought of Naegi and his bright, optimistic smile. He thought of Kirigiri and her message of impending doom, and thought about how much time he had left. How soon was it? How high were the stakes? How much was he willing to give up?

And he thought of Oowada, of course. There was no avoiding that. He lifted up a hand and pressed his fingers lightly to his lips, his stomach fizzing alight with a gentle flow of energy. Oowada had kissed him, told him he wanted him and for that moment he believed it. The delinquent had him so utterly entranced, carried his heart in a delightful train and sailed it across the stars. He remembered the look of intensity in his lavender eyes. They had been urgent. Needy. The way Oowada had looked at him, it left him breathless and weak. It wasn’t fair that he had this effect on Ishimaru, to make him feel wanted only to dispose of him immediately after.

A crumbling pain seized his heart. Even after all that, he still wanted nothing more than to be with Oowada. To breathe in his musky scent and listen to the sound of his voice. To laugh at his jokes and be confused with the things that he did. It was simple companionship, of course. Ishimaru was perfectly content with having Oowada as his friend. In fact, it made him very happy. But that day in detention changed everything. The kiss, it changed everything, made him see things differently, caused him to think of entirely new possibilities.

Suddenly he wanted to be with Oowada. The longing in him intensified tenfold. He cannot envision a world without Oowada by his side. He desired to have the gang leader close to him for long times—at all times. He wanted to feel Oowada’s lips on his again, if only for a split second. He wanted to remember what he tasted like because he’d forgotten already. And it sickened him how much he needed to rely on another person now. For the longest time, he’d always functioned alone. He never needed anyone else. He always stood up for himself and by himself. But now, he was considering dragging another person in his dreadful way of living. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to immerse themselves in that kind of world, where everything was black and white and clear-cut, where each detail of the future was planned out and described like a reverse history book that spoke of forthcoming events. No one would willingly want to enter Ishimaru’s world. It was ridiculous to even think anyone will consider it. Most ridiculous of all was to think—no, to hope that that person would be Oowada.

Ishimaru truly was foolish.

Even more so now than ever, when the streams of moonlight clouded his vision and entered his thoughts, causing him to see blinding white light when he closed his eyes. And so distracted was he by this that his feet carried him of their own accord to the one place where it made sense for him to be at the moment.

He opened his eyes. He was standing in front of Oowada’s home.

There was not a single light coming from inside. It was safe to assume that its only inhabitant was asleep.

Ishimaru stepped forward anyway, his heart pounding and his head aching, spurning out words and thoughts at lightning speed until it hummed, the words barely discernible anymore, all sense of coherency gone. There was only him and the house, and Oowada inside the house, and his hand which he brought up to knock on the front door. Then twice. Three times. He didn’t know which was louder, his humming brain or his heavy breathing. He stepped back, the blades of grass hugging the soles of his boots. Crickets chirped some distance away, drowning him in a sea of lonely nature’s choir. It was beautiful, but far from what he needed at the moment.

This hanging moment went on for a few more seconds, and then the door opened, revealing a practically half-asleep Mondo Oowada, whose hard gaze softened once he saw who the late night intruder was.

Ishimaru tugged at the bottom of his shirt self-consciously, trying to read the emotions off of Oowada’s face.

“I…” the hall monitor trailed off, transfixed by the way Oowada’s messy hair fell down his head with its tips grazing his shoulders. A soft light emanated from inside the house, making it seem like the gang leader was glowing. Ishimaru gulped. “I can explain.”

It was difficult to pinpoint the expression that Oowada had. It changed and transformed every few seconds, fading fast and starting anew so quickly that Ishimaru couldn’t keep track. All he saw was the quivering of Oowada’s lips, the tensing of his jaw, and the vibrant pool of constellations present in his eyes. It happened quickly, faster than Ishimaru’s brain could function. In two easy strides, Oowada was right in front of him. Barely a heartbeat more and he was wrapped tight in the gang leader’s arms.

Ishimaru breathed in deeply as he felt Oowada’s pounding heart against his cheek. The arms around him were strong, sturdy. Everything in him went whirring all at once, coming to life as if awoken from a thousand years of dormancy. He couldn’t help but let out a soft whimper, closing his eyes so he could focus more on the touch. Oowada’s arms went even tighter, his head resting on top of Ishimaru’s. The prefect didn’t realize how long he’d been craving for this, to be comforted and to know that he was safe. Because that was the perfect word to describe being in Oowada’s arms. Safe.

They stood like that for what could have been minutes or hours or years. The duration cannot be ascertained. Oowada loosened his grip and pulled back. He look at Ishimaru and his face contorted. The hall monitor let out a panicked yelp, remembering his current state. “I-It’s nothing, kyou—”

“Who did this to you?” He said, low and menacing. And it was so different from how he usually was when angered. He’d always been loud and violent. Reckless and rash. But there was none of that Mondo Oowada right now. His voice rumbled in his throat and was laced with all sorts of darkness and trepidation, which contrasted heavily with the gentle touch he put on Ishimaru’s cheek. “Tell me.”

“There’s no need to concern yourself with this,” Ishimaru replied, not wanting Oowada to get involved in any more potentially dangerous situations. Nothing was to be gained in telling him the truth after all. The gang leader was looking at him differently and it made him squirm. The darkness in his eyes was disconcerting. He didn’t look like himself at all. “Mondo?”

Ishimaru barely finished getting the word out before he found himself being drawn forward, and Oowada’s face was closing in. Their lips crashed together. Oowada kissed deeply, as if he was searching to draw Ishimaru’s soul out of him. His other hand went on Ishimaru’s arm, locked in a tight grip. It was urgent. Desperate. The touch was familiar and the taste lit up dozens of Ishimaru’s nerve endings and filled his closed eyelids with lights. It was the same pair of lips, but it wasn’t the same man. Ishimaru laid a hand on Oowada’s chest and gave it a firm shove.

Oowada took three steps back as if he’d been electrocuted. His lavender eyes went wide, his hand coming up to cover his mouth. “Shit. Shit shit shit. God, I am so sorry, Ishi. Fuck—I… I shouldn’t have done that.”

Ishimaru touched his fingers to his throbbing lips. He pulled them back and found them stained with blood. Oowada had kissed him so hard that it re-opened the cut on his mouth. He shook his head, running his tongue over his bottom lip and instantly detecting the rusty tang. “No, I…” Ishimaru mumbled, “You’re being very confusing right now.”

The guilt in Oowada’s eyes did not falter. He nodded. “Come inside,” he said, gesturing towards the front door. “We need to get you cleaned up.”

They didn’t talk much as they entered the house. Nor did they utter many words as Oowada handed the prefect a set of his clothes and Ishimaru disappeared behind the bathroom door. Ishimaru felt relieved to be out of the day’s grime. Oowada’s shirt hung loosely over his frame, but the boxer shorts fit decently. The clothes smelled like him. Ishimaru stared at his own set of clothing, dirty white and blood-speckled. He picked them up and folded them neatly, taking great care and making sure each fold was in perfect symmetry. He told himself that it was because he genuinely wanted his clothes to be in great shape but in truth he was just buying himself time.

When he opened the door, he found Oowada waiting outside, wearing an expression of anxiety. The guilt from earlier still had not faded. Not even a little bit. He looked at Ishimaru like he was a child’s toy about to break. “Please don’t look at me like that,” the prefect told him, “It’s not very comforting.”

“I’m not giving you any look,” Oowada replied, brows furrowing.

“You are. You look like you want to break something.”

“I’m not gonna break you, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”

“I’m not afraid of you breaking me. That can be easily sorted.” Ishimaru drew himself up to his full height. There was a two-inch space thick with tension standing between them. Oowada narrowed his eyes, sizing him up. Ishimaru whispered even though there was no one else around to hear. “But I am afraid of you hurting me.”

Oowada’s hand flew to his wrist. His initial hold was tight and painful, but it loosened. His thumb lightly stroked Ishimaru’s skin, gliding, following the trail of his bones. “Have I… hurt you?”

“Yes,” the prefect replied, snatching his had away from Oowada’s touch. He turned around and walked over to the couch, just desperate to relieve the burning feeling on the backs of his legs. Oowada sat down next to him, maintaining between them a respectable amount of space.

“Look, we need to talk,” the gang leader said, his eyes refusing to meet Ishimaru’s gaze.

“Can we…” Ishimaru gulped before he continued, “not? I-I mean, yes, we do need to… talk some things out, but for now I just want some company. C-can we do that, Mondo? Please?”

Oowada stared at him for a full three seconds. “Okay. If that’s what you want.”

“Thank you.”

“What happened to your face?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about. My face is pristine.”

“No, you look like shit.”

Ishimaru held up a hand over his nose self-consciously, his thick brows meeting at the center. “Do I really look that bad?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“Oh no! No one will take my speeches seriously if I look like I just came out of a gang fight!”

“Look, man, are you really not gonna tell me what happened? ‘Cause frankly, you’re shit at stalling.” Oowada leaned back on the couch, extending his arms to the sides so that one of them grazed the back of Ishimaru’s head.

The hall monitor’s gaze dropped down to his wringing fingers on his lap. He sighed. “Yeah, I… I should probably tell you about that.”

And so Ishimaru told him everything, about how he was on his way to the store when he heard the explosion. He ran towards it and saw Kirigiri. He told Oowada about the masked attackers and how he managed to retrieve Kirigiri’s notebook. How he had to carry her all the way to the hospital so the two of them could get patched up. How Kirigiri warned her of the danger they were in, and that there was no avoiding that now. How he told Naegi about what happened to Kirigiri. How happy Naegi looked just because she was alive.

Ishimaru trailed off after that, letting the silence take over. He could hear Oowada breathing beside him, but otherwise there was no indication that someone was there. He shook his head. “I am happy for them,” he said, speaking of Naegi and Kirigiri, “I really am.”

Oowada grunted in reply. “It’s cool, I guess.”

“It may not mean much to you, but it does to me.”

“What makes you say that?”

Ishimaru brought up his knees and rested his chin on them. “I grew up in a broken home. My parents weren’t very happy together, so I never knew what it was like.”

He could feel Oowada’s eyes on him as the gang leader spoke. “What it was like to what?”

“To see two people happy. And I mean really, truly happy. In fact, for a long time, I didn’t think that happiness was possible for anyone. I always thought that it was a bit like perfection—we can strive towards it, but we’ll never achieve it.”

The expression in Oowada’s eyes was uncertain as he spoke. “So… you’ve never been… happy?”

Ishimaru shook his head. “Not until recently. Until… Until you and I became friends. You nudged me really close to the border of happiness. And when you kissed me… that day… i-in the classroom, I… I fell all the way.” His heart was thudding loudly in his chest as wrapped his arms around his own torso. “But then you left all of a sudden and it… disappeared. Everything resembling happiness just vanished and there was nothing left in me that was even close to it. I was worst off than ever before.” A sharp pain rose up in his throat, traveling up the bridge of his nose and taking over his head. It was the familiar pang of sadness, etching itself once again to him, clawing to make a home out of him. It was only when his vision blurred and his chest started heaving that he noticed that he was crying. “…W-why did you do that, Mondo? Did I do something wrong?”

“Ishi, I…” Oowada’s voice sounded strained, as if he struggled to speak through a hand wrapped tightly at his throat. He leaned towards Ishimaru. “God, no. You didn’t do anything! I was too much of a coward and this is all my fault—I… Please, just stop crying.”

Ishimaru nodded, his left hand coming to wrap around his right wrist, digging painfully into the skin until the tips of his fingers became numb. He hoped that the pain would distract him from his crying, but the sobs continued. Oowada took note of this action and proceeded to place his hand over Ishimaru’s clenched one. “Ishi, you’re hurting yourself.”

“I-I’m fine, Mondo.”

“Fuck, Ishimaru! Stop that, you’re freaking me out!” Oowada forced Ishimaru’s hand away from his wrist. His fingers went cold for a few moments before going back to normal. The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

“…What?” Ishimaru whispered.

Oowada’s hands came up the sides of his face, forcing Ishimaru to look him in the eye. “I was scared, alright? It was great and shit, but I got scared that I’d screw you over. That I’d fuck up what we have and I’d lose you and god, I wasn’t thinking straight but that’s what I did, alright? You’re too much… Honestly, god damn it, Ishimaru, you’re just too much for me to lose!

“And I’m sorry. We’ve had a lot of fights and I did so many shitty things and I just, god, why do you even put up with me? What the hell’s wrong with you?”

“That’s the first time you apologized to me.”

Oowada paused his rambling. “What?”

“You never apologized to me before, no matter what you did or how much I was hurt by your actions,” Ishimaru dropped his gaze back to his lap. “I used to think it was because you didn’t care about me.”

“Now wait just a—”

“So what changed?” Ishimaru tried not to let his nerves reflect on his tone. Prying Oowada’s hands away from his face, he fought to keep his voice stern and direct. “What’s the difference from then to now?”

Neither of them spoke for the next few minutes. It was dark and quiet and there was still a considerable amount of space between the two. But the air was lighter and something stirred within Ishimaru the desire to be closer. He turned on his side. He kept his eyes locked on Oowada’s collarbone as he shuffled closer and placed his hands on the gang leader’s broad shoulders. Ishimaru’s palms were sweaty and they nearly slipped when they landed on Oowada’s skin. Finally, he looked back up at his bewildered face. Oowada was looking at him as if he just dropped out of the sky.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Ishimaru said softly. “It… It makes me self-aware.”

“No, sorry, it’s just… You look beautiful.” Oowada’s face turned beet red the moment the words tumbled out of his mouth. “I mean uh, that wasn’t—”

The rest of his speech was cut off by Ishimaru leaning in to peck him on the lips. The simple act brought Ishimaru’s senses humming with life. His hands tingled and his breathing stuttered. Oowada had stiffened entirely, his nails digging into the sofa cushions. Ishimaru couldn’t bear to look at him for the moment so he buried his face in Oowada’s neck, his long arms piling across the gang leader’s shoulder blades. He inhaled deeply, breathing in Oowada’s scent as if he still hadn’t gotten enough of it despite having been in his presence and wearing his clothes. Ishimaru pressed his lips to the underside of his jawline, getting bolder by the minute. He then traveled up to Oowada’s ear and was pleased to see Oowada tense up the moment his lips made contact. “Is this okay?” he whispered.

Hands came to wrap firmly around his waist, pushing their bodies closer until their chests were pressed together. He could feel Oowada’s nose against his cheek, breathing out a rhythm that brought him a staggering amount of comfort. Oowada’s hands hiked up his shirt and pressed against his bare back. Ishimaru let out a soft sigh. “Don’t you dare leave,” the gang leader replied.

The prefect smiled against his neck and placed another light kiss on it. He traced Oowada’s jawline with his lips before going up to his cheekbone. Oowada’s eyes were closed, but Ishimaru’s were wide open, curious and perceptive. His eyes shot down to Oowada’s lips, still uncertain if he was allowed to kiss them even though he’d just done so moments before. They looked warm and inviting. He wanted to touch them, to feel them press against the pads of his fingers and trace their majestic outline. But he kept his arms around his neck. Maybe this time, if he held on tightly enough, he wouldn’t run away.

He pressed their foreheads together and let their lips brush ever so slightly. His heart was pounding and his stomach was filled with butterflies, a cacophony of fuzzy sensations that made it difficult for him to focus. Oowada looked vulnerable under the moonlight, with his eyes closed and his lips parted slightly. He was so handsome, with his long hair mussed up on his forehead and his arms around Ishimaru and the prefect could hardly take it. Everything about Mondo Oowada drove him mad and it clouded over all his reasoning. But that hardly mattered because for now, for the first time in years, he could breathe again.

He got up on his knees and brought one over Oowada’s lap, framing his waist with his thighs. The biker’s eyes shot open, shock evident in them as he stared up at Ishimaru. The hall monitor smiled nervously, his fingers playing with the hair on the back of Oowada’s neck. He relaxed under Oowada’s hold.

Oowada was the one to speak. “You… you like this position, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Ishimaru replied. “Why? Is there something wrong?”

Oowada wouldn’t meet his gaze. It was hard to determine with the limited lighting, but it almost looked like he was embarrassed. “N-nothing’s wrong,” he said, leaning up to capture Ishimaru’s lower lip and sucking on it gently. Ishimaru hummed happily, but Oowada pulled away much too quickly for his liking. “I-It just makes me think, is all.”

“Think about what?” Ishimaru asked innocently.

“Y-you don’t need to know that!”

Ishimaru laughed and kissed him on the mouth. It was another quick and fleeting kiss that left him wanting for more. He did it again. On the third time, Oowada responded by deepening it, opening his mouth against the prefect’s. Their tongues met and continued where they left off, now bolder and more adventurous. Uninhibited, urged lightly by the stillness of the room.

Oowada pulled back suddenly. “Ishimaru, your mouth—”

The hall monitor cut him off with another kiss, his hands fisting in Oowada’s hair. “Don’t care.”

“Ishi, I—”

Ishimaru kissed even harder, trying to get him to stop talking. It wasn’t until Oowada’s hands came up to grab his face and had to physically pull him apart that he stopped.

“Ishi, I can taste blood.”

Ishimaru opened his eyes and focused on Oowada’s face. The light from the kitchen provided him with not much, but an adequate view of the sight before him. It was barely detectable, but sure enough there was a tint of dark red smeared on one spot of Oowada’s lower lip. Obviously, that had not come from him.

Oowada’s thumb came up to stroke the cut on Ishimaru’s lip. “Here. Just, calm down, alright?” Oowada pulled his hand away and wiped the blood off his thumb on his shirt. “We don’t have to… y’know… do that.”

Ishimaru cocked his head in confusion. “Do what?”

“You know! That.”

“Are you… are you ashamed to say that we kissed?”

“It sounds weird when you say it out loud, alright?”

“Oh.” Ishimaru’s face dropped. “Then I guess you didn’t like it then.”

“What? Shit, no. Of course I did!” Oowada leaned forward and put a hand on his cheek. “Come on, don’t look so glum.”

“I can’t be certain of anything. You’re still being very confusing. Do you want to kiss me or not?”

Oowada’s face went red once again, but he nodded. “God, yes. If I could do it every day for the rest of my life, I would. Shit, do you even know how long I’ve been wanting to kiss you?”

Ishimaru shook his head.

“Too long.” Oowada pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. “I waited too long.” He caught Ishimaru’s gaze and let out a small lopsided smile. “But we don’t have to do it right now, alright? It’s obviously hurting you—”

“But it doesn’t even hurt—”

“Shush. I’m trying to be the responsible one here for once.”

Ishimaru pouted and nodded. “Okay.” He placed another quick kiss on Oowada’s lips and pulled back, giggling. “That was the last one, I swear.”

Oowada rolled his eyes. “Sure.”

They remained like that for a while before Ishimaru checked his watch and extricated himself from Oowada’s hold. “It’s really late. I should go home now.”

“You can stay here, you know.”

“Thank you, but my mother will be worried if I don’t go home for the night.” Ishimaru got up and collected his things.

“So… I’ll see you?”

Ishimaru turned to him as he had one hand on the door knob. “Yeah, of course. Thank you.”

And then he opened the door and ventured back into the icy cold night air.

When Ishimaru got home, he went straight to bed and did not wake up until noon. But when he did get up, a smile broke out on his face when he saw a text from Oowada asking if they could hang out. Ishimaru declined, saying he still had homework to do and set his phone aside.

He walked out into the living room and saw his mother knitting. She hadn’t knitted anything since Ishimaru was a child. When she saw him, she paused. “Yes, son?”

Ishimaru went straight for the television set. “We never got to finish Moulin Rouge.”

She smiled. “Yes, of course. And after that, maybe Grease?”