Beep, beep, beep!
"Uhhh, shut up..." the boy lying in the messy bed thought, annoyed. He turned over and pressed a pillow on his head, trying escape the terrible noise the demonic machine, otherwise known as his alarm clock, was making. It didn't do any good. The pillow cut his air supply off, so he had to get rid off it again.
"Maybe if I just ignore it. Yeah, ignore it and just go to sleep again..."
Roughly five minutes later, a loud banging was heard at the other side of the door to his room, soon accompanied by an angry voice. "Mondo! Wake the fuck up, I'm not going to let you oversleep five hours again!"
Mondo just gave a groan and kept his eyes closed. "Fuck off, Daya!"
"Don't use that shitty tone with me! I swear to god, if you don't get up in the next five seconds, I'm gonna kick the door in!"
"Yeah right! As if you'd add another piece of furniture to the list of things in this junkyard of a house we have to repair!" Mondo shouted back. Silence. Then an exasperated sigh.
"Fine. But don't count on me to make you breakfast! I'm not your fucking servant and you have to learn a lesson, it seems." Footsteps on wood, then thumping noises, indicating that Daya had decided to leave Mondo alone and go downstairs.
Mondo chuckled to himself. It always felt good to win a fight against his older brother. Although the slight feeling of guilt remained. Daya knew when there was no point in arguing with him anymore, but even when he gave up, he still had that disappointed tone in his voice, as if he had expected something more from Mondo. And Mondo hated that.
He didn't want to disappoint his brother by acting like he did, but his temper always got the best of him and the two of them would end up trying to bash each others head in. It never lasted long and afterwards they made up pretty fast, but it still made Mondo feel bad to look at the bruises he left on Daya during fights. Not that there were too many. Daya was stronger than him by far and even though he was a pretty good guy for an ex-gang leader, he was scary as hell when mad
His voice had sounded just like that right now. Mondo felt the sleepiness leave him at the thought of his and Dayas previous brawl. He growled in annoyance and dragged himself out of bed towards the wardrobe. His school uniform was already waiting for him, neatly hanging from a clothes hanger. It was mocking him, he knew. With it's smooth brown jacket, the pristine white T-shirt and that stupid-ass red tie. It was so elegant. The complete opposite of him.
Daya always reminded him how lucky he was to go to an exclusive high-school but Mondo would have given it all away to be back in the old, dirty building with the broken windows that had been his high-school before they had left their home. In their real house, in their real home town. Not this pretentious, snobbish fuck of a neighborhood in the middle of nowhere, where everyone gave him and Daya the same bright grins when they walked down the street, but then mumbled and pointed at them behind their backs.
Daya felt the same. Mondo could see it in his eyes, every time a police officer stood in front of their door, red-faced and mumbling about an "anonymous hint" about them. Daya and him were dealing drugs, Daya and him had beaten a neighbor's pet to death, Daya and him had been burying a corps in their garden last night, Daya and him were the sons of Satan. Okay, maybe the last one was an exaggeration, but it sure as hell wasn't far from what rumors were spread all around the neighborhood.
School wasn't any better. Mondo was very huge for his age and he wasn't exactly lanky, so aggressive attacks were a rarity. But there were still some stuck-up pricks who made the mistake of challenging him out in the open. Mondo tried to avoid fighting as best as he could. Not that he was bad at it. He had already proven that on his first day, when some stupid rich boy thought it was a good idea to try and bully the new, obviously not so rich kid. Daya had given him hell on that evening.
"What the fuck were you thinking? Did you forget why we're here?" Mondo had said nothing, just stared at the floor. The victory earlier on hadn't seemed so sweet then. Daya had looked as if he wanted to scream again but then he had just taken a deep breath and massaged the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Look, Mondo. I hate all of this as much as you do, but we don't have a choice right now, okay? We have to play by the rules here, this isn't like back at our old town. We absolutely can't attract any attention right now. Do you understand?" Of course he had.
Mondo sighed and put on his uniform. He left out the tie. He never wore it, it made him feel like he was constantly being choked. He grabbed his backpack and slung it lazily over one shoulder, then exited his room and went down the stairs. Daya was standing in the kitchen, hastily stuffing things into his bag and checking his watch every five seconds. When he noticed Mondo he flashed a quick grin.
"Ah, sleeping beauty's awake! Ah, no, correct that, it's Rapunzel today."
Mondo frowned. "What the hell are you talking about?" Daya just chuckled.
"I'm talking about you, forgetting to spend your usual three hours in the bathroom to create that shit pile you call a pompadour."
Mondos eyes widened and his hand went up to his head. It was true, his long black and brown hair was falling loosely over his shoulders. "Shit!" he cursed, spinning around and running up the stairs again.
"Hey! Your lesson's beginning in less than an hour, what do you think you're doing?"Daya called after him.
"To hell with lessons, I won't go out lookin' like a goddamn girl!" Mondo shouted back. He heard Daya muttering something like "would still look better than having a piece of corn on your head..." but he ignored it for the time being. He dashed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him and throwing his backpack into a corner.
When he came out again thirty minutes later, hair in the usual style again, Daya had left already. Mondo shrugged. He couldn't really blame him. Daya had gotten a new job a few days ago, in a carpenters workshop and his boss wanted him to be punctual as hell.
Mondo was about to head out when he noticed something on the counter. It was a lunch box made of wood with a stick-note on it: "This is the last time, you hear me?" Mondo grinned. Daya had made this box on his third day at the workshop. He had been so proud on that day. "Check this out!" he had told Mondo, grinning from ear to ear. "Who says a gang leader can only destroy things?"
Mondo grabbed the box and walked out the door. His Kawasaki was already waiting for him, it's black surface shining in the morning sun. Mondo gave her a loving pat before swinging his leg over the seat, kicking the pedestal away and turning the key. The bike gave a satisfying howl as it started. A woman on the other side of the street stopped and stared at him in horror. Mondo gave her a mocking salute before driving out on the street at maximum speed.
The wind blew into his face. It gave him a feeling of freedom like nothing else could. When he sat on his bike, nothing mattered anymore. There were no rules, no stuck-up rich assholes, just the blurry landscape around him. Mondo caught himself wanting to drive out of the town and onto the highway. On and on, until he was back home again. No one would be able to stop him. They'd probably be glad to get rid of him. But there was still Daya. Mondo knew he couldn't leave his older brother behind, even if he wanted to.
Daya had raised him and taught him how to ride a bike, to be a man. And it looked like he was doing so much better, now that he had found this new job. There was no way Mondo would do this to him. He had given Daya enough trouble as it was. For now, he would have to put up with this town and it's bullshit.
Mondo sighed and kept his bike on the street, until the school building came into view. He pulled into the nearest parking lot, turning off the motor and kicking up the pedestal again. There was no one hanging around the gate. Probably because, according to Mondos watch, the first lesson had already begun twenty minutes ago. "Shit..."
Well, he made it here, so he sure as hell wasn't going to chicken out now. Mondo took a deep breath, then walked through the gate and into the building. It was eerily silent in the hallways, with all the students already in their classes. Mondos steps echoed loudly from the walls and lockers around him.
When he arrived at his classroom, the clock hanging above the door showed that the first lesson was almost over. Mondo cursed quietly, then opened the door as silently as possible. If he could just sneak in without the teacher noticing him, maybe he could pretend he had been there the whole time.
Luck seemed to be on his side today: when he opened the door, the teacher had his back turned to him, writing a verse from a poem they were reading in the lesson right now on the board. His classmates were looking at their textbooks, but a few turned around when they noticed him move. Chihiro Fujisaki was one fo them. She smiled and shyly raised a hand in greeting. Mondo mimcked the gesture with a grin.
Fujisaki was the daughter of a very successful programmer. She and her dad lived next to him and Daya. As far as Mondo could tell, Fujisaki was a nice little girl, although a bit timid and fragile. She often invited him over to play video games with her or to do homework together. So far, she was the only person in this place Mondo could call a friend. And for some reason, he didn't feel as nervous around her as he did with other girls.
Mondo focused back at the task at hand: getting to his table as fast as possible. Fortunately, his table was standing at the back row, so he wouldn't have to make his way past his other classmates. All he had to do was sitting down on his chair. Mondo looked back to the board to check if the teacher was still busy. He was. Good. But then it happened. A girl with two huge blond twin-tails turned her head around to him and their eyes met. Mondo flinched. Not good.
The girl's name was Junko Enoshima and she was notorious for bringing others in trouble, just for the hell of it. Some students went so far as to call her "Ultimate Despair", because that was what awaited everyone she set her eyes on. Enoshima looked at him for a while, then gave a slow, deranged grin. Mondo knew what was coming next. He frantically shook his head no and soundlessly pleaded Enoshima to keep her mouth shut. Enoshimas grin only widened at that and then her hand was up in the air.
"Sensei! Oowada-kun's here!"
"Fuck you, you goddamn blond hell-spawn!" Mondo thought, clenching his teeth in anger. He knew he had exactly 0.02 seconds, then the teacher would turn around and find him standing, not sitting, at his table. There was still time. Mondo took a deep breath, gathered all of his strength in his legs, then attempted to make a daring header for his chair-only to stumble over his own shoelaces like some fucking cartoon figure and crash into chair and table, pulling both pieces of furniture down to the floor with him.
The whole classroom erupted into howling laughter, Enoshima being the loudest. Mondo groaned, trying not to show how damn much that had hurt and scrambled to his feet again. When he had finally managed to set up his table again, he looked up to see the teacher, standing right in front of him with that typical "You're in veeery big trouble" face.
"When you are quite done with damaging school's property," the man said in an icy tone. "I would like to give you this." He slammed a pink detention sheet on Mondos desk, then turned around and walked back to the teacher's desk without another word. Mondo bit his lip at the sight of the little pink paper.
"Shit, Daya's not going to like this. Then again, it could've been worse. He could've expelled me or something. I think."
The rest of the lesson went quietly, excluding the fact that every five minutes someone turned around to Mondo, then quickly looked back again, giggling. The school bells ringing sounded like heaven's choir to Mondo. He said good-bye to the teacher with the others then grabbed his backpack and went out of the classroom. When he was in the hallway already, he heard someone calling his name.
"Wait for me, Oowada-kun!" Chihiro was running behind him, clutching her little bag tight. Mondo smiled and waited until she had reached him before he went on, slowly, so he wouldn't out-step her. Chihiro and he usually spend their breaks together, seeing as they had no other friends to do it with. Mondo had given up on making friends since the incident on his first day and Chihiro was so shy, she hadn't made a single friend since grade-school, apparently. So they stuck together and gave each other what little comfort they could. It worked out fine, actually.
They were talking about Chihiro's newest video game, when suddenly, three boys stepped into their way from a different hallway. Mondo clenched his fists. "No, no, not fucking now, I've got enough bullshit for the day!" The boys were coming closer and closer to him and Chihiro, until they blocked their way completely. Mondo stared the boy in the middle right in the eye. "You got a problem, Ibiru?" he growled.
"You're my problem." Ibiru answered. "We don't want you on our high-school, freak. This is a place for educated people. We don't need the likes of you, stumbling around and shitting on everything it stands for."
"We? I didn't know you're representing the whole school. Are you an ambassador's little brat or something?" Mondo grinned. The boy clenched his teeth at the remark.
"Maybe I do." he spat. "Maybe everyone here is sick of you, behaving like you own the place, just because your motorcycle is so loud it scares cats. Maybe everyone thinks everything would be so much better if you would just leave. You and that pathetic brotherof yours."
Mondos eyes turned to small slits at that. "Careful now." he growled. The boy looked startled and even a bit frightened for a second, but then just put on a shit-eating grin.
"Ooohhh, did I hit a weak spot perhaps?" Mondo just stood there, scowling at him, fists shaking visibly. Chihiro looked at him anxiously. She took a little step forward and raised her hand.
"H-Hey now, don't fight, p-please. I'm sure we can work this out, if we'd just-"
"Shut it, Fujisaki!" one of the other boys snapped. "This doesn't concern you!"
Ibiru took a step towards Mondo. "I did, didn't I? Awww, how sweet. The freak doesn't like it when someone talks bad about his big brother~" he cooed.
"Ibiru, I'm motherfucking warning you." Mondo snarled.
"He's motherfucking warning me!" Ibiru mocked, turning around to his friends. "You know what I heard, Oowada? You're big brother, Daya, wasn't it? He used to be a gang leader, what do you know?" Ibiru leaned in closely, still with that grin on his face. "Is that why you came here, hm? Got a little trouble with someone who's dick was bigger than yours?"
Mondo's whole body was shaking with rage by now. It took all of his self-control to not lose it completely.
"Why so quiet now, Oowada? Is that a confirmation to my assumptions?" Ibiru laughed and turned to his friends again. "What did I say? Losers like this freak are all bark, no bite. Their balls are so small you can barely see them!" The two other boys joined in in his derisive laughter. "I bet his bother isn't any better! Want to bet he has no balls at all? I bet he-"
Mondo's fist collided with Ibiru's nose, making a nasty cracking sound. The boy was knocked to the ground, bleeding. Before Ibiru could register what was going on, Mondo was on him, raining punches on his face.
"SAY THAT AGAIN, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" Mondo roared. "I FUCKING DARE YOU TO SAY THAT AGAIN!" Blood was flying every time Mondo brought his fist down, but he didn't care. All he saw was Ibiru's grin and his laughter as he had made fun of Daya. On the brink of his consciousness, he heard Chihiro yelling for him to stop, but he didn't want to.
After what felt like an eternity of hit after hit, he felt someone roughly grabbing him from behind and the next moment he was pulled off of Ibiru and thrown back on the floor. As his palms met the cold tiles, he started to come to his senses again. He heard someone breathing heavily and realized it was him. When the last bit of red faded from his vision, he saw two teachers, a man and a woman kneeling by Ibiru's side. The boy wasn't moving.
Chihiro was standing there too, but her gaze was directed at him and it was horrified. The two other boys were nowhere to be seen. Mondo's eyes widened slowly when the realization of what he had just done began sipping into him. He looked down at his hands again, shaking. They were full of blood. It was everywhere. Looking down he discovered a lot of it had also gotten on his uniform. The dark red liquid made hideous stains on his jacket and shirt.
Mondo realized he had started shaking and this time it had nothing to do with rage. His legs were unsteady, but he managed to stand up and make his trembling way over to Ibiru. A few steps more and he was able to see his face. Mondo felt like he was choking when he saw what had once been Ibiru's face.
The boys nose was completely broken, he was bleeding from several places and one of his eyes was slowly turning purple. The teachers were still trying to wake Ibiru up. When they noticed Mondo, they only looked at him for a while.
"The principal's office. Now." the man finally said. Mondo just nodded numbly and let himself be dragged away, not looking at Ibiru or Chihiro again. He barely registered the female teacher calling an ambulance on her phone.
The time he spent in the principal's office was a nightmare to him. Principal Kirigiri only spoke once to him, and that was when he came through the door, together with the teacher. "One of the hall monitors already informed me what happened. I have already called your older brother and Ibiru-kun's parents."
After that sentence, there was nothing. For hours Mondo just sat there in his chair under the cold eyes of Kirigiri and the teacher. Things got even worse when Daya and Ibiru's parents arrived. The mother was exasperated, asking for her son over and over again, fat tears rolling down her heavily powdered cheek, while her husband gently padded her on the back, trying and failing to calm her down. And after the crying came the yelling.
"How could you let something like this happen?" Ibiru's mother screeched. "Why did nobody stop this, this...monster from hurting my son?" Mondo flinched at the word 'monster'.
"Indeed." Ibiru's father looked Mondo up and down coldly. "By his looks, this young man would rather fit into a detention center, then a high-class establishment like this."
"I deeply apologize for my little brothers behavior. He wasn't thinking clearly." Daya said, scowling at Mondo from the corner of his eye.
"He beat my son half to death and you call that not thinking clearly?" Mr. Ibiru shouted.
It went on like that for a while. Mr. and Mrs. Ibiru weren't possible to pacify, despite Dayas best attempts. They even threatened to charge Mondo for assault and would have surely gone through with it, if principal Kirirgiri hadn't assured them that Mondo would be punished heavily by the school. After a few more threats and insults, the Ibiru's took their leave to visit their son in the hospital.
Principal Kirigiri suspended him from the rest of the days lesson and after he had apologized, he and Daya finally left. Daya had driven to the school on his own bike, so they drove back home side by side, a heavy silence between them. Mondo attempted to start a conversation a few times, but Daya just seemed to ignore him.
Mondo felt relief wash over him when they finally arrived at home and drove their bike into the garage. Daya pulled out the remote for the garage-door, aimed it at the sensor and pressed the button. The door shut itself with a humming sound. Mondo and Daya both entered the kitchen through the side door. Daya still hadn't said anything. Mondo gulped inwardly.
A mad Daya who yelled at him was one thing. At least that gave him the option of yelling back. But this right now...
"Aniki, I-"
"Unbelievable." Daya said. The hard tone made Mondo hesitate. And then, Daya turned around to him. His face was a mask of sadness, anger and worst of all: disappointment.
"How many times did I tell you, to fucking stay out of trouble? Do you forget my words that easily?" Daya sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "I can't do this anymore, Mondo. I am done with getting called from jobs every fucking day, because you couldn't control yourself again, I'm fucking done with you ignoring everything I tell you and I'm fucking done with you ruining every chance we might have in this neighborhood, by acting like a fucking dog on steroids, you hear me?"
Mondo gulped inwardly and nodded.
Daya extended his hand towards him. "Now give me your keys."
"What?" Mondo exclaimed.
"Your keys." Daya repeated. "A man who can't even control his emotions for one day obviously isn't ready to ride a bike." Mondo just stared at his brother in disbelief.
"Are you fucking serious? You can't do that!"
"Yes, I can." Daya said coldly, hand still stretched out. "You'll get it back when I decide your ready for it. But for now, you'll just have to walk to school for a few days."
Mondo just stood there, staring angrily into his older brothers eyes. Then, finally, he reached down into the pocket of his jacket, pulled out the keys and threw them down on the kitchen counter. Daya took them without saying anything and stuffed them into his own pocket. Mondo watched as they disappeared into the material of Dayas jacket.
"It's only for the time being." Daya said. Mondo didn't answer. Instead, he walked around Daya to the front door. He wretched it open and went out. When he was outside, he slammed the door shut again. It was already evening, he and Daya must have spend more time at the principal's office then they were thinking. Mondo rammed his hands into his pockets and made his way down the street.
He didn't know where he was going and he didn't care. Everything was better than being home right now. Mondo knew he had fucked up and he saw why Daya had given him this punishment, but he still thought it wasn't fair. Ibiru had started the whole thing with his shitty talk about Daya. But of course that didn't count. Nothing a rich genius did ever counted. If he had been one of those rich bastards with a noble background, things surely would have gone different. But he wasn't. He was just some dirty guy from the streets who had dared to lay foot on their exclusive floor. Everybody thought so and they never let him forget.
He walked around like that for a while, trying to imagine what it would be like to actually be rich like most of his classmates and have a stable family with a good reputation. By the time he noticed how far he had come, it was already dark. Stars were shining down at him from the sky, beautiful, yet impossible to reach. For him and every other human being. Mondo grinned. "At least that I have in common with the rest of them."
Mondo looked around to orientate himself. His feet had led him into what seemed to be a giant park area. With elegant gravel walks, comfortable looking park-benches and trees so big he was tempted to climb at least one of them. But not now. Now, for some reason he just wanted to lay down on the grass and look up at the sky for a little while. So he did.
It was so peaceful in here. It was probably extremely crowded by day, he mused. The soft rustling of the trees in the wind were like a lullaby to him and he found that it became a challenge for him to keep his eyes open. And for the first time this day, Mondo felt a little happy. But as amazing as the stars above him were, he was getting really tired right now. He even imagined that one particularly bright star was moving directly towards him. Going bigger and bigger and it moved with a lot of speed... Wait a second.
Mondo shot up, eyes glued to the sky. He wasn't imagining it. That star really was flying towards him! And it was dangerously close already. Mondo jumped to his feet and ran to the nearest park-bench, diving behind it, just as the star, or whatever it was, crashed right into the spot he had been lying on a minute ago.
There was a loud blow-up when the thing hit the ground, the sound wave almost blowing the bench away. Mondo clamped his ears shut against the noise, but he still felt like his eardrums were exploding. Earth and dust particles were flying all around him and the stink of smoke was hovering in the air. Slowly, the noise started to vanish. After a while, Mondo carefully stood up and took a look at whatever it was that had landed just now from behind the bench.
It was like nothing he had ever seen before. The...thing was enormous and had an egg-like shape. Smoke was coming out form one side of it. The impact had buried it half into the ground. Mondo took a few precautious steps closer. The thing did nothing. Of course, that didn't have to mean anything. Whatever it was (and Mondo was certain that it sure as hell wasn't a star) it didn't look dangerous, aside from the smoke, which was already beginning to fade.
Mondo frowned lightly. What was it anyway? It didn't look like an animal or a living being at all. Mondo extended a wary hand to touch it, when suddenly, a sharp, mechanic hissing noise broke the silence and he quickly pulled back again. And then, the upper side of the thing just slipped open. Mondo watched in awe as one part of the egg detached itself a little and slit off to the side.
Mondo couldn't believe his eyes. It was a UFO. A goddamn space ship had just landed right in front of him and no one else was there to witness it. When the door was fully opened, he stepped forward and peered into the opening. His eyes went wide.
Lying inside the ship, unconscious, was a boy, presumably his age, with spiky black hair. And he was fully naked.