Nights Out and Two Love Stories

It was a normal occurrence, actually. In the two-bedroom dorm that belonged to Mondo and his two best friends, Chihiro sat in front of her computer screen. It was actually by no means unusual: the blinds of the dorm drawn together to keep the sunshine out, the room dimly-lit, her unnaturally pale face illuminated in the darkness like a lonely ghost - but nevertheless Mondo's heart felt condensed. How many times had he seen her like this, cooped up in the darkness? He perfectly knew it wasn't her fault - it was because of an illness that restricted her from going outside too much, which resulted in her tiny frame and very pale complexion, but it still sucked. If he were her, he wouldn't be able to live so cooped up and away from his motorbikes.

Although the illness wasn't as bad as when she was younger, Chihiro chose to stay on the safe side. That was why you could so often see her in front of her computer, especially on hot and humid days like this.

Mondo strolled into the room and turned on the light. "...Hey, kid... Don't ya think ya ought to rest your eyes or somethin'?"

She looked up. "R-rest my eyes? B-but I don't have anything b-better to do..."

Mondo said nothing and sat down next to her, touching her hand. "...Ya can't go out, can ya?"

Chihiro looked down and shook her head. "S-sorry Mondo-kun, no... I c-can't stand the sun. I even almost f-fainted in PE this morning."

Mondo was concerned. "Ugh, that's terrible, kiddo. 'M sorry."

"It's all right Mondo-kun!" She looked up at him and smiled. "Whenever y-you're here, I d-don't mind not going out." She blushed.

"Aww, thanks kiddo." Mondo smiled back. "I like spending time with ya too." Truthfully, Mondo was admiring Chihiro's positive attitude. She's always so full of hope, he thought. I wish there was a way to make her happy, so that she could enjoy the world outside her computers.

That was when Mondo got an idea.

»̶✽«̶

The next day, which was Friday, Mondo surprisingly went directly to their dorm after school and tumbled into bed. Ishimaru and Chihiro were puzzled.

"Kyoudai, aren't you going to go out with your gang as usual?" Ishimaru asked. "You always go out with them in the weekends."

"Nah, I'm just gonna have a nap," Mondo said. "I'm fuckin' beat." He suddenly shot Chihiro a meaningful look. "Ya should have a nap too, kiddo. School was particularly shit today, and I've plans for us later."

"Plans?" Chihiro asked, but Mondo had already closed his eyes. She and Ishimaru exchanged puzzled glances. She shrugged. "Ah well, I g-guess a little nap won't hurt," she finally decided. "Besides, Mondo-kun is right - school today was a chore, and I do need to rest my eyes."

...

That evening, Ishimaru went to bed early. He always does, because he follows a strict bedtime schedule. Even when the three were playing a game of Monopoly, he wouldn't hesitate to suddenly clear up the board just because it was time for bed.

However, Mondo and Chihiro were wide awake.

Chihiro was about to turn to her computer again when Mondo asked her a random question. "Hey kid, ya ever been on a motorbike before?"

"Huh?" Chihiro looked puzzled for the second time that day. "N-no, I haven't."

Mondo grinned. "Then what do ya say to a night out on my bike?"

Chihiro blinked. "N-n-now?"

"Yeah," Mondo said lightly. "That's why I suggested ya to nap, yeah? I got plans for us."

"Wh-what are we g-going to do?"

"See the pretty things out there, of course," Mondo replied. He took her hand. "Ya need a change of setting, Chihiro. Go out. See stuff outside, see 'em for yourself, and not through your computer screen. And if ya can't stand the sun, why not do it when it ain't in the sky?"

Chihiro thought about it for a moment, then smiled. It lit up her whole pale face. "Y-y-you're right, Mondo-kun!" She stood up. "Yes, that's a great idea!"

Mondo let her out of their dorm. "Well then, what're we waitin' for? Let's go!"

»̶✽«̶

Mondo's motorbike stood proudly in the parking lot. Just looking at it intimidated Chihiro. It was a monster.

When they came to it, Mondo let go of her hand to look for something. He turned back to Chihiro holding a helmet. "Wear this," he said.

Chihiro pouted. "Do I really have to? You and the other bikers n-never seem to wear them."

Mondo laughed and ruffled her hair. "That's because we're fuckin' reckless," he replied. "We don't even care 'bout ourselves, but I care 'bout ya, kid. I ain't sayin' I ain't good at biking, being a gang leader and all, but I just want ya safe, yeah?"

She was still frowning playfully but in the end she couldn't help but smile. "All right," she said, then put it on over her brown locks. Once she was ready, Mondo helped her hop on before sitting down himself.

"Ready?" He grinned. "Hold on tight, kiddo."

He felt her small arms grip his waist tightly. He felt her bury her face into his back. She was nervous. However, she answered, "R-ready."

»̶✽«̶

Chihiro had always thought that everything at night was dead. Or asleep, at best. However, tonight, she found that she was wrong, because when she and Mondo set off on his motorbike, things were just waking up.

First, Mondo took them on a "tour" of the school grounds. Since the parking lot was near the sports field, it was one of the first things they saw that night.

Mondo blinked as they zoomed past. "'Ey, ain't that Kuwata?"

"Wh-what? Where?" Chihiro braved herself to open her eyes and look around.

"There! In the sports field."

Chihiro squinted at the field and sure enough, she saw their red-haired friend there, standing in the empty field. Although it was nighttime, the field wasn't entirely in darkness for there were lights shining upon it.

"Wh-what's Kuwata-kun doing there at a time like this?"

"I think he's practicin'," Mondo said.

"Practicing b-baseball? At this time of the day?"

"I guess that's what makes him good at what he does," Mondo said. "As they always say, practice makes perfect."

After the sports field and the lone baseball player, Mondo and Chihiro passed by their school's library. It was a self-service library and was open 24 hours a day. At first that might seem a bit useless, but it was because not every student slept like a stump at night like Kiyotaka Ishimaru. Some, you should note, preferred to read.

It wasn't unusual that when Mondo and Chihiro went past the library, they saw Byakuya Togami standing near the entrance. Trailing behind him and carrying an armload of books was Touko Fukawa.

"Of course, Togami has to use Fukawa to his advantage and order her around like some maid," Mondo said bitterly as they rode on. "Fukawa must've followed him to the library, only to get found out and told to bring back all his books."

Chihiro only let out a small chuckle due to her nervousness. Nearing the exit of the school grounds now, Mondo had sped up. Wind was whipping past her, and she felt chilled to the bones. Being on a motorbike, she learned, wasn't like being in a car at all.

Mondo could feel her grip around his waist tighten and frowned. "You okay back there, kid?"

"U-um... Y-yeah..." The reply was a soft stammer. Mondo imagined Chihiro with her face buried in his back, her eyes tightly shut.

Although Chihiro couldn't see it, his face softened. "Ya don't need ta worry, kiddo," he said soothingly. "They may not look it, but motorbikes aren't dangerous at all. Trust me. Besides, we're nearing the city. Ya gotta see the lights, they're beautiful."

"Mm... I guess I should..." Chihiro turned her face so that she could see what they were riding past, but her iron grip didn't slacken.

Mondo smiled. "Relax, kid. Ya know how the song goes? "Hold on loosely, but don't let go"?"

"Th-that's kinda hard to do, isn't that," Chihiro said dryly, but she did loosen her grip a little as Mondo drove out of the school gates.

"And now we're in the city," Mondo said.

Chihiro looked around and immediately understood what Mondo had meant.

If the city looked chaotic by day, it was beautiful at night. The streets were a profusion of yellow and red lights of cars, and a few people were still walking in the streets, clad in warm coats. Late-night restaurants and cafes projected soft yellow light onto the streets from their windows, and a gentle breeze caressed the leaves of the trees lining the sidewalk.

"That's Asahina's favorite donut shop," Mondo pointed out. "...And that's Yamada's trusty manga store."

"...Wow." Chihiro's eyes were wide as she took in her surroundings. She never knew nights were this, well... alive. She had always thought that everything goes to sleep at night, to leave her in the usual darkness illuminated only by her computer screen. She had always thought that both day and night were against her.

She was wrong.

"...Ya having fun, kid?"

It took Chihiro a moment to answer Mondo's question. She was still staring at the people on the sidewalk, grabbing last-minute hot beverages before going home and turning in for the night. At the cars zooming past, carrying busy people on their way home. At the lights and the trees and listening to the soft rustle of their leaves and... well, just about everything.

"Y-yes," she finally answered softly, squeezing the gang leader's waist as a token of gratitude. "Y-yes, I am."

»̶✽«̶

A while later, Chihiro was still staring at those twinkling lights, but from a different point of view.

High up on the hill on which she and Mondo were sitting, she could still see those lights in the distance. However, the car horns were softer now, and she could no longer hear the rustling of leaves. It was as if someone had turned the volume down.

She walked away from the edge of the hill with a small smile and sat down next to Mondo on the grass. He was lying down with his hands behind his head, staring up at the sky.

"That's it for the artificial lights," he said nonchalantly. "Now I've taken ya here to look at the real ones for a change."

Chihiro looked up and saw that the sky was dotted with stars - thousands and thousands of them.

"Th-they're beautiful," she said softly.

"Hell yeah they are," Mondo agreed. "They may look small but they're actually something big. Kinda reminds me of ya, kiddo."

"H-huh?"

"You're small, but you're something," Mondo said. "You're tough and have a good head between your shoulders. And you're obviously brainy, too, for being able to work with codes and that shit I can't even begin to understand."

"Oh, M-mondo-kun!" She blushed, flustered. "It's not th-that special! You can do it too with p-practice. And y-you're f-f-flattering me...! I d-don't think I'm that good a p-person..."

"Ah, I ain't flatterin' you. I was just saying the truth."

Chihiro paused, then said, "W-well then, if I'm a star, th-then you c-can be my sun! Y-you're big and powerful, and y-you give light to everyone and m-make everything brighter! Just like what you just did to this otherwise ordinary night." She smiled. "I haven't had as much fun in a long time. Th-thank you, Mondo-kun! Thank you for taking me out tonight... Everything was beautiful..."

She threw herself on top of him and hugged him tightly.

At first, Mondo was taken by surprise. However, he did hug her back.

"You're welcome, kiddo," he said. "Or should I say, "You're welcome my star"?"

"See? N-now you r-really are f-flattering me," Chihiro complained playfully, her voice muffled because her face was still buried against his chest.

They didn't move from that position for what seemed to be a long time.

...

...

Meanwhile...

Touko Fukawa set down Togami's borrowed books on the steps in front of the library. Her arms ached from carrying those heavy books down the library's stairs. She regretted not having been a better stalker.

"W-weren't that Oowada and Fujisaki?" she stammered, massaging her arms. "On the motorcycle? What c-could they be doing at this time of the night? Oh no... Don't tell me they're..."

Touko didn't finish the thought. She knew it was obvious that Mondo liked her - he often called her "a first-class programmer" and other things that made Chihiro blush - but she had never known whether she liked him back or not. It was hard to guess - Chihiro was always so timid and shy.

It wasn't like she cared, though - she had another love story to pay close attention to.

Her own.

Speaking of Togami-kun...

Realizing that she hadn't heard Togami respond at all, she frantically looked around. She was right - Togami was nowhere to be seen.

That was when it dawned on her that she was alone, far away from the dormitory and her fellow classmates, and standing in front of a creepy old library with an armload of thick books to carry.

"Eeeee... Wait for me, Togami-kun!" she squeaked, quickly grabbing her pile of books and hurrying down the stairs.

However, she was in such a hurry that she lost her footing on the stairs.

"Aaaaiiiiee!" she cried out, her foot slipping from underneath her. She windmilled her arms as if to steady herself, automatically letting go of the books and letting them slide down the remaining steps. But whatever it was she was trying to do, it wasn't working to keep herself from falling onto her backside and rolling down the remainder of the stairs.

That was when someone gripped her arm, and just like that, Touko no longer wanted to fall. Steadying herself, she turned to look at the person who had helped her.

Togami glared at her, still gripping her arm. "Fukawa. Get a grip. Stop being such a clumsy fool. You're going to hurt yourself if you're not careful, idiot."

"Ah..."

Anyone else would have been indignant after hearing so, but not Touko Fukawa. To her, this only meant one thing.

Togami-kun cares about me.

"Th-thank you... Togami-kun... I w-will be m-more careful..." A silly smile took over her usually gloomy face.

Togami let go of her arm and folded his arms in front of him. "Just... Come on. Hurry up. Gather those books and get going. I don't have time for slowpokes such as the likes of you." He turned and started walking.

"Yes, Togami-kun!" Touko shrilled happily and, after picking up his books while at the same time mentally keeping note of where Togami had touched her, skipped lightly after him.

Strangely, those books weren't even half as heavy anymore.

- fin -

Author's Note: I was planning to publish this story in ChiMondo: A Collection of Drabbles, but it got long and complicated until it wasn't really a drabble anymore. Anyway, I deliberately used "fin" instead of my usual "the end" for drama. ^^