Ishimondo Fanfic
"Let's hit the hot springs!" an enthusiastic student bellowed in the courtyard of the quaint inn. Several cheers erupted after his statement, and a horde of stampeding students trampled down the winding hallways towards the sulfur bath. A few minutes later, the courtyard fell silent, and only the few lone souls perched on the inn's fence remained in sight.
"Tch. I know what we're gonna hit," the silhouette of a tall man in a sleek black jacket growled, motioning to the others surrounding him on the chipped fence. A local gang in the area had challenged them for control of the alleyway by the casino and tonight was the agreed time for the confrontation. And it was the gang leader Mondo's duty to lead his gang to victory.
The brisk air around them reeked of smoke, something the gang leader found comforting; the consequences of the deadly entrails of smoke seeping into their systems didn't worry him. He himself didn't smoke, but most of the gang did-his brother, too. Whenever he came home, he would bring in the stimulating aroma on the clothes he wore, much to Mondo's delight when he received a tight embrace. During these warm moments, his face pressed to the cloth of the jacket and he could breathe in the smell; these were the times when they were more than fellow gang members, they were brothers.. A throbbing in his chest at the thought of his aniki's familiar scent turned his confident grin into a grimace.
Maybe one smoke wouldn't hurt after all.
As he leaned forward on the wall to catch the pack of cigarettes his buddy had thrown, he heard a not-so-distant shout come from an unfamiliar figure in a crisp white uniform, "Smoking is prohibited!" The stiff frame of the boy charged towards them, anticipation gleaming in his eyes as he reached out with a hand to grab Mondo's sleeve. A hurried frenzy to escape the hall monitor's wrath scattered the gang into disorder as they raced back towards the inn, leaving Mondo in the tight grasp of the boy. It was Mondo's first intent to shove the boy off, but then he internally groaned at the thought of ripping his brother's precious Crazy Diamonds jacket.
With the rest of the gang having fled, there was an eerie silence between the two since the hall monitor had stopped shouting. The hall monitor was someone he recognized from his class, but he hadn't ever spoken to him. His name was Ishimaru Kiyotaka, and he had a talent for enforcing rules in the hallways of Hope's Peak Academy. Mondo usually avoided him, since he himself was a cardinal rule breaker and liked his freedom.
With a little discomfort, Mondo noticed the hall monitor observing him. Oddly enough, he began to feel embarrassed of his bare chest and protruding hairstyle in front of Ishimaru. It contrasted the obsidian tufts of the boy in front of him, and his pale skin looked something like a prince out of a fairytale. With his piercing gaze, Ishimaru was the epitome of striking-the way his eyebrows arched as his scarlet eyes trailed over Mondo's physique especially.
Those were some crazy-sharp eyebrows.
"What are you doing here, Oowada-kun?! It is against the rules to smoke on the school premises!" Ishimaru scolded, his grip never wavering from Mondo's sleeve. In his best interests, Mondo just ignored the insistent tugging, pointedly glancing away from the hall monitor.
Damn, he was persistent.
It wasn't like he had a joint or anything. And now here he was, listening to the hall monitor's drabble for something he didn't even do. It was times like these he wished he was Super High School Level Good Luck. A sigh escaped his lips as his head snapped back to glare at Ishimaru.
"Look here, I ain't got time for your shit," he growled, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. "If you want someone to harass over your shitty rules, find someone else, 'cause I ain't stickin' around." Yanking his sleeve away from the hall monitor, he shrugged past him towards the inn. A glance back showed the stampeding figure of Ishimaru following behind him at full speed. This time Mondo broke into a sprint, hurrying to outrun the psycho hall monitor.
"Come back here for your detention slip, Oowada-kun!" Ishimaru shouted at his retreating back, not missing a single step behind him. Both pounded down the hallways of the inn, Mondo desperately trying to locate the room with his name on it. He hadn't had time to find it earlier, and he didn't know who he was rooming with so he couldn't ask. Eyes scanning the room doors, eventually he spotted "Oowada Mondo" inscribed onto a fluttering piece of paper attached to a doorway up ahead. Time seemed to race as he fumbled for his room key, jammed it into the card reader, and dive inside the room.
Panting, Mondo slouched against the bedpost in the room, listening to the hall monitor's footsteps slowly come to a halt. Trapped in the primitive room, he sulked, expecting a prolonged expanse of boredom. At least he'd shaken Ishimaru off and could catch his breath. All he could hear was the steady rhythm of his heartbeat in the empty room; after it had calmed down he stood up and walked forward to examine the room. It seemed as if his roommate had already claimed one of the beds and unpacked his things; all of his clothes were folded and everything was in tidy piles on the dresser. Well, he sure wasn't rooming with one of his gang members. Sighing, he took a seat on the floor near the door again. Several moments later he heard a resounding 'click' from it, and a glaring Ishimaru towered over him.
"W-What? How did you get in?!" Mondo spluttered, scrambling right back onto his feet. In one hand dangled a key card on a lanyard. Mondo grimaced and with a chill dug out his own matching key card. "You're my roommate?" He paled and stepped backwards, the hall monitor mirroring his every footstep. He was a dead man. A very dead man. Ishimaru-although a good foot shorter-sized up Mondo, puffing out his chest to appear menacing. It looked so ridiculous Mondo let out a snort and broke into a fit of laughter. His whole body was shaking after he took one look at Ishimaru's confused face.
"W-What is so funny?" Ishimaru stuttered, his face and ears furiously burning as if he had gotten sunburn in the last few seconds. Still, Mondo couldn't stop laughing, and he slapped the hall monitor's back in reply. Since Ishimaru was so light, this just sent him sprawling into the bed. "O-Oowada! Violence is against the rules!" he pointed at him harshly, but then Mondo's laughter became contagious and he burst into his own fit of giggles.
"Man, you're an interestin' guy," Mondo hooted, taking a seat on the edge of the bed next to him. With one hand he ruffled the hall monitor's hair and grinned. Scowling, Ishimaru swatted his hand away and folded his arms tightly across his chest.
"I am not particularly interesting. I just enforce the rules," he mumbled. This guy was awkward as hell. They remained silent for a while, staring up at the ceiling or at the wall decorations. Night had overtaken outside their window during the conversation, and suddenly Ishimaru leapt off the bed.
"It's past the scheduled bedtime!"
With a groan, Mondo rolled over and didn't budge. If this goody-goody hall monitor thought he could force him to sleep, he had another thing comin'. After all, he hadn't even gone in the hot spring yet! As Ishimaru started to unfold his striped pajamas, Mondo couldn't help but snicker as he crept past him and unlocked the door. Time to galavant through the steam without an annoying idiot on his tail. Once glance back into the room, and Mondo eyed Ishimaru's lone figure hunched over on the bed. The guy was well-liked in class and all, but he didn't seem to have any close friends, now that he thought about it. That guy hadn't bathed yet either, right? It wouldn't hurt to get some extra karma on his side.
"...Hey. You wanna go to the hot springs with me?" he gruffly asked, pretending he didn't care one way or another. Although Ishimaru grated on his nerves and was dead-set against his way of life, he wasn't a bad guy. He was dorky, but that was one of his redeeming points. Those kinds of people were refreshing compared to the punks he hung around.
"T-That's against the rules!" he protested, his pajamas slipping through his fingers and landing in a bundle on the floor. His posture became rigid.
"C'mon, a little fun won't kill ya. You can say you chased me there to stop me, alright? You won't be breakin' any rules." After a moment of hesitation, Mondo snagged his wrist and dragged him along behind him. "You're goin' anyway!" They entered the locker room, and after Ishimaru's dissent he grudgingly stepped outdoors onto the rocks with Mondo.
Mondo submerged himself under the water, his dyed hair plastering back against his head. Squinting to try to blink the water out of his eyes, Mondo peered up at Ishimaru and saw him huddling with his towel. Always one to bring the fun, one of his hands shot out and yanked the hall monitor's leg down, pulling Ishimaru into the water with him. In retaliation, Ishimaru popped his head above the sulfuric water and skimmed his hand across the water to send a tidal wave towards Mondo. This play fight went on for a while, and after a few minutes, they were both soaked but still blissfully warm.
"Bonding in the nude is definitely the best way to start a friendship!" Ishimaru declared, retreating to his fluffy towel and drying himself off.
"Whoa there, no one ever said we were friends. You got that?" Mondo swallowed, scratching his head in embarrassment. A hall monitor and a gang leader being friends? Mondo wasn't about to start playing by the book anytime soon, and Ishimaru was still going to harp on him about his actions. They had the classic relationship of cat and mouse, just existing by redefining the other. But maybe that kind of relationship was good enough.
"Now it is time for sleeping!" Ishimaru authoritatively ordered once they had re-entered their room. Mondo just held up his hand and made the 'yak yak yak' gesture, secretly grinning. Irked, the hall monitor stomped over to his bed and flicked his forehead. "You need to sleep for the hiking trip in the mountains tomorrow!"
"Wait, what?! No way am I goin' on that! I'm skipping," he clamored, rolling out of Ishimaru's reach. But the hall monitor simply bounced on top of him, flattening him.
"You are going! That is an order!" Ishimaru held him down until Mondo involuntarily agreed with a roll of his eyes. This trip was surely going to kill him, if Ishimaru didn't first.