Why the hell did he agree to this?
Mondo glared at his shrieking alarm clock and briefly considered throwing it out the window. Six am. Six o'clock in the goddamn morning. And the train he had to catch was at seven. How the fuck did anyone do this on a regular basis?
He stayed under the warmth of his blanket for much longer than necessary before he forced himself to get up. He got dressed, skipped breakfast, stuffed a towel under one arm, and headed over to the dorms.
They were, unsurprisingly, empty when he arrived. The front doors were locked and he had to text Chihiro for the security code.
Aside from the occasional distant chatter, the hallways were silent. Were they a little dirtier than last time? He wasn't sure.
"You're late," were the first words out of Ishimaru's mouth when he opened the door.
Mondo was seriously considering throttling the bastard with his towel when Chihiro appeared and saved his criminal record from getting a fresh new assault charge.
"But better late than never, right?" Chihiro appeared behind him, a tote bag slung over each shoulder, one for Ishimaru and one for himself. "Come on, we'll get there on time if we walk fast."
The brisk half-jog to the station consisted mostly of Mondo and Ishimaru glaring at each other while Chihiro tried, and failed, to lighten the mood.
"Oh, I almost forgot! Kiyotaka has bento boxes so we don't have to worry about sorting out lunch!" He said as they reached a crossing.
"Where the hell did you get those this early?" Mondo said with a scowl as he glanced over to Ishimaru.
A frown crossed his features. "What do you mean?"
"The lunches, where did you get them?"
"I made them this morning. I wasn't sure what everyone liked, but I went with salmon and-"
"Bullshit. There's no way you made those-"
"No, it's true!" Chihiro piped up, "Kiyotaka is a very good cook! He offered to make them and I couldn't stop him even if I tried!"
Ishimaru shot Mondo a tiny smirk that read 'See? I told you.' Mondo responded by shoving his hands in his pockets and grumbling.
Soon enough, the three found themselves trying not to pass out from heat stroke in a crowded train carriage heading for Atami. Mondo was eternally grateful that he was perched under an air conditioning vent, especially since he could see Ishimaru feebly fanning himself in the corner of his vision. It was the little things that kept him happy.
It was only now that he noticed how silly Ishimaru's dress sense was on a day like this. It looked as if it was the first time he had ever worn chinos, given how awkward and out of place he looked wearing them. Did this guy have any casual clothes?
"We had to go buy Kiyotaka some swimming trunks since he didn't have any," Chihiro had mentioned earlier. Mondo honestly wasn't surprised.
Unfortunately, he couldn't enjoy Ishimaru's discomfort for much longer as the ride was over just as soon as it had begun.
As the three stepped off the train, Chihiro scanned the crowd for a brief few moments before his face lit up and he waved frantically for a few moments.
Following his line of sight, Mondo eventually noticed two young women. The shorter, who was waving as furiously as Chihiro, had tanned skin and a brown ponytail, wearing a tank top and shorts that left little to the imagination. She was certainly... well-endowed, to say the least. He tried not to stare.
The taller was built like a wall, looming over the rest of the group like a bird of prey. Her arms were folded across her chest thought despite the light scowl on her face, her eyes were shining, betraying her true glee at seeing an old friend. Her clothing was a tad more modest, but still more sensible then Ishimaru's, a rucksack over one shoulder.
The smaller woman ploughed into Chihiro, scooped him up into a painful-looking hug, span him around, then plonked him back down.
"It's been too long! It's so good to see you!"
Chihiro's laugh was soft, but genuine. "I'm sorry to spring this on you at such short notice."
She shook her head. "No problem! No problem at all! Me and Sakura were meaning to come over and visit you on your end at some point anyway. At least this way we don't have to worry about dashing back."
As if it had only just occurred to her, she finally turned to Mondo and Ishimaru. She gave the two remaining men a bright smile and held her hand out. Ishimaru shook it before Mondo could even reach for it, though he wasn't left out for too long.
"Hey there! I'm Aoi Asahina and this-" she stood to one side to show off the woman behind her, "is Sakura Oogami," she tapped her chin for a moment, as if lost in thought, "you guys are Ishimaru and Oowada, right?"
After their introductions, Asahina led them to the exit, chattering away with Chihiro at a brisk pace that Mondo and Ishimaru almost struggled to keep up with. Oogami lagged at the back, as if she was making sure neither of the men got lost.
After scaling a rock wall that Mondo did not slip on, they arrived at a tiny beach, completely enclosed by rocks on each side. The water was clear, the sand was clean, and the sun was bright so there was little he couldn't find anything to complain about.
The beach was empty, except for a young couple sat around a rock pool. The woman with soft pink hair let out a squeal of laughter as the blonde man lifted a starfish from the water.
Oogami led them to a small shady corner of the beach and Chihiro spread out the towels, placing rocks on the corners to stop them from blowing away. Once they were set up, Asahina began removing her shirt. Ishimaru almost had a heart attack before he realised she was wearing her swimming costume underneath.
"If you guys want some more privacy, you can go behind the rocks over there," Asahina said as she shoved her shorts into the rucksack and fishing out some sun cream.
Ishimaru was already halfway towards the makeshift changing area, his ears bright red. Mondo fought back a laugh.
Chihiro removed his shorts and placed them in the bag, his trucks on underneath. After a moment of thought, he decided to leave his t-shirt on.
"Scared of getting burnt?" Asahina asked. Chihiro just shrugged.
"I guess."
Oogami looked as if she was about to speak when she was interrupted,
"Is everyone decent?" Ishimaru yelled from behind the rocks.
"Get out here, ya wimp!" Asahina shouted back.
After an eternity, Ishimaru re-emerged from the safety of the rock wall and returned to the group.
"Holy shit," was all Mondo could say. Ishimaru scowled.
"Language."
The guy was ripped! All the right muscle in all the right places, built for strength like Asahina rather than intimidation like Mondo. He would be lying if he said he wasn't looking for a little longer than necessary.
"Oowada, are you quite alright?" Oogami asked, "Your face is quite flustered."
"H-Huh? Yeah! I'm fine!" He said, covering his mouth with one hand. Oogami couldn't hide her smirk.
Once everyone was changed and set up, Asahina reached into the bottomless rucksack and yanked out a beach ball, inflated it with ease, then shot up to her feet and began dashing across the sand to the water.
"Last one in has to eat sand!"
Mondo and Ishimaru shared a look before sprinting down the beach.
The group were soon passing the ball back and forth in the chilly water. While it was fun, the ball was constantly swept away by the wind which, while great for exercise, wasn't particularly terrific for a party game.
Passing about the beach ball didn't last too long and a splashing contest soon ensued. Oogami was the clear winner, though Asahina thoroughly insisted that she only won because she was so much bigger than everyone else. Oogami merely chuckled.
Asahina and Oogami soon took off to swim in the deeper water, leaving the boys to have a breath-holding contest. Chihiro told them it was too close to call every time, but they refused to stop until there was a victor. Chihiro was forced to step in and take part himself, easily outlasting the other two with a grin on his face.
The water was freezing, but Asahina's endless supply of energy and Mondo and Ishimaru's constant need to one-up each other was enough to distract them from the cold.
Once the sun was high in the sky, Oogami insisted that everyone should return to the safety of the shade. It was perfectly timed as everyone suddenly realised how hungry they were.
Ishimaru produced the bento boxes and handed them out. Asahina tore into her's without a second's thought as Oogami nodded in thanks.
"These are amazing!" Asahina exclaimed through a mouthful of tofu, "Where did you buy these, Fujisaki?"
Chihiro's eyebrows creased. "I didn't buy them, Ishimaru made them."
"Eh?!" Her eyes lit up with awe as she leaned across to place a hand on his knee, "You gotta teach me how to make these! I'm totally hopeless with cooking!"
A small smile crept over Oogami's face. "Your food is wonderful, Aoi."
Asahina let out an undignified snort. "I'm pretty sure if I made ice cream I'd end up burning it," she grumbled, pouting as she dug through her rice.
Ishimaru slowly raised a hand, as if he were still in class. "Is that even possible?"
"With me in the kitchen, anything is possible."
Chihiro stifled a giggle behind a mouthful of salmon. After he swallowed, he said, "Is that why you always eat out?"
After a brief pause, Asahina scowled. "Was that a dirty joke?"
He nodded as he fell into a fit of giggles
She went bright red and smacked Chihiro's forehead. "Not in front of your friends!"
Mondo snorted. "Whatever, man, we ain't gonna judge."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean it's appropriate..." she grumbled with a pout.
Ishimaru sat up suddenly, clearing his throat to get everyone's attention before he spoke, "I'm sorry, but are you two... together?"
Oogami smiled and placed an arm around Asahina. The smaller girl leaned into her side and planted a kiss on her nose.
"Yep!" Asahina beamed, "For six years this July!"
Chihiro sat back, staring up at the single white cloud in the sky. "Six years, huh? Wow..."
"Yeah, no kidding." Asahina plucked a piece of salmon from her bento. "Soon we're gonna be a pair of little old ladies talking about the good ol' days. It's kinda scary, actually."
Discussion continued to linger on the girls. As it turned out, Asahina worked as a PE teacher at the local middle school and was a swimming instructor on the side.
"I almost got accepted into the Olympics once, but I turned it down in the end."
Mondo tilted his head to one side. "Why didn't you go through with it?"
She thought for a moment. "I didn't feel like I'd enjoy it, I guess. I mean, I enjoy contests here because I know basically everyone involved. It's more fun to swim with people you know. Everyone swims to relax here but in a big competition like that..." she shrugged and went quiet.
Oogami ran a dojo a few miles north of Atami. Her family had owned it for over three-hundred years and she has recently taken it over from her father. She had taken part in many fighting tournaments over the years and was apparently on a four-hundred-match winning streak.
"So if either of you boys think of hurting our lil' Fujisaki, you'd better be ready to face off against the unbeatable Sakura Oogami!" Asahina declared as Chihiro hid his face behind his hands. Ishimaru tried to laugh it off.
"A-Aha, we wouldn't dream of hurting Fujisaki-kun-"
"Good," Oogami said, her voice level, though a dangerous edge made Ishimaru and Mondo shrink back slightly, "because I will not hold back."
Asahina giggled, but there was a look of murder in her eyes. She placed her empty bento beside her leg.
"Anyway, enough about us," she grinned at Mondo and Ishimaru as if she were planning to eat them alive, "what kinda stuff happens with you guys?"
Ishimaru shrugged, finishing off the last of his salmon drowning in soy sauce. "I lived with my father when I was younger, that's why I learnt how to cook. It was either that or allowing him to burn down the kitchen every evening."
Asahina giggled. "Or maybe he just really wanted you to learn early."
"That is a possibility," he chuckled, "Though I rarely see him these days. I am too busy studying. I am on a politics and international studies course at the same university Chihiro attends and hope to be involved with government somehow in the near future."
Asahina whistled. "Never heard of anyone who wanted to become a politician but hey, someone's gotta do it." She grinned. "If you ever run for Prime Minister, you've got my vote!"
Ishimaru froze up for a moment, but recovered quickly, "I don't think I would make it that far."
"Awh, don't be so hard on yourself! I'm sure you'd manage it if you tried it!"
"N-No, I mean- I wouldn't want to."
Asahina was clearly curious, but before she could press further, Oogami placed a hand on her shoulder. The smaller girl sighed and let the subject drop.
"What about you, Oowada?"
Mondo shrugged, "I dropped out of high school, lived with my brother for a while."
"He allowed a high school dropout to live with him?" Ishimaru said, though from the look on his face, he didn't seem to realise he had said it aloud. When Mondo met his gaze, he realised his mistake. "I'm sorry, I didn't-"
Asahina quick piped up and attempted to defuse the situation. "Um, Oowada! Where's your brother now?"
Mondo stiffened instantly, clenching his jaw and breathing more heavily as his chest tightened painfully. He looked away, tightening and loosening his fists uselessly at his sides.
Asahina glanced to Chihiro helplessly and he fiddled with the hem of his shirt.
"His brother is dead," he murmured quietly.
The silence was heavy, almost painful. Asahina covered her mouth and a look of pity crossed Oogami's face as she drew a cross over her chest.
Ishimaru couldn't even breathe. He was completely silent, staring at Mondo like some bizarre creature undiscovered by science, mouth opening and closing helplessly as he tried to form words but to no avail. Chihiro recovered first, slipping his smaller hand into Mondo's and squeezing it tightly.
Once his nerves had finally settled, Mondo spoke once more, "Whatever. That's all said 'n' done. Nothing you can do about it." He paused for a second, taking a deep, settling breath. "Now I make furniture and shit."
Asahina perked up, seeing an opportunity to lighten the mood. "Hey, could you possibly maybe make us a new table? Our old one kinda... fell apart."
"How did it, um..." Chihiro tilted his head to the side, "'fall apart?'"
"We, um, put too much weight on it and it went SNAP!" Asahina slammed her palm on the sand to illustrate her point.
"But what did you put on the table to make it break?" Ishimaru asked slowly.
Asahina shared a look with Oogami before going bright red. "U-Um, well, that's-"
"Hey, Ishi," Mondo said, pushing himself to his feet, "the water's lookin' pretty good, fancy a dip?"
Before Ishimaru could respond, he was tossed carelessly over Mondo's shoulder like a sack of flour and being hauled away to the water's edge.
"Oowada! This is unreasonable! We just ate-" But no amount of yelling and flailing could stop him from being delivered to the icy water.
It was only when the sun was starting to set that they packed up and set off back to the station.
"You'll have to bring these two again sometime!" Asahina said, "We totally have do an arm wrestling contest next time, you guys are pretty well-built, you could probably hold your own."
Mondo laughed. "I don't think I'd wanna go up against Oogami. She'd pound me into dust."
"You were... checking us out?" Ishimaru asked, sounding absolutely horrified.
"You wish!" Asahina laughed.
They shared one last laugh before they arrived at the station. Asahina hugged Chihiro as a goodbye before the three men hopped on the train. When it pulled away, she dashed along at the side, yelling something that couldn't be understood behind the glass.
As the three settled in for the long ride back, Ishimaru started to speak,
"Can I tell you both something?"
Chihiro frowned. "Sure, go ahead."
"I... I've never been to the beach before. That was the first time I've ever..."
Mondo folded his arms and leaned back in his seat. "But was it good?"
"Excuse me?"
"Did ya have fun?"
Ishimaru looked down at his hands, folded neatly in his lap. "I... suppose I did." He smiled. A genuine, warm smile that lit up his face and made him look like a completely different person. It was infectious as Mondo found his lips twitching upwards as well.
"Good, then we'll have to go again sometime."
A little squeal had them both glancing to the smaller boy sat between them. Chihiro giddily looked up at the two, a wide grin on this face.
"Are you two getting along?"
"What-?"
"Of course not-!"
Chihiro burst into a fit of giggles, soon followed by Ishimaru, and Mondo wasn't immune for much longer. He laughed like he hadn't laughed in years; a heavy, hearty laugh that came from deep in his stomach. He laughed until his jaw ached from so much smiling and his lungs forced him to stop. And then he laughed some more.
Ishimaru became slightly more tolerable after that evening on the train. Mondo didn't find himself feeling physically ill whenever he saw him which was always a plus. He didn't often join Mondo and Chihiro for their café meetups, but when he did Mondo still found himself enjoying the newcomer's company.
Ishimaru was, bizarrely enough, not the most annoying person Mondo had ever met. Not even close considering Kuwata was still in his phone contacts. While Ishimaru certainly had his annoying moments, there was a passion behind his every move that somehow drew Mondo closer, intrigued and awe-inspired, like a child watching a magic trick.
Whenever Ishimaru joined them, he and Chihiro would sometimes split off into their own conversation, though Mondo didn't mind. It gave him a chance to watch and appreciate the little things. Like the way Chihiro would snort when he laughed or the way Ishimaru's eyebrows furrowed when he was deep in thought.
They came over to his apartment once. Chihiro had flicked through the TV channels until they found a cheap game show they had gotten intensely involved in. They ended up getting a noise complaint from next door, but they were too wrapped up with the game to lower their volume by much.
Ishimaru had offered to make dinner but Mondo refused, mostly so they wouldn't see how empty his cupboards were. When his rice cooker wouldn't switch on, they settled for takeout. Ishimaru had accidentally ordered the spiciest thing on the menu and he had to eat part of Chihiro's instead.
Everything was progressing smoothly. Summer was slowly transforming into autumn, work was as normal as it always was, the days went by at a regular, comfortable pace.
But he was still on edge. He's been here before, happily settled, everything seemingly going his way. He knew what came next and he was dreading it. Everything had to take a nosedive eventually.
"Oowada, are you okay?"
He jerked back to reality, where everything was still going well, undisturbed by his own inner thoughts. He was in their dorm, sat across from Chihiro and next to Ishimaru, the final corner of the table taken up by a laptop playing the news. The only TV in the dormitory was the one in the lobby, currently taken up by a baseball game. Summer was long gone by now, the early October chill working its way through the poorly insulated windows.
"Yeah, fine."
"Are you sure?" Ishimaru asked with a frown. Mondo just shrugged.
The announcer continued her weather report, unperturbed, a bright, showbiz smile on her face. Mondo tried to pay attention, but he couldn't force himself to be interested in humidity percentages.
"Hang on, I have an idea." Chihiro pushed up to his feet, padding over to the kitchen area.
"Please don't try to cook anything," Ishimaru said in a warning tone.
"Does using the kettle count?"
Ishimaru pondered it for a moment. "I suppose not. Continue."
He retrieved the appliance and headed over to the sink. "Who wants to bet the water's gonna be yellow when it comes out?" Chihiro said with a grin as his hand hovered over the tap.
"Has it seriously come out like that before?" Mondo sounded genuinely concerned. Chihiro just laughed.
"No, but wouldn't it be funny if it did?"
"It would not be funny!" Ishimaru exclaimed, his face going slightly pink. Mondo had learnt quite quickly that it didn't take much for him to get flustered. "We would have to go to the dormitory manager and he rarely takes complaints seriously!"
There was a snort from Chihiro. "I guess, but we could always make him drink it!"
"That would be disgusting! Not to mention potentially hazardous to his health! You should really know better, it is-"
As Ishimaru continued his rambling, Chihiro filled the kettle and left it to boil. He opened one of the cupboards then pushed himself up onto the countertop to reach the mugs from the highest shelf.
"Hey, Kiyotaka, where did the tea go?"
Ishimaru was finally pulled from his speech to notice Chihiro's position and shot to his feet, fussing and ranting about how dangerous it was and the potential risks related to such behaviour. Seeing no easy way to escape his fate, Chihiro could do nothing but allow himself to be lectured until Ishimaru retrieved a pot from the upper shelves and handed it to him.
After some needlessly complicated messing about, the tea was made and sat in front of them. Chihiro had put on a foreign crime drama for English practise, though they left subtitles on for Mondo's sake.
"It is very clearly the wife," Ishimaru said with a huff.
"No way, that would be too obvious! I bet it's the maid!" Chihiro yelped.
"You sure it's not the detective?" Mondo asked. Ishimaru shook his head.
"Making the detective the killer is a cheap cop-out because the viewer is supposed to know everything the main character knows."
The episode ended on a cliff-hanger, but before Chihiro could look for the next one, Ishimaru stopped him.
"It's getting quite late. Oowada will have to leave soon."
Chihiro frowned and glanced to the time on his laptop. "It's only half ten-"
"Yes, but we must be in bed and asleep by half-past! Watching another episode would take us to twelve!"
"But I don't see why Mondo has to leave." Chihiro looked to Mondo. "Do you wanna leave?"
"Not really."
"So he can stay here tonight!"
Ishimaru shook his head. "Non-residents are not permitted to stay in the dorms overnight..." Before Chihiro could respond, he smiled. "However, it is a foolish rule, so I have decided to ignore it for the evening."
"Really?!" Chihiro launched himself at Ishimaru and crushed him in a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Chi- Ah! But he must be gone by eight if he is to get to work on time!"
"Right, right, he'll be up and out by half seven if it bugs you that much!"
"W-Well-" Ishimaru stared at his teacup. "I don't really mind..."
Before Chihiro could comment on his suspiciously red ears, he cleared his throat.
"Um, what shall we do for the rest of the evening?" He didn't seem to realise he was shouting.
After a moment, Chihiro squealed, "We could play the King's Game! I haven't played it in forever!"
Ishimaru looked rather bewildered. "I... have never played it, you will have to explain the rules," he admitted.
"Basically, each round we all pick a chopstick and whoever gets the special one is the king and they can order one other person to do something." Mondo shifted from his heels to a cross-legged position.
"Ah, that sounds as if it would escalate quite quickly," Ishimaru said slowly.
"Exactly! That's the fun of it!" Chihiro grinned. "We'll just take turns. Kiyotaka can go first since it's his first time."
"Excuse me?"
Chihiro smiled. "It's okay. Just order one of us to do something."
"Right, okay..." Ishimaru scratched his chin, took a sip of tea, then glanced to Chihiro. "Um, how do I tell someone to do something?"
"You say, 'the king orders you to' and then whatever you want them to do," Mondo explained. Ishimaru nodded.
"I get it!" He sat up straighter and pointed to Mondo. "The king orders you to touch the ceiling!"
There was a pause.
"Seriously? That's it?" Chihiro deadpanned. "That's boring..."
Ishimaru went slightly pink. "Well, what sort of thing am I supposed to say?"
"Why don't I go first so he can get a better idea of what to do?" Mondo offered.
"Yes! That would be a better approach!" Ishimaru said with a nod and dorky grin.
Mondo sat back and considered his demand for a slid minute before he looked up with a smirk.
"Chihiro, the king orders you to sit in Ishi's lap."
Mondo wished he had a camera to capture the moment Chihiro's entire face turned a bright shade of red. "That seems a little, um..."
"You know Chi, there's nothing wrong with refusing..."
Chihiro immediately rose to his feet, rounded the table, and dropped into Ishimaru's lap, sat sideways with his arms wrapped around the other's neck. He smirked at Mondo, oblivious to how flustered Ishimaru was growing.
"Is that good enough for you?"
Mondo narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, that's fine..." He muttered as he took a large gulp from his tea.
"Alright, my turn!" Chihiro hugged Ishimaru tighter as he thought. "Mondo! I order you to... give Ishimaru a smooch!"
Mondo almost choked. "W-What?"
"With tongue. For... ten seconds!"
Evil. Chihiro Fujisaki was pure evil.
"The king's word is absolute!" he sang, nuzzling into Ishimaru's shoulder. Mondo huffed. He was feeling light headed already.
"Alright, fine. Ishi, c'mon."
"R-Right!"
Ishimaru looked petrified, but he adjusted his position to allow Mondo to sit in front of him. Then they... did nothing. They did nothing but stare at each other for a full minute before Chihiro started shifting with impatience in Ishimaru's lap.
"King's word-"
"Is absolute, yeah, yeah, we get it..." Mondo grumbled.
He turned back to Ishimaru and, before he could reconsider, took his chin and kissed him, hard, tongue pushing forward with only a moment of hesitation. Ishimaru squeaked in shock, every muscle tense as if he was ready to bolt at a moment's notice.
Mondo tried to fill his head with anything that could possibly distract him from the sensation. Not because it was unpleasant, but for the complete opposite reason. Part of him wanted to retch, but it was overpowered by the bizarre desire for more.
He was mentally counting the seconds and had made it to six before he felt a small hand pushing at his chest. He opened his eyes and pulled away, taking a few seconds to process the situation before a heavy feeling of dread settled in his stomach.
Ishimaru was crying.
"Shit, I'm sorry- Fuck-"
"Kiyotaka-?!"
Chihiro had moved from his lap, now sat directly in front of him and holding both of his hands. Panic was embedded into Chihiro's features, eyes wide with mania.
A few seconds later, Ishimaru opened his eyes. He looked lost, as if he had only just woken up. He blinked once, twice, then met Chihiro's worried eyes.
"He... He stopped?" Ishimaru asked slowly.
Chihiro looked distraught. "Well, yeah! You were crying! I knew it was too much but I went and said it anyway." Chihiro took a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it up as a meek apology. "I'm sorry!"
"What?" Ishimaru reached up and wiped his damp eyes, staring at the moisture on his fingers as if it were some alien substance. "Oh. Yes. I am sorry."
"Why the heck are you apologising? I should be the one-"
Ishimaru sighed and placed his hand on Chihiro's head, threading the soft hair between his fingers. "It's fine. I'm okay," he said with a smile.
"But-" Mondo tried to speak, but Ishimaru shook his head.
"I just get a little... overwhelmed sometimes. It all happened quite fast and I suppose I couldn't keep up..."
Chihiro sniffed. "So you're... okay?"
"Yes! I am completely fine!" He spoke as if Chihiro has just bumped into him. He turned his attention to Mondo with playful glee in his eyes. "Though I would prefer more warning next time, Mondo."
"Yeah, right, sorry- Wait, what did you just call me?"
"Well, it would make sense for us to be on a first name basis since your tongue has been inside me."
Mondo went bright red. "What the hell, man?! Don't say it like that! It makes it sound way worse than it actually was!"
Ishimaru frowned. "What would you prefer?"
"I don't know, anything but that!"
It didn't take long for Ishimaru to fall asleep. Mondo wouldn't be surprised if Chihiro told him he was a robot, given how he seemed to doze off at exactly eleven pm. With some difficulty, they lifted him to his bunk and pulled the blankets over him. Chihiro set up some cushions and spare blankets on the floor as a makeshift futon for Mondo before he pulled his pyjamas from under his pillow and ordered Mondo to face the other direction as he changed.
They turned off the lights and settled down with the intention of sleeping, but soon enough Mondo felt Chihiro prod his side with his foot.
"Hey, you asleep yet?"
"It's been, like, five minutes, man."
"You might fall asleep fast, I dunno..."
Mondo could only just see his outline in the darkness as he rolled over to face Chihiro.
"What's up?" he asked.
"I was just thinking, you still know how to fight, right?" Chihiro whispered.
"Well, yeah, but I'm kinda rusty."
"Could you help me teach Kiyotaka?"
"Huh? Yeah, sure. Why do you ask?"
"I just..." Chihiro sighed. "Maybe it would help if he could suplex some of those guys who try to mess with him, ya know?"
Mondo snorted. "That's fair. Sure, we can try if you want."
"What are you two talking about?"
Both glanced up to the source of the voice. Ishimaru was leaning over the side of his bunk. Even in the dark, Mondo could picture his expression; a slight scowl with one eyebrow raised.
"We were talking about how Mondo's gonna use your first name from now on," Chihiro said before Mondo could even consider a response.
"Can't you do that in the morning?"
"We wanted it to be a surprise."
Mondo was unsure if Ishimaru was convinced, but his shape disappeared back to his bunk.
"Very well... Goodnight, Chihiro, Mondo."
"Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite," Chihiro said with a drowsy giggle as he settled down.
"'Night, losers." Mondo didn't hear Ishimaru's response as he rolled onto his back and closed his eyes, drifting off in only a few minutes.