"Hey, Kiyotaka, my man!" Ishimaru felt a hand clap onto his back and stiffened. "No physical contact is permitted in the school," he warned, and they removed their hand quickly. "Sorry, man!" He turned to stare at Leon, who was grinning suspiciously. "Do you need something, Kuwata?" he asked calmly. "Nah, man! I was wondering if you wanted to go to my party this Friday?" Party? "Why are you inviting me?" Ishimaru asked, turning to close his locker. "Eh, well, a few people might get outta hand. I was hoping I could have a dude watching my back! You know, make sure nobody's trashing the house, no bothering the neighbors, totally not picking fights, right!" Ishimaru nodded. "It would be best to have someone enforcing the rules! I will go to your party!" Leon grinned, patting his back again but pulling away before Ishimaru said anything about it. "See you then, man!" Leon bounced away. A party…? Ishimaru had never been to one. He nodded, narrowing his eyes determinedly and going to his next class.
Meanwhile, back in the school library...
"Chihiro put away another book, watching Touko and Mondo out of the corner of his eye. They didn't speak to each other much, but on and off Touko had a… personality change, and Mondo was liable to walk around and start misplacing books and messing with the other students in the room at any given moment. "You going to the library on Friday? Nobody's gonna be there, y'know." Chihiro shook his head. "Oh, no. I'm going to the party!" Mondo didn't say anything, and when Chihiro glanced over, he realized Mondo was gritting his teeth and nodding. "Leon's?" he asked. "Yes! He asked if I wanted to go-" Mondo cut him off. "After what he said last week, you're just going to toss it out of the window and go?" Mondo asked, sounding annoyed. "Mondo, it's not good to hang onto a past incident for so long." Mondo's gaze turned icy. Chihiro gasped, covering his mouth in shock. "No, no, I didn't mean it like that! I just meant that…" Mondo nodded, closing his eyes and tilting his head back, letting out a loud sigh. "I know, Chi. Still. Do you know who else is going to the party?" Chihiro stood still, thinking. "He invited most everyone I know. Aoi and Sakura are going, too, so if I need to I'll stick with them!" Mondo shook his head. "I'm coming, too." Chihiro practically cringed at the words. No doubt something would happen there, and Chihiro could almost swear it was going to be bad.
Ishimaru saw Chihiro walking towards him when he closed his locker. "Good afternoon, Fujisaki!" he greeted enthusiastically. Chihiro giggled and waved to him. From behind her Ishimaru noticed Mondo approaching as well and stiffened, turning to his locker and messing with the lock for a few seconds, hoping he looked distracted enough so that Mondo would ignore him. "Are you going to be busy on Friday?" Chihiro asked. "I need someone to watch over the library for me." Ishimaru sighed. "I have to apologize, Chihiro, but I'm going to be busy on Friday." At this, Mondo spoke up. "Oh, really? Doing what, reading handbooks and all that crap?" Ishimaru turned to stare at Mondo, annoyed with the snarky comment. Why did Mondo have to be so harsh about rules? "No! I'm going to a schoolmate's party, if you really wanted to know." Chihiro's eyes brightened. "Leon's?" Ishimaru nodded, pleased with himself. "I'm going, too! Leon invited me." She paused and glanced in Mondo's direction. "Mondo's coming, too." He nodded from behind her, grinning. "Why'd he invite you, a total pet, outta all the other freaks he could have from this school, I'll never know." Mondo remarked, nodding at Ishimaru, who suddenly felt… small. He blinked, forcing himself to relax. Mondo was only doing this to annoy him, of course. "Because someone needs to be responsible, and if no one else will, then I must!" Mondo let out a loud laugh at that, nodding. "Sure you do." Chihiro cleared her throat, obviously trying to keep the conversation from turning sour. "All right then, Kiyotaka! Well, if you know anyone who isn't going to be doing anything on Friday, can you tell me? It'd be horrible for the library to close because there was nobody there to take care of it..." Chihiro sounded so heartbroken about it, Ishimaru was nodding before she finished. "Of course, Fujisaki! You can count on me," at this, he paused momentarily to glare at Mondo, "to do it!" Mondo glared at him darkly for a few seconds before huffing loudly and walking away, Chihiro walking beside him.
Ishimaru glanced up as Togami strode past him, Touko following eagerly. "Byakuyaaa," she whined desperately. "I'm not going to that peasant's party. Go by yourself. I'm going to the library." Ishimaru held his hand up. "Togami, may I speak to you for a second?" Togami rolled his eyes, glancing at his watch and nodding. "Make it quick. I'm on a busy schedule." Ishimaru nodded. He was one of the few people who Togami didn't openly despise. "Of course. Fujisaki is not going to be present at the library this Friday. It's scheduled to be closed unless someone else can watch over it." Togami nodded again, looking miffed. "I'll volunteer! I'll do it, Togami, for you!" Fukawa exclaimed, her eyes wide open behind her glasses. "Ugh. Fine. Just don't bother me when you get there." Fukawa nodded quickly, still standing behind him like a lovesick puppy. Togami began walking away, listening to her speaking, and Ishimaru saw the corner of his mouth twitching. He watched them go and felt a strange coldness in himself. Even Togami had Fukawa to hang out with, even if he didn't act like he liked her to her face. Most everyone in his classes had friends. As much as he hated it, so did Mondo-his whole gang and Chihiro looked after him. Frustrated that he actually cared about it all, Ishimaru shuffled to his classroom, his earlier spirit drained from him.
Ishimaru glanced up from his lunch as someone sat down in front of him. It was Maizono, a nice girl who he'd spoken to several times previously. "Good afternoon, Sayaka," he greeted, slightly suspicious. "Hi, Kiyotaka!" She put down her lunch tray, wrinkling her nose at the food on it, if anyone could call it that. "You seemed down today. What's wrong?" Ishimaru glanced at her, surprised that anyone had noticed-and then hoping nobody else did. "It's nothing, Sayaka." She didn't look convinced. "What's got you upset? Please?" Ishimaru was about to shake his head again, but he realized that he didn't want to keep it all to himself. And out of nearly everyone in the school, Maizono was one of the few he could trust with most of his secrets. Ishimaru thought for a few seconds, unsure how to tell her without embarrassing himself. "It seems everyone is in a group nowadays and I just feel…" She smiled at him, her blue eyes shining with understanding. "Alone?" Ishimaru nodded, relieved that he didn't have to say anything. "We've got a lot of time left for us for that, Kiyotaka! I'm sure you'll find someone who you'll like!" He nodded. "Even the most troublesome delinquents or coldest students have someone. Am I doing something that is keeping me from being like them?" Maizono laughed, shaking her head. "Of course not! You just need to mingle with the other students outside of school! Then they'll know that you're a nice guy!" Ishimaru nodded again, smiling. Ishimaru heard someone calling Maizono's name and turned. The people she normally hung out with, Junko and the some girls, Celes, even, were waving her over. "If you want, Kiyotaka, I can eat with you today?" He shook his head. "Thank you for your offer, Sayaka, but I would be interrupting your lunch schedule. Enjoy it with your friends." He smiled, hoping she wouldn't want to stay. To be honest, Ishimaru just felt tired and wanted a few minutes to himself. "Okay, Kiyotaka. See? You don't even need to try to make friends! You'll have a ton before you know it!" And with that, Maizono stood and walked away, singing softly. Ishimaru nodded, narrowing his eyes determinedly as he finished his sandwich. He felt like he was being watched and looked up. Mondo was watching him from a table in the back, nodding slowly. When he realized that Ishimaru was staring back at him, he waved once and Ishimaru hesitantly raised his hand in a greeting. Chihiro waved back as well, motioning for Ishimaru to join them. Mondo sat up quickly and grabbed Chihiro's hand, talking too quietly for Ishimaru to hear. Ishimaru sighed to himself and glanced up again. Mondo was talking normally to Chihiro, hands behind his head and feet propped up on the table. He looked around the room. Fukawa was whispering about something to Togami. Aoi and Sakura were laughing together. Mondo and Chihiro were talking together. Even people like Yamada and Hagakure were in their own groups. Ishimaru lowered his head, focusing on his hands. He didn't like being so alone.
