Ishimaru watched as Mondo walked into the lunchroom and he sighed in relief. Mondo still hadn't apologized for punching him, but he had been showing up to school, which was a surprise to Ishimaru. Chihiro waved to Ishimaru from her table and he nodded once in acknowledgement of the little programmer. Leon patted Ishimaru's shoulder as he was passing by him and grinned. "Hey, man! If I'd known you were at the restaurant I'd have let you sit with us! We should all go grab a bite to eat later, am I right?" Ishimaru nodded. Leon walked away and Ishimaru was pleasantly surprised that he went to go sit down with Chihiro and Mondo. "Kiyotaka!" Maizono sat down in front of him, a small smile on her face. "You're looking a lot better!" Ishimaru smiled. "Indeed, Sayaka! I feel better than I have in several days, although… nothing has really changed, if I must be honest...?" Maizono put a finger to her lip in thoughtfulness. "Maybe it's just everyone's attitude changes! Did you notice Leon and Mondo aren't fighting? Now Leon's not always worried and Mondo's not getting mad!" Ishimaru nodded, glancing at the odd trio again. Chihiro was laughing at something Mondo had probably said, who had a proud smirk on his face. Leon's chest was heaving for breath but he was laughing all the same. Although Ishimaru hadn't spoken to Mondo since the other night, he didn't hate him. As much. Mondo was still a rule-breaking delinquent. It would have been crazy if Ishimaru didn't dislike him, right? But the more Ishimaru thought about it, the more he realized that no, he didn't hate Mondo as much as he thought he would. That ticked him off to no end. "...Kiyotaka? Are you listening?" He turned back to Maizono, embarassed. "Ah, no, Sayaka. I apologize. My thoughts were elsewhere." Maizono laughed, not bothered at all. In fact, she looked rather gleeful about something. "What?" Ishimaru asked, suddenly suspicious. "Oh, nothing. What're you thinking about, hm?" Ishimaru tried not to look back at Mondo. "Wh-what do you mean?" he asked, stuttering. "Well, you're either staring at Mondo, Leon, or Chihiro, but I'm no expert on long-distance vision. Who's the student you've got an eye on?" Ishimaru felt his face heating up before he could deny it. "I do not have my 'eye' on anyone," he said defensively. "I'm merely surprised that Oowada managed to show up today." Maizono smiled secretly, giggling. "What! I didn't say anything." Maizono was still laughing. "I knew it! You've got a crush on him, don't you?" Ishimaru was stammering more and more with every word he said. "N-no! Why would I? He's a troublemaker and I will not stand for him causing any more problems than he already has! I do not like him in that way!" Maizono shook her head, smiling innocently. "Of course not." Ishimaru heard a loud sigh behind him and turned, wondering who else could possibly hear him. Fukawa was looking at Ishimaru with dazed eyes. "Love has no boundaries, Kiyotaka, and no rules!" Ishimaru shook his head quickly, knowing he was probably as red as a tomato. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Fukawa. I would prefer if you didn't listen in to my conversations, either!" She nodded, sighing dreamily. "Sure, sure..." Togami passed her and she veered away, calling his name. Ishimaru turned and focused on the table in front of him. "Oh, she didn't mean it, Kiyotaka, I promise. Have you noticed how she's always following Byakuya? Poor Touko hardly knows which way is up and which is down!" Ishimaru nodded, understanding. Fukawa hardly noticed what was around her anymore. The other day he had come to the library and was forced to wait a few minutes while she chatted about Togami before she scanned his book. It seemed that Chihiro had split her duties with Fukawa in the public library. Ishimaru nodded, watching Togami sit down alone. Fukawa was about to sit with him and he said something loudly to her. She turned away, moping, but perked up when she saw the table besides his was empty. She sat down there instead and began chatting again to him, and Togami shook his head before eating his lunch. "Oh, Kiyotaka! Do you mind if me and Kyouko sit here? We need to talk about a project." Kirigiri was staring at Ishimaru calmly, and then, very slowly, turned to stare across the room to Mondo, nodding. "Ah, of course!" Ishimaru said, ducking his head down. "Cool! Thanks, Kiyotaka!" Naegi sat at the other end of the table with Kirigiri. "This is beyond horrible," Ishimaru groaned, covering his face. "Does the whole school think I am romantically attracted to Oowada?" Sayaka patted his shoulder lightly, and he raised his head. "Cheer up, Kiyotaka! Before you know it, everything'll be better soon!" He sighed, staring over at Mondo again. "Of course, Maizono. But for who?" She laughed, shrugging. "Who knows? For everyone!" For all the enthusiasm that Maizono was showing to him, it wasn't spreading to Ishimaru. He took a sip from the bottle of water he had packed for himself and tightened the cap before packing away his lunch. "Okay, Kiyotaka. I'm going to go back to my table. I hope you figure something out for yourself. It's always sad to see a classmate being sad, right?" Ishimaru nodded, lifting his head and smiling at her. "Of course! It is also a distraction, and I cannot be a distraction to the class. Thank you, Maizono. I will consider all my options before I decide what to do next." Sayaka laughed, standing up with her tray as she called him a goodbye over her shoulder. He watched her sit down, glad that at least someone ended up happy. Leon scooted out of his own chair suddenly and ran to her, and Ishimaru felt a twinge of bleak happiness for the pair. He wasn't jealous, he didn't think; but then again, Ishimaru'd never been jealous for sure. He couldn't compare this feeling to anything else he was used to on any normal occasion.
Ishimaru tucked the book underneath his arm and looked both ways several times before crossing the street, almost running to the other side. He had to return the library book before he would forget about it. He'd already finished his homework for the day. He had also managed to finish all of the projects that were already assigned to his classes. In the end, he decided to go for a walk instead, and return the book along the way. "Kiyotaka! Hey, can I ask you something?" It was Naegi, running out of a house that Ishimaru had just passed. "Of course, Naegi. We are classmates! Of course you can ask me anything." Naegi laughed, nodding. "Great. Do you know when the school dance is coming up?" Ishimaru thought about it for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts. "In two weeks, on Friday." Naegi scratched the back of his head, nodding. "D'you think Kyouko would want to go with me?" he asked, almost nervously. "Kyouko Kirigiri? I do not see why she would refuse your offer, Naegi. You two have gotten very comfortable with each other." Naegi's face turned pink. "Heh, yeah. Maybe she just doesn't go to school dances, though." Ishimaru shook his head. From what he'd seen, Naegi was the only student to actually become positive friends with Kyouko Kirigiri, a watchful and quiet girl from several of his classes. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind going with you, Naegi." Naegi looked ready to burst with happiness. "I hope so! Thanks, Kiyotaka. I'll ask her tomorrow!" Naegi ran back before Ishimaru could say anything. Ishimaru was almost at the library when he saw a small shape running across the street. Was that Chihiro? Who was watching the library then? What if nobody was? He quickened his pace and tested the door. It was unlocked, and that in itself was different; Chihiro wouldn't forget to lock it. That meant someone was watching the library, and he groaned inwardly, figuring it was probably Fukawa. She was honestly a very nice person, just very enthralled with Togami. But there was nobody at the front desk when he walked in. Something hit him in the back of the head and he turned, looking for the attacker and the weapon. It was a paper ball and he bent down to pick it up. "H-hey! I thought you were Chihiro! Don't read that!" Ishimaru froze. A large hand came over his and snatched the paper from him. He looked up, eyes narrowed until he realized who he was staring at. Mondo crumbled the paper hurriedly, looking away. "Are you watching the library for Fujisaki?" he asked. "Yeah. I don't have a damn idea how to run half of the things in this room, though, so if you're waiting to check somethin' out you'll have to wait more." Ishimaru only nodded. He remembered he was still mad at Mondo, or at least he had to act like it. Otherwise Mondo would think that he was getting soft on his duties and he would break more rules and then he would ignore Ishimaru and-"Are you even listening to me? For such a great student, you're havin' a tough time concentrating." Ishimaru looked back up at Mondo, letting out a sharp breath of annoyance. "Hey, what?" Ishimaru turned away, putting the book on the counter. He would wait until Chihiro was back before checking out another book. "Did I do somethin'?" Mondo stepped out in front of him and Ishimaru walked around, heading towards the door. "I'm talking to you, Ishimaru! What did I do?" Mondo's voice was getting angry and Ishimaru turned to face him. "It's what you didn't do, Oowada! I have been waiting for an apology since you so violently tried to assault Leon at his own party and I took the hit. For someone who pretends to care about an 'honor code' you have as little respect for others as much as I guessed! I mistook that you were something different, but you're nothing but a rebellious delinquent, like I thought at first!" Mondo looked taken aback with his words, taking a step backwards to give Ishimaru some space. Then his purple gaze softened. "What'd you take me for second?" he asked quietly. Ishimaru glared at him in the eyes. Mondo held his stare for a few seconds before looking down at his feet, scratching the back of his head. Ishimaru turned and stormed out of the library, glad that the door slammed shut behind him. It meant Mondo wasn't going to follow him. But a few seconds later he heard it open again and a voice call out from behind him. "Hey, wait. Kiyotaka!" The deep voice only made him walk faster. Mondo grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "Don't touch me, Oowada!" Ishimaru snapped, yanking away from his touch. Mondo let his hand hang in the air for a few seconds before he ran it over his hair. "Look, Kiyotaka. Ishimaru. About the party... I didn't mean to hit you. You know that, right?" Ishimaru hesitated, but nodded, feeling shorter standing so close to Mondo. "And..." Mondo grit his teeth, looking around to see if anyone else was around. "And I'm really really..." he continued on in a much louder voice. Ishimaru stepped away, peeved that Mondo would start raising his voice for no reason. "Calm down, Oowada. If you don't want anyone to notice you apologizing you should consider keeping quiet." Mondo's eye twitched and he bent down to Ishimaru's height, his pompadour pressing against Ishimaru's forehead like it had so many weeks ago at their first scuffle. "I'm really sorry, Ishimaru! There. I said it, all right!?" Mondo turned away, slamming the library door closed behind him, before Ishimaru could say anything in return. He was left standing in the parking lot, wondering what had just happened.
