Strawberries And Cigarettes - Ishimondo Fanfic

1

Like everyday, Mondo rose from his bed, stretching his arms out wide as he got ready to greet everyone. He had gotten used to being stuck in a school, a prison, so he would act as if it were really school.

He looked at himself in the mirror, fixing his corn hair before getting dressed and meeting everyone in the dining hall. He let out a groan, waving to everyone with his head down as he reached for the box of cereal. He poured a grand amount into the bowl, then added milk; a bit extra to drink afterwards.

He felt a headache coming on, which put him in a worse mood than before. Even if he acted like it were a normal school day, it didn't mean he liked it. He took his things to a corner where a lone seat were, and a small desk. He had made the corner himself, and everyone understood his constant headaches. He didn't know why, but ever since he had been trapped everything in his head became painful. Maybe it was the stress?

He then left by himself without a word, walking over to the nurses office to find some painkillers. Luckily, everything got restocked, so he found what he was looking for and turned around to see a familiar pair of eyes. "Morning Mondo!" The shorter figure cheered, saluting his big structure.

"Ugh...mornin' Taka." Mondo groaned back, pushing past him to get back to his food and apple juice. Taka could see he was in pain, so he followed him silently to where he was seated. He watched as the other swallowed 2 pills, always wary of his and others health during the tough times. Mondo then coughed, as his throat tickled, and Taka instantly freaked out.

"Mondo!" He shouted, pulling the other by his collar. "Are you okay? Are you choking?!" Mondo swiftly pulled back, pushing the red eyed, concerned boy out of the way.

"Don't fucking do that you asshole! My head hurts like shit!" He growled, sitting back down to concentrate on the wall. He then took his spoon and pushed the wheat, plain cereal under the milk; to soften it. "I'm fine, I was just coughing." He looked back at Taka, who looked guilty. Mondo refused to apologise, as Taka sulked back to his seat and the other returned to his breakfast.

Afterwards, Mondo offered to clean the dishes as he would get a bit of time to himself. Though his headache was gone, he didn't want to suffer another any time soon. But, the occasional clanging of dishes made his nerves spike up. He was usually worried that someone would suddenly jump on him, stab him in the back of the neck, but he usually locked the door in case.

He heard someone knock, so he opened it cautiously. He was slightly pleased to see Taka, who was holding 2 plates. "Um..hello Mondo." He greeted timidly. "I didn't realise that Hina and Sakura ate in Hina's dorm, so I wanted to bring them to you." He put them out in front of himself, but Mondo allowed him in and gave him the job of drying the dishes.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." Mondo forced out, now that they were alone. Taka looked up at him, returning to his usual, confident manner.

"Apology accepted!" He replied fairly loudly, and became worried when he did so. "Does you're head still hurt?" Mondo shook his head, deciding to stay silent as Taka talked through the arrangements he made for everyone this week. So, on certain days the girls would have the gym and the bathhouse, and others the boys would have them to theirselves.

"I'll just follow you." Mondo said afterwards, not listening to half of it. As they finished, they walked outside to see if anyone was around. They weren't. "I'm going to the library, I heard Byakuya talk about some motorbike related shit."

"You don't have to swear at every chance you get, Mondo." Taka tutted, nudging his arm. "But, I have nothing better to do, I'll just follow you."

"Haven't you got hall duties?" Mondo mocked his personality, which Taka awkwardly laughed off.

"I'm not allowed a break?"

"Fine, come with me." Mondo walked quickly, laughing inside his head as Taka had to jog. He was probably so used to slowly walking around, saving his energy for having to chase someone, that it was funny. They walked inside the library, Byakuya reading like usual while Toko watched him from the shadows. Mondo dismissed her, and went straight to the motorbike books. He watched how Taka picked up a random novel, and they got seated on the pillow covered floor.

They read in silence, their arms centimetres away. Taka took glances from Mondo's book, so he budged closer eventually and, without knowing, held the left page himself; just below Mondo's thumb. That's when Mondo noticed how small his hands were compared to his, so he smiled to himself and watched how Taka was immersed into the bikes unique models. "That's a Ecosse Titanium Series FE Ti XX." Mondo spoke, poking his finger at the details on the metal.

"I like it." Taka whispered back, leaning more into the other to get a better look. He wiped his hair from his eyes, reading the small writing while Mondo could only sit in silence while Taka pushed his shoulder to his chest. He tried to look for an excuse to move, but as Taka turned the page onto another bike, they were both immersed into speaking about it.

As a couple hours passed, lunch soon came round the corner, so they took the book and the novel to the table. Celeste caught onto their sudden bond, and smiled. "Looks like someone's getting friendly." She cooed, watching as the two suddenly looked up and barked out excuses and harmless insults to her curly hair; comparing it to pasta. "At least I don't look like a corn on the cob." She said carelessly, stirring her tea.

"Don't insult his hair you maid! Go clean up everyone's rooms while you're at it!" Taka spat, feeling Mondo's eyes on him as he defended him. Celeste suddenly grew red, throwing the tea into his face.

"How dare you insult MY outfit! I am not a maid you good for nothing goodie two shoes!" Her voice echoed throughout the room, making everyone look.

"Stop it!" Chihiro timidly said, pulling his skirt down as he approached the table. "We shouldn't be fighting, we're all in this together! If we make enemies, bad things will happen!"

"Come on," Mondo spoke calmly, taking Taka by the arm. "Let's go get you cleaned up." His voice sounded defeated, slightly embarrassed even. But, Taka followed him to his room without any questions.