Road Rash

After I finished my lunch, I considered who I should try to speak with next. I wanted to reach out to someone I had not spoken to much, who would not be hostile towards me, and likely would not be too busy to talk.

After some thought, I decided to see what Mondo was up to. He seemed like a hothead, true, but he was respectful towards me, and his refusal to combat Tenko told me he would not lay a violent hand upon me, either. I decided he would be a safe bet to visit.

I checked the Group Chat, but Mondo had not said anything recently. I asked Sakura, in the Trash Room, if she saw Mondo anywhere, but she had not. Not finding him anywhere on the First Floor, I decided to head to the Second Floor and search for Mondo there.

I ended up finding him in the Exercise Room, lifting weights with Nekomaru spotting him. Not interested in lifting weights, I decided to sit on one of the nearby benches and watch Mondo lift for a while, not wishing to distract or interrupt.

Eventually, Nekomaru spoke up. "Alright, that's enough for now. Let your body recover, and I'll meet up with you later!" He then helped Mondo put up the weights and handed Mondo a towel to dry up the sweat. Nekomaru then left, but not without a hearty greeting for me, which I returned politely.

Returning my attention to Mondo, I considered how to approach him. However, he took notice of me, and decided to approach me first.

"Sup, Shishano? Odd seeing you here, didn't see you as a working-out type." Mondo was looking at me oddly, but not in a disrespectful way. It was more of an "Are you lost?" sort of look.

I shrugged. "I do some light workouts now and then, but nothing like what you or Nekomaru or Sakura do. I have to move bodies by myself, after all."

Mondo looked at me strangely again. "Huh? Bodies?" Then realization came across his face. "Oh, yeah, right! You're that Ultimate Mortician chick who examined Ryoma and Himiko when they took their last rides, right?"

Figuring the last part was some kind of figure of speech, I went along with it. "Yes, I suppose. My family has run a mortuary for hundreds of years, and I am next in line to inherit and run it when they retire. Thus, I need to know everything they know, and be able to do everything they can do."

Mondo nodded. "Ah, I see. Family business and all."

I shrugged. "Kind of. My older brother didn't want to join it, though."

Mondo's eyes widened at "older brother", and he looked at me with surprise. "Whoa, you have an older brother, too?"

"Yeah, his name is Karadano. He became a physical therapist, rather than remain with the mortuary business."

Mondo nodded slightly. "Yeah, I had an older brother, too. Name was Daiya. We were both in the Crazy Diamonds together. He was the leader before I..." Mondo's face suddenly dropped. "Ended up taking over."

I have seen that look before. The dropping of the head, the glazing over of the eyes, the slumping of the shoulders... His brother was dead. I knew it like I knew my own name, Shishano Kantoku.

"I am sorry for your loss, Mondo," I said without even thinking about it.

Mondo looked up at me, surprised. "Huh? I...yeah, he's gone. Died because I made a stupid mistake." Mondo looked ashamed, and I wondered if asking what happened was a bad idea. Mondo could be volatile, but he seemed to draw the line with girls.

I decided not to back down from Mondo. "Would it help you any to speak of what happened?"

Mondo took a deep breath, and started muttering to himself. "Strong...gotta be strong...stronger than anything..."

I chose not to respond, knowing he was not speaking to me. Eventually, Mondo squared his shoulders and lifted his chin up, determination in his eyes.

"I am strong! Stronger than my past!" He shouted, to no one in particular. I just left him to it, for now. After that outburst, he turned to face me again.

"Sorry, I start shouting when I get nervous or anxious. But I can't run away from my past anymore. Daiya was the leader of the Crazy Diamonds when I joined up. I had to ride in the back, and fight my way to the top. Once I earned my place at Daiya's side in the gang, I challenged my brother to a street race, to prove myself to him and the Crazy Diamonds."

I nodded silently. "I used to try to impress Karadano, too. Cleaning up the blood after body prep, or washing the tools and putting them away for him, stuff like that."

Mondo smirked grimly. "Sounds pretty fucked up, honestly, having a chick grow up like that, but you said it's in your family, right?"

I nodded and smiled "Yes, for hundreds of years now. Our family is very respected within our community."

Mondo smiled a bit. "Yeah, respect is something worth fighting for, something that's hard to get and harder to keep."

I nodded in silent agreement. Mondo continued.

"Anyway, I got reckless, and tried to pass Daiya by driving in the opposite lane. Ended up in the headlights of an incoming car and..." Mondo suddenly looked very pained. This must have been where it happened, I thought to myself.

Mondo cracked his knuckles absentmindedly. "Anyway, Daiya swerved over and knocked me out of the way, taking the car head-on himself. He sacrificed his life for me, dammit! All because I made a really fucked-up, stupid mistake!" He punched the wall as hard as he could, though it seemed more in grief than anger. A small trickle of blood could be seen on his right hand, but I did not wish to point this out yet.

After glaring at the wall for several moments, Mondo took another deep breath, muttered "Dammit...", then sat down beside me, his forehead resting in his left hand. After regaining more of his composure, he resumed again. "Daiya died in my arms. Before he did, though, he made me promise him something. That I wouldn't let the Crazy Diamonds die. It was a promise between men, the most sacred of promises. He had always taught me that, no matter what, a real man always, ALWAYS, keeps his promises, no matter what. I've made a lot of promises over my life, including never to lay a violent hand upon any chick. Any man that hits a chick is no man at all!"

I thought for a moment. " What of Nekomaru, then, when he spars with Sakura?"

Mondo grimaced. "Honestly, I don't like it, but Sakura says that he's just trying to help her hone her skills as a martial artist. Besides, I wouldn't wanna cross that chick up the wrong way, if you get my drift. If she says she wants to spar with Nekomaru, then as long as he doesn't REALLY hurt her, I guess I'll let it slide for now."

Makes sense to me. I decided this would be a good time to take my leave. Looking at the time, it was almost 3pm. I stood up, and then considered Mondo.

"I do not usually consider this, but you still see to be hurting a lot over Daiya. Would you like a hug before I go?"

Mondo looked up at me, confused. "Huh?"

"I confess, it was not me who prepared Daiya for his eternal rest, but I hope Daiya's soul rests well. Would a hug help you feel any better?"

Mondo snapped out of his confusion. "Oh. Ummm...sure, yeah."

He approached me and wrapped his arms around my waist in a tight hug, while I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him back. His arms were strong, and his chest was comfy, but this hug was more for him than for me. Eventually, Mondo let me go, thanked me for the hug, and went over to the barbells, doing curls.

I decided to see what was happening on the Third Floor, and headed up the stairs, wondering if anyone else wanted to discuss anything.

To my surprise, someone did, with a rather pleasant request of me.