Kiyotaka, Part 1

Kiyotaka's week had started out normally.

He and Mondo had studied together on Sunday evening. A year ago, it had been impossible to get Mondo to study, but after months of prodding from both him and Chihiro he had relented. His study habits still needed serious work, but the notorious troublemaker was beginning to realize that he wasn't stupid, that he was as capable of learning as anyone else. He was impatient, but this, too, was improving.

He had watched the biker study, feeling oddly relieved. Mondo had been avoiding him recently. It had taken him a while to notice it, as he was socially oblivious and always assumed the best of other people, but after the fifth rejected invite he had started to suspect his friend's motives. He had been surprised when Mondo agreed to study with him, but had still hoped for the best. Mondo had shuffled into the room quietly, and he had dodged Kiyotaka's attempt to hug him.

Then, he'd apologized for his recent distance without so much as looking at him. Kiyotaka didn't know what to say to that.

To Kiyotaka's pleasant surprise, Mondo had studied in almost complete silence for a good two hours, only speaking to ask for help every once in a while. At around nine, he figured it was best they head their separate ways, as they both had school in the morning. That was when Mondo had started acting especially strange.

The look on his face had been perplexing. Mondo would not meet Kiyotaka's eyes, but the prefect could see the biker studying him whenever he focused his gaze elsewhere. Mondo had stood still near the doorway, his back oddly straight and his hands thrust in his pockets. Then he'd turned, his face beet-red, and started to say something.

"What was that, Kyoudai?"

"It was... I... Um... Nothin'! I'll see ya later!"

Then he'd disappeared, slamming the door before Kiyotaka could even manage a proper goodbye.

After that he'd seen little of Mondo. About halfway through the week he had tried to ask him what the reason for his absence was, and he'd screamed an obscenity before fleeing. At the same time, he had insisted he wasn't upset with the prefect.

Up until now, this had left him very confused. Why would he act so distant if he wasn't upset with him?

Now, things were beginning to add up. At the moment, Kiyotaka sat on his bed, hugging his knees. In front of him was only one object: a handwritten note. The question it posed was simple, and only had two possible answers.

Even so, it had been so sudden that it didn't seem real, and he didn't know what to think or how to feel. His heart had not stopped pounding, and it had been nearly ten minutes since he read the message. It was quite disconcerting, and he wondered if he was ill.

As if in answer to his prayers, a knock sounded at his door, and he opened it to find someone who'd have no trouble deciphering anything.

"Kirigiri-san! What a pleasant surprise!"

The detective wasted no time in responding and barged past him, immediately seizing the note to study more closely.

"This isn't the same one as the one he passed you in math class."

Kiyotaka felt his face redden. Kirigiri certainly did like to get right down to business, and he mostly appreciated that, but he was shocked to learn that she had been paying such close attention.

"Was... Do you think that one was the same thing? I... I threw it away..."

"And that was a mistake. I'm certain it was the same thing. But it was crumpled, so he made you a new one. It's actually sort of pretty."

Kiyotaka hid his face in his hands while Kirigiri continued to study the note, and then she pulled out her phone and texted a few people.

"What does this mean? What do I do? Help me, Kirigiri-san!"

The prefect felt tears threatening to fall, but he wasn't sure why, and his voice was louder than he intended it to be. Kirigiri studied him for a moment before carefully folding the note and placing it on the low table near the corner of the room. When she had finished, she walked to Kiyotaka's side.

"You... You know that we're friends, right, Ishimaru-kun? You have lots of friends. And we want to help you. I'm not the best at talking about these kinds of things, but I am observant, and I know what's going on here. I've called some other people to come to your aid, and I'll supervise and direct things from the outside."

Kiyotaka looked at her and blinked the water out of his eyes. Though his vision was blurry, he could see her smile gently at him. Her smile was still a bit awkward, as she wasn't terribly accustomed to doing it, but it was pure and sweet nonetheless. He took a moment to process what she had said and realized it to be true.

Kyouko Kirigiri was his friend, as were many of the other girls in his class.

The last year had brought him much closer to the women in his life than he'd ever thought he could be. He had never disliked women, but had spent most of his life ignoring them in favor of attempting to befriend men. His father had drilled into his head that the bonds between men were far more important, and having never had a mother around, he was unaccustomed to women in general.

Then, along came Mondo, and, slightly later, Chihiro. With their encouragement, he began to open up more to his classmates, and started going out of his way to show kindness to them. The girls had reacted a bit strangely to this at first, perhaps suspecting that he had ulterior motives, but had then decided that they adored him. Now, when he wanted to discuss issues of the heart, he went to the girls.

His new group of female friends— yes, they were his friends— included Kirigiri. Her quiet nature meant that she had always been observant, and she was quite good at picking up on things that people may not have noticed about themselves. It was only after she'd gotten involved with Naegi (not that either of them would admit there was anything going on) that she'd become so open about her observations, and she had started putting her skills to good use. One wouldn't guess by looking at her, but she was, in her own way, quite nosy. Of course she would not simply stand by when Kiyotaka so clearly needed guidance. She wasn't the best at conveying her affections for people, but her actions spoke louder than her words ever could.

"Th-Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me. If you do not mind my asking, how long have you been observing kyoudai and I?"

"Since the two of you became friends, actually. I've always known you were nice, and I was happy to see you make friends. I've been paying special attention to Mondo ever since... I wanted to make sure he was behaving himself around you."

Kiyotaka gulped. He was afraid to ask his next question, but if Kirigiri could give him an answer he had no choice but to swallow the fear.

"When... When did Mondo's feelings allegedly change?"

Kirigiri chuckled.

"There's no 'allegedly' about it, Ishimaru-kun. Oowada-kun likes you, and he likes you very much. I think he's always liked you at least a little bit— since you became friends, anyway— but it started to become especially noticeable about four months ago. He tried to ignore it for a while, but the last two weeks have been very difficult for him. It's why he has been so distant with you."

"And have you spoken with him about this at all?"

"Only briefly, and he would not give me any answers. I was able to decipher from his body language that he is very nervous about the outcome."

Kiyotaka nodded. Kirigiri hadn't said anything especially surprising to him. She had only confirmed the suspicions he'd formed since receiving the note. Since the prefect had never had friends before Mondo, he hadn't been entirely sure what friendship was supposed to look like, but he'd always felt somehow that Mondo acted a bit differently than most friends did. Befriending the girls and his other classmates had only helped to clarify this for him.

"...So then, this note... When he says will you go out with me, he means—"

"That he wants to be more than friends, yes. He would like for you to be his boyfriend. It's not all that different from being friends. You would still spend time together, and be able to talk and have fun, but you would develop a special relationship and probably share more kinds of affection."

Kiyotaka felt his face redden at the thought of what Kirigiri meant when she said kinds of affection, but shook the thought out of his head. He had mostly regained his composure now. Talking this through with someone as level-headed as Kirigiri, and knowing that help was on the way, had calmed him greatly.

"Well, I should be going. I have some other work to do if everything is to run smoothly. Let the others in when you next hear a knock at your door, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you for helping me, Kirigiri-san!"

Kiyotaka forced his strongest smile and gave the detective one of his signature salutes. Kirigiri nodded at him and moved to the door. She paused, her hand halfway through turning the doorknob, and looked in the prefect's direction.

"Can you promise me one more thing?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"Do what makes you happy."

With that vague command, Kirigiri exited the room, leaving Kiyotaka alone with his racing thoughts and equally quick heartbeat once more.