Converging Destinies

"Okay, I'm losin' it over here. Where are we fuckin' headed?"

Naegi only chuckled, and Leon and Hagakure pretended that they hadn't heard the question. Mondo repeated himself, louder this time, and Naegi was forced to turn around. The other boys continued walking for a moment before realizing they'd stopped, and then awkwardly shuffled backwards.

"We're headed to the park! The center of it is really nice. There's a fountain, and hedges, and you can see the cherry blossoms from there. The petals floating in the wind... It's as nice place to do this as any," he explained. He wasn't wrong, but he seemed to have come up with the idea oddly suddenly. Mondo frowned at him.

"And you just came up with that yourself? Just now?"

"U-uh, yeah! I've been there a few times. I know how to get there and everything."

Mondo still wasn't entirely convinced, but the idea was a good one, so he shrugged and continued walking.

Naegi apparently did know the route well, as the park was within their sights before ten minutes had passed. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't small, either. There were benches scattered around the outside, and a couple of small ponds where children threw breadcrumbs at ducks. A large portion of the grass was taken up by the cherry blossom trees. Mondo noted that most of the parks guests, as few as there were, had petals stuck to their hair and clothes.

As they walked underneath the archway that marked the park's entrance, Leon punched Mondo in the arm. He glared at him and rubbed the spot. Leon was never aware of his own strength, but being a talented baseball player, his arms were ridiculously muscular. His punches always stung.

"What?!"

"Didja see that?! Those girls over there!"

"What about 'em?!"

"They were checkin' you out, man!"

Mondo glanced over at the group of girls, and they giggled. He groaned and rolled his eyes before continuing to walk.

"Great, that's just great. Get girls to notice me right after I've realized I'm not even fuckin' interested," he grumbled. Hagakure apparently found this hilarious.

"That's a cruel irony, dude!"

Mondo sighed, and the other boys continued to chuckle. He stayed on the path and followed Naegi. Leon and Hagakure continued to chat amongst themselves— Leon, apparently, was beginning to manage to get Hagakure into baseball, and the fortune teller still had a lot of questions about how things worked.

Up until recently Leon had claimed he hated baseball, and he still insisted he didn't like practice. But being away from the sport for so long made him realize he missed it, so he had joined Hope's Peak's team. He also loved music, however, and was learning from a certain pop star how to play guitar and the basics of singing. He'd been much happier (and less obnoxious) since making this change, and he'd become a generally pleasant person to be around.

It seemed that Hope's Peak had changed everybody to some degree, and Mondo couldn't help but crack a smile as he thought back to what everyone had been like before. He was curious as to what else would change.

Suddenly Naegi stopped, and the others halted with him. Mondo looked around. They were in a circular paved area surrounded by hedges, the continuous line of foliage only broken every so often to make space for an antique-looking lamppost. The ground was dusted lightly with cherry blossom petals, and more petals floated in the water of the large fountain in the very center. It was lovely, and with the sun beginning to set in the background, it was downright romantic. Mondo looked around, and then looked at Naegi and nodded.

"You're right, this is... It's nice. Ya did good, kid." He pulled Naegi close to him and pinned his head under one arm, using his other hand to forcefully ruffle his hair. Naegi no longer struggled to get away, as he'd been forced to get used to it.

The bushes rustled, and Mondo felt his head snap up. Everyone else seemed to have expected it. A girl emerged from one of the gaps between the hedges. The bushes were thick enough that she'd been able to completely conceal herself behind them.

"God dammit, Kirigiri. I shoulda known it was you," Mondo groaned as he released Naegi. The luckster went to stand beside the lavender-eyed girl and sheepishly scratched the back of his neck.

"Oowada-kun. Maizono-chan did a nice job with you."

"You knew about that? No, you know what, don't answer that. Of course ya knew about it."

Mondo reflected on the day's events in his mind, and realized Kirigiri had been the mastermind behind everything. He already knew that she'd sent him Naegi, Leon, and Hagakure. Leon had summoned Maizono, and Kirigiri had likely explained the situation to her beforehand, or had her waiting in the wings. Someone had sent Chihiro to his room, as she had showed up alone. And last but not least, Kirigiri had decided on this location and commanded the boys to bring him here, where she had patiently waited to put her plan into action.

It was meddlesome, and a bit obnoxious, but he couldn't pretend he wasn't grateful. Mondo sighed and pulled Kirigiri into a quick and awkward hug, and he swore he heard her snicker under her breath.

She disappeared behind the hedges for another moment, and then reappeared with a bouquet of flowers. Lilacs and lilies, to be specific.

"I thought roses would be a bit much for a confession, and they're overdone as it is. I feel this suits Ishimaru-kun better."

"Uh, thanks." He took the bouquet and inspected it. He wondered if it was a bit much to give a guy, but figured none of those rules really mattered at the moment.

"Hide them behind your back until he gets used to seeing you. You don't want to overwhelm him too quickly, after all."

"Does he know we're here?" Mondo asked, and no one answered him. He tried crossing his arms, but it wasn't very intimidating with the bouquet. Kirigiri ignored him in favor of standing on her toes to fix his bangs a bit. She still had something else up her sleeve.

Before he could ask any more questions, the detective retreated to the safety of the hedges once more, and Mondo heard her hiss something at Naegi.

"So we're just gonna wait and make sure everything goes smoothly. We'll be right there in those bushes— think of it as moral support!" Then Naegi, too, was gone, and Leon and Hagakure followed suit. The bushes rustled for a moment, and then the noise settled, and Mondo felt like he was alone.

He didn't have time to tell them he didn't want to be watched, just in case everything crashed and burned. He blushed. They'd done so much to help— maybe they'd earned the right to watch.

Mondo hid the bouquet behind his back, took a moment to collect himself, and waited.

—————————————

Asahina and Sakura stayed with Kiyotaka for a few minutes after dressing him up, and then they scurried away, saying something about being needed elsewhere. He'd frowned at the silence, as he wasn't even sure what Kirigiri had planned, and then he heard a quiet rap at his door.

He opened it to find Chihiro waiting for him, and she shyly took his hand.

"I'm going to walk you to the park, okay? Everyone is waiting!"

Kiyotaka excitedly agreed, and now the two of them walked through the crisp spring breeze together. Chihiro took a moment to look over his outfit once more and giggled. Asahina had elected to tie a nice red tie around his neck, and had said something about it bringing out his eyes, and Sakura had made sure he wore his nicest dress shoes. He apparently looked 'cute', though he wasn't exactly sure what that meant, or if it was a good thing or not. Chihiro's expression made him think it was probably meant as a compliment.

"You look nervous," Chihiro said suddenly. "Like your mind is wandering. Are you still a little scared about it?"

Kiyotaka gulped at her accuracy, and then he thought back to a night many months ago when he'd found Mondo drunk and hysterical.

That night he had begun by scolding him for underage drinking, but had then demanded that the biker tell him once and for all why he was in so much pain, why he felt he had to shoulder everything alone, why he felt he had to be strong all the time. Mondo's expression had changed at that, and then Kiyotaka had seen a completely different boy. One that was alone and afraid and didn't know how to process his grief.

This other Mondo told him the truth, told him about how his recklessness had cost his own flesh and blood— his only family— his very life. He remembered how that revelation had cut right through his heart, and how he'd been unable to say or do anything but hold the larger man as he cried and cried.

Most of all he remembered the promise he had made to himself then and there that he would never, ever hurt Mondo— that he would do everything in his power to protect him, and to shoulder his burden with him, and to make him realize someday that he didn't have to be someone he wasn't. He swore that he would continue to love and care for Mondo even if he was, as he would probably put it, a weakling.

But Kiyotaka couldn't say any of that. He had promised to keep it to himself. As much as he liked Chihiro, and as much as he trusted her, he could not tell her.

"I don't want to mess up and hurt him," he said vaguely. It left out the explanation, but the sentiment remained, and perhaps it didn't need any explanation.

Chihiro hummed in understanding, and there was silence for a few minutes as she continued to study his expression. She clicked her tongue, and Kiyotaka quirked a brow at her.

"You never told me the other thing that was bothering you. I definitely hit a nerve earlier when I asked about it."

Kiyotaka's face paled somewhat, and his eyes narrowed only slightly, but he did not say anything. Chihiro moved closer to him and slowed her pace to take his hand in hers once more, and his fingers wrapped around hers absent-mindedly, as if he was desperate for the warmth.

"I wanted to walk alone with you so you could talk about it if you wanted to. I won't judge you or anything, I promise!" She continued. She saw Kiyotaka's brow slacken somewhat, and his eyes flickered with a vague sadness.

"It's about my grandfather," he began vaguely, and Chihiro felt her face twist into a glare.

Toranosuke Ishimaru had been a corrupt politician, but more than that, he had been two-faced and strict with his own family. Kiyotaka had always said his feelings on the man were mixed and confusing, that he'd both loathed and admired him in equal measure. Anything that had to do with him was sure to be upsetting.

"Tell me. What did he say that hurt you so much?"

Kiyotaka straightened his back and tried to put on an air of disinterest, of professionalism, that failed to fool Chihiro.

"When I was very young, Grandfather used to teach me about politics and about the professional world. He was the one who taught me my table manners, and my English, and how to stand up straight and lace and polish my boots and keep my uniforms pressed. He taught me many things that stuck with me, and for that, I am most grateful. Other lessons of his... Those I did not appreciate as much."

Chihiro squeezed his hand when he paused. He managed a small smile.

"Grandfather... Grandfather wanted me to marry a high-class woman one day, and his view on marriage was old-fashioned. I almost felt like he wanted me to find a servant rather than a wife. He would tell me about the qualities I should look for in a 'good' wife, and I would interrupt him to say, 'but I like boys!' At first he would laugh... I think he thought I was joking. 'You're just confused', he said a couple of times."

Chihiro felt her face twist into a deep frown. She already knew where this was headed.

"After a while, he realized that I was not joking, and then... Then he got angry. He said that if I continued to think that way, I would never get anywhere in life. I was young, so I didn't understand what the problem was, and I ignored it. At first, anyway."

"...And then?"

Chihiro felt a bit of dread. Kiyotaka flinched, and looked around for a moment. He looked somewhat reluctant to admit this.

"Well... He suddenly turned very grave. I thought it was just a minor difference in opinion, but when he started to act like I had offended him, like I had dishonored the family somehow... I started to feel scared, and I wondered if I had truly done something wrong. And then one day, um... One day he threatened to tell my father."

The prefect took a moment to swallow down the hard lump in his throat. He wasn't crying, but his expression was unusually hard. Chihiro fought to keep her grip on her friend's hand gentle, and not to let her anger frighten him.

"Before then, I had thought nothing of it," Kiyotaka continued. "I would have told father myself if he were to have asked me, it had simply never come up in conversation somehow. But when Grandfather said that, and when he said it the way he said it..."

"You felt like you had to keep it a secret. You thought it was wrong. Didn't you?"

Chihiro's tone was almost accusatory, though she didn't mean it to be. Kiyotaka had been a very young child. It wasn't like he had any way of knowing better than to let someone treat him that way.

"...I did. And I suppose... That even long after he passed, Grandfather's attitude stuck with me. I was so young, I didn't know how to think for myself. And he was someone people respected at that point. I figured he must have been right. ...I still loved him then, and I thought he loved me."

"That's horrible." Kiyotaka seemed to take the condemnation as reassurance, and he removed his hand from Chihiro's to lightly ruffle her hair.

"Even now, it unsettles me a bit... I've never told anyone before today, after all. He put the thought in my head that people would be upset if I said something even long after I realized there was nothing wrong with how I felt."

"Even after the shame passed, the fear remained, huh?"

Kiyotaka only hummed, but it was enough, and Chihiro ran to his side to lock his arm with hers by the elbow. She gripped the arm with her other hand and leaned into it, almost as if she was hugging it. Kiyotaka chuckled.

"You know, I have always promised myself that I would surpass him. Perhaps I should consider this part of that process... Letting go of his old-fashioned ideals."

The conversation more or less halted there, as Chihiro felt she didn't need to say anything. She blinked at her friend with wide eyes, wondering when he'd decided this. She saw the park approaching on the horizon, and stopped one last time to face Kiyotaka properly. She put her hands on her hips and stood at her full height.

"I want you to be happy and forget about that crummy old man and all those terrible things he said, got it?"

Kiyotaka nodded fiercely.

"Got it! I know now that I have done nothing wrong."

"That's good, but you need to know it's not wrong in here..." Chihiro patted her heart. "...And not just up here." She pointed at her head. "Can you do that for me?"

Kiyotaka frowned and studied the sidewalk for a moment, and then his stance stiffened like he had arrived at a decision.

"...It can't be wrong. How I feel about Mondo... Isn't something most people will ever find, even when they spend their entire lives searching. It couldn't possibly be wrong!"

Chihiro grinned at his enthusiasm and felt tears fall from her eyes. She wiped at her face with her sleeve only once before she jumped forward and seized the boy in a crushing hug. He returned the motion for a moment, and then squirmed uncomfortably under the pressure of it.

"Why are you hugging me so tightly?! I can't breathe!!"

Chihiro laughed somewhat awkwardly and released him, then stepped back to scratch the back of her head.

"I'm just... really proud of you. That's all."

They stared at one another for a moment before they fell into a warm and casual fit of laughter. They each took a moment to catch their breath before Chihiro perked up, taking his hand in hers and running towards the center of the park.

When he had nearly reached the fountain at the very center, he jumped, as several figures burst from the bushes to greet him.

"Maizono-chan! Asahina-chan! Oogami-chan!"

The girls laughed at his blunt speech, and Asahina took his hands in her own and danced around for a moment. Maizono blushed.

"Sorry for running out on you earlier! Oowada-kun needed my help."

Kiyotaka blinked in surprise, and then turned to Chihiro.

"Is that where you ran off to, Chi?"

Chihiro nodded, but felt no need to apologize.

"Okay, so Kyouko-chan told me to tell you to head to the fountain square! Mondo-kun is waiting!" Asahina whisper-shouted. She looked around, mostly at the bushes.

Kiyotaka turned beet red at that, and instinctively moved to run away or collapse, but felt Sakura support him from behind. He smiled gratefully up at her even as he struggled to find words.

"I-I... O-okay. This is it, I-I guess."

"You have the note, right?" Chihiro asked, and Kiyotaka nodded.

"Alright, then. It would seem the time has come. The girls and I shall watch from the shrubbery to see that all goes well," Sakura assured him, patting his shoulders one last time before she ducked to return to the cover of the hedges. The others fit behind them just fine, but she had to lower her head, as it would otherwise poke above.

Kiyotaka watched the girls vanish and heard them scurry along the edges, clearly headed for the fountain. The fountain square, where Mondo waited for him. Where his future boyfriend waited for him.

He swallowed thickly, inhaled a deep breath, and took his first steps forward with wobbly knees.