Crochet Club [Ishimondo]

CH 1 - Trying something New

"Isn't that kind of stuff for chicks?"

Mondo would be laughing right now if it weren't for those big, brown eyes glaring up at him.

Chihiro's face was puffed up in such a way that they resembled the Michelin mascot, or a very, VERY angry marshmallow. He would be lying if he said he didn't have to choke down a giggle. With a face so uptight, Chihiro looked like they just might explode into sugary goodness all over the Future Foundation break room.

"So? You don't have to be any certain gender to crochet!", their eyebrows twisted into a much more sheepish shape as they continued to speak, tone softening as they began to second guess themselves, "I don't think so, at least? I'm just trying something new, is all..."

Something New. Mondo looked into the contents of his cup, swirling it, finding the half-melted cubes crashing against plastic much more interesting than making eye contact with Fujisaki right now. They had a point, he hated to say. Crocheting didn't have any gender, but he knew that if any of his old gang members found out, he wouldn't hear the end of it....

Though, he wasn't sure if that mattered. Nobody was sure if the Crazy Diamonds were even around anymore.

A couple years back, Him and 11 other students were able to escape Hope's Peak Academy. What was once a chance at putting value into the life Daiya had sacrificed for had quickly become a crossfire of evil bears, a murder scheme, and what he could only describe as the bottom pit of what true despair felt like. To kill or be killed, that was their situation. Though he had long washed his skin until it pricked with foul reds and soreness, Mondo never felt like he truly got off the pink droplets of blood that flew off of Enoshima when she was stabbed. Even now, he can't help but dream of a punctured heart oozing out onto that gym floor he once stood on, frozen in time for what seemed like days. This fear, this feeling of hopelessness, continued for hours, days, weeks. It was only after two more lives were taken that Monokuma offered the group a compromise.

If they all promised to never use their ultimates again, they would be allowed to leave.

At first, Mondo was suspicious. Just as everyone else was, naturally, but apparently Monokuma was already bored from the first trial. Mondo honestly thought that was a hot pile of dog shit, but Monokuma seemed genuine in his offer. It only took a few hours for the group to decide what they should do next, and now here they were. Free as could be from that place, with every last one of them accepting Monokuma's condition to never use their ultimate ever again. Not leading the gang was a price he was willing to pay to assure no one else died. Specially to make sure those that he grew close to within those oppressive walls, those who gave him hope to stand on in such a hopeless environment, would be safe. The death and despair were something he'd never forget, but at the very least, it wasn't all bad. He understood that more now than ever as he watched his best friend march up to both him and Fujisaki with a speed he knew had been carefully practiced.

"Ah! Fujisaki-kun! Bro! There you guys are!", Kiyotaka spoke with gusto, "Makoto asked me to tell you two that we have a meeting where our attendance is existential, at three o'clock sharp!"

Mondo looked up from his cup, watching as Fujisaki straightened. Though they were comfortable enough around Mondo to laugh big, smile wider, and yell even harder, they were still wary around the others. Chihiro would come to be closer to the rest of the group at their own pace, he thought, and he couldn't be prouder of them.

"Thank you Ishimaru.", a finger rose up from baggy sleeves to twirl a strand of hair that had fallen from their ear, refusing to make eye contact. "It's almost time, then. Maybe we should get going...?"

Ishimaru blinked, lips pulled in a thin line. It was clear that if this was anyone else, he would have said something about the lack of eye contact. About how it was "improper", and how eye contact helps "say what you mean with utmost efficiency!", but he didn't. He didn't because this was Fujisaki, and even though Taka wasn't as close to Chihiro as Mondo was, he still understood that they were trying their best, and put his own thoughts aside to respect that. That level of patience, even though it took serious work to do, was one of the many things Oowada admired about his bro.