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Hajime was getting used to hanging out with the younger students, it was even nice on occasion. Makoto always seemed to have one or two of his classmates around, so he had learned their skills for the most part. The gambler, the biker, the programmer, the doujinshi artist, the swimmer… he didn't know their names, but like his class they were all eccentric enough that it was hard to forget who was who. Makoto had already learned the names of class 77, so he didn't really have much of an excuse not to. He'd figure it out… eventually.
He was walking Makoto back to his dorm after spending the day together- he'd promised to treat him to lunch for getting a good score on his midterms, and they had run into Shuichi out on a date, so it was later than they'd meant to be. The dorms were usually busy around this time on the weekends, but it was such a nice day most people were hanging out outside. Still, when they turned the corner it wasn't too unusual to hear yelling coming from the common room. The thing about Hope's Peak was that even if someone was scouted for their talent, it didn't mean they were great at schoolwork. Makoto had joined many study sessions with his classmates, and it wasn't unusual to find Mondo or Leon shouting during their tutoring sessions.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Makoto stopped by the common room where he heard the scream to glance in the open door. He was shocked, not hearing his cousin asking him what was wrong.
Kiyotaka Ishimaru was pacing the room, chewing on his thumb and slapping his thigh. His uniform seemed more rumpled than usual, not the picture perfect vision they usually saw him as. Scattered on the ground around him were crumpled up balls of paper, trailing off the desk where his books and laptop sat, a university webpage pulled up on the screen. He was talking to himself, though it was hard to understand his garbled words through him biting his hand. It was unnerving to see him that close to a meltdown, Makoto knew the feeling all too well, and he probably would have left him to calm down by himself if Hajime hadn't walked over and seen.
"Hey, are you… alright?"
The hall monitor froze, whipping around to see the relatives standing in his doorway. His jaw dropped for a moment before remembering himself, quickly clasping his hands behind his back, but Makoto had caught a glimpse of how red the skin was. He cleared his throat, eyes not quite meeting theirs as he spoke- even more so than usual. "M-Makoto! And Hinata-san! I'm terribly sorry, I-" his voice cracked, and he cleared his throat again, voice not quite as boisterous as it usually was. "I thought I had latched the door. I apologize for any disturbance I might have caused you!"
"Oh, it's okay, we were just passing by-"
"Taka, did something happen?" Makoto asked suddenly, concern pulling his brows together as he watched their class president squirm. Now that they'd started talking, he couldn't just ignore the state he was in.
Glancing at the laptop on his desk, Kiyotaka felt his words catch in his throat. Instead, he shook his head, fingers curling into his pants to try and ground himself. "No, I-"
"Oh, you're looking at colleges already? Wow, even I haven't started that-"
"That's amazing Taka! I'm sure you'll get in anywhere!"
"That's not a fact!!" Kiyotaka snapped back at them, walking quickly over to the computer. "Students at our level are expected to be the best of the best, without exception! The competition I will face is intense beyond belief!"
Makoto paused, it wasn't like him to be so unsure of his own ability. "Well, I mean… I guess, but your grades are really good so-"
"Just 'good' isn't enough!" He slammed the laptop closed, biting his thumb again as he spoke. "There are hundreds of students with records like mine that I'll be up against! My grades need to be flawless, perfect!"
Makoto tried to reassure him that he was doing fine, but the hall monitor was already pacing again. "Not to mention my extracurriculars! I've tried to diversify them as much as possible, but what if it's not enough?! Have I made a mistake? What if it's not good enough?! Did I pick the wrong ones? Is there more I could be doing?!"
"W-well, we still have one more year Taka, I'm sure-"
"You don't get it Makoto!" Kiyotaka screamed at him, finally looking at him since they'd started talking. His face was red, and his eyes were starting to get glassy, watery reds looking through him. "I have to get in! I can't put it off like the rest of you! If I can't do this I might as well not even be here!! This is a failure I'll never be able to overcome- I should be punished for it, hit!"
Taken aback by that last part, the cousins shared a look. "Should we, uh, call someone…?"
Makoto nodded, fishing in his pocket for his phone. He couldn't really think of many people who would be able to handle this situation correctly... Mondo, definitely, but they had seen him zooming through the streets with the Crazy Diamonds, he doubted his phone was on. Chihiro maybe? But he was visiting his father, they wouldn't be back on campus for another few days. And he wasn't particularly close to any of their upper or underclassmen… He wracked his brain as Kiyotaka returned to pacing, slapping his leg again. Hajime leaned down to whisper to him, about to suggest finding a counselor when a voice traveled to them from down the hall.
"Hey 'Koto, Haji! What's up, having a party without me?"
"Hiro!" The light in Makoto's head went off, waving the older student over. Yasuhiro walked over to them casually, pulling his dreads back in a ponytail as he did so. "Great timing, actually, would you be willing to-"
"Please, just somebody hit me, punish me! I deserve it!"
Hajime grimaced, sliding out of the doorway to make room for the other student. Even with experience helping his boyfriend through manic episodes, this was way beyond anything he was equipped to deal with. Hiro's smile dropped when he heard that voice, his brows furrowing as he leaned over Makoto to look in the room. Seeing their class president in such a state, he patted the smaller student's shoulder with a quiet "Thanks 'Koto, I've got him" and walked in. "Hey class prez, what's goin' on man?" His voice was soft, and it made Kiyotaka freeze.
"Hiro? I thought- weren't you going home?" Hearing the moral compass sound so… meek , was unnatural.
"Yeah, heh, well… the old man isn't my biggest fan yknow." He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck as he stopped in front of the moral student. "Not important though, what's goin' on Taka? You wanna talk?"
Kiyotaka was staring at the ground, biting into his finger so hard Makoto was surprised it didn't snap. He was silent but Hiro just nodded, gently grabbing his wrist and rubbing his hand until he stopped biting. That part of his hand was an angry red, starting to purple around the deep indentations in the skin. Wrapping an arm around his shoulders, Hiro led him out of the common room and slowly down the hall. He tossed a smile back to Makoto and Hajime, "I got this guys, don't worry. We'll see you at dinner!"
As they disappeared down the hall towards the dorms, Hajime scratched his chin in thought. "Is it really okay to leave him with someone like that…?" He remembered seeing Hiro hanging out with Souda a few times, and they had both seemed pretty out of it. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. Was that his plan for calming the student down?
"Yeah, of course!" Makoto was quick to reassure him, offering up a meek smile. "I mean, Hiro can be a little unreliable, but when it comes to his brother-"
" Those two are brothers??"
Making a pit-stop at Taka's room was a must, stopping only to get him out of his uniform and into some comfortable clothes. His motions while changing were robotic, as if he was on autopilot. Hiro had waited outside to give him some privacy, but ran in when he heard the distinct crack of skin against skin. Struggling to pull his long-sleeve on, he looked up at Hiro without really seeing him, a red mark growing on his face from where he had slapped himself. Wordlessly, Hiro helped him with his sleeves and rubbed his cheek, leading him back out into the hall. He'd never asked what had caused this compulsion, and Taka didn't seem to want to talk much about life before they became brothers. It was probably best he didn't pry.
Hiro never locked his door, and pushed it open as he led the smaller student inside. Once he was seated comfortably on the bed with his jacket shrugged off, he leaned back against the wall and patted his lap. Kiyotaka wasn't looking at him though, tears streaming from eyes trained on his feet as his hands curled into fists at his sides, trembling from the effort it took to not bite or hit himself again. Recognising this, Hiro shuffled off the bed and gently nudged him to sit down. Squeezing his shoulder, he turned to rummage through the closet. After hanging out one night, he was sure Mondo had left- aha, there!
Pulling out the biker's jacket, he draped it over Kiyotaka's shoulders. Crimson eyes lit up in a dull recognition, sliding his arms through the sleeves and hugging the jacket to himself. Smiling a little at the sight, Hiro bent down to help him take off his shoes, placing the boots at the end of his bed before moving over to the nightstand and pulling a soft, silicone necklace out of the drawer. Satisfied with his set up, he flopped onto the bed and made himself comfortable, grabbing Kiyotaka's arm and gently pulling him back against his chest. He placed the necklace around his neck, watching as the younger felt the pendant before biting down on it. Wrapped in his boyfriend's coat and having a less destructive method of releasing his anger, he closed his eyes and let himself lay back against the other.
"That's it Yota," Hiro praised him gently, running his hand through the student's short black hair. "Your step-bro's got you now, it'll all be okay."
Kiyotaka made a soft noise in response to the nickname, squeezing his eyes shut as he let himself be wrapped up in the other's arms, hands trapped against his chest to keep him from hitting anymore. It'd taken a long time for them to develop this sort of routine that worked, even longer for Kiyotaka to trust him enough to try it in the first place, but it was a relief knowing Hiro was there for him. He'd made it through their first year without any issue, but when their second year started he put more and more pressure on himself to do well and follow the path he'd chosen so long ago. He had to become Prime Minister and clear his family's name, he'd sworn to do so, but… after meeting Mondo, he wasn't sure that was what he wanted to do.
When thinking about the future, he had never really considered what he wanted to do or be, it had always been a question of what he felt he had to do. Since he was old enough to understand the story of his family he had known he needed to set things straight, to clear the name and remove that burden from his father's shoulders. But meeting Mondo, seeing how his brother encouraged him in whatever he pursued outside of the gang… it made him think about his own future. He had even seriously debated asking Hiro to tell his future one night before reminding himself how stupid that would be of him. Still, it had kept him up more than once, and with looking into colleges early he had sent himself spiralling downwards thinking about it…
He could hear Hiro humming, rocking them side to side gently as he held the younger boy's hand. He had tried to hit himself again, he supposed, and Hiro was quick as ever to redirect him into squeezing his larger hand. Vaguely he remembered the first time Hiro had attempted to help calm him down- he hadn't really known how to help, and Taka accidentally punched him in the jaw, which just made him feel even worse. They could joke about it now, but it had been a lot of trial and error to get to their current system. He mumbled wordlessly to himself, letting his head fall back and bump against his brother's shoulder. Recognising this sign, Hiro rested his chin on his shoulder and began to speak softly.
"The new house is nice, I think they're almost finished unpacking. I gave mom that nice jacket- the one Daiya picked up last week, remember? Gave her that one and her smile was so bright… She smiles a lot more with Takaaki, y'know, I'm glad she's happy." He paused, letting a comfortable silence surround them for a moment. In times like this it sometimes took Kiyotaka a moment to process what he was saying.
He waited until the younger one nodded to continue. "Think he's still getting used to me, your dad. I don't blame him though! I mean, how many people gain kids that're my age, right? And my record… Well, I'll give it a couple more years." He laughed to himself, feeling Taka squeeze his hand in response.
"Yeah, they're doing good. Oh yeah, mom asked about you! Told me to give you a biiiiig hug for her," he squeezed him tighter, waiting until he heard his brother laugh to stop, a smile spreading on his face. "Said she's proud of you and can't wait for you to come home over break. Takaaki doesn't say much, but I predict he probably wanted to say somethin' similar."
Kiyotaka squeezed his hand, hiding his face in the tall collar of Mondo's jacket. "...Thank you, Hiro. I'm glad to hear mother and father are well," he settled on saying, words slightly muffled around the chewing necklace between his teeth. Hiro just hugged him tighter in response, letting his grip loosen as he leaned back against the headboard. He knew better than to pry into what was making him so upset, not right now at least. When Mondo came back they could have a big sit-down together and help him work through it if he was ready, but he had a feeling there wouldn't be much he could do right now beyond being a shoulder to cry on.
"Sure thing man, I know you miss them. Maybe next weekend you could go visit?" Kiyotaka squeezed his hand tightly, mumbling out an objection about responsibility and duty before Hiro spoke over him excitedly. "What if someone covered your hall monitor duties? Chihiro probably wouldn't mind!"
"That's not very responsible-"
"Come onnnn Yota, you haven't had a single break since we started classes here! No one will mind if you ask for a day off. 'Sides, I have plans to introduce mom to Daiya, so it'll just be you and the old man!"
He perked up at this new information, slapping Hiro's hand lightly with his own. It'd been so long since he'd last had a day to just spend some quiet time with his dad; he loved the rest of his family, but cherished the time he got to spend with Takaaki. He'd been put on regular work hours lately too, which meant they'd have the whole day together. He slapped Hiro's hand harder the more excited he got, smile growing. "I could bring kyoudai home!"
"Uh, not sure that's such a great idea lil' buddy…"
Kiyotaka shifted to look back at him, confusion plain in his eyes. "What do you mean?"
".....Well, the Owadas are notorious bikers…"
"I'm aware."
"And Takaaki is a cop …."
"Hiro, are you still nervous about father's occupation? I can assure you, he is a very gentle man once you know him!"
"I know, I know- wait, no, that's not the point!" Hiro scratched his chin, raising an eyebrow curiously. "So you wanna introduce your dad- a cop with a record- to your boyfriend, the leader of the biggest biker gang in the city? And you don't, I dunno, foresee it going wrong? "
"Well…" The moral compass hesitated, chewing on the necklace in thought. "Father is more than aware of how someone's reputation doesn't speak for their character. I'm sure once he meets Kyoudai, he'll realise that!"
Seeing the excitement in his brother's eyes, Hiro didn't have the heart to tell him it was a bad idea. Instead, he pulled the smaller boy into a crushing hug. "Yeah man, I'm sure you're right. Hey, how about when Mondo gets back, I grab Leo and we have a movie night?"
"Excellent! We have plenty of time before curfew!"