Work Text:
The day had finally arrived. The day Mondo Owada dreaded more than any other. It dragged his failures back into the light, forcing him to relive the moment his weakness had cost his brother everything.
Daiya was gone, and Mondo carried the blame like a chain around his neck he could never break. The rain soaked autumn afternoon marked two years since his older brother’s death, yet the grief still hit with the same brutal force as it had on day one. His emotions churned like a storm he couldn't contain. He’d snapped at everyone. Even at Kiyotaka Ishimaru, his closest friend, his kyodai who had only wanted to make sure he was alright.
But he couldn't tell him why. He’d never spoken about Daiya’s death, not to Ishimaru, not to anyone. Most of the student body didn’t even know he’d had an older brother at all. Only people tied to law enforcement or the gang world knew the truth. To everyone else, his silence on matter just made him look like a jerk. And honestly? He preferred that to being seen as a monster who’d gotten his own brother killed.
So, he did the only thing he could think of to keep anyone from seeing how weak he really was. He got himself suspended for a week. So, he could hide away this weakness. It wasn’t even hard. All he had to do was ride his hog straight through the academy halls. Somewhere it absolutely wasn’t allowed. Jin Kirigirl was furious, and Kiyotaka... Cried. Mondo didn’t blame him. Taka had been trying so hard to help him grow, to leave his past behind, and Mondo had gone and throw it all away by getting himself kicked out again.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He rolled out of the academy grounds at a crawl, dread settling heavy in his guts. Every metre brought him closer to the place he hated most. But before anything else, he had to stop at the little flower shop closest to the academy.
Daiya liked flowers. No. Daiya loved flowers.
The bell over the door chimed as he stepped inside, warm air thick with the scent of soil and petals welcomed him in. He scanned the displays until he found the bouquet he had come for. The flowers his brother had loved more than any others.
Hyacinths.
He’d learned that by accident. Daiya had always been completely at ease with his own masculinity, never caring what anyone thought of him or things he liked. Hell, he’d even ask for flowers as an apology whenever someone messed up royally.
So, he had been gifted them often, especially by the people he cared about the most. But Mondo had shattered a dream he was sure his brother would’ve had. Barely anyone came to the funeral. Everyone had written Daiya off as a reckless idiot who got himself killed. And Mondo.... he couldn't bring himself to tell the gang the truth.
So only two bouquets were laid on Daiya’s grave that day. One from him, and one from Michi. It should have been a sea of flowers.
It was all his dam fault.
He didn’t even realise he’d made it to the counter until the worker’s voice cut through the fog. “That’ll be 3,000 yen, please, sir.”
He blinked, the world snapping back into focus. He must’ve dissociated again. Damn. He needed to pull himself together. He couldn’t cry. Men didn’t cry. Men weren’t supposed to be weak. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself.
He slid the coins across the counter and stepped out of the shop, the cold air hitting him like a slap. He kept his head down as he walked, fighting the sting in his eyes with every step. He just had to make it to his final destination.
The graveyard.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He hated death.
It had always terrified him. The idea of everything fading into black, of not knowing what came after. He wasn’t the religious type, not really, but he still hoped there was something beyond all of this. An afterlife, a place where Daiya could finally rest. If anyone deserved peace, it was him.
Mondo hadn’t grown up with anything close to a decent family. His parents were monsters who walked the earth, people who never should’ve been trusted with children. Daiya had been the exception. The one bright thing in all that darkness. His hero. Someone he’d idolised like a god.
It all started the day Daiya came back for him. The day he pulled Mondo out of that hell and brought him into the gang. Not just as a second in command, but as an equal. As a fellow diamond in arms.
Now the older Diamond was nothing but ash.
Mondo stood before the gravestone, the carved letters hitting him like a punch every time he saw them.
Daiya Owada.
He swallowed hard, the words scraping out of his throat.
“Hey,Bro..I-I came.”
His voice cracked,barely more than a whisper.
“Happy death anniversary. I,uh... I got you those flowers you likes. Hyacinths. The purple ones. Just like you loved. They’re really pretty, bro. You... you would’ve loved to see ‘em”
Mondo lowered the bouquet onto the grave, hands trembling as the petals brushed the cold stone. He continues, his voice barely holding together.
“The gang’s doin’ alright without me... Michi’s holdin’ things down while I’m at Hope’s Peak. I’m. Uh. I’m the Ultimate Biker gang leader now, bro. You.. You would’ve been so dam proud if you saw the acceptance letter.”
His breath hitched, the words scraping out of him like they were tearing something loose inside.
“I’m so... so fucking sorry I failed you.. Both in life and in death-”
“Mondo?”
He spun around instantly. For a heartbeat he thought it might’ve been Michi. Maybe coming to visit Daiya too. But instead, bright red eyes met his, framed by jet black hair and those unmistakably stern bushy eyebrows.
Taka.
He’d followed him.
Mondo’s temper snapped liked a live wire.
“DID YOU JUST FUCKING FOLLOW ME HERE TO SCOLD ME FOR GETTIN’ SUSPENDED, ISHIMARU? HOW MUCH DID YOU HEAR? IF YOU TELL ANYONE, I SWEAR TO GOD-”
Before Mondo could react, a pair of arms wrapped around his torso. Firm. Steady, and completely unexpected. Kiyotaka’s voice followed, soft in a way Mondo almost never heard from him.
“I didn’t follow you, Mondo. I came here to do something. It's after school hours now, remember?”
Mondo froze as Taka held on, the anger draining into something rawer, shakier.
“I saw you leave after the suspension, the sadness in your eyes” Taka continued, “after i saw you here. I came over to check on you. You’ve been hurting all day. You.. Lost someone didn’t you?”
Mondo’s throat closed up. The anger he’d thrown at taka moments ago felt hollow, flimsy like paper trying to hold back a flood.
Taka’s arms stayed around him, steady and warm in the cold, wet air of the graveyard.
“You’ve been carrying something heavy,” Taka said quietly. “Let me ease that burden, kyodai. I promise I’m not here to judge. I’m here to hel-”
Mondo’s voice slipped out before he could stop it, soft and cracked. “...You’d think im a monste-”
Taka cut him off, firm but gentle. “I would never see you as a monster, Mondo.”
His grip tightened, not restraining. But anchoring the biker.
“You are my best friend. My Kyodai. Someone who looked past my family’s flaw. Someone who saw me, not my last name. I could never hate you.”
He leaned in just slightly and looked up to the biker's face.
“I just wanted to help.”
The words slipped out before Mondo could think.
“The grave behind me... it belongs to Daiya Owada. My older brother. The man who raised me”
His voice shook, but once he started, he couldn't stop.
“My bro was like a god to me. He built the best damn biker gang in all of Japan, so of course i joined up. He was top dog, and i was his number two. When it came time for him to hang up his colours, i was supposed to take his place as boss.”
His breath hitched, and the next words came out in a rush.
“On the night of his retirement party, I challenged him to a street race. I was so desperate to win. I started pulling some really reckless shit and that’s when-”
He swallowed hard, the memory slicing through him.
“He died that night saving my stupid ass.”
The rain wasn't enough to hide the tears anymore.
“His last words to me were, ‘Don’t let the gang go to hell, Mondo. We worked too hard. Promise me... as a man.”
His shoulders shook, shame pouring out of him like he’d been holding back the tears for years. As he began to ugly sob, “I’m such a weakling, Taka. I could’nt own up my own failings. Now you know what I am. A monster. No. A killer that’s who your kyodai is.”
He turned his face away, unable to look at Taka.
“If you wanna ditch me, that’s fine. You’re the Ulimate Moral Compass, after all. You shouldn't been seen with a murde-"
Mondo didn’t fight what came next. He could’t. His knees buckled the moment Taka guided him down, the wet grass soaking through his baggy trosures as he let himself be lowered onto the ground. Then, almost carefully, Taka eased him onto his back and drew Mondo’s head into his lap.
Warmth. Steady hands. Fingers threading through his hair with a tendermess Mondo didn’t know what to do with. Taka hummed. Soft, steady and grounding. Something old fashioned and soothing, like a lullably someone might hum to a frightned child.
The tears came harder. The ugly crying got worse.
“Shit, Taka... I’m crying. Fuck.” His voice cracked, thick and broken.
Taka didn’t flinch. Didn’t pull away. His hand kept moving through Mondo’s hair, slow and rhythmic.
“Mondo,” He said, voice gentle but sure, “Men cry too.”
Mondo squeezed his eyes shut, breath hitching.
“It doesn’t make you less of a man to cry. You’ve been holding this pain alone for long.. Anyone would break under that.”
Taka’s thumb brushed a tear from Mondo’s cheek, not wiping it away. Just acknowledging it.
“And listen to me,” He continued, tone soft but unwavering, “You are not a killer. Your not a monster. Don’t let your mind twist the truth like that.”
Mondo breath shuddered, a sob caught halfway in his chest.
“Daiya choose to save your life. He made that choice because he loved you. You didn’t kill him, Mondo. You didn’t”
Taka leaned him over slightly, his voice a warm anchor in the cold rain. “It’s not your fault. It was never your fault”
Mondo’s whole body shook with the force of his sob. “But he’s dead, Taka.. He’s dead. He isn’t coming back. And i ruined his memory because i was too damn weak to tell the truth.”
Taka didn’t flinch. Instead, he offered Mondo a small, gentle smile. Soft enough that, in that moment, it felt almost otherworldly. Like someone looking at him with nothing but compassion.
His fingers kept moving through Mondo’s hair slow and grounding.
“Mondo,” he said quitely,“Death is part of life. Every living thing. Young or old. Reaches it’s final pages someday. That’s how it has always been.”
His voice was warm, steady, almost like he was reciting something sacred.
“Each of us is like a book. We have our own stories, and sometimes those stories overlap with others. Just for a paragraph, or a chapter, or many chapters. And when all the chapters are finished.. The story closes.”
He looked down at Mondo with unwavering sincerity.
“Daiya choose how his story ended. He choose it because he loved you. He choose it because saving his little brother was way, he lived his life. Protecting you”
Taka’s handed paused just long enough to rest against Mondo’s cheek.
“You didn’t ruin his memory.”
Mondo sobbed so hard. His whole chest shook , “But I lied to the gang, Taka. I.. I lied to everyone.”
The words tore out of him like they’d been trapped for years. Taka did’nt hesitate. His hand kept stroking gently through Mondo’s hair, grounding him with every slow pass of his fingers.
“Then become the keeper of Daiya’s story,” Taka said softly.
His voice was warm, steady. Like he was offering Mondo a lifeline. “Tell people the truth, even if it’s hard. Show the world the love you had for your brother.”
Another sob broke lose from the biker. Taka leaned over him slightly, his expression full of sincerity.
“I’ll be here every step of the way,” He promised. “I want to learn about Daiya too. I want to know the man who raised you, who shaped you, who helped you become the beautiful soul you are today.”
Mondo breath hitched at the words. Beautiful soul. He didn’t deserve Taka nor his kindness.
Taka’s thumb brushed a tear from his cheek.
“You don’t have to tell the whole story at once,” he murmured. “Start small. Even something as a simple as why you choose those particular flowers today.”
Taka smiled soft, warm, and impossibly kind. A smile that didn't judge, didn’t flinch, didn't pull away from the mess Mondo had spilled at his feet. “Every story told begins somewhere, Mondo.”
His hand brushed gently through Mondo’s hair one last time before he shifted, helping the biker to his feet without steading him,
“Come one, let’s get out of the rain.”
He stood with Mondo, steadying him with a hand on his shoulder.
“Next time you visit Daiya,” he said softly, “I’ll come with you.”
Taka continued, voice still gentle but firm in that Ishimaru way. “And. To make up for your rudeness earlier,” he added with a tiny, teasing lift of his brow, “Let me help you find someone you can talk to this about. Someone who can support you properly.”
He squeezed Mondo’s shoulder, grounding him. “You don’t have to carry this alone anymore.”
Mondo managed a small, shaky smile. “You got me convinced, Taka.. I’ll do it.”
Taka face lit up with the earnest warmth only he could pull off. “That’s the spirit, bro. Come on. My dad’s waiting in his patrol car down the road. I’ll ask if you can stay the night and have dinner with us.” He said it so casually, like inviting Mondo into his home wasn’t a big deal. But to Mondo... it meant more than he could ever say. As he had his best friend with him, when he needs him most.
They stepped out of the graveyard together, the rain easing into a soft drizzle. Mondo glanced back once. Just once. At the stone bearing Daiya’s name. And in the quite of his heart, he whispered.
“Thank you, Daiya. For saving my life, for being my big bro. For giving me the chance to keep writing my story.”
Then he followed Taka toward the waiting car, the weight on his shoulders just a little lighter than before as he had friend to ease that burden with.