pokebox | LOCKED TO ardent

LOCKED TO ardent

The first thing he noticed was the off-white ceiling and plain walls. It didn't occur to him that there was anything weird about that for a minute or so, instead he sat up, glancing around at the unfamiliar room. The bed he was lying in wasn't particularly hard or soft - not as comfy as the one at Hope's Peak, but it wasn't uncomfortable either - and there was a desk beside the bed with a set of clothes, a note, and two red-and-white balls. Mondo reached for one of the balls without thinking, only stopping himself when his memories of the previous days came flooding back like a tidal wave.

Fujisaki. How could he forget, even for a moment? Fujisaki had come to him, seeking help, expressing a desire to become stronger, and what had he done? He'd blacked out. No, that wasn't right - he'd blacked out and killed the kid. Mondo's fists clenched and he drew his hand back. That's right, then there had been a trial, just like the first time someone was found murdered in Hope's Peak Academy. Monobear had called them all down there and they had gone over the evidence. Well, if by "they" he meant Naegi, Kirigiri, and that jackass Togami. First they had outed Fukawa as Genocider Syo, then they'd blamed Togami for altering the crime scene, and then...

...And then the truth had come out. If he hadn't been so careless with what he was saying, Fujisaki's secret would have been safe and he wouldn't have hurt Ishimaru, his aniki. Of course he had noticed the way Ishimaru reacted - the screaming, the denial, the tears, the desperation - and Ishimaru had voted for someone else. Even when he had acknowledged his defeat, Ishimaru hadn't. Ishimaru had believed in him until the very end - but he shouldn't have. He had betrayed not only Fujisaki's trust, but Ishimaru's as well.

It was a good thing he hadn't gotten away with murder though. Mondo doubted he could have lived with himself if he had. Even the execution wasn't that bad - from what little he remembered of it. It could have been worse; he could have been chained to a signpost and bludgeoned to death by millions of baseballs. He still had nightmares about Leon's death. He didn't even know Leon all that well. No, Mondo's death had been relatively quick and he'd gotten to ride a motorcycle one last time. There was something freeing about that, something he doubted he could ever really put into words. His last action had been his favorite. Maybe that was suiting.

So why was he here? Why was he waking up? He was dead, he was sure of that. He was equally sure that this wasn't Hope's Peak. There weren't any windows in the room, which meant that he could be underground, but he doubted Monobear would have let him live after the murder. He hadn't gotten away with it; he hadn't "graduated." So where was he?

Mondo finally got up, snatching the note off the top of the clothes folded on the desk. There was a large, red "R" on the shirt front, but Mondo ignored that for the time being to scan the note. Apparently he was now working for an organization known as "Team Rocket." That title meant nothing to him and he set the note aside, picking up the clothes next. It was a very standard uniform that looked like it would be way too tight-fitting for his taste and Mondo set that aside as well. Finally, he picked up the red-and-white balls, turning them in his hands curiously. He wasn't a Super High-School Level Baseball Player, but he might be able to use them as weapons if he needed to. He tucked those in his pocket and turned to the door. He expected it to be locked. It wasn't.

The hallway was just as nondescript as the room, though the ceilings were a bit low for his liking. Mondo picked a direction at random and started down the hallway, absently wondering if he could find some way back outside. It felt like it had been a long time since he had seen the sun.

He was stopped on his way by a shorter, scrawny man wearing that uniform (yeah, it definitely looked like it would have been too tight on him). The man frowned at him and pointed one gloved finger down the opposite hallway. "You should be heading to your first day of training! Why aren't you in uniform?"

"Fuck off," Mondo replied, shoving the smaller man out of his way. The guy definitely looked older, so he could assume that this wasn't the school. No one else was in the school after all, right? Just the fifteen of them - well, eleven of them now (did he even count anymore?) - and the person controlling Monobear. Mondo brushed that thought aside; this wasn't the school. That was what he would focus on.

He didn't find his way out. His sense of direction had always been good, but that was on the roads, in the open air. He had always gotten turned around in Hope's Peak as well, but never like this. He couldn't believe he'd managed to wander in a circle, finding himself back in front of the room he'd woken up in. Maybe this was some kind of trick; he couldn't move on until he'd gone to his first day of "training" or whatever.

The man in the Rocket uniform came walking down that hallway at just that moment. "Gotten yourself lost, huh?" He sneered. "Just follow this hallway and hook a left. The training facility's there. You'll meet the other new recruits and get started on your two weeks of training."

Two weeks? Like hell he was going to hang around for that long. Mondo rolled his eyes and followed the man's directions, ignoring the shout for him to get back and change his clothes.

The training facility was more decorated than the hallways or the room, and well-lit at that. There were several other young men (wearing that hideous uniform), all gathered in the center of the room, talking quietly. It looked like the instructor hadn't shown up yet. Mondo was tempted to leave, but this might be his best chance to get information on this place. He frowned for a moment, before walking up to join the others. He stood at least a head taller than them, which made him stick out even worse than the clothes he was wearing. Not that he cared.

"What's this "training" gonna consist of anyway?"

None of the other men seemed to know, and Mondo began to wonder just how badly things were going to go. It wasn't like it could be any worse than Enoshima being stabbed through by spears in the gym, right?

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"Well what are you gonna do if you're not using force?" But Mondo's question wasn't really something he needed answered at the moment anyway, and he came to a halt beside Ishimaru, listening to his friend's instructions carefully.

"Alright, pretend they're mine and get them healed. Got it. What am I supposed to be noticing, exactly?" He asked, taking the three Pokéballs from Ishimaru. Something in his gut was telling him that this was a bad idea, but it was Ishimaru. Sure he could be kind of dense and a bit dumb at times, but he meant well. He wouldn't do anything bad to Mondo. That feeling of unease wasn't fading though.

"I'll be able to take 'your' creatures very easily from the woman behind the counter, with no resistance at all. She'll let me steal them, without any force on my part; that's what Sayuri is for." Ishimaru shrugged a bit after that was out there. "You'll understand once we're underway, I think. Shall we?"

Mondo's skeptical expression didn't change, but he did shift to glance down at the fox-thing again. Well, if Ishimaru said so... "Yeah, alright. Be right back."

The Pokémon Center was empty, as expected. The nurse greeted him cheerfully and Mondo handed over the three capsules. She set about healing them immediately, unaware of how closely Mondo was watching her. Nothing seemed odd here. Was she maybe a member of Team Rocket? It would be pretty easy to steal trainers' Pokémon while she was healing them; she could easily switch in an empty ball, right? But people would get suspicious really quickly and she'd be out of a job. So how exactly was Ishimaru planning on doing this?

Ishimaru entered the Center closely behind Mondo, though he remained back by the door, Sayuri moving to sit primly at his side; he kept an eye on the woman behind the counter, watching as she healed the Pokémon she was given. It was a perfectly normal transaction, for all intents and purposes - at least, until the healing process ended and she turned around, capsules in hand.

It was then that something quite simply went completely and obviously wrong in her head.

The nurse's body stiffened almost immediately, almost as though she had been startled by something, only the usual relaxation that follows such a thing didn't come; the sudden widening of her eyes only added to the effect, but there was something wrong there as well - her pupils constricted rather sharply, any focus that had been there going strange and glossy, and her expression quickly fell slack, an odd, blank look overtaking her features.

Ishimaru gestured toward Sayuri, and without saying a word to Mondo, the nurse promptly moved to the low door to her left, allowing passage between the lobby and the other side of the counter; she unlocked it one-handed, her fingers fumbling slightly against the lock before she managed to get it open, and stepped out into the lobby, that unfocused look never leaving her eyes.

She took a few more steps forward before Ishimaru met her halfway; at his approach, she reached out, holding out the Pokéballs in his direction for him to take. He accepted them easily; she didn't step away from him, simply continuing to stand there, staring straight ahead of her.

Ishimaru's voice was reasonably quiet when he finally spoke; she didn't react to it at all.

"As I said, aniki. No force involved."

"What the fuck...?"

It was one thing to watch the nurse go slack like that. Mondo had seen it before, but it was usually in response to being punched so hard they fainted. He'd seen people in a state of shock too (his fellow gang members after Daiya's death and the other students in the school), but it wasn't like this. There was something undeniably wrong about this.

Had the situation been different and this had been an obvious attack on a woman, Mondo wouldn't have stood for it, aniki or not. There was a certain code the gang members lived by, and it was one Mondo attempted to hold up as well as he held up his promises. He would never hurt a woman. ...Unless he was attacked and needed to defend himself or he blacked out due to a state of rage, either or.

The woman didn't look hurt, which confused him. It was obvious that something had happened, but he couldn't figure out what it was. That didn't do anything to calm him down. "What... the fuck...?" He repeated, as if that would help make things clearer.

Mondo finally turned to Ishimaru, the confused (and possibly a bit disturbed) expression still in place. "What did you do to her?" It was about when he said those words that he realized that Ishimaru - his brother - had done something to her. "What did you do to her!?" He repeated, louder, taking a step forward. His hand curled into a fist without thinking about it and had this been anyone else, Mondo might have resorted to punching them straight in the face.

...But it was Ishimaru, his aniki, and he couldn't do that. He settled for clenching and releasing his fists at his sides, expression quickly darkening.

"Relax, brother, she's all right." Ishimaru held out a hand in Mondo's direction, though his gaze was wary; he slotted the Pokéballs back into position on his belt one-handed, though his fingers lingered over them. He genuinely hoped he wouldn't have to subdue Mondo at all, but he hadn't missed that shift, the forming of fists. "I wouldn't hurt anyone. You know me better than that."

He glanced back at Sayuri, who was still sitting silently near the door. "Sayuri has psychic powers; she can control people without harming them, and erase their memories if I need her to. She isn't hurting this woman, and after we leave, Sayuri will make sure she doesn't remember that we were here."

If he hadn't been so upset, he might have noticed the way Ishimaru kept his hand near the other Pokéballs. Mondo would have been hurt - he would never hurt his aniki, after all - but he would have understood. After what he did to Fujisaki, it was only natural for Ishimaru to be wary around him.

But he didn't see Ishimaru's hand linger over the Pokéballs, he was too busy watching the fox-thing on the floor warily.

"Psychic powers? You're fucking kidding me." What, was she correct in her predictions twenty percent of the time as well? "Psychics" were just phonies who were particularly good at reading people, that was all.

Then how could he explain what happened to the nurse? Mondo glanced at her again, finding himself looking away from her blank eyes almost immediately. It was creepy. Very few things actually bothered Mondo. This was one of them.

"So, what, you just remove her memories and that's it? You fuck around with her head and you say that's not hurting her?" Mondo's voice was rising again, but he didn't particularly care. Something about that was hitting him very wrong and for a moment, he couldn't place what it was. It wasn't like he had a bad memory or had ever forgotten anything of extreme importance. No, what bothered him had nothing to do with his own memories, or lack thereof.

The trial; his execution. Ishimaru didn't seem to remember either of those. Was this why? Had this damn thing gone to town on his memories? Maybe it thought it was helping by removing the bad memories from its trainer's mind. "You really think that's fucking okay? That it's any better than fucking with a person's face? This is-- it's--!"

Mondo returned to clenching his fists, digging his nails into his palms in an attempt to get some control over a situation that was rapidly unraveling. "That's fucking cowardly! If you're gonna take the fucking things, at least give them a fighting chance to get them back! This is fucking sick, aniki!"

Ishimaru flinched at that, but judging from the tension in his posture, he didn't seem willing to back down, either; at the same time, this wasn't the place. "We can't stay here. We can argue this all you want in the base, but we'll get caught if we stay too long. You will return to the lobby to wait for me; you weren't involved in this."

He paused for a moment; his hand was shaking a bit at his side, but he wasn't moving to hit or draw one of those Pokéballs from his belt. "Go to the authorities if you want to stop me that badly. I'll understand. But you can't stay here - I'll be back at the Tower shortly."

Mondo was fully prepared to stop Ishimaru by any means possible (and considering the height advantage, he doubted it would be difficult - the Pokémon Ishimaru had with him didn't even cross Mondo's mind) but then Ishimaru said something that stopped him cold, and for a moment Mondo was acutely aware that he had wanted to lash out at his aniki.

The thought was terrifying and quickly subdued him.

"...Fine." He relented. He looked back at the nurse one more time, biting back the question of will she be alright, already knowing exactly how Ishimaru would answer. Of course she would be. He said no one would get hurt, didn't he?

Mondo wasn't sure what to do with the idea that Ishimaru genuinely believed that.

He returned to the tower without any qualms. He didn't even entertain the idea of going to the police. It had nothing to do with the crimes he had committed back home or being on the wrong side of the law in general; he knew how bad prison was and if Ishimaru was thrown in jail, the kid wouldn't last a day. It was obvious that Ishimaru had changed during his time here, but that didn't mean there was no hope for him. Somehow or other he'd gotten it in his head that this was okay, but that was something Mondo could hopefully help him with.

Mondo flopped on the couch, wincing a bit at just how hard the damn thing was. He figured he might be the one waiting for awhile this time, and he pulled out that strange device to marvel at it for a little bit. He was still angry, yes, but Ishimaru's words had gone a long way to getting him to at least act rationally.

There was another, private rule that Mondo had always kept to. He would never sell his brothers out.

Ishimaru kept to his word in that it didn't take long; no more than a quarter of an hour. It would always surprise him, how little time Sayuri needed to modify memories, and he had waited outside for a while, watching through one of the windows to verify that the woman came out of whatever control she'd had over her; she had shaken her head quite a bit as though to clear it, and then looked around the room in the same sort of manner that one does when they've gone somewhere and promptly forgotten why they had needed to go there in the first place. She'd shrugged it off, however, and Ishimaru had entered the Center a moment later and asked her to heal his Pokémon.

She hadn't recognized him, and told him to have a nice night before he left.

His return to the base had been an abrupt one; he didn't move to sit down, instead folding his arms again, clearly unsure of what to expect but at the same time not doing either of them the disservice of being completely avoidant.

The lobby was empty, the civilian sector of the Radio Tower shut down for the day; they would have more than enough privacy here. "It was good of you to not go to the police, aniki; I appreciate it."

Footsteps alerted him to someone approaching, and Mondo immediately shoved the device in his pocket. He glanced up only to relax a bit when he saw Ishimaru. It was better him than anyone else, even if what Mondo had just witness was weird. He settled his arms over the back of the couch, propping his feet up on the small coffee table in front of him. Might as well make himself at home, right?

"Shit, you really thought I was gonna turn you into the fucking police?" Mondo snorted. "I'm the last fucking person who should be ratting out on someone for something. 'Sides, I would never betray my brother."

Despite the relaxed stance, Mondo's expression was tight. It was obvious he was trying to think of some way to word what he was thinking, but it wasn't coming out. It didn't take long for his expression to change to frustration.

"Look, I get that we've gotta do whatever we can to rescue our classmates from that hell. I get that. I want to help them out as much as you do. But you're not going about it the right way. That was just... that was wrong, aniki. Fucking with peoples' heads like that... how long have you been doing this shit? Why did you decide to start in the first place? That doesn't sound like you."

At least he was calmer now, though Mondo still looked upset that he couldn't find the right way to express just how much this bothered him.

Ishimaru had been prepared for more shouting, for a much more direct confrontation than this; the calmer pace of all of this was enough to throw him, and for a moment he faltered. "I...as I've said, I've been here for months. I've been doing this for almost as long, but Sayuri only recently became powerful enough for me to work on my own."

He shifted a bit, clearly uncomfortable; he was rather acutely aware that Mondo was upset with him, but he wasn't sure what to say to...fix that, exactly. "As for why I started, that's obvious. I've told you from the start that I've been trying to save all of you. This is the most efficient way to make myself useful to this place without harming others."

"I get not wanting to harm others, but don't you get that fucking around with someone's head is doing harm to them?"

Mondo sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees and drumming his fingers on the coffee table. They weren't looking at this from the same angle at all, were they? Communication issues weren't uncommon for Mondo, but he had learned that sometimes it was easiest to take a step back and try to explain things in a different way. He was hotheaded and rash, but he had picked up quite a few things leading the Crazy Diamonds.

"Look at it from my perspective. Here's my aniki, doing something I'd never imagine him doing in a million fucking years. I mean, ignoring the whole 'magical creatures who can control and wipe minds' shit. The fact that you'd do that... it's really weird. I mean, just how many rules is that shit breaking? It's not really the rules I'm worried about though - you know how I am - it's the... I dunno, the morals behind it. That shit's real low, and coming from me, you can imagine just how fucking low that is."

He paused, thinking back over what Ishimaru said. "You said you've only recently started working on your own, right? Who's the bastard who's been telling you this shit is okay? I'll rearrange his fucking face for even putting that idea in your head in the first place."

It wasn't that he thought Ishimaru was weak or easily susceptible to other people and their ideas, it was that Ishimaru was... well, to be blunt, a horrible social failure. He would have grabbed any chance he could have to make a friend, right? Especially in a foreign world like this, especially when he was so desperate to do everything in his power to bring his classmates here to save them from Monobear and the mastermind. So it wasn't really Ishimaru's fault, was it? Someone else had given him that idea, and that someone else was going to get a Very Stern Talking-To.

...Which really meant Mondo was going to kick the shit out of him, Pokémon or no Pokémon.

Ishimaru's eyes widened. "I...I can't let you do that!"

There were many, many reasons why telling Mondo anything related to this was a bad idea; obviously there was the issue of Colonel Archer possibly revoking any promises he'd made regarding letting him anywhere near that machine, but there was also the more immediate threat at hand - Colonel Archer raised several powerful Psychic Pokémon of his own, and even if he didn't retaliate against Mondo directly, he would doubtless send Kimblee to do it. While Ishimaru didn't have much experience in dealing with Kimblee himself, he had seen enough to know that the man was dangerous - no, there was no way that he could say anything that would send Mondo toward either of them.

"Listen to me, aniki, I...I know that you're upset, but this...it was my decision! I can't have you going after anyone else for what I've chosen to do!"

It was a fragile rebuttal and he knew it, but it was the best he had for the time being.

"Don't be fucking stupid. Do I look like I'm gonna buy that shit?" Mondo demanded, jabbing a finger in Ishimaru's direction. "You're not like that. You're not ruthless or cut-throat enough to do shit like this without prompting. You can't look at me and tell me you genuinely don't feel bad about this shit, can you? You're doing it because you feel like you have to in order to save everyone, right?"

He got to his feet, though made no move to approach Ishimaru. "So don't lie to me. Who the fuck was it that put this fucking idea in your head in the first place?"

Even though Mondo wasn't approaching him, Ishimaru took a step back, shifting back into a slightly more defensive position, though he still seemed unwilling to flat-out back down. "I...I don't feel bad about it because I have to save everyone! Whatever I have to do is nothing compared to what Monobear is making us do to each other, don't you understand that?!"

He twitched a bit, sharply, his hands forming fists abruptly. "You aren't getting a name from me, aniki - I'm sorry but that's the way it has to be!"

"There are some things you don't fucking need to compare! The shit we went through back home can't touch us here! Why the fuck would you turn your back on all the rules and shit that you care about now? I get that you felt you didn't have a choice before, but I'm here now! Leave that shit to me. There's no need for you to dirty your hands with it, you got that!?"

Mondo noticed Ishimaru shift and for a brief moment he seriously considered fighting his aniki. Ishimaru didn't look like the sort who ever got into fights (though that did raise the question of what he did do; there was no way for him to be that ripped if he didn't do any sort of physical activities, though Mondo couldn't see Ishimaru doing any sort of team sport or contact sport either) and it would probably be way too easy to take him. If he hit him, would Ishimaru break down crying immediately or would he actually attempt to fight back? All of this flashed through Mondo's mind in a split-second, and all of it made him feel incredibly guilty.

"...Alright, so you're trying to protect this guy. Fine. Just promise me you won't do shit like this anymore. It... it's not you, alright?"

He knew just how stupid that sounded. Mondo folded his arms and glanced away, pretending he wasn't suddenly going red.

"I just don't like seeing you do shit like this. You're a good guy, aniki. You're not like me or the Crazy Diamonds. You follow all the rules to the point where it's fucking infuriating, but that's who you are. You're always gonna be like that, just like I'm always gonna be a rule-breaker. This sort of thing is what I should be doing, not you. So just... leave it to me, alright?"

The initial yelling got another sharp flinch out of him, and he was fully prepared to shout back, to demand to know what it was about this that Mondo wasn't understanding - and for the second time that day, it was fortunate that Ishimaru wasn't an inherently cruel person, as the first thought to flicker through his mind was the idea that Mondo didn't have to deal with anything from Monobear anymore. He was dead, he had killed and failed to get away with it, he had no right to say anything about the position that his classmates were in or what lines should and shouldn't be crossed -

The thoughts were brief but startling in their cruelty; the guilt they brought with them was overwhelming, and that was what prompted the tears.

He had no idea what it looked like, other than 'not what he was trying to convey at all' - it probably seemed incredibly random, or as though the shouting alone had made him cry, but that wasn't exactly it; it wasn't anything he was going to be able to articulate, however, and Mondo eventually moved on from it, his tone suddenly softer and...

...oh. Was...Mondo blushing? Why...?

"...You may be a rule-breaker, brother, but you aren't..." He shook his head a bit, though he didn't bother to do anything about the fact that he was quite openly crying again. "You're still a good guy, do you understand?!"

Well, he certainly didn't mean to make Ishimaru cry. What even caused that reaction? Had Ishimaru really not thought about it from his point of view? Had he just been oblivious to how horrible this whole mind-altering thing really was? Honestly, Mondo wouldn't be surprised at any of those reasons.

Then suddenly Ishimaru was back to yelling and Mondo stared at him, speechless for a moment.

"Ah, hey, c'mon, knock it off." He really didn't deserve such words of praise from anyone, especially not someone he had let down so badly. Mondo was positively sure even his ears were bright red by now. "I mean, I'm not the fucking devil or anything like that, but I'm not really a good guy, aniki. I've never really been a good guy, you know? No sense fooling yourself, alright?"

He forced a smile and an awkward laugh though, trying to write it off as okay. There was no need to lie to Ishimaru - especially not after everything he had told him - but he really wasn't keen on delving more into his issues today, thanks.

"Man, I should start carrying tissues on me." That was said teasingly, however, and he stepped forward to ruffle Ishimaru's hair again. "I appreciate it, alright?"

Ishimaru didn't try to pull away from the hair ruffling, though he did duck a bit - not really avoiding it, but at least putting forth the effort to pretend that wasn't incredibly welcome. He had no idea what had shifted, exactly, and why everything was suddenly okay - because everything was suddenly okay, wasn't it? - and for a brief moment he found himself wondering if he was missing something vital. It wouldn't be the first time he had failed to notice or comprehend something...but no, surely everything was fine? Mondo wouldn't be acting so friendly toward him again if it weren't, right?

"I'm not fooling myself - you've been...very kind to me, even if you are still insisting on breaking every rule presented to you. You're better than you think."

He paused for a moment, swiping at his eyes; he was smirking a bit when he stopped, however. "Or am I risking damaging your reputation by saying that? Don't worry, aniki, it's not something I'll spread around!"

"You got that fucking right, I've got to build up a reputation here! Can't have you ruining it from the get-go!" But that only received more hair-ruffling, clearly Mondo didn't mean it.

It was strange how easily things had shifted once he realized that Ishimaru wasn't entirely to blame for what he'd seen. For some reason Ishimaru wanted to protect his friend (probably some loser kid Mondo could snap in half if he felt like it), so for now he wouldn't try to get that information out of Ishimaru. If he just so happened to find the bastard later then hey, lucky him.

"Aniki, will you promise me something?" Not everyone took promises as seriously as Mondo did, but he figured Ishimaru knew exactly how important promises were to him. "Promise me you'll quit it with this... mind-altering and controlling shit as soon as you can. If I'm gonna have to rely on these... 'mon-things then it'll take awhile for me to get them into shape, but once I've done that, you won't need to get involved with this shit anymore. I'll take care of it. I... really don't feel right altering peoples' minds or anything, but I can steal. I've always been pretty good at that. So promise me you'll leave that shit to me."

The second round of tousling got a bit of an indignant noise out of him, but again Ishimaru didn't pull away; it felt...nice, for some reason, and the conversation was comfortable again, and for a moment everything was good.

It still wasn't bad, per se, when Mondo started talking to him again, but it was awkward; he took a deep breath before saying anything, trying to settle himself - he suspected Mondo wouldn't be too pleased with what he had to say on the subject.

"I can't...risk my position at this point. If I'm given orders, they're going to be followed; it's how things need to be." His words were tense, his posture quickly becoming equally so. "Besides, when you said that you're here now - you meant that I'm not alone here anymore. Right? The same goes for you, then, doesn't it? You shouldn't worry about me getting my hands dirty; I've been doing this for a while, and I...it's worth it, brother, I wouldn't do it if I didn't believe it to be worth it."

He closed his eyes for a moment before trying to re-establish eye contact. "Because I know how much it means to you, I can't promise you anything."

"I..." But Mondo couldn't finish that thought. He was at a loss for words. He had always operated under the assumption that he knew Ishimaru better than the rest of the students (never mind that it hadn't been very long since they started actually enjoying one another's company), but it never really occurred to him that it went both ways.

Ishimaru couldn't promise him because he was afraid he would have to break that promise. That meant more to him than he ever would have imagined.

"Y-yeah, I... guess that's to be expected then," He floundered for words, one again feeling his face burn with embarrassment. "I still don't like it. It feels fucking wrong to me. But... I guess if you have to do it in order to get the others here..."

Was that really okay? And on the tail of that thought, was he really someone who should be asked about it, after everything he had done?

No, he wasn't. His opinion didn't matter. If Ishimaru thought it would be for the best, then he would trust his judgement.

"Okay." Mondo nodded, suddenly looking much more determined than he had been moments ago. "If this is the way to bring them all here, then I'll do what I can to help. I don't like the idea of owning something that could alter my mind, so I'll leave that to you, but I'll do whatever else I can to help."

Ishimaru's relief was both immediate and obvious; he could feel himself sigh slightly as Mondo's feelings on the matter seemed to shift from reluctant acceptance to determination to help him. He wasn't sure what he would have done if Mondo had reacted otherwise; it wasn't something he wanted to think about.

"...thank you, aniki. And you don't have to worry about the psychics - they won't harm you if you own them and train them well! But if it bothers you so much, we can use mine only."

"Sounds about right; you get the brains, I get the brawn. That should work out nicely!"

Hopefully there are creatures here who aren't as pathetic-looking as the pantslizard... And hopefully ones who can actually put up a fight.

"So is this the only thing you've been doing? Besides training new recruits-- say, how did you get that job anyway? Aren't there older members in this group?" Though imagining an entire mafia-like organization run by teenagers was kind of hilarious...

LOCKED TO ardent

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