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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?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Oh, are you admitting that now? You're just going to get my hopes up that you might start following the rules one day!"

Again, though his tone didn't shift very much, his expression was clearly teasing. "Don't worry, I won't let you get into too much trouble."

"Oh c'mon, you know me better than that! The day I start following the rules is the day you start breaking them!" Never mind that the whole psychic manipulation thing was breaking quite a few rules in Mondo's book. "That's good to hear though. It's good to have someone here who'll have my back."

"I can still hope, can't I?" He nudged Mondo again. "But whether you follow the rules or not here, I'm still going to wake you up early - so we should probably try to get at least some sleep before then, as I'm not going to let us waste the day tomorrow!"

Mondo laughed and reached out to ruffle Ishimaru's hair again. "Yeah, yeah, alright. I know how you are." He didn't really mind getting up early, but he was more of a night owl than anything else. It would be nice to get to have his own schedule here; he wouldn't have to get up at seven in the morning and go to bed at ten and follow all of Monobear's stupid rules.

"Just don't try to get me out of bed before seven. It won't happen." Mondo warned, still grinning. He flopped on the bed, rolling onto his side and glancing down at Ishimaru. "You sure you wanna sleep on the floor? There's enough room up here if you wanna share." He figured Ishimaru would refuse to take the bed, but this was a decent alternative, right?

Well, that certainly got Ishimaru's attention, though it was a bit difficult to say whether it was good attention for the time being. More like incredibly unsure attention. Something along those lines. What in the world...

"You're sure that would be all right?"

"Yeah? Why wouldn't it be?" Mondo asked, tipping his head slightly to the side. It struck him then that Ishimaru was probably an only child - he had probably never had to share in close, confined spaces like Mondo had. It wasn't always with his brother - he'd shared a bed with quite a few different gang members over the years due to limited sleeping locations - but it was something he always took for granted, something he expected everyone to understand.

It was kind of strange to see Ishimaru so hesitant about it, to be quite honest. "Yeah," He repeated, "I used to share beds all the time. It was actually pretty fucking weird to not share a room with someone in Hope's Peak." He laughed.

The number of siblings Ishimaru may or may not have had was more or less irrelevant - doing anything like this had simply never been a necessity for him. His family had been successful in politics and in life in general for several generations; they may not have been as prominent anymore - and with good reason, if he were going to be honest - but a lack of living space had never been anything that he'd had to worry about, to put it lightly.

"Do you think so?" He shifted a bit on the floor, moving to undo those boots of his, his hands quick against the laces. "I've never had to share my room before, much less the bed - ah, but if you're sure you don't mind..."

"Huh, really?" It should have been obvious, but Mondo had managed to miss it somehow; Ishimaru wasn't like him. Ishimaru didn't come from a broken home and Ishimaru didn't have to struggle to make ends meet. He had gone to another excellent school before Hope's Peak, hadn't he?

But that didn't really matter at the moment and Mondo scooted over to make enough room for his friend. "Yeah, of course I don't mind. Daiya and I have shared beds way smaller than this one! Don't worry about it."

...Granted, this might be a bit more awkward with Ishimaru who clearly wasn't used to this, but Mondo didn't think it would be that big of a deal.

...A bit more awkward indeed; he stood up after getting his boots off, looking at the bed somewhat skeptically for a moment before seeming to try to shrug it off and lying down.

"Did you have many siblings, then, or was it just your older brother...?" It was something he wasn't entirely sure he should be asking about, but he had to admit he was curious; he also couldn't fathom why else sleeping arrangements like that would be necessary in the first place.

"Nah, it was just me and Daiya. We lived in some really crammed places when we were kids, and even when we ditched home to start the Crazy Diamonds we didn't really have much money. We did what we could to save money and make sure living arrangements were comfortable for the rest of the gang, you know?"

Mondo shifted onto his back, staring upward at the ceiling. "The Crazy Diamonds was a small gang back then. We only had three other members at first, and they were all Daiya's friends. But we grew pretty quickly after people got word of what Daiya could do. He was great; you would've hated him." Mondo laughed though. He seemed quite relaxed talking about his older brother like this, despite his earlier insistence that he had killed Daiya. "So yeah, we had to share a bed a lot of the time, actually. He was the worst, too; he kicked in his sleep!"

While Ishimaru didn't sit up entirely, he did prop himself up rather quickly at that. "So it was just you and your brother on your own? I mean, with your friends of course..."

This was rather obviously getting into territory that Ishimaru had absolutely no idea how to navigate; if anything, he seemed to find the whole thing...well, "distressing" wasn't entirely accurate, but it was probably the closest thing to it. "You were all right with that?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course we were. We ran away from home." Mondo did glance over at that, raising his eyebrows at Ishimaru's expression. "What? There's no need to look so horrified! It was for the best anyway; that bastard was a shitty father and mom wasn't much better. We were way better off on our own. Daiya took care of things; he wanted me to get an education."

That was why he had gone to Hope's Peak in the first place. It would have been better for him to remain with the gang for his last few years before retiring, but Daiya had been so insistent on sending him to school that he couldn't turn down the invitation. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and he felt he might at least be able to honor Daiya's memory in that way. So much for that plan.

"You shouldn't say things like that!"

It slipped out before he could really think about it; it was an automatic response, one that had never required thought on his end. You respect those who brought you into the world, simple-as; the idea of doing otherwise wasn't anything that Ishimaru had ever entertained, and correcting such things had become almost second nature.

But then, he'd always been surrounded by others who had no right to complain.

"I mean i-it's good that he took care of you, aniki, but..."

"Why not? It's the fucking truth. Daiya got me out of there before things went to shit, but if we'd stayed behind we probably would've ended up in foster care within a few years anyway. Like I said, the bastard was a shitty father."

Mondo glanced up at the ceiling again, content to leave it at that. He had been damn lucky when it came to their father; Daiya hadn't.

"He taught me all I know. He was always there for me and always pushed me to do the best I could. I wouldn't be a Super High-School Level Gang Leader without his guidance." He smiled, turning a bit to face Ishimaru again. "But it doesn't matter. It's all in the past anyway. We've got other things to worry about here."

"...If...If you say so..."

It was clear that he wasn't convinced, but at the same time he didn't seem to know what else to say; he lay down properly again, shifting a bit as though trying to get comfortable.

"Your brother...as much as you say I would have disliked him, I don't think I would have. Not entirely. He sounds respectable."

While that likely could have been taken for backhandedness otherwise, his tone was blunt and completely straightforward; genuine as opposed to snide.

"Fuck, of course he was. He just had to do some pretty shitty things to make sure ends would meet for all of us." He had never resorted to murder though - not that Mondo had been aware of, at least. "He was even more of a rebel than I am! But I think he would have liked you. You're really passionate about a lot of shit; he was like that too."

Yes, he was certain Daiya would have liked Ishimaru despite their personal feelings about rules. Hell, Daiya would have liked him just because he was friends with Mondo. He probably would have happily adopted Ishimaru as a younger brother. That was why so many of the gang members had looked up to him - Daiya hadn't been a leader, he had been like an older brother. Someone you could trust to have your back, but you could still have fun with. Mondo might have received the title of Super High-School Level Gang Leader, but he felt he could never compare to Daiya's leadership skills.

Ishimaru laughed a bit at that, though the sound was a bit more subdued than the usual. Gentler. "I'm not surprised that he was passionate, aniki - you're the same way."

"Ah, yeah?" Like this hadn't even occurred to him... "I guess I can be, yeah. I mean, there are some things you just can't help but get worked up about!" Like riding a motorcycle! Or killing an innocent person-- wait.

...You tried it, Mondo...

"Of course you are - it's what we bonded over in the first place, after all!"

Mondo laughed. "Yeah, I guess that is true, isn't it?" But he was content to leave it at that. "I could just keep you awake all night with my charming wit, but you've probably got shit to do tomorrow. Get some sleep, aniki. And don't wake me up before seven."

"Perhaps not before seven - but I won't let you sleep in all day, either!" In other words, Mondo could probably expect to be awakened at exactly one minute past seven; hey, as long as it wasn't before...

He settled afterwards, though, despite the fact that he really wouldn't mind staying up longer - Mondo did have a point, however, as he had responsibilities that he couldn't exactly ignore in the morning. To say nothing of the explanation he owed Colonel Archer for earlier - he wasn't sure how well that would go over, but he was reasonably confident it wouldn't be too much of a problem - after all, he had been reliable until now. Surely a first transgression wouldn't be so bad...

"You get some sleep as well; I'll make some time for us to see the city tomorrow!"

He knew exactly what to expect from Ishimaru. If he wasn't woken up a minute after seven, he'd be surprised. "Yeah, yeah, I know how you are. Can't sleep all day." He laughed.

Mondo shifted to rest his hands on his chest, dragging the sheet up a bit more. "Yeah, don't worry about me. I'm tired too. 'Night, aniki."

Of course, sleeping wasn't as easy as it used to be. It hadn't been since their classmates had died. Mondo had expected a nightmare again, but he had never had too much trouble with the dreams. He'd wake up maybe once or twice during the night and eventually manage to get back to sleep. It wasn't that bad.

He hadn't been counting on Fujisaki's death or his own execution.

Needless to say, Mondo found himself wide awake only a few hours after falling asleep. He sat bolt upright, shaking. "Fuck," He hissed between his teeth. Perhaps he should have felt guiltier about dreaming about his own execution rather than Fujisaki's death, but he couldn't focus on that at the moment. He was too busy trying to calm himself down so he could get back to sleep. He didn't want to wake Ishimaru up, after all.

Ishimaru had always been a heavy sleeper, passing out almost immediately upon deciding that he was going to go to bed and generally remaining that way for quite some time; that hadn't exactly changed, even since Hope's Peak. He had more dreams that he remembered now, surely; instead of the usual few minutes he would sometimes take to try to remember what he had been dreaming about, back when things were still normal, early mornings were often dedicated to trying to get images out of his head. He supposed he should be thankful for small favors in that his dreams never involved many details - they were more abstract than that, he very rarely saw faces or the more intricate aspects of the injuries that had killed his classmates - but while they were enough to unsettle him and linger heavily in the morning, his ability to get to sleep in the first place was strangely unhindered.

However, he still wasn't used to there being someone else in the bed with him, and that sudden jolt from Mondo was more than enough to rouse him; while his general sleeping habits hadn't changed much, Hope's Peak had managed to ensure that his response to being awakened suddenly had shifted drastically.

While he had yet to be awakened with anything like this back in the academy, his first thought was still immediately screaming at him that someone else must have died.

He pushed himself up quickly, trying to get a look at Mondo's face despite the darkness. "Aniki...? What is it?"

"It's nothing. Go back to bed." Mondo's voice was more subdued than usual and he was still shaking a bit, though he was obviously trying to hide that. He had to be strong. He had to be.

"Nothing's happened. I just... had a bad dream. That's all." It would probably be easier for Ishimaru to get back to sleep if he was actually lying down, so Mondo once again flopped back down on the bed. He wouldn't be getting back to sleep soon, he was sure of that. He clenched his hands in the sheets and repeated, "Just a bad dream. Don't worry about it."

Ishimaru didn't lie down again; the fact that he was feeling rather skeptical about all this was rather obvious in his tone, though he managed to keep from directly voicing it for now. "If you say so. If you can't get back to sleep soon, however, we should go upstairs - somewhere with windows, it helps."

LOCKED TO ardent

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