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?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

In other words, not at all unless there's some sort of accidentally traumatic event that causes a temporary blackout and drastic shift in demeanor, followed by somebody getting smacked on the head by something heavy?

...sounds legit, actually...

"I wouldn't expect you to understand it, aniki - but that sort of mindset is exactly why I worry about things!"

Ouch, that was cold...

"What do you mean? What's wrong with my mindset?"

Was that tactless? He suspects that was probably tactless.

...Ah, well.

"I don't see how you can be so...unconcerned about everything, I suppose! Imagine if everyone were like that! Not so much anything wrong as it is a difference in thinking, but it's an important distinction to make!"

"I don't really see how it would be a bad thing. If everyone thought like I do, I mean. Sometimes you just gotta stop worrying about everything, y'know? It's not good for you to constantly stress yourself out like that!"

"...that may be, but some people have to be concerned with the rules, at least. I don't want to imagine where we would be otherwise!"

"If you say so, aniki..." Mondo rolled his eyes. There was no arguing with Ishimaru on this, was there?

"And I do!"

He was quick to settle, however, once that was out there; there may have been absolutely no arguing on it, but that didn't mean they could stay up all night attempting. "We should head back down, aniki; it's late. Will you be able to sleep?"

"Ah, yeah, we probably should. I'll try." He wasn't sure he could get back to sleep after that nightmare, but he was much calmer now than he had been. "Thanks. I appreciate you coming up here with me, aniki."

"Don't mention it! I spent many nights up here myself, after I first arrived - you can wake me up if you can't get back to sleep. I don't mind at all!"

His tone was blunt to the point of rendering the entire offer awkward as hell, but it was sincere regardless; he turned to move back toward the elevator, his pace brisk. "The longer you spend here, the more the dreams will pass. At least, that's how it's worked for me."

Wow, how awkward. But Mondo was certain that Ishimaru meant well and he followed his friend back to the elevator. "I'll keep that in mind." He replied, though he had no intention of waking up Ishimaru if he could help it.

"Really? That sounds nice. I mean, not having dreams like that." He didn't point out that Ishimaru had come from an earlier point in time (apparently?) and didn't have quite as many horrific things to dream about. He hadn't died, after all. But Mondo was certain that Ishimaru was right - eventually the dreams would stop. It would just take time.

Story of his life, really...

"It might get worse before it improves any, but improvement does happen. And if you do start dreaming about Fujisaki or...that execution you told me about, you can tell me that as well."

He pressed the button for the elevator, looking back at Mondo after he'd done so.

"You don't have to deal with all of this by yourself, aniki; let me worry about some of it for you."

Mondo flinched at Ishimaru's words, immediately feeling guilty. Of course he could tell Ishimaru about his dreams - why had he felt he couldn't? Mondo couldn't look at his friend though, instead focusing on a spot on the floor silently. He did finally nod a bit at Ishimaru's words, though when he spoke, his own words were subdued.

"Yeah, I... I know. Thanks, aniki. You're a big help."

While Ishimaru couldn't say he had any idea what the problem was, if Mondo thought he wasn't going to pick up on the fact that something was wrong, then he had another thought coming to him; he hesitated for a moment before getting on the elevator as the doors slid open in front of him.

"What is it...?"

He could lie again. He could say it was... hell, something else. It would be easy enough, wouldn't it? But he didn't want to lie to Ishimaru, and after a moment, Mondo gripped the rail in the elevator tightly and started speaking.

"I... wasn't telling the truth earlier. About what my dream was about. It was about my... execution."

He paused for a moment, to let that sink in. Then he continued, "I didn't want to tell you 'cause I felt guilty. I wasn't dreaming about anyone else's deaths even though I'd seen a few of 'em by that point. I was selfishly dreaming about my own. And I... I didn't want to freak you out with that either. I should've known you would've been fine with that...! I'm sorry."

"You seem to think a lot of things are going to 'freak me out' or make me truly upset to the point of not wanting to deal with you. And you seem very convinced that I can't handle or protect myself, either."

Ishimaru folded his arms again, the stance more than slightly defensive, though he wasn't entirely aware of it. "I must seem terribly weak to you, aniki. Do I?"

He took note of the defensive stance and even before that question was out there, Mondo knew that this couldn't end well. The question proved it.

"No, aniki, of course not! It's not that I think you're weak or that you need to be protected; I just don't want to see you get hurt or anything. There's a big difference there. I mean, fuck, I acted the same way toward Daiya and he could look after himself better than I ever could. It's not that I think you're weak! I just don't want to see you in pain or anything!"

"And do you think I want to see you in pain because you think I can't handle it?! I'm enduring just as much in that school as anyone else; I've been in pain since this 'school term' started, I just see no point in complaining about it, especially when I have the rest of you to look after!"

His stance shifted into something decidedly more aggressive then, as opposed to the defensiveness from moments ago. "I make no secret of whatever pain I'm in, that's true, but I don't see a reason to hide how I feel from others! That doesn't mean that I can't handle it! Especially if it means that you won't have to try to handle it on your own! I have no doubt that you can, but the point is that you don't have to - I'm willing to handle whatever you throw at me!"

Mondo was silent, staring wide-eyed at Ishimaru for a long time. The cheerful ding! announced that they had reached the ground floor, and after a moment, Mondo got off the elevator. He wasn't trying to leave Ishimaru, but he needed to mull this over before he spoke.

Yes, he knew that Ishimaru was going through the same thing as the other students. He cared more about Ishimaru because the Super High-School Level Hall Monitor was his friend, but that didn't mean he didn't care about the others. He wanted to save them after all. But because of his title, Ishimaru felt the need to protect the rest of them, something that would undoubtedly stress him out.

What was really striking him was Ishimaru's assertion that Mondo could handle his own pain. That obviously wasn't true - not after what he did to Fujisaki - but the trust Ishimaru still placed in him was overwhelming.

Finally Mondo turned to Ishimaru, expression set in a determined smile. "You're right. We can both help each other out and there's no reason to keep anything from each other! We can handle this together! You can rely on me too, aniki!"

Ishimaru let Mondo leave the elevator before him, waiting for a few seconds before following him; there were a few reasons, the first being that that was...possibly the first time that he'd been honest with another person about how he felt in regards to his duties. He didn't feel like looking after the others was an obligation, and while he had been pleased that they'd split off into their own little groups and formed general alliances with one another - that was a good sign, he thought, and until a set started conspiring to kill the others he would continue to see it as a good sign - he hadn't had anyone, before Mondo, that he was close to himself. While normally he didn't mind that, it meant that the others would be able to support one another when things became difficult; he generally had no one to confide in, no one to talk to bluntly about how the entire thing was affecting him, and he was more or less left to handle it on his own. He knew that was just how the real world worked, and as such there was no reason to complain, especially when the others needed leadership of some sort - even if they didn't appreciate or want it, leadership was necessary to keep everyone together. It wouldn't be acceptable for him to complain or actually talk directly to others about his feelings; they made themselves plain enough with all the tears, but physical expressions and being able to talk about something were two different things.

It...troubled him, in ways, that that had slipped out so easily and so straightforwardly; Mondo managed to pull him out of his thoughts as he finally made his way off the elevator, moving toward the hallway his room was situated down.

"...Ah, I...!"

...aaaand the words Mondo used to do the aforementioned pulling-out-of-thoughts were completely and utterly unexpected, clearly.

"I...yes! The best way to get through hardship is through cooperation, trust and finding fortitude in one another! We'll get through this together; I'll stay with you, to hell and back!"

"Great! Though I doubt there's anything even resembling "hell" here. That was back home." Mondo laughed, though the sound was hollow.

He hadn't missed the way Ishimaru seemed to come out of his thoughts though, and after a moment, he addressed that. "You seemed pretty surprised. Were you thinking about something else?"

Well, whatever he had been expecting Mondo to say after, it plainly wasn't that, judging from his expression.

"No, I just...!"

He stopped himself, however; hadn't they just agreed to be more honest with one another? "I shouldn't have spoken as I did just now about our situation back home. I take pride in what I do, and hard work always has its rewards; I shouldn't complain about it, and I shouldn't act as though my responsibilities to all of you are hindering me by preventing me from complaining in the first place."

That...wasn't exactly it, but it was easier to explain it that way than to admit what he was actually thinking; besides all of that was true, as far as he was concerned, so it wasn't as though he was lying, was it?

"I know what you mean," Mondo said with a nod. "It sucks not being able to complain about shit around other people, but that's what a leader's gotta do. They have to hold it together for everyone else." He was very glad that he wasn't the "leader" of Hope's Peak's students. He wasn't sure he could deal with that.

"But that doesn't mean that you're not allowed to complain! We're here now, we're in no danger here. So it's fine to complain about the situation back home because it fucking sucks. Besides, you're allowed to talk to me about anything, aniki!"

And for a good moment Ishimaru just kind of stared at him; as much of a delinquent as Mondo may have been, he was a leader as well, wasn't he? Admittedly not in a way that Ishimaru necessary approved of, but at the same time, he would have some idea about how much responsibility it entailed, even if he went about handling it differently.

...At least he managed to refrain from tearing up yet again, though it was obvious from the slight catch in his voice that he was strongly considering.

"...Thank you, aniki, it...means a lot to me." He paused for a moment before grinning again. "I'll keep that in mind! It isn't something I'm used to, but if something is bothering me, I'll try to tell you!"

"Ah, hey, don't worry about it!" At least Ishimaru wasn't flat-out crying again... "You haven't had someone to talk to about shit like this before, aniki?" Ishimaru had said that he was his first friend, but surely Ishimaru had discussed things like this with other people, right? The disciplinary committee totally sat around talking shit about other students, right?

"No, of course not!" This wasn't a conversation he really wanted to have while standing around in the hallway, however; he was quick to start back to the room, gesturing for Mondo to come with. "People want solutions to their problems, they don't want to hear about mine! And besides, even if there was anything to complain about in my old school - and there usually wasn't - it would set a bad example for the rest of the students if anyone on the disciplinary committee were to complain about it so openly!"

LOCKED TO ardent

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