Chapter Text
Mondo
“You’re here for the 2 o’clock, right? Go ahead and pick any seat you want.”
He looked around the small, brightly decorated office. The older, dark-skinned lady who he assumed was his therapist was sitting in a cushioned seat in front of a coffee table. There was a plush couch, a chair beside that, and a wooden chair against the wall in the corner. He sat in the wooden chair.
“Way over there?” the woman asked.
“You said anywhere. Why’d you put it over here?”
“It’s for anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable sitting so close to a stranger. Is that how you feel right now?”
“I don’t give a shit if I know you or not. I just don’t like the idea of someone pokin’ around in my personal life and tryin’ to fuck around with the way I think.”
“That’s fair. Well, it might make things a little less invasive if we started by getting to know each other. My name is Nomura. And you are?”
“You should know my fuckin’ name. I’m sure my counselor told you all about how fucked up I am.”
She looked down at the clipboard in her hands. “If you’d like to see what your counselor told me, it’s all right here. He said you had a stressful event a week ago-”
“Don’t fuckin’ sugar coat it. I tried to kill myself.”
“Is that why you’re here?”
“Isn’t it?”
“Partially. I’d like to talk more about what led up to that.”
He crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair. “What, you mean my entire life story? Don’t think we have time for that.”
“We have time for whatever you need. And if that means taking the next couple sessions to recount your entire childhood in detail, then so be it.”
“I’d rather not.”
“Then what would you like to spend this time working on? Why are you here?”
“Cuz my buddy Taka wouldn’t let me not go.”
“So there’s no reason you yourself want to be here?”
He glared at her. “I don’t know, I want cha ta fix me.”
“What about you needs to be fixed?”
“You should already know. You talked with the fuckin’ counselor.”
“Yes, but I didn’t speak with you. And since it is you whose life we’ll be pokin’ around in, then I think it should be you who tells me what you need. Yes, the school is paying for this session, but that’s it. They aren’t controlling the session or telling me what to say or do. Everything that happens in this room stays between you and me.”
“Everythin’?”
“Well, as long as it stays legal and safe.”
“There’s a lot of illegal and unsafe shit in my past.”
“As long as you’re safe now, that can also stay between us.”
“....I still don’t like this.”
She smiled. “That’s perfectly fine. Not everyone likes a noisy person.”
The bus ride from the beach back to Hope’s Peak was thankfully quiet. Most of the students had worn themselves out and midway through the ride, half of them were asleep.
“Mondo?” he heard Taka whisper.
“Yeah?” he responded, voice muffled by Taka’s shirt. He was still hugging him. It felt like the world would change again if he let him go.
“I was checking to see if you were awake. Are you feeling any better?”
“I don’t know how I feel, Bro. I’m too tired to think.”
“I know you don’t like it when I do this, but I must apologize for making you worry.”
“Naw, this isn’t cuz of you and Hina. This….how do I even explain this shit? I….”
He felt Taka rub his hand across his back. It made him feel warm and weird. He was glad he couldn’t see his face.
“Don’t rush to explain yourself to me. Take your time. Whatever it is, I’ll still be here when you find the right words to say it. Maybe some sleep will help?”
“Maybe.”
Taka ran his fingers through the hair on the back of Mondo’s head and the biker had to fight the urge to squeal like an idiot.
“Alright! Everyone up!” the bus driver yelled as he switched the lights on.
The bus was filled with complains and shouts of protest:
“AH! The accursed light!”
“Turn it off!”
“Get off of me, you half-sized freak!”
“Which one of you pathetic peasants stole my glasses?!”
“M-Mikan, what are you doing?!”
Waaaaah! You ruined my dream!”
“So much for gettin’ any sleep,” he said as he sat up from Taka’s shoulder.
Once he’d gotten back to his own room, he took a shower then climbed under the covers. He expected to pass out as soon as he hit the mattress, but he felt more awake now than on the bus. As much as he tried not to think about it, a lot had happened that day. No, not even just that day. Yeah, technically it was but-
He threw a pillow over his head and groaned. “Just stop thinkin’ and go the fuck to sleep.” He didn’t listen to himself, of course, and pictured the days of the past. He could almost hear Daiya’s voice and sense him behind him. He lifted the pillow and looked behind himself. No one was standing there and he felt stupid for even thinking anyone would be.
The items on his nightstand caught his eyes. There was a plate of food Hina had made and wrapped in foil for him. He felt bad for not having touched it yet. Then there was also the box Taka had carried in for him. The one Tanaka had given him.
“I didn’t want you to leave it on the bus,” Taka had explained after walking Mondo to his dorm, “I also put your turtle stone in the box for safekeeping.”
That damn stone. It still bugged the hell out of him that it actually worked and it freaked him out that the nonsense Tanaka talked about could actually be true! It made his skin itch. But worse than that, it made him want to go back. He still had the stone and it wasn’t broken like before. And he had the box this time, so didn’t that mean he could return whenever he wanted to? And since he had a rough idea of how the stone worked, didn’t that mean he could go back to whenever he wanted?
He sat up and stared at the box. It was tempting. He could go back and see Daiya again. He reached over and grabbed it. He opened it up and the stone sat within, slightly gleaming.
A weird feeling of deja vu washed over him. He wasn’t sure why, but he suddenly remembered Daiya mentioning another version of the crash, one where he had died instead. He had witnessed and felt how that had gone, but Daiya had seen the aftermath. Mondo hadn’t been there for that one, the first time time had reset for Daiya, but time definitely had been messed with because the stone had been in his pocket.
They never found out how the stone had gotten into the dead version of himself’s pocket.
He slammed the box shut and hurried for the door. This cryptic occult shit was way too much for him. As much as he missed Daiya, he didn’t want to risk some crazy time loop. His brother would kick his ass if he fucked either of them over like that.
He passed his classmate’s dorms and headed for the dorms of Class 77. He stopped at Tanaka’s door and frantically rang his doorbell. A few seconds went by and he banged on the door. A few seconds went by and-
“HOW DARE YOU DISTURB AN OVERLORD AT THIS HOUR?!” Gundham shouted as he cracked open the door, “Do you know how long it will take me to ease the nerves of my dark fiends so that they will not tear you limb from limb?!”
Mondo skipped an explanation and held out the box. “Just take the damn thing.”
Gundham frowned and opened the door further. It was probably the only time he had ever seen him without his purple scarf, or in PJs for that matter. Wait, what was he himself wearing? He looked down and realized that in his rush he had totally forgotten to throw anything on. Now he was standing in the school hallway in nothing but his boxers. Great.
“How do you have the Tamatebako in your possession?” Tanaka was saying when he focused again, “How did you have time to steal it from my home?”
“I didn’t steal shit! You gave it to me in the past.” He opened the box so that he could show him the stone. “Remember givin’ me this earlier? This shit actually works!”
“I-It does?” Gundham stuttered as his face went slightly paler, “W-well of course it works. Why wouldn’t it? The Stone of the Dragon’s Sea is a relic created by the Dragon Emperor himself!”
“Yeah, yeah, fantastic. Why did you give me this fuckin’ thing in the first place?”
“In truth, I wanted to see if this stone was really that of which it is named. I could not risk using it myself without being certain of its abilities. My own safety could not be compromised by such an object, but I could not risk leaving my dark beasts unattended.”
“So you used me as a guinea pig?” Mondo growled.
“I would not use a beast in such a manner! But yes, I did test it on you.”
“You told me it was a gift.”
“What better gift for a mortal than to allow them to temporarily wield powers far beyond themselves? And what better gift for you than to allow you to face your past demons?”
He raised a brow at the upperclassmen. “What the fuck are you sayin’? You know somethin’?”
“Wherever you ventured off to using the Stone of the Dragon’s Sea is your business. I do not care for the trivial matters tormenting a mortal’s soul. I have repaid you for aiding the princess on the beach. Now hand over both relics to me.”
He really didn’t want to. He felt used. “How’d you know I wouldn’t fuck shit up, huh? I almost didn’t come back!”
“But you did.”
“And if I hadn’t?”
“I would have obtained the Stone of the Dragon’s Sea eventually. You are a brash and reckless being, but you are not mindless. Your soul is still bound to this time from the bounds you have foolishly made. Whatever was keeping you in the past would not have kept you from yearning for whatever holds you here. Unfortunately, the same can be said in vise versa.”
“I guess.”
“It is why you keep your hold on the relics. Do you wish to travel back once more?”
He froze. “Would you let me? Don’t you want these?”
Gundham laughed loudly. “Time would not pass here. Only you would feel the change, same as before. The only way this would not happen is if you were to change time, which could happen.”
He looked down at the box. He could. He could go back.
He sighed and pushed the box into Gundham’s hands. “Aniki would lose his shit if I went back. He died again for me and I’m not wastin’ what he sacrificed to give me. And I’m not gonna make him die for me again. I just couldn’t do that to ‘em.”
Gundham picked up the stone and examined it before putting it back in the box and closing it. “A wise decision. It sounds as though this stone has served you well.”
He grinned a little. “I guess it did. What do you plan on doin’ with it?”
“The plans of a god are not to be disclosed to a mere mortal,” Gundham said as he turned to leave.
“Hey, wait a sec!”
“Hm?”
“....Thanks, man.”
Gundham turned back to him, a little surprised.
“I really needed to go back and straighten some shit out.”
Gundham face went a little red as he cleared his throat. “Well, just a….an added result. As previously mentioned, I do not care for your trivial matters. Goodnight.”
He quickly closed his door, leaving Mondo standing in the hallway. He headed back to his room and slipped back into bed. Yawning, he reached over and grabbed the plate of food Hina had made for him.
He imagined that Daiya would be proud of him for choosing to stay.
“That was so much fun!” Taka yelled for the fifth time as he, Mondo, Sakura, and Hina walked out of the fair.
“I cmant balieve mo like….roller coasters so much,” Hina said between bites of her donut. She giggled as Sakura brushed some sprinkles off of her cheek.
“It went so fast and the loops were so thrilling!” Taka exclaimed, “It was like being on Mondo’s motorcycle….except everything was perfectly legal!”
“See what I mean?” Mondo said as he put an arm around his shoulder, “The adrenaline is addictin’.”
“That doesn’t mean I’ll allow you to speed.”
He was about to protest when he spotted Gundham across the street. He was holding a pet carrier and was speaking with some girl. He bent down and opened the carrier. The girl reached in and pulled out a white cat wearing a large pink bow. The cat nuzzled the girl's face, then locked eyes with him.
It couldn’t be.
The cat wiggled free from the girl and jumped down into the street. It ran across while Gundham and the girl frantically ran after her. It didn’t stop until it ran up to him and jumped into his arms.
“Holy shit! You could’ve gotten yourself ran over,” Mondo said as he held the cat close.
The cat didn’t seem to care about that. It was purring and rubbing its face against his cheek. “Meow!”
“Kasha!” Gundham called as he and the girl stopped in front of him, “What possessed you to run off like that?!”
“She seems to really like Mondo,” Hina said as she pet behind Kasha’s ears.
“Meoeow!”
Gundham stuttered a few times before saying, “When has your name ever been Princess?”
Mondo looked down at the cat in his arms. She wasn’t a kitten anymore, but it was her. She looked back up at him and it was the one time in his life that he could guess exactly what a cat was thinking. “So you remember, too?”
“Mew.”
“Tell him I said hi for me, okay?”
She nuzzled her head into his chin before jumping from his arms back into the girl’s arms.
“Seems like you’re friendly with everyone,” the girl said. Her clothes weren’t familiar to Mondo, but her voice and the way that half her hair covered her face made his eyes go wide. “You’ll be perfect for my sister.”
“I didn’t know you gave away your animals,” Taka said to Gundham.
The Ultimate Breeder was watching Mondo closely, something he had only just started noticing. “I do not commonly allow mortals to take over the care of my beasts, but when I sense a bond, I must allow my fiends to choose their own servants. Kasha, have you changed your mind?”
Princess looked over at Mondo as though she was waiting for him to answer.
He looked from her to Mari. “She seems to like you a lot. I’m sure she’ll be a great fit for your sister.”
Princess started purring again.
Mari looked down at her. “I hope so. My sister has a thing for cats. She thinks they’re the cutest animal that’s ever existed.”
He wanted to ask her about her sister, herself, why she wasn’t at Hope’s Peak anymore, but explaining how he knew her would make him look insane. “My brother was the same way.”
“Hello, Mondo.”
“Hey, Ms. Nomaru,” he said as he walked into her office. He sat down on the couch in front of her and leaned back.
“This might be the best mood I’ve seen you in the month I’ve known you,” she said as she poured him some tea, “Something good happened?”
“You could say that.”
“Well, don’t leave me in suspense.”
“It’s...kinda hard to explain. I’ve….well, I don’t feel the same, if that makes any sense.”
“How don’t you feel the same?”
“I guess I don’t feel as….guilty?”
“About what?”
“About what happened to Daiya.”
“That’s good. What brought about this change?”
He scratched the back of his head. It had been almost a week since he had traveled back in time. It was still weird to him and pretending like everything was normal made him want to bang his head against a locker. But he couldn’t tell anyone about what happened. Taka and Hina had asked several times about what happened on the beach, but he would just tell them that he had an anxiety attack. Not that that was a lie. The only person who would believe him was Tanaka, and he wasn’t really one to talk to about emotional stuff like that.
“You're hesitating,” Nomaru said as she handed him his cup, “If this is another topic you’d like to save for another session-”
“Y-yeah, it’s….it was a dream, I think. Imma talk about it eventually but maybe later.”
“That’s perfectly fine. What would you like to talk about today?”
“....Could we talk about the crash?”
Nomaru paused from drinking her own cup of tea. “If you feel ready to.”
“I think I am.”
She smiled. “I am very intrigued by this dream of yours. It seems to have had a very positive effect on you. But one step at a time, right?”