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All Mondo could hear was the sound of Taka’s agonizing cries and pleas. He couldn’t bear to open his eyes. Couldn’t see how badly he had affected his best friend by letting himself do something so utterly foolish. He was glad it was himself getting punished and not Taka.
The last thing on Mondo Owada’s mind was his dearly beloved, Kiyotaka Ishimaru. He took his last, painful breath, and never opened his eyes again.
.
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.
Mondo heard faint voices around him, but he couldn’t make them out. He was lying flat on the ground. He felt dizzy. Nauseous. Sick. Sweaty. Slowly, he opened his eyes.
A boy was standing above him. The biker’s eyes widened, his chest tightening. He sat up quickly, making him feel dizzy.
Chihiro Fujisaki.
The boy he had murdered.
What was going on? Didn’t he just die? Where was he? Why didn’t Chihiro look scared, or even mad?
“Mondo?”
What was he even supposed to say? ‘Hey, sorry I accidentally killed you, let’s be friends again.’ You can’t just apologize to someone for killing them. It’s not like it will bring either of them back to life.
“It’s okay, Mondo. I’m not mad.”
. . .
What?
How was he not mad? He had to be, even a little bit. There’s no way he wasn’t pissed. God, if Mondo was Chihiro, he sure as hell would be. The moment the biker opened his mouth, the words just poured out.
“Fuck, Chi, I— I dunno why I did it. It was in the heat of the moment. I tried— to keep your secret. You didn’t deserve to die. I was— I was jealous. Jealous of your willingness to become stronger. Hell, you’re already strong enough as is. You’re more of a man than I’ve ever been.”
Mondo felt his eyes water. Shit, he felt terrible. He was ashamed of how weak he was. Chihiro had come up to him to ask for help, and he had to let his emotions get the better of him. God, he was pathetic.
Chihiro smiled softly, kneeling down and wrapping his arms around Mondo.
“I forgive you. You’re a loyal friend, Mondo. Even though you killed me, you decided to cover my secret. If you weren’t a strong person, would you have done that? It’s not your fault, it’s the mastermind’s. If we weren’t forced to kill, this wouldn’t have happened. Don’t blame yourself.”
Mondo buried his face into Chihiro’s shoulder, getting it wet with his tears. The programmer didn’t care. All he cared about was the fact that Mondo felt safe in his arms.
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.
After Mondo was finally done sobbing, he wiped his face with the sleeve of his tokko-fuku. Chihiro smiled at him.
“Do you wanna go see the others? Maizono, Ikusaba, and Leon,” asked Chihiro.
“Oh, uh, sure,” replied Mondo.
Chihiro led Mondo to a room with a television. Confused, the biker looked around, observing the strange room.
“Hey guys…I brought someone,” Chihiro announced shyly.
Three heads peered over the couch.
“Hey, Mondo,” said Leon with a small grin.
“Hey, Leon,” Mondo greeted back.
“Hello, Owada-kun,” said Sayaka with genuine concern on her face. Mukuro gave a small nod of a greeting.
“Hey, Maizono, Ikusaba” replied the biker. His gaze wandered behind them to see Taka on the strange television that sat in the center of the room.
Mondo’s breath hitched.
Taka.
His dear Taka.
He looked terrible.
Taka was frozen in place with a traumatized expression on his face.
Mondo’s heart sank. All he wanted to do was go back and hug him. Tell him how much he meant to him. How much he loved him. How deserving he was of anything and everything. He deserved the world.
He knew that would never happen. He already fucked up his chance of ever seeing Taka again.
All Mondo could do was watch helplessly on the sidelines as Taka suffered alone.
Neither Sayaka, Mukuro, Leon, or Chihiro spoke a word. They watched as Mondo got lost in his thoughts. All four of them knew how much he longed for Taka. Longed to hold him, to hear his laugh, see his smile, one more time.
The screen changed to Monokuma. The black and white bitch of a bear.
“Puhuhu! Now, that was a wild trial! The betrayal, the loss, the heart, the utter DESPAIR! Well, we all know Owada’s in a BUTTER place now! Cya for the next trial!”
“. . .”
The four kept their eyes on Mondo.
“That son of a bitch,” Mondo grumbled. Not wanting to blow up, he stormed out of the television room to take some time to himself.
“Owada-kun—” Sayaka tried to call out to him.
“He’ll be okay, Maizono. He just needs a minute to himself,” Chihiro reassured.
Sayaka stayed quiet, looking concerned.
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.
Mondo wandered this foreign place he was stuck in. He didn’t have a set destination, just wanted to get things off his mind.
The biker kept thinking about Taka. God, he could never escape him. He couldn’t ever stop. It’s almost like he was being haunted.
Mondo eventually found a place to collect his thoughts and compose himself. He sat down, his knees pulled to his chest.
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.
He didn’t know how long he had been sitting inside his head. Once he snapped back to the outside, he heard a voice he never thought he’d hear ever again.
“Mon?”
Daiya.
Mondo jumped, looking up at his older brother, who was holding their old maltese, Chuck, in his arms.
“Been a while, hasn’t it?” Daiya said with a smile.
Mondo had never stood up so fast. Never hugged someone so tight.
He shut his eyes, taking in the moment. He was with his brother. Daiya Owada. He hasn’t seen him for three years. And here he was, right in front of him.
Chuck licked Mondo’s face, making the younger biker smile.
“I didn’t forget about ya, baby boy,” Mondo cooed, scratching behind Chuck’s ear. The little white dog wagged his tail.
Daiya laughed softly.
“So… Tell me about yer time at Hope’s Peak. I wanna know what I missed in my lil bro’s life,” Daiya asked.
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.
It’s been a few days since Mondo ended up here.
He sat on the ground, surrounded by Daiya, Leon, Chihiro, Sayaka, Mukuro, and of course, Chuck. They weren’t doing much in particular, just spending time together.
That was until they heard a voice from behind them. One that Mondo knew all too well. One he couldn’t forget even if he tried.
“...Mondo?”
Kiyotaka Ishimaru.