Fandom: Dangan Ronpa

Pairing: Kiyotaka/Mondo

Disclaimer: Dangan Ronpa nor its characters belong to me

Setting: Original Universe

A Certain Kind of Warmth

The blood upon which your head lays is as vibrant and red as your eyes. The shine in your eyes is bound to fade soon enough though, so for now you simply lay and stare at the ceiling above. You wonder how long it'll take before you have to follow one of the lights embedded in it.

It hurt, to say the least. The blow shot pain like lightning through your entire body, starting from your skull through your toes and back up to your fingertips.

You contemplate what compelled you to come here for a brief moment. Suddenly you don't feel so cold anymore. The warm fluids beneath you mixed with dust and dirt cling to your once pristine and white uniform. It's tainted now, just like you, and the warmth you feel reminds you the reason why you're here... because you felt cold and were no longer yourself and all you wanted was to simply die and feel nothing.

It didn't have to end this way if you weren't so weak. You take this as fair punishment for your actions. You deserve it and reap what you sow and so forth.

Suddenly, much too suddenly in fact, the light your attention is on is brighter than it was before. It's bright... so terribly bright... brighter than you could ever even hope your future could be. It hurts, your vision goes white, and you manage to grip your head in utter despair. You open your mouth to scream, but still you aren't strong enough, so you can't even manage that. You shut your eyes tight and they start to sting...

Darkness is nice. Darkness feels great, but good things can't last forever, so you find yourself daring to open your eyes once again. In fact, on the contrary, you feel almost happy, perhaps even excited. You're standing at the front gates to the school of your dreams.

Suddenly, you remember.

Your first day at Hope's Peak Academy did not go as well as you had hoped it would. You were happy with the class size at least. Previous schools had too many students, too many people able to hurt you or threaten you. Even if the pain you had gone through made you a stronger man, you were still relieved not to be put through it again. You've worked very hard to be here, and as such would make the best of it. You promised Headmaster Kirigiri that you would fulfill your position as Super High School Level Moral Compass, and would continue to do as such.

You greeted the other students one by one. They were all so very interesting and unique, and not all of them backed away upon meeting you. However, one student caught your attention above the rest.

Mondo Oowada.

You could not fathom why a delinquent like him would be at a school such as this one. The Ultimate Gang Leader must have caught on to the worrisome stares you gave him throughout the day because halfway through it he decided to confront you.

"Hey, if you've got a problem with me then just say it!"

He towered over you. You admit you were a little intimidated by his size at first, but managed to keep your ground. He cracked his knuckles and gave a vicious glare. As much as you really didn't want to start trouble, you couldn't deny the need to state your opinion. After all, a man always voiced how he felt!

Oh, how stupid and naive you truly were.

That day you walked back to your room with a bruise on your cheek and a small cut on your bottom lip.

You remember how much it stung.

Not even a whole month into your first year at Hope's Peak did you come to the realization that you and Mondo Oowada were not such a bad pair. You remember challenging him to see who was manlier- ha, it was a sauna challenge- and during the process you ended up talking more than you intended too. It was okay though because he did too and in the end the two of you had respect for each other. Mondo called it a draw, but you knew who passed out first.

It wasn't until about a week after that when you decided to refer to the other as 'brother'. He had apologized for hitting you on the first day and you instantly forgave him.

You were just so happy to have a friend for once.

You remember how much that cut on your lip stung again, and how absolutely worth it it was.

By the time your third month of school came, you had made more friends than you ever thought possible. Mondo, of course, and Chihiro Fujisaki spent most of the time with you. You knew studying was also important, but always made sure to fit time into your schedule for them. They were your best friends after all.

Mondo loved the both of you... He never would have killed him had he remembered.

Him? That was right. A month after that, Chihiro opened up to you and Mondo about his sexuality. He wanted to become stronger, but Mondo was hesitant to help him. Neither you nor Chihiro knew why, so you took it upon yourself to confront him about it.

You remember Mondo crying as he talked about Daiya and also catching yourself from wiping away his tears with your thumb.

You never wanted to see him cry again.

Christmas was right around the corner. You and Mondo promised to keep Chihiro's secret confidential, and the biker agreed to make time to train with the High School Level Programmer. You were incredibly happy he opened up to you. You were the only one who knew about his past.

It made you feel special.

You were surprised when Mondo asked to take you outside school grounds alone. Normally, all the students got together and went out for the weekends. Either that, or it would just be you along with Mondo, Chihiro, and occasionally Leon or Naegi, although Naegi always seemed a little apprehensive around the biker.

You've always felt as though Super High School Level Luckster was an inappropriate title for Naegi Makoto. He really wasn't all that lucky to be honest, but did show a tremendous amount of optimism. His smile was contagious, and he always knew what to say when someone was feeling down. You had thought he should have been High School Level Hope instead.

So, anyway, you found yourself standing in front of the death trap most people referred to as a motorcycle. You and Mondo argue for at least a good ten minutes before he convinces you to get on the blasted thing- but not without a helmet of course! Safety always came first.

...How embarrassing it was.

It was flurrying out, and you wondered where exactly he was taking you, not that you could see, given you kept your eyes screwed shut the entire ride. The bike slowed down and eventually came to a halt. When you got off and got a good view of your surroundings, you recognized the cemetery that was nearby.

Oh.

"Hey, Daiya," Mondo said as he stood in front of his brother's tombstone.

He gestured for you to stand next to him. You complied, but felt as though you were out of place. It was a bit uncomfortable, but the feeling immediately disappeared the moment Mondo grabbed your hand in his own.

You wondered how it could possibly have been so warm, given he wasn't wearing any gloves.

"This is Kiyotaka," he continued. "He's my best friend- no, my brother, and I want you to meet him."

Your heart pounded so fast you felt as though it'd burst right out from your ribcage. Your chest felt tight, and suddenly you didn't know how to breathe.

His words simply took your breath away, you suppose.

If only he had taken your life too.

Your face was hot and the cold dusts of wind swat at your cheeks. You gripped Mondo's hand with more force than necessary and bowed your head in respect to the man who saved his life. You've always been an emotional being so there was no surprise when the tears started to flow.

You remember how warm you felt clinging onto Mondo as he drove you back to the school.

You had come to a complete and total understanding of yourself by the time Valentines Day arrived.

You no longer wanted to be Mondo Oowada's brother.

At the time, there were two options. Either you lie and keep your feelings to yourself or tell him and hope that, given the chance he might not return your feelings, he at least would remain your friend.

The chances appeared so slim, but fortunately for you, you didn't even have to be the one to come out first. Mondo struggled with his words, stuttered, and stumbled over his own feet before practically yelling at you to go out with him. It sounded more like a demand than a request, but you were one of the few that knew he raised his voice if he got nervous.

It was a rather cute trait. Well, in your opinion anyways.

Of course you said yes. The reply was as automatic as raising your hand in your favorite class.

Which happened to be Politics by the way. Not that it matters anymore.

There were tears to accompany your words, of course, and Mondo started to freak out for making you cry. As much as you wanted to stop, you couldn't because you were just so happy.

You remember making chocolates with everyone that day and how much fun you had in the process.

That summer was by far the greatest summer of your life. You continued your studies, of course, but there was also more time to spend with the rest of your classmates. You went to the beach, the amusement park, and even your first festival. You'll never forget all the fun you had with them.

Even after your death.

Sometimes you, Mondo and Chihiro would go on picnics together. Mondo made bentos and you'd bring tea and Chihiro would bring the blanket. The weather was always so beautiful then.

Such fantastic memories.

All in all, you've lived a pretty amazing life since coming to Hope's Peak Academy. Although you remember one particular night.

It happened not even a week ago from today.

A horrible terrible feeling swelled inside you. It sat like a stone in the pit of your stomach. You suddenly started having nightmares. One by one your classmates would die right in front of your very eyes. It was so awful and dreadful and Mondo always did his best to console you.

"It aint real, Kiyo," he'd say. "It's just a dream."

You'd truly like to believe that right now.

After hearing his words of comfort, he'd embrace you and run his calloused fingers through that soft and spiky hair of yours. It calmed you. You'd find yourself settled between his legs as he held you and just forget about the rest of the world. You prayed the nightmares would stop.

Unfortunately Mondo was the next on the list.

You screamed. It was a night terror. You'd sometimes received them as a child, but it wasn't as if you could remember what they were about. You woke Mondo with a start and his immediate reflex was to grab onto you and hold you tightly. You felt terrible for putting him through this, but was so thankful to have him there by your side.

The ominous feeling didn't go away nor did the memory of that godawful nightmare. You were desperate... So very incredibly desperate... So desperate to hold him, feel him, touch him. You did exactly that, and soon enough, Mondo was on top of you. He kissed away the tears that stained your soft pale cheeks.

Forget... That's all you wanted to do. You just wanted to forget everything you were feeling at that time. Suddenly, nothing mattered except for you and Mondo.

It didn't matter how anxious you were...

It didn't matter how guilty you felt...

It didn't matter how suspicious Junko Enoshima had been lately or that Mukuro had suddenly disappeared that day, and it certainly didn't matter how you never bothered to question them either.

None of it mattered.

Your thoughts didn't belong to them at that moment. They belonged to Mondo.

As did everything else, you admit.

Your tear ducts are overflowing by this point. You are full of regret, and with your last ounce of strength you grit your teeth and flip yourself over onto your stomach. The note that led to the storage room is crushed in the confinements of your hand, and, desperately, you call out...

"N-Naegi..."

You need Naegi because you know that if anyone can fix this dreadful disaster, it would be him. Sadly though, your last words die on your lips.

The blood beneath you is so warm.

Eventually, that warmth envelopes you. It's become a blanket of comfort and soon enough you find that your eyelids are much too heavy.

You pray to whatever God may exist that nobody has to die from this point on.

You pray that Junko gets what she deserves, and that if you somehow end up in the pits of Hell, you find her there as well.

You pray most of all though, that Mondo is waiting for you.

You pray...

You...

...