I'm who now?

by Clemerl

Being dropped into the killing game is always a dangerous place to be as a student of Hope's Peak, not knowing what will happen or who will kill whom. But what happens when the one in charge has a change of heart? Or rather, has the mind of someone else entirely who will stop at nothing to save everyone they can. Even if it dives them to Despair.

24. Machismo despair

"You okay?"

Chihiro looked up from the ground quickly at the voice who spoke to him and was met with the concerned gaze of his friend Junko as she sat across from him. Her face was flush once again and dotted with droplets of salt full sweat that clung to her and made her skin shine in the artificial lighting about them. He knew his features wasn't any better, he could feel the heat throughout most of his body and could occasionally feel one or more drops of moisture tickling him as they ran down his face. Though, thankfully, for once it wasn't from crying.

However, he couldn't find it in himself to smile back at his just as sweaty friend even when she pushed one of the few bottles of water they'd brought against his cheek. All he could do was look away from her concerned gaze in defeat. "I-I'm fine."

Junko frowned in response to his half-hearted words even as she pulled the cold bottle away, and he didn't need to imagine why. Both of them knew full well that he wasn't fine; he was anything but. Even after most of the day had past them by, and after exhausting himself with their late-night training, he still felt depressed.

"Oh, I'm just going through some…self-loathing." He reluctantly admitted to her, though only because he knew that if he didn't, she would find out eventually anyway. If she had given him a look of either concern or exasperation at what he said, he wouldn't know as he continued to look down at his lap. "It's just…after what Byakuya said this morning, I got so nervous I just sort of…froze up. I couldn't say anything."

Chihiro wanted to cry, but for once, they refused to be shed. He had just run out of tears, all that was left was his fatigue. "Mondo ended up having to help me out, and even he said that I was someone who, "can't fight back…I…I hate how weak I am."

"Hey now, that's not true." Junko tried to reassure him as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Come on, you're strong…"

Unfortunately, it did nothing to deter his belief. Her words slipping off of his discouraged heart like water off a duck's back. "No, it is. I…I'm just a weakling."

The fashionista wasn't swayed by his words as she grabbed both of his shoulders and forced him to look her in the eyes. "No, it's not. Chihiro, I know that you aren't the most masculine guy here, but that doesn't mean anything."

Her words were firm, yet carried a caring tone. There wasn't any hint of a lie or falsehood in any word and her eyes portrayed the same. She truly believed that he was strong, that he didn't need muscle to be the strongest person here. However, that didn't help as much as he had hoped it would.

"No, it's more than that. When Byakuya started saying all of those things, I tried to stop him. I tried to make him realize that he shouldn't be saying all of those horrible things about our friends like that. I…I tried to stand my ground but…but then he kept going even after everything I said." Chihiro's voice was faltering, and the volume of his voice slowly faded out as his head bowed in shame. Shame that he couldn't live up to his friend's expectations. "He just wouldn't stop and…and…"

Junko jostled him sharply and she made him look her in the eyes once more, pulling him close enough that he could feel her breath on his face. "Hey, hey! Don't focus so much on that. Listen, you can't take that one loss to heart. Remember what I said? He's lived a life of strife since he was born, he couldn't even trust his own family. So, of course he wouldn't be willing to trust anyone else after that kind of lifestyle."

He did remember that, he had been embarrassingly pressed up against her when she had said it after all. He would have had to have been absolutely deaf to have missed it. To think that someone had lived such a horrible life that they had to believe that people were expendable assets, and more over that they were one of his classmates to boot. It boggled the young programmer's mind to even imagen.

However, that did nothing to dissuade the soul wrenching pain the blond scion slammed him with in the library. Junko may have made it out that it was Byakuya's way of telling them to stay on their guard, but that didn't stop the pain in his heart from being targeted like that for being the weakest in the room. It didn't matter that it had been the rich boy's plan to rile up Mondo, it didn't stop the pain.

"Still…"

Junko cut him off before he could say anything more. "Plus, he's the head of one of the biggest companies the world over where even the slightest sign of weakness will drop you on your but before you can blink. I don't mean to be mean, but that was like going up against a level fifty super boss at level ten. That kinda thing only works for experts who grinded for hours every day until they know every avenue and aspect of the boss and their attributes."

Well, he couldn't deny that she had a point. Though he hadn't played many games in his childhood, he had been more focused on programming and working code for fun to spend the time and money needed to invest in investing time to playing videogames, he did understand where she was coming from. Byakuya was a professional in speech compared to someone like him who was so afraid of being bullied again that he chose to hide and cry rather than confront his aggressors. In contrast, the glasses wearing scion stood unflinching to someone who could, and would, pound his skull into the ground. He blatantly provoked the biker knowing that he would get a reaction, fully believing that he would be able to get away with it. Chihiro himself would never willingly try to do the same, it was practically suicide.

Junko was right, Byakuya was on a whole different level then Chihiro himself was. The millionaire had confidence in spades from years of fighting against the odds to rise to the top of his family's hierarchy and stay there. He had to be as ruthless as he was to get such a lofty position.

Still, that didn't explain one thing. "Level…ten?"

"What, did you think I was gonna say you were level one?" Junko smiled in a teasing way. "Come on, you aren't nearly that bad off. 'Sides, that's only in speech. When it comes to being a good person who cares for people, you have him beat by a country mile."

Chihiro blushed faintly at the vote of confidence, but he still wasn't quite sure. "Even so…"

"If you only focus on your failings, then you'll miss all of the good you've done."

Chihiro blinked, his mind struggling to process the words spoken by his friend. Her tone had become so serious so suddenly that he felt like suffering from emotional whiplash. "Huh?"

Junko shrugged lightly before adjusting her position to get more comfortable. "It's something I heard somewhere. But for the life of me, I could not tell you where it's from though. Regardless, it doesn't change how true it is. You're a great person, Chihiro. You do so much that I couldn't even begin to describe it all. Just focus on you. Don't let someone like him get to you."

Chihiro's cheeks regained their reddened hue once more and he turned away in embarrassment. "I…I get what you're saying, but…"

Junko, one more interrupted without a thought to what he was trying to say. "And about Mondo. Don't forget, right now he thinks you're a girl. Guys like him are all about protecting the woman folk. Some kinda thing about respecting them or something. For all his strengths, even he can't fight that thought process." The blond girl suddenly slapped the air in front of her with exasperated annoyance. "I mean, come on, the guy is always stressed and all but shouts about how he wants to have a good scrap, but he won't even humor the idea of sparing with Sakura because she's a girl. I mean, he'd still lose, but still."

The small crossdresser could help but giggle a bit at that, the over exaggerated simplification of Mondo's attitude doing wanders for his emotional state. "That's true…but, I think that makes him dependable. He's really just wants to help everyone."

Junko returned his endearing smile with one of whimsy. "Yeah, I guess. Still could stand to take a few anger management courses though, you have to admit that much."

"That's true." Chihiro didn't even try to argue that point. The amount of times the biker would yell for rather idiotic reasons was enough that, if someone were to list them all, it would drape along the floor.

Chihiro's smile fell soon after though, his mind returning to the reason they were doing this training in the first place. "Still, I have to get even stronger. If I'm so weak anything can make me cry…that's not good."

"I think it's endearing myself." Junko interjected with a small smile.

"Huh?"

"Well, it just means that your sensitive." Her face suddenly scrunched up in thought as she processed what she'd just said. "Wait…wrong word. What I mean is that, you care a lot about things people say; both the good and the bad. You're the sweetest person here, bar none, and you do your best whenever you can. You're fine as you are."

Once again, Chihiro found himself speechless. His face was red as he tried to come up with a counterpoint, but his mouth refused to respond. In some ways, he found this even more embarrassing then the fact that he would nearly burst out into tears at the slightest provocation. He didn't know what it was, but her kindest words always invoked similar responses of silence. Nor could he explain how the way she looked at him when she said such things made his stomach feel fluttery and his tongue feel like it was tied into knots.

Maybe he was getting sick, yeah. He should probably get that checked out, it wouldn't do him any good to get sick here.

He was brought out of his musings when he heard a surprisingly bitter chuckle come from his friend. Turning to look at her, he saw she had brought her good knee up to her chest and was resting her forehead on it while her arms had wrapped around her leg. Before he could ask what she was doing, her heard her mutter something that made his heart clench. "Sides, you aren't the only one that hates a part of themselves."

"Huh?" he asked, his eyes wide in shock. Just what was she saying?

"Believe it or not, I have somethings about myself that I can't stand either." She continued, her voice carrying a weight to it that made his heart feel like it had clenched in his chest. "I don't know if you noticed, but I can be extremely impulsive, I'm almost as bad as Mondo when it comes to controlling my temper, and patience? Forget about it. I can barely handle the thirty seconds it takes to reheat my morning pop tart, let alone something important. And I'm always so…so very bored. It's so hard for me to keep myself entertained that I keep tempting the idea of messing with everyone just to get a reaction…I mean, I don't since that's a bad idea in this situation, but I still keep entertaining the idea."

A deep, almost sorrowful sigh burst from her lips as she finally raised her head to look at him with dead, hollow eyes full of despair. "I have to restrain myself all the time from acting how I usually do to keep up this stupid appearance of being the perfect valley-girl stereotype model intact. If I don't, I risk damaging my reputation forever and losing my spot as the Ultimate Fashionista. I have more cons then pros to my personality, and none of them are allowed to see the light of day."

Chihiro was stunned silent by the model's speech, as well as the murky depths that she had revealed of her own personality. He had no idea that her life style was so hard on her, or that she had been holding on to these kinds of feelings. Whenever she talked with him, she had always seemed so kind and understanding, if a bit snarky on occasion. He would have never assumed that she held this much baggage on her shoulders. He wanted to try and reassure her that she was wrong, that she was really a good person, but that blank stare in her eyes had him choke on his own spit.

Then, a melancholy smile worked its way onto her lips, and his heart clenched up again. "But, I've made my peace with it. I knew that was what I was getting into when I was signed up for this. I…I've grown used to it by now. Sides, it only helps prove my point. Everyone has something about themselves that they hate about themselves, but you can't let that hate control your life. You have to focus on the things about yourself that you do like and use that as motivation to improve your faults or turn them into positives. That's how I get through my days anyway."

Chihiro stared at her with a feeling of sympathy for her and her situation, and almost unconsciously, he found himself scooching over to read a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She glanced at the hand for a moment, then turned her gaze to him. With the best, most sincere smile he could muster, he said his piece. "I think you're a wonderful person, Junko. I don't think you're as bad as you make yourself out to be. You're so kind to me and everyone around you, even when you don't have to, and you're always trying to help us all stay together. You're also very forgiving, you tried to make Sayaka feel better and helped start her on the road to forgiveness. And, even when you figured out my secret, you didn't tease me, or call me names, or anything like that. You've been helping me overcome my own weakness."

"C'mon, I didn't do that much." Junko halfheartedly denied with a lazy wave of her hand. "All I've done is help push you in the right direction."

Chihiro vehemently shook his head. "No, if it wasn't for you figuring out, I wouldn't even be here. I would still be hiding in my room, too terrified that I'd expose myself to even attempt to try to better myself. I would still be too scared that I would be a danger to myself to even do anything. Even if you think it was just a little, you've still helped me change, and maybe someday soon, I'll be able to tell everyone the truth without being afraid. And that's only thanks to you."

A deep blush enveloped him right as he finished, and he turned away embarrassed. He hadn't meant to tell her all of that, maybe most of it, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to make sure that she knew very well just how much her actions had impacted him and his life already, and to tell her how much he appreciated her doing so. He just couldn't stand letting her talk down on herself like that, it hurt him so much to see her try to make herself out to be a bad person. He just couldn't help but say what he had.

Junko's smile that had redeveloped near the end of his speech faded into an expression full of thought. "Yet…I can understand wanting to grow stronger. Hmm…"

Chihiro snapped out of his thoughts when the girl next to him suddenly started to stand, her crutch briefly wobbling as she adjusted it underneath her arm. "Junko?"

"Hey, this might be bit sudden, but let's go back down stairs. I want to try out the sauna." The suddenness of the request caught him flat-footed and left him reeling. There hadn't been any mention of the hot room in their conversation, so the unexpected desire was completely unexpected. He blinked as she limped towards the door, completely unaware of his befuddlement.

Startled, he quickly scrambled after her. "Huh!? Why?"

Junko, either not noticing his shock or ignoring it, turned to give him a mysterious smile. "No big reason. I've actually been meaning to head down there ever since they opened up. Now seems like the perfect opportunity. Come on."

"W-Wait! Junko!" He called after her as she walked away. He stopped as he passed through the door just long enough to grab his bag containing his uniform and pocket his E-handbook before charging after the surprisingly fast crippled girl, his shouts fading as he chased after his friend.

---

Meanwhile, in another part of the school, a heavy competition of endurance was taking place. Two men, both extremely determined to prove themselves the best man here sat with grit teeth and stern faces. Their eyes full of raw, unadulterated passion as they braved the odds to prove their machismo as the better man. Sweat of their burning desire poured down their red, boiling bodies and rapidly evaporated to coat their bodies in a valiant attempt to cool down their fiery forms. Thick, foggy puffs of air escaped from their clenched teeth, their breath actually so cold compared to the blistering heat of the room that it near vaporized the moisture as it left them. Without turning his head, one of the two young men spoke to his fellow competitor with labored breath. "D-Don't you think…it's about time…t-that you gave up…?"

The other, slightly taller man with a white towel laid across his pompadour to keep the moisture from completely melting the gel used to help keep the hair standing, didn't move to the taunt. Internally though, he was kicking himself for choosing to wear his clothes to make this easier for the namby-pamby sweating up a storm next to him. Yet, despite the absolute torture that his body felt it was under, he replied to his red eyed competitor. "What about you…? You can't even hardly speak…dumbass."

Taka was unmoved by the words of the biker sitting next to him, he simply clenched his cupped hands harder as he struggled to endure. He knew that the biker was blowing smoke, trying to get him to focus on his own body when he was about to pass out, but it meant nothing to the moral compass. He was determined to show that meat-headed fool who the real man was! "I-I'm fine. S-Say whatever you want…I'm still totally fine…good to go. In fact, I'm…actually starting to feel a bit…cold."

It took a moment for the burning biker to process exactly what Taka had meant since it could very likely have just been another of the taunts that they'd been slinging for a good while now. However, considering that he had actually started feeling the same now that the spiky-haired brunette had brought it up. "Aw, shit man…that's…prolly not good."

Regardless of the taunting of the two men, from the other side of the door to the boiling sauna the worried voice of one of the judges of their endurance competition, Makoto shouted a worried. "H-Hey guys. I know that you want to prove how big of bad-asses you are, but…don't you think you've done enough?"

"Shut up!" both of the roasting teens shouted back in reply, both determined to not give into the temptation of backing down first or losing their focus to the smaller boy's concern for their heath. Said boy couldn't stop the large bead of sweat running down the back of his head as the exasperated sigh of his fellow judge brought his attention away from the madness on the other side of the door.

"Come on guys. The night time announcement was a while ago. Why not just call it a tie for now and pick it up in the morning?" Leon groaned out from where he had slumped down by the door to the hot room, looking absolutely bored out of his mind. Seriously, how did he even get roped into baby-sitting these two morons with Makoto? He had just been getting a snack from the dining hall with Sayaka and Makoto when these two mooks grabbed him and the luckster and forced them to come help judge them.

Well, he was certainly judging them alright!

Taka, either unaware or outright ignoring the irritation in Leon's voice, stated back. "In a true competition…there is no such thing…as a tie! You either win…or you lose. That's the only thing that…matters!"

"Yeah…what he said…" Mondo continued with roughly equal exhaustion in his voice, completely forgetting both of their potential problems, but it was also filled with a begrudging…no, was carried actual respect in the man next to him for understanding and stating exactly what he was going to say. "Heh, in that case…Bring it on! I'll…I'll push you right up against the gates of hell!"

On the other side of the door, both boys gapped in response to the pure stupidity of that statement. However, Leon's was more exasperated then concerned. "S-Seriously!?"

Makoto was really feeling worried. While he wasn't sure that they were being serious in their declaration, it didn't make him feel reassured in the slightest that at least one of them would truly go that far. "G-Guys! This isn't good!"

Unfortunately, Mondo took their concern in the wrong way as he stated to the broiling teen next to him, "Y-Yeah, didn't you hear him? Why don't you just crawl back to your room? I'll let you know…how it went in the morning! Then you can start…spreading my legend!"

Taka, completely falling for the taunt, replied with roughly equal amount of heat. "Y-You wish! You'll…You'll fall down in front of me…on your knees. I'll show you where to do it…!"

"Big talk from somebody…whose face is about…to explode…!"

"R-Right back at cha!"

At this point, Leon gave up. Throwing his hands up in the air completely fed up with the metaphorical dick measuring contest going on, and also tired of sitting on the hard tile floor of the bathhouse, he stood up and started walking for the door. "Oi…Forget it, I'm going back. I've still got to get Sayaka to her room anyway."

"Yeah…that's f-fine…Later. I'll tell you all about my victory…in the morning!"

Taka, chuckled in response to Mondo's words of blood-boiling determination. "T-That's funny…I was…just about to say the same thing…about my victory!"

"…" Makoto had been just about to chastise the all-star for leaving, but now even he was sick of waiting for the two teens to realize that this was stupid. Finally accepting that there was no way for him to win in this situation, he turned on his heel and began to follow after the red-head, tossing back a quick, "…Okay, well…g'night then."

Once they were both out of hearing distance of the sauna and the two boys were still for a moment as they stopped to consider what they had just been forced to witness. Their gazes briefly locked on each other's, searching for clarification in their deadpanned expressions, before they turned as one to look back towards the sauna for a brief moment. Once they were sure that, yes, that was in fact a thing they had been forced to bear witness to, their gazes returned to the others and they both sighed. "…Geez. Talk about a couple of meat heads, am I right?"

Makoto nodded with a pensive grimace. While he didn't like speaking badly about anyone behind their back, he also had to agree with the baseball pick-up hitter. "Yeah…Do you think they'll be okay?"

Leon shrugged off his concern with barely a thought. "Yeah, they should be fine…prolly…most likely…well, at least they should be. I'm not sure about Mondo, but Taka should be smart enough not to let it go too far."

Makoto wanted to comment on how quickly the pro-baseball player had lost all confidence in his own reassurance, but he was more focused on his own indecision. A large part of him wanted to just call it a day and leave the two muscle-headed teens to their stupidity, and he was all for it too. However, he couldn't help but feel worried about them both, and Leon's own failing confidence in the belief that the two boys would be okay certainly didn't help.

Both Mondo and Taka were very determined, strongminded individuals. They were very firm when it came to their convictions, and were unwilling to bend to others will easily. It wasn't likely that either one of those very testosterone fueled men would be willing to call it off for anything short of a murder cropping up; and even then, he wasn't sure that was guaranteed.

Still, that didn't stop the feeling of mild irritation that came from being roped into something so seemingly pointless.

However, just as the two boys sighed and once more in exasperation, a familiar voice quipped, "Let what go too far?"

Makoto and Leon turned their heads to the source of the voice and where met with a rather unusual sight. Two girls, one blond with her hair pulled up out of her normal twin pigtails for one large ponytail and the other in her normal messy bob heading their way. The taller one was limping on a crutch while the smaller was helping to keep her stable. What was interesting though was the fact that they were both wearing matching blue tracksuits and pants, though the blond had taken the top of hers off and had it wrapped around her waist by its sleeves, leaving her white, partially see-through V-neck exposed to show off her black bra.

Quickly making sure to lock his gaze with their own to avoid any misconceptions that would result in him getting clubbed over the head for looking, Makoto abruptly asked, "Huh? Junko, Chihiro?"

"What are you two doing here?" Leon quickly picked up after getting a quick look at her himself and remembering the steely glare on her face when she said how she would club Byakuya over the head for pissing her off. He wasn't quite sure that it wouldn't apply to him as well.

Thankfully, if she noticed their glances Junko didn't comment on them, choosing instead to shrug disarmingly. "Eh, just planning to use the sauna for a bit. Cleanse the pores of the day to day poisons and all that, y'know."

Both boys instantly cringed, to the two-girl's confusion. Leon decided to speak up first though, awkwardly stating "Well, sorry to tell you this but you might need to wait for that."

Both Chihiro and Junko glanced at each other briefly before turning back to the boys as Chihiro asked, "Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, it's…" Makoto started before cutting himself off. How was the best way to say this? "Taka and Mondo are having an endurance contest in the sauna at the moment."

Junko instantly gained a look of frustration mixed with what the others could only guess was disgust. It was rather difficult to tell as it also carried a tinge of what felt like disappointment. Disappointment in what, they weren't entirely sure, but it was most likely aimed in Mondo and Taka's general direction if they had to guess. "Seriously? Ugh, and I was looking forward to it too…" She sighed, but then her expression quickly turned inquisitive. "Incidentally, how long have they been in there?"

Leon clearly hadn't noticed the icy glare she had obtained that the others noticed. He just shrugged and gripped the back of his head in exasperation. "Eh, a little over three hours by now…I think?"

"What!" both Junko and Chihiro shouted in response, the former with more heat compared to the pure concern in the latter. The suddenness of the whole thing caught the two boys by surprise.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Makoto asked, the quickest of the two to recover.

Junko growled in response, an almost primal, somewhat feral snarl. "Those idiots. There's a reason that they only let people stay in there for at most, twenty minutes! Tell me they at least brought some water for afterward."

Leon was still reeling at the sudden aggression on display, struggled to dredge up the memory. "Um, maybe? I don't know. It was all kinda sudden."

"No, I don't think so." Makoto corrected, nervously glancing between the infuriated girl and the door to the bathhouse. Now that he realized that the two machismo teens had actually forgotten to bring with them some water to keep them from dying of dehydration, his worry that had started to fade had returned tenfold. Were they actually going to be alright in there if they left? He didn't know, and that uncertainty gnawed at him.

Junko however, seemed to grow even more agitated as she started to storm past them all as she ranted. "Freaking-Ugh! Well, at least they aren't doing anything more completely stupid."

"Uhh…" Leon made the mistake of interjecting, and quickly cut himself off. Unfortunately, Junko had caught that slip up and paused in her steps. A very dark foreboding feeling suddenly gripped them all by the throats and left them shivering in their sneakers.

"…What did they do?" she asked very bluntly, and it made the hairs on the backs of their necks stand on end. Quickly picking up on the slowly building feeling of danger, both Makoto and Chihiro mercilessly stepped behind their red-haired cohort, fully prepared to use him as a human shield if necessary. Poor Leon wasn't even given a chance to give the two a betrayed look before he caught a glimpse of Junko's singular eye glancing over her shoulder and staring straight into his being. His eyes widened and his pupils dilated from the pure terror gripping his soul from the look of absolute murder contained in that one eye, paralyzing him on the spot.

From his position behind the tongue-tied ball-player, Makoto gulped down his fear as best as he could and told the demon possessing his female friend, "W-Well, Mondo wanted to give Taka a chance to win and…so, he might still be…wearing his clothes."

Junko was silent, deathly silent as she glared at the three of them, silent as the grave one might say, and it felt like their nerves had been dunked in ice water. The pure malice that emitted from her eyes was only dwarfed by the cold steel held within her next command. "…Hold my bag."

"Huh…? Oof!" Was all Chihiro was able to get out before she was taken out by the fashionista's bag containing her uniform as Junko tossed it over her shoulder and nailed the smallest member of the group, easily bypassing the two boys in the process. The boys were only able to barely process the whole thing before they turned their gazes back to the tall blond women as she headed into the bath house. Even with the limp, she made for an intimidating figure, and if asked later, both would respectfully deny that they had felt relieved that she wasn't aiming her sights on them.

However, though he knew what the likely answer was, Leon still felt that he had to ask, "Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm going to kill them..." Junko bluntly stated, her tone as dead and emotionless as if she was reporting the weather. "I'm going to bend them both over my knee, and then I'm going to kill them both. If they want to walk each other to the gates of hell, then I'll make them beg to be let in by the time I'm done with them."

The three students glanced at each other in shock at her bluntness. The way she had stated that didn't feel like a quip made from anger, like threatening to murder someone like that didn't really mean anything. It actually sounded like she truly meant it.

"W-Wait! Junko!" With panic in their minds, Chihiro quickly led the charge after their friend to keep her from ending the lives of two of their cohorts in a fit of rage.

Makoto and Leon were quick to follow after. "Wait up!"

---

It has been said that, in times of extreme adversity, people will either set aside the differences that separate them and band together, or allow the cause of their strife to overwhelm them. There will be times when you will be forced to find common ground with the ones you find yourself despising with all of your heart, lest you be forced to parish together. There may even be times where, upon spending time with the people you hate, you will learn more about them and obtain a new understanding of them that will either endear you to them, or at the very least help you relate to them.

That felt like what Mondo himself was feeling at the moment, even as his skin felt like it was nearly blistered and boiling under his clothes and his breath burned in his lungs, he couldn't help but find himself begrudgingly enjoying shooting quips with the stubborn asshole sitting next to him. "H-Heh…L-Look at you…You look like one of those goddamn hot spring m…monkeys."

"H-Heh, like you're…you're any better off. Y-Your face looks like it's about to…about to explode." Taka himself replied, his voice just as labored as his own, yet it couldn't hide the respect layered throughout each word.

Or maybe that was the heatstroke talking.

Mondo scoffed. The bastard had to be messing with him, there's no way that someone like him with his rules and studying fetish would ever have any sort of respect for a biker gang leader. "Don't even joke…I bet you're ready to just pass out, r-right here and now."

Taka in return, bit his lip and growled as he finally stood up. There was a noticeable waver in his step, but that didn't stop him from reaching over to the pale of water sitting next to the heating coals and splashing a bit on the heated rocks. Instantly the water evaporated into a hefty burst of steam with a loud roaring hiss that made the already blistering heat of the room spike even higher. Despite getting a full-frontal blast of steam that made his already broiling high body burn and his lungs scream at him for doing something so stupid, the stubborn boy slowly turned on his heel and sluggishly, stiffly stepped back to resume sitting down next the glaring delinquent. "D-Don't mock…my resolve. I can go for even longer then…then you could ever dream. L-Like I said, if a-anything, I think it's still too c-cold in here."

Mondo sneered back at him in response. Cocky bastard. Like he didn't see how stilted his walking was. "Tch, yeah right…I woulda thought that someone like you would…would know your limits…you punk."

Unknown to the biker, Taka was smirking inside. His plan, though spur of the moment, was working. The few books he'd studied on people who turn to the dark side said that the best way to get them to respond was to prove yourself on their level. It wasn't easy since you needed to do more than just say that you were on their level, you needed to let them challenge you to something that they would be great at and match or surpass them. After that, they would be putty in your hands as long as you kept loyal to your ideals.

True, it wasn't actually something he had been planning to enact on in the first place, it was far more than a little manipulative for someone of his morals to do. Yet, in the heat of their argument in the cafeteria when Mondo challenged him to this competition and he'd accepted, he ended up realizing that he was doing just that. Even if he only realized it an hour into their contest, that didn't change what had happened. It bit at him for even considering using such a tactic, yet it was far too late now for regrets. Now it was the time to strike while the iron was hot! He would then bring this fool hearty fool back into the light!

After all, as he had once said, "When the body is naked, so is the soul." So, this would be the best way for them both to interreact and he can form a real bond!

"Say…" Taka had to take a moment to gulp down the heated drool that had started pooling in his mouth in an effort to sooth the burning desert that was his throat without letting the actual punk in this situation learn about it; it wouldn't do to show weakness here. "s-say what you will about me, but I still…I still hold the moral high ground! Y-your no-good attitude won't help you he-here."

If Mondo had seen his momentary lapse in speech, he wouldn't ever know because the biker had been more focused on his words then his floundering. That rage made anything else irrelevant for him. "The fuck you say!? You don't know a goddamn thing abo-about me! You gotta death wish or something!?"

Taka smirked in return even as his chapped lips stung from the movement. Gotcha. "Hah! See! That is exactly…exactly what I was talking about! Your attire is appallingly sloppy…You think you can solve all of your problems with violence, and…a-and you're in a biker gang! People like you are always cowards that are all bite and…and no…morals, who make excuses for being the way they are instead of improving themselves. You're just…just like Byakuya! When it comes to having guts, compared to you, I've already won by default!"

Mondo growled, and that made him feel even more smug even as his head felt wabbly and unsteady from expending so much energy during that speech. He was right after all! And now that he'd brought the truth to light, he could begin the road to this reckless youth's reformation into a proper member of society. It would be a long and grueling challenge, one full of failures and triumphs, but it would be better for the delinquent in the long run. He knew calling him out to this challenge was the perfect way to-

"You son of a bitch…" Mondo growled, but this was different then his usual angry growling. Instead of the usual aggressive undertones, this one felt more…how to put it? Defensive, and maybe a bit scared. "You think you're hot sh-shit, but you don't know nothing. I'm not in a biker gang, I'm the de facto leader of the biggest goddamn biker gang this country has ever fu-has ever fucking seen. I'm the guy responsible for every single one of the Crazy Diamonds, I have been since…my brother…"

Mondo trailed off with both his clenched teeth and hands. His eyes had squinted shut as well, but that could have just been from the sweat possibly getting into his eyes. But, more importantly, this wasn't anything Taka was expecting. To think that he was actually someone who actually had responsibilities, and more importantly took them seriously. That wasn't anything like what his studies had told him, they told him that they became lowlifes to escape from responsibility, and everything associated with it.

But, more importantly, what did his brother have to do with this?

With raised brow, Taka decided to ask, "Your…brother? What about him?"

Mondo was silent for a moment, his arms clenched tighter than anytime they'd been before, and that raised the other of Taka's brow with concern. But that only means that… "He's…dead. He died."

"…!" Taka's other brow jumped up to join its brother as his jaw dropped from shock. "I…I didn't know…"

Mondo looked away with a glare plastered on his face. He spoke clearly, yet firmly, with his tone completely depressed. "Yeah, well, not…not many know about him…anymore. It happened a few years ago and…n-never mind. I don't wanna talk about it."

The moral committee chairmen couldn't meet his eyes, and let his own droop down. To think, that was the reason he was like this. "I…I see. If it's not too presumptuous of me, why…w-why did you both join a biker gang in the first…in the first pl-place."

Mondo's face turned into a rather grotesque scowl, as if by saying that, Taka had spat right into his cereal. "Tch, we never joined a gang, we…we built it up together…but Daiya was the one who got it all started. He rounded up all of the biggest bad-asses to ever ride a hog and t-told them we were gonna clean up this damn town. We'd been riding together ever since…"

For Mondo it was the height of insulting for him to be called that. To make it seem like he was some little kid who only joined the just so that he could say he was cool. That kind of thing was something that made him feel really pissed off, of all of the things this punk could have insinuated. That was the kinda bullshit that he kicked people out of the gang for, for not taking it seriously. Just because he invited just about anyone to try it out and ride with the gang for a trial run, didn't mean he wouldn't kick people out for being worthless punks who were only in it for themselves.

On Taka's end, he was running their conversation through his head trying to understand Mondo's words. This was different then what he had been led to believe, he had assumed that Mondo was only in a biker gang because he had thought it was cool, yet now it seems that was wrong. To think, it was actually the man's elder brother that was responsible for leading him astray, and for him to out right start a biker gang! That kind of irresponsibility was shameful in the highest extent!

However, there was something about that statement that caught his attention. "…Hey, you said your brother brought together your gang to…t-to clean up the streets…What did you mean b-by that?"

"Shit, you caught that." Mondo sighed with the realization that he'd messed up. No point in hiding it. "Yeah, he wasn't a fan of the way the cops in our area were being complete fucking morons, letting all kinds of shit happen that they s-should have been taking care of…Daiya was sick of letting all of the jackasses out there r-run 'round like they owned the damn place."

"Then why didn't he join the police force himself?" the moral committee leader asked with a raised brow. It was only logical in his mind. When there's corruption, you fight it at the source. That's what his father always believed anyway. "He could have worked alongside them…to help protect and serve-"

"Don't you think he would have if he could?" Mondo suddenly cut him off with a surprising amount of disgust and disappointment in his tone that completely shut down the passion in Taka's speech and left him stunned.

"What do you mean?" Taka breathlessly asked, and he was not prepared for the answer.

"Daiya tried that first." Mondo explained with frustration and vile on his tongue like he was spitting venom with each word. "Tried to join the fuzz as a motor cop. He had the smarts, the guts, and the attitude that could have cleaned up the town easily…but, some bastard with a chip on his shoulder set him up for something he didn't do and got him kicked before he could even start! That's why he started the gang in the first place, because of crap like that! That's why we need to get out of here."

Mondo suddenly slumped down in his seat, almost like he had burned out all of his energy with that outburst. Even his normally clenched fists had gone limp, and yet, when he looked closer, Taka could see them quivering slightly…but that might just be from all of this heat, he wasn't sure.

"I need…" Mondo choked for a second, but he quickly recovered. "I need to get back to the gang. They're the only thing I got left in this rotten world…"

Taka was floored by that. "The…only thing left? That can't be right, what about…" Taka struggled to think of something that this brute of a man could still cherish besides a group of delinquents, and ended up just saying the first thing that came to mind. "your parents?"

Mondo had gone silent again for a moment, and for a second, Taka held within a hope that he had been right on the money with that one. Parents were the only thing that should always be trying their best to raise and support their kids, so surely, they would be someone that he could look to as a reason to continue living. Right?

But, then Mondo spoke again and brutally shattered that thought. "…Not even them. Mom barely interacts with me since Daiya…passed away. And my Dad's a complete ass, he wouldn't give a damn if I died. The Crazy Diamonds are all the family that I got left, and they…they're all that is left of my brother's legacy."

That was…That was much more deeply intricate then he had first thought. Taka had only thought it was something revolving around idolizing his elder brother from the way Mondo had spoken of him, and that did seem to be a good part of it, but to think that he thought that his own parents who raised him wouldn't care if he died. That thought was…rather disheartening to say the least. But that feeling of pity was over whelmed but the newfound respect he held for the biker for carrying on his deceased brother's legacy and the responsibilities it entailed; despite how unethical it might be in the grand scheme of things.

"Their survival…" Mondo continued unknowing of the respect that he had now earned from his dedication, "it's all on my shoulders. But…I don't got the brains that geniuses like you got, I'm all brawn. Hell, I'm lucky that this damn academy even let me through the fucking gates in the first place. That's why I need to get out of here. They're all waiting for me out there."

Taka wanted to tell him that he was being a bit over dramatic, and to reassure the biker gang leader that if they were as strong as he claimed they were, they would be just fine until they all managed to escape. However, when Mondo called him that dreaded word that he despised more than anything, he found himself frozen as he tried to contain the rage that word inspired in him. "…Don't call me that."

"Huh?" Mondo uttered, having not quite caught what Taka had said, even as the fuel to his aggression faltered at the sudden level of aggression in the moral compass's voice.

"Don't call me that word." Taka repeated with more force in his voice as he faced the confused biker. "I'm no genius. I'm a normal person, just like anyone else. I'm from a middle-class family; actually, they're not even middle-class...We're broke and cripplingly in debt."

Taka grit his teeth, the memories of exactly why his family was so poor to begin with fueled his rage. "That's why I have to push hard! I have to knock down that wall of ignorance that promotes them of those that truly work hard for their place in the world! It's not geniuses that change the world. It's ordinary people who make every effort they can. And to prove that, I have to keep on making effort after effort after effort! So, do not call me a genius! Don't lump me in with those lazy clods who don't put in any effort!"

Mondo was stunned by the sudden ferocity in the committee member's voice. It was so much more bitter then his normal bravado that it left him stunned and confused. Yet that wasn't the only thing that confused him. "Wait…what? Ain't you like, an A class student or something? Wouldn't you have to be a…" He paused for a moment, trying to think of a way to say it without offending the teen next to him. "you-know-what to be like that?"

Taka cringed at that remark, and his eyes lost a bit of the heat they held before. The teen then turned his head away from the biker, as if unable to look him in the eye, but his scowl remained even as he stated, "…Just because someone gets perfect grades, it doesn't make them a genius."

"…I don't get it." Mondo admitted in turn, his hand reaching up to scratch his head through his sweat laden locks. How could you not be a genius to have such good grades? He'd always assumed that only really smart guys would be able to do anything of the sort. Hell, his own grades, while not exactly failing, were quite frankly shit in most areas that didn't revolve around machines, and measurements for things like wood working or such, hence his belief that you'd have to be a genius to be able to keep up with it all.

"Like I said, I push myself hard in everything I do, I put my blood, sweat, and tears into my studies to keep my grades at their highest. I have to spend countless hours hitting the books or risk falling in my GPA. I have no time to waste on the nonsense that the others pointlessly indulge in…" Taka cringed, his voice losing most of the heat once more, becoming more sheepish and shy. "even if it makes it difficult to hold a normal conversation with them at times."

Mondo found himself nodding along. That part was very clear, even the most socially inept person could tell that Taka really didn't know how to interact with people very well. Still, "Are you serious? Fuck man, I mean, I get that your motivated and shit, but where's all this coming from?"

Taka was silent for a moment, his eyes remained locked on the ground as a deep scowl formed on his face. One filled with immense loathing and frustration. "Byakuya. His actions today and his story, I want to hate him because his actions remind me too much of the very people I stand to prove greater then. Some consider genius fate's blessing. But I see it as a tragedy more than anything. I can't help but pity him for being called a genius and for him letting it get to his head."

His scowl lessened and Mondo saw his gaze fill with something he had trouble recognizing. But if he had to put it to words, he'd say it was…pity. "Yet, I've seen him struggle with the most common of tasks on the job board. It's the tragedy of finding success without understanding the importance of effort. There's nothing worse than a genius who trips and falls. Just like my grandfather..."

Huh? Where had that come from. "…Your grandfather? Why, what'd he do?"

The public moral committee member flinched and he became full of shame. He genuinely hadn't meant to say that. Momentarily, he was hoping to avoid having to discuss his very real disappointment in the greatest disappointment in his family, but it would be unfair of him to ask Mondo to drop the subject now, especially after talking about the biker's own family matters. So, despite how it made his stomach turn into knots, he hesitantly turned and asked the dreaded questioning that he loathed to hear the answer to. "…How much have you heard of the former Prime Minister, Toranosuke Ishimaru?"

"Not much," Mondo admitted after a moment of pondering. "last thing I can recall was something about some embezzlement he did or something like…wait, you mean he's…!?"

"The very same." Taka muttered with a grumble. At least he didn't have to go through that part. "That man is my Grandfather…he was what many considered a genius. He never had to study hard to learn any topic, he was always on top of any conversation he held with anyone. In only a few years' time, he went from Minister of Foreign Affairs to Chief Cabinet Secretary, and finally...Prime Minister. And all without any support network, and only a high school degree...! He was, simply, a genius. Everything he did, he did without any effort."

Mondo couldn't help the dropping of his jaw. What the hell kind of man was he!? "Holy shit…! How the hell did someone like that get involved in a crime that bad!?"

"Simple...he allowed himself to be controlled by naive emotions, and got roped into a corruption scandal." Taka stated with great shame coating his tone. "He had no idea what the world of geniuses was really like. At least, that's how I see it. At that point, he fell just as fast as he had risen. And it wasn't just in politics. The business world had no use for him anymore, and he plummeted. The debt he left behind torments my family to this day. He died a few years ago. By the end, he wasn't speaking to anyone. Despite his fame, his legacy...the only people who came to his funeral were family members."

The ultimate biker's gaze dropped at that in disbelief. That was the kind of rise and fall story that you'd hear in one of Hifumi's manga or something like that. It was so absurd and ridiculous that, if it wasn't straight lace Taka saying it he wouldn't have believed it. "…Shit, man. I had no idea."

"My grandfather serves as in important lesson why you must never be deceived by words like "genius." That's why I felt so frustrated by Junko's tale of Byakuya's family. Their actions are just like the kind of scandals that ruined my grandfather, forcing someone to live such a harsh life, and ruining their futures. I don't want him to end up like my family did just because he was unaware of regular procedure and ethics…"

The steel that had faded from Taka's eyes had returned again, only this time it was tempered with a passion that impressed the biker greatly. "But after that, I hope to reform this world back to where people like Byakuya don't have to exist! Relying on my own effort, I will reach greater accomplishments than anything my grandfather ever did! So, we have to work hard to build a society where those who put in the most effort will be properly rewarded!"

Mondo couldn't help but give him a sad smile. "Heh, you make it sound so easy."

Kiyotaka was quick to jump to the defense of his resolve with fire. "Of course not! Nothing worth doing is easy! However, no matter how intensely the stormy seas may batter me, I will not fall as long as my feet are firmly planted! And if you can't do it alone, just find someone to support you, and you can support them back! That's how you can overcome any storm!"

"Bitchin!" Mondo returned with a hearty chuckle. "Heh, it's kinda funny."

Taka faltered for a second, but quickly refuted, "Wha-What could you possibly find funny about my resolve!"

"Hell no, that's not it." Mondo returned fire with just as much heat, before his voice lessened to a more manageable and almost fond tone. "I just can't help but notice that…you kinda sound just like my bro used to talk."

"…I…Really?" Taka found himself stunned by the sincerity and respect layered throughout the words of the biker that it left him flustered. It was so different from how he was used to the biker speaking to him.

Unaware of what his words had done, Mondo continued. "Yep. He was all about how much the world keeps trying to beat down everyone that couldn't stand up strong. You're trying to make your way in the world, but then all of it gets taken from you by some piece of shit who thinks they're better then you. That's why he was always pounding it in my head about upholding his promise as a man, so that I didn't end up like those kinds of scumbags."

Despite the utter profanities arranged within, Kiyotaka found himself in awe at the words spoken by the man sitting next to him. Regardless of how idiotic he looked and how he carried himself, it seemed that there was actually a truly decent and earnest person deep down in that sweltering pile of testosterone and fury. Never before had he felt some kind of understanding for another man feel so strong, nor had he ever met someone with such similar ideals to his own. They came from two very different backgrounds, each with their own kinds of hardships, and yet they both despised the way this world worked and were seeking to be better than the labels forced on them.

It almost made him want to cry, were it not for a burning question on his lips. "I believe you've mentioned that before, what exactly is a, promise as a man?"

"Tch, it's not all that complicated!" Mondo stated, blunt as ever. "Daiya always said, a real man always keeps a promise, no matter what! That's what he left me. So, you can trust me when I make a promise, no matter what."

"I see…" Taka said, noting the fondness in Mondo's voice and returning it in kind. "He sounds like he was a truly respectable individual. The world lost a truly great man when he left."

"Yeah…we really did…" the gang leader stated with a thick tone of melancholy on his tone. The two boys fell into a calm silence, lazing back on the wooden bench with closed eyes, both taking a moment to just think about everything that had been said and reminisce about their own pasts that they'd brought up.

Despite the fact that they had both started this competition to prove themselves stronger than the other, they had both endured not just the heat but the emotional roller-coaster that had come from their recollections of their pasts together. Even as their bodies burned and they both felt like collapsing, neither were feeling like breaking this comfortable silence that had overtaken them. Strangely enough, this whole situation felt almost…nostalgic to the two boys. Like they had done this song and dance before.

But they both shrugged that feeling off. There was no way for that to be true, they would have remembered that by now and said something. 'The heat must be getting to me.' They both mutually thought with a shake of their heads.

After a while though, a rouge thought came to be within Mondo's head.

"Hey, you know, maybe it's the heat talking, but I got an idea."

"What is it?" Taka asked, intrigued by whatever it could be that the biker he'd bonded with had come up with.

"When we get out of this death trap, what say you and I team up together, as bros."

"B-Bros…!?" The request completely shocked the energy back into his system and causing his eyes to shoot wide open.

"Hell yeah!" Mondo confirmed as he straightened up and looked the other teen in the eyes with the most honest smile Taka had ever seen on the biker's face. "You've got the chops to make anything happen, and I've got the muscle. And shit, you seem alright in my books. Working together, I think we could clean this town up. We'll be brothers in arms!"

"Brothers…in arms." Taka mulled the words over in his mind over and over again, and before he knew it, a large grin forced its way onto his face. "I like that! Hahaha! Agreed then! But why should we wait until after we escape!? I say, lets band together right now…Bro!"

Mondo pumped his fist forward in a show of excitement and his voice rose in turn. "Now you're talking my language, bro! Let's show that rat bastard running this shit game our resolve!"

"Right! Let's!" Taka replied with just as much excitement as he flung his arm over the biker's shoulders. Mondo returned the act and they found themselves both completely losing themselves in their excited laughter in finding someone who truly understood their resolve.

Eventually though, Mondo couldn't help but notice something. "…Say, bro. Not to ruin this awesome moment or anything, but does it seem to be kinda cold in here?"

"What do you mean, bro. It's still…" Taka's own voice trailed off as he stopped to consider it. "Actually, now that you bring it up, there does seem to be a lot less steam in here then there has been."

"Yeah, I know, right? It's like someone opened the…" His gaze wandered over to the door that was supposed to be closed, only for him to realize that someone had apparently cracked open the door slightly ajar. His gaze drooped a bit, disappointed that their endurance contest had gone down in flames, but he wasn't too broken up about it. He had gotten a new bro out of the deal, and he had a newfound respect for the shit Taka had had to deal with.

Unfortunately, when he was going to move to shut the door so that they could continue their sauna section, the wooden door was thrown completely open with a mighty bang reveling what Mondo could only describe as a demon with blue eyes colder than the ice of the artic staring straight into his and Taka's souls and chilling them to the bone. Or maybe it was the colder air from the other room rushing in, either one was possible. "Oh, crap."

"Yeah, that's about what I expected you to say." The icy voice of the creature of the void dug deep into his soul to terrorize his inner self with visions of death and destruction. The blond-haired beast's gaze was staring deep, deep within him as the mass of light strawberry tendrils on her head seemed to have a mind of their own as they waved menacingly about, as if waiting for him to lower his guard so that they might strike him down.

Taka wasn't in any better state then himself, practically fumbling to find the words to say. "J-Junko…! I, ehurm, what are you doing in here!? This is a grave violation of conduct! I-"

"Silence. Your yammering. Skull cave." She cut him off with a deathly tone that commanded absolute authority that caused the moral to stand at attention while the biker himself was trying to avoid flinching back. "Do either of you have any idea how long you've been in here?"

"What? It wasn't that long." Mondo tried to reassure her, doing his best to resist shivering at the dead-eyed glare she gave him in return. Even though she was on a crutch, and he towered over her by about half a head, she was still making him feel like a little kid. She actually reminded him of his mother right now, it was unnerving how similar their glare was to the point of being uncanny. "Couldn't have been more then…ten or twenty minutes. I'm still good for a little longer."

"Ten or twenty minutes…" she muttered, and instantly Mondo knew he had made a mistake. "Try four. Fucking. Hours. You're lucky I ran into Makoto and Leon or you would still be melting alive in here."

Well, that explains why he felt so groggy. He could have sworn that it had been less than that.

In an effort to retain at least a little of his masculinity, Mondo decided to make what he instantly realized was a mistake. He tried to talk back. "Tch, no way, I've still got plenty of steam to go."

"Oh, you do, do you…?" that was the last thing he heard before there was a sudden burst of choking pain in the side of his neck, and the edges of his vision blurred and went dark. His vision wasn't the only thing that suddenly felt off as it was starting to look like the whole world was tilting. Before he realized it, he had hit the floor with a dull thump, and eventually his gaze faded to the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.

*Thump*

Taka looked on in stunned silence as he tried to piece together what exactly had happened. One second they had both been standing being reprimanded, the next Mondo was on the floor while Junko was just pulling her hand back from where she had knife-handed the biker's jugular. "B-Bro! What did you-"

*Thump* went Taka's body as her left hand twisted around to chop him in the same spot that she'd used to fell the biker and he joined him in blissful unconsciousness. The girl looked down on their forms with a look that could only be described as utter disappointment.

"Tch, morons." Junko uttered as she turned to the open door where the three boys she'd brought with stood awkwardly with slack jaws and wide eyes. She rolled her eyes and gestured them in where they were quick to run to the two boys aid.

"Wh-What happened to them!" Chihiro cried out as she knelt down next to the unconscious biker and removed the towel from his head. Concerningly, he found the teen's skin to be dry and clammy, while also being far too hot to be normal.

Leon followed up with a shout of his own, "Dude! What did you do!?"

Junko shrugged dismissively even as Mokoto shook Taka in an attempt to wake him. "Nothing, with how long they were in there, they were bound to pass out after being exposed to room temp long enough without any water or protein to rehydrate. The moment their bodies realized just how much they'd over exerted their limits, it was only a matter of time. All I did was time it right."

"And the chop to the neck?"

"Motivation and proof that they'd gone on for far too long." She continued without a single concern. "Would never have worked if they weren't dead on their feet already. Now, come on you three, you get Taka dressed and we'll drag their buts to bed."

Makoto nodded in understanding and moved to do as ordered, "O-Okay."

Leon, however, was not happy with the idea and made sure to express as such. "Wait, are you serious? No way am I touching Taka when he's like that!"

"And you'd be okay leaving him to either of us?" She returned with a raised brow as she gestured between herself with her free hand and Chihiro who was struggling to lift Mondo up from the heap he had collapsed in. The teen with the red-dyed hair took one good long look at the crutch she was leaning on, then at the struggling girl trying and failing to lift the biker up. Then he turned to look at Makoto who was still trying to rouse the other very red skinned teen, who was also very, very underdressed. And he had to continue that thought while considering that two of them were girls.

"…Well, when you put it like that." That was all he felt was needed to say as he reluctantly started walking over to Taka.

Makoto called out in worry, and turned to look at Leon, "Hey, are they going to be okay?" and he turned to look at Junko in turn. He had no idea, she was the one who knew how this junk worked!

Junko sighed and shrugged. "Meh. I mean, if they were planning to have kids in the next few years, they're shit out of luck. And they might have a few new burns here or there. But they should be fine if we get some water in their system."

"That's good." Chihiro sighed in relief, and let the heavy teen lay back down and rushed over to where she had dropped the bag she had been carrying around and started to sift through it. After a moment, she smiled and pulled out a couple of bottles of water and quickly rushed to give one to Leon before rushing back over to Mondo. Thankfully, this time Makoto quickly moved to help her in getting Mondo sitting somewhat upright and slowly pressed the opened bottle to his lips while Leon did the same with Taka with Junko supervising. Fortunately, it seemed that even comatose the two teens were able to realize that they were desperately in need of fluids and they began to greedily guzzle down the liquid forcing the others to keep the flow steady to avoid drowning the two.

As they continued to somewhat force the two boys to drink up, Mokoto found his gaze wandering over to Chihiro when he realized that the water had almost stopped leaving the bottle entirely despite there still being quite a bit left. To his surprise, the small girl's eyes seemed to have glossed over, as if she were lost in thought and forgot where she was and what she was doing. Clearing his throat softly to get her attention, he reached over and gave her shoulder a light tap.

"Hey, Chihiro, what's up?" The small programmer came to with a startled twitch that nearly dowsed Mondo in water before she remembered where she was and stopped it. Sighing, the timid girl looked at the boy who was still awaiting her answer and gave him her best reassuring grin.

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about something…it's not important." She had hoped that that was all, but from the way his expression grew even more concerned, it was clear that she had failed to reassure him of anything.

"Are you sure? It looked like you were really focused on something." Chihiro shook his head in denial, not wanting to discuss the dark place that her mind had taken. It would not be good to bother him with her problems right now when Taka and Mondo needed their support without delay.

"No, it's…I just need some time to think. I'm okay." The ultimate programmer replied with a grin, hoping this time it would satisfy her friend's concern. Only, that smile faded when she saw the almost despondent look on Makoto's face that made her heart clench. He was just trying to help, he was just that kind of friend who wanted to help everyone out. Maybe…

"Actually, tomorrow, can we talk some more?" Chihiro shyly compromised. "There's…something I've been working on that I'd really like a friend's opinion on, if it's not too much trouble."

Makoto looked at her in shock, clearly having expected her to continue to politely rebuke his offer, but he quickly dropped the shocked look for one of gratitude and he nodded. "Right."

Any further conversation was immediately cut off when Junko called out. "Hey guys, I still need some help…Oh, goddamn it. Taka's towel is coming lose! Someone help me out over here!"

Leon shouted out as well. "Oh, goddamn- I didn't need to see that!"

"Get off me! I don't want to look at it either!" the two other teens quickly covered their eyes before they could get a good look at Taka's shame, though that didn't stop them from blushing up a storm. This was going to suck.

---

"Well, that was a bit hectic." Chihiro admitted to himself in the sanctity of his own room. That had been an adventure and a half with all of them trying to get Taka's towel back on without having to look at his junk. Unfortunately, since none of them were willing to actually dress the teen themselves, the only thing that they were able to do was basically draping his towel and clothes over his crotch, and having both Makoto and Leon carry him to his room by his arms and legs. Well, Junko said she would have done it, but she couldn't because she, one, crutch, and two, she didn't think someone as obsessed with rules, decorum and ethics as Taka would like to know that a girl had seen him in his most venerable without being engaged at the very least. They couldn't help but agree with her on that, even if both Makoto and Leon had felt completely disturbed the entire time.

After going back to retrieve Mondo and dragging him to his own room, the four students decided to turn in for the night and went their separate ways. Well, Makoto went with Leon to explain to Sayaka what had kept him so much longer then he had thought he would, but both he and Junko had decided that they were going to turn in.

Well, that was what he said, but as he finished putting the last screw in on his latest project and flipped it over, he couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty for lying. However, if this worked then it would all be worth it in the end, so he felt he could handle a little guilt.

A small smile worked its way onto his face even as his arms and legs ached as he gazed upon the bulky laptop resting in front of him, the very one they had found on the second floor. He had snuck it out of the library the day after they'd discovered it, slipping it under his coat out of view of the cameras and then making sure to only work on it out of view of the one in his room. Hopefully, the limited modifications he'd managed to jury-rig using the gutted parts of one of the old handheld game consoles he'd been given by Makoto from the school store will work. It made him feel even worst to be gutting a gift that someone had clearly put a lot of thought into making for him, but Makoto had been kind enough to give him three of them, and that helped temper that feeling down.

"This should fix the power issue." He muttered out loud as he turned the hardware around a bit to make sure the modifications he'd made wouldn't fall out when he needed it most, then he set it down on desk once he was satisfied.

"Still, it's amazing." He muttered as he flipped the switch on the side of the laptop, continuing to muse to himself as he waited for it to start up. "They were able to stay in there for so long. They're so…strong…and Mondo even wore his clothes in there! He's so much stronger than me."

He found that he couldn't get that moment out of his head even after about an hour of tinkering with the laptop. To think that anyone would be able to withstand that kind of punishment for that long without collapsing in a pile of burned flesh and clothes. Chihiro knew he would never be able to something that unbelievably dangerous himself, even if he thought it would prove his manliness to another, so to see the two boys doing so was a feat he found stunning.

And to make things more interesting was the conversation the two boys had together. Chihiro and the others hadn't meant to, but when Junko had cracked the door open with the full intent of giving the two boys a piece of her mind for being needlessly reckless, they heard Mondo start talking about his gang and how much they meant to him. She had paused right then and gestured for them all to stay silent as she held the door slightly ajar to eavesdrop while also letting the steamy air escape the room the two boys were still in.

Part of him felt a bit shamefaced for listening on such a private affair, but that was overpowered by the overwhelming curiosity and a newfound respect for both of the two very manly teens and their difficult lifestyles. Taka's tale about his grandfather's rise and fall as well as the aftermath of said fall made all three of the male eavesdroppers share a feeling of stunned yet budding respect for the once thought of as an annoying moral code obsessed boy. Silently, the three boys decided that that they would be a little bit more understanding when it came to Taka's rule obsession from now on.

However, the thing that kept most of Chihiro's attention was Mondo's story. About how his gang was made, his brother's passing, but most of all, the promise of a man slogan that said brother left the hot-headed biker to carry on. The very concept made the smaller boy fill up with excitement, and felt like a part of himself that he hadn't even known existed awaken. He felt inspired, completely invigorated despite the fatigue still plaguing his sore and aching limbs. He almost wanted to head right back to lift some weights despite how tired he was, and moreover, he was wondered if Mondo would be willing to join him and Junko in their training.

"But, would he be interested in helping me? I'm so…weak. Maybe I'm better off staying with Junko. She knows what I'm going through, and she's knows what she's doing too. Plus, she needs my help…right?"

Doubt started to fill him. Junko said that she wanted to help him out and, yes, she was doing her best. But he couldn't help but feel that, maybe, just maybe, she didn't actually need him at all. The thought made him feel a bit disheartened, but he couldn't help but believe that it was true. She knew so much about exercise, care, and she always made sure that he paced himself to get the full benefits of their training, yet he couldn't help but think that by focusing so much on him, she was hindering her own training.

She said that she wanted to help him, and that made him feel so much better… "But…wouldn't she be better off with Sakura…or Hina…they…I know she said that she didn't want to overdo it…and I do want to push myself when I'm with her, like she said. But, still I…"

A dark, twisted feeling started to writhe within his gut and his eyes drooped slightly. His good mood started to fade further as he ran their time spent together through his mind and realized that, they barely even interacted outside of their secret night time meet ups. But, that only made him feel more upset since it was for his sake that they were being so secretive with their training in the first place. If he wasn't such a cowered then maybe they wouldn't need to hide so much, and maybe, he could tell her just how much her help had meant to him.

She had been so much help so far. She found out his secret with basic logic and deductions and, while that terrified him at first, it had been only been something that had helped him since then. She was so helpful, going out of her way to help him even if it meant jumping through hoops and hurtles to do so. "…Would she…would she even be interested in me? All I know is how to program computers. I couldn't protect anyone if I needed to…even when she's been hurt so much, she still so strong."

However, he forcefully shook his head to clear his thoughts. "…get a hold of yourself." With a determined grit of his teeth, he quickly got back to work coding his little side project. He was almost done, he only needed a few more pieces of code implemented and it would be complete.

Truthfully, he had an inkling that, had he not accepted Junko's offer to train at night he would have already finished long before now. However, that would mean blowing off his friend and breaking their promise together, and he had no interest in the idea of hurting her by doing so. So, he had decided that he would make sure to only work on it after they exercised. Sure, he could do it before they did their work out routine, but he knew that he would be too engrossed in the computer that he'd forget to check the time, like he always did. Best to work after their meeting even if he felt sore and tired.

"Now then, just a little more…" his fingers were a blur as he rapidly typed in the dozens of lines of codes needed to finalize his greatest work thus far…Now if he could just stop yawning. "*Yawn* Oh, come on. Almost…There! That should do it! Now let's see. Running final test…"

As the code he'd been working for so many hours and days on flew across the screen, he couldn't help the feeling of trepidation in his chest. This was always the worst part of being a programmer, the wait to see if all of his hard work had been for naught. The fear that everything had been for nothing, that all of his time and energy had been pointless in the end was the greatest pain he could suffer through. All it would take was one single incorrect line of code to destroy the whole program and he would agonize over where he went wrong.

He grit his teeth nervously, his hands clenched as he stared unblinkingly at the screen of line upon line of code ran down the screen, hours of work going straight to use. Finally, after several agonizing minutes of waiting, the code finally stopped moving and…the screen went dark. Chihiro's face fell. "Hmm, that should have done it...AH!"

He was startled as it suddenly light back up a bright green, but he ended up falling back with a crash when his chair toppled over. The wind was knocked right out of him, and his head hurt from where he smacked it against the ground. There was a slight stinging sensation prickling in his tightly clenched eyes as he held his poor abused scalp for several agonizing moments, before they snapped back open in realization that, he didn't have time to lay around like this. Ignoring the painful sensation in his head, he quickly scrambled to get back up, rolling off of his chair and practically throwing it to the side in his haste. Standing up, he gazed at the screen, the calming green glow coloring his face as his eyes searched wildly for a sign. Anything to confirm that it had worked.

At first there was nothing. Chihiro's excitement dwindled as dejection started to set in. Another failure to add to the list. His gaze lowered as he slumped, trying to figure out what went wrong, where had he fumbled in his code. It should have worked, it should have. There wasn't any flaw that he could think of that would have resulted in anything not working, it should have been perfect. So where did he go wrong?

Just as he was about to give up, to just slump down in defeat at what he thought was a failure, he heard something that caused his gaze to snap right back to the screen.

"…Greetings, master."

A soft, effeminate voice that was similar to his own emanated out of the built-in speakers. It was monotone, completely without emotion, and it held a slight reverb to it that made it seem robotic in nature, but that didn't matter. That all could be fixed later, right now he was far too excited to care about technicalities like that. More importantly, it worked! The Strong A.I. that he had spent so much time working on was alive!

"…It's good to meet you too…" He greeted back, unable and completely unwilling to hide his smile. He was sure that if anyone could see him now, they would joke that he had stars in his eyes. But none of that mattered. Not what people would say, not the aches and pains of his body, not the way his eyes wanted to droop close and put him to sleep, not even Monokuma and this killing game mattered in this moment. For he had finally made his greatest programming achievement yet!

"Alter-Ego."

---

Hello people of the web, good to see you all again.

I feel happy for Chihiro, don't you? Finally gets to prove his talent as the ultimate programmer for everyone, despite the trauma of the day.

Before people ask about what I added to Daiya's background, there's a question I'd like to ask you. What all do we know about Mondo's family? His brother more importantly. We know that he founded the Crazy Diamonds, but not why. We know he had a standard that Mondo tried to live up too, but not what inspired that standard. We learn almost nothing about Mondo's father, and the only thing we know about his mother is that she would have kicked his ass if he even dreamed about picking on a girl.

But other than that…nothing.

So, I wanted to take this opportunity to give my theory on why he doesn't talk about them much anymore. Daiya he says a fair amount about, and his mother he expresses respect for, but nothing on his dad. I think he might actually resent his father in some way, because the only time he's mentioned is right before Mondo knocked out Makoto, and that was it. Nothing else since. Hence my theory that there is something that made the family have some kind of difficulty in the past, possibly after or because of Daiya's death, and Mondo doesn't like to bring them up because of it. I leave the idea of how and in what way to you all to figure out.

As for Taka, he is much more open. His grandfather he's very vocal about, and Despair girls showed us that his father is a police officer who might be a bit mad since he was fully willing to shoot at any warrior of hope that got near him. His family is in crippling debt, and it has made it impossible for him to get any of the games and such that he could have used to develop his social skills. Not much else I can say that the chapter didn't already say.

In other news, next chapter might be a bit late. I'm working full time now, so that really doesn't help, but I also want to make sure that the next few are at the top of my game. After all…it's about time for a new deadly life. Wouldn't you agree?