A.N. I'm glad to hear everyone's feedback! Thank you so much! One of the biggest criticisms I noticed was in regards to Mondo's attempt to strike Mukuro. I stand by the reasoning that Mondo loses sense of morality when angry; that being said, the matter is addressed more fully in this chapter!

Disclaimer: (Did I put one of these in Chapter 1?) I do not own anything. Literally. I'm a college student. I owe more money than I possess.

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After the incident in the gym, Sakura volunteered to carry Mondo's unconscious body to his room. Yasuhiro and Leon accompanied her, as the group felt that leaving a defenseless person alone with anyone else was too dangerous.

The tension in the gym was palpable. No one was openly gawking at her, but Mukuro would occasionally glance up to see one of her fellow students staring. She couldn't blame them; if it were possible she'd be staring at herself. Where had that come from? She'd never fought a day in her life, yet that situation had felt so…natural. There hadn't been any time to think. She had seen what needed to be done, and she'd done it. It felt like instinct.

"You're hurt." It wasn't a question.

Mukuro looked at Makoto, wincing as she rubbed her wrist. "Yeah, my fist didn't land right. Nothing's broken though, should just need a little ice." She tried to smile, but the result was more of a grimace.

Makoto gave her an appraising look. "We should see if there's a nurse's office around here. I can't say I know much about medical stuff, but I can wrap a compression bandage."

"No, really, it's fine," Mukuro insisted taking a step back. She was acutely aware of the eyes that were focused on them. She suddenly wanted nothing more than to be left alone; to shut herself away from all the prying eyes. At the same time, she was deathly afraid of leaving Makoto alone. After everything that had transpired, how could she trust anyone to not hurt him?

"Okay," Makoto relented, holding up his hands in surrender. "Let me know if I can help, though. It looks like it really hurts."

Mukuro couldn't help smiling at his concern. It was a warm feeling, knowing that someone else cared about her, but it was also a very alien feeling. It was somehow unnatural that Makoto, or anyone for that matter, could care for her at all. "Thank you," she mumbled, unable to suppress the blush that rose to her cheeks.

"Care to explain what that was?" Byakuya asked, approaching the pair. "Where did a high school girl learn to fight like that?"

Mukuro shifted her attention to the prodigy and blinked, momentarily confused by the question. "I…I'm not…"

"Well?" Byakuya pressed, crossing his arms over his narrow chest. "Speak up, girl, I can't hear you."

She found herself unable to speak. Every time she opened her mouth, only a few garbled syllables would make their way out before it would snap shut again. She had no answers to give. No matter how hard she thought about it, the origin of her skill would not come to her mind.

"Don't you think that's a little unfair?" Makoto interjected, stepping between the two. "She already told you that she can't remember."

"Makoto is correct." This time it was Kyoko who spoke up. "Grilling Mukuro about something she does not remember will not cause her memories to magically reappear."

Byakuya scoffed, turning away from the group. "I'm leaving," he announced, trudging towards the gym's exit.

"Ah, wait!" Hifumi called after him. "It's dangerous to go alone!" If the Ultimate Affluent Prodigy noticed Hifumi's words, he gave no indication of it. He stormed out, the door slamming closed behind him.

An uncomfortable silence filled the gym following Byakuya's exit. After a few moments, Sayaka spoke. "How about we all go to the cafeteria? Everyone's probably hungry."

OoOoOo

Mukuro sighed as she pressed the bag of ice against her already swelling wrist. She was pretty sure nothing was broken, but she was beginning to think that it could very well be sprained. It was still extremely sore, but the icepack was doing a good job of numbing the pain.

She walked over to Makoto and Sayaka, the latter of whom was gnawing on an apple. She sat down next to the brown-haired boy, ignoring the flutter in her chest when he turned to her and smiled. "Is it helping?" he asked.

Mukuro returned the smile. "Yeah, I think the swelling's already going down." It was a lie. Her wrist would probably be twice this size in a few hours, but she saw no reason to worry him.

"I wanted to thank you, for earlier," Makoto said, sheepishly. "I don't know what I said that made him so angry, but Mondo would've creamed me if you hadn't stepped in."

Mukuro's face once again grew hot. She wasn't used to someone showing her gratitude. "N-no p-problem," she stammered. Why did she keep doing that? Once again she was forced to ask herself why Makoto was affecting her so strongly. Visions aside, she had no memories of him. Had there been something between them, lost somewhere in her missing memories? If so, why didn't Makoto remember? He didn't appear to be suffering from any kind of amnesia.

"You were way cool!" Sayaka gushed, leaning around Makoto to look at her. "I've never seen anyone move so fast! And you're, like, half Mondo's size! But you took him down with one punch! You're like that One Kick Guy, but with fists!" She smiled at Mukuro, but the gesture didn't give off the same warmth as Makoto's.

"Thank you." Mukuro replied, looking away from the other girl. She felt uncomfortable being around Sayaka. There was something about the idol's personality that rubbed her the wrong way.

Sayaka tilted her head, one finger rising to touch her bottom lip. "Aren't you hungry at all? You were really sick before, and after all of that action in the gym you must starving! Do you want me to go get you something?"

Mukuro did her best to smile, but the results were less than natural. "No, thank you. I'm still a little queasy." Her lavender eyes flittered around the almost empty room. The others had split up to learn the layout of the school; their small band had been the only one to follow Sayaka's initial suggestion to head to the cafeteria. "Do you think the others will be back soon?"

Sayaka laughed, "It's just a school, there can only be so much for them to find." She was quiet for a moment, before abruptly rising to her feet. "Mukuro, would you mind walking with me to the bathroom? I don't want to go alone."

Mukuro immediately shook her head. "No."

"It's dangerous, though! We shouldn't be splitting up; we need a buddy system."

The inklings of another headache were beginning to manifest somewhere behind Mukuro's left eyebrow. She turned her gaze on Sayaka, and did her best to keep the ice out of her words. She failed. "Sayaka, I have no more reason to trust you than I do anyone else at this school. What's more, you have no cause to trust me, either. For a murder to take place, there needs to be at least two participants. It seems the most sure-fire way to get killed is to be alone with someone else. For all I know, you're just waiting to plant a knife in my back."

It was only for a moment, but Sayaka's eyes narrowed into a glare as she listened to Mukuro's words. It wasn't the kind of glare you'd expect to see on the face of a high school girl. Sayaka didn't look angry; at least, anger wasn't the emotion that best described the expression. For the briefest of instances, Mukuro could see hate in Sayaka's eyes.

Then it was gone. Sayaka's eyes filled with tears and she buried her face into her hands. "I-I'm sorry!" Her shoulders shook with sobs as she tried to speak. "I-I'm j-just really s-s-scared is all."

A panicked expression appeared on Makoto's face as the pop idol burst into tears. "Hey, hey, calm down!" He awkwardly extended his hand and rubbed Sayaka's back. "It's okay, I can walk with you to the ladies' room. I'll even stand guard outside, so please don't cry…" Sayaka redoubled her crying, turning to Makoto and burying her face into his chest.

Mukuro glared at the display, crossing her arms over her chest. "Is this really necessary? If she's so worried about it, why doesn't she just use the one in her room?"

Makoto looked at her. "Hey, can you ease off a bit? Everyone's having a rough day, we don't need to be picking fights with each other for no reason," he said, clearly exasperated.

Mukuro was shocked to find his annoyance directed at her. "I'm so-" she started to say, but the words trailed off into a slur as the edges of her vision grew black. Fear gripped her and she quickly realized that she couldn't speak, or even breath for that matter. Makoto didn't appear to have noticed her sudden silence, as he was too focused on comforting Sayaka to notice his surroundings.

I'm the only one who cares about you, sister. You're an ugly, stupid attack dog whose only purpose is to kill people, but I love you anyway. Even if you are a worthless bitch. Don't you love me too, big sis?

Her lungs were on fire, and no matter how hard Mukuro tried, she couldn't re-inflate them. She watched Makoto consoling the dark-haired girl, her eyes wild, pleading for him to look up and see her. Mukuro's vision narrowed to a pinhead a hand rising to clutch uselessly at her throat.

Yes, of course I do! But do we really need to do this to everyone? Makoto is different, maybe…

Consciousness had almost completely fled her when Makoto turned to her. His eyes widened, releasing Sayaka and grabbing Mukuro's shoulders. "Mukuro! What's wrong?"

Upupupu. You really do love him, don't you? You're such a worthless piece of trash, falling for the first boy who didn't immediately turn away from you in disgust. You really are just a bitch in heat.

"Is she choking?"

Mukuro heard Sayaka, but she couldn't look away from Makoto. He was worried. He was concerned about her! What had she done to warrant such a response from him? She was no one. Just a worthless, disgusting girl. Why would he care about an ugly piece of trash like her? She was trash…Just trash.

I don't love him! It's just… Do we really have to make an example out of him? His talent is luck. He's only here based on chance! He's not an Ultimate, not really. How would his death deal a blow to hope?

"Mukuro! Can you hear me?" Makoto gently shook her shoulders. His eyes darted around the room in a panic. They locked on something behind Mukuro. "Sakura! We need help!"

What a shame. My own sister cares about some stranger more than she does about me. Oh well. Perhaps a change of plans is in order? I love you, sister, but you don't deserve to feel such glorious despair, at least not yet. Upupupu. You could become a complication! How terrible it would be to have my own sister fight against me! Such despair! Now, be a good girl and go to sleep.

Something struck Mukuro hard between her shoulder blades. She cried out in pain and surprise, but the blow did its job. Whatever constricted her airway had released its hold on her. She took a deep breath and the darkness that had crept into her vision dissipated. Her eyes refocused on Makoto's relieved face. "Makoto?"

"Thank God. Are you okay?" Makoto looked pale. A fine sheen of sweat stood out on his forehead.

Mukuro massaged her throat, which still felt a little tight. "I am now. What hit me?" She twisted in her seat to look behind her.

Sakura was crouching behind Mukuro's seat, watching her carefully. Despite her rather intimidating size, she had a way of appearing nonthreatening. "Do these sorts of attacks happen often?"

Mukuro shook her head. "Not that I can remember. That's not saying much, though. It seems there's a lot I don't remember." The specifics of the conversation she had heard were already fading. Two things remained burned into her brain. The person speaking was someone she loved dearly, and someone she greatly feared.

"Maybe she has asthma?" Sayaka suggested. She'd risen to her feet and was now hovering over Mukuro's shoulder.

Mukuro suddenly felt very claustrophobic. She jumped up from her seat and backpedaled until she wasn't surrounded by the other teens. "I'm fine, now," she said, obviously trying to sound reassuring.

Sakura didn't look convinced. "You had turned blue. We cannot simply ignore this."

"Sakura's right," Makoto said. "We need to figure out what caused you to have that attack."

Mukuro's fingers curled into a fist. "Yeah, let's just catch the train and ride downtown to the doctor's office. I'm sure they accept walk ins."

Makoto looked taken aback. "I'm sorry. We're just worried about you." He stood up and took a step in her direction. "What would happen if this happened while you were by yourself?"

Mukuro glared at him, shrugging helplessly. "I don't know!" Her shoulders slumped. "I don't know anything but my name." And you.

Sakura broke the tension by speaking up. "I believe it would be best if you had someone near you at all times. Judging by your rapport with Makoto, it doesn't seem like daytime will be an issue. That being said, it would be problematic if you had an attack while you were in your room."

Sayaka's eyes opened wide. "Do you mean they should sleep in the same room?"

Mukuro and Makoto both turned a brilliant shade of red. "I- I don't th-think that's a g-good idea," Makoto spluttered, waving his hands erratically.

"Y-yeah, Makoto's right! I m-mean I d-don't mind but i-it wouldn't look very g-good." Mukuro crossed her arms over her chest and looked everywhere but at Makoto.

Sakura nodded solemnly; if she thought the display was humorous, she gave no indication. "That's a fair point. It would be better if you had a female roommate. As long as it's public knowledge that you're sharing a room with someone, the likelihood that they would attack you would be slim. Still, it would be best if you had someone you trust."

Mukuro's face had finally returned to its normal shade. "I can't say that I trust anyone here," she said, looking at Sakura. "We've been here for less than a day, there hasn't exactly been time to get to know everyone."

"Perhaps I would be an appropriate roommate?" When Kyoko spoke, Makoto and Sayaka both jumped nearly a foot into the air. Mukuro herself had only noticed her an instant before she'd spoken.

Sakura's title as Ultimate Fighter was apparently well earned, as she didn't seem surprised in the slightest by Kyoko's sudden arrival. "It makes sense. Both of you have amnesia, who's to say that Kyoko isn't suffering from the same condition as you?"

"Exactly," Kyoko said, nodding. "The odds of us both having an attack at the same time are rather slim. That way, we can look out for each other."

Mukuro sighed. Kyoko and Sakura were making good points, but she wasn't happy with the idea of having a babysitter. "And why do you trust me not to put a dagger in your back while you sleep?"

"Do you have a dagger?" Kyoko deadpanned, before her lips curled into a small smile. "Besides the fact that you would be the obvious suspect should I wind up dead in a locked room that only we had access to?" She gestured at Makoto. "You clearly care for Makoto's well-being. If you escaped, there would be no one left to look out for him."

Mukuro couldn't think of a valid argument. Clearly outvoted, she had no choice but to relent.

OoOoOo

They had waited around the cafeteria for the rest of the group -sans Mondo- to trickle in. After everyone reported what they'd found, Sakura broached the topic of Mukuro's episode. The precaution was discussed amongst those who cared to voice their opinion on the matter, and it was quickly decided that Kyoko and Mukuro sharing a room was the best solution.

Afterwards, Sakura had helped transfer the bed from Mukuro's assigned room to Kyoko's. By the time they were finished with the move, it was almost 22:00, so it was agreed that everyone would return to their rooms for the night.

Mukuro made a point of seeing Makoto to his room, but even now, two hours later, she was worried about him. The way she'd been hovering over him was ridiculous, she knew that; hell, it was downright creepy. She couldn't help herself, though. She didn't know what she'd do if he wound up dead.

Mukuro lay on top of her bed, cradling her injured wrist against her belly. The bag of ice was now little more than lukewarm water, and the pain was gradually seeping back into the joint. She stared at the ceiling, doing her best to ignore it.

Her mind was racing. What did the attacks mean? She knew she'd seen something during her earlier episode, but whatever it had been was eluding her. All she could remember was a voice, along with a strange mixture of fear and love. Then there was Makoto. Why did she feel so strongly about him? Why didn't he remember her?

A knot of frustration formed in her chest; she curled her hands into fists and fresh pain lanced up her arm. She yelped, grabbing her wrist and curling into a ball as she fought the tears that welled up in her eyes.

Once the pain had subsided, she looked across the dimly lit room at Kyoko. She was still asleep. Mukuro's outburst had luckily not woken her. It was for the best; the silver-haired girl would probably argue with Mukuro if she knew that she was planning to make a run to the dining hall.

Mukuro sat up in bed, gently lowering her feet to the floor. She rose slowly, doing her best to make as little noise as possible. She crept silently across the room to grab the key from its place on the table. She found her shoes by the door and quickly slid them on before opening the door and slipping out into the hall. After softly closing the door, Mukuro turned and made her way towards the dining hall.

She needed to get more ice for her wrist. The pain was getting worse as the ligaments warmed back to their normal temperatures. It wasn't until she tugged on the door and it didn't move that she remembered that the dining hall was locked at nighttime.

Mukuro cried out in frustration and kicked the door. All this managed to do was make her foot hurt as well. "Goddamn it!" She hopped up and down, cursing the door with every word that came to mind. She stopped after a few seconds of this and growled, glaring at the offending slab of metal and wood. Spinning on her heel, she started to make her way back to her room…

And ran face-first into Mondo.

She acted on instinct, jumping away from him and dropping into a fighting stance. She raised her good hand, tucking the other defensively behind the small of her back. "What do you want?" She glared at him, eyes boring into his.

Mondo held up both hands in surrender. "Hey, easy there. I'm not here to fight you."

Mukuro didn't relax. "Is that so? What do you want, then?"

The hulking teen sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "After I woke up I tried to slip into the dining hall to grab some grub, but I guess it's closed at night." He pointed at the door and shrugged. "I was on my way back to my room when I heard you coming. Didn't know who it was, so I stepped into the hallway over there." He gestured towards the pantry.

"Okay. That explains why you were out at night. But you still haven't told me what you want with me." Mukuro had no doubts that she could take Mondo down if he jumped her, but with only one arm, it wouldn't be a walk in the park.

Mondo growled in annoyance. "I was getting to that, dammit!" He sighed again. "I wanted to apologize to ya. I was being a real jackass earlier today. The shrimp wasn't trying to be pompous, it's just the way he talks. I shouldn't have lost my head, ya know?"

"That's shrimp's name is Makoto, and he's not pompous, you're just a jerk. Is there anything else you wanted, muscle-head?" Mukuro was still angry with him. Angry about his attack on Makoto. Angry with the throbbing pain in her wrist. Angry with his stupid, repetitive tough-guy routine.

Mondo gritted his teeth, his face turning red. It was clear he was doing his best to suppress the rage that was bubbling up inside him. "Yeah," he ground out, "There is." He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. His color returned to normal and the vein that had begun to pulsate above his right eyebrow disappeared. "I lost control of myself, which is something a man should never do. I even raised my hand against a woman, something else that just shouldn't happen." He dropped to his knees and bowed his head. "I beg your forgiveness."

Mukuro finally relaxed and stood back up to her full height. She looked down at Mondo, thoroughly confused and with absolutely no idea what to do next. Finally, she said, "Forgiveness for what? Losing your fucking temper?"

Mondo's head jerked up and he looked at her in surprise. "Wha-"

"You're almost a grown man and you're still throwing temper tantrums? You're twice Makoto's size. You could have killed him!" She marched up to his kneeling form and glared down at him. "What happens when someone gives you some grief about your stupid hair-do? What are you gonna do, bash their fucking skull in?" She jabbed a finger into his shoulder, making him recoil. "You are incapable of controlling yourself! You're unstable. You're dangerous!" You're a complication.

The brown-haired boy was quiet for a long time after Mukuro finished. When he spoke, he said only five words. "I give you my word."

Mukuro stood over him, fuming. "What was that?"

"I give you my word!" he repeated, louder this time. "I'll control myself!"

"Why would I trust you?"

Mondo was silent for another moment. "A man is only as good as his word. I'm a real man, I don't go back on mine!" His voice held a determination unlike anything Mukuro had ever heard before.

She studied him for a while, mulling his words over in her head. Despite everything that had happened: despite the situation that they were in, she found herself inclined to believe him. She smiled, sticking out her hand. "Then I trust you. We've got a deal."

Mondo grinned, accepting her offered hand and shaking it vigorously. "Th-"

Mukuro hauled him bodily to his feet and, still gripping his hand in a vice, glared him in the eye. "Make no mistake, if you ever raise your hand against Makoto again I'll give you a lot worse than a bruised jaw."

Mondo nodded, his grin never wavering. "Understood, ma'am."

Seeing his nonplussed reaction, Mukuro couldn't help but grin herself. Despite his temperament, Mondo really wasn't such a bad guy. "Alright then, this conversation never happened. Night, big guy."

OoOoOo

The first thing Mukuro noticed when she returned to her room was that the lights were on. The second thing she noticed was Kyoko, propped up in bed and looking at her expectantly. "So?"

"So what?" Mukuro replied, kicking off her shoes. She flipped the light switch, as there was enough ambient light to see without it, and made her way back over to her own bed. She pulled back the covers and slipped into bed, stifling a yawn with the back of her hand.

"Why did you leave the room after hours? We all agreed that no one was to leave their rooms after 22:00." Kyoko didn't sound particularly annoyed; in fact, she sounded genuinely curious about Mukuro's reasons for leaving.

Mukuro rolled over in bed so she could look at her lavender-haired roommate. "I went to get some more ice for my wrist. Didn't see much need in waking you up for an errand run. Turns out I wasted my time. It was closed."

Kyoko sighed. "The entire point of us sleeping in the same room is to watch each other for signs of an episode. What if you'd had an attack while in the hallway?"

Mukuro did her best to shrug while lying down. "Probably the same thing I'd have done if I'd had one in here. I'd have suffocated." She started massaging her wrist. "You were asleep, and I wouldn't exactly have been able to call for help if I suddenly couldn't breathe."

Kyoko nodded solemnly. "I suppose you do have a fair point." She lifted her gloved-hands, palms up. Mukuro briefly wondered why Kyoko would bother sleeping with gloves on; after all, there's no way it'd be comfortable. "You can roam however you like; I won't stop you. Just know that I will not provide an alibi for you should something happen during those hours."

There was a brief silence before Mukuro spoke again. "I ran into Mondo outside."

Kyoko had settled back into to bed, but she wasn't yet asleep. "Is that so? What happened?"

Mukuro laughed. "It's the weirdest thing. He apologized."

"I'm glad that is settled. I wouldn't want him bearing a grudge against you or Makoto."

The room once again fell into relative silence. After a while, Mukuro could hear the shift in Kyoko's breathing that meant she'd fallen asleep. A few moments later, Mukuro followed her.

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I hope you all found this to be enjoyable. Please let me know what you thought!