Sonia collapsed back onto her bed, exhausted. The past few days had been tiring and heartbreaking; first the sudden appearance of Monokuma's artificially created 'Despair Disease', then the double murder of Ibuki and Hiyoko and finally the trial itself.
And then they'd discovered the killer was Mikan. The sweetest and most self-effacing of all of them.
The group had had a few quiet days, Monokuma seemingly content to let them lick their wounds before providing the next motive, but Sonia had struggled with getting her emotions in check. Sonia didn't want to think it – she really didn't – but the whole thing left her wondering if she could trust anyone. She desperately needed an anchor in this dangerous world, but the rug just kept getting pulled over and over. Teruteru, Nagito, Peko, Mikan...she wouldn't have expected any of them to be capable of murder (or attempted murder, in Nagito's case).
But then, how could she blame them? She was a princess. She'd been trained to understand full well that people were not always what they appeared on the surface.
She herself wasn't. She loved her dramas, she knew a plethora of true crime cases and watched horror movies for fun. It was one of the things that had made her extended stay in the motel more bearable: channel hopping on the decrepit old TV and finding Monokuma had set up a seemingly never-ending reel of weird old lost media to watch.
The others had been a bit perturbed by her interest in it. Well, everyone except…
"Cheep!"
Sonia tensed, looking around. The sound came again and she pinpointed it as right near her side: looking down, she spotted a plump hamster sitting on the covers near her arm. She recognised the adorable critter immediately: he was one of Gundham's 'Devas', Cham-P.
"Hi," she said, reaching out towards the hamster with her finger. Cham-P took hold of her finger with his little paws and made another squeaking noise. She didn't have Gundham's bond with them but she felt he was distressed: his little claws were clutching her fingers tight and he stayed up at her with urgent eyes. "Cham-P?"
He squeaked again, hopping down off her bed and racing over to the door. She sat up and as he squeaked again – louder and more urgently this time – she stood, having a sudden feeling that whatever it was, it must be important.
She hurried to the door just as Cham-P squeezed his plump body under it and went outside. She shut the door behind her and checked around, but there was no one around. The hamster squeaked again, racing a few metres away then stopping and looking back again.
She took the hint, following him bit by bit until the two of them reached one of the island huts: Gundham's.
Sonia wrestled with her feelings. She found Gundham inexplicably easy to get along with, but having spent all evening worrying about the possibility of someone else turning out to be a murderer she couldn't quite bring herself to move.
But then what was she going to do? Just turn around and go home when the little hamster had clearly come to fetch her?
Cham-P was looking up at her now beseechingly. He raced off towards Gundham's cabin and squeezed his plump body under the doorframe and before Sonia could even decide what to do, the handle began to rattle. She tensed as the door swung open, but there was no Gundham standing there – instead Cham-P was hanging off the handle.
Sonia's fear melted away. She reached out to catch Cham-P's plump body in her hands, cooing, "Amazing! You really are incredible."
He squeaked, looking proud, but then quickly turned and looked into the room. It was dark inside, so Sonia kept to the door as she squinted inside, not wanting to disturb Gundham's privacy before she could figure out where he was.
The question was answered for her though when suddenly a lamp was switched on, another hamster sitting by the source of the light. Sonia blinked to adjust her eyes, spotting Gundham rather quickly...kneeling by a chair next to a giant hamster cage.
"Gundham!" she cried, racing to approach him. He looked up and she saw the problem immediately: his eyes were unfocused and his skin flushed, tell-tale signs of a temperature.
"It's you…" He looked confused, until Cham-P shifted on her shoulder. He groaned. "My deva has ignored my instructions – I fear I'm losing my touch…"
Sonia clenched her fists. She shut the door gently behind her, steel in her tone as she cried, "Monokuma!"
The bear popped up right next to her – unnerving as always. "Huh? Wassup?"
She planted her hands on her hips. "Didn't you say that the Despair Disease was over with now the trial is over?"
"Yup, I did."
"Then what's happened to Gundham? He looks ill!"
The robotic bear looked over at Gundham, who was making an attempt to stand up and only got halfway before he collapsed back into the rocking chair. "Oh yeaaah, that. That isn't Despair Disease. Just a regular old crummy cold!" Gundham sputtered indignantly at that, but Monokuma wasn't done. He shrugged, chuckling. "Call me if it gets much worse – wanna avoid any more close calls with you guys!"
And he popped promptly out of sight.
Sonia sighed, putting her interactions with the annoying two-tone creature aside for now to turn to Gundham.
He was leaning against one of the chair arms, propping his face up with his hand in a valiant attempt to look as intimidating as usual. "Depart, mortal," he said, a distinct wheeze in his usual low voice. "This is but a mere setback – I will be back at full power soon enough-"
Sonia ignored him and set Cham-P down on the table by the cage, approaching Gundham and reaching out to check his forehead. He paled and leant sharply away. "Don't!" he cried, uncharacteristic panic in his voice.
She froze. "I- apologise, I merely wanted to check-"
"No, i-it's not-" He floundered, struggling to find the words. A coughing fit seized him and she dropped her hand, waiting until it passed. "My body is full of poison. I cannot permit you to t-touch me, for your own sake."
The words struck Sonia. She knew full well how isolating it was to not be able to exchange so much as a hug with other people from her life in the Novoselic kingdom, but to do that to oneself voluntarily…
"It must be so lonely," she said, not realising she'd said that out loud. Gundham tensed and for a split second she thought she'd said entirely the wrong thing. Best to get back on target. "But a great amount of poisons do not work on me, you know – I've had to build immunity for security reasons."
He fidgeted in his chair, his scarf in disarray. She knew she was going to have to talk him into some cooler clothes somehow to avoid letting his temperature get any worse, but one thing at a time. "May I please take your temperature? If I feel unwell, I will not touch you again."
"Please be...careful."
He was ramrod tense as she raised her hand again and decided her best bet was to do it as quickly as possible, so as not to increase his discomfort. She closed the distance, pressing the back of her hand to his head and pulling away. He was abnormally hot.
"You've got a low fever," she said. "Do you remember when you started to feel ill?"
"My powers were...off since we returned from the motel."
Sonia thought hard. All their rooms had seemed warm enough, the only time she'd remembered being cold was when-
Of course. Their lost media movie marathon. Gundham had been sitting up watching with her and she'd gotten cold and grabbed the nearest ratty blanket to hand. Gundham had insisted he didn't need one, though – as the Overlord of Ice, he said he didn't feel the cold as she did.
"What's wrong?" Gundham asked, struggling to restrain a cough. Sonia's face must have betrayed her guilt, but she didn't know how to tell him he'd caught a cold without offending him.
"I fear our lost media marathon may have made us vulnerable to bad spirits, and illness," she said instead. "But because your presence was stronger, they attacked you instead of me."
There was a momentary flash of surprise on his face, but he quickly tried to cover it with his usual defiant grin. "Hmph. Then there is nothing to be sad about, nothing to fear! It is my destiny as Gundham Tanaka to bend every bad spirit to my w-" He cut off, bending over in his chair to cough.
"It looks like you need to rest to fight them off properly," she continued, glancing down at the hamsters. They had lined up in front of the cage, looking worriedly down at Gundham. "Your devas look concerned about you."
"Not just me, but for the world." He stifled another cough behind his hand, tugging his scarf looser around his neck. "I read them an incantation each night to contain their power. If I am unable…"
But he trailed off, leaning back in his chair and raising a wobbly hand to his forehead. He evidently didn't have energy for the conversation any longer, so Sonia knew she'd have to take charge from here though. She wasn't sure what he'd meant by that last remark, though – she'd gotten adept at speaking Gundham's language, so she knew whatever it was it would surely be important to him and it would be hard getting him to rest until she figured it out. The hamsters were once again a step ahead – Jum-P had run down the table onto a book, squeaking at her.
Sonia reached down to pick it up, finding a children's storybook. The pieces came together: Gundham must have meant he read his hamsters a bedtime story every night.
Oh, dear. How absolutely precious. Sonia hugged the book close, restraining her urge to squee over how cute it all was.
"May I substitute for you tonight?" she said. He opened his bleary eyes, fixing her with an alarmed look. "I do not fear the risks, Gundham. You need rest, and your Deva brought me to assist you. If I do something wrong, you can correct me, can you not?"
Gundham looked from her to the hamsters, but it was clear from his complexion he was feeling wretched. "Well enough, mortal. I will permit you to read the incantation. But I must…"
He was trying to stand from the chair – Sonia steadied him by the shoulders, letting go just as quickly. "The only thing you must do is get changed into some cooler clothes! As princess, I'm taking over this situation from here."
Gundham considered her, then chuckled. "Well...enough. I think Monokuma left some plain monstrosities...somewhere."
Sonia nodded, taking Maga-Z's cue to one of the drawers. She pulled it open, finding some neatly folded pyjamas inside. Pretty plain for someone like Gundham, but they'd do. She handed them over, saying. "Here. The Devas will keep me company while you change."
He took them without complaint, but he was burying his face a little more in his scarf, a flush that probably wasn't due to the fever climbing up his features. She settled herself in his rocking chair, playing gently with the Devas as she waited for Gundham to get changed. There was a rustle of cloth, then Gundham settled on the bed close by, waiting for to begin reading.
Sonia clicked her fingers, pointing imperiously. "Under the covers. And lie on your side if you need to lie down – it'll be easier for you to breathe."
"The incantation-"
"I'll begin as soon as you're comfortable."
He looked wrong-footed at being bossed around like this, but did as she asked, lying down on his side facing her direction so he could observe Sonia and the Devas. He was still wearing his Hell Hound earring, she noticed - she worried he'd be uncomfortable if he turned over and laid on it accidentally, but maybe he'd feel more discomfited if she suggested he take it off, too. So Sonia turned to the book, grateful to find he'd left a bookmark. She flipped it open and started to read.
It wasn't a story Sonia knew, but it didn't feel like a traditional Japanese story either. She wondered if Gundham himself had written it, given that animals and demons featured so heavily in the story, but either way she found herself enjoying the experience. The Devas listened intently, the perfect polite audience. At intervals they would signal her to do something – provide food, open the cage for them to climb inside, right a bit of the small furniture she had – and she would look to Gundham for approval before carrying out the request.
It was a quiet moment – the only sounds being Sonia's voice, the ever-present lapping noise of the sea and Gundham's occasional ragged cough.
Eventually she neared the end of a chapter and the Devas were all in place in the cage, cuddled up ready to sleep. Sonia could see how Gundham would get attached to these adorable little balls of fluff – she could quiet happily watch and pet them forever. The anxiety of the past few days just seemed to melt away when she was in their presence…
She turned to check on Gundham, surprised to find his eyes had drifted shut. The bedtime story must have done the trick for him, too. She was still concerned about his temperature, though – at the very least she needed to find something cool for his forehead.
A quiet squeak caught her attention – Cham-P had approached the edge of the cage, looking at Gundham with sad eyes.
"Don't worry," she whispered. "I have this under control."
She crossed to the ensuite, searching around in the drawers for the items Monokuma had provided to everyone. Face wipes in one drawer – good a cloth as any. She turned on the tap, waiting until it ran ice cold before soaking a couple of wipes in water. She returned to Gundham, gently laying one across his forehead, then setting the other across the back of his neck. Sonia tried to avoid touching him as much as possible, but with him lying on his side she had to make sure the wipes wouldn't fall off, the water helping her adhere it to his skin.
He opened drowsy eyes, automatically looking towards the hamster cage where all the Devas were cuddled up for the night. He chuckled, low voice hoarse as he said, "I...underestimated you, mortal. Perhaps you have a power let to be revealed, dark lady...no...dark queen."
She wasn't queen, not yet, but she recognised the acknowledgement for the compliment it was. "I'm glad of that," she said. "But try and rest now. Everything's taken care of."
He dropped his head back against his pillow, drifting off already. Sonia took up a watch in the rocking chair. She could probably rest there, tired as she was, and she had no intention of leaving Gundham alone until the fever had dropped. If not, there was always the pharmacy in the morning.
Stupid Monokuma probably could have given him medication to begin with, but he didn't care enough to. Sonia's fists clenched. That stupid robot bear could go to hell, along with this entire situation.
It was with that thought that Sonia realised she couldn't deny it any more. She didn't want to be alone, didn't want to cut herself off from the others. With every class trial she was getting more attached to her fellow survivors and was beginning to consider them all (with the exception of Kazuichi, honestly) to be her dear friends.
They were going to come out the other side of this, she was sure. As long as they could band together and not let Monokuma or Nagito keep wrong-footing them, she was sure something good could come of it.
She looked down at Gundham, surprised to find he'd opened his eyes again and was watching her quietly. The urge to ask the thing that had been on her mind all evening seized her.
'I can trust you, can't I?'
But she said nothing. He was ill, not in his right mind – hardly fair to hit him with a question like that.
And truthfully, she didn't want to know the answer. She didn't want to consider what might drive him to betray them...and more than that, she was unwilling to consider the thought of losing him.
"Don't worry," she said instead. "You won't be alone with the bad spirits. I'm here."
He chuckled again, and she expected him to brush her off – after all, he was never really alone when he had his Devas. Honestly it made her a little envious on nights when she struggled to sleep, stuck all alone in her cabin. But he didn't. Instead he swallowed, wincing from the sore throat he likely had and said, "Thanks...Sonia."
Now it was her turn to flush. Had he ever called her by name before?
She leant back in her seat, cradling her face. Now was really not the time to be behaving like this. She was a princess, for goodness' sake.
But she didn't know if she'd be getting out of this one alive. If hanging out with this young man and his crew of hamsters brought her joy, why should she deny herself that?
A soft squeak caught her attention. As if sensing her thoughts, Cham-P had gotten out of his cage and was sitting by her elbow. He clambered onto her arm and down into her hands, circling a few times before letting his warm body curl up in her palms. Sonia melted, smiling happily. Well, at least she had company for her long vigil. And in the morning, when Gundham would hopefully be feeling better...maybe she could get to know him more.
Then whatever motive came next, they could face it together.