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The hallway near the personal suites had been decently quiet throughout the afternoon, courtesy of the students engaging in their high-octane football match for most of it; after the bout had concluded with the victory of Leon's squad, the so-called guests aboard Monokuma's cruise ship trickled back into their private rooms and the surrounding communal areas at their own leisure. The last two people to arrive back into the quarters were the unfortunate injury-stricken biker gang leader and the nurse who stepped out of the game to tend to his affliction. With that, the relative silence of the corridor was irregularly broken by the former's somewhat stifled grunts as he attempted not to strain his sprained ankle any further, interspersed with the latter's weakly voiced instructions on how to proceed. Luckily for the both of them, their surroundings remained empty of any bystanders who could witness them; as such, the pair reached their destination without any interruptions, and now stared at the door of the young man's suite in unison.
"About fuckin' time we got here. Shit..." Mondo scoffed, momentarily leaning on the wall next to the entrance as he kept his injured foot off the ground, "I'd almost forgot how goddamn annoying a twisted ankle can get. Anyway, thanks for the escort, but I'll manage from here, so, yeah."
The lavender-haired girl tensed up a little at the last few words, but kept her gaze lowered as she faintly protested: "B-But, Owada-kun... that sort of trauma should not be taken lightly. I-I need to monitor it for a bit in order to make sure that it's not worse than just a sprain..." Mikan's voice trailed off as she forcibly shut her eyes close, clenching both her fists and holding them to her chest. Mondo sighed, not feeling like arguing with the girl who seemed to grow more distressed the longer her complaint remained unanswered. Throwing his arms out in irritation, he half-heartedly asked: "And for how long do ya wanna stick around? It's not like I'm unable to function by myself or shit..."
- "Well... I think it'd be best if I k-kept watch for just a little while longer. I-I can apply an analgesic - sorry, a painkiller of some sort - and see if the swelling is getting any better, i-if you don't mind..." Tsumiki apologetically explained, almost covering her face as she gave Owada the rundown of her plan. The biker just shook his head without a word and wordlessly turned to unlock his suite. The door unlocked with a click, which sent the nurse a step backwards as she jumped, startled. Mondo merely gestured into the room and mumbled under his breath: "After you, I guess."
It took a moment or five for Mikan to get composed enough so that she could stutter a broken thank you before realising that she's forgetting a rather crucial fact. "O-oh, sorry! Y-You can go ahead, Owada-kun! I don't have any painkillers on me so I'll have to look for them! Please, just wait for me inside, okay? Again, I'm really sorry!" the girl wailed as she suddenly darted away from the less than impressed boy. Hanging his head low enough that the pompadour obscured his face, he simply shook his head again and navigated himself towards his bed, leaving the door slightly agape. It's not like it's going to take her long, and he doubted anyone would disturb his peace now in the minute margin of time he's been left by Mikan to his own devices. Instead of worrying, he leaned back on the pillow, closed his eyes and let the time pass... until the neurotic nurse almost came crashing through the door, stumbling on the doorstep and yelping in surprise as she fell flat on the floor beside the biker's bed.
"Aaah! S-Sorry! I'm such a klutz..." Tsumiki cried out as she hurriedly stood up and checked whether her obtained goods have got away unscathed. Relieved that they have, the girl briskly walked up to the door and closed them properly as Mondo said something about her needing to slow down a little. After that, she made her way over to the hurt delinquent and crouched next to the foot of the bed with surprising dexterity, all the while preparing the ointment in her hands. Without a warning, she swiftly drew the boy's pant leg above his knee and started applying the salve, which he didn't quite expect. "Hey- FUCK!" Mondo exclaimed as he bumped the wounded foot into his other leg as he recoiled. "Argh, god fucking dammit! You could at least tell me you're about to start doing shit next time..." he growled, digging his fingers into the mattress as the pain shot up his calf. The nurse, meanwhile, squeaked loudly and cowered away from the man, horrified. "I-I-I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to startle you, I should have said something, I...! Please forgive me, Owada-kun..." she started hyperventilating and soon enough, tears streaked down her face.
Mondo, regaining his composure, noticed that the purple-haired girl burst into tears, and promptly cursed himself. "Good fucking job, dude. Listen, Mikan - it's not your fault, okay? I just didn't expect it is all. Just... do what ya have to, I guess." His words seemed to fall on deaf ears at first, as the frequent sobs of the trembling girl didn't seem to stop. After a minute, though, she calmed down enough to stop crying, and before Owada opened his mouth to reassure her everything is okay, she nodded - more to herself than to him - and slowly crawled back towards the biker. Hearing her faint voice saying she's sorry for being too intrusive almost made him retort in disagreement, but then he noticed she wasn't really paying attention to him at all, being utterly focused on the injury she was treating. For a moment, time seemed to stop as Mondo observed Mikan handling the medication and bandaging with surgical precision and applying them with utter care and finesse. Safe to say, he was impressed.
When she finished tending to his ankle, Tsumiki hesitantly stood up, clasping her hands together in expectancy. Owada quickly noticed that she was eyeing him rather nervously, and when their looks met, she quickly glanced away before uttering: "Sorry, I, uhm... i-it's done now." The man sat up and examined the fine job the nurse did, and offered a genuine smile. "Uh, damn. It feels better now. Thanks a lot, Mikan." As he said that, he saw her face flush red and a very bright grin appear. In that moment, he noticed her hands were still covered in the ointment she used, and quickly added: "Err, you can maybe wash your hands in the bathroom. You nurses are all about cleanliness and shit, right?" She gasped as her violet eyes darted between his face and her fingers, which admittedly were pretty oily from the salve. "R-Right! Thank you very much!" Mikan almost shouted as she frantically made her way to the sink.
Hearing the running water gave Mondo some time to think; he couldn't get his mind off of one thing.
How could such a frail and clumsy girl ever... do someone in?
Is there something I'm not seeing?
It's not my fuckin' place to pry, but...
"O-Owada-kun?"
- "Huh?" Mondo snapped back to reality to see Mikan standing in front of him. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinkin' and shit. Here," he carefully moved himself to vacate some space on the bed, "I won't have ya standin' there all day, take a seat."
Tsumiki objected, flustered: "I-It's fine, I'm okay! I-I wouldn't want to accidentally hurt your foot or something, I'll just-"
- "Relax, Mikan. Seriously, uh, I insist. It's not that bad anyway. I've had worse."
The former delinquent extended a thumbs up towards the nurse, who, still very bashful, soundlessly descended onto the mattress and intensely stared at the ground. Mustering the courage to even speak, she then weakly asked: "How... how bad? Was it because... y-you fought?"
Mondo hummed in assent, nodding as he replied: "Right. The life of a biker gang leader doesn't revolve only around bikes... I've had a scuffle or two in my time, yeah. For better or for worse, I was always the one who walked away by himself. As for how bad... the worst was a broken arm or some shit like that."
Mikan steeled herself, then continued in her curious questioning. "D-Does that mean that you were never hurt as badly as the people you fought?"
Owada leered at the lavender-haired girl with slight suspicion, but didn't protest. "Yeah. Something like that."
- "Have you ever... g-gone too far..?" Tsumiki asked in but a whisper.
The inquiry caught the man off-guard. Clenching his fist, he tried to dispel the cloud of thoughts that had begun to muddle his mind, but he didn't succeed. Anger and regret both mixed themselves into his expression, even though he stayed silent - but regardless of that, the nurse was quick to notice. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."
Mondo cut her short. "Don't. Fuck, I gotta say I didn't think you'd have to balls to ask." He fell back on his pillow and rubbed his eyes in frustration, staring at the ceiling above, then shifting his gaze back on the slightly shaking girl that sat next to him. "But no. Before that fucking bear's sick game... I've never ended anyone. Not directly." He paused, bracing himself for the shame that'd overcome him once he'd follow up on his words, knowing that Mikan would likely ask anyway, as uncharacteristically bold as it was for her. Inhaling deeply, he swallowed his pride and continued: "The one person I killed because I was stupid... was my older bro. He took my place just so I could survive. And how did I pay him back? I got my fuckin' head messed up and murdered an unsuspecting kid who would never fight back. I fuckin' failed him... and my bro, too."
The biker closed his grey eyes, tensing up ever so slightly after concluding his speech. It was my fault, right? Ever since that day, I've kept fucking up, almost doing it again that day, with a goddamn dumbbell no less. What do I need to do to stop fucking up? Do I need Kaede and Kaito's help?
And what about Mikan? She is helping me right now, and I can't give anything in return. Who knows what's going on in her head, but it's clearly weighing on her, too. Yet, she still finds strength to help. Why can't I do the same? Just why can't I be someone to rely on for others, too?
Mondo would have descended further into self-depreciation, had the sound of sniffling not caught his ear. He quickly came to, and aimed his attention at Mikan, who almost inexplicably started crying again. "Uh, hey, you alright? Something wrong?"
The nurse didn't respond. Conversely, upon hearing the biker's pleas for an answer, the weeping intensified, and as she rasped between the choking sobs, she broke straight into a heart-wrenching wail. That prompted Owada to sit himself up as he panicked to somehow alleviate the girl's unexpected breakdown. He clenched his fist and relaxed it repeatedly, hands midway between himself and Tsumiki, as he tried to make heads or tails of what he should do. After a minute or so of his indecisiveness, he swallowed a lump and tried breaking through to her again. "Mikan, ya hear me? Shit, you're scaring me. Tell me what's going on, I wanna help. We can do this together, alright? Just lemme know you're listenin'." As he said that, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Mikan shook momentarily, but didn't shoo him away. After what seemed like the longest while, she spoke in a broken, high-pitched voice.
"I... I... failed them too... "
It was difficult to make out between her sobs and sharp inhales, but Mondo understood. Trying to be encouraging, he softened his tone: "I know how ya feel. But they wouldn't want to see ya like this, okay? Listen, I don't know shit about what happened, and it's none of my goddamn business. But you gotta remember... it's all because of that black-and-white fucker who runs this place. He even made you - and me, too - forget why the hell we even did these things." Taking a moment to mull his words over, he moved over to the floor next to the bed, crouched down so he could see face-to-face with Mikan, and placed his other hand on her other shoulder. The girl had her face buried in her palms, not even flinching at the boy's motion.
"Now, I'm a lost fuckin' case. I don't even know why I did what I did, and at the first sign of trouble, I blew my fuse and almost fuckin' did it again. I don't deserve poor Chihiro's forgiveness. But you... dammit, Mikan, I can't goddamn believe that whatever ya did was your fault."
Tsumiki shuddered, her strained voice yet again escaping between waves of uncontrollable cries. "Why... why did I kill I-Ibuki... and Hiyoko too... not just one... I k-killed two... two of my friends... They'll never forgive me... I'll never forgive myself..."
- "Mikan, listen to me. I might just be a stupid macho biker that ya barely know, but shit... I believe you over anything that bear says. You're no fuckin' murderer. You regret it every waking moment of the goddamn day, don't ya? So why the hell would they not forgive ya? Because..." his grip on her shoulders firmed up, "as long as Monokuma is the one who caused you to kill... I forgive you, Mikan. I forgive you, okay?"
Saying that seemed to strike a nerve in Tsumiki, who gradually quieted down; the sobs were still persistent and she was still trembling like the ground during an earthquake, but even her breathing had started to settle down. Mondo's jaw stiffened as he looked patiently at the nurse, who appeared almost pitiful; he wanted to say something - anything - that would make her feel better, but the words didn't come. In the end, he just hanged his head momentarily and sighed: "Mikan..."
...and that, apparently, was enough. She suddenly lunged forward, wrapping her arms around the biker's chiseled torso and pressed her face against his chest. Owada was too surprised to even recoil; the unexpected impact almost made him topple over, but he held himself together and straightened the two of them back up as Mikan started softly apologising: "I-I'm so... so, so, so sorry... Owada-kun, I really am... I-I don't know why, but I did these horrible things that I c-can't take back..."
Mondo, unsure of what to do next, simply returned the embrace, however awkward, and spoke from his heart. "I know. I did, too. But we're better than that now, okay? We're gonna make it out of here, and then... we're gonna let 'em know how sorry we are. Even if we gotta say it a million fuckin' times, we'll do it. And then, they won't have any choice but to forgive ya, too. Deal?"
Tsumiki raised her head, locking her purple eyes with his own grey ones. "Owada-kun..."
- "Mondo."
- "...I..."
"...Thank you, Mondo... T-Thank you so much..."
They sat there on the floor in comfortable, peaceful near-silence for a solid few minutes; Mikan eventually stopped crying altogether, electing to simply hold onto her unmoving and steady shipmate who wordlessly returned the favour. Even though it was unexpected and somewhat awkward at first, he didn't exactly dislike that arrangement. Granted, it was not about to last forever, as Tsumiki, having calmed down entirely, pulled away from the biker and wiped her face with her apron. "Sorry, I... that was without warning..." she apologised, seeing some offence in hugging the boy under these circumstances.
Owada smiled. "You're good. You should probably get going, so the others don't worry."
Mikan nodded in agreement. "Y-Yeah. I'll come check on you later, if that's okay..." she remarked, rushing to get up and going.
A part of him wanted to say that there's no need to make haste and she can take her time getting ready, but he ended up saying nothing of the sort. "Yeah, alright. I'll see you around. Take care." he responded, carefully hoisting himself up on the bed as to not make his injury ache again. As he did, he caught a glance of Mikan hurriedly waving at him from the doorway as she made her way out of the room. Resting down on the pillow, Mondo looked up at the ceiling again, it seeming much less suffocating and judgemental than when he kept his eyes on it a while ago. Maybe it was the atmosphere that changed in the time that passed since then - the clock told that it was nearly an hour since the duo arrived to the suite - but for some reason, Owada couldn't help but feel slightly liberated.
That's when a thought came flowing into his mind - the grin he'd come to see for a few short seconds after complimenting the girl's nursing abilities - and then another - how she thanked him so earnestly, full of gratitude. Having had the lavender-haired lass swing from treating his sprained ankle to breaking down in front of his eyes, finally felt a speck of inner satisfaction; if only for a moment, he could be a pillar of strength to someone who needed it the most. After so many failures, he became someone to lean on for at least one person in that one particular situation. And even though Mikan basically scurried away, likely in embarrassment, she did promise to come back later... and Mondo was somewhat looking forward to seeing her again. He wanted to get to know more about the clumsy, delicate and fragile nurse who seemed to have a penchant for catching people off their guard.
"I wonder if she likes dogs..."