Chapter 10: Bath House Battles!

I went back to my room for the night and collapsed into bed.

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MONOKUMA THEATER!

-Whenever I spot a cute girl, I have a tendency to stare. I can't help it-- I just gaze with intensity. The other day, I rode my bike to the train station... I was in the bathroom, just looking at myself in the mirror...

END OF MONOKUMA THEATER!

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I woke up the next day with a yawn and tired eyes. I got up and got ready, before heading for the dining hall. I walked in and greeted everyone with a small smile and a wave. I got my breakfast and sat down to eat.

"Is this... everyone? It feels a little... small.", Taka mumbled as we all noticed that Byakuya and Toko were not there. "Even the table looks bigger, somehow."

"I assume that is because three people are dead, and two are abstaining.", Celeste mused as she twirled her hair around her finger.

"Yeah, with five people missing, I guess it *would* feel kinda empty.", Makoto muttered.

"Still... I know Byakuya's whatever, but shouldn't we go check on Toko?", Hina asked.

"I vote no. She's super annoying.", Hiro deadpanned.

"How can you be so cold? You are like a piece of rock candy.", Celeste smiled.

"What!? No, rock candy isn't cold! It's sweet!", Taka countered.

"...Anyway, Byakuya's the real problem. If we don't keep an eye on him, he might really kill someone. You can see it in his eyes... We got no choice! Get some rope! We're gonna hafta keep him bound and gagged!", Mondo suggested.

"Isn't that a bit overboard...?", I mumbled.

"He's right! In this situation, there's nothing scarier than when an ally turns loose cannon! It's just like when we were kids, and someone would go crazy at sports day or whatever!", Taka nodded.

"What the f*ck are you talking about!? You gonna use the rope to do tug of war or something!? Idiot!", Mondo insulted Taka with a growl.

"I'm not an idiot...! YOU'RE an idiot!", Taka shot back, albeit weakly.

"Who are you callin' stupid!?", Mondo yelled. I looked behind me to see Chihiro looking downcast.

"Huh? What's wrong, Chihiro? You don't look so great...", Makoto asked.

"Oh, I'm just going through a little... self-loathing.", Chihiro sighed.

"Self-loathing...? Why?", I got up to sit next to Chihiro.

"Well, after what Byakuya said to me yesterday... I just got nervous, I locked up. I couldn't say anything. Mondo ended up having to help me out. And even *he* said I was someone who "can't fight back"... I... I hate how weak I am.", Chihiro mumbled.

"Chihiro...", I sighed.

"Ahh, I see. So Mondo made you depressed.", Hina let out a noise of disappointment at Mondo.

"What!? How's it *my* fault!? I wasn't tryin' to be mean! Besides, girls are just naturally weak anyway right!?", Mondo yelled.

"... Gh...", at that point, Chihiro let the tears in her eyes pour down her face. I quickly wrapped my arms around her to comfort her.

"Chihiro! H-Hey, calm down! It's okay!", I assured.

"A-Are you... crying...?", Mondo gasped.

"It's cuz you were screaming like a lunatic!", Hina scolded.

"Nng... *hic*", Chihiro sobbed as I smoothed out her hair while calming her down.

"Hey, c'mon, don't cry... I-It's my fault, okay? I won't yell at you anymore...", Mondo sighed.

"Really? Not sure I can believe that...", Hina sassed.

"Hina, let him speak. He's trying...", I stopped Hina from commenting any further.

"...I got it! I'll make you a promise as a man!", Mondo declared.

"Promise... as a man?", Chihiro mumbled.

"Maybe I mentioned this before, but... Ever since I was a kid, there was one thing my brother told me over and over again... He said that no matter what, a real man ALWAYS keeps his promises. That's what he left me.", Mondo explained.

"Left you...?", Hifumi questioned.

"Oh, yeah... My brother's dead.", Mondo stated as he looked away.

"Oh... I see...", Makoto muttered. It hurt, hearing about someone losing another that they cared for.

"Anyway, I don't wanna talk about it. Don't wanna make all you guys cry! Anyway, so you can trust me when I make that promise. So you don't gotta cry anymore!", Mondo smiled.

"O-Okay. Thank you... Mondo.", Chihiro rubbed her tears away and smiled at Mondo.

"S-Sure...", Mondo mumbled, going pink in the face.

"But... I still don't like how I am right now. I have to get stronger... If I'm so weak anything can make me cry... that's not good.", Chihiro sighed.

"Still, don't stress out too much about having to get stronger.", Makoto stated with a smile.

"No... I *want* to get stronger. Maybe I should... start working out...", Chihiro mumbled.

"In that case, I would be happy to help you out anytime.", Sakura smiled.

"B-But then Miss Fujisaki would get smashed into a billion pieces!", Hifumi panicked.

"Shut up, you.", Hina scolded.

"Hmhmhm...", Chihiro giggled under her breath.

"Ohh, finally cracked a smile, huh?", Hiro asked with a sense of pride.

"You look way better when you smile...", I complimented Chihiro, who went red at it.

"Y-Yeah... Everyone... thank you.", Chihiro grinned. We all finished our breakfast and left. I spent the rest of the day inside my room, working away and creating a bunch of simple weapons to pass the time. After working my butt off, I decided to go get some food. It was nighttime, but I didn't think much of it. I was still wearing my PJs, but I didn't care. They weren't revealing, just brightly colored; A blue pair of PJs with sheep all over it. I walked to the dining hall, and saw three people I didn't expect to see. It was Taka, Mondo, and Makoto.

"Uh, is this a bad time?", I asked as I grabbed an apple from the fruit basket.

"K-Kuno! What are you doing still up?", Makoto asked as he stared at me for a bit, before turning away with blush all over his face.

"I was hungry.", I shrugged as I took a bite out of the apple.

"A-Ah, I see...", Makoto sighed.

"Hey, Kuno! Perfect timing!", Taka called for me.

"What's up?", I asked.

"I have a favor to ask! C'mon, Makoto. You too, Kuno. You gotta be our witnesses!", Mondo urged.

"Witnesses to what...?", Makoto questioned.

"This guy's talkin' sh*t about me since day one. Callin' me a coward and sh*t like that...", Mondo growled.

"You *are* a coward! That's why you turn to violence to solve your problems! That's why you can't do what society asks of you, why you walk around dressed like that!", Taka shot back.

"Oooooh, now he did it...", I whispered as I took another bite out of my treat.

"... The f*ck you say? You dunno sh*t.", Mondo snarled.

"You've already lost to yourself, but you're such a coward you don't even realize it!", Taka retorted.

"So what, you sayin' you're *not* a coward? You think you're tougher than me?", Mondo challenged.

"I *know* I am!", Taka boasted.

"Okay, then let's throw down. Prove you got what I don't got!", Mondo cracked his knuckles.

"I accept your challenge!", Taka nodded.

"So that's what's happenin', you two. You gotta be our witnesses!", Mondo pointed at us.

"You're gonna... throw down? You're not gonna like... start punching each other, are you?", Makoto asked with a worried expression.

"There's a bathhouse on the 1st floor of the dorm, right? With a sauna inside?", Mondo confirmed.

"Uh, yeah? Why?", I asked, throwing my apple away.

"I see... a simple endurance contest, is it? We're going to see who can stay in the sauna the longest, am I right!?", Taka stood straight with confidence.

"Goddamn straight!", Mondo yelled as the two hot-heads charged to the sauna. I looked back at Makoto and shrugged as I followed them out, Makoto following shortly after. Mondo and Taka went inside and left Makoto and I outside.

"A-Are you guys really gonna go through with this?", Makoto asked with his hand on the door knob.

"Sh*t yeah!", Mondo yelled.

"He'll be done in a matter of minutes, anyway. People like him are, without exception, all talk!", Taka retorted.

"Bring! It! On! Hell, let's make things interesting. Wouldn't wanna win without a challenge, right?", Mondo smirked.

"Interesting...?", Makoto mumbled.

"That... worries me a bit, not gonna lie.", I muttered.

"We're gonna battle with all our clothes on!", Mondo concluded.

"Th-That's idiotic! Suicidal!", Taka yelled.

"What, you afraid?", Mondo teased.

"Y-You're going to regret this!", Taka stood his ground.

"Shut up and let's do this!", Mondo declared. Taka began to take off his clothes, and I turned around faster than a sports car driving at 254mph. My face was so red, I thought I looked like a tomato like that.

"Uh, Kuno. We're witnesses. You gotta... witness.", Makoto deadpanned.

"Uh, right! Yes! Witness!", I turned around and calmed myself just a bit, and I tried not to stare at Taka too much. Mondo had his clothes on, true to his word.

"H-Hey, Mondo...", Taka called out.

"What, a*shole?", Mondo asked.

"You can take off your uniform, ya know. Go ahead, I won't judge.", Taka assured, sweating buckets already. (A/N: Can I just say that I misunderstood that as "I won't judge the size of your hoo-haa?" XD Tell me I am not the only one, please!)

"And you can shut the f*ck up and mind your own business. I mean, look at you. Your face is all red. What're you, one of those goddamn hot springs monkeys?", Mondo gritted his teeth.

"I-It just so happens... I was born with a red face...!", Taka retorted.

"You don't have to act all big, man.", Mondo teased.

"A-Act, you say? Hahaha! I'm still plenty good to go! I'm so good, I could eat a steaming-hot bowl of soup right now!", Taka laughed, albeit while sweating like no tomorrow

"Are they... okay?", Makoto asked. I shrugged and kept watching. A full hour passed and they were still inside, as stubborn as ever.

"D-Don't you think... it's about time... you gave up?", Taka sighed.

"What about you? You can't even hardly talk... dumba*s.", Mondo breathed.

"Say wh-whatever you want... I'm still totally... good to go! In fact, I'm starting to feel... kinda cold!", Taka cheered.

"I think it might be time to worry about their health now... eh, a few more minutes won't hurt.", I shrugged.

"That's... prolly not good...", Mondo mumbled.

"H-Hey, uh... guys? I know you both wanna prove how big of bada*ses you are, but... don't you think you've done enough?", Makoto tried to get to them, but all we heard back was a loud "SHUT UP!" from the both of them. Suddenly, the nighttime announcement rang through the school.

"Hey, you guys heard that! It's time to leave! Just call it a tie!", I called.

"In a true competition... there's no such thing as a tie! You win, or you lose. That's... the only thing that matters!", Taka claimed.

"Listen to you... you son of a b*tch...! Then bring it on...! I'll... I'll push you right up to the gates of hell!", Mondo declared.

"Th-This isn't good, guys...", Makoto muttered.

"Yeah, you hear him and Kuno? Better crawl on back... to your room...! I'll let you know how it went... in the morning! Then you can start spreading my... my legend...!", Mondo yelled.

"Come tomorrow morning... you'll fall down in front of me... down on your knees. I'll show you where to do it...!", Taka sassed.

"Big talk from someone... whose face is about to explode...!", Mondo retorted.

"Right back a-at ya!", Taka yelled.

"You know what? I am so done. All I wanted was a snack, that is all I wanted. I don't know why I even agreed to this. Goodnight and good riddance.", with that, I left the boys to their own.

END OF CHAPTER 10!