Despairing Fortune // Mastermind Ishimondo and Togakure

Planning Pain

At this point, Mondo had given up on attempting to escape. Unfortunately, now he had some scratches from the chains and he was freezing. His jacket was ripped from getting caught up during his 'execution', so that didn't help. His head was still pounding.
The lights suddenly flickered on, temporarily blinding Mondo.
" Hello again, darling. How are you feeling? " Ishimaru walked into his view. Mondo shot Ishimaru a death glare.
" I was better before you showed up again, you sick sadist, " He growled. Ishimaru gave him a sad smile, shrugging.

" I was expecting you to be more considerate considering the fact I saved your pathetic life after you brutally murdered Fujisaki in cold blood, nonetheless, I don't entirely blame you, " He turned towards the monitors, looking for Yasuhiro on the cameras. Mondo growled and looked away from the other.

" Answer my question about your health, not your feelings. How are you feeling? Aha, there he is, " Ishimaru tapped the desk-like structure that held the control panels, impatiently. The sound of keys clicking, buttons being pushed, and the distant conversations cutting off as Ishimaru flipped through the cameras were the only sounds that filled the odd, dark room. " Monokuma! Go fetch Hagakure for me. Say something like ' Ishimaru isn't doing so well ' or something. I need him for planning, " Ishimaru demanded. It was normal for someone like him to take charge, but with such authority and malice was. . . unsettling to Mondo. Someone who was so trusted and admired within the group having terrible intent truly was a certainly frightening thing.

" Taka- " Ishimaru swiftly turned his head to look at Mondo, annoyance prominent in his eyes. " Er... Ishimaru? "

" Yes, what do you want? " He asked, harshly. Ishimaru's tone sent a shiver down Mondo's spine. He had no intention of faking nice anymore.

" Could you loosen the chains? I'm fairly sure they're going to cut off my blood flow if they get the slightest bit tighter, " Mondo's heart was racing. His wrist was still stinging from last night.

" Hm, let me think about that. Absolutely, " Ishimaru turned towards Mondo with a small smile, " Not. " His eyebrows furrowed as he squinted at Mondo, disapprovingly.

" Why not? " Mondo growled, much to Ishimaru's disgust.

" First off, don't speak to me like that! Secondly, I was the one who fitted the chains therefore I know that you will be fine. Thirdly, you just want an opportunity to get the jump on me, huh? " Ishimaru strode past Mondo and towards the door.

There was a faint knock and something Mondo couldn't hear, but he assumed it to be Hagakure.

Filthy, traitorous bastards. Mondo thought angrily.

" Come in. Take your seat, Hagakure. We must plan how to get one of us out without suspicion, " Ishimaru came back into sight, his head tilted upward slightly with one arm behind his back.

" Perhaps we fake another execution? We could kill two birds with one stone by killing Kirigiri, " Hagakure suggested, glancing at Mondo, then back to Ishimaru.

" We could always make it a double kill. Kirigiri and Togami? " Ishimaru crossed his legs, a smirk on his face. He knew the Hagakure had a little crush on Togami. The amusement comes in at whether he'd disobey or keep quiet. Either way, despair was bound to happen.

" I-..n-not Togami? What about Ludenberg, she's a smart player, " Hagakure hesitated, afraid of if Ishimaru would do anything to him.

" Why not Togami? Wouldn't it be fun to see poor little Fukawa discover his lifeless body?! " Ishimaru beamed, his eyes gleaming in the dull lighting.

" B-Because he..um..messes with the trails? Wouldn't that be fun to see? "

" Hagakure, we mess with the trails. We mess with everything here, " Ishimaru deadpanned, writing down plans on a clipboard. " Unless you have a better idea and a reason, it'll be Kirigiri and Togami. "

Hagakure was getting quite nervous about this. He knew Ishimaru didn't care much about relationships, especially if they could potentially harm his plans.

" B-Because...Togami..um.. " He stuttered. Ishimaru was still smirking, but he was getting a little irritated.

" 3... "
" What? "

" 2. "

" Sir, why are you counting down? "

" 1. Tell me truthfully, Hagakure, why are you trying to shift our plans away from Togami? If you don't there may be consequences for the both of you, " He growled harshly.

" Fine! It's because I like him, okay?! He's the person I want to keep alive just as you kept Mondo alive! " Hagakure blurted, his face heating up with the confession.

" Oh Hagakure, you're unaware of how blatantly obvious it was that you were attracted to the heir. Especially for someone like me, " Ishimaru chuckled. " I cannot judge for I have similar feelings for our captive here, " he gestured towards Mondo. 

Hagakure sunk down in his chair, covering his blushing face. 

" Yeah...so, Ludenberg or Fukawa? "

" I suppose we lure the both of them, kill the first to show up, and frame the second to appear. If it works it works, if it doesn't we rig my execution, " Ishimaru explained quickly, writing down the plan as he spoke.

" Sounds perfect. Shall we put it in motion tonight? " Hagakure asked.

" Yes, once everyone is at the dining hall, I'll slip notes to the two we plan on killing, " Ishimaru turned his head towards Mondo. He had a pained expression from the cut rubbing on the chains, which had slid down slightly.

" Oh dear. Oowada, are you alright? " Ishimaru stood up and made his way over to Mondo. He saw the cut, and frowned slightly. " I apologize about that, my temper must've gotten the best of me yesterday. Allow me to assist you, " Ishimaru quickly moved the chain back up, off the cut. He got up and went into a side room off the larger one. He came back with bandages, after a moment.

" Don't even get close to me, sicko, " Mondo growled, attempting to pull away, forgetting that he was chained. The chain slid down again, nearly avoiding the slit in his skin.

" This is the least I can do, we wouldn't want it to get infected, " Ishimaru said, softly. He knelt down next to Mondo at the side he had cut the day prior, unwrapped the bandages he had grabbed. He carefully slid the chain up, wrapping the bandages around Mondo's wrist, who winced as they tightened.

" There you go. Next time I get angry please tell me. We wouldn't want this happening again, " Ishimaru smiled at him, yet it seemed genuine, unlike all the others. Mondo muttered something inaudible. " Hm? What was that? "

" I said thanks. . . " Mondo muttered, looking away.

" Not a problem, dearest, " Ishimaru smiled, slightly wider than before, as he went back to his seat with Hagakure.

Word count- 1197