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Byakuya is dead. Despite his best attempts to keep the group together, this party failed and Byakuya turned up dead, his body found under a table surrounded by a sea of his own blood. And now the infuriating bear has returned and revealed that, yes, this was a murder, and the horror fully begins to sink in.
They will have to investigate his death. They will have to have a trial and try to find the murderer. One more member of their ranks will be dead by the end of it.
Gundham stiffens, the scent of blood hanging in the air and the cacophony of shrieking and talking and sobbing from the others invading his ears and making his head throb. On an impulse, his fingers go up to his ear, wanting to clamp his fingertips around the Hell Hound Earring that dangles from his earlobe, needing the dark magic of the ancient artefact to soothe his mortal form before he can have some sort of breakdown. And Overlords of Ice do not have breakdowns.
But his fingers find nothing but empty air, and he flinches. Where is the Hell Hound Earring? What happened to it? The world will be destroyed if it does not return to his side immediately.
(And a part of him wants to feel the cold metal against his clammy skin, but Gundham doesn’t think about that part.)
Gundham scans his surroundings, ignoring the murder investigation as pressure starts to build up inside his chest. His head pounds, getting worse with every second he stays parted from the Hell Hound Earring. Gundham swallows hard, this irrational fear not even being sated by the presence of his Four Dark Devas of Destruction, who snuggle against him inside his scarf.
A lot of things happen around him, but Gundham finds it almost imposible to process them. He sees Mikan sob as she approaches Byakuya’s body, Mahiru studying her camera and Hajime scrolling through that Monokuma File thing, but he realises he can’t hear much over his heart pounding in his ears.
Hajime speaks to him, but Gundham can barely find the correct words, instead rambling about the Hell Hound Earring whilst Hajime stares at him like he wants to smack him. deep down, Gundham knows the investigation is important, but why will none of these mortals understand the danger the world is in right now?
Time passes, but how much time Gundham has no idea, when a thought pops into his brain. Perhaps the Hell Hound Earring might have fallen through those large gaps in the floorboards? Again ignoring the others (although uncertain he would be able to have a real conversation with them even if he did engage with them), Gundham walks over to the wall and kneels on the floor, studying the patch of wooden floor that is not covered by the carpet Nagito put down. Pressing his hand against the floor sends a jolt of pain up his arm, but Gundham just grits his teeth. He strains his vision, peering into the darkness below the floor, and…
“I see it!” he yells, probably making the others jump. Just as he thought, the Hell Hound Earring glints on the ground below the floor. But when the obvious finally hits Gundham’s addled brain, he looks at the Hell Hound Earring like it is taunting him. “But… how do I reach it?”
He hears Hajime say something else, unimpressed, but Gundham ignores him. There must be a way to get under the floorboards. There has to be. The future of the human race depends on it.
The smell of blood starts to make him nauseous, so Gundham gets to his feet and leaves the room, his feet stumbling slightly. Coordinating his limbs is getting more and more difficult, and Gundham hopes he doesn’t fall, not wanting to injure the Four Dark Devas of Destruction.
He makes it to the entrance way and has to slump against the wall, screwing his eyes up. His head hurts, his skin hurts… everything hurts. He needs his Hell Hound Earring. How can the world survive without it?
(How can he cope without it?)
A flash of inspiration hitting him, Gundham flings the door open and lurches down the steps. Chiaki and Monomi stare at him, and he has no idea what to say. Starting to wonder if he might throw up, Gundham drops to his knees and shuffles over to the wall, studying the crosshatched fencing that blocks access to the crawlspace. The night air tickles his skin, making him shiver. Sweat coats his skin, and Gundham rubs his eyes in an attempt to stop them aching. It doesn’t work.
“Do you need any help?” Chiaki asks, even her soft voice making his eardrums throb.
Gundham manages a nod, and spends the next twenty minutes with Chiaki, trying to get access to the space under the floorboards. She doesn’t speak much, something he is grateful for. His tremors get worse, and even his normally comfortable pants start to scratch his sensitive skin.
He needs the Hell Hound Earring.
(He needs to calm down.)
But he and Chiaki have no success, and Gundham swallows hard. If he doesn’t get his Hell Hound Earring soon, Monokuma will drag him off for this trial and by then it might already be too late.
At a loss for what else to do, Gundham drags himself to his feet and goes back inside the building, having to force his legs to move. He squints, the lights blinding him, and his breaths come out as shallow, jagged gasps.
He passes the open door to the office, which was previously occupied by Kazuichi, Peko and Hajime as part of the investigation, but finds it empty. Perfect.
There must be a way to get under the floor somewhere in this place.
(He can be alone here.)
Perhaps he can locate the Hell Hound Earring before it is too late.
(Maybe he can hide in here so the others don’t see him in this state.)
Shivering again, goose bumps covering his prickling skin, Gundham stumbles into the empty office, and turns around to close the door. But as he puts his hand on the door, sending a shooting sensation up his arm, Gundham spots a figure in the doorway. He flinches and opens his eyes, and recognises the blonde hair through the fog in his brain.
Sonia stands there, a nervous frown on her face. “Gundham? Are you all right?”
Gundham shakes his head, the throbbing getting worse, and moves to close the door. “E-Excuse me…”
But Sonia keeps hold of the door, preventing him from shutting it. “No, you look sick. I do not think you should be left alone.”
How does he even begin to explain how wrong she is?
That he is not sick, simply dealing with the loss of power after losing the Hell Hound Earring?
(That he is verging a meltdown, something he has not experienced since he was a child?)
Gundham blinks, bringing a hand up to his head. He digs his fingers into his hair, pressing his fingertips against his skull. The pressure vanishes slightly, but not enough. Not enough.
“I…” He can barely say a single word, his brain on fire and everything hurting and the need to scream building up until he wants to throw up. “I…”
Gundham turns away, frantically scanning the floor. He falls to his knees, pain shooting up his legs, and Sonia gasps.
“Gundham?!”
He turns his back to her, digging his fingertips into his head as he gasps for breath. There must be a trapdoor or a hatch somewhere. There has to be. There has to…
Finally, it all becomes too much. The fear, confusion and pain explode, and Gundham loses any semblance of control in a fraction of a second.
Letting out a strangled sob, he clamps both hands over the sides of his head, hunching forwards so the bottom half of his face becomes hidden by his scarf. The Four Dark Devas of Destruction snuggle against him, but even their support doesn’t help.
“Gundham?”
Sonia approaches with caution, kneeling near him but not close enough to touch. She stares at him, but Gundham can’t look. He doesn’t want to see her pity.
Anyway, she doesn’t understand.
Gundham Tanaka, the Supreme Overlord of Ice, is not having a meltdown for the first time since childhood. No, nothing like that is occurring.
This is just the power drain from being parted from the Hell Hound Earring.
But how does he explain that?
How does he even get a single word to come out of his mouth?
Despite his attempts to stop them, his eyes fill with tears, and his burning eyes make the head pain even worse. Gundham lets out pathetic sobs, the tears spilling over.
“Oh, Gundham…”
What does he even want Sonia to do? To stay? To leave? To go and locate the Hell Hound Earring on his behalf?
When her hand touches his shoulder, it is as though somebody just set his arm on fire, flames burning deep into his skin. Gundham yelps and lurches away, the hands on his head clenching into fists around clumps of hair.
“Gundham, I apologise…” Sonia babbles frantic apologies, but all Gundham can do is keep clenching his hair.
Gripping his hair like this put pressure on the roots, pain blossoming across his scalp. But this pain is nowhere near as bad as the pain inside his skull, so Gundham begins to pull, making the pair worse. His scalp burns and tears cascade down his face, but it helps. Somehow, it helps.
“Gundham, I had no… that would hurt you… would you… me to leave?”
Gundham’s hearing fades, and he starts to miss words in Sonia’s speech. But he still processes her words. Would he like her to leave?
To be quite honest, for reasons he can’t begin to understand, having her sat beside him… helps. Of course, being touched hurts and he can’t really process her speech, but having her sat beside him helps him feel less… vulnerable, he supposes.
So despite the pain it causes, Gundham shakes his head.
“Okay,” Sonia says, her voice soft. “I shall stay.”
And she does. Whilst Gundham’s brain burns and his whole body aches and his chest rattles with sobs and he wants it all to stop so badly, Sonia stays there, sat beside him. Her presence really does help. He still doesn’t know why, but it does.
Time passes in a blur, and Gundham has no idea how long he has just been hunched on the floor, crying and pulling his hair hard enough to hurt; it could have been a couple of minutes or an hour. All he really knows is that, finally, his brain starts to calm down. The pain in his head and the horrible sensitivity of his eyes, ears and skin begin to fade away, leaving him sniffing and trying to catch his breath.
Gundham lets out an awkward, shuddering breath, and sighs heavily. He opens his eyes, the brightness still hurting them, but he can cope now. His whole body shaking with adrenaline, Gundham sits back on his haunches, sniffing.
“Would you like this?” Sonia says in that wonderfully soft tone, holding out a crisp white tissue.
He stares at the tissue, and reaches out his hand. Touching her fingers sends discomfort tingling through his own, but Gundham doesn’t flinch away. He takes the tissue and cleans his face, offering Sonia an awkward nod.
“Thank… you,” he says, his words coming back slowly.
“You do not need to thank me,” she says. “Are you feeling better now?”
“A lot.”
“That is good. Gundham…” Sonia looks at him. “What happened to you?”
Gundham swallows, reaching up to flick his earlobe. “I lost the... Hell Hound Earring beneath the floorboards. Being separated from it… causes a drain of my powers. I lost control.”
Sonia keeps looking at him; Gundham doesn’t make eye contact, but he glances at her face. She looks… concerned. They barely know each other, but she is clearly worried about him.
“I see. Would you me to help you look for it?”
Gundham blinks, swollen eyelids aching from crying. “You would assist me, a being of darkness?”
“Of course I would,” Sonia says. Unlike the others, she doesn’t seem remotely confused or annoyed by his choice of words.
“Why do you wish to assist me, mortal?”
“Because you need help. You were upset.”
“I was not upset!” Gundham snaps, before sighing. “I apologise. You misunderstand what just transpired.”
“The reason behind your behaviour is irrelevant,” Sonia says. “You were in pain, and I wanted to help you. and I still want to help you. Gundham, it is okay to feel bad.”
“But… but I am Gundham Tanaka, the Supreme Overlord of Ice, and I, I…” His voice cracks, and Gundham swallows hard.
“I know,” she says. “But even overlords of ice have bad days. And given what has happened, none of us are doing very well.”
Of course; in his frantic search for the Hell Hound Earring, Gundham forgot all about Byakuya’s death.
Slowly, Gundham raises his head. “I… thank you, mor— thank you… Sonia.”
It seems strange to speak somebody’s name (Gundham has a habit of using nicknames or simply calling others ‘mortals’) but it feels right this time.
A faint blush patterns Sonia’s face, but he doesn’t pay it much attention. Instead, he focuses on her comforting smile, and manages a weak smile in return.
“You are most welcome,” she says. “Now… shall I help you search for a way under the floorboards?”
“That would be appreciated,” Gundham says, amazed to have found a mortal with such levels of understanding and kindness towards one such as himself.
Sonia Nevermind is somebody he must make an effort to bond with. He wants to know more about the girl who helped him.
---
Half an hour later, Gundham stands on the beach near the ominous but aptly named Monokuma Rock, fingers playing with the Hell Hound Earring as it dangles from his earlobe. It sooths him in a way he can’t quite explain, both controlling his powers and his mental state.
Only a few minutes before the investigation ended, Gundham found a trapdoor hidden in the storage room. Sonia got distracted by Hajime (he believes the pair were talking about fire doors), so he went under the floor alone, accompanied by the Four Dark Devas of Destruction. And there, glinting in the light that leaked through the gaps in the floorboards and that weird green glow, Gundham was finally reunited with the Hell Hound Earring.
And it was all thanks to Sonia. She helped him calm down after the meltdown, giving him enough time to locate the Hell Hound Earring before time was up.
Sonia Nevermind helped him – and also saved the world. However, he will keep that aspect a secret for now; after all, this trial is currently most important. Everything he went through will be pointless if they fail now.
Well, if they survive the class trial, he will make sure to tell Sonia the full details of her help. And he is certain a kind mortal such as her will understand him.