(3rd Person's POV)

Something to eat. That's all she wanted. Nothing more, nothing less. And now she's going to get dragged into something like this.

Although...I suppose she's already roped into this...

As the woman opened the door, she saw Mondo and Taka, who looked to be in the middle of an argument. Makoto was also there. I guess he got there before she did...

"Naegi! Shirayuki! Perfect timing!" Taka exclaimed.

"Huh? What's going on?" Makoto asked, looking a bit nervous.

"I have a favor to ask!" Mondo spoke up.

I have a bad feeling about this... Sora thought.

"C'mon, you guys. You gotta be our witnesses!"

"Witnesses to what...?" Makoto inquired.

Mondo shot a fierce glare at Taka. "This guy's been talkin' shit about me since day one. Callin' me a coward and shit like that..."

"You are a coward!" Taka shot back. "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!"

"...The fuck you say? You dunno shit." Mondo growled as he clenched one of his fists, resisting the urge to deck the hall monitor right then and there.

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

"So what, you sayin' you're not a coward? You think you're tougher than me?" Mondo got up in Taka's face, his pompadour touching Taka's spiky hair.

"I know I am!" Taka fearlessly replied.

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

"I accept your challenge!" Taka said, eyes filled with determination.

"So that's what's happening', you two." Mondo turned to Makoto and Sora. "You gotta be our witnesses!"

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

"If you are, can you wait a few minutes?" Sora requested. "I wanna get some ice cream and place a few bets."

Makoto gives the girl a disapproving look.

"...What?" Sora defensively asked.

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

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

"Goddamn straight!"

(Scene Transition brought to you by Chibi Mondo carrying Chibi Sora on his shoulder.)

The four soon found themselves in the sauna. Makoto felt nervous about this whole thing, while Sora looked indifferent and even had popcorn and an orange drink with a straw in both her hands, drinking the latter.

"A-Are you guys really gonna go through with this?" Makoto stuttered.

"Shit yeah!" Mondo shouted.

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

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

"Interesting...?" Makoto inquired as Sora looked interested as she tilted her head and her ahoge bobbed up and down.

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

That suggestion was enough to make Makoto pale. Even Sora stopped drinking and looked at Mondo like he was insane.

Taka widened his eyes. "Th-That's idiotic! Suicidal!"

"What, you afraid?" Mondo smirked at the raven-haired Ultimate.

Taka bit his lip softly as he regained his stance. "Y-You're going to regret this!"

"Shut up and let's do this!" Mondo yelled.

The two then went inside and started their endurance test. Taka took of his clothes and covered himself up with a towel, while Mondo stuck to his own conditions and kept his clothes on.

"Hey, Owada..." Taka looked at him.

"What, asshole?" Mondo glared.

"You can take off your uniform, ya know. Go ahead, I won't judge."

"And you can shut the fuck up and mind your own business. I mean, look at you. Your face is all red. What're you, one of those goddamn hot spring monkeys?"

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

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

"A-Act, you say? Hahaha! I'm still plenty good to go!" Taka proudly proclaimed as sweat ran down his face.  I'm so good, I could eat a steaming-hot bowl of soup right now!"

---

As the two continued, the two "witnesses" Sora and Makoto spectated from outside the sauna. 

"Are they...okay?" Makoto asked with concern.

"You guys are aware of how this looks, right?" Sora asked as she tip-toed up to the window. "People could easily take this out of context, ya know."

"Who cares about stuff like that?!" Taka yelled out from the sauna.

"The only thing I care about is showing this guy up and winnin' this thing...!" Mondo grunted out.

"Okaaaay~! Don't say I didn't warn yooou~!" Sora sang. Makoto tried pushing his concern aside while watching the endurance match.

---

A few minutes passed... Then a couple dozen minutes... Then an hour... They were still going.

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

"What about you?" Mondo shot back. "You can't even hardly talk...dumbass."

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

"That's...prolly not good..." Mondo sweatdropped, though it was hard to tell with all the sweat on his face.

---

"H-Hey, uh...guys? I know you both wanna prove how big of badasses you are, but...don't you think you've done enough?" Makoto asked.

"Shut up!" Mondo and Taka yelled in unison.

"Good grief... You'd think that after an hour, they'd call it quits..." Sora said as she continued drinking her drink while Makoto looked confused.

"Shouldn't that be empty by now? How are you still drinking from that?" Makoto asked. 

Sora simply shrugged.

DING, DONG! BING, BONG!

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

Sora was somewhat surprised hearing the nighttime announcement. Observing the endurance test made her lose track of time.

"...Hey, did you hear that? It's nighttime." Makoto pointed out to duelers inside the sauna. "How about we call it a tie?"

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

"Listen to you...you son of a bitch...!" Mondo growled. "Then bring it on...! I'll...I'll push you right up to the gates of hell!"

Makoto widened his eyes. The gates of hell...!? That's not a good place to push someone!

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

---

Mondo chuckled. "Yeah, you hear him? 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...!"

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

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

"Right back a-at ya!"

---

"Oh well, we tried." Sora shrugged.

"...Okay, well...g'night then." Makoto said to the two raging sauna sparrers as the two left the bathhouse.

Seeing that the two won't budge, the two then went back to their dorms, one of them being more nervous about their well-being that the other.

Sighing, Sora laid on her bed. "How long will those two go at it...?" She wondered as she made a grin. "Will they really go...to the death...?" 

Her thoughts stayed with her as she soon succumbed to her sleep.

DING, DONG! BING, BONG!

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

Sora's eyes fluttered awake as she got up from her bed and did her morning routine. After she got out of the bathroom, she reminisced about the events of yesterday. 

"Hm..." Sora mused. I wonder if they survived...

---

Unlike the previous times, where she was usually reluctant to go, she was anxious to go to the dining hall, wondering about the state of Mondo and Taka. And when she entered...

"Bahahaha! What are you talkin' about, bro?"

"Kahahaha! What are YOU talkin' about, bro!?"

Sora looked at the scene with a confused looked as she cocked her head to the side.

"What...the...?" Makoto looked just as confused.

"Hey, Naegi! 'Sup Shirayuki?" Mondo greeted the two with a grin.

"Thank you so much for acting as our witnesses yesterday!" Taka smiled.

"Huh? Are they...friends now?" Makoto asked as Sora seemed to be at a lost for what little words she had.

"I...I don't..." Sora sputtered. Turns out, the others were just as confused as they were.

"They've been like this all morning. They were all buddy-buddy as soon as they walked in." Hina informed them as she sighed. "It feels gross."

"Feels gross? Hell no. Feels great, more like!" Mondo exclaimed.

"This almost feels like sexual harassment, somehow..." Hina grimaced. 

"Forget her, bro. A girl like her just doesn't get our manly bond!" Taka grinned. "Friendship between men is stronger than blood! A woman could never understand!"

Sora's eye twitched.

"What you just said? Bro, that was cool as shit!" Mondo made a thumbs up. "I should get a tattoo of it!"

Taka laughed. "No, bro, you mustn't! Your body is a temple, given to you by your loving parents!"

"So, um...who won the contest?" Makoto asked, awkwardly scratching the side of his face.

"Who gives a shit!?" Mondo yelled.

"Yeah, don't ask stupid questions! What matters is that we both took part in it together!" Taka shouted, pointing at the boy while doing so.

"...Didn't you just say yesterday that winning or losing is "the only thing that matters."?" Sora deadpanned.

"Friendship between men seems very...simplistic." Sakura closed her eyes. "Nothing like what I'm used to with girls."

"Yeah, for real..." Hina nodded in agreement.

And thus, All throughout breakfast that morning the room was dominated by Mondo and Taka's overpowering "brotherhood"... 

Needless to say, it was pretty unfortunate.

---

After she was done with breakfast, Sora was quick to get outta that place.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the blonde got into her bed as she just... stared at the ceiling. Soon, she did some of her choreography as she danced gracefully like a goddess in human form. She used her divine flexibility as her leg rotated, her feet pointing to the ceiling as she held it in place

A minute passed before she let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding and let go of her leg. Her lips curved into a smile. For some reason, she feels a lot more...at peace and relaxed. With the stress of this entire killing game, it's nice that she can feel calm even on the inside.

After that, Sora spent the rest of her time applying her makeup on herself. She was busy putting on mascara, when...

DING, DONG! BING, BONG!

"Huh? It's not even 10 P.M. yet." Sora pointed out. "Why is he making an announcement now?" She asked herself as she looked at the monitor and listened in.

"Ahem! School announcement, school announcement. Nighttime is quickly approaching, but before it arrives... All students, please gather in the gym immediately. Emergency! Emergency!"

The monitor then shuts off, leaving the blonde confused. Her ahoge shivered in fear. She has a bad feeling about this...

But, regardless of her reluctance, she had to go. She has no choice.

Grabbing her room key, Sora left her room and walked towards the gym, an uneasy feeling gathering in her stomach.

Chapter 13: End

To be continued...?