His face haunted me with guilt. He still had a firm grip on my collar.
"Are we on, punk?" Mondo's voice became rasped. My face looking down at the floor, I affirmed.
My collar fell out of his grasp, and the whole seemed to stand still.
I never thought it would come to this. Sure, Mondo is violent, but to settle our differences in a sauna?
He gathered himself, and with a clear of his throat, he disappeared out of the dining hall.
I sighed, seating myself on the chair closest to the door.
"Taka?" a voice crescendoed into the room, as I turned.
"Oh, hey Makoto." My hands fell into my lap, shaking my head in the process.
My face lit up. "Can you help me?"
Makoto nodded, and my heart seemed to dance.
"You want me to do WHAT?" Makoto's voice echoed through my dorm.
"SHHH!" I hissed, putting my hand on his mouth. "I know it sounds weird, can you just watch it? be our ref or something?"
His expression turned from concerned to scared, to a mix, as he nodded slightly.
I fist pumped, and threw him a grin. "Thanks Makoto."
The door opened as we both stepped out. "Go get him."
There he was. A grin that consumed him with everything he thought. Gulping down one last breath, I followed him into the sauna.
And then he shut the door.