15 Desdia, 497 AS. Present.
War is just the worst, isn't it?
A crack of thunder tore across the sky, and Pablo's ears started ringing. He flinched, but he swallowed the fear in his soul and took a step forward, undying determination in his eyes as he stared down his enemy.
The man calmly stared back. Pablo's eyes began to glow, and so did his Treasure.
He took one last look over his shoulder before facing the man again.
"I'm just so glad that, at least this time…" Pablo took another step forward.
So did the man.
"...I'm not unreliable." Pablo's smile grew wider.
A deafening explosion followed. Debris flew past him, and his ears rang louder than before. The United Government wasn't holding back anymore.
They wanted him. And Pablo's body was at its limit, about to betray him.
But he kept going. He would crawl forward against all odds, because he truly felt guilty.
Pablo believed he was responsible for everything that had happened: Ketsui's capture, Infamy's death, and…
Well, he didn't want to think about that just yet.
But he would soon realise that his name had been chosen for him, without his knowledge or consent.
ACCEPT IT ALREADY.
Saintlike Behaviour: Rebirth of Pablo
Chapter 1, "Genesis"
2 Ruari, 497 AS, 12 Months Ago.
"...damn it." A groan of pure fatigue escaped Pablo. He checked under the couch, on top of the couch, and even between the cushions. Not a single coin.
A cold wind brushed against his neck. He got up and shut the windows, but when he turned around, the breeze followed him. One of the windows was broken, and he hadn't even noticed. He hurriedly barricaded it with whatever he could find. The brain fog was getting to him; he couldn't think straight.
Pablo searched the house again for any money he might have missed. "This guy is really poor…" he muttered.
He was afflicted with a disease nobody in the world understood. He wanted to learn more about it and find a cure.
While going through the drawers, he found only a few papers that had nothing to do with him. He got upset. He had gone through all that trouble to get into this house, and this was it?
He didn't want to miss anything, so he kept looking. He was desperate. He refused to succumb to his disease.
He didn't know why he wanted to keep going. But he did.
"I guess I'll just leave. 'United Government Doctor.' What a joke. I'll need to find a place where I can get more information about… whatever this is."
He considered jumping out the window, but the height (1.5 meters) scared him. So he went for the main door instead, only for a gunshot to barely miss his neck.
Pablo ducked on instinct. Consumed by anxiety, he scrambled for cover and hid. The owner of the house was awake.
"Wrong place, wrong time, buddy," the Doctor said as he kept firing at Pablo's hiding spot.
Pablo started shaking. He tried to calm himself down, but a coughing fit overtook him and gave away his position.
"Oh, I've got you now." The man walked toward the sound, his guard up and his finger on the trigger.
Pablo was terrified, but he forced himself to come up with a plan. Even though he didn't look it, Pablo was very smart.
He scanned his surroundings. A box of scraps, a vent, a photo, and another window caught his eye.
The vent was out of the question. He was too unathletic to crawl through it, and even more scared to try. The window was no better. The drop was even higher this time (3 meters).
Out of curiosity, he glanced at the photo. It seemed to show a family: a kid and his mother. The moment it registered, he looked away.
But the memories had already flashed.
"Mom… it hurts!" Pablo cried out, clutching his bleeding knee.
His mother sighed and glanced around to see if anyone was watching. "Let me take a look." She crouched down to his level and checked the wound.
"It looks bad. But sorry, darling, you'll have to grit your teeth." She kissed him on the cheek and stood back up.
"Come on. You gotta walk. Even if it hurts," she said, and kept walking without waiting for him.
Lost in the memory, Pablo was distracted, but the sound of footsteps dragged his mind back to the present.
Just when all hope seemed lost, the ring on his finger started glowing. "That's right… I can just-"
Another gunshot. His time was running out. Luckily, the Doctor wasn't good at aiming.
Pablo had an idea, and he quickly started to…
Eat the scraps.
It hurt his throat, but his Treasure activated. He clamped his mouth shut and held on as long as he could. His chest began to ache as he ran out of air, and the urge to cough was too strong.
"I've got you now-" the Doctor yelled as he entered the room.
But he was cut off as metal scraps flew out of Pablo's mouth in rapid fire. They didn't pierce his body, but they hit hard enough to send him staggering back and injure him. "Fuck!" the Doctor screamed in pain.
"Frick…" Pablo gasped for air.
He got up and made a run for it, bolting past the Doctor.
"Not so quick…!" The Doctor pulled the trigger in desperation.
A bullet pierced Pablo's lower back, and he crashed to the floor. Thanks to the adrenaline, he barely felt it. All he could think about was getting the hell out of there.
"Didn't you hear? I said… not so quick." The Doctor slowly got up and groaned. He pointed his gun at Pablo.
Pablo couldn't believe it. He was about to die because he had been too afraid to jump out of a window. Well, he probably would have died if he'd jumped, too, given his condition.
Either way, why did he want to make it out so badly?
Pablo didn't want to think about that, not when he was about to die.
He thought of…
He couldn't. Nothing felt 'correct' to think about while dying. But as he overthought it, an idea came to him.
As the Doctor's finger tightened on the trigger, Pablo yelled in desperation. "Wait!"
The Doctor paused, then groaned.
"What?"
"You're… you're a doctor, aren't you? I'm sick. No, I'm dying. Forget the bullet, I'm dying of a disease. You've got to help me, right? You swore an oath to help anyone who needs it, no matter what. Am I wrong?"
Pablo was desperate. Too desperate. He really wanted to live.
The Doctor froze, thinking it over.
"...really? You're pulling that card?"
"...yeah. Maybe I want to live." Pablo met the Doctor's eyes. The room was quiet, too quiet. Pablo couldn't get up, and even if he could, he was at gunpoint.
"You broke into my house, tried to steal my things, and now expect me to spare you?" The Doctor waved the gun in disbelief.
Pablo didn't respond at first.
Then:
"Yeah. I do."
"I'm dying, mister," he added.
The tone of his voice told the man that this wasn't a thief bluffing. It was a young man who didn't want to die.
The Doctor took a closer look at Pablo and noticed his purple eyes. He took a step back and sighed. The sigh sounded… sad.
"You steal anything?" he asked.
Pablo tried to remember. "No, you didn't have anything I could've stolen."
"...why did you have to remind me of my oath, kid?" The Doctor was in a bad spot. Either he finished him off and left his identity behind, or he spared him and risked everything.
"Sorry, but… I can't help with what you have. Those purple eyes," he said, looking at Pablo. "You're a dead man walking."
Pablo's eyes widened at that response. It was the same thing the previous ones had said to him.
"It's kill or be killed," the Doctor said coldly.
Seeing that the Doctor was about to pull the trigger, Pablo reacted instantly and bit down on his right leg.
"What the hell are you-" The Doctor couldn't understand what Pablo was trying to do, and before he could react,
CHOMP!
Pablo's bite was strong enough to destroy the leg. Blood sprayed everywhere. "NOOO, AAAGGHHH!!" The Doctor screamed in agony and fired his gun wildly.
The bullets slammed into the roof, missing Pablo completely. He couldn't even open his eyes as his body went into shock.
"I should've killed you when I had the fucking chance!" The Doctor kept shooting, but he kept missing.
Pablo activated his Treasure and shot out the bones he had just eaten. They pierced the man's chest, killing him.
The air went cold as the adrenaline slowly ran out. Pablo dropped onto his back, panting.
The taste of what he had just eaten lingered on his tongue. He coughed up blood, purple in color, and then vomited.
"...I'm so sorry…" Pablo slowly got up. Somehow, the bullet wound was gone. He reluctantly looked at the man's corpse.
He felt like he had a lump in his throat. He gulped and took one good look at the man. "But you were right…"
He inspected the corpse for anything useful. The Doctor did look like the type to hoard his valuables on his person. Eventually, he found a few coins and pocketed them. Enough for today.
"It's kill or be killed," he said under his breath, accepting the new reality. He turned around and headed for the exit.
"Now, where the hell is Tsuyoi?"
Treasure Name: Gluttony
User: Pablo Drake
Type: Trader
Grade: E
Description: Gluttony takes the form of a simple ring. Whenever Pablo eats something, he can shoot it out of his mouth in rapid succession.
His bite strength and teeth durability are also drastically increased.