"It's been 4 weeks since I've apparently lost to Commander Erik." Pablo couldn't even notice he was overfeeding the birds; he just couldn't stop throwing the seeds.
The wind howled, carrying the scent of rotting food and garbage. It's been a while since he was in Thalorien, he lost his tolerance to the horrible air and could barely breathe when he left the ship.
"Each day I try to remember what happened that day."
The bench he was sitting on faced the bazaar, the ever-so-full streets. Full of people, full of life, devoid of hope. The sun was up, and it didn't hurt his skin like before.
"Or 3 weeks, maybe. I can't remember. I've lost track of time." The birds left. Pablo kept tossing the seeds.
"He isn't in Hades anymore, that's for sure. No idea where they will take him." He was out of seeds, yet he kept tossing them.
"I've started to question why I'm so determined to save him. The time between him being captured and us reuniting was longer than the time I spent with him. Haisha's doing fine, I think. He may be hiding his emotions like his big brother. It's probably a family thing."
The older woman next to him just stared, baffled.
"Maybe you should… just let it flow then?" Afraid, she gave him advice.
Pablo scoffed and got up. "I've been letting it flow. Fuck you for trying to undermine my happiness. This is why I hate your grandkids. I don't know you but I assume they hate you." Just like that, he left.
As he turned the corner and entered a street, 3 people cut off his path. He recognised them, but didn't remember their names.
All these years they have been terrorising these streets, mugging Pablo and threatening him. A month ago he'd run the other way. Today, he took a step forward.
"It's been a while since we last saw you, princess. What you got for me?" Their leader smirked.
"Nothing? Get lost." Pablo took another step forward.
The response shocked them, to say the least. The man's smirk faltered for just a second. "Someone grew a pair, huh? What will you do? Use that ring of yours to shoot pebbles?" They laughed.
Another step forward.
"I'd kill you and you wouldn't even see a single thing glowing." His voice was quiet, frustrated. The leader's smirk dropped this time, and anger replaced it.
"You're the same kid we threw around a month ago. You think we're afraid of you?"
"You shouldn't. If I wanted to make you afraid, you'd know." He didn't stop walking. A part of him hoped they would just stand aside.
But he knew they wouldn't do that.
Yet he still kept walking forward.
"Whoa, whoa. Slow down there, champ." The man lifted his shirt to show his gun.
Pablo took another step forward, not even glancing at the gun.
"This really isn't worth dying for, you know?" The other thief next to the man said. "I agree." Pablo took another step forward.
The other two started to get really freaked out, and even nudged their leader to stand aside. "This guy's beneath you, dude."
"Shut up!" His pride wounded, the leader pulled his gun. There was less than a meter between them. He pulled the trigger and shot Pablo in the chest. "Not so tough now, huh?!" He yelled.
Pablo yelled in pain and anger, but didn't fall. He grabbed the man's fingers and broke them without struggling. As the man let go of the gun while screaming, the other two backed off.
Pablo grabbed the gun, and without a second of hesitation, shot him in the head. "Holy fuck!" The other two ran away. He aimed the gun at them too, but the last words Erik said to him- Well, the last words he remembers echoed in his mind.
"The first time it's emotions. The second time it's a decision."
It's not his first time.
But Pablo lowered the gun and threw it aside. He stared at the leader's corpse and wiped the blood from his hands on his shirt.
The staring continued for a bit too long.
He took another step forward.
Even though his soul was damaged, he healed pretty quickly in the last few weeks. His left hand was still gone, though. No matter how many times he tried to regenerate, it was all futile.
Though healing from the gunshot wound was easy.
The fact that it's easy disturbed him.
As he continued, he passed by the general store owned by an old man he'd known since childhood. No matter how hard he tried, he had a hard time remembering the man's name.
"Oh, Pablo!" The man smiled. He had been sweeping the dust in front of his store but stopped once he recognised him. "Hey."
The man pulled a chair next to another and sat down. "It's been a while, hasn't it? Where have you been?"
Pablo reluctantly sat down. He didn't have anything better to do anyway. "It's a long story." He fake-chuckled.
"Well, I'm listening." The man placed the broom aside.
Pablo stared blankly, contemplating whether he should lie or not.
"..." He sighed. "I've sailed across the miraculous islands while being hunted by the government so I could save my friend from a highly secure prison so we could find a cure to my disease which is the reason I'm hunted in the first place." He then showed his missing hand. "Didn't end well though."
The man returned the stare, then started laughing. "That's the spirit!" He slapped Pablo's knee. "You were always the comedian."
Pablo raised an eyebrow. "I was?"
"How did you actually lose your hand though?" The old man stopped laughing.
"I just told you, mister. I'm not joking." He looked away, a bit uncomfortable. "I'm a wanted terrorist. Your life is probably in danger just by speaking to me."
Awkward silence filled the conversation. The man was shocked while Pablo just waited silently, but then decided to break it.
"I've been risking my life countless times just to save one person. And I don't know if it's worth it anymore because my existence just brings pain and destruction. But I'll keep trying. I can't imagine a future without saving that person." His voice was solemn. He looked down.
"Must be a lucky girl." The man tried to laugh to ease the situation. "Girl? No- a boy." Pablo looked almost offended.
"Oh. I see. Whatever floats your boat, Pablo. I don't judge." He shrugged.
"No! It's not like that. We're friends. I'm not even into guys." Pablo tried to hide his embarrassment, yet failed to do so.
"Right! My bad, young buck." The man laughed again, masking his fear. "We don't have to talk if you're uncomfortable." Pablo saw right through it.
The old man stopped laughing immediately and wiped the sweat on his forehead. "Phew! I was about to say." He got up and entered his shop in a panic. "See you later, Pablo!"
Ignoring the subtle 'fuck you' from the man, Pablo continued to roam the streets. He promised Kori they would meet up tonight, but he left the house early because of how anxious he was about it. The two talked frequently during their journey, and yet, because of how much this felt like a 'date,' he even forgot how mysterious she was.
"She clearly has her own problems. But I don't think she's malicious; she helped a lot. If she just wants to hide her past or something, I'm fine with that." He shrugged. "...I lied. I'm not fine with that. I'm paranoid as hell- why am I narrating to myself?"
Was he back to his old, boring life? It felt like it.
But he would go back to save him.
…Eventually.
He was haunted by the fact that he couldn't remember failing his friend.
If he could, maybe he could blame the fact that Erik was too strong, or Tsuyoi was too weak, or just anything else.
Though right now all he can blame is himself.
Because when there is nothing left, all you have left is yourself.
Hours passed rather quickly, even for Pablo. The anxiety of meeting with Kori washed away, replaced by his guilt.
He sat in the cafe they were supposed to meet at, and eventually, she arrived.
A change in her usual attire, she wore pants this time. Shocking. Pablo liked her better that way for some reason. "Hi!" She sat across from him.
"You sure do know how to pick an expensive place." She giggled. Pablo rolled his eyes. "Haisha allowed me to take some of Tsuyoi's money, given how we stole it."
"So I'm guessing you'll pay for everything today, huh?" She looked at the menu, smiling. "Who said that?" Pablo raised an eyebrow. "I don't know. I thought you were a gentleman." She hid her laugh with her hand.
He looked at the menu as well. "...Fine. I'll pay."
The weather was surprisingly good for Thalorien standards.
"Today sure is nice." She looked at the open weather. "How was your day?"
Pablo raised his hand and called the waiter over. "I killed a guy."
After hearing that, her smile slightly lowered. "Really? Why?"
"It was in self-defense… I think. I don't know. He tried to kill me." He lowered his voice so nobody would hear them. "I didn't feel bad about it."
"I didn't even hesitate. I just grabbed the gun from him and shot him. The rest of his friends slipped away from my hands…" He looked at his dismembered hand. "...hand."
"That sounds awful. I'm sorry to hear that. You're fine though, right?" She leaned in further, worried. "I am."
"Do you remember anything about the fight you had with Erik?" She lowered her voice.
"Nothing. Not even a-" His eyes widened. A memory struck him. "I… I remember something. Just a single sentence he said."
She smiled, filled with excitement. "Really? What was it?"
Pablo's hands shook. He looked her dead in the eye, but it was as if he wasn't even looking at her.
"You failed to impress me, Pablo Drake. You're not ready yet."
The words left his mouth in a desperate tone, like he didn't want to say them.
And he didn't want to.
A single tear rolled down his left eye, surprising Pablo. He wiped it before Kori could point it out.
"Oh, why am I… never mind." He mumbled to himself.
Her smile disappeared and she sighed.
"That explains a lot. The reason why nobody is hunting us in Thalorien and the reason why… they delayed Tsuyoi's execution by 9 months."
"What does that mean? I know about the delay but… I still don't understand anything!" He raised his voice with frustration, but as all the eyes in the cafe locked on him, he avoided their gaze and lowered his voice again. "Why wouldn't they just ambush me in my house?"
"How did you not notice this? You're not just a criminal to them; you're the only other person that can use mana as a Dawnthinker. You're valuable."
The waiter hadn't arrived yet, which bugged Pablo, but he ignored it.
"Can't Nasaki do that too?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Everyone knows Nasaki can do that, genius. That's why I didn't even include him. It's like… including birds on the list of 'animals that can fly'. Everyone knows they can fly." She raised her hands to call the waiter, which caught their attention instantly. "Beauty standards." Pablo cursed under his breath.
"I'll have a hot latte." She smiled kindly.
The male waiter nodded. "Alright. What would you have, miss?" He looked at Pablo.
"Miss?!" He raised his voice. "I'm not a girl, I'm a boy! I-I mean I'm a man!"
"Hm?" The waiter tilted his head, confused. "Whatever you say, miss."
"I swear to-" Pablo sighed. "I'll have what she's having."
The waiter left, leaving the two alone again.
"What's our next step then? I'm clearly not strong enough to face Erik." He placed his head on the table, then exhaled sharply. "I took down 2 major people there. One of them was an 'Apostle' or whatever it was. The Third, I think. You mentioned those guys before and he really gave me a hard time. Can you tell me more about them? You seem to know a lot."
"How does one not know about them? They're a bit popular." She chuckled and hid her mouth with her hands. "The Apostles are the 12 super-soldiers of the UG, fully in the custody of Erik. Not much is known about their origin, but it's accepted by most that they were raised by the government. Their Treasures all excel at destruction and offense, and their bodies are modified by things called 'King Cells'. Self-repairing cells boosted by Magiblood."
Pablo nodded while listening, his attention fully on her.
"They are the second in command for Commander Erik. The first would be the Archangels, but I don't know anything about them. The Apostles are more for… dirty work, you know? Each excels at a specific type of mission."
"Well then the third excelled at sucking major ass." He leaned back.
"You could say that. Rumor has it he's the weakest among them, yet with a promising Treasure. I'm surprised you managed to take him down, no offense. Because they're…" Her smile changed. It was almost natural at first but now it was clear that she was forcing herself to smile. "...more weapon than human."
"She's smiling weirdly again." He thought to himself. "I see." He placed his hands on his chin and looked up at the sky. "9 months… that's really a long time. …Will I even survive until then? My coughing fits returned. I can't even sleep properly without bleeding."
"Pablo." As his name was said, he looked back at her. "What's up?"
She placed her hand on top of his, and smiled again.
This time, he didn't feel anything weird about the smile.
"It'll all work out. I won't let you die. We will find your cure." Her voice was almost like a lullaby, enough to melt his heart.
His face turned red entirely at the contact, and he quickly pulled back his hand. "T-Thanks! I know I can count on you."
He tried to smile back.
"But I need you to get back to yourself and make a plan. It's been a month since we tried to save him." She took his hand again, refusing to let it go.
"I-I-I'm one s-step ahead of you..." He chuckled nervously.
"...We'll find Captain Infamy!"