It's been 2 days since the incident with the Caedis. After confirming the commanders left, Pablo and Kori went back to the castle to get Otoru back. They returned to St. James Street, and Otoru has been in intensive care ever since.
Luckily, they haven't dragged any of it back to St. James, and the feared giant war hasn't happened. The smaller battle, however, has completely shattered the two.
Pablo sat alone in a corner of the cafe, looking at the table without even moving or drinking anything. Despite their fallout with Kori, Paula had accepted the three back and had been helping them recover and get ready to leave before the commanders started looking for them again.
Kori walked up to Pablo and pulled a chair for herself, then sat down. "Hey," she said, her voice quiet this time. "Why weren't you–" Right as he was about to lash out, he stopped himself. "…No, I have nobody to blame but myself. It's better that you didn't come. I just left without telling anyone anything."
"You haven't talked with anybody for the past few days. What really went down there?" In an attempt to comfort him, she placed her hand over his. "I'm not in Jewelry Protection anymore, and 2 of the 3 commanders are after me. Commander Joka told me the truth about the cure. He said that Erik's son was infected like me, and he said he's using me for a cure."
"Poor boy," she said, then caressed his hand. "Right? That's what I said." He looked up and met her eyes.
"How is… How is Otoru doing?" There was an undeniable weight of guilt in his voice.
"They say he'll be fine. He has countless broken bones and severe, possibly permanent wounds. But nothing will permanently weaken him." Her attention was directed outside, to the streets full of life.
Just then, Paula brought both of them a cup of tea and one for herself, and she pulled a chair to sit down as well. "Are you feeling better, Pablo?" She raised an eyebrow. Right now, the fallout both girls had didn't matter. "I have a lot on my mind, that's all." He gracefully accepted the tea and took a sip in hopes of calming himself down.
"Paula. Do you know anything about someone called… Imito?" The name carried immense weight for him now. Not out of fear anymore, but confusion.
"Imito?" Her eyes widened at the mention. "I know of him. They say he had the ability to copy any magic he saw, and sailed with the likes of Uso Steinolf, Nasaki Ryuko, and John Infamy. But they also say that back in the raid the Caedis family made on this island in 487, he was captured by them. The rest is just rumors. That's all I know."
"I see." He took a deep breath and figured it'd be better not to mention him to her. "I learned that whatever the Caedis were doing, it's abroad. They said Don was on an expedition too, so I didn't see him either."
Neither of them said anything afterwards, but the new information visibly surprised Paula.
"Either way, I don't think the Caedis will be a problem any time soon. They are on thin ice with the government." Pablo looked outside as well. "St. James is safe."
She nodded in acknowledgement and stared at the table. They had so much to talk about, yet none of them was ready to speak.
"What will you do now?" Kori looked at Pablo and rested her chin on her hand. "I don't know yet. Though I'll stop running around like a maniac searching for a cure that doesn't even exist. I'll have to…"
Imito's stance and words echoed through his head.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "...Get stronger, at least. I'll need to get powerful enough to last 9 months. If I survived for a decade, I bet that I can survive for a little bit more."
"Are you sure going on the execution day is the correct move?" Paula was very skeptical of it, mainly because she didn't know they had already tried it and almost succeeded.
"It saves us the hassle of breaking in, because without any exception for the last 500 years, every Government execution was done in an open area. We don't know why this is the case, but it is." Kori stared at her own tea and stirred it even though it was already stirred enough.
"For now…"
"I won't run away from my sins by rejecting the guilt. No matter what state of mind I was in… I won't use it as an excuse."
"Let's just wait for Otoru to wake up." He finished the rest of his drink in one go.
They didn't have to wait that long, however, as Otoru woke up 2 days later. He was confused and disoriented, and said the last thing he remembered was his chest burning, accompanied by a large headache.
They waited for him to recover and gain his energy back for another day before leaving the island. After they refreshed their supplies and everything they needed, The Rejected made it to the dock.
Otoru's left arm was in a cast, and he was wrapped in bandages all over his body. Other than that, he was able to walk but couldn't fully stand on his right leg, so he stumbled every now and then.
Paula and the rest of St. James accompanied them to the dock that was under their territory to make sure they had a safe departure.
"Pablo, take care!" She waved with a bright smile. And before setting foot on the ship, Pablo froze. The guilt of the past few days stopped him from walking on that ship and walking away.
He couldn't just walk away.
Pablo turned around, his lips trembling as his eyes teared up. Paula's smile dropped as she noticed, and she lowered her hand. "Pablo…?" she muttered.
"I'm… I'm sorry!" Pablo slowly broke. His words crumbled into unintelligible sobs. And then suddenly, he dropped to his knees and started sobbing violently once more. "I'm sorry I ran away!" He apologized, but not to her.
To whom? Who knows.
"I swear…" He prostrated himself on the floor and punched the ground; the rest of St. James stared in shock, confusion, and worry.
"...I swear that I…" His psyche tried to shut him up, but his guilt forced the words out. "...I'll be a hero too!" he screamed, the words sending a wave of surprise to everyone that happened to hear it.
"I'll be a hero that saves everyone! I'll be a hero that'll fight for those who need it! I'll be a hero who never runs away!" He coughed in the middle of his declaration, making it hard to make out exactly what he was saying.
In reaction, Otoru grinned. Kori wasn't surprised, however, and she had a soft smile on her face as if she had always known he had it in him. The one left the most shocked was Paula. "Is that so?" Her eyes teared up as well, the conviction reminding her of someone else. But she smiled nonetheless. "I believe you. Now off you go!" She helped him get up.
"That's my guy." Otoru mumbled to himself as he led Pablo to the ship.
As the ship left Briochea, the agonising weight in Pablo's soul eased. He stared back at the waving St. James members with a smile, but a genuine one.
"Wait for me, Tsuyoi." He stared at the sun and lifted his fist up. "I'll save you."
He didn't know it; he couldn't have. But coincidentally, in the middle of nowhere… Tsuyoi was hoping too.
He lifted his fist into the air in his empty, dark cell; something in him just told him to do so. "Come on, Pablo," he grinned. "Keep dreaming."