"You sure Eldoria was the correct choice? I doubt Infamy would be in Eldoria of all places. Isn't he still active?" Kori walked alongside Pablo, back to the streets of Eldoria once more. It was nighttime. Where everything started and went wrong.
"Trust me with this one." He led her through the alleyways, the unusual, almost anomaly-like average alleys and streets.
"At first I thought Eldoria wasn't a Miraculous Island because of how average it was. But then I realised that's actually the magic of it. Eldoria's Miraculous Island property is that it's too average. Kind of lame." She followed him with curiosity.
One alleyway was filled with the homeless, all sleeping under dirty blankets, fully covering their faces and all. But Pablo had his eye on one of them.
"Found him." He pointed to one of them, surprising her. "Found who?"
He pulled over the blanket, revealing a man sleeping while covered in dirt, filth, and alcohol like he spilled them all over himself.
"Who's this?" She asked once again.
"You're looking at… the strongest man in the world." He rolled his eyes.
"Huh?" She gasped. "Strongest man..?" Confusion and shock were the only things visible on her face. "Is that-"
"Yeah, that's Nasaki Ryuko." He crouched down to Nasaki's level. "H-How? I only heard rumors, but surely this man can't be him."
"That surprised me too. But he's the real deal somehow." He pinched his nose. "He drank when traveling with me, but… he didn't drink this bad. I've never seen him at 'shit-yourself' levels of drunk if we exclude our first meeting." He thought to himself. "How will you wake him up? He looks wasted."
She took a step back to avoid the smell.
"I know how. It's been a while since I've met him." He pulled back his dreads to look at his face. "How… many times did you do this?"
"Too many to count." Pablo raised his fist, punched him in the face, and started beating him up. "Wake up, you drunk bum!"
He put everything into his punches even though he was missing one hand.
"You sure this is the correct way? Shouldn't we make him sniff… ammonia or something?" She watched with worry at the absurdity of the situation. Her first introduction to the legend, the strongest man in the world, was him sleeping in his own filth, blackout drunk.
"I'm sure he took ammonia to get drunk. I'm not sure how this guy is alive." Just as he looked back to her, the man in front of him jerked up and vanished at eye-blinding speeds.
Before Pablo could react, the man grabbed him by the throat and pinned him against the wall, creating a crater on the wall and breaking Pablo's ribs. He yelled out in pain desperately. "Nasaki! It's me!" He tried to break free.
"Who?" The man looked up at his face. "See! It's me! Can't you recognise my face?!"
"...I'm blind, you fucking dumbass." Nasaki let him go. "But there is only one guy that's stupid enough to keep forgetting that." He chuckled, wobbling. Nasaki was barely able to stand.
"Wait, that's how you recognised me? Seriously?" Pablo coughed violently and healed his body.
"I was doing dramatic commentary. I recognised you from your mana, stupid." Nasaki sat back down. "Why the hell are you here?" He rested his back on the wall.
Pablo took a deep breath, then exhaled heavily.
"I lost."
"Oh?" Nasaki smirked slightly. "I'm sure you mean Tsuyoi lost, right?"
Pablo grunted in response, but it was clear that the words hit a sensitive spot.
"No. I… I lost. I grew stronger. I learned Sorcery and defeated Ayato." He paused deliberately after revealing that. "...I defeated Ayato," he repeated, trying to get a reaction from Nasaki.
"So what? Big deal. I killed a fly yesterday."
"What do you mean big deal? Wasn't he in your crew? Isn't he strong? You told me he was very strong!" Pablo protested, his pride hurt.
"I lied. But so did he. He kept lying about his power, yet we all knew how weak he was. But we didn't point it out because he was our friend." Nasaki got back up and nudged Pablo's chest. "His insecurity decayed him. Good thing you won't go down that route, right?" He smirked again.
"We're back to where we started, huh?" Pablo nudged him back.
"Yeah, I guess so!" Nasaki nudged even harder.
"I'm not dealing with that…" Kori secretly stepped back and left the alley without anyone noticing.
"You grew stronger, so what? You're here again. And I bet you're going to ask me to teach you, huh?" Nasaki slapped Pablo's hand away. "You're not defeating Erik. You can't defeat Erik. You won't defeat Erik, and defeating Erik won't change anything, because you know why?" Nasaki raised an eyebrow. "Because you're just killing a man, not the idea behind him." Nasaki turned his back on Pablo and went to sit down again.
Pablo scoffed. "So what, you want me to get miserable like you? You want me to stop fighting?"
Nasaki stopped and groaned. "You kids think fighting against the government is the next big thing, right? You can't defeat them. I couldn't."
"Couldn't? Don't you mean you wouldn't?" Pablo smirked too, but he was doing it out of frustration and annoyance.
Nasaki didn't respond at first, not a single word.
But then he sat down again and lay on his back. "I think I know what I meant."
Pablo gulped. To say he felt the impact of those words would be an understatement. "What happened?" He took a deep breath. "Tell me. What happened to The Dreamers?"
Nasaki put his blanket on again.
"Pablo… have you ever read a Tragedy?"
Pablo looked away at first, feeling guilty that he even asked such a question. He sat across from Nasaki. "I can't read."
"Me neither. But-" Nasaki was interrupted by the ever-so-impatient Pablo. "Let me guess, you'll say your life was a tragedy?"
"..." Nasaki chuckled. "Good one. But no." He covered his entire face with the blanket and closed his eyes to sleep. "It's a comedy."
Pablo gasped as he heard those words.
Nasaki rolled over, showing his back to Pablo.
"My life is a comedy. And the thing that happened to The Dreamers… was the punchline."
That shut Pablo up, hearing a vulnerability from him he'd never heard before.
"You're not going to tell me what happened, huh?" Pablo got up, surrendering. "I understand. It was nice seeing you."
"Uh-huh." Nasaki tried to get in a more comfortable position and rolled over again.
As he was about to leave, Nasaki called out. "Pablo."
"Hm?" Pablo turned around.
"Did you come here because you wanted to see me, or did you come here because you needed something from me?" His voice was quiet, afraid of the answer.
Pablo thought very carefully about his answer, then decided to just be honest about it.
"I won't lie. The decision to come here… was because I wanted your help for something."
Nasaki cackled to himself. "Of course-"
But that wasn't all.
"Though coming here and seeing you in this state… I wished I had come earlier. Because this really isn't a good look."
This froze Nasaki, leaving him without a response. Seeing this, Pablo turned around again and decided to leave.
"Wait." He called out again.
Pablo sighed. "If you're gonna do this, don't be dramatic-" As he turned around, he gasped. Nasaki's blindfold was wet. Because he…
He wasn't going to point that out.
"What did you want from me?" Nasaki got up. "I'm sober. Come on, shoot." He started stretching his shoulder.
"I wanted you to come with me and help me find Infamy. I have no idea where he is and you're the only person that would."
In reality, he just wanted Nasaki to tell him where he was.
But right now… he wants Nasaki to come with him.
"Okay, I'm down to see that geezer. But I ain't starting war with the government." Nasaki threw his blanket away.
Pablo smiled, and the two left the alleyway.
"Who's that chick?" Nasaki placed his hands behind his neck while strolling. "Her name is Kori. She's a friend, a Treasurer too."
"Oh, someone got friendzoned." Nasaki laughed. "Shut the hell up!" Pablo yelled out loud.
The three got on the ship Nasaki created out of thin air. It wasn't big, but relatively better compared to their last. It was more than enough to fit 3 people. It had a lower room underneath the ship's floor.
And somehow… the ship was sailing itself, with no helmsman on the deck. Nasaki's eyes glowed throughout the entire journey. Pablo didn't seem to find it weird; Kori was shocked. She decided to ignore it because she had seen crazier magic before.
"Where are we going?" She asked.
"I was going to ask that too. We don't have a map. Won't we get lost because of the Miraculous islands?" Pablo was curious too.
"That's not how they work. Their secret ability to misguide you only triggers if you try to go to them. We are going to find their ship." Nasaki was still trying to sleep, lying on the ground.
"How's your relationship with Infamy? I'm guessing you two met before." For the first time in a while… Pablo felt safe at sea. Because at their side… he had the strongest man in the world. And even better, he was going to meet Captain Infamy who probably cared about Tsuyoi deeply. Tsuyoi never told him the full story between them though.
"Yeah, he hated the shit out of me. And I heard he doesn't like Tsuyoi either." Nasaki yawned.
Pablo went pale. "...We're going to die."
"We're not going to die, dumbass. You got me, remember? I promise I'll try to protect you." He yawned again.
"You'll try?!" Pablo yelled in fear. "I thought you were the strongest!"
Nasaki tsked and rolled over to look at Pablo. "Kid, I haven't fought seriously for years. I haven't used my sorcery for almost a decade. I'm way stronger than him, but he's still Captain fucking Infamy. If he goes for your throat, I might be able to save you if I react in time."
"That's nice to hear." Kori chuckled. Pablo's hand started to shake slightly, and his mood dropped. "But don't worry, if he's still that old 'honorable' geezer, he'd announce that he will kill you before he tries to kill you. So relax."
Hours passed. The ride went quite smoothly. Nasaki didn't tell them exactly what direction they were going, but the two just trusted him since they had no other option.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, their ship was covered in darkness. "It's night already?" Pablo woke up from his nap.
"We're here." Nasaki groaned and got up.
"What do you mean we're here?" Pablo got up as well, so did Kori.
Nasaki just pointed at a direction, and what they saw was… impossible.
A giant ship dwarfed theirs; it was like an ant compared to a human. It was so big it looked like its own town. "Holy shit, we're going to crash!" Pablo yelled out as the ship came closer.
"We're not." Nasaki raised his hands and directed them at the ship ahead.
The giant ship came to a halt as Nasaki's eye glowed. Nasaki let out a sharp breath.
The ship blasted its horns, hurting Kori and Pablo's eardrums, causing them to cover their ears.
"Come on." Nasaki reached out to hold Pablo and Kori.
Reluctantly, they held onto him. Nasaki then leaped with insane power and speed, causing Pablo to yell out in fear, which amused Nasaki.
They landed on top of the ship, and found hundreds of men, all armed, pointing guns at them. Pablo hid behind Nasaki. Kori raised her hands with a smile, faking surrender.
Nasaki, however, looked annoyed rather than threatened.
"First time seeing him… pissed off." Pablo noted to himself.
One of the men called out. "Who the hell are you?!"
"Where is the geezer?" Nasaki yelled in response. "We're here to talk with the bastard," he added.
"Who are you talking about?" The man responded, his finger on the trigger.
"Who else?" Nasaki grinned. "Bring us Infamy."
Hundreds of gasps echoed around them. Pablo shivered but was ready to act in case a fight started.
"What is he doing?" He mumbled.
The men were ready to open fire after Nasaki's declaration. "You can't call our Captain a geezer!" But before he could shoot, someone stepped in. "Stop," he ordered. "It'd be suicide."
"Who are you?" Nasaki said, still standing his ground.
The man looked relatively young, maybe in his 20s. He had a buzzcut and a nasty scar on his left eye, blinding it. He had a cigarette in his mouth and was wearing an orange jumpsuit as if he had just escaped prison. He had golden earrings on both of his ears.
"Otoru. I'm the right-hand man of the Captain." He placed his hands in his pockets. "I suppose you know who I am, unlike these fools. Tell them to lower their weapons." Nasaki took a step forward.
Otoru nodded and signaled them to lower their weapons. "You here to pick up a fight? If so, let me finish my will." He took a drag out of his cigarette without using his hands.
"It depends. I won't kill you unless I decide you need to die." Nasaki grinned. "We're not here to cause harm." Pablo stepped out as the guns were lowered. Kori lowered her hands as well.
"Follow me then." Otoru turned around and began walking. "I thought you retired. What is a Calamity-grade like you doing here?"
"Calamity-grade?" The word meant nothing to Pablo. "It's my threat classification, but forget that." Nasaki answered Pablo's question.
"You're unusually calm." Nasaki walked alongside Otoru, amused by the strange man. "If you pointed a gun at me, I might be scared. But if I see a tornado coming towards me, I'd feel no fear. No use in being afraid of the inevitable. That's what I learned from the seas."
Kori whispered to Pablo. He got a bit flushed due to how close she was but tried to ignore it. "That guy is handsome, don't you think?" She smiled.
Pablo felt an undesirable pain within him, a pain he didn't recognise. "Yeah, I… I guess he is." Trying to not make the pain in his voice noticeable, he failed miserably.
"Damn, badass." Nasaki nudged him with his elbow. Otoru winced. He mumbled. He led him to the main rooms of the ship, and just like Pablo guessed, there were countless of them. They went up many stairs to go to the top floor. "I'm surprised only you recognised me, Otoru."
"I didn't recognise you. I smelled the monstrosity inside you. A smell like that can only belong to one person." They arrived at the top floor. "We're here. Duck when you enter." Otoru walked back down the stairs. "Normally I'd be here to make sure you don't do anything fishy, but not like I can do anything if you tried to. Good luck chatting with him."
They entered the room, and the moment they did, a flying bottle hit Nasaki's face and smashed. He had no cuts. "Oh, so that's why he said to duck."
The room was devoid of furniture. Only bottles of beer and an old man sitting on the ground in the middle of the room.
He had long grey hair and a long grey beard. His face was filled with scars and wrinkles. He looked angry and was obviously the one throwing the bottle. Pablo thought Infamy would be around Nasaki's age, but there was no way Infamy was younger than 60.
He didn't wear a shirt, and had baggy white pants as well as a white cape tied around his waist.
A singular horizontal slash scar spanned across his entire torso.
With a single glance, he recognised the man in front of him.
"And I was wondering what the noise was about." He grunted. Nasaki's grin was still there. "Long time no see, John."
"John? Isn't this-" Pablo was interrupted by Nasaki. "For god's sake, Pablo. He has a first name too. John Infamy."
"That's right." Infamy nodded. His voice came out raspy. "What the hell are you here for, you freak? You're bold to come here for a favor after your friend gave me this scar."
The mention of Nasaki's friend made his smile drop.
"Oh, I'm not here for anything, he is." Nasaki pointed to Pablo and stepped back. "The stage is yours."
Pablo took a deep breath and gulped, then waved his hand nervously. "...Hi…"
"I told you I'm done with you bringing me women!" Infamy yelled at Nasaki. Pablo blushed in embarrassment, and Nasaki raised his hands in defense. "He's lying! I never did anything remotely close to that! And Pablo isn't a girl, Infamy. He's a dude."
"Oh." Infamy looked away and spat on the floor. "I got excited for nothin'." He muttered.
Pablo decided to ignore that and just plead his case. "I need your help, Captain Infamy. And I think it interests you."
"My help? Why me? You got the strongest man right next to you." He placed his elbow on his knee and rested his chin on his fist.
"He says he won't mess with the government." Pablo rolled his eyes.
"Wait, the government? Get the hell out of here then. Why would I fight with the government for nothing?"
"It's not nothing. It's very important." Pablo took a heavy breath again, gathering his courage. "My friend and your previous crewmate, right-hand man Tsuyoi Kets-"
Infamy got up in a blink and swung a broken glass shard right towards Pablo's throat. It was fast… way faster than anyone he had encountered before.
When he met Infamy's eyes… even though it wasn't his first time, it chilled him down to the bone. He saw the eyes of a man that wanted to kill him.
Eyes filled with pure animosity.
His life flashed before him, but even after a second he found himself alive. When he opened his eyes, the sight shocked him.
Nasaki stepped forward and grabbed Infamy's hand, stopping him before killing Pablo. Inches between the glass and Pablo's throat.
"Told you I'd pull it off." Nasaki cackled, his grip firm.