It's been 2 hours since Pablo woke up.
His arms were numb. He couldn't even feel them anymore, which was a relatively good thing for him. Not knowing who he was up against and not knowing what they could do… rushing in blindly would not be a smart decision.
"Just tell me why the hell I am here." He groaned, feeling like he was about to lose his mind in the darkness. "I think you should answer that. Why Briochea of all places?"
"I came here to… find the Caedis family." He sighed. "I want to get some information from them."
"Hm." The man placed a hand on his chin. "Something's not adding up. Are you lying to me, Pablo?"
He didn't respond and swallowed his anger.
If he just waits patiently… he'll eventually find a way.
"Maybe pain will help you speak." He reached for his pocket, but the voice of someone else down the hallway was heard, most definitely belonging to a woman. "Oh, Joseph." She sounded far too pleased with herself. "Is that a way to treat our beloved guest?"
"M-Miss?" The man, now finally identified as 'Joseph', sounded surprised and confused. "What do you mean 'guest'?"
"He's the man I told you to greet kindly." She sighed in disappointment. "He is?!" Joseph yelled. "I don't feel greeted kindly… miss…" His eyes gleamed with relief.
She snapped her fingers, and a second later, the light in the room turned on.
Joseph was tall and broad, and wore a button-down white t-shirt, unbuttoned. He had tattoos on both of his arms. They were identical, a snake that ran through his wrist and shoulder. He had black hair styled in a mullet. His expression showed that he was disappointed with himself.
The woman had long pink hair a few shades darker than Pablo's. She was taller than average, and her hair was the same length as Pablo's. She wore baggy blue jeans and a black turtleneck sweater, as well as a brown coat over her shoulders. Paired with an athletic, lean body, she looked eerily similar to Pablo.
The similarity ended up shocking not only Pablo, but Joseph too. "No way… is that your brother?!" He started to panic. "I'm sorry, I didn't-"
She laughed it off. "No, no. We're not related, but I guess we do look alike."
"Could've fooled me…" Pablo said to himself.
Joseph immediately entered the cell and unchained Pablo. "How bad are you at your job?"
"Shut the fuck up…" Joseph muttered under his breath.
Pablo tried to move his arms around, but they flopped around instead. "Agh." He winced.
"I have a lot of questions." He stood up and left the cell. He still had his guard up. "Rightfully so. My name is Paula. Let's talk while we walk. Joseph, you handle the intruder." "Right." He left quickly out of embarrassment.
The two then started walking down the hallway.
"This isn't a trick to get my guard down, right? Because I can assure you I'm an extremely dangerous individual. Very." His eyes darted around his surroundings, waiting for something to jump at him.
"Why would we? It's just a misunderstanding. We have a common friend. If you're Tsuyoi's friend, you're my friend as well."
"You know Tsuyoi?" His mouth fell open. "Yeah, we were in a relationship." They went up the stairs.
The words left him speechless. "Wait, really? How did that mincehead manage to get together with someone like you?" He chuckled.
"Was that a compliment?" She smirked playfully. "I… guess?" He'd freeze at the sight of any woman, attractive or not, but maybe because it felt like looking into a mirror…
…he didn't really like her.
"If you don't mind me asking, why did you two break up?"
"I don't mind, but is that really what you want to ask me?" Her expression softened. "I wouldn't ask otherwise."
"If you insist," she sighed. "He said he just wasn't into me, or any women in general. We ended on good terms."
That sentence stopped Pablo, the implications filling his mind, with a little hint of fear.
She saw through it and couldn't help but laugh. "As far as I'm aware, he isn't into men either."
"Oh." He sighed in relief. "I thought he had a type."
She gave him an amused look. "It'd be a bit problematic if he did. But I can assure you, there is no bad blood. We were still in touch until his arrest."
They made it to the floor above them, which was literally just a normal cafe on the street. It had customers and normal workers, making it weird how they were hiding a prison underneath it. Nonetheless, he followed her to her office.
She sat down, and so did he. "So? What brings you here to Briochea?"
"Is it okay if I don't tell you?" He nervously looked up. "If it's an important secret, I don't mind. But wouldn't it be best if we worked together?"
"I guess so. But I want to learn more about who you are and what all of this is about." He grabbed a pen from the table and started fidgeting with it nervously. "We're the St. James community. Our job is to make sure the livelihood of the people of this neighbourhood is okay and to ensure that the Caedis don't terrorise them."
"Who's… James?"
"That's just the street name. But coincidentally, also my father's. He formed this community 20 years ago. Back then, it was just a group of neighbours concerned for their beloved street. Now we're the biggest out of the other 'gangs' as they call it." She pointed at the framed photograph on the table.
It featured a man smiling; his facial features were strikingly similar to Paula's. He was smiling cheerfully with a few more people with him, all threw their arms around each other's shoulders for the photo.
And behind them was the street sign.
"So you fight back against the Caedis?" He stared at the photo with curiosity, noticing how different the street now looks compared to back then in the photo. Instead of the trash and filth coupled with rotten buildings, it was a bright, developed, and fruitful street filled with many people.
The fact that they sacrificed so much for just… a normal life. And not even for themselves, but for their people and their future.
It pains him that he is the opposite of that.
"We try to. We're kind of in a stalemate right now, both sides aren't making their moves, and… rightfully so. The casualties would be too massive, and it would trigger a chain reaction of the other crews joining the battle."
"I'm sorry, but–what's a stalemate?"
"It's kind of like a tactical deterrent."
"...What's a deterrent?" He tried to hide his embarrassment. "It's when both sides know the risks outweigh the benefits of the war, so they choose to not battle. Not out of mercy or goodness of their hearts, but sheer pragmatism."
"You are all so brave. I could never do something like that." He tried to laugh his worries off.
"So, what brings you here, Pablo?" She rested her chin on her hands.
He got lost in his own thoughts, unable to respond.
But his smile quickly dropped and he looked down, filled with a solemn look he desperately tried to hide.
She noticed it instantly and started to get worried. "What's the matter?"
"Fuck…" His eyes teared up. "...Nothing, I…"
He took a deep breath as his voice shook. "I guess I shouldn't be here. I told my allies I was here to destroy the Caedis family but… I lied. I'm here to learn about my disease and find a way to rescue Tsuyoi. And seeing how you all are sacrificing so much just to keep everyone safe and in peace… only for me to come and risk wrecking it just because of what I am and what I want…" Tears quietly fell.
"...I'm a piece of shit, aren't I? I shouldn't have come here in the first place." He looked up to her and met her gaze. "You're a piece of shit." He accidentally said out loud.
It caught her off guard, and she quietly gasped.
"No-" He panicked. "I didn't mean to say that to you- I mean… I did but not-" He hid his face in his hands and looked down again.
"You poor thing, you're going to make me cry too. I don't know what makes you say that, but…" She chuckled. "...It's not your fault for wanting to live."
His hands twitched, a reflex he didn't have a say in. His ears started ringing, too shameful to even meet her eye again.
"But… They want me. They will hurt you…" He sobbed.
"Okay."
"They will destroy the lives of many just to get their hands on me." His legs started shaking.
"Okay."
"Can't you understand, you dumb shit?! They will destroy everything just because of you!" He got up and lashed out at her, screaming.
"How can they do that when we have an amazing person like you with us?" She wasn't even offended in the slightest and softly smiled.
He dropped down to his seat again and started breathing out heavily.
"You're the worst." He wiped his tears as she handed him a paper towel. "If the Caedis decide to hunt you down, we have your back."
"But why are you doing this for me?" He stopped crying, but his voice couldn't stop shaking. "Protecting the ones in need endangered by the Caedis, that's how we do it. My father did it, and I will keep doing it as well." She got up, walked behind him, and placed her hands on his shoulders.
Though it's easy to realise, her words aren't getting through to him.
"Tsuyoi saved our lives 2 years ago. We never could repay him. So if you're trying to save him from prison, we can help you with that. That'll settle the debt, right?" Her voice lit up.
And finally he broke his silence.
"Alright." He exhaled, letting out a breath he had been holding in for far too long. "I promise you, no matter what it takes… no matter what I must do… I will protect this street. I will be the tiebreaker, if the war ever happens." The voice came out raspy.
"PABLO!" Otoru burst through the door, panicking, bruised and clearly exhausted. Yet after seeing her face, he stood frozen. "Paula?! 'St. James has your back' Paula?!"
"Hello there, old friend." She tilted her head and greeted him with a smile.