13 - Fireboy Without His Mints

“The catastrophic attack was a result of uncontrolled terrorist soulful activity. Reports suggest that anyone who was present in the roughly 200 meter radius of the attack has been deceased. The fate of the soulful responsible for the attack remains unknown; it is theorized that their body ultimately failed them following the surge in power.”

[TSSSK]

“-the elemental has also been confirmed dead after an absolute lack of contact. This brings the number of members of the elemental group to just two soulfuls, and Diego Solano is yet to make a statement regarding recent developments. The pressure is on as the soulful assured the public that the elementals would prevent disasters like these, but it seems that the war is developing in the favor of the terrorists.”

[TSSSK]

“Both Hwang and William have been killed, Luca Rosso has been removed from the team following an internal disagreement, and now, the Heisei’s secondary division was wiped out by the terrorist. This puts into question Kaito Kamiki’s capabilities and the capabilities of the GSC as a whole. Was it not his responsibility to take care of soulful terrorists? Are the so-called soulfuls going to continue these reckless activities? There needs to be a response.”

Diego turned the monitor off and stared at the black screen. He was the only one left in the room. Until Ichigo entered, that was. The quartz white table which used to be the hotspot for dozens of discussions was covered in burn marks.

“Ichigo, good timing...” He said in a hoarse voice. “Get me something to drink, will ya?”

“You shouldn’t drink in this state. Please.” Ichigo said. “Have you taken your medications?”

“Did I ask for a fucking consult? I gave you one simple order, fetch me a fucking drink.” Diego continued. “Do what you’re told.”

Almost immediately after saying those words, he looked surprised at himself. Ichigo was surprised too, but he was willing to accept those words and even follow them.

“Hey, Ichigo...you know I didn’t mean that, right?” He stood up from his seat and approached his last remaining comrade.

“I understand, your condition is very likely compromised.” Ichigo said. “How long have you not taken them?”

“Since I fired that piece of shit Luca. I don’t know where my bottle is. I told you to resupply, right?”

“There was no supply left at the stash. It will take a while for the new batch to arrive since they’re only available overseas.” Ichigo said. “I explained the urgency of the situation to them-”

“What? What do you mean there was none left?” Diego asked. “There’s no way. I always keep track of how much is left there. There’s no way I ran out of them. It’s impossible.”

“If you’re sure that you never made any miscalculations...” Ichigo said, hesitating to continue the sentence.

“What? What does that mean, Ichigo?”

“It means someone could have stolen your stockpile.” Ichigo said, almost scared of uttering those words in his employer’s presence.

“Ah, is that so?” Diego said. He laughed to himself a little. “I think I know who did that. You know, for him, it’s a matter of flipping the bird to me, but...to me, it...it matters a lot, right?”

“Yeah, I understand that.” Ichigo said.

“Ichigo, my boy, you’ve been the only person I’ve trusted in this group. You’re the only one who knows what those ‘mints’ really are for.” Diego said, getting a little closer to him. “Since the moment I recruited you, I knew who you were. You were...uhh...a true soulful, you know. You were a good fucking dude all around. And you kept me in check, just like I asked you to do. You kept track of what I took, you stopped me from drinking too much, and I probably hated you or yelled at you for doing so, but I knew what you had in mind, my boy. And it’s only been three days. And look at me now. I’m sweating while talking to you. Do you feel that?” He grabbed Ichigo’s hand and placed it on his neck.

“Yeah...”

“Right.” He let go of Ichigo’s hand, Ichigo wanted to quickly get it as far as possible from him, but decided to do so slowly so as to not make it look like anything with ill intent.

“Do you see what I’ve turned into? I couldn’t be there in the academy because I shut myself in my room, because I had to fight all of the bad thoughts by myself, I didn’t have those substances in me to do so alone, and you know what it feels like? It feels like being in a war against a whole army while you don’t even have a gun, let alone backup or support or any help whatsoever. And it was scary...I felt like I was turning into someone that I wasn’t. And my head hurt a little, and I felt like throwing up...my head hurt, and it felt like it was being squeezed from every single angle as if it was about to explode...”

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t find you anything in time. I’ll talk to the-”

“You won’t talk to anyone.” Diego said. “I know exactly what we’re gonna do. I know what I will do, and I know what you will do too, my boy.”

Diego reached for a drawer under the desk and handed Ichigo a piece of paper.

“This is a recommendation letter written by me. I’m sorry if I used profanity in it, but it makes it look even more authentic.” Diego said. “Now, you’ll go ahead and see Mr. Kamiki, and you’ll hand this over to him. This is a recommendation letter that will get you accepted into the Heisei.”

“But I thought we weren’t allowed to be both in the Heisei and the elemental group.” Ichigo said.

“There is no more elemental group.” Diego said. He looked a little sad, like he was about to cry, but his smile contrasted that idea. “There’s nothing left. They’re all dead, and the academy is destroyed, and the whole world thinks we’re useless...”

“Right...”

“Please, do what I said. And don’t associate yourself with me.” Diego said. “Just go, and get yourself a good future, okay? Get into the truly big leagues.”

“Mr. Diego, you need help.” Ichigo said. He guided him towards one of the chairs and sat him down, he went over to one of the minibars in the room to grab him some water.

“There’s no point...” Diego laughed.

“There’s other alternatives to the pills you were taking. Please don’t let this state be the root of bad decisions.” Ichigo quickly opened the small cabin next to the minibar and searched through many packs of medicine.

“All useless. I’ve researched everything we have.” Diego’s laughter calmed down, sounding more like he was giving up. “I don’t want to be like this...”

“Makes sense that nothing we have here can help him...” Ichigo thought, looking at his comrade in pity.

“This was Diego’s most well-kept secret.”

“What he was taking all this time wasn't the mint candy that his fans knew about.”

“They were high dose antipsychotics.”

“They cleared up his bad thoughts, calmed him down, let him concentrate and stopped him from acting based on certain urges. He doesn’t know that I noticed it, but ever since this conflict had started, he was taking multiple at a time. That and his alcohol abuse...”

“The stress of the war against Hayk worsened his condition rapidly.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Mr. Diego, where are you-” Ichigo almost rushed at him as he was trying to leave.

“I didn’t want to be like this.” Diego said. “I really didn’t. I'd rather die than be like this...what if Lucia sees me like this?”

He took a deep breath.

“I better get going. I better get going real fast. Because I’m gonna fucking kill him. Him, and all these clowns that decided to attack the academy...”

“Are you sure that you can go out like this?” Ichigo asked.

“I don’t think I can do anything to save him anymore. He’s far too gone.”

“It’s better that I do. I don’t want you to get caught in the crossfire.” Diego said. He leaned a little closer to him.

“Ichigo, you’re a bright kid.” Diego said, kissing him on the forehead and patting him on the head. “You’ll reach great heights, I’m sure of it.”

And with that, he left the room. Ichigo contemplated whether or not to go after him, convince him not to do anything rash, but ultimately decided against it. He was too far gone already with no way of bringing him back. There was a reason that Ichigo was tasked to make sure Diego never missed taking the medicine. Besides, what else could he do, restrain him? Doing that to a manic soulful with insurmountable destructive prowess wasn’t exactly the sharpest idea.

“Thank you, Mr. Diego...” Ichigo sighed. He took a look at the papers.

“Wait a minute...”

“These aren’t just about Mr. Diego vouching for me for the Heisei.”

“These are about his own stuff with the Heisei. He was told that if he closed down the elemental union and resolved his issues with Luca and Hayk’s team, he would be guaranteed a spot too...and Mr. Diego agreed to that deal.”

“Why would they add this condition if they know how stupidly strong Diego is? Do they want him to take care of his loose ends first?”

Ichigo took a deep breath.

“Maybe they’re trying to turn the Heisei into the next elemental group...” Ichigo said to himself, putting Diego’s papers away and tightly holding onto his own. “Time to join the Heisei I guess.”

“Mr. Diego wants me there because he knows it might be the best course for me.”

“And I trust him. Whatever happens, I just gotta keep going.”

In a remote bar which had already been closed...

“Serves him right, that fuckface...” Luca said, slamming the half-empty glass of whiskey on the bar table. “Did him a favor by swiping his pills.”

“And now his whole ordeal is in shambles...”

“Cheers to revenge, Matteo.” Luca raised his glass, taking a drink.

“Cheers!” Matteo said, sitting down next to him, taking a sip from his own glass. He also had a glass of whiskey, something he didn’t usually drink.

When Luca turned to face his brother, he felt shocked. He was dead, right? What the hell was he doing sharing a drink with him? This must’ve been a dream. He looked around, and back at his brother, who only smiled at him.

“Miss me too much?” Matteo asked. “How’s life?”

“How are you-”

“Relax, Luca. I’m still dead. Sorry if I got your hopes up.” Matteo said.

“It’s okay. At least I got my revenge. That’s the least he deserves. He humiliated me, threw me out like trash...” Luca said. “Are you proud of me, brother?”

Matteo didn’t say anything in response.

“Brother?”

“See, there’s a difference.” Matteo said, taking a sip of his drink. The ice cubes in his glass collided with one another, creating somewhat comforting and pleasant sounds. “How can you get revenge without looking him in the eyes?”

“What do you mean?”

“It is the duty of a brother to be honest, Luca, that is why I am honest with you.” Matteo said. “You must not be a coward, you must not shy away from killing.”

“How come?!”

“Brother, you didn’t even look at his face, and you are happy with yourself? You didn’t even kill him.” Matteo said.

“And what do you suggest?”

“I want you to confront him. Find him, look him in the face, and kill him.” Matteo said. “Taking things away from him or doing petty things to him will never be enough, brother. I am very upset at having lost my life, I doubt that him being alive right now is satisfactory for you either. So kill him.”

“Right.” Luca said.

“You are strong, brother. You are strong because you are not alone.” Matteo assured him. “So go ahead. Get your final revenge, and let me rest in peace.”

“How could I have let you remain restless for so long, brother?” Luca asked himself. “I’ll do it. I always wanted to beat him senseless myself...”

“That’s the spirit.” Matteo smiled.

“Kill him.”

“Right now.”

“Find Diego and kill him.”

“Do not waste another second.”

Luca suddenly woke up. He was drenched in sweat, he laid on the bar’s floor. He had no drinks in his hand, and his brother disappeared. He slowly got up and stretched his arms. His body felt a little sore, he didn’t have any wounds, indicating that he probably just fell asleep from the alcohol or tiredness. He looked around at the empty bar’s interior. It was already night outside. The concerned and slightly disappointed bartender was cleaning glassware as Luca stood up and approached him.

“Hey, did you see me talk to someone just now?”

“Nope.” The bartender said. “Just got back from the back of the store. I heard some noises outside.”

“Right, it was just a dream...”

“I don’t know what kinda booze you had to get you dreaming on the floor.” The bartender chuckled. “If you feel like having a light drink, let me know what’s on your heart.”

“You’re not concerned about the fact that I’m Luca Rosso?”

“All I’m concerned about is what type of drinks you want. You could be anyone for all I care.” The bartender said.

“Then give me some tequila.” Luca said. “Sprinkle some chili on top and add some extra lime juice.”

“Your favorite drink, Matteo.”

A few moments later, he was sipping on the drink with a stormy mindscape.

“You were right, Matteo.”

“I’m gonna kill that fucking pig.”

“After which, I’ll also kill the soulfuls that ambushed you, Matteo. That ice manipulator and whoever was her ally.”

“I’ll kill all of them.”

“Just for you.”

He stood up without having finished his drink and stormed away.

“Hey, what about the pay?” The bartender said, once again, disappointed. “This stuff’s not free, you know?”

“I’ll pay on his behalf.” Mukawa said, entering the place. He sat on the same stool Luca sat on and slid a generous amount of money to the employee.

“What a man you are.” The bartender said with a smile. “Thanks for your empathy.”

“Never liked that word.” Mukawa said. “That’s for my order too, though. Get me some sparkling water mixed with lime juice and syrup, throw plenty of ice in there too. I need something refreshing.”

Mukawa checked his phone and quickly diverted his attention to the bartender.

“Hey, did Luca Rosso say anything to you?” Mukawa asked. “Maybe some stuff slipped off of his tongue?”

“What are you, a fan of his?” The bartender asked, quickly preparing the drink and sliding it over to him. “He couldn’t come back from whatever dream he was having. Guy chose to fall asleep here of all places.”

“Weird stuff...” Mukawa sighed, sipping on the drink. “Huh, you actually made this pretty well.”

“You look like you haven’t slept for a while.” The bartender said. “Something keeping you up?”

“Been handling some business.” Mukawa said.

“Is that a secret? Come on, let me in.”

“That’s for another time.” Mukawa said, finishing the drink. “You think you could repeat this? I’ll be staying up all night, I need all the sugar and electrolytes I can think of.”

“Sure you don’t want me to just make you a coffee?” The bartender asked, preparing another such drink.

“Don’t like the taste. Too bitter.” Mukawa said. “There’s gotta be a firework show all night long today.”

“Some kind of festival?” The bartender asked, sliding him another drink.

“More like a celebration.” Mukawa said. He downed the drink, almost freezing his teeth, and slid the bartender quite a generous tip and left. “Take your night off and forget I ever came here, will ya?”

“Sure.”

“Time to celebrate.” Mukawa sighed. “Tonight is the night the elemental group ceases to exist.”