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“You know this is a matter of blood and family honor. It’s a Zeppeli problem. I just can’t leave it unsettled, when I know exactly where Kars is hiding.”
Joseph couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“I can’t sit here twirling my thumbs, waiting for him to come to me!”
Joseph, Lisa, and Messina watched as Caesar jumped over the railing, headed straight for the Pillar Men’s hideout. Joseph didn’t understand why this was so important to him, to the point that he would so foolishly run off into territory enemy alone. Joseph hated that he felt that way, that he didn’t trust Joseph enough to stay so they could work this out together.
“What do we do?” Messina asked.
“Follow him and do whatever you have to, to stop him from entering, even if it means using force,” Lisa Lisa commanded.
“Already on it!” Joseph interrupted, already hopping over the railing before they could argue.
He heard Lisa Lisa calling after him, but he didn’t care. He was focused on stopping Caesar before he could do anything stupid. He knew Caesar was pissed and worked up, and he didn’t understand why, but he wanted to know, even if he was still mad at the Italian, his split lip reminding him of their fight just a minute ago. A split lip was nothing compared to the pain he would feel if Caesar ran off and got himself killed.
Caesar was fast, but Joseph was faster, snow crunching beneath their feet as they ran. Joseph nearly slipped a couple of times but he was hot on Caesar’s heels, and Caesar knew it. He began to bob and weave through trees and rocks in an attempt to throw Joseph off his trail. Joseph cursed.
“Dammit, Caesar!” he shouted. “Stop! We can talk this through!”
Caesar didn’t even look back at him.
Joseph grunted in frustration, wondering if he should throw himself at the other, but knew Caesar would just throw him off and keep running, and with Caesar this angry, he doubted he’d get out unscathed. It would take a lot to hold Caesar back. Then an idea struck him. He grabbed his clacker balls from his pocket, swinging them around. He needed to have good aim for this, because he wouldn’t get a second chance.
“Sorry about this, Caesar,” Joseph muttered, and used his Hamon to fire his weapon directly at Caesar’s ankles.
Joseph considered himself a lucky person, and while the past few months were a shitstorm, at least he had this. The clacker balls wound themselves around Caesar’s ankles, causing the blonde to faceplant into the snow. Joseph finally caught up to him, panting. Caesar rolled onto his side and glared up at him, seething like a rabid dog.
“How dare you,” he hissed. “You can’t hold me back! I already told you! It’s a Zeppeli problem!”
“If it’s a Zeppeli problem, then I’ll make it my problem too,” Joseph spat back, and before Caesar could free his ankles, Joseph pinned him back into the snow. “We’re in this together, Caesar, whether you like it or not!”
Caesar made to land a punch but Joseph snagged his wrist, and then the other, pinning them on either side of his head. “Let go! Let go!”
“We are not going after Kars,” Joseph said. “You hear me? You are not dying today. When I call your name, there better be a response. I refuse to call for you, and be answered with a lifeless silence. Not today, not ever .”
Tears began to well up in Caesar’s green eyes. “Do you have so little faith in me?” he asked, voice desperate now.
Joseph’s gaze softened, but only a tad. He wasn’t going to give in to those big sad eyes. “Caesar, you’re the strongest person I know, after Lisa Lisa of course. She’s scary, but then it’s you, and if anyone can take the Pillar Men down, it’s me and you. We can’t go at this on our own. We’re a team.”
Caesar looked defeated for all of but three seconds, before he began wildly thrashing again. He actually managed to get a hand free and give an uppercut punch to Joseph’s jaw, but it was sloppy and Joseph didn’t budge from where he straddled Caesar’s torso. He grabbed Caesar’s wrist again, and this time held both his hands in one of his own. With his other, he summoned up a good amount of Hamon, wanting this to be quick and painless.
“I’m sorry, Caesar, I hope you forgive me later,” he whispered.
All he saw were Caesar’s bright green eyes before he delivered a blow to Caesar’s temple, using force and Hamon to quickly knock the blonde unconscious. Joseph sighed in relief when Caesar went limp beneath him. As if on cue, Lisa Lisa and Messina came running up behind them.
Joseph turned to face them, scooping Caesar into his arms in the process. “Mission accomplished,” he joked, but his heart wasn’t in it. “He’s going to be pissed when he wakes up, but he gets to live to see another day.”
“Let’s get back to the lodge and recuperate. We need to make a plan and wait.” She motioned for them to follow. “And I need to tell you something about Caesar’s past.”
Joseph maneuvered Caesar around until he was propped over his shoulder. Carrying him in his arms was too tiring. Caesar was heavier than he looked, which was saying something, considering the man was pure muscle. The small group trudged back up the hill to where they started. Joseph tried to distract himself by untangling his clacker balls from Caesar’s ankles. He swung them around with one hand while with the other he wrapped them snuggly around Caesar’s thighs.
“You dumbass, I just saved your life,” he said, though he knew he’d get no response. “Reckless brat.”
Once they had Caesar tucked safely in bed, Lisa Lisa explained everything to Joseph, and as he listened, the puzzle pieces fell together. Everything made sense now, why Caesar had been so worked up and ready to throw himself head-first into danger. It made sense, but Joseph’s stance didn’t change. He wouldn’t let Caesar run off by himself so recklessly. Like he said, they were a team , an unstoppable duo, friends .
Caesar didn’t wake for a few hours, the sun falling over the horizon. Lisa Lisa and Messina were in the next room discussing battle plans, while Joseph sat in the armchair in Caesar’s room. He briefly wondered why Caesar slept so long, but figured the other must be tired. They both had fought hard in the previous days. After this was all over, they deserved a long, undisturbed nap.
Joseph twiddled with his clacker balls when he heard a shift and rustle of the bed sheets, and then Caesar was groaning, sitting up in bed with a hand to his pounding temple.
“You asshole, what’d you do to me?”
Joseph shrugged innocently. “You gave me no choice. I knocked you out with my Hamon. It shouldn’t leave any permanent damage, but you might have a headache for a couple hours.” His voice became grave then, as he stood and approached the bed. “I’m sorry, Caesar.”
Caesar narrowed his eyes in a glare. “Screw off.”
Joseph sat at the foot of the bed. “Look, Lisa Lisa explained everything to me. I’ll never fully understand, but I sort of get it now, why you fight so hard, why your family means so much to you. I…” he choked on his words, “I’m sorry I was so careless before. I didn’t think, and I don’t want a misunderstanding to come between us like that again.”
Caesar wasn’t used to Joseph being so serious, or letting his sincerity overcome his pride. “Joseph…”
“And I want you to know how devastated I would be if you were killed,” Joseph added. “We’ve only known each other a couple months, but you’re the closest thing I’ve had to a real friend, got it? I can’t lose you. So don’t pull shit like that again, okay?”
Joseph’s voice cracked, and Caesar’s gaze softened. He hadn’t understood how much he meant to the other. “Okay.”
Joseph smiled, his chipper facade back in place. “Good, now let’s go get dinner, yeah? Kicking your ass made me hungry.”