Chapter Text
It had been three years since Caesar went face-to-face with the pillar men. And two since he first moved to California.
since then he had been living in a small apartment in San Francisco, a city he was told was nothing but amazing. Caesar didn't Agree. Nothing could ever compare to his home Country, Italy. America was nice, but it couldn't compare to Venice, or Naples, two places he knew all too well.
His apartment in America was horrible. It was small and could barely fit a bed and couch. The walls were thin, and oftentimes the water or electricity would randomly shut off, and Caesars landlord would do nothing to fix it for days, even after he brought it up several times. The only reason he kept staying was because it was cheap, he couldn't afford to rent a nicer place than this on a part-time servers salary, if he rented anything bigger he would be living paycheck to paycheck each month.
Caesar had just gotten back from a long shift at the restaurant he worked at. His blonde hair was pushed back out of his face, but a few pieces had escaped the gel holding it there and flew to the front. Even his uniform was ruffled and dirty, he hadn't been able to wash it because the laundromat he went to was under repairs and was closed. All he really wanted was to have a nice hot shower.
"Oh, Caesar, back so soon?" a voice echoed out from Caesars kitchen as he opened the door, an elderly man was crouched under his sink, a toolbox sitting beside him on the spruce wood floor. "I had some free time this afternoon so I thought I'd give the sink a look"
The elderly man groaned as he began to slowly rise from his position, throwing the wrench he was holding back in the toolbox and closing the lid.
"I asked you to fix that a week ago" Caesar complained.
"I've been busy, the holiday weekend is the busiest time of year, you know. I have to watch the shop if I don't want to lose out on business" The old man walked towards Caesar, who had been standing by the door, as if waiting for someone to leave so he could lock it.
"Anyways, boy, its all fixed. Better get a start on those dishes before it stops again" The man half-heartedly chuckled before walking out the door, leaving Caesar to look back at the piles of dishes that had accumulated over the week.
***
Caesar pounced on his bed, burying his head in a pillow while his hair was still wet from washing it. He let out a long sigh before turning over to face his empty room. He'd been living here for two years now, and all he had been able to afford was a twin bed and a small bookshelf, which had barely any books on it. He stared off, his mind wandering to thoughts he often found himself thinking.
'what happened?'
Three years ago he'd been fighting against the pillar men with Lisa Lisa and Joseph, now he was living in a shitty apartment in the US, working as a waiter at an Italian restaurant run by a guy from Kansas. 'Where did he go wrong?'.
When he fought against Wamuu, Caesar had planned to die right then and there, he felt there was no need to continue his story, he'd done everything he could for his friends, so why was he still here? He knew the answer, it plagued his mind every day since.
'He shouldn't be'
he turned to look at the ceiling. Caesar had only survived because a random bystander had heard the commotion at the hotel and saved him. For a year he was stuck in a Swiss hospital unable to walk properly, being forced to eat slop because his throat was damaged. And worst of all, he couldn't remember their faces. No matter how hard Caesar tried to form a picture of their faces in his mind he couldn't. the damage from his fight left him unable to remember the faces of his mentor and best friend, nor anyone elses from his past.
It was torture. He wished that he could not remember them at all, that the fight wiped all memories of them from his mind, he would've much preferred to forget completely if it meant he didn't live with the pain of only remembering parts and pieces.
deep down though, he wanted to remember. More than anything he wanted to remember Josephs face, the man he'd sacrificed everything for so he could defeat the pillar men. He remembered their time together, when they first met at the restaurant, when they climbed the Hell Climb Pillar together, when they trained together. He remembered everything. So why couldn't he remember his face too?
The thoughts continued to eat away at his mind, Caesar eventually gave up and sat up. He grabbed a book that had been sitting on his bookshelf and flipped through the pages. He had already read this books four times, but he had read all his other books more, so it didn't matter. He sat upright on his bed and began to read. It was the only thing that could stop his mind from wandering towards those terrible thoughts again.
***
"Welcome in" The hostess greeted the large group with a grin and sat them at their table. Caesar had been the only server working that night, meaning he had to be the only one to serve them. He didn't mind big parties because it often meant a big tip, which if he played his cards right could mean money for a new book. He had been getting tired of reading the same ones over and over again.
The party was a large group of fifteen people, all dressed in fancy outfits, which most likely meant it was a work party.
"Hello everyone. My name is Caesar and I'll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with some drinks?" Caesar forced a half-hearted grin at the table. He waited patiently as the group finished ordering before heading to the kitchen.
"Big group tonight, eh?" the cook chatted
"Sure is" Caesar replied. He glanced back to the table, the group was chatting happily among themselves, except for a woman who was sitting at the right end of the table. She met Caesars eyes for a moment before he looked back at the cook.
"That ones staring, you should go say hi" the cook joked.
Caesar let out a small chuckle before looking back. The woman was now conversing with her colleagues normally, but as if she felt his stare she met his eyes again briefly, before looking back at her coworker who was laughing at a story she presumably told herself.
"The cook looked back and forth between the two for a while before letting out another chuckle. "sure seems like shes actually interested"
"I don't date customers"
Caesar started feeling uneasy. The way the woman kept looking at him felt less like she was romantically interested and more like she was checking to see if she was sure of something. Just as his mind began to wander away from reality, the bell in the kitchen rang out and the parties meals were done. He brought out each meal three at a time being careful not to drop them. When he got to the woman, his uneasiness heightened as the woman store bullets into him. As he lifted his hand away from the table the woman caught it just before it was gone.
"Sorry, I forgot you name, could you repeat it?" the womans eyes stayed on Caesars, like she wouldn't let go until he answered.
"Caesar, mam. Its Caesar" he anxiously answered her question, hoping she would let go. She did not.
"And your accent sounds familiar, are you Italian, by chance?"
Caesar didn't know what was going on, nor why this woman was asking such odd questions. Regardless, he responded accordingly "Yes, I am actually". He let out a fake chuckle, then tugged at his hand as a gesture for her to let go.
The woman quickly released his hand from her grasp before turning back to her colleagues., taking a sip of her wine before speaking. "Thank you, I was just curious.".
The woman quickly got back to her conversation, almost like time had stopped during those few seconds. Caesar headed back to the kitchen, he looked down at the hand at which the woman had grabbed and examined it. 'what was that?' he wondered. 'Why had she asked that? was she really just interested in taking me out?'. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, that the woman had ulterior motives behind her actions.
***
It was 9:55 pm. Caesar's shift ended in five minutes. He quietly grabbed the trash bags that sat beside the back door. His last job was to take the trash out. It was often his duty to do so, as he often was the last one to leave. He dragged the bag out the door and headed towards the dumpster behind the building. As he threw the last of the bags into the bin, he caught a glimpse of something in the corner of his eye. it was quick, and he didn't see much before he heard a voice.
"Caesar?"
It was the same voice from before. The woman from two hours ago. He turned to see her face. Her long black hair draped over her shoulders, and her blue eyes that shot directly into his.
"How are you alive?"