"Tut. Tut. Tut.," the Don hissed as he glanced at his glistening luxury watch. "You guys are a solid four minutes late to the party."
"What do you want with us?!" shouted Silver, clearly agitated by the Don's lackadaisical tone. "What the hell did you do to Taiga?!"
The Don turned to Taiga, then back to Silver and Shin. He twisted to face Taiga again—who was now leaning against the alley wall—before finally meeting Silver's eyes.
"Hey, let's take a chill pill, lady. I know what this looks like," he replied, gesturing towards the bruised Taiga, who was panting heavily on the steps at the end of the alley. "But I can assure you that I did not do this to him. You two must have noticed the peculiarly haired individual plaguing the front seat of my automobile. He is the person responsible for Taiga's injuries."
"Then what are you do—" Shin was cut off by the shockwaves that swam through the concrete floor. These oscillations were caused by the bellowing stomp of the Don, who seemed to be growing agitated at the frequent questions. This childish tantrum knocked Silver and Shin onto their behinds; however, the impact seemed to stop there, as none of the effects of the stomp could be seen on Taiga's side of the alley. The Don had limited the quake to the left side of the alley, purposefully sparing Taiga from further injury.
"Listen here. I've answered enough of your guys' questions, okay? More than enough, if I'm being honest. I'm the strongest entity in this universe, ruling over the strongest nation on this planet. I hope all four of you here understand the current situation."
"Nice one, you spoiled ginger bastard! There's only three people here besides you. Didn't learn how to count, did you? Mr Greatest in the Universe—my ass!"
The Don clicked his tongue before replying, a bulge now visible across the bottom of his forehead.
"This is what happens when you let pathetic creatures reproduce and pass their useless genes on to the coming generation. Don't think too much, you incompatible freak. Some ideas simply can't be understood by lesser beings such as yourself. And I never called myself the 'greatest' in the universe—simply the 'strongest.' Not only does this show that you subconsciously put me as a man of vast importance and value, but it also shows that you're one of the idiots who believe power is what makes people strong. You truly add nothing to this world, do you?"
Shin wasn't bothered. 'So he thinks he's some genius because he can do some simple psychoanalysis—huh?'
"You're the Don. Of course we're going to think you're of 'vast importance.' Do you expect us to think of you the same as someone walking down the street behind us? Of course not," Silver came to the defence of Shin. "And assuming that someone who is the strongest is also the greatest isn't the insane jump you make it out to be, especially if that person refers to people as 'beings' and 'entities.' You out-of-touch snob."
The Don's face twitched in annoyance.
"You've got quite the mouth on you for someone who has next to no idea how to use their crappy Fraze. Before you try something stupid—no. No, your Fraze will not work on me. Anyways, while there is so much incoherence and nonsense in what you have just said, I have more pressing and urgent issues at hand."
"Shin." Taiga called. The boy had now returned to breathing stably and was no longer reliant on the grey brick wall entrapping him.
"First and foremost, you two brothers need to have a little chat before I can take Taiga away."
"What?! Where are you trying to take him?!" questioned Shin.
"Correction," replied the Don. "I'm letting you two brothers have a little chat before I can take Taiga away."
Shin clenched his teeth and curled his fists before quickly releasing both. He knew that, physically, he had no chance against the monster that stood in front of him. The Don began to lie down in the middle of the alley, his mahogany suit collecting dust against the dilapidated cement.
The two brothers looked each other in the eyes as an awkward air began to fill the room.
"Go on, boys. Don't be shy," said Noctis, now having made himself comfortable on the rock-hard floor. Silver had also taken a few steps to the right side of the alleyway opening she and Shin had entered from—giving the brothers a sliver of privacy.
"Taiga, isn't there something about me you want to tell your brother?" the Don asked, attempting to guide Taiga into beginning the conversation.
"Taiga, what is he talking about?!" interrogated Shin with his arms flailing around in random directions. All sense of coordination had left the boy's body as a sudden flurry of questions shot out of his mouth. "Why is he only calling me incompatible? Why does he want only you? What actually happened that day?"
Taiga stared blankly in return.
'Why are your eyes full of such pain?' Taiga thought to himself. 'You look at me like I've betrayed you. Like I've done something unforgivable. But what did I actually do wrong? What evil deed have I committed?'
'I lied. Yes. I lied.'
'But you never knew. You never suspected. You've been living your life these past 16 years thinking we were in this together. You felt loved. You felt protected. You felt like you had a brother who would do anything for you.'
'And you did. You do. I would do anything for you.'
'So what if the reason isn't pure? What if I protect you because I need you to need me? You don't know that. You've never known that. Even I only just found out in that forest.'
'To you, the love is the same. The protection is the same. The brother is the same.'
'So why does it matter? Why is that wrong?'
'If I told you the truth — if I said "I don't love you, I love protecting you" — you'd be devastated. You'd question everything. You'd wonder if any of it was real.'
'But it was real. To you. To the you that doesn't know what's inside my head.'
'The love you felt was real. The warmth. The safety. The knowledge that someone always had your back. That was real. It's not like I can just stop needing that love from the idea of protecting you. We're all slaves to the chemicals in our brain, the chemical controlling love can't just be changed—it's permanent.'
'Does the motive change the outcome?'
'If a man gives a starving child bread because he wants to be seen as generous — does the bread taste any different? Does the child starve any less?'
'No. The child eats. The child lives. The child feels cared for.'
'The man might be selfish. The man might not actually care about the child. But the child doesn't know that. And the child is better off because of what the man did.'
'That's us. That's me and you.'
'I've been giving you bread for seventeen years. You've never gone hungry. You've never felt unloved.'
'So why does it matter that I'm the selfish man? Why does it matter that the bread came from a place of need instead of a place of love?'
'You're not hurt. You've never been hurt. Not by me. Not by my love.'
'So why must I tell you the truth?'
'Why must I destroy the seventeen years of good to prove that I'm bad?'
'I won't.'
'I can't.'
'You don't need to know who I am. You just need to know that I'm here. That I'll always be here. That I'll protect you from anything.'
'Even from the truth.'
'Even from me.'
"Everything I said that happened that day was true. You have to believe me, bro."
'Keep guilt-tripping him, Taiga. He has to believe this.'
"I've been trapped in that forest for God knows how long. I entered at 3:21 a.m. and was released at around 8 a.m., but I can assure you I spent more than five hours in there. It could be close to a day for all I know. In there, I was mentally tortured by that pink-haired man. I can still feel my psyche cracking with every step I take. It was horrible, Shin. It was horrible." I gestured with my arms, showing the passion and emotion I was speaking with.
'Yeah, Taiga. Really emphasise how much pain you went through. Make him sympathise with you as much as you can. The best lies have a little bit of the truth sprinkled in, ya know?'
"When he finally let me go, I immediately tried to go home, rushing through the plaza until I made it to this alleyway. Here..." I looked away for a moment before continuing, highlighting the fictional suffering I was about to endure.
"That was when... That was when he appeared in front of me." I said, pointing at the bastard laying flat on his back near the foot of the alleyway steps, rejoining my eyes with my brother's dark brown eyes. They were basically black by this point. When did they start looking like that?
"He told me that the plan had changed. That for some reason, I was no longer incompatible. Then he began to explain a bit of his power. He said that the chances someone is completely rejected and incompatible are very low, but he just calls anyone who doesn't instantly activate a Fraze after being given one 'incompatible.' It is possible for Frazes to develop from his powers within the near future, he said. This is all what the Don suddenly came and told me—I don't personally know how true any of this is, okay? But he said that a dormant Fraze—"
"Enough!" shouted a voice.
"I've had enough of your fucking lying."