There were two people watching Netflix on the lounge seats—Syd and Mickey.
Mickey was scrolling through the options while Syd lay on his back, checking his phone beside him. Then, out of nowhere, Syd blurted out:
"Yo. Liverpool 3–1 West Ham."
Mickey glanced at him. "Really?"
"Yeah, the match was on while we were out doing the mission, so I missed it live. But apparently, we're top of the table now. Hell yeah. Haha—let's watch the highlights."
Just then, Syd felt something cold press against his forehead—something like a chilled Tupperware box being touched to his skin from above.
Since he was lying flat on the couch and Mickey was sitting at his feet, it obviously wasn't Mickey.
Syd rolled his eyes upward—and from his upside-down view, he saw Jody standing there, holding a Tupperware box and smiling gently at him.
"Should I say congratulations or something?" she asked.
"…You watch football?" he replied.
"Nope."
"Oh right, forgot. You're American. Bet you only know how to watch NFL, huh?"
Syd rolled his eyes and went back to his highlight reel, but was interrupted again—this time by the soft tap of Jody's finger on the tip of his nose, followed by a playful noise.
"Boop."
"Hey!"
Syd sat up abruptly, clearly annoyed.
"What?!"
"Want some guava?" she said, offering him the Tupperware—inside were neatly sliced, chilled green guava pieces. She held one up and took a bite right in front of him.
"No."
"Mickey? Want one?"
"I'm not hungry."
"…Wow. So quick to reject me, huh?"
Syd kicked his pretty-faced friend in the leg.
"You seriously not gonna try one? Crunch It's sweet."
"…Fine! Jeez, you're so pushy."
He snatched a piece from Jody and bit into it.
CrunchCrunch
"…Damn, it is sweet."
"Another piece, please."
He took one without needing to be asked this time.
"When'd you get these?"
"Day before we left."
"Nice."
Next thing they knew, the Tupperware was in Syd's hands, though none of them had seen the exact moment he claimed it.
Jody and Mickey exchanged a knowing look.
"...…"
Of course, Syd noticed. He looked up and glared between the two of them.
"What the hell are you guys smiling at?"
"Nothing," Jody said, sitting cross-legged with an iPad, reading on the opposite couch a couple meters away.
"Seriously. What?"
Mickey shook his head.
"You think I don't know what's going on? I swear, if you don't tell me, I'm gonna beat both of you."
He pointed at Jody first. "Starting with you, cripple legs."
Then he turned to Mickey. "Then you. You flaming gay."
"That's discrimination, my guy. That's—Jody, help me out here. What's the term?"
"Hate speech, probably?"
"No, wait, that's what he used on you."
"Wasn't it bullying?" Jody added.
"Like that time you dumped cigarette ash on your roommate's head? God, whatever. Who the hell cares anymore? Stop using dumb online terms or I'm punching both of you for real."
Syd flipped them both off in declaration.
"…Oof…"
Jody clutched her chest in mock pain.
Syd gave up on watching the highlights. His mood was gone.
Still, he kept popping guava into his mouth because, well, it was good.
That contradiction? Yeah, that's exactly what Jody liked about him.
"That's why you're so cute. Hehe."
"Cute my ass—"
"Hahaha!"
"Jody, you seriously need to stop."
Syd sighed, grabbing another guava slice.
"…Hey. Gayboy."
"Hm?"
"You really not gonna eat one?"
"...…"
"…Fine. Give me one."
Jody, observing the whole thing quietly, thought to herself:
See? You're not heartless after all.
"If we had chili salt too, that'd be perfect," Syd muttered.
"Right? Where'd you even buy this from, Jody? That supermarket by the station?" Mickey asked.
"Yup," she nodded.
"Wait... what's chili salt?" she asked curiously.
"It's like sugar crystals. I tried it in Thailand once. Looks like icing sugar, but you dip fruit in it—it's insanely good."
"Of course it is," smack "You're eating MSG, dumbass."
Syd slapped Mickey in the head.
"Your country eats fruit with MSG?"
Jody looked genuinely surprised.
"…Well, I mean, technically it's not—okay, yeah, it is MSG."
Syd tried to deny it, but even he looked sheepish.
"Isn't that… weird? Doesn't it ruin the fruit's natural flavor?"
"Nope. Tastes even better, I swear."
"Of course it does. You're eating MSG."
This time, Syd didn't slap Mickey—he full-on kicked him hard enough to make him sway.
"Wow... amazing."
"I was just as confused the first time I tried it. At first, it feels like you're eating fruit with sugar sprinkled on top. But after a while, you just get used to it."
"Do you go to Thailand often, Mickey?"
"Often. I was always with him."
"Always?"
Jody raised an eyebrow.
"Well… our social structure is basically just like anyone else's. You have your groups, your cliques. Like I said before, all of us have super low compatibility with others, so it's pretty much just us."
"…Oh, so you're the one who told Cripple Legs about me."
Syd kicked Mickey again—but this time, the glasses-wearing guy wasn't having it. He grabbed Syd's leg and locked it in place, stopping him from pulling back.
The scuffle escalated until they were both in a tangled mess—Syd had Mickey's arm locked, and Mickey had his leg trapped.
Watching them wrestle, Jody realized that when it came to fighting skill, these two were pretty evenly matched...
"Low compatibility with others… yet you two are top-tier operatives. Is it worth it, though?"
"…Hmm. Tough question."
"What's so tough? Real ones work alone anyway. I don't want to be stuck dragging deadweight around."
"Yeah, yeah. You're a badass."
Mickey leaned down to talk to Syd.
"Just not as badass as me."
"Shut your mouth."
"Hey, hey, hey—don't! Don't you dare! You damn gay bastard, don't you even think about it!"
Syd struggled like his life depended on it, pushing against Mickey's face to stop him from leaning down and kissing his forehead.
Which… made Jody feel kind of weird.
"You two are… really close. Closer than I thought, honestly."
But Mickey knew exactly what she meant, and so he addressed it directly:
"There were rumors that we were a couple."
"…And were they true?"
"If they were, this guy would've given in a long time ago."
Mickey pointed down at Syd, and they finally untangled themselves.
"No one on earth is going anywhere near my backdoor. Not even doctors. Got it?"
Syd declared his stance proudly.
"Then you better eat more guava. So you won't get hemorrhoids and need a doctor up your ass."
Jody stood, walked over, took two pieces of guava, and popped one in Syd's mouth before he could react.
"… Crunch That's it. I'm not just eating guava—I'm kicking guava today. Just watch."
"Whoa, chill out, sensei~" Jody pressed her palms together in mock apology, returned to her seat, and right at that moment—
Mickey found something interesting while browsing.
"…Wanna watch this?"
"What is it?"
La La Land.
"A romance? If you guys wanna watch it, go ahead. I'm out," Syd said, eyes back on his phone.
"What? You don't like it?"
"It's not my thing. Dumb love stories? So cheesy. I can't get into that crap."
"Then what is your thing?"
"…Breaking Bad, I guess."
Mickey added, "And Django."
"Quentin's Django? Hell yeah. That one's fire. So is Kill Bill."
"No surprise there…" Jody smiled softly and shook her head, making Syd frown.
"What? Got something to say?"
"Nope. Just saying I wish you'd give romance films a chance. La La Land is award-winning, you know. It's not all fluff."
"Still not watching it."
"You've never been in love, have you? That's why you don't relate."
"Yeah. I haven't."
"Seriously? But when you started school, all the girls in class were swooning over you."
And they were all pretty good-looking, too.
"So what? I didn't care about them. A pretty face with an idiot brain is useless. I'd rather date someone plain-looking but smart. Way more valuable."
"Oh, wow."
"What about you, Jody? Ever had a boyfriend?"
Before she could answer, Syd cut in. "Even if she did, it wasn't from our school. You should've seen her—looked like a stray dog. Without me, she was a total lost cause. Ha!"
But Jody didn't get mad. She shrugged and replied casually:
"I had one. Back in fifth grade, maybe? Just a little kiddie poppy love thing."
"So it doesn't count."
"There was another in middle school. Didn't last long though."
"So one real relationship?"
"Yeah. But that guy's in prison now. After that mess, we cut ties."
"…He was a thug too?"
"Yup."
"Perfect match, huh? Look at you now—cancelled by the internet. No friends."
Syd grinned.
"Well, I have friends now. You, for example."
She pointed at him.
"Damn it all…"
Syd shook his head.
"And maybe… we'll be more than that someday."
"Get real. Who'd date a school bully?"
Syd laughed.
"You're not wrong, haha."
Jody chuckled, though a little bitterly. It's true she wasn't any less attractive than the average girl—but her reputation from the past still clung to her, and during high school, she hadn't had a single close friend. Hell, most people didn't even approach her.
Mickey, still listening in, picked up on something deeper in her tone… but he stayed quiet.
"What about you, Mickey?"
"…"
Mickey paused, then gave a short answer—one that made Jody freeze.
"I've never had a time like that."
His voice was steady, but something about the air shifted, and Jody could sense there was more behind those words.
Then, from the back room, Roxxy's voice rang out:
"Mickey! I forgot my charger! Come be my power source!"
"…?"
"You heard her. Go on, living power bank."
So Mickey set down the remote and left, leaving Jody alone with Syd.
"That's the beauty of having a human generator as a friend. Walking charger. Just like how Serah's a walking Fax machine."
Jody didn't reply. Instead, she asked the question that had been bothering her since Mickey's odd remark.
"What did he mean by that?"
"..."
"It's a long story. But… let's just say he spent nearly half his life as a victim."
"Victim? Of what?"
Sensing the moment, Jody scooted over from the opposite seat and sat next to Syd—right in Mickey's old spot on the couch.
At that moment, Syd pressed play on La La Land and began speaking as he chewed another piece of guava.
"Have you ever heard of the death of Yonas Hammershmark?"
"…Hammershmark? You mean that Hammershmark?"
"Yeah."
"I know the story—know it well, actually. It was all over the news. Big fire in Germany… what, over ten years ago?"
"You know it? Then tell me—what was it about?"
"A major fire on February 14, 2010. Massive blaze at the private residence of Yonas Hammershmark, the daughter of a powerful MP. Everyone in the house, including Yonas, died. No one knows how the fire started. Even now, the German police still haven't closed the case. But—"
Jody stopped mid-sentence as a loud scream erupted from the passenger lounge in the back—where Mickey had just gone.
["Mannix!!! You bastard!!! I'll kill you!!!"]
Mickey must've done something again…
Jody returned to the conversation.
"The strangest part was what the autopsy found. Yonas's body showed signs of extreme torture—before the fire. But there were no suspects. Every person in that house ended up burned beyond recognition…"
"Exactly."
"…So what's the connection?"
"Alright. I'll tell you the whole story…"