In the day Kaito tends the counter of the inn. He's just sitting there imagining getting back to his adventure. With all the time that has passed, he is back in full health. He will miss Dante and Lilah since they gave him a taste of home again.
Adventurers come into the building and see him at the counter. "What's the newbie doing here?" One asks jokingly. "Looks like he already retired after getting hurt!" Another says loudly, Kaito sighs and shakes his head.
These people really had nothing better to do. As they continue their heckling Kaito wonders if he could just use them for punching practice. But he quickly shakes the idea away.
Over with Dante he's happily jogging through the town. Almost bumping into people as he hurries to the jewel repair.
"I actually managed to do it. I saved up over fifty thousand Blastie!" Dante thinks to himself happily.
He arrives at the jewel shop, tossing the doors open happily. The man at the counter smiles upon seeing him. "Hello there Dante, what can I help you with today?" He politely asks.
"Hey smit, I got the money just like I said I would." Dante says as he gives the man everything. "Woah there, your mothers gonna be so proud seeing you managed to get all of this." Smit says, making Dante feel proud of himself.
Back at the inn Lilah sits with Kaito. She seems rather quiet, her leg is jumping and she's biting on her finger. Kaito takes note of her. "Something wrong auntie?" Kaito asks her.
"It's Dante, i'm worried." She says.
"Why?" Kaito asks.
Lilah sighs. "Dante doesn't think I know, but there's people who like to take advantage of him, he's always wearing bandages or long sleeves to hide what's happening." Lilah says sadly.
"I know he just doesn't want me to worry, but Kaito could you go find him?" Lilah asks.
Kaito seems confused by all of this. "Who would ever bully Dante, he's the coolest guy I ever met!" Kaito says in disbelief people would do things to Dante.
Kaito stands up and puts his shoes on. "But i'll go find him, don't you worry Auntie!" Kaito says as he leaves from the front door.
Lilah sits toiling away with her hands.
Dante jogs from the jewel place, happy to return it to his mom on her special day. He was jogging through the market streets when someone shouldered him hard. Dante stumbled, nearly falling. "Oh, sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," he said quickly, forcing a polite smile.
But the smile froze as his eyes met theirs.
"Well, well. What do we have here?" a sneering voice asked.
Five rugged young men, faces Dante recognized but wished he hadn't, began to circle him like wolves.
"If it isn't the lonely kid," one taunted, "the one who hangs out with mommy."
Dante's throat tightened. He backed up, hands raised in a futile defense. "I don't have anything today. There's no point in jumping me, so just leave me alone!"
A fist slammed into his stomach before he could finish. His breath rushed out as he collapsed to a knee, clutching himself.
"You don't tell us what to do," another spat.
Dante's heart pounded. He kept one hand pressed against his pocket, trying not to draw attention, but the smallest movement betrayed him.
"Well, well," a thug grinned, eyes sharp. "Looks like you do have something. What're you hiding?"
Panic surged through him. "It's, nothing!" He bolted forward in desperation, but a boot cracked across his face. The taste of blood filled his mouth as he crashed into the dirt.
Rough hands dug into his pocket, pulling out the small jewel. It caught the sun, gleaming brilliantly.
"Whoa, dude, is this real?" one of them said, holding it high.
Dante's vision blurred, but he forced himself to his feet. "Give it back!" he shouted, voice cracking.
The boys only laughed. "Look at him! Got some fire after all!"
A sharp slap knocked him down again, cheek burning. His ears rang with their cruel laughter, each word digging into him like a knife.
"A weakling like you should just stay on the ground where you belong."
People passed by. Merchants, townsfolk, even guards. Not one of them stopped. Some looked away, others didn't even glance.
Dante's heart screamed for help, but his voice never made it past his lips. Tears welled in his eyes, hot with shame.
No one cared.
But when the boys turned to leave, jewel in hand, something inside him refused. That jewel was for Lilah, for her birthday, for her smile, for all the sacrifices she made.
He staggered forward, grabbing at one of them. "I said, give it back!"
The retaliation was instant. A savage kick split his brow open, blood trickling into his eyes. His body hit the ground hard.
He lay there, sprawled on his back, chest heaving, unable to move. His arms shook as he tried to push himself up again, but his strength was gone.
The jewel disappeared into the crowd along with the thugs, their laughter echoing in his ears.
And Dante stayed there.
On the dirt road.
In the center of town.
While the world walked past him as if he wasn't there.
He sobbed quietly, the weight of failure pressing down harder than any boot.
He hadn't just been beaten.
He had failed his mother.
Dante lies on his back, his body trembling as quiet sobs escape his lips. His chest heaves, each breath a struggle between anguish and exhaustion. Hot tears mix with the blood trickling down his face, falling to the cold, unforgiving ground beneath him.
"Why?" His voice cracks, barely louder than a whisper. "Why was I born so weak?" His fingers curl into the dirt as he shuts his eyes tight, as if trying to shut out the truth. "It's always been like this..."
People pass by, their footsteps echoing like distant drumbeats in his ears. They see him, bruised, broken, drowning in his own misery, but none of them stop. Not even for a second. Their gazes flicker toward him, some filled with brief recognition, others with indifference, but all of them continue walking as if he is nothing. As if he isn't even there.
This is how it has always been. Dante, the invisible one. And to those who do see him? He is nothing more than a target. At school, he was alone. After school, still alone. And now, lying on the streets of Mozam, surrounded by people who refuse to acknowledge him, the loneliness weighs on him heavier than ever.
His chest tightens. The truth is suffocating. He was weak. And in this world, the weak are nothing.
His body trembles as he whispers, voice barely audible over the bustling streets, "It's not fair..."
At this point Kaito has finally found Dante, he sees him there on the ground bruised and defeated. "What happened!?" Kaito asks worry filling his voice.
Dante taking note of Kaito wipes his face. "It doesn't matter, we should just go back to the inn, not like we can do anything about it anyways." Dante bleakly says, his voice hanging low.
Kaito then understands why Dante has always been covered in bandages, why he's always bruised. Being beaten like this has become normal for him, the truth irritating Kaito.
Kaito grits his teeth. "So that's it? You're just gonna let these people steal your moms stuff and get away with it!?" Kaito shouts at Dante.
Dante grits his teeth annoyed by Kaito's words. How could he get how this feels. He's seen Kaito, his body is built strong and he fights monsters how can he understand how it is to be weak!
"You don't get it, Kaito. People like you never do. You're strong, you were born that way. People like me, born at the bottom, are always treated like this because we're weak!" Dante barks.
"How could someone who was born strong understand that?!" Dante questions Kaito, his frustrations filling his voice.
Kaito looks back at Dante seeing the frustration on his face. "You're right, Dante. You are weak. But being weak isn't a bad thing. What matters is that you try to change that every day." Kaito says as he then sits on the floor next to Dante.
"I wasn't born strong, and I don't win every fight I'm in. Actually, it turns out I'm weak too. I learned that recently. Blaming what you were born like is just an excuse, the only limit you have is yourself." Kaito says to Dante.
Kaito then looks down at the ground recounting all the times he's felt small. The man bat, the giant crystal beast, the world serpent, Terra, Max, Ray, the graith. All reminders of how he isn't as strong as he thought he was.
"I've trained my whole life, and I still got destroyed in my most recent fight. But instead of being scared, I find it exciting." Kaito says his mood changing and he smiles as he looks towards Dante.
Dante looks back at Kaito their eyes meeting.
"Every time I think of all these people and things stronger than I am, it's like facing a super tall ladder." Kaito explains as he stands up from the ground.
"I realized a long time ago, that in the moments where I feel weak, I have to forge my own path. So I look at that super tall ladder, and I'm at the bottom. But I just want to climb it one step at a time. There's nothing wrong with being down here because I know I'm moving towards the top."
His mind goes back to the time in the ravine, the savage climb he had faced to survive, all the emotion he felt then fills every word he now says to Dante.
"I wanna use that ladder to reach my dreams, the ladder is so tall that I can feel like I can reach the stars." Kaito then looks at Dante with a bright smile on his face. He reaches his hand out to Dante who's still lying down on the floor.
"You wanna climb the ladder with me?" Kaito smiles brightly at Dante, for the first time in Dante's life he's feeling a warmth from someone who he can feel genuinely cares. With a loss for words Dante reaches his hand back for Kaito's. Feeling that he doesn't have to be alone for the first time ever.
He takes Kaito's hand.