In the name of love, one might even lose their life.
A few minutes before Tito's escape, Star, who had been thrown into the all-woman block by Tito, was experiencing something he had never felt before.
Beautiful women surrounded him on all sides, like he was the only egg on a plate of rice. The emotions in their eyes varied from disgust to joy.
Star had no recollection of how he ended up in this place, but he could tell he was really in a bad situation.
He was not the smart type, but over a million ideas raced through his mind about how he could escape this prison block.
In the end, no idea seemed better than simply doing what the girls wanted. The possibility of him beating them up now that he was in their territory was slim.
Blinking a few times, he forced a chuckle as he tried to get up from the ground. "Ladies, could you entertain one more guest in your block?"
The woman who was staring at him upside down frowned, guessing at Star's intention of sneaking into their block before the cells closed.
"It's because of you that we didn't sleep in our beds tonight. You really are confident in your strength, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am!" Star immediately realized his mistake and faked a cough to correct himself. "Hehe, I mean no. How could I alone be a match for all of you?"
Star started sweating profusely. He knew there was a reason why people didn't mess around in the W-Block: it was because of Meron.
Although he didn't see any sign of her, he was confident she would injure him, if not kill him, if they fought.
Seeing the alien cracking her knuckles, Star tried to turn the situation in his favor by shouting, "Please don't resort to violence! This is all a huge misunderstanding! I, for one, don't understand ho—!"
Argh—!
Star's words came to a halt as a pulverizing headache struck him. He clenched his head as memories seemed to force their way into his mind, causing him to have a nosebleed.
In these memories, he was in his cell, staring up at the ceiling. He was alone as he had Encender's fair arms wrapped around his neck, her head resting on his left chest.
They giggled together as the position of Star's hands changed from time to time. One could tell the two were happy together and that their relationship was at its prime.
Thanks to this, Star's demeanor shifted; he stopped screaming and began giggling like he did in those memories.
Enjoying the comfort of being in the embrace of the girl he loved, Star turned to give her a kiss. But before his lips could reach her, he heard a familiar smoky voice.
"Well, well. To think Bright Kazuma's son would be so foolish as to fall for the one who took away his arm."
Ahhhh—!
His giggles turned into screams, and the memory now felt like a nightmare. For no particular reason, he found Tito beating him, and just like how his father treated him whenever he did something wrong, he felt nails flying into his palm.
Why is he doing this?!
He wanted to know, but the only answer he got was:
"You disturbed my peace. I was like a river flowing downstream, and you decided to throw a stone in the water. Some of that water came flying back toward your face."
He tried hard to resist, but Tito was just too terrifying for him to fight.
Ahhhh—!
Star continued to scream in agony. He knew such a memory never happened, but the memory of Tito throwing him into the women's block was true.
His screams came to a stop as he remembered that the man of fire had taken the pleasure of visiting his cell out of the kindness of his heart.
"Do you really live in such a place? Looks can't truly define a person's behavior, can they?"
Tito's golden eyes were filled with disgust as he looked at the mess in Star's cell. All sorts of rubbish lay scattered, making it resemble a bin—except for the lack of diapers.
Star furrowed his brow. He didn't want anything to do with the 27F cell, despite having feelings for Encender.
He had hurt her before, and she would be damned if she just accepted his apology. He saw it as better to focus on making himself a better man.
Tito could sense his disgust and spoke words that Star had been using to comfort himself.
"Indeed, there are many fish in the pond, but there is only a countable number of goldfish in it. Would you let go of the one you can see? I, for one, know I won't."
Star could only maintain his silence as he got up from his bed to stare at the man with black and white hair. He understood the meaning behind his words, and he wondered how Tito knew.
"How could I not notice something so obvious?" Tito smiled as he walked deeper into Star's messy cell, trying to find a place to rest against. "Honestly, something like that also happened to me before."
"So?"
The vocal expression of the young Kazuma was permeated with hostility, conveying an intent to expel the uninvited inmate who came to his cell. His gaze resembled that of a mother buffalo fiercely defending her offspring from a potential threat.
Not finding a place to sit, Tito simply leaned against the wall. Looking at the green-haired man with only one arm, he let out a sigh of disappointment.
"I'm here to help you, but you're treating me like an enemy. You and your father really share similar traits."
Tito knew that Star hated his father and would never do the same thing he had done.
Seeing the shift in Star's eyes, Tito continued, "I will help you improve your relationship with Encender. Whether you two end up dating depends on how well you treat her. In return for my assistance, I need you to find a set of books for me in the book cube (library)."
No, thank you. If you need a book from the book cube, just go take it yourself. There's no need for me to help you. Plus, I'm too old to be Encender's type, and there's no need for me to settle for a single goldfish when there are other mesmerizing fish out there.
That was what Star wanted to say, but he found himself acting as if he were charmed by Tito's words. "I agree, what sort of books do you need, Black and White?"