Blood Halo: Comic!Miguel O'Hara x OC Imagine

Dante's Lament and The Tragedy of Nabeshima

   As we enter, there's a song playing on the background: " Evidências ". I know this one, it's so poetic. Next, I see Dante sitting on the table, crying his eyes out.
   - Hun... Dante..? - I come closer to him.
   - What..? - he looks at me with those watery eyes.
   - What happened..?
   - Today was supposed to be Frank's one hundred fourth-nine birthday... But he died at the age of 75... - he cries more.
   - Wanna vent about it..? - I sit next to him, he nods.
   - And what about the book, Selene? - Miguel says though telepathy, I look at his face, and he seems to not be very patient.
   - Later - I think, he leans against the wall, and I look back to Dante, he wipes away his tears.
   - It started at the Military Dictatorship in Brazil during the 1970's - Dante explains a bit melancholic - I used to work for a small magazine at Rio de Janeiro, writing some articles and doing some comic stripes. And those comics I did had some hidden critics towards the government, which had strict censorship in terms of opposition. Many people were tortured, killed, or exiled because they opposed the military regime. I was able to bypass the censorship department for a while, but they caught me...
   - Oh... - I mumble - and what happened next..?
   - I knew if I stayed there, something bad would happened to me, so I spended all of my money to come here and ask for refuge - he continues - but it was a hard battle to get the American citizenship and everything, but thankfully I had the help from Nabeshima and Frank... - his eyes start to get watery again.
   - Did someone say my name? - Nabeshima comes out of the kitchen with a silly smile and turns off an old radio near the kitchen entrance - Oh, hello, Selene and... - they looks at Miguel - you..!
   - It's Miguel... - he says a bit pissed.
   - Can you not be annoying for a second? - Dante looks at them angrily - I'm trying to digest my grief, and you're all joking around...
   - You made the mistake of falling for a human in the first place - they responds.
   - You wouldn't understand, you mythomaniac cat... - he mumbles while burying his face on the table. Nabeshima just looks away. Now this aura is really heavy...
   - Can you... finish the story..? - I ask.
   - Well... - he looks at me - Frank Yakel was a briliant inventor who lived at this apartment complex, he builded all of this you're seeing. He had a pure heart, a great soul and gave me faith in humanity, something I've already lost by the time... As Nabeshima accepted me here, Frank and I became neighbors, we started to see each other frequently and fell in love... We got married around 2011 and lived here happily until he... - he starts crying again - he died...
   - That's really tragic... - I mumble.
   - And he couldn't cope with Frank's death - Nabeshima adds.
   - He was the only person who saw a soul me... Unlike others... - he cries harder.
   - Oh... - I pet his back - wanna... talk..?
   - Many people didn't see a soul in someone like me... - he says - The unwanted son of a slave with a noblemen, neither white or black, poor with a disease that took way part of his legs' movements, which didn't helped him get a job or good education because they saw him as useless, an anomaly, a monster... - he wipes away his tears as he starts to cry more.
   - That's horrible, honestly- I try to comfort him - I cannot imagine how painful it must have been to you...
   - I appreciate your empathy, Selene... - he looks at me - but it won't take away the pain and the lost... The lost of the person who gave me hope... He was the love of my life, the one that made my soul overflow... - he sniffs.
   - Why don't you find someone else? - Miguel suggests from the corner he's at.
   - It's not that simple... - Dante responds - as we age, we forget things, and I don't want Frank to die again... - he cries more.
   - Here... - Nabeshima gives him a tissue, he wipes away his tears and blows his nose - there are only two fates when you fall for a human: They die and you suffer or they try to kill you...
   - They tried to kill you because you committed identity theft - Dante opposes a bit passive-aggressive while wiping away his tears.
   - What..? - I mumble.
   - Oh, this is getting interesting... - Miguel mumbles.
   - I did all that for love, I was young, naive, and blind - Nabeshima says a bit angry.
   - And you had to kill the lady of the Nabeshima's Prince in order you to replace her to get with your charming prince - Dante replies sarcastically - que bela história de amor...
   - Oh, Dante... - they looks away angrily - we already talked about that... I was naive, I wanted someone I couldn't have, and when I tried through horrible ways, I suffered the consequences... You know why I'm here today...
   - Now I'm curious about the whole story - Miguel says - tell us more about it, Nabeshima... - he looks at me with a smirk. Oh, it's his sweet revenge for making him listen to Dante venting.
   - Well, when I lived at Nabeshima, Japan, during the Meiji Era (19th Century for you) - they explains - I was one of the servants of the Prince of Nabeshima, Hizen. I fell in love with him, even though I couldn't have a chance with him, but I was convinced he was the one. Plus, the Prince had an accompanying lady named Otoyo, who had an extreme beauty, and he loved so much. I was extremely jealous of Otoyo's beauty and relationship with the Prince, so I killed her and stole her identity, Hizen didn't even noticed for a while, we had a similar face, I had the advantage that she was mude, so I just had to remain in silence in order to live that relationship. I was head over heels during those months. I stayed with him until... Other servants found out where I buried Otoyo's corpse... Those servants told the prince, and him and his samurais hunted me... I was able to fake up my own death, changed my name, cutted my hair, and move to the West illegally, and it wasn't a pleasurable experience in all ways...  Although I'm doing better now, it still hurts... I'm not proud of what I've done and the path things took...
   - Oh... - I mumble. Looks like I'm not the only one with a tragic lore like that... - we all have a past marked by tragedy...
   - We're like this because tragedy - Dante says - in our very own specific ways... - he stays silent a bit - thank you, Miss Selene, for hearing me...
   - That is the bare minimum I could do for you... - I smile slyly at him, he smiles back through the tears - and also... - I grab the book on my ecobag and put it on the table - I appreciate your help with this...
   - You're welcome... - Dante mumbles.
   - It must have been a bother you two coming here for return the book and having to hear Dante lamenting and I sharing my whole tragic backstory - Nabeshima comments.
   - It wasn't... - I mumble and look at Miguel with narrow eyes. Please don't say any shit.
   - Not a bother at all... - he mumbles. Oh, great...
   - In that case... - Nabeshima smiles and bows their head down - thank you...
   - You're welcome... - I mumble and bow my head down back with a small smile.
   Next, Miguel points his head to the exit, I get up and while I follow him, Dante says:
   - You can always come back if you want...
   - I might come back here one day for studies in theology and death - I respond while looking back, he smiles.
   - You both will be eternity welcome here... - he says.
   - It would be a pleasure to have you two here again... - Nabeshima smiles.
   Me and Miguel enter the elevator, I look at Dante and Nabeshima one last time before the elevator goes up. They deserve the world, not eternal suffering and tragedy...
   I don't want the tragedy to come again like a hurricane...