JJba: the journey to you

All it takes is one bad day...

FYI this chapter's content might upset someone
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-16 years ago, 1987-

Third person view~

They were a perfectly happy family of four, that consisted of Julian, his perfect big brother James, and mother and father. Back then Julian was innocent and ridiculously nice, and James was the caring and responsible type. Their family wasn't particularly rich, but they weren't poor either. -Their childhood wasn't that kind of a sob story. They were perfectly average family with good income and relationships. They had nice relatives they visited from time to time, and cousins who they played with. One in particular was Julian's favorite. His name was Frankie, and although he was 10 years older than Julian, he always took care of him. They even had one of those really nice grandmas who would bake something really good for when they visited, and a really cool granpa who would tell the brothers vivid war stories. But as you might expect, one day it all went south.

You see, the city they lived in had a rising crime rate. There were already many gangs, but one of the biggest ones was a crime organization called Tiger's eye, that among other things kidnapped children to sell them for messed up purposes. And by bad luck Julian was noticed by one of the members. That day their family was shopping leisurely, and they had just stopped to look at a showcase. James saw a really cool jacket in the store, and before his parents could say anything, he ran into the store to buy it. Just as James had bought the jacket, he heard commotion come from the outside. Every kind of emotion seemed to be in the mix, as someone let out a blood-curdling scream and other yelled in panic. Someone cried and someone laughed maniacally. Suddenly shots were fired and police sirens wailed and people yelled. James ran out of the store with his bag that held his jacket, only to drop it seconds later. He let out a silent sob and dropped down to his knees. His parents laid on the ground motionless and bloody. There were two men dead beside them, who James didn't recognize.

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Police officer's view~
Third person~

He stepped out of his car, still holding a gun and ran to the scene. He noticed two little feet sticking out from under one of the guys, who had collapsed forward after he shot them. The officer rolled the dead guy over, and lifted up a small child.
"Hey it's okay, calm down" he tried to soothe the young child who was covered in blood and was hyperventilating. Damn he wasn't good with kids, he thought and sighed, as he took his radio.
"Officer Escargot reporting. There has been an attempted kidnapping. One of the two kidnappers still alive. I don't know if there were more involved. Two victims deceased and two alive. I need an ambulance here." He said, and glanced at the young children. The one who was found under the dead guy, was crying profusely and was clearly in shock. Next to him was a slightly older looking boy, who was frozen in place, his eyes hazy. He felt pity for the boys, as the two deceased victims were most likely relatives. The older one seemed to snap out of it, as he quickly hugged the other boy, and ran to the officer with a distressed look.
"O- officer wh- what will we do now?? Our- our parents... they're dead!" He stuttered, and glanced at them, only to let out a sob and quickly look away.
"Call your relatives first. Maybe they will take you in. If not, orphanage might be your only option." He replied dryly, clearly not wanting to affiliate himself any further.
"O- okay."

Unfortunately The Tiger's eye had had spread to other countries, and people were scared of them. And fearing that the organization would come after them if they took the boys in, Julian and James were abandoned. No one wanted them. Not even the orphanages they were supposed to go to if there wasn't other options. Because of that, James at the age of 9 started to work the best he could, earning enough money to survive. It definitely wasn't much and they were barely surviving, but they were alive. While working James was beaten and looked down on, but he still continued.
"For Julian, I have to do this." He thought, and for years it worked. At the age of twelve James had managed to buy them a small apartment with hard work. And at the age of 9 (same age as James when he started working) Julian began working too. He did his best, only to anger a small gang, who stole everything they owned as payment. That drove James over the edge, and he cried quietly, not knowing if he could go on anymore. Something clicked in him as rage built up inside of him, setting aside the severe depression he was developing.