They stepped inside the narrow alley. Jun pulled a bronze lever inside a recess in the wall to close the door behind them. They proceeded to descend a set of stairs leading to a roofed passageway. The only light inside came from both ends of the tunnel and Juto could feel the temperature drop on his face and fingertips. Entering from a bright area made him temporarily blind, so he held onto the wall to support himself until his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Jun didn’t seem to have a problem with it as his echoing steps didn’t slow down. His confident steady pace reassured the soldier that there’s no traps around.
Suddenly something soft skittered from under his hand, making him jolt back in surprise. The little gasp he made in panic was amplified by the echo, causing more skittering on the wall, and some beneath his feet.
“What’s wrong?” Jun turned around.
“There’s something in here.” Juto moved away from the wall.
“Relax.” Jun tapped the top of his rifle and a compartment clicked open. “It’s just some dust bunnies.” He flashed a beam of light on the wall next to the soldier.
A small group of oval, fluffy critters immediately dispersed in all directions with what sounded like a displeased murmur, which sent a shiver down Juto’s spine.
“They’re harmless. Well, as long as you don’t have dust allergies… or disturb their nest. They gather in dark places like this.” Jun moved the light around forcing them to disperse even more.
The murmuring intensified. It did seem like a clump of lint had gained sentience, and judging by the agitated low chirps, the critters were probably cussing Jun out in a language unknown to man.
“You don’t have those in the mainland?” Jun asked, moving the beam at Juto.
“No…” The soldier raised his arm to cover his eyes, when he heard more squeaks behind him. He turned around to see the dust bunnies hiding in his shadow, stirring and jumping over each other, which made his skin crawl. “...But we do have soot flies. You know, fluffy flying black beads.”
“Oh, those.”
Suddenly Juto could feel the critters crawling up his leg. “Wha-! No-no-no! Take it off! Take it off!” He panicked and started to stomp in a circle and sweep them off, feeling one move on his back. Jun couldn’t help but laugh.
Out of the passageway, the soldier took a moment to calm his breath from the unpleasant experience, Jun still snickering next to him.
Further ahead a gap between buildings revealed that they were a level above the plaza. People crowded around cafes and souvenir shops like bees in a hive. Among them he spotted a couple with the same rifle model dangling from their shoulders, complete with a blue bandana around their neck and the cropped sleeveless jacket, presumably as per the local guerrilla code.
Juto looked behind at the main gate that was still firmly shut. Some scaffolding was set up next to it, with the tarp swaying in the wind like sails on a ship, some of it torn in places. Might’ve as well been a ghost ship, since there was no worker in sight.
“Say, what’s with the gate being closed? Was it shut because of the commotion in the sky?”
“Hm? Oh, no, it’s always like that.” Jun shrugged. “It only opens in the early morning to let delivery trucks in.”
“I see plenty of tourists though. Do they come in through the harbor?”
“Some do with the cruise ships, but most of them come in through the tunnel.” Jun pointed at the other side of the valley. “Ever since they built a tunnel that connects Nokoa with the coastal town on the other side of the hill, the traffic from the main gate has been rerouted. Our mayor decided it would be a great opportunity to do some renovations, but you can see how well that goes.” He threw his hand to the side with a sarcastic tone.
“Guess some things are the same across the border.” Juto mused.
They took a turn at a large mural depicting a stylized tiger with a beach and night sky in the background. The head of the tiger was positioned at the bottom, its whole body arching in a half circle. A couple of tourists posed for a photo underneath it, pretending to be terrified, as the open jaws looked like the tiger was about to eat them.
The turn led to a wide street with a few shops and some people roaming around. Juto tensed up passing them by. It definitely wasn’t as crowded as the plaza below, but that made him stand out more. Luckily, nobody seemed to pay him more attention than a side glance, which Juto could only assume wasn’t the craziest thing they saw with the amount of tourists around.
The more Juto was examining the surroundings, the more tigers he saw, whether it was statues, murals, bunting and flags in black, blue and white colors or even just common striped cats lazing in the sun. A short, hunched granny with glasses as round as Jun’s stepped outside with a saucepan of food. She poured the contents into a wide bowl on the ground and started hitting the back of the saucepan with a wooden spoon. Suddenly, cats started to jump out of every nook and cranny. Jun raised his arm to stop Juto in his tracks for a moment, as a line of four kittens with their tails straight up crossed their path in a beeline to the bowl of food. The granny counted all the cats and nodded with a smile, watching them eat.
“You guys sure love your felines…” Juto mused. “I assume Nokoa means ‘tiger’ in the native language?”
“No, it actually describes someone brave, like a warrior, which is also a trait that we associate with tigers. As you may have noticed, the blue tiger is the town’s revered emblem.”
“And you wanted to shoot one today…” The soldier commented, when something piqued his interest at the other side of the street.
“I didn’t want to shoot it, just to shoo it away! Besides, even if I did happen to shoot it, it’s an act of self defense, which is well within my rights!” Jun puffed his chest. “It’s only a crime when you hunt them for sport or poaching- Are you listening?” He shot a side glance and only then realized that Juto wasn’t by his side anymore.
He panicked for a moment afraid that his frenemy slipped away, turned around and spotted the soldier in front of a kiosk, with rows of cigarette brands and vapes lined up on the display. The owner, a middle aged man with a stubble, was casually leaning on the counter, explaining something to him.
“Not this again…” The guerrilla sighed, rolling his eyes.
“Sorry, no can do.” Apologized the man. “If I lend a freebie to one guy, soon everyone will want one. Speaking from experience.”
“Can I ask for a favor?” Juto turned to Jun with a big smile and a sparkle of hope in his eyes.
“Absolutely not!”
“Pretty please?” He clasped his hands together leveling himself with him, his voice sickeningly sweet. “I’ll pay you back!”
Jun averted his eyes in disgust and turned around. “I can’t believe you would rather beg for a cancer stick than for your own life.”
Seeing there’s no use in arguing, Juto sighed and slumped his shoulders, dragging his feet away from the stand.
“Tough luck, buddy. Maybe if you offer him a different kind of stick to suck at...” The owner chuckled and winked.
“OH SHUT UP, FRANK!” Jun flipped him off, unable to hide a blush.
Juto’s cheeks tinted red as well. “He did not just-”
“And you shut up too!” Jun cut him off, aggressively pointing at the soldier.
Juto sighed with annoyance and combed fingers through his hair. He barely survived the mech fight, he was tired, hungry, anxious, in need of a shower and now this local shortie had the audacity to boss him around. Usually whenever he needed to let his frustrations out, he would work out at the gym or take a long relaxing bath if a smoking break wasn’t enough, but none of those options were currently available for him.
Cranky, he started to wonder if he really needed Jun after getting past the guard and having a clear objective where to go. The voice of reason screamed no, it was too soon to abandon the guerrilla. He would alert others and maybe even the radio station guy to prevent him from using it, and then it’s all over. He was still at a disadvantage to act on his own, but without an outlet, he started to lose his cool.
Juto noticed another dry wall fountain to the left, tucked between two high fences that were covered in wine grapes from top to bottom, and like on cue Jun turned towards it. If Juto’s voice of reason could be portrayed as an angel on his shoulder and his impulsive desires as the devil, both of them would be flailing with their little limbs in a catfight right now. 
And the devil was winning.
“If you’re broke, just say so.” He threw a snippy comment.
“I’m not broke!” Jun pulled the lever. This time the well itself rotated 90 degrees, opening a narrow path.
“Then what’s a few bucks to you? I said I’ll pay you back.”
“I’m not feeding your addiction!” He patted on the leaves to feel where the lever was hidden. “In case you forgot, we’re not friends, and we’ll never be, you fucking fede-rat!” He closed the wall.
Something within Juto snapped, his figurative angel and devil froze in shock mid-fight.
Without missing a beat, Juto stepped closer and hit Jun in the side of the neck with the edge of his open palm. The guerrilla let out a sharp gasp as the lights went out. His body went limp and he was about to topple over when Juto caught him.
“Shit!” He cursed under his breath, realizing what he just did. “Ahh, I messed up…” He sighed.
Acting on impulse has usually worked in his benefit, but not this time. Juto cradled him in his arms and was about to check his pulse, when he felt a sudden sinking feeling in his chest the moment he looked at the unconscious face. It reminded him of…
He instantly reached to his dog tags, feeling them under the suit. A blurred image of a blood drenched face flashed in his mind. He quickly pushed that thought away, taking a couple deep breaths to compose himself. Fuck, I’m relapsing… he thought to himself. He pressed his fingers to Jun’s neck to check the pulse and sighed in relief. After confirming that it’s steady he decided that he might as well take the opportunity to go with the little devil’s plan.
He picked the guerrilla up and sat him in the shade against a stack of crates nearby, then rummaged through his pockets. He found the wallet, picked out the amount he needed and returned the rest. He pondered for a moment and grabbed his phone as well. If he’s lucky enough, he’ll return before Jun wakes up, but if not, he’ll at least delay his call for reinforcements. Positioned as they were, it was unlikely someone would spot him from the end of the alley.
“I’ll be back soon.” He mumbled as he adjusted Jun’s glasses and ruffled his hair.
He forgot himself for a moment and leaned in for a kiss on the forehead, but stopped halfway realizing what he was about to do. He shook his head and ran a hand through his face, embarrassed at his old habit resurfacing. He was glad Jun didn’t witness it.
“Did Jun cave in?” Frank smirked when Juto returned to his kiosk.
“More or less…” He faked a smile.
“Oh, you bet he’s gonna hold that over your head. So, what would you like?”
Juto tried not to act like a drooling addict when he held the disposable vape in his hands. He immediately took a deep drag, held it in to savor the vanilla flavor and exhaled loudly, releasing a cloud of smoke like a volcano.
“HAAAAH, that’s exactly what I needed!”
The first puff felt amazing.
He sank in the wicker chair next to the kiosk, thanking in his mind to whoever came up with the instant use vapes and to the owner for setting up a table to rest at, complete with an ash tray, bottles of water and a parasol. He could already feel the frustration wash away. He took another puff draped over the chair with his arm hanging over the rail, head back and legs outstretched like a rag doll tossed away in the corner.
“Long day?” Frank leaned on the counter, joining the smoke break with his pipe.
“Oh, you have no idea…” Juto sighed, allowing himself a few more minutes of bliss before returning to reality.
“Maybe I do!” The clerk laughed. “Jun can be a handful. Is he showing you around?”
“Mm-hmm.” He hummed. “He seems to have a… reputation?” Juto remembered Frank’s indecent comment from before.
“He’s a free spirit, in his ‘promiscuous phase’ if you will. Exploring his options before settling down.” He took a drag and released the smoke through his nose.
And he called me a slut, Juto thought to himself.
“Well, to me it’s more like he hasn’t met his match yet, if you get what I mean. Maybe you could tame him?” Frank smirked.
Juto choked on his own puff. “Top or bottom?” He blurted out something random without thinking.
“For you? Definitely a bottom.”
“Not the impression I got from him…” Juto mumbled, feeling his cheeks getting warmer. “Say, how’s that pipe? The gatekeeper couldn’t recommend it enough.” He quickly changed the topic.
“Ha-hah, he better! I’m the one who convinced him to try it out.” He grinned. “Glad you asked, because let me tell you-”
Small world… Juto thought. He took another puff and just closed his eyes, zoning out.
A curious little dust bunny came out of the crevice between the crates and started to explore the new additions to the surroundings. The first object was small, smooth and cold. The bunny scaled the strap connected to the bigger thing and crawled all over it. It was soft and warm. Two more bunnies came out to play. The first went all the way up past a loose hanging cloth and suddenly PAF.
Jun smacked his cheek and the lint creature exploded in a cloud of dust. The other bunnies skedaddled back to the crevice. He opened his eyes and looked at his hand smudged with dirt, the passed out flattened critter slid off his palm like a feather in the wind.
“What the-”
He quickly wiped the palm in his pants and rubbed the dust off his cheek. His hand reached to his side before his eyes confirmed that the rifle was still there. However, something or rather someone was missing. He quickly got up and spots of light started to dance before his eyes. He swayed, almost tripping over. He leaned against the wall and rubbed his bruised neck, taking a moment to recollect what he remembered last before blacking out.
“That… bastard…” He grit his teeth.
