--: Author's POV: --
The warmth of the massive collective embrace was the only thing holding the group together. Inside that human fortress, Jay Jay, Keiran, and Keigan were shielded by a wall of brothers and friends. Keifer, Angelo, Aries, Percy, and Yuri stood as the inner circle, their arms locked, creating a sanctuary of skin and bone amidst the wreckage of the main hall.
But even the strength of Section E couldn't block out the presence of the four figures standing by the entrance. They didn't move. They didn't shout. They simply watched with the patient, terrifying composure of kings watching a tragedy. Slowly, the circle began to break. The adrenaline was fading, replaced by the crushing weight of exhaustion. As the Section E boys stepped back, their eyes immediately locked onto the strangers.
--: Jay Jay's POV: --
I felt the cold air hit me as the hug loosened. I stayed close to Keifer, my hand still gripping the hem of his torn shirt. My eyes were fixed on the tallest figure—the one in the center.
"Jay Jay," he spoke again. His voice was deeper than I remembered, but it had that same sharp, arrogant edge that used to make the kids in Thailand scatter. "You're still the same. Always surrounding yourself with trouble."
"How... how did you find me?" I whispered, my voice trembling.
The one with the calm voice stepped forward. The moonlight caught the silver of his watch as he tucked his hands into his pockets. "It wasn't easy. You vanished the moment your stepfather moved you back here. But your father... your real father... finally picked up the phone."
--: Author's POV: --
Angelo stepped in front of Jay Jay, his eyes like flint. He didn't care about their expensive cars or their aura of power. "I don't care how you found us. You're standing in a crime scene in my home. Identify yourselves, or my men will remove you."
One of them let out a dark, amused chuckle, glancing at the other. "He wants to remove us. Should we show him how we handled those 'Cleaners' in the forest?"
"Enough," the tallest one ordered. He walked forward, his boots clicking with a rhythm that felt like a countdown. He stopped just inches from Angelo, not flinching at the height difference. He looked over Angelo's shoulder, his eyes landing on Jay Jay. "We're not here for the Fernandez family business. We're here for her."
--: Jay Jay's POV: --
Images I had buried for years began to claw their way to the surface. I saw flashes of a year in Thailand—a year where I was a small, broken girl living in a house of shadows. I remembered the heat of the sun, and the four boys who had quite literally saved my life.
I looked at Thyme. I remembered him standing in front of me when my stepfather had raised a hand in public. I remembered MJ and Kavin teaching me how to throw a punch if anyone ever touched me again. I remembered Ren sitting with me in silence when I couldn't stop shaking.
But there were gaps. Big, dark holes in my memory from that year.
"They're not enemies, Kuya," I said, my voice sounding hollow as it echoed off the scorched walls of the main hall. "When I lived in Thailand with my mother and stepfather... when things were... bad... they were the only ones who helped me. They were my family when I didn't have one."
I stepped forward, my voice gaining strength as I looked at each of them in turn, introducing the ghosts of my past to the protectors of my present.
"This is Thyme," I started, and the air seemed to grow heavy. "He's the most stubborn person I know, but he's the one who literally put his own body between me and my stepfather's belt more times than I can count. He was the first person to ever tell me that I was worth fighting for. He didn't just protect me; he taught me that I deserved to be protected."
Thyme didn't look humble; he just tilted his chin up, his eyes softening only when they landed on me.
"Next to him is Ren," I said softly. "He was my sanctuary. When the house felt like it was closing in on me, Ren would find me and take me to his art studio. We'd sit in total silence for hours. He taught me that I didn't have to be loud to be strong. He was the only one who could see I was breaking without me saying a single word."
Ren offered a small, graceful nod, his eyes reflecting a deep, protective history.
"Then there's Kavin," I continued, pointing to the one with the glasses. "He's the strategist. People think he's just the charm, but he's the one who taught me how to read people—how to see a lie before it's even spoken. When the kids at school tried to bully me for being an outsider, Kavin didn't just stop them; he dismantled their families' businesses until they had to beg for my forgiveness."
Kavin adjusted his glasses, a faint, sophisticated smile playing on his lips.
"And finally, MJ," I finished, gesturing to the one leaning against a charred pillar. "In Thailand, they call him the Shadow of the Underground. When my stepfather used to lock me out of the house in the middle of the night, MJ was the one who taught me how to pick a lock and disappear into the city. He taught me that the dark isn't something to be afraid of—it's something you use."
MJ gave a playful two-finger salute, his eyes glinting with a sharp, street-smart intelligence.
--: Keifer's POV: --
I watched the way Jay Jay looked at them. There was a history there that I wasn't a part of—a history that looked painful.
"She doesn't remember most of it, does she?" Kavin said, his eyes narrowing as he looked at me. He seemed to read the confusion on my face. "She doesn't remember why we spent that whole year acting like her shadow. She doesn't remember the night we found her shivering in an alley because her stepfather had locked her out for 'being a nuisance'?"
I felt Jay Jay flinch beside me. Her hand went to her temple, her face twisting in a flash of pain. My heart burned. I had known her stepfather was a monster, but I didn't know it had been that bad.
"She doesn't need to remember," I spat, my voice low and dangerous. "She has a family now who actually protects her. We don't need ghosts from her past showing up to remind her of the trauma."
--: Author's POV: --
Thyme ignored Keifer completely, his eyes staying on Jay Jay. "We didn't come to remind you of the pain, Jay. We came to take you away from it. This place..." he gestured to the smoking ruins of the main hall, "this place is just another cage."
The room remained still, the weight of the stories sinking in. But while the rest of Section E looked confused, Percy's eyes began to bug out of his head. He looked at Thyme, then at the luxury car outside, then back at the group.
"Wait... wait, wait, wait," Percy stammered, his dramatic flair returning even in the middle of a disaster. He stepped forward, pointing a shaking finger. "You mean Thyme Paramaanantra? The heir to the Paramaanantra Empire?! The leader of the legendary F4?!"
Thyme smirked, a sharp, dangerous expression. "You've heard of us."
"Heard of you?!" Percy practically shrieked, looking at Aries and the others as if they were idiots for not knowing. "Bro, they aren't just rich. They own the North! Thyme's family conglomerate handles everything from tech to international trade! And Ren's family? They run the biggest medical healthcare empire in the East! Kavin's family has ties to every major port in Asia, and MJ's family controls half the private security networks in the region! Jay, you lived with the kings of Bangkok for a year and you never thought to mention it?! Having them here is like having a four-man nuclear deterrent standing in our main hall!"
--: Keifer's POV: --
I didn't care about "nuclear deterrents" or empires. All I heard was that they had seen her at her weakest—at a time I wasn't there to protect her. The gratitude and the territorial instinct fought a war in my chest.
"I don't care if they're kings," I said, my voice low and steady as I looked Thyme in the eye. "I care that they're here now. Why after all this time?"
Thyme stepped forward, his eyes locking onto mine with a challenge that made the air turn cold. He ignored my question, looking instead at the dirt on Jay Jay's face.
"We came because the girl we raised in Thailand is bleeding in a house that was supposed to be safe," Thyme said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, authoritative register. "We're here to fix the mistakes you made."
Angelo stepped forward, his eyes flashing with the same intensity as Thyme's. "This is my sister. My family. My mistakes to fix. You're guests in this mansion—don't forget that."
--: Author's POV: --
Thyme looked at Angelo and then at the rest of Section E. "The Hanamitichis might be dead, but the people who funded them aren't. We have a plane waiting. You and the boys are coming with us."
"She's not going anywhere," Aries growled, stepping up beside Keifer. Percy and the rest of Section E moved in unison, forming a defensive line once more.
The tension in the room was a physical weight. On one side stood the elite of the city—Section E, bloodied, bruised, but fiercely loyal. On the other stood the F4—four young men who held the power of empires in their hands, looking at the scene with a cold, protective fury.
The two "Kings" stood chest-to-chest, the ruins of the main hall serving as the backdrop for a clash that was only just beginning. Jay Jay looked from her brothers to her past, her mind reeling. The war with Kaizar was over, but a much older, deeper story was just beginning to unfold.