Yusof has always been a dreamer since he was young.
His parents would often called him with the moniker of 'Mat Jenin' for his tendencies to lose himself in trance, completely unaware of his surroundings- which honestly is a surprise to how he's survived this long without accidentally walking into a fatal disaster.
He had grown up somewhat happy, enjoying a carefree life with a free-ness that somehow was both overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. A normal, calm life with no worry of weight of a thousand kilo stones hanging down his neck.
Though he should've known that nothing good lasts forever. But it wasn't that bleak, sure he lost both his parents in a car accident at the shy age of 17, but oddly enough Yusof felt composed. He had lived his life happy enough not to feel too much turmoil for his lost.
Especially since it also gave him some new 'baggages' to distract him.
And by baggages, he meant weird memories that he never should have known. Some cultures believed in reincarnation and the existence of past lives.
Of course, Yusof never really paid any mind to it since he wasn't exactly the brightest tool in the shed but who could ever fucking thought that he, of all people, could be the one to actually get them.
It didn't come in straight like a message from god or a letter in a bottle.
Instead the memories flooded him in tiny bits like a jigsaw puzzle waiting to unraveled.
Shards of faces and moments he's never experienced but somehow clung to his very essence like a stubborn gumpiece.
Some of them were good memories. Like a life of joyful games and friendly banters.
Some of them gave him inexplicable heartache that often left him in a sour mood, waiting for anything to cheer him up.
And some, gave him a fucking headache.
Not because of the overwhelming stimulation of a foreign fragment invading his headspace. But rather, like a deep yearning for something missing.
The problem was he didn't know what.
In this life, Yusof was an only child.
But in another, he'd remember bickering with his older brothers.
And every now and then he'd come upon these actors that uses different names and different masks but he'd just knew that he knows them in his other lives.
Figuring the missing puzzles and where they fit was always something Yusof liked doingāa rare occurrence for him to actually like using his brain intelligently.
So, he always went with the flow; first stumbling opon his best friend, who in reality was his enemy in the past. And at first, Yusof was wary enough and almost slipped an called him "Megat" but actually caught onto it at the last second.
His initial response when he saw that face was to beat it to a pulp. But similarly in the past in the present, they shared far too many similarities not to like hanging out.
His second encounter was a bit prickly.
It was a connection to a man wearing the face of someone who was his brother in the past, Isa. Yusof couldn't remember what Isa's name was to him when they were brothers, but he's pretty sure their dynamic wasn't far off with Isa always teasing or roughhousing him like a drunken deadbeat older brother.
Then one by one the domino pieces fell into stack and Yusof allowed himself to be further carried by the current, despite how much it placed him on a very thin fucking ice.
The camel that broke the bed was when he was first inducted into the Tarung scene.
An underground fight club that felt far too familiar than it should.
It was a 'harmless' tradition that fuelled people's sinful vices like an old time Roman emperor delighting on the bloodshed in a colloseum.
Yusof never put up much resistance seeing as he was never directly put in that 'cage'.
But every now and then he let his displeasure seeped through as murmured spontaneously, "Berapa lama lagi bende ni nak run?"
Not-Megat shove his shoulders ligheartedly with a grin, "Mende kau niāspoil siak."
Yusof rolled his eyes and swiped his drunk form the bar counter as he turned and leaned against the cheap mahogany surface.
"iye laa, kau tak bosan ke. Balik-balik nanti boss bagi speech sama pastu si Isa tu la memang lagi."
"kau mana tahu," Not-Megat glared at his wet blanket impersonation but Yusof couldn't bring himself to care. "Aku dapat rasekan hari ni Hari kejatuhan Isa."
Yusof shook his head at his friend's blatant animosity. Even in this life Isa and Not-Megat butted heads like two serows in the Himalayas. But it was all in good nature. The two of them still remained friends in spite of the incessant bickerings.
Suddenly, his compadre nudged his shoulders.
"Weyh," Yusof felt him like his sides childishly as he flatly demands 'what'.
"Jom bet."
"kan Aku baru je cakap, bende ni sama je la dok ulang-ulang macam duā"
"takkkk," not-Megat denies readily, his glinting like a cat that got the cream. "Aku dapat rasekan hari ni lain dari hari-hari before ni."
Yusof stared dubiously at his friend before relenting and agreeing. The bastard beamed joyously before telling him the stakes and he couldn't help but internally wonder at what could possibly change tonight.
Yusof has long given up on finding that missing thing that could make him feel less hollow than he already was. He had resigned life to just go through the motions as an underground courier and hopes that the mediocre excitement is enough to satiate his hunger and keep him from possible danger.
"cepat-cepat"
The sudden commotion was silence as people rallied all around the cage, whispering and chanting excitedly as if they hadn't seen this every single night.
" Tiga."
Yusof shuffle forward, navigating around the bustling crowd. He sees today's fresh meat wearing a jacket hoodie that partially obscured his face like some twit with main character syndrome.
"Dua."
He lost his friend somewhere but the sight of Isa cements his mood as he makes a small wave that was ignored. Isa looked oddly more intense than usual.
"Satu."
The new contender finally sheds his flimsy hood and Yusof's felt his pulse quicken at the sight of his face.
The screeches and shouts around him muted as Yusof shakily takes a step forward, almost dropping his drink as he pressed his hand against the steel wires of the cage.
His mouth dropped opened at the sight of a guy his age, with tan golden skin and numerous scar decorating his body but more strikingly the bridge of his nose.
Yusof watches as the man in the cage moves with the grace of a swan, fingerless gloves clenching and unclenching as he circled his opponent, a timeless dance locked in a barbaric routine.
He exhaled sharply.
Suddenly at once both Isa and the fighter charge, and Yusof felt his heart squeeze when he saw how the perfectly parried each other's strikes.
It went on for seconds then minutes of relentless jabs and parries, when the fighter manevered Isa's attacks effortlessly.
Then he saw the guy smirked, playful and oh so familiar.
"Dalam setiap hayat, Aku pilih kau...."
With a dawning realization, a jolt of impulse flooded his brain as Isa roared with an angry snarl.
"Aku cari kau,"
Yusof watches unblinkingly, taking in every minsicule detail of the man he's seen for the first time in this life, yet has grown to long for ad nauseum.
"and aku pilih kau."
"Fakhri." Yusof exhaled, the moment their eyes met.
He smirked.
