Fate (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 18

3rd PERSON POV
Hunters' Side
1st win. High level cooperation. The look of unwillingness shown the moment they part ways. I'm figuring something out here.

Jack sat on his desk, his free hand tapping the table while his long claws tracing the number of BlackJack points all the participants had racked up earlier.

He took his mask and his whole black attire off, leaving only a white shirt and a pair of joggerpants. He ran a finger through his sweaty hair, tousling it.

No. It can be denied no more. Those two do have something.

"Hey, Mr. Hella Handsome Ripper! Just here to see the records!" Hastur barged in, his human form the one showing up.

The Ripper smiled. Everyone here aside from him has never been friendly towards him before. Especially after the day he accidentally revealed his real face towards the Feaster.

Most of the hunters here are treating him the way they treat a high-ranked official, and despite him telling them he is used to that situation, the Ripper still needs friends, and he was glad that the Feaster is the one and has been the one to stick with him during bad situations. However at this moment, he wants no one to be around him. Not even Hastur.

"Can you leave me alone for a bit? I don't feel like talking." Jack said, eyeing the claws on his left hand.

"Wow. Okay..." Hastur sighed before making his way out.

Jack stood up and stretched his muscles before sitting down once again.

"Everything is going as planned. Just you watch, Joseph Desaulniers...."

JOSEPH
"Joseph, look! Mom and Dad got us violins! We can play this all day and eventually be one of the greatest violinists ever!"

Joseph mumbled before turning to the other side of the bed, his hands holding on his pillow.

"Joseph, you need to wake up! You gotta see this!" Claude yelled, tugging all his might at the blanket covering his twin brother's still sleeping form only to no use. His twin did not even move a muscle. Instead, a slight snore escaped his lips.

"Alright. You asked for this."
Claude then forcefully pulled the pillow off his twin brother's head, causing him to jolt awake.

"What?!" Joseph said, annoyed. As if his morning couldn't get any worse, Claude taunted him, calling him names with his tongue flicked out.
"I told you we got new violins!"

"Well.. well... the liveliest of the Desaulniers is awake eh? So how do you like it, Claude? Be sure to practice real often! Pursue your dreams!" A man's voice said, entering the boys' room.
"Claude, can you come with me?"

The boys were only 9 at the time, but their love and skills towards the violin was way far beyond their age.

"Claude, that violin was only for you. You're the only one here who has potential. The passion in your eyes the moment you have your hands on the strings. I really like it, so I bought two for you. Keep practicing. Pursue your dreams of being the violinist, Claude Desaulniers."

"I will, Dad! But I have a problem here."

"What is it, son?"

The two walked in silence before Claude finally opened his lips again.

"Why didn't you get one for Joseph too? He also liked the violin. He plays it with me, and he is better than me. That violin of his is too old already, Dad! Get him a new one just like mine, please!"

The man stopped walking, his eyes staring at the 9 year old boy holding and squeezing his left arm.

"Dad....." Claude said, noticing the look on the man's face.
"Don't you love Joseph the way you love me?"

***
I stared at the full moon from my room window, allowing the streak of light making its way through the Victorian-styled window.

Yeah. BlackJack was fun with me and Aesop taking over the big fat win and all, but right now I'm feeling very blue.

All those winnings and compliments I received earlier did not make me feel any better, with my heart having the urge to break down into a million pieces.

I miss him very much.

I placed my both hands on my forehead. My whole body feels like it had been ran over by a truck despite the victory situation I just achieved.

Claude, if only you had known I was aware of everything you said to Dad about the violin.....

Tears went down my eyes as I recalled exactly what happened that moment. Despite how harsh and violent Dad was towards me, Claude was always there, carrying all the burden I went through in his shoulders.

***
"Hey. It's okay, Joseph. Don't cry..." Claude said, approaching his twin that is now down in the floor, crying his heart out with bruises and cuts everywhere in his arms.

"What the.... did Dad do all this?!" He panicked, placing his hand on Joseph's hands, giving it a firm grip.

Joseph didn't say anything. More tears came out of his eyes, his sobs the only thing audible in the mansion's living room.

"What did I do to deserve this much hate?" Joseph sniffled, sobs taking over him.

"It's okay, Joseph. It's okay. You have me, your twin brother. I will never leave your side, and I mean it. We're in this together, okay?"
He then pulled Joseph into a big hug, letting his twin brother cry till he could cry no more. His tears had soaked Claude's shirt, the stain showing itself palpably.

***
"Joseph? Hey? You in here?"

Michiko. She was now standing in front of my door, and from the way she speaks, she was full of worriness and concern.

"Yes!" I yelped, getting the crying sense out of me. No one should see me in this state. No.
"Joseph, you doing well in there? Mind if you open the door? I have something to tell you."

I don't know what it is, but my heart told me that the Geisha is someone I should trust. Her way of speaking shows it.

"You're in a mess right now do you?" Michiko asked the moment I allowed her to go in. Her Prajna mask had been taken off, which to be honest lets all my anxiety out. It is really hard to believe that Michiko could turn into someone else in and out of matches.

"No.." I said, choking at the taste of my own words.

"Joseph, please. I heard you sobbing all the way from the other corner of this room. I was the one who found you unconscious and you straightfully went to crying the moment you woke up. As of you right now, you're crying and sobbing the same way you were back then. Something is definitely off with you, Oletus' record-breaking Photographer."

I glanced at the Geisha. Her instincts are beyond amazing, just like how a mother would act towards her child.
"And speaking of which, someone is here to see you. Come on in, young man!"

It was when I saw Aesop, waving me his hello.
Wait. He had got to this side of the manor?! How?!

Aesop then approached me, lending his hand.
"Let's go for a nature time, Joseph."

More tears streamed down my face as I grabbed his hand with Michiko helping me gain my footing.

"Yeah. Let's go."

***
"Hey, Joseph..." Claude said, his hands pointing at the sunset that lies in the sky before their eyes.

It was a few hours before nighttime, and Claude had taken his twin brother to the Desaulniers Mansion balcony to stare at the view, for the sun that day happened to be breathtaking, and Claude himself wanted to get the sadness and scars out of Joseph's heart.

Age is just a number on some occassions, and now Joseph realized it's true. Never would he think that all this came out of a 9 year old boy that happens to be his twin.

"Once this is all over...." Claude said, his hands making drawing gestures towards the sky and the clouds.
"Let's explore the world together, okay?"