Fate (DISCONTINUED)

XII

JACK
Amidst the night where cold rain drops

Lies a brokenhearted man full of despair.

Breaking into sobs he went, as he gazed at his own illuminated reflection the raindrops give.

Closing his eyes as he sobs, he had his one hand running small circles on the very thing he treasures, for it was given by the man whom he had witnessed fall before him.

The man who made him feel like a thousand dollars.

The man who made him realize his worth.

He looked up to the sky, the fire of a thousand feelings igniting inside him that he could feel it in his breath.

"Naib Subedar...." He said in a coarse tone.
"I'll definitely pay you back. And get you out."

.
3rd PERSON POV
"Joseph spared Aesop."

The statement had came out of Hastur's lips with a baffled yet dreadful tone for the Feaster is beyond aware of how much seriousness and dedication his partner Jack the Ripper gives and has always wanted every hunter in this faction to put all their efforts in.

No one was discreet enough to see it, but the Feaster is concerned about how the Ripper will view this to his consent, and the fact that this is the  Photographer's first match does not ease away all the anxiety piling up inside him.

"Joseph, you might not last." The Feaster muttered the moment he saw the very still figure of his lofty partner staring at the monitor displaying the match records, the screen having the whole map as a display.

Little did the Feaster know that the Ripper himself had known and was watching how the match progressed the whole time and that he had his own reactions and countermeasures.

"J.. Jack? Didn't you hear what I had said? That.. new hunter spared Aesop. I'm telling you this just in case you did not pay any attention on that part. What I am trying to say here is, everyone in our faction has had their attention on Joseph's swordmanship and all, and I-"

"Hastur, shush." The Ripper said, his deep voice leading to the hairs on the Feaster's neck standing on end.

By now the Feaster was cussing repetitively inside his mind. He is aware that the Ripper will never put all the blame on him. Over all the hunters here in Oletus Manor, he knows it the most.

It is the thought of how the Ripper will take this matter into his own hands that distracts him.

"I know. I also am keeping track of this match. Don't you remember?" the Ripper said, placing his human palm on the Feaster's shoulder.

Confidence filled in the whole room as  the Ripper lets out a laugh only the two does, as sign of their friendship.

The Ripper gazed at the match results, his smile widening. He had witnessed everything with his own two eyes. Joseph's flexibility. His accurate prediction. How much of an attached feeling the new hunter has towards his cameras that they had became his secret weapon.
As someone who has always been so observant on even the slightest detail, he is amazed of them all.

However, there was another thing that got his whole attention.

The look on Joseph's face the moment he grasped the chance to spare the embalmer.

Letting out a sigh, the Ripper took off his mask, making a direct contact with that of the small mirror being displayed before his two eyes.

Right there stands the reflection of a man who had once been so happy towards his own life.

The man who for the first time in his life, is actually treasuring someone more than the way he treasures himself.

But now......

The Ripper sighed, his hand tracing the scar on his face as he held back the urge to sob.

He had it clear in his mind. Everything.

As the one to keep track of all factions in the manor, the Ripper has what it takes to be able to read people's eye movements.

Into the day he took Aesop Carl's personality into account his mind went, along with the day he offered the new Photographer his friendship despite it being only the first few hours.

A man of a few words. Barely says anything unless necessary, let alone make any eye contact.

The chilly feel of loss wrapped the Photographer like a blanket. He had lost so much that he can barely find himself anymore.

The Ripper closed his eyes, his hands curling into fists.

He hated how they reflected how he and Naib had once been.

He felt it coming. Boiling down his blood. He could feel it affecting his breathing pace and heartbeat.

A slight growl escaped his lips as the feeling of anger and hatred started taking over him.

"Naib! No! This isn't funny at all! Naib!"

The Ripper sobbed as he held the Mercenary's hand, for the latter was confined to bedrest after that very shot.

"Please, Naib. It's me, Jack! Your friend! We just had a conversation a few moments ago! Don't do this!"

The Mercenary, despite being in both a lot of pain and loss at once, tried his best to at least look at the very man talking to him.

And for once over the years of his life, his heart screamed for help. Drowning in the feeling of agony and loss.

But the red string connecting his feelings and mind has been severed.

He could not remember the identity of the man crying by his side, not even for a glimpse.

The Ripper immediately perked his head towards the Mercenary, for he noticed the injured man had mustered up enough will to speak up.

Hope filled his chest as the Mercenary's  brown eyes finally met with that of his.

"Naib? Hey.." The Ripper said, taking off the bracelet the Mercenary had given him and placed it on the man's palm.

"Please. Let this be that one word I want to hear. Please." The Ripper muttered to himself, tears rolling down his eyes all the way to his cheeks.

Instead, the thing that happened was the other way around.

He watched the Mercenary yank his grip off him, the look of fear being palpable in his eyes.

"Naib?"

It was when the Mercenary let out a few words that never in a million years in the Ripper's life would he expect to come out of the one who had been the light to his life.

The sound of glass crashing was then heard, along with the sobs of a man.

Feeling blood run down his fist, the Ripper muttered the Embalmer and that of the Photographer's names, hatred being the only thing he felt.

If I'm just gonna keep on suffering like this,
I shall make you feel the same.
Just you wait, Joseph Desaulniers.