Fate (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 8

3rd PERSON POV
Hunters' Side
It was a day full of activities and energy in Oletus Manor, with all the hunters doing every of their jobs, this time with a more relaxed vibe, since no matches are held that day.

Everyone was shuffling here and there, some of them complaining about how fast time flies and that it should be slowed down. Even Joker, who is always off to only God knows what he is up to.

But to Joseph, it feels like time has stopped.

For someone who has always been having time by his side, he actually felt like nothing changed. Nothing moved.
The noises and distraction surrounding him made no avail.

He cannot and does not stop thinking. It is as if his head is not working with the rest of his body.

Clutching one camera in his hands, he held into it, his icy blue eyes staring into the piece of photo film inside it.

He had his whole attention on the photograph, tracing the outline of the part that happens to take the most room in his heart, staying there all day long.

Aesop Carl.

The pair of grey eyes and hair. The way the embalmer puts his whole precision and determination into the cipher machine in front of him.

Somehow all those details had put him into an even deeper train of thoughts.

"Jose! Why the tense look? We got no matches and you are all tensed up! What's wrong?"

Jack. Over his days of being in this godforsaken manor, the Ripper had been the one who offers the most friendship and help towards him, even from the very first day when he decided to offer his coat to the photographer despite the size.

Still, Joseph is unable to deny the fact that it was not Jack's friendliness that made his heart yearn happiness.

It was the one that is displayed in the photograph he silently took.

"Nothing. I just feel like sitting here all alone, staring at the scenery."

Jack noticed the slight change of tone in Joseph's voice as he speaks, but on the other hand he cannot deny what the photographer had said.

It had rained a lot the previous night, leaving behind traces of puddles and dew in the greeneries located in the garden of the manor, making it much of an eye-catching scenery.

"You sure? You look all tensed. Maybe because of that first match of yours? You failed to get that one survivor?"

The ripper tried his best to hold back the taste of bile rising in the back of his throat. He had spectated how the match went and noticed how he acted. He knew Joseph didn't bother harming that one survivor. He knew everything.

Joseph said nothing. He placed a his hands on the bridges of his nose, eyes closed.

"You can trust me, Jose. Just talk it out. I'll make everything easier for you."

The Ripper then removed the mask that Joseph thought had been a part of his face. The photographer was flabbergasted as he pulled out the tiny straps that held the mask in place, revealing a human face, with black short hair and the darkest pair of eyes he would ever see.

"You..... that mask....."

Joseph was speechless as there lies an unbelievable sight before his eyes.

"I know. And keep in mind that no one has ever seen this face of mine. Even Michiko, the mama of this manor." Jack joked, laughing at his own words.
"Feeling like talking it out now? Your secret is safe with me, Joseph."