Worth

A dark aura emanated from him like violent waves, causing Milo to bite his lips in pain.

"Milo." His throaty voice called making his breathing hitch.

'Get out before I drag you out.' His voice echoed in his mind like the pounding of drums, a bead of sweat dripping down his temple. As he clawed at his throat desperately,an illusion of shadowy hands strangling him warped his mind.

"Unfortunately I only have tea, although I'm sure you'd prefer something stronger like Saké perhaps?" He asked eloquently, a kind smile blooming on his face as he clenched the rose tightly in his wrinkled hands. The shredded petals turned to ash, a flicker of a black flame lighting the flower on fire. Watching it slip through his fingers like sand.

***

Sweat dribbled down his face as he willed himself against his mental assault. His damp red hair looking seductive as a trembling hand swiped his forehead, yellow green eyes burning menacingly.

"Mr. Nakamura..." He said hoarsely, his jaw stiffening.

Holding an expressionless and aloof face he poured in two cups of tea, his sleeve rolling down revealing faded tattoos of his former Yakuza days. Scatterings of Sakura and a koi fish were displayed on his arm,despite his old age and whiter hair appeared to be without much sagging and prominent wrinkles.

Stiffly he sat opposite him, vigilantly guarding himself from the wolf in sheep's clothing.

"You know I also had a granddaughter once?, Yuto's younger sister Ayame." He said softly, reminiscing whilst removing the food in his teeth with his tongue. "She died just after Hayato was born, 28 years old."

There was a solemn silence as he tightly held the handless cup in his hands.

"Is that why Yukari Fukushima suffered the brunt of it all?" He replied with a sneer, sarcasm dripping from his animalistic eyes.

Licking his dry lips he flinched and squinted his pale eyes.

"No matter how clear a pool of water is, one will only see what they want themselves to see." Meeting his gaze, he refrained himself from further provoking Milo. "Poison comes in different forms, not all of it is inflicted by a third party. It doesn't only affect the body's physiological systems."

"Then what about the blood?" Replying bluntly, the air around him thinning. "Do you think she wouldn't know her own body?"

"What about you Spire? We're not the only ones with a blood curse now are we?" Placing the cup down with a sigh.

"You claim you and my YUKI are like siblings, but are those your true feelings?" He said softly never raising his voice, as if asking with innocent curiosity. But the meaning of his words left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"You.." His eyes trembled in horror.

"You're not the only who can read minds young bloodsucker, I wonder how many of gods men did your ancestors mistake for pagans. Their bodies hung of the spires of the church, eyes burning with bloodlust like an animal. The blood and rotting flesh falling down."

In the stifled silence a crack could be heard and steaming water burned his palm, shards of porcelain drawing out beads of blood.

"At least I didn't invite a demon in my own home and let it feast on my woman's flesh." He said beginning to pluck out the small shards with the pair of untouched wooden chopsticks.

"Just because it's a black cat doesn't mean it's attributed to good fate (*In Japan unlike western belief a black cat is good luck!), a smile means that your happy and worry free. A woman is unknowledgeable and should be silent as falling snow." Imitating his calm and nonchalant manner of speaking.

Slamming his large hand onto the wooden table, he struck the contents on to the floor, shattering easily on the stone floor.

"What do you know about my granddaughter?!, Wasn't the money and the power enough for you- you accepted it so you should've quietly done your part and left."

"Maybe someone who has a knowing eye, only focuses on their reflection because the horrors of what's beneath is too much to bear." He whispered his eyes a bright yellow as he tapped at the cracked wooden table, the remnants of the spilled tea moulded in a thick line with his fingers.

"My grandmother told me when I was a child, growing up in a camp in Romania that mind reading

was an imminent torture. Allowing the people of god to cleanse and bless us for our dirty blood. " Indents like scales covering the thick line, the end sharply cut to a point.

"The barbarians who had no distinct tongue and wandered freely, who'd expect to find a group of devil worshippers in a church." Watching as the body of water, fluidly slid up his trouser leg and wrapped around his arm.

As if it had a mind of its own, the water snake tentatively opened its mouth and slowly retracted its fangs. Kissing the back of Milo's hand with its gurgling tongue.

Black lines formed on his forehead as he watched the snake move in front of him and bared its fangs. Flicking his finger a black spark, struck the snake as it hissed into a small cloud of water vapour.

"Regardless of my feelings, at least Yu-chan trusted me enough to look deeper beneath the waters of the pool." His trained eyes piercing against his destructive grey ones.

"If not for the blood curse, there was no way I would've have returned her to you."

"Know your place! Are you worthy of my kin?!"

"Even if I can't love her as a man, I'm not going to leave her alone to you. Or him."

Scoffing, although feeling his guilt inside he swiped at his white beard. Quietly listening to him in disgust.

"For all I'm concerned she's been targeted since birth and she would've lived well, without knowing anything." He explained, his clear yellow-green eyes calm and unruffled.

"It's your fault." Slightly growling.

Shrill screams echoing in his ears as he calmly played along with Milo's Romanian trickery.

A blood stained girl, gaunt in a hospital gown as she drew circles like roses on the marble floor. Blood oozing from a finger, ignoring the dead security guards behind her.

A hissing sound could be heard as her blank face looked up, her eyes trembling and her hands clenching. The mans fingers caressed her bony cheek teasingly.

"My lovely Yukari, are you drawing again?"

Her grandfather froze as he listened intently to the voice that spoke, eyes widening in realisation and disbelief.

His palms sweaty and eyes wet, his heart rate rising as he tried to make sense of what he just saw.

'How is he still alive?'