"..."Don't you and I have some business to take care of? Namely about Guy?"
Iason played his trump card with a poker face.
At that moment, Riki felt the fire rising in his throat. Shit, he started to say, but swallowed the words before they left his throat.
The options Katze had held to his head like a gun that day morphed and changed into the form that stood in front of him now. That realization was scathing, enough to make his heart seize in his chest.
Riki settled into his stance, braced himself, and clenched his fists. His eyes tilled with bloodlust as he stared back at Iason. But that was all he could do.
"Frightening. You look like you could actually tear my throat out." Iason smiled crookedly. "I believe I actually felt goose bumps."
In stark contrast to the supposed lord of the manor, who bared his emotions and bristled like a porcupine, the uninvited guest remained calm and composed.
"Today makes two weeks. I expected to hear from you already. I apparently miscalculated."...
"..."He's your old pairing partner, isn't he?" The question plucked mercilessly at Riki's taut nerves. Though Iason's voice was warm and inviting, its undertones were hollow and thin. "So what do you think I should do with him?"
"Do with him?" Riki echoed, his voice ragged. He felt Iason's serene gaze wrapping its talons around his heart."
"...If not money, then something else of equal value. Something that Riki could not bear to part with.
"Then I'll take your freedom in exchange."
"
"Ai no Kusabi."