Summary: She believed that all she needed was her dark night that rescued her under the starry sky. Then she experienced the azure sky outside of her tower, painted with warmth. What could she do, to plunge into the darkness, or to drink in the beautiful blue that she always loved. KilluaXOC. ChrolloXOC.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter X Hunter. Anything off from the original story is not by the series' author/artist.
Note: I'm going to change the characters' age in this story. Chrollo is twelve years older than the OC, whom is the same age as Killua, it feels a little paedophilic. Therefore, all the Phantom Troupe members are also two years younger than the original age in the actual story.
Rated for disorders and mild violence.
Skygazing – Prologue
"We are born, so to speak, twice over; born into existence, and born into life." – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
"Will you grant me a wish?"
"I want to live happily ever after with my prince."
She whispered softly, making her wish upon the sparkles, her red stained lips hardly moving as she lied still on the ground. Her attire blended into the dirt as her fingers twitched, she wanted so much to reach out to the stars. She could hear her own pulse, like music blasting right into her ears. Slowly. Steadily. Diminishing. There was nothing left of her. She had nothing to lose, since she had nothing in the first place. She blinked away the tears that were dancing on her Alice blue orbs, blurring her memory of the beautiful night sky.
Hauntingly beautiful.
How could she do that to her?
After all she did to keep her alive?
A foreign set of heartbeat intruded her silence as it came closer to her, the footsteps were almost deafening in the cold night. She found herself falling into the abyss, when she stared into his dark eyes, no thoughts ran in his mind and her own too. His equally dark hair framed his face but she felt like she was still looking at the starry sky. Those eyes reflected hers, as she saw the stars illuminating his coal coloured eyes. His sound… She could hear it so clearly when he lifted the dead woman's body off her, her mother, as the stranger placed his warm hand on her neck, where her crimson blood were spilling out carelessly. So warm. How long has it been since someone touched her? His eyes never left her face, as she watched his lips turned into a frown. He mumbled something softly, but she failed to hear it, her eyes and mind shutting down. Why couldn't she hear his words?
The only thing she heard was the beautiful melody.
The complex rhythm of his body.
So calm and cold.
Yet she yearned to cling onto this frozen sonata.
"Are you a prince?"
"No."
"I wanted a happy ending."
"Then I will be your knight, princess."
Eyes of the lightest blue fluttered opened as tears from her vivid memory lingered on her eyes. Her fingers found her way to the sleeping face, ghosting over the pale skin gently. The young man opened his eyes at her touch, but the child remained silent as he placed his own hand on the side of her face, allowing her to embrace his warmth as she closed her eyes slowly. On nights she woke up from her nightmares, he would always be there as he promised. "You can't leave me, Chrollo," she whispered as she withdrew her hand to hold onto the back of his hand gently. She felt sleep claiming her slowly, as she listened to the melody that became a part of her since that day she was resuscitated. A cold melody, looping like the musical box she once owned, and yet, a warmth only she knew.
"Banshee." She looked up at the mention of her degrading nickname as her overly long, shoulder-length fringe covered her pale face. She was in the midst of cleaning her pistol when the older, masked man with dark hair and a pair of disdainful critical eyes, decided to ask for her. She stared at him through her uncharacteristically platinum blonde hair, waiting for the older of the two to say something. His jaw tightened in annoyance at the silent girl as Feitan rolled his eyes. He was not allowed to harm her no matter how irritable she was behaving, but he could play rough. He grabbed her jaw with one hand, swaying her entire head from side to side, while pushing her cheeks to make her lips part, "Yes, sir, should be your reply."
Gemma rubbed her sore cheeks when Feitan released her as she glared at him and muttered, "Germs." His eyebrow twitched at her comment as he grabbed her head and ruffled her head of messy curled hair with his hands. She was a little vile version of him, the members had mentioned that they looked somewhat related, with the whole fringe and creepy stare thing going on, the difficult personality and their short stature. She resembles Kortopi more so than him, in his own opinion anyway; although the girl was considered the senior of the two midgets. He really wanted to annoy the littlest member of their group, knowing that she was an extreme clean freak. She had always avoided the members whenever they were back from their missions, with the exception of their Danchou, that she clings to almost whenever she had a chance. "Gross. Get off me, Feitan!"
He smirked at her outcry and released her as the twelve years old child fell flat onto the ground, trying to get back her balance from Feitan twirling her around so much. "Have you forgotten your manners, child?"
"Sanitize," Gemma mumbled, almost unheard by the assassin, moving around Feitan as she headed for the mini kitchen, completely ignoring the older member. She could hear his grumbling about her insolence as she reached for the top cabinet with much difficult for her petite frame, her toes pointed as she stretched her fingers to grab the bottle of hand sanitizer. Her long sleeves ruched up around her elbows, revealing the familiar black Latin cross tattoo on her upper right forearm, as she squeezed a large amount of the gel onto her exposed skin, and rubbing them clean completely. "Chrollo will be back soon," she informed after returning her attention back to the pistol that was taken apart for cleaning.
"Tch. I heard that you are going for the Hunter Examination." Another glare was shot at his direction after Feitan dropped his dirty self onto the couch. His eyes were fixated on the television screen as the girl's back remained facing him. She never liked unnecessary eye contact. He tried to remember the reason why Gemma had to attend the useless examination in the first place. She had always been by the boss' side since he had carried the unconscious child back to their hideout in the Meteor City that night. To all the members of Phantom Troupe, the ones from before and now, they accepted the child's presence within the Troupe, even though she wasn't an official member, she was just different, something they couldn't put a finger to except for Chrollo. He had to admit, no matter how unwillingly, Gemma was a part of Chrollo. He couldn't comprehend why Danchou would place so much attention on such a frail looking child. It was supposed to be one of those fleeting obsessions of Danchou, but eight years was a tad too long to be a momentary attachment. "With that new member, right?"
Gemma dropped the screw driver she was holding as she felt a chill up her spine from the mere mention of that person's existence. She really disliked the orange haired man and his biorhythm. She ignored Feitan again, as she put together her customized S&W CS-45 in a matter of seconds, hearing the secured clicks from setting the pieces together. Her pale finger pulled on the trigger restlessly, testing the compact pistol as the emptied magazine beat gently.
"You should go for the Hunter Examination this year." Chrollo said simply, leaning back on the couch of their rented apartment, under a false family name for the acting siblings, as he resumed watching the daily evening news. Gemma, whom was sitting by his side, dropped the chocolate stick in the mouth as she stared at her companion agape. Coming to her senses, she shook her head furiously, pulling on his sleeves to get his attention. Chrollo's eyes remained on the screen as he disregarded her little act, "Hisoka has a job for you."
She scowled at his words as she flopped down on his lap, the back of her head hitting his book roughly as she winced, blaming Hisoka for her poor luck. "He could have just asked me directly," she muttered after chucking his book to the side of the couch with one hand, while the other rubbed at her abused head.
"You hang up his calls."
Gemma pressed her lips into a line, puffing her cheeks in resentment. She hated that man. She was just getting along well with the previous Fourth, and Hisoka just had to delete that person. And he was such a disagreeable person. He was always staring at Chrollo weirdly, sometimes at her as well, and his pulse would rush unnaturally. And his thoughts were downright filthy too. She had once opened up her mind to listen to that jester-like person's thoughts, and it gave her sleepless nights for a while. His body harmony was just so creepy that made her hair stands. "But I don't want to leave Chrollo."
"Hmm."
She watched how his eyebrow raised slightly, doubting her words as she flipped onto her side, staring at the television, her lips forming into a pout. "That man scares me." She heard him chuckling lightly, as a hand dropped on her head, brushing away the strands of hair from her face. Gemma could never lie to him, and he just always sees through her so easily, like he was reading one of those thick books. "He would see amusement in my death."
"He wouldn't. And I do not believe you will concede easily."
"All he had to do was to throw me into a crowd."
"Hisoka said it was a favor for his colleague. He pays well."
"But he's a dirty liar," she muttered as she clutched the fabric of his pants tightly to stop her trembling, her mind returning back to the past. She had also stuck close to Chrollo not only because of her fondness for him, but because of his control over her. His calmness and authoritative aura had always subdued her fears. Those days before Chrollo salvaged her from the depths of Meteor City were foggy because of her young age, but she remembered the screaming, crimson and the terrifying sounds she always heard. Gemma felt Chrollo shaking her shoulder, as she snapped back to the present, muttering a soft apology.
She had almost lost it again.
She was scared of leaving her sanctuary.
She was afraid of a place without Chrollo.
Chrollo rubbed his thumb over her flushed cheek, trying to calm the child down. His attention was no longer on the screen, but on his trembling young ward. The day he found her felt like a distant past, the soft pulsing of a brittle aura as he came upon a common picture in the forgotten city, of a parent taking the lives of her own and her child to end their sufferings. But the child was barely breathing as she stared at him, with eyes like the cold winds of winter, and yet, shining with the slimmest of hope, that he decided to bring back the child of four years. He poured his Nen into her tiny body, to push her heart to beat once more as the child clung on the edge of death, her eyes showing how she desperately want to live. Then he heard her speak, her voice so mild and fragile, asking something of the fairytales. He chuckled lightly and went along with her story, as she finally succumbed to her weariness, light blue eyes shutting him out completely.
No longer the feeble child Chrollo saw few nights before, she woke with the most fury she could contain in her elfin self. She clawed at him, screaming for him to back away, trying so terribly hard to protect herself. He noticed that the child never called for her parents. He reached a hand towards her, wanting to pat her little head, but the child saw it as a threat as she bit down on the side of his hand without regard of his goodwill. His hand remained slackened as her baby tooth drew blood from the torn skin, though this level of pain wasn't worth mentioning. Chrollo used his free hand to tuck away the light blonde curtain obscuring her face, so he could read her expression clearly. Somber eyes stared into his own pair of eyes defiantly as a smile graced his pale features. How he envied the fury in her eyes, like an untamed feline, crouching low, waiting to lash out. There were no words exchanged between them for a while, as he watched how the child's eyebrows furrowed together as she released her hold on his hand.
"What are you?" She finally whispered, staring at her own bandaged fingers. Chrollo raised a fine eyebrow at her comment as he tilted the child's head to face him again. Although he was looking at her face again, her eyes were staring beyond him, as she breathed out her words softly, "You are silent."
"That's because you never engage me in conversation."
"No…" She became quiet again, and ripped her face away from his fingers. Chrollo watched her fingers twitched, his mind musing over what could be causing her so much distress. Her conversations with him so far were about fairytales and speech, and he could see the aura she was controlling unconsciously, all of it flowing into her confused little head. Why? He wanted to know what made her mind tick, what Nen ability the prodigy possessed. Like the feline Chrollo thought she was, the child pouched on him abruptly, her small hands gripping the sides of his face tightly, enraged tears flooding from her eyes, "Those people outside, they call you Danchou, they are wondering what you want from me! But you! I can't hear a single thought! I hate how you look at me and yet I don't know what you are thinking about! You must be laughing at me, fearing me, like Mother and Father!"
Chrollo carefully processed her words, as the child had already released her hold on him, falling to her side, exhausted from her sudden outburst, as she backed into the corner of the bed, her frustration and anger still evident in her shaking frame. His hand went to the back of her head, she slapped away his hand even before he touched her, but the child gave in after several attempts, as he patted her like he would a kitten. She was intimated by his presence, to be unable to read him like how she did many before. Chrollo wondered about how he would have felt if he was telepathic, the forbidden thoughts the child had heard since she gained her ability. Hmm. Confused? Afraid? Lonely? Why her parents would scorn her? Wasn't this a splendid ability? Pakunoda would be able to extract more of her past, but that could wait for now. "I am a Nen user and I subconsciously protect my mind from any intrusion," he explained as the child finally looked up at him, paying close attention to his words. He wanted to give her peace, even for a little while, to be patient and gentle with her, someone so young whom had been scarred by the society. "Do you have any control over your ability?"
"What ability?"
"Mind-reading."
"You must be crazy, no one can do that." The child muttered curtly as Chrollo noticed her lie easily. Why would she bother keeping up with the pretense after her previous outburst? She was such a defensive little thing.
"Then what can you do?"
"Why do you ask?"
"You interest me."
"You are a strange adult, talking of things you don't know and things no one would ever believe."
"I believe I am still a child if we were to be outside of this junkyard. And you did mention I am called Danchou, why should I fear a little child such as yourself?"
"How old are you then, Chrollo, the mind of the Phantom Troupe?"
He smirked at the lack of suffix to his name, the pride in her voice, having recovered from her short setback and the formidable intelligence gathering skill the child, twelve years his junior, exhibited. It was spectacular, and more than ever, he wanted to possess her ability, to take it as his own. "I am sixteen. What else can you find out?"
"Nobunaga is thinking of breaking in…" She murmured as her body slackened into the white sheets, her mind slowly drifting off. Chrollo chuckled at her strange behavior, he believed this was what they said of a women's mood swing. "I am out of tune," she finished before falling asleep completely. What did she mean by being off-key? He had Machi sew up the silt on the child's throat, and a thorough check that she was in a well enough condition to survive. As a precaution, Chrollo channeled his Nen into her body again, ascertaining her condition while his aura surged through her very cell.
Chrollo found himself laughing, as Nobunaga had indeed broken into the room, looking confused at the scene before him. Intriguing. Machi had drugged her with morphine during her unconsciousness, but he never expected the child to be aware of her internal injuries. It seems that telepathy was merely a subset of her original ability. Curious.
He had wanted to polish this raw child, to refine her ability and then claiming it for himself. But he had never expected for himself to become attached, for the child to become part of his life so intimately. He gave her a name for her new life with the Phantom Troupe, Gemma, a jewel for her ability he sought after. But she became more than the feline he domesticated. He had read many books in his leisure time, knowledge was his passion, his identity, which was why he mocked God whom was thought to be omniscient. His Gemma bore the same name as a Saint, Gemma Galgani, whom partook in the agony of the one she loved and worshipped, and similarly, she had placed her faith in him, only him. What irony. He was the serpent, and he had dragged her down from her high throne, to fall with him into the depths of inferno, no matter how much she bled, Gemma had never once asked to be released.
If you knew my story word for word
Had all of my history
Would you go along with someone like me
She was his shadow, to be in the dark, supporting him in his conquest, while he would illuminate her starless sky, so that she would exist with him as one.
Gemma closed her eyes, enjoying the soft rub on her cheek as she felt herself unwinding slowly, Chrollo always calmed her. He taught her the art of Nen, to control, see and sense the aura she was born with. With Chrollo, she no longer heard the devil's whisper, only the pulse and the words of Chrollo. If she were to leave his side, how would she survive alone? She didn't want to return back to the past.
Every heart in my hands
Like a pale reflection
But she didn't want to disappoint him.
"Do you really want me to go?"
"You have to learn to be without me." Gemma sat up upon hearing his reply as her eyes, like silver liquid, looked over his face insecurely. Chrollo smiled softly, his fingers trailing from the top of her head to her lightly colored strands of hair. "I will never abandon you. But there might be a day, when you might seek something other than me, that's when I can no longer be with you, Gemma."
"But I only want Chrollo."
"As I would want you too."
She stayed silent, just staring at the handsome face that still held the same gentleness for her since the day they first met. Chrollo was always right, he had never lied to her. As much as she dread for the day to come, she knew she had to face her fears someday, without her dark knight to cradle her into his arms. "I understand. I will contact Hisoka." Chrollo flicked the tip of her nose teasingly at her serious tone, causing the child to drop her solemn look as he placed a lulling kiss onto her left temple.
Gemma was lost in her thoughts as her fingers brushed against her forehead with a light smile of her lips, and of course, that little action didn't escape Feitan' keen eyes. His umbrella flung forward, hitting the back of her head roughly. It drew a groan from the child from being manhandled as Feitan smirked at her futile attempts at blocking his continuous strikes. With a flick of her wrist, a silver wrench appeared in her hand as she tried to counterattack the Twelfth member of the Phantom Troupe. The wrench was knocked away from her hand almost instantly, as Feitan attacked her arms, to prevent the child from summoning anymore of her equipment. He had really wanted to torture her slowly, in many possible ways, but this would do for now, till he had another chance. "Never let your guard down."
"Chrollo!"
She screamed for the boss' name suddenly as Feitan stopped in his motion of striking the top of her head and turned his head to the door cautiously. The oak door remained shut with no signs of anyone approaching as the bandit whipped his head towards the sneaky child trying to reach for the gun on the desk. For a moment there, he thought Gemma had heard the young boss' arrival with her impossible hearing when he failed to register Chrollo's presence in time. "Pygmy, I'm going to kill you."
"Pygmy?" His velvet voice sounding from behind Feitan as Chrollo had entered the room soundlessly and unnoticed by the oldest, "I do believe Gemma is your height, Feitan." Glad for his appearance, Gemma quickly hid behind the tallest man in the room, sticking a tongue out at the glaring bandit. "What happened here?"
"Feitan attacked me."
"I was teaching her."
"Obviously not."
"I was."
"Enough," Chrollo said with an air of authority as the other two immediately ceased their bickering. Gemma chewed on her inner cheek as she stalked away, picking up her defeated wrench as it disappeared from her fingers once again. She sat down beside Chrollo on the couch while the two adults in the room were discussing the affairs of the Phantom Troupe that Gemma had no say in. Although she was never kept away from their meetings, but Chrollo had strictly asked for her to not intervene with the Phantom Troupe unless it was his direct command. Through the years she was raised by Chrollo, there were rules that were set, a wordless agreement between them.
Never question him.
Never disobey him.
Never lie to him.
And most importantly, never betray him.
"Nhm. Isn't this Gemma-tan? How sweet of you to ring me up."
"Whatever."
"You are so adorably shy at confessing your fondness for me."
"One more word of nonsense and I will hang up."
"Ohh. So demanding, just like Chrollo-Danchou."
Gemma ended the call, finger tapping the red button in annoyance. Her long fringe was pinned up over her head while she dumped the phone on the bed beside Chrollo whom was just lying there, reading one of the historical books he acquired recently. He raised a fine brow at Gemma cutting off the call, Gemma just fell onto Chrollo's torso idly, her chin propped on his chest after taking possession of his book.
Chrollo flicked her forehead with his fingers, silently reprimanding her for the rude behaviour. He didn't quite understand what went wrong with Gemma's education, maybe it just wasn't right for a bandit for raise a child with the right morals. Shalnark had kindly diagnosed his ward a sociopath after she went berserk on the older blond when he tried to pat her head like Chrollo did after they met for the first time. But Gemma was interesting, not like any of the Spiders, she was but a young cub trying hard to roar, using the frail petite body of hers to protect him. He wouldn't deny that her little obsessive streak did charm him somewhat. Her mobile phone vibrated on the soft covers of the bed as he eyed the black device wearily. Was it anxiety or reluctance? He previously calculated that there was only a low five percentage that Gemma would accept the mission, and he was betting on her rejection. It would be beneficial for her to be exposed to the other elements, but just the fact that she was going to be away from his sight for a few weeks was not doing good to his nerves.
It felt too soon for her. He had kept her caged in the high tower, away from the tainted waters. But if she were to leap off, would she gain flight, or would she drown in the abyss of her nightmares and be broken once again... The price for this breakthrough was too high, he could not allow any harm to come to the young feline. It wouldn't be too late for her to withdraw from the job. "Gemma."
"Sorry, I will pick up his call."
His fingers closed around her wrist before the child could reach for the phone as Gemma stared at him confused. Chrollo's face was expressionless as he remained silent, mulling over the structure of his intended words. "Must you answer it?" The words came out more muffed up than expected, almost like a lost boy's, as he released her wrist, falling back onto the bed, the unaffected façade returning to his face again. Gemma climbed onto him again, watching at his face intently, her fingers gripping the still vibrating phone tightly. Chrollo didn't meet her eyes as he begun flipping through the pages of his book idly. After a few moments of silence, Gemma laughed softly as she leaned forward to pull at his cheek playfully.
"Chrollo's acting like a child again," that rare display of merriment still lingered on her face, "You act like an indecisive boy with Gemma. People will laugh if they know that Danchou is so childish."
"You are the child," Chrollo retorted, with a light frown at his ward being able to read him. It was true. He was always hesitant with everything related to Gemma. For eight long years, he had kept the child with him constantly, teaching her knowledge, perfecting her skills, and raising her. It was a fact that Chrollo worries for her safety, more so, Gemma was a leashed beast. To let her go, would be the same as letting loose a demon, she's uncontrolled without him. She earned the title of the Reaper, when she made her debut in the Heaven's Arena two years ago. It was intoxicating, how she painted the scene in colour of her madness, baring her fangs and showing absolutely no mercy. But that was when he was around to drill back in her sanity. So deadly, and yet so pure. What an awful combination... "You can still reject the job offer."
"No. I won't."
"Why? Do you seek independence?"
"That's not it. I have to face my fears." Gemma explained softly, she was so afraid of the words she was saying, the true meaning behind them, to be around people, to control her thoughts and to not become the bloodied demon. If she could take the step, to embrace her own darkness, that's when she would be able to stand beside Chrollo, and not just fly only in his arms. "Gemma needs to grow up, so that I can remain with Chrollo longer." She leaned forward, placing a light kiss on his forehead as she used her index finger to rub away the creases from his furrowed brows. Chrollo allowed her to do as she pleased as the girl hugged her dark knight tightly, snuggling close. While Chrollo placed his hands on her back comfortably, permitting his mind to rest as he indulged himself in this momentary peace.
If I lay here
Would you lie with me
And just forget the world
Before she calls Hisoka again.
"Tomorrow, at noon. Be at Airport Carousal."
"It takes three days to reach by air."
"Nhmm. But that because you didn't answer my calls, Gemma-tan! And I have full trust in you being able to fly there in an hour, if you wanted."
"You are ridiculous."
"I'm honored by your compliment, princess. Just another thing, your client is Illumi Zoldyck. Just pick up the young heir and keep him alive till Illumi takes him back."
"Payment by cheque upon our next meeting."
"Sure thing, little princess. Oh, she cut me off again."
Author's Rant:
I have to really apologise for the lack of structure in the first chapter, it's rather smoky too. The relationship and past between Chrollo and Gemma will be revealed slowly. The plot uses information from the manga, anime and the renewed series as basis. However, characters' color schemes are based on the 2012 series. Reviews are greatly appreciated! (:
