They had just finished the most recent job for the Ryodan. While not even half of the group participated, policy dictated that everyone was entitled to equal portions of the loot. Here they were, in some part of the Yorubian continent where banks prioritized clients' privacy over everything else.
"I'm signing some forms and wiring the money, you can come with me inside or wait out here." Machi looked worse for wear after the mission, but the woman was trying to hold it together. It had been months of playing cops and robbers with the mafia.
"I'm curious, I think I want to see our bank accounts. After all, I'll be working with you for a long time", Hisoka chirped. It threw Machi off that the magician never seemed to fall into a slump. Here he was, with a broken arm and a few missing teeth after a drummed up fight with the mafia's thugs. He had the air of a man who just arrived from a long, happy vacation.
"Follow me. After this, we can both go. Shalnark's letting us use the blimp. We can drop you off anywhere that's convenient for you." Machi turned on her heels and opened a gigantic steel door leading to the bank's corridors.
The bank's interior reminded Machi of the morgue. The walls were painted a clinical white; apart from the concierge's desk, there were no other furnishings. Unlike other banks that showed off their prestige by hanging expensive paintings in their lobbies, this one was decidedly spartan. The bank had no need to show off; more than half of Yoruba's wealthiest stashed their wealth here. The bank's secrecy law made it a haven for criminal organizations and tax evaders.
They walked past the concierge who gave them a polite smile from her desk in the middle of the long corridor; the vaults were located in the far opposite end. Their shoes made tapping sounds as they walked over the bare flooring.
"What do you do for fun, Machi?", Hisoka asked, walking with his good hand in his pocket. The other one, still healing, dangled awkwardly on his side.
"What do you mean?", she asked. It wasn't a question she heard often.
"I mean, what you do for fun. Something that makes you happy. Apart from the Ryodan, that is."
She thought about this as she worked through the retina and fingerprint scanner. It seemed like a perfectly simple question, something people asked each other on a regular basis, no doubt. But she wasn't sure how to respond.
The squarish steel door to the Ryodan's private bank vault opened. Inside was a fairly large and windowless room, about the size of a studio apartment. Metal drawers lined the walls from ceiling to floor, each one containing something valuable and can only be opened with a specific set of combinations. Only Shalnark and Kuroro knew how to open every one of those. A few stray pieces of jewelry and solid gold littered the floor; the last spider to wire money must have been in too much of a rush to stuff the trinkets in their proper places.
"Ooh. How shiny." Hisoka picked up a diamond necklace and turned it over in his hand. "Shiny new toy", he said with mirth, as he held it up to the artificial light coming from the ceiling.
"We can't take anything from this room without permission from the others, by the way." She approached an ATM-like device against the opposite wall. From the touch-screen monitor, she could track how much money came in and other details. She took out a list of account numbers and proceeded to wire money to each one. She turned Hisoka's question over in her mind.
"Training. I enjoy nen training."
"Hmm? Is there anything you like that isn't related to nen?" Hisoka asked off-handedly, as if he were more absorbed with inspecting every shiny object he could find on the floor.
It was unlike Hisoka to prod. During the months they had worked on the mission with Nobunaga and Korutopi, he never asked her or anyone personal questions. He only listened when someone in the group gave instructions and rarely gave inputs of his own. He mostly hovered in the background until a strong opponent came along. Nobunaga's good-natured attempts to draw him out with jokes were usually met with sarcastic remarks, something that the swordsman didn't pick up on. Instead, he concluded that Hisoka was a friendly guy.
"Sometimes I go to raves." She suddenly remembered how they first met. She was intoxicated, but a rough tumble with the magician and an awkward second meeting created a deep impression.
"Of course. You enjoy raves very much, how can I forget." Hisoka was smiling up to his ears.
She kept her back turned to him. She was sure she had his full attention now.
"That was fun, you know. I enjoyed it very, very much. I wouldn't mind giving it another go." When she didn't respond, he pushed. "Attending raves, I mean. And it's great to see you get very...what's the word for it? Enthusiastic?"
Machi looked at him coolly. "Everyone's enthusiastic when they're high." Minutes later, she was done with the last of the accounts and made to leave. "Take those things off. Shizuku will put them away when she comes here next month."
He took off the teardrop earrings and necklaces that he had been trying on. He loved the feel of the weight on his earlobes. He remembered that Machi nibbled the soft piece of flesh almost obsessively when they were at his apartment. He concluded that she had a very funny idea of foreplay.
Shutting the door behind them, they walked the whole length of the corridor.
"We should go to a rave tonight. For old time's sake."
"Not feeling it."
"I can get you in the mood if you let me." His good hand played with some bungee gum.
Machi casually regarded the concierge as they went out. "Not if you stuffed a kilogram of ecstasy down my throat." Hisoka folded at the suggestive mental image.
Standing in front of the bank's entrance, Machi scanned the area for a taxi cab.
"Well, Machi?"
"We should drop this", she said, "We work together. We don't even really know each other."
Machi wasn't exactly a conservative woman by any standards, and she had been involved with men before. There was just something about the magician that screamed danger, something that signaled for her to keep away. This isn't new to her, though, since just about any Ryodan member gave off that vibe. But another thing that bothered her was how he threatened some deep, primal part of herself - something she revealed to him during an episode of extreme intoxication, and consequently, abandon. That was one of the very few times where she gave up control.
Not this one.
"I'm going back to headquarters. Stay out if you want." She crossed the road without giving him another look.
The door to the vault was already sealed and not all Ryodan members had access. Hisoka thought about the things hidden inside - gems, gold, some intricate jewelry. He wouldn't be surprised if they were rare pieces. As with everything that eludes him, he shrugged it off, humming himself a tune as he thought about his shiny new toy.
The events in "The Collector" take place after "The Illusionist", a fanfic that the same author posted in 2011. This story makes references to Illusionist, which can also be found in
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