Locks of the Heart - Chapter 1
There were some jobs the Zoldick family would not accept. Most of the time, it was because the risk was too high, and it did not seem profitable at all to put their lives on the line even if the paycheck had ten digits on it.
However, this time, the reason was a little bit different.
Silva Zoldick stared at the target description, and wondered if this new client was purposefully trying to challenge the Zoldick family's tolerance. Smiling up at him from the picture in the profile was a cheerful face he distantly remembered as the only kid who could step onto the Zoldick grounds and still survive. The ray of sunshine that lit up his son's face.
Gon Freeces.
Why in the world would someone want to kill such a bright and harmless child was beyond Silva, and he had no intention to ponder further, nor entertain the idea of going up against his own son.
Tossing the profile into the box marked "Unsuitable", he went on with sifting through the pile of new job requests that would probably keep his family busy for the next six months.
......................................................
"What are you planning on doing, now that you've fought with Kuroro?" Illumi asked listlessly, glancing sideways at the magician sprawled languidly beneath the apple tree. Hisoka looked chirpy enough on the outside, only that there wasn't a trace of nen to be felt on him, and Illumi knew that it wasn't because he was purposely hiding his aura.
He had probably used it all in the battle last night against the Genei Ryodan leader. Illumi thought back to the state he found the man in last night, and had to admit that Hisoka couldn't have looked worse. Or better.
Opposed to his haggard appearance, the gleam in his eyes shone with a satisfaction Illumi had never seen on him before. No craziness or thirst for blood, and for once Hisoka looked like a person, at peace with whatever he was given.
And Illumi also saw Machi, the girl patching up wounds for both sides. Her skills with needles and nen threads were truly admirable, although he lost all appreciation when he spotted Hisoka looking at her with similar hint of admiration.
He almost turned to leave on the spot, and to hell with Hisoka and all his money.
Why Hisoka hired him just to fetch him after battle, when he could walk off unscathed after Machi's treatment was beyond Illumi.
"Nothing much, maybe take a vacation, then start stalking the next interesting item on my list." The magician's eyes narrowed into slits, and flicked out a card from the empty air. A small apple on the ground two meters away split open in half.
"You mean that kid with Killu, Gon, was it?" Illumi murmured, drawing up the image of the boy in his memory cabinet. "What's so fun about stalking people just to fight them? I have no idea why you would want to sacrifice so much of your time only to earn a battle like last night." He asked in mild curiosity. Illumi understood the need to kill, certainly when he's doing that for a living, but the want to kill? That had always puzzled Illumi, and he had often meant to ask, yet for some reason, found it hard to phrase, like a piece of gum stuck in between his teeth, and he couldn't spit it out.
Hisoka was a mystery, and Illumi harbored many more questions, all stacked up neatly in his mental filing cabinet. But they were just left there to gather dust. What was he doing, seating there in comfortable companionship with a guy who he barely knew, was yet the biggest mystery of all.
"I live for the thrill of the moment. Life would be too boring if every day passes by the same as the last, wouldn't it? The adrenaline rush, the feel of blood gushing through my veins, the sound of my heart pumping resounding in my ears, that's when I feel alive." Hisoka licked his lips as if recalling the taste of the previous battle, and Illumi felt a dangerous burst of nen from him. Luckily Hisoka calmed himself quickly enough, and dumped his head into Illumi's lap. "But then, Illu-chan is too peaceful in nature to seek out these excitements, right?"
"I am very familiar with the feeling of having my life hanging on a thread, thank you."
"But you don't enjoy it. I do, though. And what could be better than watching your opponent grow, knowing that you've played a part in prompting them to the height of their potential, then crushing them at your feet?" Hisoka's eyes gleamed, and Illumi didn't like the intensity in them, making the magician's irises burn the colour of liquid crystals. He preferred the grey eyes he was used to seeing, the pair he showed to him, and to everybody else… Forget that, he hated them.
Illumi tried to stand up and shake himself off of these conflicting thoughts, but Hisoka refused to get go of his human pillow.
Exasperated, Illumi settled back. "So you like strong opponents. Then why do you not have the intention to battle with me? I don't think I am weaker than any of the Genei Ryodan members."
Hisoka looked up at him, his face inverted and distorted into a contemplating expression in Illumi's vision. "Hm… Never thought about that before…"
Why was he even bothering with this manic… Illumi shoved Hisoka's red-head off his thighs and stood up to go. Only to be grabbed by the ankles right before he was about to leap off, and ended up falling in a graceless heap on top of the magician.
"Now, now, Illu-chan, don't be hasty," Hisoka purred into his ear, sending goose bumps down Illumi's spine. Not the I-am-in-love type, but rather, the don't-make-me-puke type.
Hisoka kept his arms firm around the fidgeting Zoldick, and went on to explain, "You know, there are two types of fruits in the world. One, are those that you can see their potential to grow into the most delicious apple, and for these, I'll wait beside the tree for them to ripe. Then swallow them whole. The other type, are the apples growing on the tree I planted. I would water them, provide the fertilizers and spray pesticides, until they grow into the vision of perfectness in my mind, and I would then find a potion that can preserve them at their prime, forever for my viewing pleasure."
Illumi stared at the magician, his brows furrowing in a way Hisoka found absolutely adorable. "I am not a person for abstractness, Hisoka."
"Well, to put it simply, I have no intention of fighting you now, or ever." Twirling a lock of Illumi's hair between his fingers, Hisoka replied, feeling as if he was grooming a cat. And his little black kitten didn't seem happy at his answer.
"Even if I do this?" Illumi's voice wasn't threatening, just his normal soft tone with a spark of playful curiosity, but the pin he held with deadly accuracy against Hisoka's artery on the side of his neck was telling a different story.
Hisoka didn't even flinch, his nen flowing peacefully, barely noticeable. The clownish smile was intact, as he reached up lazily and wrapped his fingers around Illumi's slender hand, and brought it to his lips.
Illumi's pin fell into the grass, without a sound.
Trying to hide how shaken he was, Illumi averted his eyes and the topic. "What if… someone destroys your apple before you get to eat it?"
Hisoka's lips curled into a lopsided grin that reminded Illumi of the hunter exam, and how Hisoka stared at him when he threatened to kill Gon. He knew instinctively that Hisoka's card would be flying towards him if he dared move another step closer to the door. He had felt as if his heart was suddenly gripped in someone's hand, and it surely wasn't the effect of nen.
"Whoever it is, I guess that idiot isn't treasuring his life too much."
Illumi nodded curtly, and taking Hisoka by surprise with a kick that landed solidly on his side, the Zoldick escaped from the pair of strong arms binding him. And the next second, he was gone from sight.
"Ahh, he slipped through my fingers again…" Hisoka pouted in dismay, savouring the feel of Illumi's silken hair, still embedded in the memory of his fingertips.
......................................................
Illumi knocked on the heavy iron doors to his father's study. It was the time every month where he went to his father to accept new assignments.
"Come in, Illumi." Silva's voice resounded.
Being the eldest son, Illumi often had the first pick of the jobs, and as a responsible elder brother, he would take on the burden of dealing with those most dangerous ones. They just also happen to be the best-paying ones. As his eyes roamed over the job descriptions, the usually empty "Unsuitable" box had a rare occupant that day.
Illumi's hand twitched the slightest fraction upon seeing the photo. No longer caring about the bunch of papers in his hand, he randomly picked out a few, and placed the remaining on his father's desk. Then, as if by coincidence, saw the discarded offer.
Pointing to the "Unsuitable" box, he casually said, "I'll bring this out to shred."
"Sure, go ahead." Silva replied, failing to notice the slight waver in Illumi's hand as he picked up the paper, with Gon's smile shining up at him, so brightly that he felt momentarily blinded.
Punching the numbers into his cellphone was easy enough. Pressing the dial button similarly so. His voice was steady, with a hint of lightheartedness as usual when he confirmed the deal with the client. He had done these often enough that his body could go on autopilot.
His mind, however, was buzzing off like a broken TV, as shards of memories flashed on and off the screen. Hisoka's dangerous eyes, Killua's playful smiles, and the little boy who stared at him with all the determination in the world, to get his friend back from the "wicked older brother".
He didn't hate Gon, and even if he did, he hardly killed unnecessarily outside of jobs. Who'd want to work overtime anyway?
But he'd like to see the intensity in Hisoka's eyes again, this time directed solely on himself. It was hardly fair, that a kid who barely knew anything could command a side of the magician that had never been shown to him. Hisoka loved thrills, the bone-chilling excitement that made his hair stood on end more than anything else. Yet he couldn't even arouse one flint of aggression from Hisoka.
Was he not enough of a challenge? Could he never become the center of Hisoka's obsession with strong opponents? Would he always be just the backup after Hisoka ends a battle, and the hospital-like figure that he would think of once in a while, only when he's in trouble?
"I have no intention of fighting you now, or ever."
Then he will force Hisoka into having that intention.