TheGirlXTheClownXTheMeeting
"Do you do magic tricks, Mister Clown?"
Stopping in mid-step, Hisoka glanced over his shoulder and spotted the young girl who had addressed him. She stood behind him, gazing up with wide brown eyes, eyes that were similar to Gon's—fearless, innocent, curious. The girl couldn't have been older than eight.
Turning to face her, Hisoka crouched down to her eye level and smiled warmly. "Only magicians perform magic tricks." She frowned. "But you're in luck, princess," he continued with a wink, "because I happen to be a magician."
A slow, shy smile spread on her lips when he called her 'princess' and she blushed, tilting her head down to avoid his eyes, pleased. The expression on her face, her innocent reaction pleased him. His one-member audience was smiling again.
"Keep your eyes on me, princess, or you'll miss my magic tricks," Hisoka warned her as he took out his trademark deck of cards. The girl immediately obeyed, her rapt attention focused on him. Spreading his hands a foot apart, he made the cards fly from one hand to the other and her quiet, awed gasp made him chuckle.
He ate up her attention, beginning with simple card tricks and then slowly made his magical tricks more complex; a handful were magical tricks that his enemies only saw once. The girl never ceased to be amazed and she never failed to compliment or clap for him after each trick. Her delicious smile never wavered once.
"Nikki!"
The shrill, horrified cry broke the spell.
Starting at the sound of her name, the girl whirled around and Hisoka glanced up with a frown, displeased that his act had been disturbed. A short woman in a light brown overcoat had just darted out of the clothing store, frozen to the spot, and Hisoka noted the woman's eyes were brown like the girl's. However, unlike her daughter, her eyes were filled with fear.
"Nikki, get over here!" the mother demanded, pointing to the cement beside her. Her voice betrayed her anxiety, her underlying fear. "Now!"
His one-girl audience did not move, but instead she stared at her parent, confused. Then, slowly and jerkily like a clumsy puppeteer controlled her limbs, she headed toward her mother, reluctant to be punished. When her daughter was close enough, the mother reached out with a reflexive speed, grabbed the princess's wrist, and dragged Nikki to her side.
"What have I told you about talking to strangers?"
Hisoka stood at his leisure and slid his deck into his pant pocket, frowning. The woman had an annoying high-pitched voice and her fear—he could practically see it emanating from her like Nen—got on his nerves. It crossed his mind to kill her.
Especially when the princess's brown eyes watered and fear reflected in them. "Mommy, he's nice. He's a magician and he showed me magic tricks."
If the girl had not been the woman's daughter, Hisoka would have snapped her neck without hesitation for the murderous look she shot his way. He restrained himself for his audience's sake. He did not want to taint her delicious fearlessness.
Getting down on one knee, placing her hands on her daughter's shoulders, the mother replied, "I don't care what he showed you! You should never approach strangers, Nikki! He could take you away from me and do terrible things to you! We would never see each other again."
With difficulty, Hisoka continued to restrain himself and watch. If he didn't taint the girl's fearlessness, her mother definitely would and the princess would be as delicious as spoiled fruit. To see the woman instilling fear into his audience—it made his blood simmer dangerously. Especially as he watched the girl blink away tears, her bottom lip trembling.
As if sensing his ire, the mother looked over his way, paling as she sensed the killing edge in the Nen he sent in her specific direction; spooked, she shot to her feet and began to walk away quickly. "Let's go, Nikki." The woman paused, waiting for her daughter to obey, impatient to flee.
The girl surprised them both by running toward Hisoka.
"Nikki!"
She stopped short a foot from him, her head tilted back so she could meet his blue eyes. "Thank you, Mister Magician." She had stopped crying, but her teary brown eyes and the tear trails on her round cheeks shined in the afternoon light. His audience looked sorry to leave.
He did what he could to make her smile again by offering her a smile of his own. "You're welcome, princess." Hisoka placed a special emphasis on 'princess' and bowed, pleased when he was rewarded with a short round of applause.
"Nikki!" Her mother's tone was more insistent, and once again she spoiled the moment.
As he straightened, as the girl ran toward her mother, Hisoka glowered at the woman. His urge to kill something returned in full force. Like frightened prey, the short woman grabbed her daughter's wrist and hurried in the opposite direction.
Deprived of someone to take out his anger upon, Hisoka scanned the busy streets for a substitute.