A/N: The sequel to "A Series of Very Criminal Activities".
This is a very weird and… crazy story. It's not much of an action story (though of course with the Ryodan involved, you can't avoid all the violence and gore etc entirely). The Ryodan wouldn't appear much either, because it is a romance story and the Ryodan isn't very romantic in my opinion, so for those who wanted to see more of the Ryodan, I apologise.
And… I have nothing else to say but this: please forgive me, I knew not what I have done.
Hunter X Hunter does not belong to me.
Burning the Rose Petal Boudoir
If one happened to walk by the large window framed with velvet blood-red curtains and glanced in, one would have seen a spacious room with rose-coloured walls and luxurious carpets. One would have heard the music that ghosted in the background, soft, gentle and bland. One would have smelled the air-conditioned air that was infused with the potpourri scent of rose and lavender, sweet and sensual, but somehow relaxing. One would also have to be capable of walking on air to see into that window since it was a good fifty stories high.
That was the way she liked it. It's so much harder to break into a room that high up and privacy was almost guaranteed. That was necessary for the kind of business she conducted.
She sat behind a heavy oak table, rifling through paper. Even alone in her office, her face remained cold and impassive, as emotionless as a doll and as cruel as a murderer's. This remained the case even when the door opened unexpectedly to admit a petite, pretty blonde girl.
"Miss Kito," the girl greeted nervously.
June Kito looked up from the paperwork in front of her and eyed her secretary sternly. "Sally," she replied coldly. "I told you I was not to be interrupted."
"I… I'm sorry, Miss Kito," Sally Temple, young, seventeen and absolutely clueless stammered, and bit her lower lip. Short, skinny and blonde, she didn't look like the kind of person that should be working for the infamous June Kito. In fact, standing in the sensual rose-coloured room that was June's office, she looked even more innocent and helpless. She looked like the heroine of a Samuel Richardson novel, one who should be treated with softness and kindness. If she hadn't been the daughter of a powerful mafia don, June would never have hired her, and even then, it had been a close call. They were working in a brothel after all; the high-rise Velvet House was a high-class brothel with an expensive gym, restaurants, spa and other services. It was hardly the place for a minor.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, June asked, "So what is it, Sally, that you felt the need to interrupt me when I explicitly told you not to?"
Sally swallowed hard and blushed appealingly. "I'm sorry, Miss Kito," she repeated. "Father is here to meet you and he insisted…"
But of course he insisted. June sighed inwardly. No matter how astute and sharp a businessman he was, Richard Temple was still a boar, a rude, intrusive boar who had very little regard for such things as 'privacy' and 'good manners'. Unfortunately, he was also head of the Temple family, a much more powerful family than the Kito family. That would change in the next five years or so given that the Temple family hadn't grown in ten years while the Kito estate had expanded dramatically. But before that happened, June had to play the good little girl and be nice. "Show him in then," she said and managed to keep the resignation out of her voice.
Before she was even done speaking, Richard Temple was already pushing through, grinning widely at her. Though Temple had to be close sixty, he still looked like a well-preserved forty-year old man, with a large, beefy build that was only just starting to go soft. His hair was mostly dark brown, though it greyed at the temples, and he spotted a neatly-trimmed beard.
"Mr Temple," June greeted unsmilingly as she rose from her seat and offered him her hand.
"June!" he boomed, ignoring her out-stretched hand in favour of ruffling her hair, messing up the chignon she had taken ages to perfect. "It's good to see you again, my girl! How have things been? Good?"
"Excellent," June Kito replied with icy politeness, even as deep down, Midoya woke up and regarded Richard Temple with a sweet smile topped by a basilisk stare. "How may I help you today, Mr Temple?"
Even though she hadn't invited him to, he plopped down on one of those plush purple seats reserved for visitors. "Oh you silly girl. I've always told you to call me 'Richard', haven't I? I'm just here for a visit," he said, his voice loud and boisterous even though they were alone in the room, "and to check on my precious Sally. I hope she's been of some use, that girl?"
"She's been wonderful," June lied smoothly. "Though I must ask that you reconsider letting her work in a place like this. It is a brothel after all and…"
"Nonsense!" Temple exclaimed, blatantly talking over her. "If it's good enough for my little June, it's good enough for my girl. Maybe she'll even learn a trick or two from you, huh?" He winked chummily at her and laughed.
June Kito had to struggle to stop Midoya's smile from spreading across her face. She knew what happened when Midoya smiled like that. Bad things happened; like intestines and blood flying everywhere. Now was not the time for that. Not yet. She didn't want to get the carpets dirty. "You're her father," she said instead, with a shrug.
"Yes, of course, just like I would like you to consider me yours." Smiling in a way he no doubt thought was charming, Temple reached forward and clasped her hand. "Dear June, I remember the times when your father was still alive."
Oh no, not again. Father and he had barely been friends, and even if they had been, it was only more reason to dislike this brute. "As do I," June replied with a chilly smile, knowing that her hands must feel uncomfortably like chunks of ice in his. Kuroro always complained about how cold her hands were when she touched him. Not that he ever stopped her from doing so, especially if what she was touching was a certain part of his anatomy.
"When your father died," Temple was saying, "I swore to his grave that I would do anything in my power to make sure his only daughter grew up well and happy."
He and about fifty other men who had suddenly became her best friends once she became Head of the Kito estate, June thought wryly. That's how often she heard this opening line. How odd no one ever thought to make sure the poor little June locked up in a mental asylum was growing up happy and healthy. "Very kind of you," she murmured.
"If there's anything you need, you know you can come to me," Temple said, beaming kindly as he patted her hands.
"Very kind of you," June repeated because she was already getting sick of his presence. As politely as she could, she retracted her hands from his and placed them on her lap, well out of reach. "Would you like to check on Sally?" she asked. "I can give her half an hour off if you like."
"Check on Sally?" For a moment, Temple looked like he didn't remember who 'Sally' was. Then his mouth parted in comprehension. "Oh, oh yes," he smiled, "my little Sally. She is very precious to me, you know? All daughters are precious to their fathers."
"Of course," June said, pressing the bell that summoned Sally in. "I hope to see you around soon, Mr Temple."
"Oh, you will," he promised with a sunny smile. "You will." He reached over to shake her hand and she offered it again. But instead of shaking it, he leaned over it and kissed it wetly.
Oh. How foul.
The moment his daughter ushered him out of the room, June leaned back in her armchair and allowed a little of Midoya's bloodlust to shimmer through her aura. It would be fun to hunt Richard Temple, wouldn't it? He was a very powerful mafia don after all, and surely the hunt would be a magnificent one. He had so many places to burrow into, so many thugs he could send against her. Oh, it would be fun. Very fun. If she could figure out a way to get around the…
"Miss Kito!" Sally cried, bursting back into the room.
Midoya's fingers twitched and almost put a throwing knife right through that slender throat. Fortunately, June managed to stop the reflexive action just in time. "What is it?" June asked, slamming all the restraints back onto Midoya and shoving her as deep down as she could.
"Oh, Miss Kito, it's the worst news!" Sally cried, slender fingers fluttering helplessly. "It's the worst news! I have no idea what to do! Oh, Miss Kito!"
June fixed her with a stare that stopped her panic attack immediately. "What is it, Sally?" she demanded.
Sally took a deep breath and shakily whispered, "The Rose Petal Boudoir is on fire!"
The lady in the Victorian dress was leaning towards him, far enough that she wasn't touching him but close enough for him to feel the warmth of her body. Since she was obviously trying to seduce him, he obligingly smiled at her, glanced at her breasts and patted her knee fondly. In reply, she blushed and smiled coquettishly. Though she hid her lips with an intricately-designed fan, her eyes beamed warm sunshine at him. If it was an act, it was a convincing act. He could almost believe she genuinely liked him.
But of course, that was the illusion that men came to brothels to have.
With an appealing grace, she poured tea into a gold-rimmed teacup and started arranging pastries into a neat little pile. As she was focused on setting the food in front of him, he swiftly deposited the package under the table, in the far corner where it was less likely to be noticed.
He straightened up just in time to receive a dainty slice of chiffon cake. Her hands lingered on his, but he politely withdrew from her touch. She was a very nice woman, very pretty and refined, but it would not do for him to touch her. That was not what he was here for after all. In fact, having accomplished what he had come here to do, it was time to leave. Precisely, he needed to leave within twenty minutes because things were going to get very… hot.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.
"Fire," Kuroro Lucifer replied, his lips curving into an inimical smile around the rim of his tea cup. "Hell fire and the poor souls that burn in it."
The building was on fire. That, June decided as she climbed out of her car and stared at the burning wreckage in front of her, was like saying an iceberg is a piece of frozen water. It just barely began to describe what she was seeing.
The good news was that the Rose Petal Boudoir was still mostly standing, from the first floor to the third. All the other floors above had collapsed onto the surrounding areas. The bad news, however, was that the parts that were still standing were covered entirely in blazing hot flames June could feel even from where she was. Incongruously, bright, white and blue flares were shooting out of the building, lighting up the cold night sky like distress beacons.
"Are those fireworks?" Sally asked from behind her, sounding like she was almost in tears.
"Yes," June Kito replied with cold anger even as deep inside, Midoya murmured appreciatively, "My favourite. How lovely they look." That was an interesting thought. Very few people in the world knew she liked fireworks. Even fewer people knew she liked blue and white fireworks together the most. In fact, she could count the number of people who knew her preferences on one hand. Not that the fireworks necessarily meant anything; it could be a coincidence.
Heh. Right. Coincidence.
"Are you the owner of this building?"
The rough, masculine voice shook her out of her thoughts and Midoya opened her eyes to look at the figure in front of her. Nice face, handsome in a rugged way that had never appealed to either June or Midoya, piercing blue eyes, brown stubble, tanned skin, muscular, nice butt ("Very nice butt", Midoya murmured with a predatory gleam in her eyes)… and a badge. Ah. "Yes I am," June replied, offering her hand. "June Kito, CEO of Kito enterprises."
"Detective Bran," the tall, muscular man replied, gripping her hand in a crushing handgrip that would have made her wince if she hadn't anticipated it. Despite the influence the Mafia had on politics in York Shin, there were still some who openly disliked them. Midoya had a feeling Detective Bran was one of those people. "Pity about your whore house, huh?" he commented, cementing that opinion.
Midoya giggled and June shushed her angrily. "Your sympathy is most gratifying," June Kito replied baldly, because though Midoya thought his aggression was cute, June Kito was not the kind to respond kindly to insults. "Casualties?"
"No one died," Detective Bran replied with a shrug that implied he couldn't have cared less. "Some of your whores said the fire alarm started about ten or fifteen minutes before the explosion. Everyone got out in time. Kind of neat, huh?"
Ah. So Detective Bran wasn't just being hostile; he had genuine reason to be suspicious. He was still being very rude though, June pointed out wryly, and Midoya was forced to concede that Detective Bran wasn't a very pleasant person. "Very neat," June Kito agreed with little humour. "We were most lucky."
"Uh huh." The piercing blue eyes, framed by thick, dark lashes, narrowed menacingly at her. "Still, it is weird no one died at all, isn't it?"
Indeed it was, Midoya had to admit. It was really significant that no one died, that whoever took the trouble to blow up the Rose Petal had also taken the trouble to warn the employees and customers beforehand. How exactly it was significant, she could not tell. This could be someone's idea of an elaborate prank. Young people still blew high-rise buildings up as pranks right? At least she did in her youth. It's really easy and a great load of fun. All you needed to do was to steal the blueprints of the building and…
Realising the good Detective Bran was still glaring darkly at her, June replied, "I would say it is good nobody died. I would have appreciated the gesture even more if it didn't involve the destruction of my building." Both Midoya and June were in agreement with that.
"Yeah, about that," the detective said, moving his admittedly good-looking bulk towards her so he loomed over her like a giant mountain of man-flesh, "how about you tell me how your insurance is like, huh?"
Aw, he was trying to intimidate her. How sweet. Too bad he wasn't good at it. The real masters, like Kuroro, could intimidate a person from half way around the globe without even raising their voices. His little amateurish attempt made Midoya want to pet him, but like always, June will not take lightly to being pushed around. "Am I under arrest, Detective?" she asked bluntly.
"No, should I arrest you?" The good detective was bristling now, eager for a fight. Pity; if he had any knowledge of Nen, and it was obvious from his untamed aura that he didn't, Midoya might have been tempted to play with him. But she wouldn't; she really didn't like toys that broke too easily. That was one thing she and Hisoka had in common. Oh, ew. Hisoka and her. In common. Gross.
"If I am not under arrest," June Kito snapped sharply, "I have no obligation to answer any of your questions, nor do you have the right to question me as you are doing now."
Aggression and hostility shimmered in the detective's aura and Midoya curiously sampled it. It was intense but impersonal; a grudge against the world in general, and not just poor, misunderstood June Kito. Ah, that he was merely taking out his hatred for the system on her, and not genuinely disliking her, made her feel so much better. "Yeah," he growled, invading her personal space even more, "for now. I'll get you one day, bitch."
Or perhaps it wouldn't be that bad to kill a cop, June suggested hopefully to Midoya. It might be fun to play with him even if he wouldn't last long, she thought. Neanderthal types should be good at all kinds of cavemen posturing right? Maybe if she gave him a wooden club, he might put up a good enough fight, and she could kill him and claim self-defence? Or maybe she could just break a couple of bones in his body? That shouldn't kill him. Ah, maybe she could just take one of his kidneys. It was still possible to survive on only one kidney right? She was certain she had read something like that in medical school, but that was so many years ago.
Fortunately, the appearance of the police commissioner stopped her from acting on impulse. "Miss Kito!" the commissioner exclaimed as he hurried towards her. "I came the moment I heard! God, this is horrible!" He grabbed her hand and looked her over quickly. "Are you okay, Miss Kito? You aren't hurt, are you? Rest assure we will do our best to find out who is behind this nefarious attack!"
Nefarious. Nefarious? Midoya grinned widely even as a look of disgust spread over Detective Bran's face. June, the one who didn't care for weaknesses, smiled a chilly smile at the elderly, mousy-looking man "Commissioner," June said, shaking his hand, "thank you for your reassurances. I am just glad no one was hurt." Still smiling death's smile, she put a hand lightly on the detective's arm (which he flexed instinctively). "Detective Bran here was just helpfully filling me in on the details," she purred, feeling revulsion in his aura and delighting in it.
"Good job, Detective," the Commissioner said, clapping the detective on the shoulder, "make sure you keep Miss Kito in the loop all the time."
The look of horror on Detective Bran's face was the last straw and a giggle escaped despite her best efforts. Fortunately, it was lost when Detective Bran started shouting, "Sir, she's a civilian! We can't keep her in the loop of an on-going investigation!"
"Rubbish," the Commissioner said, brushing aside Detective Bran, "Miss Kito is a victim. It is our obligation as civil servants to update her frequently on the investigation process. I'm sure she will appreciate that, right, Miss Kito?"
Truthfully, neither June nor Midoya had any intention of relying on the police, but it wouldn't kill her to play nice. Sometimes the local law enforcement officers did prove to be useful. "Of course, Commissioner," she demurred. "I will definitely be very… appreciative." The Commissioner beamed, no doubt reassured that he would have the support of the Kito estate in his next elections.
"Great!" he said, clapping his hands. "Let's do a little sharing here then. Did you tell Miss Kito about the box, Detective?"
Box? June tilted her head questioningly as Detective Bran simmered with rage. "No, sir," he growled, hands clenching and unclenching.
"Well then, step to it! We don't have all the time in the world!"
At this point, Detective Bran looked like he was going to either explode or pass out, so Midoya, against June's best instincts, decided to be kind to him. "While we wait for Detective Bran, I would like to check on my staff please. Do you know where Rose is? She is the manager of the Rose Petal."
"By the ambulance," Detective Bran, who was already stomping off, snapped.
"Thank you," June Kito replied with cool politeness and brushed past the simpering commissioner, Sally stumbling after her. With quick steps, June made it to the ambulance where a matronly woman in a suit sat with a paramedic. "Rose," Midoya greeted, reaching out with her hands to clasp the woman's hands.
Rose looked up and her wrinkled face brightened immediately. "Miss Kito," she greeted warmly, clasping Midoya's hands with a brilliant smile. Midoya smiled back fondly. When Midoya had first started out as a bounty hunter, Rose, a very talented grifter, had been one of her first live catches. Despite her spotted past, Midoya had been impressed with her management abilities, and had hired her as part of the Kito estate staff. Now, though she looked like somebody's benevolent grandmother with her neat, snow-white hair, crinkly blue eyes and the deep wrinkles, Rose was one of June's most trusted employees. She was also one of the few people in the world who knew June Kito was Blacklist Hunter Midoya.
"Are you alright, dear?" Midoya asked, sitting down next to Rose and looking her over. "Are you hurt?"
"Oh, no, not at all," Rose replied, smoothing down her fully white hair put neatly in a bun. "We all got out before the explosion. It was a close thing though; some of us were standing pretty close to the building when it blew up. I protected as many as possible with…" her voice dropped to barely a whisper "…Nen…" then louder " but I believe some of the girls still got hurt by flying debris and shrapnel."
"I see," Midoya said, frowning. "I'll make sure they get some medical attention. They weren't hurt too badly, were they?"
"No, Miss Kito, the wounds aren't bad." Rose's wrinkled face creased with a fond smile. "You are almost too kind for this business," she said gently. "I say 'almost' only because I've seen what you do to people who get on your nerves. I must admit I was watching your interactions with the nice policeman, and I am quite surprised his innards are still his… innards."
"Wait till there are less witnesses and see what happens," Midoya replied, waving away the compliment. It was hardly surprising Rose had identified the detective as a cop so easily even when he wasn't wearing a uniform. Years as a criminal had tuned her in to the little cues that identified figures of authority. Looking around stealthily to make sure no one was listening, Midoya murmured, "Rose dear, did you see who did this?"
In reply, Rose shook her head. "It was a normal night," she said softly. "The usual clients were there. There might have been a few new faces. I don't remember seeing or hearing anything out of the ordinary. But I was in the office most of the time."
"I see." Midoya pursed her lips in thought. "Do you think we could salvage any security camera footage?" she asked, eyeing the burning building.
"The security camera footages feed to the main server," Rose replied immediately. "It's technically classified information, but you have access to it all, being the boss and all. Just log in to the system using the Level Three ID and password."
"Excellent." Midoya got to her feet and gently patted Rose on the shoulder. "Go home and take a rest, Rose," June told her in a much louder voice. "Tell everyone to take a couple of days' break too."
"Thank you, Miss Kito," Rose replied formally with a slight bow.
Walking away from the ambulance, Midoya's eyes unfocused as she started to form a list of things she needed to do in her head. At the very top was viewing the security camera footage of this attack. If she could figure out who was the one who did it, though she highly doubted it (anyone who could blow up one of her buildings was likely not dumb enough to be caught on camera), she would need to figure out what to do about it. Then there was the issue of her employees and…
"The box." Said object was shoved so abruptly into her that Midoya stumbled to a stop and grabbed it instinctively. "It is evidence," Detective Bran growled, "be gentle with it."
"Alright. So, what's this supposed to be?" June asked, wrapping her arms around the box to hold it steady. It was a fairly big box, a good five feet across, and it was heavy too. Another bomb? Midoya sniffed it surreptitiously, but didn't smell any explosives.
"You tell me," Detective Bran snarled, looming over her aggressively.
"It's a box, of course," June Kito replied with irritation. "What I want to know is why it is significant."
Detective Bran glowered at her for a while more, but his expression eventually softened into a mere grimace. "It was found in one of the offices. Don't know how it survived the explosion," he said reluctantly.
Interesting. That the box survived the explosion meant that someone had used Nen to protect it. At least that mostly confirmed this attack came from Midoya's pool of acquaintances. June hardly knew anyone who could use Nen.
In the meantime, Detective Bran was trying to intimidate her again. Moving closer, he towered over her and growled, "I've got questions for you. You got any girls here named 'Midoya'?"
June Kito froze. "No," she answered, almost too quickly. "Why do you ask?"
"Name's on the box. You sure you don't know anyone named 'Midoya'?"
"No." Midoya looked at the box again and saw the name this time, in neat, but stylish handwriting. It looked familiar. Well. That narrowed the number of people who could have done this. Knowing he would protest, she opened the box quickly without asking.
"Hey!" Detective Bran protested. "You're supposed to wait for the… what the fuck?"
In a split second, both of them had sprung back from the massive, fang-lined snout snarling out of the open box. It was, Midoya realised belatedly as she stared at the box she had dropped, the head of a gigantic alligator. It was huge, it was fresh, and someone had pasted little tiny pink hearts over its glassy, dead eyes. They did not go well with the large, snarling fangs stained with blood.
"My… goodness," June Kito said finally, approaching the box. "That is… that was, I meant, a… Lori Swamp alligator, wasn't it?"
"Is it?" Detective Bran asked faintly.
"I… think so." Carefully, she prodded the box with her toe then felt somewhat ridiculous. The head wasn't going to bite her. It was separated entirely from its body and had evidently been dead for over a day at least. With a shrug, she picked up the box and peered inside. "There's something else in here."
"Really?" Detective Bran came closer and together, they peered at the object at the bottom of the box. "What is it?"
"It's a… disc," June said finally. "A CD." Ignoring Detective Bran's half-hearted protests, she reached inside, pulled the disc out and looked at it. A woman graced the cover, painted in Art Deco style and psychedelic colours. It was a singer Midoya recognised; one of her favourite musicians in fact, from the genre of Techno music. Frowning, Midoya opened the cover and glanced at the disc inside. It was just a normal disc, but written over the top was…
Remember the Lori Swamps.
Suddenly, the memories came rushing back to her. The Juwasi, powerful mutated ants rushing at her as she danced among them in a swirl of blood and innards, techno music from this album pounding in the dark night and in her veins, and sitting in the tree watching her with an penetrating look of interest on his face was…
"Lori Swamps?" Detective Bran asked, peering over her shoulder. "What does that mean?"
Midoya barely heard him; she was too taken aback by the unexpected chill running down her spine, a chill that was mixed with anger, dread and inexplicable delight. Because Kuroro Lucifer, Dancho of the Genei Ryodan, was in town and he was out to get her.
When the building exploded, Kuroro was in a café two blocks down, reading a book and sipping a cup of overpriced but fairly decent coffee.
As the entire night sky turned temporarily to dawn, the few customers in the shop shot to their feet and rushed outside, gasping and pointing. Kuroro remained seated, smiling faintly as he flipped a page. The explosion had gone off right on time. In three seconds, the surprise should follow…
"Fireworks!" the waitress staring out of the window exclaimed. "That building is shooting fireworks! My god, what is going?"
Kuroro sighed softly with pleasure. It was always so nice when things go according to plan. He hadn't been sure he had gotten the timing right, but there it was. He personally thought the fire alarm was a nice touch; he wanted Midoya's attention, not her anger, and killing her employees would definitely make her angry. An angry frame of mind was not a good one for reconciliation, Kuroro felt. He could wait till they were back together before ticking her off; angry sex was excellent sex, as was make up sex. For now, he would just win her favour back by blowing up her buildings.
It was, he hoped, the perfect way of getting her attention.
Well, obviously the explosion would get her attention; it had taken down one of her brothels of course. But the fireworks, in her favourite colours, added a touch of personalisation to it. Furthermore, the music disc served two purposes. First, it pointed out how well he knew her and what she liked. Second, it was designed to remind her of much more pleasant times spent together. In short, it made for what he hoped was a fairly obvious romantic message.
Just in case that was not enough, the book he was reading now would provide more inspiration on ways of courting women. According to it, tying a woman up in a dark room and forcing her to yield to his 'throbbing member' was the ideal way to win her affection, if the description of the female protagonist's 'desperate, passionate moans' were anything to go by. Truth be told, he wasn't quite sure his stubborn and proud Midoya would enjoy being dominated like that. It seemed more her nature to be the one tying him up in a dark room and forcing him into the 'wetness and heat within her'. Interesting as that thought was, it would be more helpful if he knew exactly what a 'member' is and whether he should be worried if she did get a hold of it. After all, presumably 'member' referred to a part of his body, and Midoya is an expert at inflicting irreparable damage to the human body. And why did women seem to always be wet and hot inside in these texts? Wasn't everybody wet and hot inside? The human body was seventy per cent water after all, and heated to about thirty-seven degrees Celsius. It wasn't like there were humans who were dry and cold inside. The only humans who were dry and cold were dead and long mummified.
That line of thought wasn't exactly very productive, so Kuroro returned to the mission of getting Midoya's attention. Any time now, she will be at the Rose Petal, sorting through the evidence before her. He knew her, knew how smart she was. He was certain she would figure out that he was responsible for this. And then… well… he will see. If she was impressed enough by his display, hopefully she will contact him and initiate the proper mating rituals. At least that's what he learned from watching documentaries on mating. Humans weren't too different from chimpanzees, right? Both species were almost genetically identical after all.
Smiling in anticipation, Kuroro turned another page and sipped his coffee. Pursuing Midoya was a challenge but he had won against her before. It could be done, and he will do it again. He couldn't wait…
When her alarm went off, the sun was barely peeking over the horizon, casting a dull, red light over the city of corruption that was York Shin.
Yawning, Midoya reached for her alarm clock to switch it off, but her hand closed over nothing. Belatedly, she remembered that the clock was now on the other side of the bed, that she was no longer in the penthouse she had lived in for years. By then, the alarm had already gone into Snooze mode, so Midoya ignored it in favour of staring at the ceiling pensively.
Since she had hurriedly moved into her new penthouse just a few days ago, there was hardly any furnishing in it. She had moved her bed over and had gotten her staff to speed up the transfer of her books though. That meant that her new penthouse was basically bare except for a ton of books and her bed. That was fine; she had survived on less before. Besides, it wasn't like she was getting much of a chance to enjoy her new lodgings.
Closing her eyes, Midoya tried to rest for another five minutes before she had to get up. There was so much work to do. She still had to deal with the mess that was the Rose Petal and she had to make an appearance as Midoya in the York Shin HQ. Ever since the Zodiacs tried to kill her, they have been monitoring her more closely than usual. She could only hope that their paranoia about her would fade soon. It was hardly fair to be treated like this; it was not like she had initiated the attack on the Fort. Besides, they were the ones who killed her. It wasn't like she…
The scent of soap and something distinctively masculine ghosted over her and Midoya's eyes snapped open in alarm. Kuroro.
Before she could get up, a powerful, hard and noticeably male body plopped down over hers. "Midoya-chan," a sickly sweet voice purred with genuine pleasure. "How cute you look, just waking up."
A sigh escaped her lips and she relaxed, but only marginally. "Hello Hisoka," she greeted with weary politeness. "How on earth did you manage to find me?"
Hisoka's face appeared over hers, smiling in that smug, self-satisfied way he had. "I have my sources," he murmured, nibbling her earlobe.
Which, knowing his history with Illumi probably meant he had contacted the Zoldycks. That family could be a pain in the behind sometimes, specifically when they put their considerable resources and talents into assisting her enemies. "I am impressed," Midoya said anyway, firmly moving her ear away from his teeth in case he decided to bite it off. "And what are you doing here? I have already made my payment to you for your help the last time."
"I know," Hisoka mumbled, lips pressed against her neck now, "but I missed you, my sweet, dangerous little Midoya-chan. And I thought you would miss me since you aren't with Kuroro anymore. Aren't you lonely, little Midoya-chan? Aren't you heartbroken and on the rebound? I am here for you if you need a shoulder to cry on or a warm body to screw senseless."
Something poking into her thigh assured her he was, at least, telling some of the truth. "What happened to Clemence?" Midoya asked as she idly considered kneeing him in the proof of his longing for her.
"Who's Clemence?" Hisoka asked, as if he couldn't care less.
Right. She had to remember this was Hisoka, the one of the insubstantial long-term memory. "Get off me, Hisoka," Midoya ordered, "I need to go to work."
She felt Hisoka lick her neck, a long, wet lick that was both sensual and mildly repulsive at the same time. "Make me," he purred, holding her wrists down in an iron grip.
Midoya eyed him as he started to grind against her in earnest. Well, that was... so Hisoka. Tentatively, she strained against his grip but she could barely even get him to twitch, much less release her. How unfortunate that Hisoka appeared to be physically much stronger than she was. But then, she had never allowed something as insignificant as arm strength hold her back now, had she? "Ying," she said sharply and felt her form shift into a white mist. Hisoka landed with a muffled oof onto the bed as she flowed out from under him and reformed in front of the bathroom. Glancing back, she belatedly realised he was naked, which was, surprisingly, not a bad sight at all. And oh look, now she knew what his natural hair colour was. That was, unless he dyed his… okay, brain, do not go there. The layer of bloody, sweet Nen that always surrounded his body reminded her that she needed to stop ogling his behind and start doing damage control. "Put on some clothes and we may be able to have a nice, civilised conversation," she told him.
"Who said I wanted a nice, civilised conversation?" Hisoka sulked, but Midoya had already closed the door on him.
When she came out later already dressed like June Kito, he had, to her surprise, obediently put on his clothes and was sitting on her bed, waiting for her patiently. Ignoring him, she padded into the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea. "Why are you here, Hisoka?" she asked as she sipped the caffeinated beverage. "I don't think you missed me so much you had to hunt me down just to rub yourself all over me."
Hisoka leered at her. "I'm surprised you asked." With an impressively sleek motion, he made a whole stack of cards appear, disappear and then fly around him before returning neatly to his hand. "The Rose Petal." He smiled. "That was the Ryodan, wasn't it?"
"How did you know?" Midoya asked, not bothering to lie to him. He would find out anyway if he really wanted to know. Hisoka was horrifyingly resourceful that way.
"I was waiting for it to happen," he replied gleefully. "The Ryodan takes revenge in the most glorious ways; I am only surprised it took so long for them to retaliate for what you did to them and Kuroro. Is it true he almost died? I'm glad I got my fight with him out of the way before you almost killed him."
Yes of course, and the Ryodan tends to react so badly to anyone threatening their precious Dancho. They really were the sweetest bunch once you get down to it - r the most overly-attached. She hadn't quite made up her mind about that yet. "Yes, it is true," she admitted. "I was anticipating an attack by the Ryodan too, but I must admit, I expected them to strike at me, not my brothels. I should have remembered how ah… extravagant the Ryodan's vengeance fests tend to be."
"Ah." Hisoka exhaled with pleasure. "One thing I did like about working with the Ryodan was how beautiful their missions are. Their vengeance attacks especially are always marvellous pieces of art."
"Indeed," Midoya replied wryly, thinking of the fireworks exploding over her burning building. A very nice touch, that one. Even she found it lovely, and it was her building that was burning to ashes. "Though their idea of art tends towards the anarchic," she added. "Very destructive as artists, they are."
"Only the deepest, most profound lover can be this vicious," Hisoka declared, arching his back and placing a poetic hand against his chest. "See how love so scorned has manifested in the flames of ruin? Can you feel his passion in the raging fires of fury? Can you feel his agony burning in your veins, in your flesh?"
"Very poetic, but I must admit I was too concerned with the logistics of the aftermath to feel this… passion." Midoya eyed him disapprovingly. "Are you done mocking me, Hisoka? I have other things to do."
Hisoka hummed happily as he started building a tower of cards with remarkable speed. "To the Ryodan, you mean? What are you going to do about them, Miss Kito?" he asked, his voice teasing but not derisive. "Are you going to hunt the Ryodan now? Are you going to get rid of them? Will you kill these people just because they are angry you betrayed them?"
"No, I'm not going to do anything." The tower collapsed and Midoya smiled at the expression of pure surprise on his face.
"You aren't going to do anything?" Hisoka demanded, ignoring the cards littering her bedroom floor. "Why not?"
"If this is the Ryodan's idea of revenge, it is a small price to pay," Midoya replied with a shrug. "Sure, I lost one of my brothels and the Kito Enterprises stocks fell a couple of points, but no one died. That's pretty remarkable considering this is the Ryodan we're talking about. Rather than further antagonising them and potentially inciting more violence against my employees, it's better to just let it go." At the look of disbelief on Hisoka's face, Midoya smiled and added, "Besides, that was a pretty cute revenge, all things considered. I did like the fireworks. They looked so gorgeous in the night sky. It is sweet of Kuroro to choose them; he knows they are my favourite. He can be surprisingly thoughtful at times, I must say."
"I am… disappointed," Hisoka confessed, the corners of his lips turning down. "When you came to me with your interesting proposition of attacking the Ryodan, I was banking on the Ryodan retaliating, hence extending this wonderful, glorious battle. I thought this would be a good way to spend my time until I find my next prey."
"Sorry to disappoint," Midoya replied with a careless shrug.
"Can I just seduce you then?" Hisoka asked hopefully. "I didn't get to fuck you the last time."
"That's because that was not part of the payment, darling. Do you always have sex with all your opponents?"
"No," Hisoka admitted, "but the idea of fucking someone Kuroro once fucked is a pretty big turn-on."
"Ah, so the one you desire is Kuroro, not me. How flattering; I verily believe I have never felt more beautiful and wanted in my life." Midoya's lips quirked in an ironic smile. "If you desire Kuroro that much, why don't you have sex with him instead? He's not the kind of person to be bound by concepts of hetero-normalcy. If you ask him nicely and promise not to cut him up too badly, he might just give in."
"I tried." Hisoka pouted, a stricken look on his face. "I got rejected."
"And so you gave up? That's quite unlike you, Hisoka. What happened to your enviable determination to violate all the people you enjoy fighting?"
"I didn't want to give up but I couldn't run after him because he had eviscerated me. I kept tripping over my intestines."
"A fantastic strategy. If I do the same to you, will you leave me alone?"
"Perhaps, but if you keep talking like that, I am just going to go ahead and tear your clothes off and fuck you silly." Hisoka produced a pair of puppy eyes made unconvincing by the murderous glow in them, and wetted his lips. "Will you let me fuck you silly, Midoya-chan?"
Sighing, Midoya put her cup down and looked Hisoka over carefully. It wasn't that he wasn't attractive in his own way. . His body was a work of art in its own right, but he just didn't appeal to her. The fact that he might try to eviscerate her during sex was, contrary to popular belief, not necessarily the main reason she didn't want to have sex with him either. She could simply turn into a white mist and flee after all. She just wasn't attracted to him that way. But perhaps she was being mean. Perhaps she should give him a chance. Everyone deserves a chance in life, no? It was odd she was seriously considering having sex with Hisoka. Perhaps she was on a rebound. Whatever the case, it made for an excellent excuse to jump this man's bones. Rebound sex was excellent sex, especially since she didn't have a conscience and wouldn't feel any guilt after.
"Alright," Midoya decided, sitting down on a stack of books and crossing her legs primly, "convince me that I should want you."
Pale, luscious lips parted in surprise; he obviously had not expected her to agree so easily. But he recovered quickly, eyes glowing with feral glee as he licked his lips. "How do you want me to do this?" he leered, going onto all fours and arching his back like a cat. "Tell me what you want me to do, Midoya-chan. Should I strip for you? Should I beg you? Or should I just go over to you now and claim you on the floor?"
What did she want him to do? Good question. The options he presented were… interesting, but not sufficient for her. "Get that," Midoya said, pointing to the book lying on her bed.
"This?" Hisoka held up the book looking confused. "This book?"
"Yes, now give it to me and tell me that it is the perfect gift for me because I already own it so I must like it."
"What?"
"Oh no, wait. How about you tell me what you think Adorno meant when he said 'Every work of art is an uncommitted crime' while we have sex?" Midoya frowned. "Or do I want to hear about the theological discrepancies between the Eastern afterlife and the Western afterlife, and the way it reflects the social consciousness of the respective cultures? Goodness, I can't decide."
Hisoka stared at her with still glowing eyes, obviously trying to figure out if she was mocking him. "Who's Adorno?" he finally asked warily.
"Who's Adorno? Goodness!" Midoya sighed and shook her head. "This isn't going to work out, Hisoka dear. While I will admit that you are a physically attractive man with a stamina that can, without a doubt, match mine, there are too many differences between the both of us. Not only do we come from very different social circles, our upbringing, education, hobbies, preferences, and ideas of what is sexually appealing differ too much for us to truly enjoy each other's company. That's not to mention the strange and childish designs you, for some inexplicable reason, wear on your face."
Pale fingers cupped his cheeks as Hisoka stared. "What's wrong with the designs on my face?" he asked, giving her a hurt look.
"Nothing perhaps," Midoya mused. "Among the Araiyo tribes of the Pudu mountains, it is considered very appealing when men tattoo their sexual organs with beautiful turquoise and red designs. The more elaborate the tattoo, the more attractive the subject in question is considered to be. Supposedly the tattoos grant them great skill and stamina in the metaphorical bed. I have to assume that occurs after a certain period of recovery, of course."
Hisoka blinked,. "Are you asking me to tattoo my genitals? Because that might take a while and I'm horny now," he said confusedly and Midoya couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips.
"You are surprisingly very sweet, Hisoka," she said, still chuckling.
The look on Hisoka's face set her off again. "That's the first time I've ever heard that," he said with cautious hope. "Does that mean you want to lick me off? I'm all for that, if you are."
"Oh, you silly boy." Midoya got off the stack of books and walked to him. "You are a very sweet and very silly man." Leaning over, she gave him a swift, chaste kiss on his cheek. "Too sweet for me, in fact." Hisoka's already arched eyebrows arched even more with surprise. "So," Midoya continued, backing away from him, "I am not going to touch you. I am not going to kiss you. And I am definitely not having sex with you." His eyes widened at that and he started to breathe harder. Midoya smiled pleasantly at him from across the bedroom. "Do let yourself out dear. I have to get ready to go to work."
Sensuously, sinuously, like a leopard unfolding itself off a branch, Hisoka rose from her bed, his eyes wide and gleaming with almost uncontrollable lust. "I don't think I want to do that," he panted, his aura shimmering shakily before concentrating into a powerful, throbbing mass of pink Nen. "I think I'm going to cut you."
"Of course you do dear." Midoya tilted her head at him, stared, shook her head then took a deep, bracing breath. "Alright, there is no way I can say this delicately. Hisoka, your penis is glowing… like… like… are you using Ko on your penis?"
Hisoka's lips spread in a feline smile. "You like it, Midoya-chan?" he purred. "Why don't you come over and find out what other parts of me can glow." Nen exploded out of his pores and flooded downwards.
It was like there was a mini-sun in her room albeit, a mini-sun with a penis in the middle of it. Midoya didn't know whether she wanted to laugh or cry.
Well, she mused philosophically as she consciously gathered more Nen around her in preparation for battle, she had been feeling frustrated recently and Hisoka was an excellent fighter after all…
In the dark, damp warehouse, Kuroro Lucifer wrapped his coat tighter around him and frowned at his silent phone.
Twelve hours have ticked past. Where was Midoya?
A/N: Well, Hisoka's nether region does glow occasionally in the anime and manga. In terms of Nen techniques, the only two that would allow Hisoka to do that are Gyo and Ko. Since the kanji of Ko is the character for 'hard'… well, it made sense to me. Only Hisoka could give literality to the phrase 'the penis as a weapon'…
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review letting me know what you thought!
Trivial: Other words and phrases from the book that Kuroro did not understand included 'her heaving pink and white apples', 'her ravenous hot cavern', 'the pink, glistening pearl of pleasure', 'his iridescent, blue-veined piccolo' and 'spilling his hot seed into her willing vessel as her fluid-slicked tunnel clenched around his thick rod of passion with wet sucking sounds'.
Instinctively, he had a feeling that these phrases hinted that the protagonists of the book are cave explorers and treasure hunters, and very avid ones too since they seemed to be exploring her 'hot cavern' every two pages or so. The idea of taking Midoya on a cave exploration trip was not a bad one though he had no idea where he could find a cave that could 'clench around his thick rod' (his walking stick?) in that manner. Most cave tunnels didn't move like that after all, and one that could tighten and loosen at will seemed rather dangerous.
But then, maybe it was just as well he didn't know any caves like those since the book made the exploration of them sound slimy and plain gross.