A/N:
Here's the second chapter of Ven's Diary! =D That's right, I am continuing this fanfiction. It was actually supposed to be a One Shot but some real nice folks out there inspired me to continue this and so, voila! It sometimes scares me of how easily my mind changes (e_e) Oh wells~
A shoutout to the lovely reviewers of Ven's Diary; Via-chi, Lani108, Melissa the kawaii yandere, & Hexel-JustAnotherReader =]
I hope you enjoy raiding Ven's diary with occasional interruptions from the narrator – yours truly ;)
Ah, and I before I forget…
CAUTION: Cuss words ahead. Beware of the aweso- I mean atrocious F-word and other colorful terms. Please do not repeat at your family's dinner table.
[Disclaimer]: Hunter X Hunter belongs to the uber amazing genius Yoshihiro Togashi. Ven's Diary is solely made for entertainment purposes. I don't own the Manga, don't own the Anime, certainly not the characters, but don't take the plot from me.
Chapter 2: Birthday Bash
Today was supposed to be a good day for Ven, for it was the day that she finally turned fifteen. A happy day!
Everything was going so well. Her parents (specifically her father), finally had the decency to buy their kid a bicycle – a helpful aid to her daily life, now Ven doesn't have to walk to school anymore –, her sisters had also been extra nice (to the chagrin of her second older sister, Limarie), and even her favourite older sister Yulie, sent her extra allowance as a gift.
It was all going so well, that is, until she took her bike for a test run in town…
Ven pressed the bike's bell when she passed by Zebro's quarters with a big smile on her face. "Zebro-san!"
The kindly old man raised his head and waved. He watched Ven disappear in the distance and smiled. Seeing the girl on her bike brought a sense of satisfaction, because more than anyone else, he knew just how frightened Ven becomes every time she walks by the estate. Zebro knew she was being polite by pretending she wasn't scared by greeting him with her usual grin, but the way her eyes would dart up the huge gates before quickly looking down again spoke volumes of her true feelings.
A sigh escaped the old man. It'd really be great if his masters' only neighbours wouldn't be so scared of them. By his experience of serving the family of assassins and seeing them on a regular basis, the Zoldycks really aren't that bad. Emotionally challenged, socially depraved and less-than-tasteful profession aside, they aren't really bad at all.
A ring from the phone roused him out of his reverie. Zebro turned towards the persistent ringing with a grunt as he stood up from his chair. He really needed some exercise.
Phone in hand, he regarded the caller with the usual, polite greeting. "Yes? This is Zebro speaking. "
The voice from the other line spoke in low monotone. Zebro had the impression that he was talking to a robot. Nevertheless, he got the message.
"I got it. I'll call back once he's past the Testing Gates."
Zebro returned the phone on the receiver and walked back towards the window. He placed his hands on the sill and looked outside the scenery. The sky was the same shade of blue, clouds fluffy and white like a sheep's wool, birds chirping merrily overhead. Then he turns towards the huge stone gates, the barrier between this realm and the Zoldyck's untouchable world humming ominously with an impending sinister presence.
Zebro turns his head and looks at the sky again. It promised another ordinary day. But somehow, he feels as if that wouldn't be the case today.
'I wonder where Ven-kun's off to. I hope that kid gets home before the gates open…'
( o – o – o )
Ven enjoyed her little romp through the town in her new set of hot wheels. She breezed through every block as if she could fly. She stopped by her favorite shops on the way, buying herself a blueberry-flavored crepe with chocolate whipped-cream and a half-dozen of soda pops for her to take home.
'I gotta hide these behind the bag of peas,' Ven thought grimly as she sped down the road en route to Kukuroo Mountain. 'That way, Tanny will never find it!'
Unbeknownst to her, three figures concealed behind a nearby building, watching her with preying eyes.
"Wasn't that Ven just now?" A flabby figure commented.
"Yeah, and would'ja look at that! Didn't you say he was a hobo and couldn't afford to buy decent shit, Jorg?" A much lanky figure spoke.
"Shut up," the figure known as Jorg snapped. He whacked lanky upside the head, huffed, and then turned back to watch Ven exit the town. A menacing grin splits across his face. "Well then, it seems like Thlaspi had money to spare after all. Why don't we follow and celebrate?"
( o – o – o )
The early afternoon breeze was gentle and warm against her face. Ven smiled, revelling in the peaceful ambiance as she rode in a relaxed pace while gnawing on a soda pop. 'This is freedom~!' She grins. 'Lychee-flavored soda pop is the flavor of freedom!'
Ven was still enjoying her soda pop when she became aware of someone pedalling along behind her. She really didn't care until that someone bumped their front wheel against her back wheel so hard she almost choked on her soda pop from the impact.
"What the fu–!?" Ven broke off in shock when she saw who the person was. She immediately looked away and cursed to herself. 'Of all the people I had to meet today…It had to be THEM!'
It was the infamous bully trio from Ven's grade. She instantly knew what was going to happen.
"Well if it isn't Thlaspi!" Nick sang just as he caught up to her. He had a nasty grin on his face while he sucked up his phlegm filled snot. Ven cringed. He's always been the snot-nosed disgusting pig of the group with a weird body that was overly fat at the top and thin at the bottom. Imagine an egg with twig-like legs!
And then came Henry, the other egg bastard – as Ven liked to call these two –who had a head that was about the width and size of an ostrich egg. He looked like a disturbing matchstick with his lanky frame and small head.
"Oh look he's got a bike!" Henry boomed. "Didn't know you can actually afford one, HAHA!"
And finally the last voice.
"Yeah, nice pair of wheels Ven."
She winced. It was Jorgen, the stupid self-proclaim leader of the sorry-ass trio, whose haughty nose she'd never get tired of breaking over and over again if given the chance. It was him who always initiated the bullying, the one who made it seem like it was his sworn duty to make her life miserable.
"Though I feel kinda sorry that this neat ride has to endure carrying your nonexistent balls. You know, if you actually have a pair!"
Nick and Henry laughed in unison while Ven glared at them. She knew she wasn't supposed to get affected – she ain't a male after all! – but damn if that didn't grind her gears. She cycled a bit faster, careful not to make it obvious. She absolutely hated these jerks. From the time that she transferred, there wasn't a day that they wouldn't taunt her, saying the same old 'You talk like a fucking tranny!' or things like 'Hey shemale! The boy's bathroom is this way!'
"Hey hey, you're not ignoring us, aren't ya?" Jorgen sneered, purposely bumping his bike against her bike's hind wheel, almost making her lose her balance. Ven continued to ignore him.
"Cause if you are, we're seriously going to kick your ass!" Nick added.
"What are you even doing here? The town's that way," Ven said casually, not even sparing them a glance as she tried to remain calm and unaffected.
She could see Jorgen's glare from the corner of her eye as he sped up next to her, "You wanna know why we're here?"
'Ugh, not really.'
"It's payback time, teacher's pet!" Henry declared.
Ven narrowed her eyes, annoyed. 'What the hell are they even talking about?' "Teacher's pet?" She questioned with a raised brow.
"Don't play dumb Thlaspi," Jorgen barked, his voice dripping venom. "We could clearly see you kissing Ms. Flynn in the ass, acting so nice & behaved. Blah! It makes me sick."
"Yeah, we're gonna teach you a lesson, ass-kisser." Nick sneered.
Ven frowned. 'Is this what it's all about this time?', she thought. While it's true that Ms. Flynn, their lovely teacher, allows her to go home early every day, she didn't really do anything that made her treat Ven differently than the rest of the class. All she ever remembered doing was tell Ms. Flynn that she actually lives near Kukuroo Mountain and that they have wonderful neighbours.
"Hey, I don't know what you're talking about, Jorgen," Ven shot back. She was not going to stay quiet and let this jerk accuse her of something she didn't do. "And FYI, what you call 'kissing Ms. Flynn's ass' is simply me being a proper student. You three should try it some time."
Ven took off with a haughty smirk, not even bothering to see their shocked reactions. The feeling of telling someone off was awesome! But unfortunately that boost of ego was short lived as it was instantly replaced with fear of what's coming next. Knowing Jorgen...
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY?! I'm so going to kick your ASS!"
Ven sighed. 'Just as I expected.' Nick and Henry were also yelling incoherent curses, but Jorgen's voice was loud and clear.
Panic rose in her chest and Ven instantly cycled faster. She didn't know how long she kept going just to get away from them, but her legs were starting to get sloppy and she was already having a hard time breathing.
"You're sooo going to get it this time, Thlaspi!" She heard Jorgen yell.
Ven looked back briefly and winced. Jorgen was right behind her. She quickly looked up ahead and pumped all of her energy into her legs. Kukuroo Mountain was finally in sight, her face lighting up in relief. She was almost home. She looked back over her shoulder and grinned that they we're a good 15 meters away from her.
Nick looked to be scared, a hand pointing at the mountain. "H-Hey, isn't that where the Zoldycks live? Hey Jorgen!"
"Shut up Nick, I don't care. We're kicking his ass today!" Jorgen fired over his shoulder.
"Y-Yeah. Don't be such a wuss Nick," Henry added even though he was just as scared.
Ven clicked her tongue at hearing that. She was expecting them to give up and turn back knowing that they were heading straight into the gates of the Zoldycks. It was the hottest news this morning that another person got mangled by the gate yesterday. She was really looking forward to see them back off and run away like little–
"Just you wait Thlaspi! I won't let you escape!"
Tsk. Jorgen sure has the guts when he's motivated. Wait. She shouldn't be impressed. After all, he's out hunting her ass.
They were just behind the estate's guardhouse when Ven heard Jorgen's voice right behind her. Her eyes widened in horror.
"Gotcha!"
The next thing Ven knew, her world whirled upwards as her head got pulled back harshly. She yelped when her hands teared away from the bike handles and squawked when her butt made contact on the dusty hard ground. She must've looked and sounded like an idiot because Jorgen was having the best time in his life – laughing mercilessly, that taunting, annoying victorious laugh. Ven cursed. She couldn't believe he caught up to her. Soon Nick and Henry joined him, their footsteps right beside her. They had her surrounded.
Jorgen leered down at her with an ugly smirk. "Think you're getting away, huh?"
Ven scowled. Just as she pulled herself up she was shoved backwards again. "Leave me alone. I didn't even do anything to you," she grumbled as she attempted to stand again, her hands balling into fists.
"You got guts telling me what to do!" Jorgen fired. Ven saw him pull back a fist but she was too slow to escape getting hit.
"Guh!" Ven spluttered, the pain exploding on her abdomen when his fist connected. Next was her lower back, then her shoulders. They were beating her up, and she was helpless against their barrage of combined attacks.
Ven crumpled on the ground. She forced her mouth shut but she couldn't help but squeak in pain every time Jorgen kicked her in the stomach. The asshole seemed to realize this and he kept on kicking her there, snickering every time she made a noise.
"Stop sounding like a girl, loser!"
Ven gritted her teeth. That was the last straw.
This time, fuelled by rage, Ven was able to see Henry's upcoming attack. She lunged and immediately grabbed his arm, pulled it back and folded it before forcibly shoving it back into his spine, his fist touching his shoulder blade.
"OW! OW! OW!" Henry cried. Ven grinned, pleased that it brought him pain.
The arm-pull and fold thing was something that her dad showed her once. Although Ven was never one for action or violence, she found it was kind of fun learning a few self-defense moves. Comes in handy for times like these.
Nick quickly went to his rescue, letting out a battle cry that sounded like a howling crippled wolf. Quickly reading his movements, Ven dodged with a side-step and thrust her foot out, effectively tripping him. Then she pushed Henry at him, the two colliding with a loud 'Oomph!' before crashing into the ground. Ven quickly turned around to face Jorgen and managed to avoid a punch to the head by ducking.
"You motherf-!"
Poor Jorgen didn't even get to finish his statement when Ven sent her fist to his face, planting it firmly in between his nose and forehead. He cried in pain when the blow sent him flying at least four meters away from where she stood before falling flat on his back.
Ven stared at him with wide eyes then grinned as she looked disbelievingly at her fist. Who knew she had one hell of a punch?! 'Hot damn! I'm dedicating myself to lifting sacks of flour from now on!'
After kicking their asses, Ven hastily ran back to her bike to retreat. She wasn't going to stick around and finish beating them up for all the injustice they've done. She wasn't really one for violence anyway. All she cared at the moment was to get the hell away from there.
But just when she thought it was safe, Ven felt someone grab her by her sweater and pull her back. She was horrified to see Henry glaring daggers at her as he kicked her behind the calf, making her kneel to the ground. Nick shoved her further until the side of her face was pressed hard against the hard and dusty ground. He folded her arms tightly behind her and used his fat knees to keep her in place. He was too heavy that no matter how much Ven squirmed under his crushing weight, he wouldn't budge.
"Sooo close!" Nick boomed, Henry laughing with him.
Ven sighed exasperatedly as her bangs fell into her face. "Damn it..." She blew some strands off her eyes and mustered a glare at the fat-ass. "Get off of me, Nick!"
"Hmph, as if," The pig replied.
'That's it! I'm done playing nice with these fuckers!'
"I said get the fuck off of me, you overstuffed phlegm-infested Humpty Dumpty shit-for-brains–OW!"
"What did you say!?"
Nick retaliated with a quick bounce that pinned her further into the ground, huffing with effort. The sudden plummet of his weight into Ven' ribs and spinal caused the air to be knocked out of her lungs. Ven could only wheeze helplessly as Jorgen approached them.
"Easy, Nick. Wouldn't want you to get all the fun torturing her now," Jorgen said, his shoes coming into view before he knelt in front of her as he wiped the blood off his nose. He grinned derisively into her face. "You really surprised me back there, you little shit. Didn't know you could actually fight back, much less cuss. You're becoming like a real man now, Thlaspi," he said snidely before pulling her head up by the hair.
Ven winced at the pain on her scalp but kept her mouth shut, her teeth gritting hard behind her sealed lips.
"Now, beating you up is boring…What to do with you? Any thoughts of what we should do with Venny here, boys?"
"Hey I know~ Why don't we find out if he's is really a girl!" Nick suggested maliciously.
'What!?'
"Yeah! Isn't his real name like, really girly? What was it? Venera? Venessa?"
"It's Venica you turd," Jorgen supplied with a roll of his eyes. Then he looked back down at her and grinned with a maniacal glint in his eyes. "Nice one Nick. That bitch Flynn did say, he's a 'she'. Let's see what's he got down here~."
'Oh no. Fuck no! No no no no no!'
Ven squirmed away when Jorgen poked at her thigh, letting out a sound akin to a growl. "Don't you assholes dare! How can you even think that!? You sick fuck!"
"Oh are we now?" Jorgen taunted as Nick and Henry rolled her over, Nick's flabby but strong arms pinning her arms above her head, and Henry restraining her legs. Jorgen snickered as he rummaged his pocket and brandished a red phone.
Ven's eyes widened, and she tried to keep the panic from leaking into her voice when she screeched, "What the fuck!?"
"Oh, don't mind me, I'm just gonna take a commemorative pic for when we show the whole school how much of a tranny you are, Ven."
"Hahaha! Way to go, Jorg!
"Holy shit that's genius!"
"I know~. And quit leaning forward too much you idiots. You'll ruin the image with your dumb mugs."
"R-right, sorry!" The two squeaked.
Ven squirmed harder even though she already knew it was of no use. "D-don't do this," She begged, not even caring how pathetic she was being. "Please, man! Beat me up all you like b-but just don't—Hey!"
"Quit squirming, you shit!" Jorgen barked. Nick had begun pulling at her belt as Jorgen lifted her shirt with one hand, exposing her belly button and white skin while he held his phone in the other.
"STOP! STOP IT!" Ven screamed, her fear was evident now.
"Your skin sure is fair for a boy Ve-ni-ca~," Jorgen sang before jabbing a finger into her bare stomach, making Ven jerk as the other two funnel heads laughed.
She couldn't force down the blush that started to pool around her cheeks. She wasn't supposed to show her body to anyone until she becomes a bride. Much less to these idiots!
"Hey hey let's pull his pants down!" Nick suggested with a sly grin.
"Yeah let's do that!"
"Yeah!"
'Yeah right!' She was so not going to show them anymore below the belt – Literally!
Ven thrashed around violently and kicked her legs. With her new-found strength and Henry being the wimpy light post that he was, Ven managed to free her feet from his grip just as he reached for her belt and kick him in the ribs. He staggered backwards with a cry of pain. Ven used that moment of shock to pull her hands, bunch it together, and used both fists to punch Nick directly in the groin. Jorgen was about to grab her when she smacked him in the face, and impulsively rammed her forehead into his nose, earning a satisfying yelp.
With a hand flying to her aching head, Ven crawled hastily away from the pained, cursing trio. She clenched her teeth as she felt her head throb with pain and her vision going blurry.
'Fuck my dumbass. Why did I do a freaking head-butt!? I need to get out of here, fast!'
She didn't care about her bike or fallen cap and bag of soda pops anymore, she was going to bolt and escape from those freaks.
"No you don't! I'm going...agh, my nose...! I'm going to fucking kill you!" Jorgen yelled behind her as she felt him grab the back of her sweater for the second time.
'Aw hell no! I just smashed his face in with a head-butt for crying out loud! And my head still hurts!'
Ven screamed and thrashed as Jorgen dragged her to the Zoldyck's gate with a hand tightly coiled into her hair, draining her of any remaining strength.
"I just had a great idea to punish everything you've done Thlaspi. I'm going to feed you to that thing inside the Zoldcyk's estate!"
All the color of Ven's face drained. "HAAAH!? Have you lost your damn mind!?"
"Good idea! Let's urrgghh…feed her to the m-monster!" Nick said in between grunts as he awkwardly made his way to them.
Henry was already holding Ven's feet while they took her in front of the stone wall, and sang, "It's feeding time~!"
"You've got to be shitting me! W-wait! If you're gonna feed me to it, t-then you're gonna get eaten too!" She reasoned, hoping to the heavens that they'd release her.
"We'll just run before that happens," Jorgen replied nonchalantly.
Ven gulped. Well, there goes her hope. From the corner of her eye she finally saw Zebro come out of the bathroom. Ven flailed like a helpless fish on a hook and fortunately caught his attention. He immediately went out the guard house.
"Ven-kun! What're you kids doing? Let Ven-kun go!"
Ven was infinitely relieved and thankful for Zebro coming to help her. But of course, the jerks brushed him off, even going far as to shove Zebro away when he walked up to the group. "Back off old man, you have nothing to do with this!" Nick said as he pushed him back into the guard house.
"Hey don't pick on Zebro-san!" Ven yelled with a vehement shake of her shoulders. She almost fell from their grip but Jorgen only sunk his fingers into her scalp. Ven winced from the stinging pain. Then he hit her on the head.
"Shut up! Food don't talk," Jorgen snickered. When they reached the very front, the boys laid the thrashing Ven down into the ground, held her down, and then began to chant.
"Here monster, monster, monster~"
Ven ceased all movement as fear gripped her body. She always knew something was in there, eating all those people who came too close to trespass the Zoldyck property. They were right in front of the Zoldyck's gate, the eerie looking carved stone wall right in front of her face, and she was there, shaking and scared and pinned down like some kind of sacrificial animal in a gruesome ritual.
"Knock it off! Y-you don't know what's in there!" She yelled once more.
"We've brought you food!" Jorgen yelled over the wall, completely ignoring her pleas.
"Stop! The masters aren't going to be pleased with this!" Zebro said, his voice shaking slightly.
Jorgen scoffed and was about to yell something mean at the old man when the wall in front of them started to move, accompanied with a hum of a stony metallic noise reverberating from within.
"Oh no…" Ven heard Zebro mutter. Upon seeing the fear-stricken face of Zebro, a shiver went slithering down her spine. This was not good.
"Oh shit! It's really coming out!" Nick exclaimed, he trembled and looked as if he was going to pee on himself. He probably would if Henry hadn't screamed 'Run!' and ran way like a total coward. Fat-ass immediately followed, leaving Ven and Jorgen behind.
"O-Oi! What the fuck!? You wimps! Wait for me!" Jorgen yelled as he ran after them.
With the trio gone, Ven knew she should've ran as well. But she couldn't. She was totally frozen in place as she gaped in disbelief. Despite her shock, part of her mind took care to notice that this huge carved stone wall was actually a gate that led inside. But it was so huge! How could anyone open it?
Then it hit her. Whatever it is that made it move was a monster.
And she was going to die by its hands.
Ven closed her eyes tightly as the gates parted fully, a strong gust of wind from the inside hitting her face at once. It was cold and stale. It reminded her of death.
Her teeth clattered. This was it. It was the end of her.
But even at the brink of death, a part (the stupid part) of Ven wanted to know what kind of monster mauled all those people in the news. She wanted to see what kind of beast the Zoldycks kept in there.
And so, Ven slowly opened her eyes. Light and a blur of white immediately seeped into her parted eyelids. Then she saw it. Ven stiffened. She couldn't believe her eyes!
It was – it was...!
"A tourist? Isn't the tour supposed to be an hour from now?" The creature spoke, his electrifying royal-blue eyes fixed on her, unblinking and quizzical.
Sweet Mary and Joseph. It turns out that he wasn't the giant monster that Ven dreaded so much. It was way worse than that.
It was a Zoldyck. The silver haired Zoldyck she saw in the forest!
Now would be a good time to faint, but Ven was so scared she literally froze on the spot. She couldn't even breathe. Her body went numb that all she could hear are her pounding thoughts and racing heart.
'Oh God. This is bad! Really fucking bad! Please don't let him recognize me, please–'
It was then that the silver haired Zoldyck's eyes shone with sudden recognition.
Too late.
"Oh? If it isn't the peeping tom from next door," the silver haired Zoldyck said flippantly as if she was merely a weed he found in his garden.
Then he started to smile. It was the feral kind of smile a predator wears when it finally cornered its prey.
"Nice to meet'cha, neighbour~."
Dear diary of my mind, which I will write down later,
I. AM. FUCKED.
A/N:
Aaaannnddd that's a wrap! That was longer than I thought, whoo *wipes non-existent sweat* I apologize if Killua was sorta squished at the end there. Next chapter will be better, cross my heart. More neurotic Ven moments, some revelations, and the Thlaspis finally getting to meet a Zoldyck!
And what's this!? *pulls a random sneak peek preview out of nowhere*
"N-NO! You're wrong! He's not my– we're not–!"
Would'ja look at that? I wonder what Ven was trying to say there…Believe me, I'm ecstatic to know how that turned out, too.