Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter; only my plot and my original characters belong to me.
Author's Note: I'm so pleased that my first chapter seemed to be well-liked! Thank you to all who read it, and especially to those who reviewed!
So, it's Halloween today. What better way to celebrate than to add a new chapter chock-full of Hisoka? No better way, I tell you. I hope I nailed his character, for he is equal parts enigmatic and fun to write. As always, feedback from you - my readers - is immensely appreciated, so thank you! Enjoy the second installment of Softly, Darkly!
Chapter Two: The Interview
He found it interesting that this time they had sent a woman.
Hisoka mused silently to himself as he peered around the corner. He'd arrived at the interview spot early on and had selected his vantage point carefully, so that he might be able to observe and assess his target. Now he lingered lazily, flipping his deck of cards between his palms and watching the girl from across the room with predatory intent.
His sharp eyes glossed over her appearance, noting her small frame, her threadbare, painfully plain clothing, and the tension in her hands, which gripped the edge of her skirt under the table. She was a frail, delicate-looking creature. A very breakable toy. Not fun at all.
Unless…
The magician wondered if perhaps the press had begun to smarten up about their tactics. Did they send a woman on purpose? Did they want her to try to seduce an interview out of him? No. This girl wasn't made up for that part. If they had wanted that, they would have sent some tall Amazonian woman with red lips and bedroom eyes.
He smiled and glanced down at his cards, amused at the thought of something that mundane turning him on.
So then why send this girl?
Perhaps it was a different type of seduction.
If one wants to catch wolves, Hisoka surmised, use weakened bait.
He glanced back towards the waiting girl, scrutinizing her once more. She was so slight, so unassuming—the other people in the room bumped into her as if she wasn't there. Hisoka watched with interest as a particularly portly wrestler lumbered clumsily past and nearly knocked her drink over. She appeared annoyed and muttered something, prompting the much larger man to turn his head and glare heatedly at her. Interestingly, she didn't avert her eyes from his glower, and eventually the wrestler turned and wandered away.
Hisoka cocked an eyebrow. Maybe she wasn't so meek after all…
He felt a slight twinge of excitement as the delicious thought of killing her surfaced, but he quickly suppressed it. Even with the tiny fire of determination shining in her eyes, this girl wasn't anything special to him. She was far, far too weak to pose any kind of challenge, and that made her uninteresting. If it hadn't been for his contracted obligation to meet with her and his own profound boredom, he wouldn't even be here stalking her. Besides, his palate had dulled to the taste of ordinary killing long ago.
The magician's eyes flashed momentarily away from his prey and darted from faced to face around the room. He assessed each person he glanced at, but found few of them worth more than a fleeting look, and none worthy of fighting. Hisoka felt his mouth curve into an uncharacteristic frown. His appetite had grown much more difficult to satisfy lately, and so he'd come here—Heaven's Arena—to seek out new, more formidable prey. But until a suitable fighter turned up, he had to amuse himself using other means.
That meant bad news for this inconspicuous journalist.
Hisoka cast his eyes back towards the small table in the corner and continued to observe the girl, noting her expressions and idiosyncrasies. She seemed equal parts bored, anxious, and increasingly uncomfortable in her seat. Minutes passed. Someone else knocked into her chair, but this time she said nothing. He flipped his cards, growing disinterested.
The girl glanced at her watch worriedly, and Hisoka found the will to smile again, pleased that at the very least he—or rather, his absence—was the cause of distress. He could see the little lines of frustration form on her face as she glanced anxiously about the room in search of him.
Hisoka sighed to himself and glanced up at the large, digital clock above where he stood. He was now more than thirty minutes late for his appointment to interview. He wished he could simply avoid it as he did with all other things that didn't interest him, but as a competitor at Heaven's Arena, he was contractually obligated to appear. If he didn't, he would be denied his private room—and he'd grown rather fond of his apartment.
He'd have to meet with her eventually.
The magician flipped through his cards one final time, and then turned back towards the girl. By now she had closed her eyes, fixed her hands delicately in her lap, and was practicing some sort of slow breathing exercise, leaving her unaware of her surroundings.
Hisoka felt a mischievous grin spread slowly across his face.
Time to play…
If he took proper care of this reporter, as he did with her three predecessors, there wouldn't be a fifth interview. Quickly and quietly, he crossed the room, slid gently into the seat in front of her, and waited for her to open her eyes.
Eventually she did, and her fearful expression was…well…
I love that look…Hisoka thought gleefully.
To her credit, the girl didn't scream or try to run out the door at the sudden sight of him. But the fright he'd clearly given her was enough to keep him interested for the time being.
"So sorry," he told her, his eyes glinting playfully. "I do believe I'm late for my interview."
...
Every cell in her body, every shred of common sense, and every intuition Rhea had ever possessed shrieked at her to turn and run.
But she couldn't.
She was frozen in her seat, petrified, as if several strong, invisible hands were holding her there. For a tense, terrifying moment, all she could do was stare across the table at the smirking man in front of her.
He was here—Hisoka.
Say something, Rhea urged herself silently, but in her fear she was suddenly rendered mute.
Her guest didn't seem bothered by the silence that stretched languidly between them. He leered curiously at her, his golden, perceptive eyes lingering slowly over her face and form, absorbing and assessing every detail of her. To passersby it looked as if nothing more than two strangers staring across the table at one another, but to Rhea every flick of Hisoka's eyes felt like someone was dragging a rake over her skin. She cringed uncomfortably against the intensity of his gaze, until she finally found the volition to say something.
"Excuse me…I mean, I'm sorry," she said, and then immediately corrected herself. Then she attempted a smile and added: "You frightened me."
One of Hisoka's sharply arched eyebrows lifted in amusement, and from his lips escaped a small, strange little sigh, but he said nothing more. Rhea swallowed and nodded, attempting to gather her scattered thoughts. Her mouth was suddenly very dry. She sat up a little straighter, but her posture didn't lend her any more confidence.
"I'm Rhea Satto, from the Republic Daily," she finally forced out. "I'm glad to finally meet with you."
What a terrible lie, she thought despondently.
Hisoka's eyes narrowed slightly, but his smile was unwavering. "Charmed," he purred.
Rhea went on, feeling as if she was numbly reading from a script. She was a robot, but the knife of panic still twisted in her gut. "I'm here to speak with you in regards to your recent history here at Heaven's Arena," she explained. "Um—it seems you've caused quite a sensation."
Hisoka had no reaction this time; he simply continued staring at her with a piercing glare, pinning her to her seat like an insect on display. She wished she would look away for just a second, blink, something to give her relief from the scrutiny of his gaze. But the Heaven's Arena combatant didn't avert his eyes. Finally, Rhea's hands shakily lifted from her lap and nervously fluttered about the tabletop, pushing aside her files and finally reaching for her purse. She foraged around in it a moment before pulling out a digital voice recorder.
"I'd like to ask you some questions about yourself," she said hurriedly as she placed the recorder on the table, pressed the 'record' button, and stuffed her hands under the table again. "Shall we begin?"
The sly smile on Hisoka's face creased into something slightly more spirited, and he slowly drew on hand out from under his chin, his pointer finger extended. Rhea's eyes darted from his face to his hand and back again, her breath hitched in her throat. She continued to watch as he gracefully traced a small circle into the air and then dropped his hand, his long-nailed fingertip gently pressing the 'stop' button on the recorder.
Rhea's lips parted in surprise, and her eyes shot back up to meet his, questions already beginning to form on the surface of her tongue. But before she could speak a word, Hisoka raised his palm, halting her thoughts right there.
"First, let me ask you a question," he told her, his voice thin and smooth like silk. "If you can answer correctly, I'll agree to an interview. Do you accept?"
Rhea was caught off guard by the strange request, and she found her gaze drifting downward and concentrating on surface of the table. The magician waited patiently while Rhea sat, her mind caught in a web of indecision and her face crinkled into puzzled frown. She glanced back towards at Hisoka every so often, half-afraid that he might slip away as suddenly and silently has he had appeared. But there he stayed, tilting his head to one side, his eyes narrowing curiously. The painful, twisting anxiety throbbed in her stomach, and she felt slightly sick.
What would Hisoka ask her? More importantly, why was he playing this-this game? He had only just met her. Rhea could only surmise that he was trying to test her in some way. Maybe this was amusing for him. Her eyes glanced towards him once more as she struggled with her thoughts for another tense moment, and his expression told her that her guess was correct.
For the second time in two days, Rhea found herself frightened, intimidated, and being asked to make an impossible decision.
Just breathe, she reminded herself. Finally, her eyes flickered back up to Hisoka's waiting gaze.
"All right," she conceded, although with great reluctance.
Hisoka's sly smile grew slightly wider.
"Very well," he said, and this time his voice was full of mischief.
His pale hand fluttered suddenly, and a playing card mysteriously appeared in his fingers with a sharp flick. Rhea's nerves betrayed her at the sound, and she jolted ever-so-slightly in her seat in surprise at the flicker of movement. The magician's yellow eyes flashed teasingly as he flipped the card back and forth expertly between each of his digits. Rhea watched with a widened gaze, both mesmerized and baffled by his trick.
"One question, and only one correct answer," Hisoka said, and his flipping card abruptly ceased its dance. "Here it is: 'If you have me, you don't share me. If you share me, you don't have me. What am I?'"
Rhea stared at him, both her eyes and the space inside her head blank. Her mind grasped for any kind of answer that would make sense. Seconds crept by with agonizing sluggishness, and she began to feel her heartbeat turn to thunder in her chest. What kind of question was that? A riddle? How on earth was she able to muster a reply to such a vague, confounding prompt? Her breathing quickened and her pulse pounded in her skull. But there was nothing—not even a foggy semblance of a proper response—that materialized in her head.
What do I do? she thought, the panicky feeling in her chest tightening into a knot. She fought another wild urge to shove a knuckle into her mouth and clamp down on it. I have nothing!
Her frantic eyes flicked up towards Hisoka. He was observing her reaction intently, and clearly enjoying her distress.
"Do you give up?" he asked, chuckling amusedly.
Rhea couldn't bring herself to admit defeat. Her growing sense of panic had paralyzed her. She was silent, but her lack of speech spoke loudly enough for Hisoka. His predacious grin widened in triumph.
"The answer," he revealed softly, as if someone might be listening, "is a secret."
The card in his hand did another acrobatic flip along the tops of his fingers, before he snapped them and it vanished in a little puff of smoke. Once again, Rhea blinked disbelievingly at him, not only at the magic he appeared to perform but at his enigmatic answer to the riddle.
If you have me, don't share me. If you share me, you don't have me…she mulled over in her head. Of course…a secret! Why didn't I—
"You see, secrets are my specialty," Hisoka's voice interrupted her thoughts, and his tone had become slightly more serious. "I don't intend to share them without getting something worthwhile in return."
The young journalist saw a minuscule chance to salvage the interview, and she jumped at it with abandon. "Then perhaps we can strike a deal," she suggested urgently.
"Deal?" the magician queried, his sharp eyebrows rising in surprise. He seemed mildly interested.
Rhea's heart shuddered as she spoke her next words. "If it's what you want, I can offer you a fair trade: My secrets for yours. Something for something."
The expression on Hisoka's painted face shifted slightly. Slowly, he slid his arms from atop the table and leaned back against his chair, but his scrutinizing eyes were still firmly anchored upon the young woman in front of him. It appeared that he hadn't expected such an offer and that he might be considering it. Rhea fidgeted anxiously in her seat while waiting for an answer. Her hands contorted, their knuckles paling rapidly, and her fingernails began to dig through the cloth of her skirt. They bit sharply into the skin beneath the fabric, and the tiny pinch of pain kept her rooted in the present, despite her spiraling anxiety. Finally, after a very tense few minutes, Hisoka leaned forward again, a severe expression etched onto his face.
"How admirable of you," he remarked coolly. "But I'm afraid that nothing you could offer would interest me."
His words cut into Rhea like the edge of a knife, and yet the magician didn't seem to notice how she flinched. He began to rise from his seat, but he granted her one last dismissive glance.
"You've lost your wager, so I'll be taking my leave now."
Rhea felt the heat of tears blossom behind her eyes as he began to turn away.
No—no, no, no—it can't end like this! She fought off another urge to scream. I can't go back to having nothing-being nothing! I can't!
"But—please!" she cried desperately, grasping at threads. "You're contracted to speak with me! I need something to publish!"
Hisoka's eyes flickered back in her direction, and for the first time, he regarded her without a trace of playfulness in his eyes. A sudden darkness swirled to life and seeped across the table towards the young woman. It drenched her in an unshakable, indescribable feeling of dread. This was different than the typical fear: It was a very real, physical reaction to something undeniably evil that was emanating from Hisoka, like dozens of needles pricking her skin. Rhea's very breath was stolen from her lungs, her insides twisted painfully, and her skin itched as if it was trying to crawl off of her very bones to get away from him.
However, the strange sensation only lasted a few seconds, and then Hisoka broke his gaze and his expression returned to normal. The air between them cleared, and Rhea gasped as she was finally able to breathe again.
What the hell did he just do to me? she thought as she looked hesitantly up at him.
Hisoka's eyes glossed over her one more time. He looked-what was that expression? She blinked hesitantly up at him for a moment before deciding on an emotion: Dissatisfied.
"My contract states that I must sit for an interview, but it doesn't specify that I must speak. You understand," he told her. His slanted, golden eyes looked slightly vacant, as if his mind had wandered somewhere else. "I have nothing more to say to you."
The magician pivoted and began to saunter off. Rhea watched his back, the heat behind her eyes welling up and finally forming hot tears. They spilled onto her cheeks freely, with nothing left to hold them back. The young reporter dipped her head in misery, hiding her face and winding her fingers into her hair. Anger, self-loathing, and an overwhelming sense of failure crashed down on her like a massive wave.
I failed, she realized. I've failed, I've failed, I've failed…
The hateful mantra continued inside her head. But as she battled with her turbulent thoughts, Rhea didn't realize that Hisoka had stopped and turned to glance over his shoulder at her one final time.
…
Hisoka stared back towards the girl, a little repulsed by her weakened mental state. But he supposed he wasn't completed displeased. When he couldn't get off on hurting people physically, damaging their emotions was sometimes enough to satisfy him. But it was nothing more than a cheap, temporary thrill, nowhere near as profound as tearing the flesh from someone's bones or slicing open their necks with a Nen-enhanced card.
Still, the young woman's reaction to his refusal was as intriguing as it was pitiful—just enough to get him to pause in his withdrawal and observe her a few moments longer. Now as he witnessed the naïve journalist sink into her seat and give in to despair, he wondered why she seemed so defeated. What exactly did this interview mean to her, that it left her so despondent when he refused?
Perhaps…he began, but then he brushed the intermittent thought away.
A moment later the girl's head lifted, and she brushed the strands of hair from her face. There were tears glittering in the corners of her eyes. She hastily wiped the offending droplets from her lashes before her eyes fluttered up and she noticed him still standing there. She gasped in surprise—a pleasurably sharp little intake of breath—and scowled back at him. There was no more fire of determination in her eyes, but instead a desperation that aroused images within Hisoka's mind of an injured animal caught in a trap. He was suddenly overwhelmed with the intense desire—no, the need—to kill her: Not because she was particularly interesting, not because he thought he'd enjoy it, and most certainly not because she was worthy of the beautiful death he could give her—but because she was simply pathetic. So weak, so unworthy…she didn't deserve the life she had.
The magician tried to shake the vicious compulsion off, but it was even stronger than the urge he'd suppressed moments ago when he'd been leaving the table. He felt his killing aura begin to seep out of his skin again and creep across the floor towards the girl. A single playing card flicked into existence between his fingers.
Then he paused.
No… he chided to himself as his eyes darted around the room. Too many others, too much risk…for not enough reward.
With an unhappy, exacerbated sigh, Hisoka fluttered his fingers, and the card in his hand vanished. His killing aura gradually dissipated and he was left with another heavy feeling of dissatisfaction. But he knew that if he succumbed to his homicidal urges here, there would be several witnesses and dire complications. Many more would have to die—which he didn't mind, of course—but he would be forced to leave and would be unable to return to Heaven's Arena to compete or reside in his apartment. Furthermore, he'd be regressing back into a common murderer—one who preyed on those significantly weaker than him, without reason or provocation—a person he'd now come to despise.
Hisoka's eyes flickered back towards the woeful girl. She had seemingly accepted her sad fate, for her head had sunk low again. Her pale hands were slowly gathering up the materials left abandoned on the tabletop, and her eyes were staring morosely into the distance.
Very well, he resolved silently to himself.
His assessment of her was complete, his mind made up. This wretched young creature didn't deserve the pitiful existence she had, but she didn't deserve his time either. He'd figured out another way to deal with her kind, through discreet and indirect means. Slowly and deliberately, Hisoka turned back to face her.
"One more thing," he called softly in her direction.
The sorrowful girl's head shot back up, her wide eyes expectant and still wet around the edges.
"Yes?" she replied, her voice as thin and frail as the rest of her.
Hisoka's serpentine smile returned, cutting a wide, sickle-shaped line across his painted face. He held up one graceful finger and continued: "If you are indeed so eager to know more about me, then you'll seek out a man named Li Wenxin, in the Tanzo District."
The journalist's eyes narrowed in confusion and suspicion. She began to open her mouth to inquire more, but the magician shot her another bloodthirsty look that halted her tongue.
"That is all, Rhea Satto," he declared, with one final, knowing grin. "Goodbye."
Then he turned and went. He did not look back.
…
Rhea sat breathlessly in her chair, staring after Hisoka as he weaved his way through the crowd like a snake until he disappeared. Only after her lungs began to ache did she remember that she had to inhale. When she finally sucked in a gulp of precious air, she practically choked on it and clutched a hand to her chest as though she'd been drowning in her fear.
The young woman's eyes fluttered up towards the ceiling as she tried to stave off her intense anxiety. She registered the frantic thumping of her heartbeat beneath her callused fingers, and tightly closed her eyes, willing herself not to scream aloud.
Just breath, she urged herself again. Just keep breathing.
This time, the ritual her mother had taught her did not help. The slow knife of unease was still in her gut, twisting painfully, even though her guest had gone. Her nerves had been so tightly strung and so expertly plucked by Hisoka's every word and gesture that she felt as though her sanity was beginning to unravel. Rhea felt grateful just to be alive—but that was not all.
The magician had given her a tiny nugget of hope: A place and a name where she might seek out the information she needed.
Li Wenxin, she repeated in her head so she would not forget. Tanzo District.
Her spirits began to revive. She hadn't gotten an interview, but she might be able to squeeze information from this other person—if she could find him. Today wasn't a total failure, and neither was she.
However, despite this small semblance of victory, Rhea's nerves were still thoroughly frayed. The situation had been too intense; her breathing exercises simply weren't helping calm her…so she finally relinquished herself to a much stronger, older compulsion. Again, the young woman purposefully balled up her fist and slipped a single, scarred knuckle between her teeth.
Pain was a welcome distraction to her distress, so this time she bit down hard.
And this time the blood flowed freely.
Additional Author's Notes: Whoop whoop! Another chapter done! You're all lucky: I'm a huge fan of cliffhangers, and I usually prefer to end chapters with them (I humbly submit the first chapter of this story as proof), but this time it wound up that I wrote something a little less agonizing for my readers. You're welcome! Well, once more, thank you ever so much for your readership. I'm grateful for each and every one of you. My additional thanks and reviewer responses to your reviews are below, and don't forget to leave me another note this chapter! Thanks again!
...
For adding Softly, Darkly to their faves, thank you to: ClockworkShadowX, FinalFlashX (You two are the definition of awesome), Minnk, ParadoxMagic, and hyosung.
...
For adding Softly, Darkly to their alerts, thank you to: ClockworkShadowX, FinalFlashX, Con Weird, Minnk, ParadoxMagic, Thehisokalover, a DUMB girl WITH a COMPUTER, serianri, and snik25.
...
Reviewer Responses:
nathylie: Thank you for the review. I'm glad you thought the first chapter was great and I assume when you said "good history" you mean the history I built around my main character, Rhea. Correct me if I'm wrong. But thank you anyway! I'll definitely keep it up!
Thehisokalover: Thanks for your compliments! As for updating...well, I am a very busy woman and sometimes I struggle with updating in a timely manner because of those pesky things called a "job" and "responsibilities." The good news, however, is that I'm currently writing the fourth chapter of this story, so I'm a little ahead of myself. But to stay ahead, I'm probably not going to update any more than once biweekly at the most, once monthly at the least. Thanks again for your review!
Flash: Tsk, tsk, tardy reviewer. Just kidding. Thanks for your detailed review. I'm glad you enjoyed my writing style and that you feel that everything, as you said, "flows together." I'm actually super impressed at your own perceptiveness-I think when you wrote about Rhea's character you picked out things about her that I'd obviously written into her mannerisms, thoughts, and speech, but hadn't had a conscious thought about yet. For example, the fact that her resume showed just how stubborn and fixated she is, perhaps even to the point of unhealthiness. We've already discussed the constructive criticism you offered me, so I won't repeat myself here, but I'm sure you were pleased to see that the word "purred" was used in this chapter to describe Hisoka's speech. The sheer depth of attention you've given to this single chapter is extraordinary and admirable. I couldn't be more grateful. I'll definitely continue to strive to keep this story worthy of your readership. Thank you so much!
a DUMB girl WITH a COMPUTER: Thanks for the review! Hm...you're name is...interesting...but I'm sure you're not dumb because-hey-you like my story, haha! I hope you enjoyed this installment of the story as much as you did the last! I'll try and update regularly, but I think the most I"ll be able to muster is once every two weeks. Please be patient, and thanks again!
serianri: Yes, Hisoka is "da bomb!" Thank you for your kind words. I hope you are continuously impressed by my story-telling skills as well as my use of imagery and diction. Also, thank you for mentioning diction. It seems that in some circles of this site, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who understand what that term means, so I appreciate a knowledgeable reviewer such as yourself. I hope that this chapter got you just as excited for the next portion of the story as the last did! Thanks again!
ParadoxMagic: Wish granted! Thanks for the review, and by the way...cool user name! I'll update as soon as I'm able, but something due to my work schedule I'm not going to have time to write ahead like I'd want to. So please expect updates either every other week, or perhaps once monthly. Thanks again for your feedback!
xxhappiness: Thank you so much for your review; I'm glad you thought my story was original! I'm working really hard on making it different from other Hisoka x OC fics out there - and I pride myself on creativity, so your kind words really helped to amp me up for writing future chapters! Thanks again!
Guest 1: Yup, as I explained above, I LOVE cliffhangers. I hope it wasn't too mean of me to do that and then make you wait...as mentioned above, this chapter has an ending with slightly more closure at it's conclusion. Updates however, will be only posted every other week or possibly every month - and that's only if my schedule at work doesn't interfere or completely exhaust me. Feedback does help to instill more inspiration in me though, so keep the reviews coming! Thanks again!
Guest 2: Thank you for your kind words! I'm glad you thought my story was, as you said, "nice". I'll try to update as often as possible, but I won't post a new chapter more often than every two weeks because otherwise I'll run out of steam. Currently, I'm two chapters ahead with my writing, so I'll try my hardest to keep up, but life can be unpredictable! Here's to hoping I can keep the momentum going, haha! Thanks ever so much for being my first reviewer!
