*runs away from all the people with pitchforks* AHHHHHH! I'M SORRY! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!
…Ahem. I mean, hey guys! It's Sakura Hyuga here, ha ha ha…*trails off* I CAN EXPLAIN. So, I had music competitions, and the new semester of school started. Coupled with that, I got sick…Actually, I'm still pretty sick. But, my March Break finally decided to start! Yippee, hurray! Which means that I could finally get some more writing done.
So, here I am. Anyways, special thanks to all those lovely people who decided to review! You guys are completely, absolutely, AWESOME!
Yuki-Candy-Heart: Pftt, well, I didn't fail, so that's good at least. XD
Cookie-chan: Ah, thank you so much! ^O^ I'm very glad that you liked it! And ehehehe, Cookie-chan is much more easier to type, in the very least. XD
Tochiotome-chan: I immediately recognized your icon. XD And yay, don't die! XD I won't let Killua kill my beloved reviewers!
SpadePirates4Eva: Mmhmm! But hopefully Ayaka will keep her 'Hana' disguise for a longer time. I rather like her acting like a boy. XD Plus, kimonos are hard to fight in.
Retz: Ah, thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it!~
Guest: And thank you for reviewing! Ehehehehe, yes, poor Ayaka indeed.
Dawn: ;v; Thank you so much! I appreciate it~
iluvfanfics09: Aajkdfhakjfhaskj Kam-chan is way too nice. WAY TOO NICE ASLFAFALFKALFK. ;u; *haggles and never lets go* WAHHHHH I'M GLAD I HAVE YOUR SUPPORT. ;v;
Artemis's Hunter Candace: Thank you very much!
Devil'sAngel'sDeath: Aajkdfhaksjfhkasjfa thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
Madin456: Yup, haha. XD I'm such an irregular updater. Pfft, my poor readers. Uhh, well, I got 98% on my gym summative, 97% on my science exam, and 96% on my French exam. XD That's all I had for semester 1. Hmm, well, Ayaka's like Alluka in a way, I guess. XD But she's just a sad an' lonely child who really needs a hug…Ah, thanks. XD I have no idea where that idea came from though.
RubyRedSpiderLily: Ah, thank you a ton!
Arcaelia: Ah, thank you so much for the review! I'm really glad you like the story. ;v; And ah, sorry about that. ;n; I'm a pretty irregular updater, but reviews do make me feel guilty and force me to update. XD Here's a new chapter just for you! :3
Thanks a ton to everyone who stopped by to review! I love you guys so much! ;v; After all, we've reached 70 reviews! Yay! Thanks a lot everybody! Only 30 more to go till we reach 100…
Well, enough of me rambling. Time for the story you've all been waiting patiently for!
Disclaimer: Hunter x Hunter will never ever belong to me. Only my clumsy assassin and the plot of this story will. :3
Enjoy guys!
-(*+*)-
Ayaka sighed as the warm water enveloped her body. She had debated whether or not to shower with her wig on, but in the end the state of her poor silver hair won over her common sense. Plus, it felt really good to be finally free of that wig.
Wincing as she put a bit too much pressure on her ankle, Ayaka started taking attendance of her wounds. They littered her body in dark red and blue bruises, standing out horribly on her pale skin. She sighed softly, threading her fingers in her hair before she suddenly paused.
Her hair was long.
Ayaka blankly looked down at the length of her hair before absent-mindedly wondering how she should cut it. It was already up to her ankles, a waterfall of pure silver that cascaded down her back. It was already getting harder and harder to stuff it all under her gold wig…
Sighing, Ayaka shook her head to focus and thought back to what had happened only a few minutes ago…
The sun shone brightly through her window and birds chirped eagerly as they flew through the sky. Ayaka scrunched her eyes together tiredly. She really wished she could sleep for a few more hours to catch up on the missed sleep.
Unfortunately, fate really wasn't on Ayaka's side. Not even a minute later after Ayaka thought this, a loud knock echoed through the room before a muffled lilting voice filled the air.
"Boy, get up~"
Jerking in surprise, Ayaka stifled a groan as she fell off her bed with a thud. Against the protests of her sore muscles, she scrambled up to the nearest mirror and threw on her hat. She fixed her wig (more like combed her wig; it wasn't loose from sleep and still looked completely natural. Ayaka really had a good taste in wigs…) before rushing to the door. Throwing the door open, Ayaka was greeted by a smirking Hisoka (who looked way too amused to Ayaka) and her uninterested older brother. Pretending that she didn't just fall out of bed, she looked at them expectantly, waiting for her schedule for the day.
Illumi did not disappoint her. Hisoka barely had time to lean on the wall before he started talking. Illumi searched Ayaka's face, cobalt eyes tracking every movement.
However, what he said had nothing to do with her itinerary for the day…
"You're tired."
It wasn't a question, but more like a statement. Ayaka resisted the urge to retort. No, she wasn't tired. That was exactly why she had fainted yesterday. Pausing as she inwardly rolled her eyes, Ayaka slightly frowned. That was a bit weird. After all, why would Illumi ask about something like this?
"Um," Ayaka met Illumi's eyes hesitantly. "Yes?" She replied confusedly, mind whirling to try and figure out the situation.
Illumi fell silent. Okay, now Ayaka was really confused. Luckily, Hisoka chose that moment to speak up.
"We're giving you a break."
Oh. So they were going to give her a break-wait what?!
Ayaka turned to Hisoka with an expression full of doubt. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you clearly. For a moment there I thought you said you were going to give me a break."
Hisoka's smile grew wider. "That was exactly what I said."
Ayaka's jaw dropped as she stared at the two men before her incredulously. She was completely shocked speechless. Of all things, this was the least one she had been expecting. Heck, being killed by them even ranked lower than this in terms of surprise.
Hisoka grinned in amusement, his eerie chuckle filling the room. "You have the whole day off. No battles."
Ayaka's eyes widened even more. "W-What?!" She squeaked out.
Illumi finally went back to the conversation. "You won't be able to get to the 200th floor if you continued to fight." He disinterestedly shrugged.
Ayaka blinked before trying to stop gaping. Realizing that they were still both looking at her, she lowered her head and muttered a quick 'thank you'. Hisoka gave her a wide smile as Illumi nodded slightly.
By the next time Ayaka blinked, both men were already gone.
Ayaka smiled wryly. Leave it to her brother and Hisoka to completely surprise her like that. After all, who would have thought that her slave-driver of a brother would give her a break? If anyone had suggested that Illumi would have done that, Ayaka would have been the first one to laugh at them.
She rinsed out her hair for the last time as she started to muse quietly. For once, she had an entire day to herself in this…new world. Nobody would restrict her to her room; she could walk out if she wanted to. The knowledge of that almost made her giddy. With happiness or relief, Ayaka couldn't tell.
Ayaka sighed in contentment as she stepped out of the shower. She had already washed her wig; the gold tresses were as soaked as her own silver hair. With another sigh, Ayaka threw on her bathrobe before putting on her wig. Tying the gold hair in a bun, she slipped on her hat. After all, it never hurt to be careful. Who knows, maybe her paranoid brother set up a few cameras in the room. She could only pray that there weren't any in the washroom. Even her brother wouldn't go as far as that…right?
With that depressing thought in mind, Ayaka wrenched opened the door. Before she let out a strangled yelp and slammed it shut again.
Her supposed-to-be-empty room contained her oldest brother, his clown friend, and…
Members from the Phantom Troupe (Or the Genei Ryodan).
Ayaka was suddenly grateful for the wig that still sat snug on her head.
-(*+*)-
It had taken Ayaka a long 5 minutes of deep breathing to calm down completely. When she had been sure that she wouldn't do or say something stupid that would most likely get herself killed, Ayaka calmly opened her bathroom door and stepped out. Immediately, about a dozen or so eyes swerved to her.
Ayaka crossed her arms and glared at the psycho-clown. She tried to ignore the fact that everyone in the room could kill her within seconds as she pouted childishly.
Well, she knew there was a catch for her to have a 'break'…
"Mister, how the heck did you get into my room?" She gestured to her door, which looked perfectly fine. "Seeing that you did not mangle my poor door." Ayaka left out the fact that they could pick the lock too. She desperately hoped that that wasn't true.
However, to Ayaka's amazement, Hisoka held up a key. It was the key…to her room. Hisoka cheerfully explained. "You never asked for it." His grin grew wider as he watched Ayaka's face turned red. She started to splutter.
Ayaka inwardly groaned. The degree of her stupidity sometimes even surprised herself. She never asked for her key? Oh god, why was she so idiotic?
A chuckle from one of the Spiders effectively drew Ayaka's attention. Remembering the present situation, Ayaka sneaked a glance at the people around her tea table and on her sofa. She inwardly frowned as she recognized all of them. How? Well, one, from the camera attached to her eldest brother, and two, from her hacking into a LOT of computers when she felt bored. And believe me when I say that. Ayaka was bored like, 24/7.
Ayaka's 'guests' for the day included Machi, the pretty ninja girl. She brushed her pink hair out of her eyes as she gave Ayaka an uninterested stare. Following Machi's example were Feitan, who gave Ayaka another glance, and Phinks, who gave Ayaka a glare.
On the other hand, Shalnark and Nobunaga gave Ayaka a somewhat friendly smile. If there wasn't a thin aura of a killer around them, they would have both looked like your average, friendly neighbor. Ayaka inwardly shivered. In a way, she didn't know what was scarier; scarily powerful people like Hisoka, Shalnark, or Nobunaga smiling at her or indifference like Illumi's, Feitan's, or Machi's.
Suddenly, a giant hand clapped Ayaka on the back. She inwardly winced. Even though her face and body betrayed no expressions or actions (as in, she didn't face-plant from the sheer force…), it felt as though a huge truck had just hit her poor back…
Turning around, Ayaka found herself face-to-face to the person who had chuckled in the first place; Uvogin. He…looked slightly surprised. And…impressed? Ayaka blinked as he started to talk.
"Wow, I thought you would have crumbled for sure!"
…Ah crud.
Wasn't Uvogin the one with the most physical strength in the Phantom Troupe? Although he hadn't hit Ayaka that hard (it had only been a pat), it still spoke miles for her physical strength…which wasn't really that good.
As in, Ayaka wasn't even an hour into the day and she already had the interest of A-Class Bounties.
Do you think if I fell down right now that they would think it was just a really late reaction?
…Probably not.
Ignoring her inner turmoil, Ayaka gave them all a bright smile. "Well, I'm not that weak. After all, I did get to the 100th floor, right?"
Without giving them any time to reply, Ayaka excused herself to go to the kitchen. She grabbed a container of cookies that she had received before brewing some tea. Getting enough tea cups and a tray, Ayaka ventured back to what she had somewhat cheerfully nicknamed the lion's den. After all, it comprised of 8 extremely powerful people; all of them could kill her with relative ease.
Setting down the things on the table, she began to pour some tea for everyone in the room. Ayaka even started to hum slightly as she slowly relaxed, when Nobunaga decided to interrupt her.
"What…what are you doing?" He asked, looking slightly bewildered.
Ayaka returned the look. "Um…you're in my room, right? That means that you're all guests!" Uninvited guests, but guests nonetheless... "What kind of a host would I be if I didn't provide you with some tea?"
Complete, utter, silence. And then…
"Pfft…"
Hisoka slapped his knees as he bent over, laughing almost hysterically. Both Nobunaga and Uvogin joined in, roaring in laughter. Ayaka blinked, confused, as they grabbed some of the teacups and cookies.
"Kid," Nobunaga was the first one who recovered, looking slightly out of breath as he stared at Ayaka. "You do know who we are, right? The look on your face when you first saw us proved that."
Ayaka opened her mouth slightly before closing it in defeat. She nodded slightly, gesturing for the man to continue. Nobunaga didn't fail her.
"Usually, people would be more worried about the fact that they have members of the Phantom Troupe in their room, not the fact that they wouldn't be good hosts if they didn't provide food." He snorted slightly as understanding began to dawn in Ayaka's eyes.
Uvogin chuckled again as he spoke up. "You're really funny, little boy." Ayaka blinked. Didn't Hisoka say something like that only a day or so before?
Nobunaga nodded as well. "He's hilarious. I like him."
…Okay, now Ayaka was getting a bit creeped out. After all, that was exactly what Hisoka had said…sneaking a glance at the said clown, Ayaka inwardly shivered as she caught the completely amused look on his face.
For some reason, Ayaka seemed to have a habit of making dangerous people 'like' her.
…And yet again, she couldn't figure out if that was a good thing or a bad one.
"Erm…" She piped up hesitantly. "Uh…um…I guess…Thanks?" She finished weakly, shrugging slightly.
That only sent Hisoka into another roar of laughter. By now, even the rest of the Phantom Troupe looked slightly amused. Machi was actually smirking at poor lil' Ayaka now.
Pouting slightly, she crossed her arms and sighed. "Anyways, my name is Hana. It's nice to meet you."
Nobunaga snorted again. He looked vastly amused. "I think this is the first time someone actually said 'it's nice to meet you' to us."
Ayaka blinked. Oh right, they were extremely powerful people who all killed a lot. Right…she had just said 'it's nice to meet you' to a bunch of killers…
…Then again, she was technically on the 'dangerous' list as well, if only from her last name alone.
Nonetheless, she shrugged lightly. After all, she was really glad she met the Phantom Troupe…and the fact that she wasn't on their hit list…yet. Plus, they were pretty amusing as well, if you could ignore the I-can-kill-you-in-less-than-a-second fact.
Suddenly, Hisoka wrenched the door to her room open. He shoved Ayaka outside, ignoring all of Ayaka's protests.
"Sorry, we're going to have an important meeting…Unless you want to be part of it, of course." He gave Ayaka a wide smile as he watched the child pale instantly.
Pfft, be part of a meeting held by top notched murderers? (But then again, she was part of the Zoldyck family…) Erm, no thank you. After all, sometimes, information is deadly and dangerous.
Curiosity kills the cat, some say.
Giving a light sigh, Ayaka nodded and smiled at the people in the room. She gave a light wave to the occupants. "Have fun then! And don't trash my place; I literally just got it yesterday!" Sticking out her tongue cutely, she raced away her room and into the elevator, before punching the button for the first floor…
Wait a minute! Ugh, that's it! It was her room. Why was she running away from her own room? Why did she even give in that easily? Ayaka groaned. Hisoka must be dying of laughter right now.
…Sometimes, even Ayaka has to wonder at the degree of her own stupidity.
-(*+*)-
And we reach the end of this story! Ahahaha, I mean chapter. Don't freak out, everybody. XD So, this kind of makes me think it's a bit filler, but it's not, I assure you. Ayaka meeting the Phantom Troupe is actually pretty important…Psst, hint hint hint.
Anyways, please don't forget to review, guys! Show your dear author some love! ;v;
Well, buh-bye! Sakura-chan out!