Chapter Eleven Only a Fool Could Lie To Herself and Believe It (Four Years Later) Upon taking the Hunter's exam, I became a Black List Hunter. I was trained in how to use nen by Ging Frecces. My nick name for him was 'Old Guy', even though he wasn't that old. Together, we travelled to many places. He told me all sorts of stories of his numerous adventures and also about his son named Gon. Flash Back "I can't even begin to imagine who would be so dense as to love a slacker like you, Old Man," I said after he told me about his son. "Yea, Well believe it or not, I fell in love," he answered, "Unlike someone I know." He pointed over to me. "I don't need love. In fact, it's the most overrated feeling in the whole world," I retorted. "So, what about that Zoldyck you keep talking about?" "I don't talk about him that much," I tried to defend myself. "Sure you don't" he chuckled and placed a glass of water with a leaf placed on the water's surface, in front of me. "I don't love him; I just feel a strong sense of attraction towards him, that's all." "Oh well, nevertheless, let's get this over with," he pointed to the glass of water in front of me. "Alright, but I don't see the sense of drinking water right now," I drank a bit of the water before spit tanking it out. "This water tastes like crap," I shivered, remembering the feeling of it being in my mouth. "And I thought you were smarter than this," he muttered. "This water is for the Divination Test." "Oh…. Pshh… I knew that." "Sure you did," he said sarcastically. "Now focus your aura unto the glass." "I know what to do, Ging. I read it while I was at the Zoldyck Mansion," I assured. Placing my hands on either side of the glass, I focused my aura. I broke into a smile as I witnessed the leaf moving. I knew I was a Manipulator. "So this means I'm a Manipulator, huh." "Looks like someone did their homework," he snickered. "So, what are you planning to 'manipulate'? "I wanna manipulate blood." "Eh?!" "Yeah. I've been thinking about it for a while now, and since I know a lot about it, why not manipulate it?" "I think I'm gonna be sick, but if that's what you want, then go ahead," he waved me off. "I hope you know that training yourself to do that is going to be a lot grosser than you think, right?" "Yeah. I do. I'll have to familiarize myself with it." And so I did. Later on, I worked for an Italian aristocrat named Nero Mellana. It was basically my job to protect the family or to be more specific, his daughter Valerie. Life for me was pretty interesting. It could not compare to living at the Zoldyck Mansion, but it was definitely something. Valerie never missed a beat. She was smart, pretty and strong. Even though I'd prefer to spend my time with Killua, Valerie kept me going. It was difficult to keep up with the teenaged heiress. I had to constantly explain to her why her body was changing. Let's just say she had a late puberty start. She was sixteen when she finally started to mature. One day, she asked me about boys. I almost caught a heart attack when she told me a boy tried to flirt with her. I was literally held back from pummeling the bewildered boy into the ground. "Don't settle for weaklings like them. They'll only hold you back," I had said to her. Now, I had a meeting with Mr. Nero and I was out-of-this-world late. I quickly walked through the halls, for I wasn't allowed to run. "Miss Smith, you're quite early today," Mr. Nero greeted me sarcastically. "Well, I try my best," I stupidly answered. He looked at me sternly. "What, it's not my fault you don't allow me to run in the halls," I pouted like a child. "Safety is my main concern," he answered. "Anyway, I called you here because I want you to accompany Valerie to a ball that will be held at the Rainsen's Mansion." "Sure, so what are the protocols? Do I have to infiltrate a safe? Execute some bad guys? Kick a ninja's- "No, all you have to do is enjoy yourself while protecting Valerie, of course." "Eh? So no butt kicking?" I bowed my head in disappointment. "No butt kicking." "Oh alright," I sulkily walked out of his office. The maids didn't miss a beat, as they were already preparing my outfit. They selected a long baby blue evening gown that had a long slit to the left side and accessories to match. I then pulled out my baby blue converses. I knew what out come to expect if Valerie saw me in them, but it was worth the risk. I needed a dash of my style added to this train wreck of a long dress. "How am I supposed to defend myself in these murderous heels?" I gloomily thought. Then, I heard a knock at my door. "Come in," I said with a sigh. There, in my doorway stood Valerie. Her light brown waves were swept to the side and her violet eyes were trained on me. "You look amazing!" she exclaimed before circling around me. "I could say the same for you," I said, admiring her rose pink dress that stopped just above her knees. it was a spaghetti strapped dress with a dark pink bow tied to the back. She wore wedge heel black shoes to match. I watched as her eyes trailed down to my shoes. "What. Are. You. Wearing?" an irked mark appeared on her fore head. "Uhhhh… you know, the… uhhh…" "You're not stepping out of here with those shoes," she stalked towards my closet. "Here," she said handing me a pair of dark blue stilettoes, "You're wearing these." I reluctantly put them on, but dared not utter a word of complaint. Val was pretty scary when it came to fashion. "How am I supposed to defend myself in these murderous heels?" I gloomily thought. As if reading my mind, she put a pair of blue ballet flats in my hands. "If anything comes up, you can put these on." Important looking people walked in and out of the vestibule, but I didn't feel out of place. My father is well known among some of these people, so I spent my time listening to some of their greetings. I then spotted familiar presence. His back was turned to me, but I was sure it was him. Illumi. He seemed to be on a mission, as he keenly took in the presence of everyone. Valerie spotted Neon and Kurapika and went over to greet them. That meant she was in safe hands and that meant I could follow Illumi. It only took me a few seconds to lose the assassin. Despite my vigorous training, I was still no match for his speed. Oh well, my power can simply make up for my faults. The area I wandered into was getting more secluded. Then, I heard something drop to the floor. Opening the door, I realized that that something was actually someone, and behind the victim was Illumi. His hand was covered in blood. He then looked up at me. "Well, this wasn't how I imagined our reunion," I sighed. "Expect the unexpected," was his only answer. This irked me. "Hey Bug Eyes! Don't you have anything else to say, like 'It's good to see you again Iris. How have you been'" I mocked in a distorted Illumi voice. He walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. This caused my face to heat up. His hands then went to my back. "I-Illumi, what are you- Then realization hit me. All this while, my dress's zipper was going down. Illumi slowly pulled it up for me. Slowly. "T-thanks," I said with the tiniest bit of shakiness. "You're Welcome," he replied. "So how have you been?" "Everything's good. I've made new friends and all," I answered. "Well, it's good to see you're okay," he said before jumping out the window. He probably had more than one target. I shrugged it off. The rest of the night went smoothly until a certain clown texted me. The text message said he wanted to see me. He also gave a specific location. I walked down the corridor. The only sound I could hear was the click of my black heels against the expensive floors. Sniffing the air, I sensed rain slowly approaching. "Hmm… The rest of the night's gonna be quite relaxing," I absently commented, not focusing on the task at hand. I then remembered my short meeting with Illum. Inwardly, I am glad he's well. A small smile found its way on my lips. "Busy thinking I see~" a familiar voice interrupted my reflection. I sighed. "Why did you call me here Hisoka? What do you want me to see?" "Oh my, is someone in a hurry?" he asked. "Yes, I am. I've got a date tonight." "But I thought I was the only one in your heart," he feigned disappointment. "Get a grip you clown," I said as vein popped up at the side of my head. "So then who's the lucky guy?" he asked. "My bed," I dead panned "Eh," was all he could say. "Yea. We're totally gonna sleep together," I smirked at his reaction. It then changed to a smirk. "Then may I join?" "No," I bluntly answered, "My bed and I don't take third wheels." That killed him. I laughed as he tried to compose himself. "There's no getting through to you, is there?" he gave up. "Nope, now hurry and show me whatever it is you wanted to show me. I can't keep my comfortable bed waiting." "Alright." He motioned for me to follow him. "How's Valerie by the way?" "She's currently learning how to use her katanas. Is this your house?" I then asked. "No, it belongs to one of the politicians situated here," he answered. "Hmm… So why are we here?" I asked, completely ignoring the truly important question which was How the hell did we get into his house. As quickly as I asked the question, I heard weird noises coming from the slightly opened bedroom. As we got closer, my face heated up. I watched Hisoka as he tried his best to suppress a chuckle. He was probably thinking about how inexperienced I was We were in front a door, listening to two people having sex. "Have mercy upon my virgin ears," I silently prayed. Hisoka then put a finger to his lips, indicating I should be silent as he pointed to the male who was above the female. He had long black hair which covered the woman's face- Wait, black, long hair? My eyes widened as I got the jist of who it was. I turned around and started walking away. Luckily, the two hadn't noticed we were outside the door. When Hisoka and I were finally out of the supposed danger one, I stopped. "What was the purpose of showing me that?" I asked with my back to him. "Nothing really, I just thought you would have wanted to see him after such a long time." "Bull shit Hisoka!" I spat but quickly calmed down, "Anyway, whatever he decides to do and whomever he decides to do it with is none of my business." My voice was cold. "If that's all, then good night." Instead of allowing the chauffer to drive me, I walked. I wasn't expecting to see that but it's my fault for not expecting the unexpected. I bet Hisoka is wondering why I acted so calm. In truth, I am hurt but I'm not going to take it to heart. This was a flat out lie. The rain began falling. The droplets pelted me. Was the sky crying? Or was it just the cloud's way of jeering at me? My phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, I disregarded the caller. It was Kurapika. Valerie must have asked him to look for me. My phone rang again. This time, it was Valerie. "Moshi, Moshi," I answered the phone. Iris! Where are you? Are you okay? Did that stupid clown do anything to you?" she bombarded me with all sorts of questions. "I'm fine, I'm fine. I'll be there soon," I assured her. "Soon isn't good enough. That's why I asked Kurapika to go get you," she sounded worried. "Aye captain," I answered. A black car pulled up beside me. Despite the rain, Kurapika rolled down his window to look at me. I gave him a crooked smile before getting into the car. "Sorry about wetting up your seats," I apologized. "Never mind the seats," he assured, "What I want to know is why you were crying." This shocked me. I thought no one would notice and just think it was rain falling down my cheeks. "I wasn't crying," I defended myself, but Kurapika wasn't buying it. "Then what were you doing?" he asked. "I-I was just sweating through my eyes. Pshh.. Do you know how hard the muscles in our eyes work?" I tried to convince him, but he just sighed. I couldn't even convince myself. "I'm not going to force you to tell me what happened, but just know I'm here if you need to talk." "I just witnessed the man I have feelings for have sex with another woman," I confessed with tears threatening to fall. Kurapika looked at me as though he just saw a ghost. His expression then returned to normal. "If that's the case, then he doesn't know what he's missing," Kurapika referred to me. I managed a smile. "Why do you always sound so sophisticated?" I tried to change the topic. "I don't know what you're talking about," he was truly oblivious. Pulling up in front of the mansion, we were approached by a worried Valerie. She held two umbrellas in her hand. Her eyes scanned me as if to check if I was hurt. Lucky for me, all traces of tears were far from my face and Kurapika promised to keep that tid bit of information quite. "I'm fine, Valerie," I broke the silence. "I guess you are," she said looking me over one more time. "No bullet wounds like the last time." I stood behind her, holding the umbrella as she conversed with Kurapika. "Thanks for bringing her," she said, "I hope she wasn't too much trouble." "No, surprisingly she wasn't," he answered. "I can hear you," I interrupted. "Oh, before you leave, remind Neon that we're supposed to go shopping together on Saturday, okay?" "Sure," he answered before stepping into the car. "You used me as an excuse to have Kurapika drive up here didn't you," I teased her. 'I-I don't know w-what you're talking about," she stuttered and turned sharply. I snickered at her blushing face. "She totally likes him," I said to myself. "What was that?" she adopted a scary look. "N-nothing Valerie-sama," I used 'sama whenever I got into trouble. "My, my," Hisoka started out, "Now why would Illu-kun do something so hurtful to Iris-chan?" He directed the question to none other than the black haired male himself. "For now, my intentions are my own," he replied before walking off.