sorry for the long wait. my life is currently being very hectic right now; fanfiction has not been a priority.
to recap: Hisoka has returned. Kaede sees his future and knows he is going to die. They make a deal: Kaede will tell Hisoka how he dies, and in return Hisoka will tell her about Nen, something she has been greatly pursuing.
Enjoy!
Her finger tapped against the glass window.
There was a sickening splinter, the sound of a thousand twigs snapping. A spider-web of cracks suddenly spread from the place her finger had touched the glass, and the crackling glass shattered, unable to support its weight any longer.
Kaede withdrew her hand sharply, stepping backwards to avoid the shards of glass that clattered to the ground in front of her, her expression a little surprised. For a moment, she stared at the broken window, her Nen still swirling around the finger she had focused it on.
What is this?
She began to laugh, not so much as in happiness as much as in disbelief.
So...
...in the end, it was this easy.
All the time, she had been missing out on a big property of Nen. She had completely failed to think about the potential applications of Nen, and about what it could be used for.
What have I been doing for these past few months?
Nothing. She had been doing nothing but meditating. She had been practicing what she now knew was Ten, letting her aura shroud her body and maintaining it while she meditated, but she had been doing nothing further. There had been so much more, always so much more, so many more ways she could have used Nen.
Damn it!
Kaede exhaled slowly, eyes fluttering closed. She was unbelievably frustrated; frustrated that she had wasted so much time and angry that she had never bothered to think about cancelling her Nen to enter Zetsu, or about using her Nen offensively.
She remembered the times that she had felt so scared of Hisoka, of the times when the air itself around him had bent and turned darker and more frightening and send cold shivers down her spine. She remembered the way her heart had constricted the first time they met, when she felt as if she might die if she made a wrong move. It had been Nen all along.
She remembered the afternoon of the day before, before Hisoka had appeared. She remembered when she felt so furious that she wanted to kill, the way her Nen seemed to surge up inside of her and leak out, dark and suffocating, the way the man had frozen and couldn't move.
So Kaede had used Ten without even realizing it.
Her shoes barely made a sound as she traveled briskly back towards the Celestial Tower, too preoccupied in her thoughts to care about her surroundings. Kaede knew by now that she was a special exception in the world of Nen: while others had supposedly spent years perfecting their Nen technique, the flow of aura came to her as easily as breathing. The Hatsu that Hisoka had told her about was supposedly the most difficult form of Nen to attain, but she already had one.
She was a Nen-user with a Specialist-type Nen, the ability to see the Strings of Fate and tell the future. Her Hatsu had already developed, but she hadn't even touched Zetsu and had only skimmed the surface of Ten. She was like a train with all its parts rearranged, still functioning, but difficult and more complex to understand.
Two days left. Two days until her month was up and she had to return to Tabitha and her father.
Two days to learn everything. It was impossible.
Her heart pounded in excitement anyway.
.
Kaede slipped into her room quietly, careful not to disturb the others in her corridor that were surely asleep by now.
Hisoka had given her something crucial to understanding more about Nen. They had talked at that restaurant until the sun had long since set and the restaurant was closing, when the streets had been emptied until the only sounds in the still darkness were their quiet voices and their soft footsteps.
Once again, Kaede found herself wondering why Hisoka had even accepted her bargain in first place. He had an ulterior motive; Kaede was sure of that. She had known him for only a short while, but anyone who talked to him once knew instantly that Hisoka never let others read his intentions completely through. He was an unpredictable factor in and of itself.
A sense of guilt crept over her chest, but she squashed it down. In the end, Hisoka had not told her everything about Nen. This she was sure of. He had, however, given her more than enough help.
So in the end, it was an even trade.
After all...I didn't tell him everything either.
Her aura shrouded her body within the still darkness of her room, and Kaede took a deep breath. Ren, Zetsu, Ten, Hatsu.
She closed her eyes and smiled.
.
.
.
One more encounter.
Kaede blew out a short breath, fingering her bangs with a frown. She supposed that she should probably cut it. Her hair, which had once been a messily hacked bob, now brushed the top of her shoulders, and her bangs were starting to grow so long they hung in front of her eyes.
Once more, her gaze sweeped across the now empty hotel room, making sure she had left nothing. Her hands tightened lightly on the handle of her suitcase, now fully packed. It was the last day. Today she had to return to her father.
The sky was just beginning to brighten when she set out. Kaede sighed, and zipped up her jacket, flipping up the hood to defend herself against the distinctively chilly air. The wheels of her suitcase clicked lightly every time they ran over a crack in the sidewalk.
She stopped at an intersection, eyes squinting against the sky as she determined which direction she should go in. Her breath made soft puffs of vapor in the air.
"Boo."
Kaede's nerves went haywire. All of a sudden, she was acutely aware of a deep chuckle behind her, warm breath fanning against her ear and sending shivers down her spine. Instinctively, she whirled around. Her breath hitched.
"...Hisoka," she said, her voice impressively passive despite her surprise. A small part of her was extremely frightened. Hisoka had made his way behind her without a single sound - she hadn't heard or felt him approach in the slightest.
"Good morning, fortune-teller-chan~"
God, he was gorgeous. Under the soft morning light, every feature of of his painted on face was clearly defined, his hair slicked back into his typical flamboyant manner. Even under the makeup, she could see the strong sculpting of his jawline, the high, prominent cheekbones, and that irritating grin.
His smile was slightly lopsided, the right side pulling up just a little higher than the others. Kaede had the sudden realization that she was ogling, and she quickly glanced away.
"I didn't take you for someone who normally goes on morning walks," Kaede said mildly, her grip tightening on the handle of her suitcase. Hisoka's eyes darted downwards, and his eyebrows rose.
"No, I normally don't," he said, "but I saw you, and figured it wouldn't be bad to at least say hello."
"You didn't have to appear so suddenly," Kaede muttered under her breath, fingers tightening on the suitcase. "I didn't even hear you."
"Why are you leaving so soon?" Hisoka asked, glancing pointedly at the suitcase.
The light turned green, and they crossed the street together. Kaede exhaled, watching as her own breath disappeared into the air. "I'm only leaving for a little bit. I'll still be in the area, though."
"Shame," Hisoka said, his eyes sliding sideways to meet hers. A faint smirk tugged at his lips. "It's terribly boring when I don't have a match, so I had been hoping for some sort of entertainment during my stay. How high did you get?"
"100th floor," Kaede said, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She was very clearly reminded of the difference in power between Hisoka and her. Compared to Hisoka, who was a highly skilled and experienced fighter, she was akin to a fish that struggled to use its gills in the water. Even if her control over her Nen was better than most, she was still extremely inexperienced when it came to actually applying any Nen skills.
"You got to the 100th floor in a month?"
"Three weeks," Kaede corrected, unsure of what Hisoka thought. "I was trying to find you."
"Hmm," Hisoka made a a vague noise. They lapsed into a brief silence, letting the sound of Kaede's suitcase wheels rolling on the ground fill the gap in their conversation. Because of the early morning, the streets were eerily empty.
"Hisoka," Kaede finally said, "we both know you're not the type to randomly greet someone this early in the morning. What do you want?"
There was a brief pause. Kaede risked a glance at Hisoka, only to realize that he had stopped walking, and was instead looking at her, his eyes narrowed.
She moved to turn away. His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, pulling lightly, but firmly.
"What are you plotting, Kaede-chan?"
Kaede froze. His voice had been soft, but there was a faint, sharp edge to those words that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
Hisoka tugged at her wrist again, spinning her around so they were facing each other. The expression in his eyes was almost lazy, with a hint of amusement.
Kaede refused to be intimidated by the way he was watching her. She refused to believe the fluttering in her stomach was anything other than adrenaline. She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. "W-What?"
"I didn't think you were hard of hearing," Hisoka pulled her closer, so close that she could feel his body heat, his unnaturally cold hands. "I said, what are you plotting, Kaede Hanegawa?"
Despite herself, Kaede shivered. Hisoka, in all his raw energy, radiated danger and strength. And some part of her fluttered at having caught his attention.
She swallowed down rising panic.
"Come on now, Kaede-chan," his voice was childishly scolding. "We both know you haven't just been loitering around while I was gone. What have you found, and what are you plotting?"
Her heart constricted within her chest. He's just not going to let up, is he?
"I know you've found something," Hisoka said, and even though his voice remained lilting and singsong-like Kaede detected a hint of seriousness, an edge of coldness. "I know you've found something im~por~tant~, something so important you've decided to finally pull out your cards and begin moving. Other people might be fooled, but I'm not. You're a dangerous one, you."
No, Kaede thought grimly, the dangerous one here is not me. Only Hisoka would have been able to notice something so well-concealed, something she had been withholding for so long.
"You're suspicious," Hisoka said softly, his reddish-gold eyes gleaming. "You've been suspicious, ever since you left. Ever since I came back. What are you hiding?"
Everything.
Of course there were things she had not told Hisoka: important things that should have been said, but things that she did not allow herself to say. So how did he know?
"I..." Her words seemed caught in her throat. She swallowed painfully. "I can't tell you right now."
She pushed lightly against Hisoka's chest, and to her surprise Hisoka yielded, stepping back and allowing her just enough room to get by. Kaede grabbed her suitcase.
"You're not telling me," Hisoka echoed. There was a pout in his voice. "What exactly are you planning, Kaede-chan~?"
Her smile became bitter.
"Let's meet again," Kaede said softly, "...I can't tell you right now, but I will. In fact, I'll probably need your help."
What exactly are you plotting, Kaede-chan~?
"But if you really want to know what I'm planning, I suppose..."
"...it's something terrible."
.
.
.
"Welcome back, Kaede. How was your month at the Celestial Tower?"
Kaede smiled at her father, but the smile did not reach her cold green eyes. "It was very...interesting. Thank you."
She accepted the folder, and carefully opened it, spreading its contents over the tabletop. Kaede found herself once again admiring the thoroughness of her father and Tabitha's plan for subterfuge. It was at once brilliantly thought out and yet despicably amoral.
Charm your way in, and obtain proof of their underhanded deals.
Not difficult. The CEO was superstitious, and Kaede had full confidence that her fortune telling would be completely accurate.
After all, these past three days had not been entirely fruitless.
.
Her hair had been lengthened, somehow, and had been given curls that fell just below her shoulders. Her bangs had been swept to the side, pinned by a large, ornate flower that was tucked behind her ear. The makeup artists had done their job: somehow they had managed to make her eyelashes long, her eyes big and bright, her cheekbones high and prominent, her skin smooth and flawless. Her dress was a light green that slowly became darker and darker, ending in a near-black shade right below her knees. Kaede shifted uncomfortably, adjusting the thin straps. Despite her discomfort in the loose garment, the dress itself was actually very light, clearly made of a high quality fabric.
Peering into the mirror, Kaede tried to find some semblance of her past self. Gone were the hastily hacked away bangs, the gaunt cheeks, the dirty face. Gone were the boyish clothes, the untidy appearance. Staring back out of the mirror was a high class lady. Befitting for the daughter of a rich businessman.
How awful. In the end she was just another painted upon face.
"You look beautiful!" The door creaked. Kaede turned to see Tabitha standing in the doorway.
"The dress brings out your eyes," Tabitha said, smiling. "They did a good job, didn't they?"
Kaede hesitated, but could not help but to reply, "I don't look like myself."
"No," Tabitha said, moving forward so that she was right in front of Kaede, "this is you. You were always pretty. A number of circumstances just prevented it from showing. You know, when you ran away, your father searched for you like he was obsessed. I've never seen anyone who cared for his daughter more."
Her instincts told her to reply guardedly, to show Tabitha the hostility that Kaede had originally treated her with. But the past month had changed Kaede somewhat, and now she told herself that it no longer mattered. In the end, after all, Tabitha seemed as if she genuinely wanted to make amends with Kaede. Some things would never be forgotten, but they could always be forgiven.
Besides, she had other more pressing matters to attend to.
"Is it time for lunch?" Kaede asked, and smoothed down the front of her dress.
.
.
.
Hisoka had been completely right.
There were things Kaede hadn't told Hisoka.
Of course, there were things she didn't have to tell. She didn't have to tell Hisoka, for example, that she had recently been in contact with her father, or that the reason she had wanted to meet Hisoka again was not really because of the Zoldyck assassin or to learn more about Nen but simply because she wanted to see him again. In fact, she didn't want him to know that. Kaede did not want Hisoka to know how much his unexpected appearances and disappearances affected her.
However, there were certain things that, as Kaede saw her surroundings blur through the window of the car she was riding in, she wondered if she should have told him.
For example, she had not told Hisoka the exact specifics of how he would die.
She hadn't lied; she had told him that he would be drugged during a meeting of some sort in an office, and then ambushed by several people, one of whom would stab him in the gut to immobilize him and then keep stabbing until he was dead. This she had seen and confirmed with her strings.
However, she hadn't told Hisoka where the building was, or that it was overlooking a very familiar street.
She had not told Hisoka that she, in fact, recognized the man who would be responsible for killing him. She recognized him because the smiling man who had been responsible for the ambush was the same as the man in the picture emailed to her by Tabitha just the day before.
She had not told Hisoka that she would be having a meeting with the person responsible for his death a mere three days after she saw his death.
No; these things Kaede did not tell Hisoka. She smoothed her calloused, bony fingers over the surface of the folder Tabitha had given her. She opened it briefly, took note of the picture attached to the file within.
Mr. Richards, age 32. CEO.
It was a fairly boring resume, with nothing overly suspicious. He was just another man who had inherited the business from his own father and then became extremely successful.
This man is going to kill Hisoka.
Once again, Kaede pushed down guilt. She really should have told Hisoka everything. I'll tell him later, she thought to herself, later. I need to make sure of some things first.
Her Nen wrapped around her body, and she glanced down at her hands. They were still the same - only a few threads could be seen. The rest were seemingly concealed under a web of colorless threads, just like before.
She clenched her fists experimentally, watching the strings shift. She closed her eyes.
.
.
So this was the smiling man.
"Miss Kaede Yasukawa, is it?"
They had given her a false name, and with good reason, but Kaede still felt uncomfortable with borrowing a last name that wasn't actually hers. She had never really been good with lying. In her entire life, she had never been familiar with spinning tales from the top of her head, and had never developed the ability to lie convincingly. That had been the job of other people.
The man before her was tall, and handsome too, with rich brown hair that had been styled neatly and a charming smile. He welcomed her in, and she smiled back, allowing her coat to be taken and to be motioned to a seat. He looked exactly like the picture.
She caught sight of herself in the window's reflection, and realized that her smile was an exceedingly uncomfortable one.
In the end, I am still bad at lying.
"I've heard many things about you, Yasukawa-san. They say you're a fortune-teller?"
"Yes," Kaede replied, her smile fading slightly. "I must say I've heard many things about you as well, Mr. Richards. It's a pleasure to meet you."
The young CEO laughed, and Kaede found herself comparing it to Hisoka's laugh, forgetting to respond with a smile.
"Well, Yasukawa-san, the pleasure is all mine. I'm a very superstitious person, honestly. When I heard that a young and beautiful fortune-teller had asked for an appointment with me of all people, I wanted to meet you at once."
Kaede gave him a pleasant smile, tugging gently at the hem of her dress as she did so. She didn't know how she should react.
The man smiled winningly, and sat down in a chair across from her. "You mentioned to my secretary that you could provide very valuable information about my company's future if you were allowed to meet me. I can't help but be slightly doubtful - how will I know you aren't making things up as you go?"
Of course. The challenge was here. Kaede let out a deep breath, and nodded. "Of course," she said, "Give me your hand, please."
Vows and Limitations. Something Hisoka had told her about only a few days ago, and something she had managed to work out within those three days.
This was Kaede's Limitation on her Nen, and the Vow she had placed upon herself. In exchange for her using her ability to see the future, the client would repay her with an equivalent amount of information. The information's value would be deemed by how important it was to her, and as a result, the accuracy and clarity of the scenes the Strings showed her increased.
So in this case, Kaede should ask herself not what will I see, but rather what am I going to ask?
She had already long since made up her mind.
"I see strings," Kaede said before she took Mr. Richard's offered hand. "I have an ability that lets me predict the future based on the strings I see. The strings are always on a person's hands, and when I touch them, I can see the future. But recently, I've noticed things about my own hands..."
Like spider's silk.
Mr. Richard's hand was warm and lightly calloused, fingers rounded and healthy.
"I have something covering my hands," she said. "Colorless strings, with no intention but to conceal. It shouldn't be like this, because I never placed any sort of condition on myself making it so that I would be unable to see the strings on my own hands."
"Lately...it's become clear to me lately that these strings aren't there because of me."
Traces of Nen, lingering amidst the shroud of colorless threads, not hers. Hisoka must have noticed it. Someone else had been tampering, but how? And why? Clearly she could not trust her recollections. Clearly there was something amiss that she could not place.
There is something wrong with me.
Her eyes closed.
"In two days, you will try to make an underhanded deal with the local mafia," Kaede said, the images flowing past her eyelids. "You're going to succeed - in fact, you're going to earn profit in the thousands. With this money you will make several investments, making sure you keep your underground transactions well-concealed from the public. The company's stocks will raise unexpectedly in two weeks. You'll be doing very well."
"However..." she paused momentarily, "This is all relatively boring. Anyone could predict this, because it's not exactly unexpected. So I'm going to go a bit further..."
She was suddenly nervous, but she swallowed it down, forcing her voice to be even and assured, as if she truly wasn't taking a huge gamble.
"The problem here is that you will never profit enough. After all, there's a rival company that's matching your every move. Your company is suffering," she said. "You are in heavy competition with a rival company, and desperate times require desperate measures...right?"
It would have been foolish of her to think otherwise. Her father had become so desperate he had asked her to sabotage this man's company. Of course the other company had been desperate too. It had become less of a competition for reputation and profit and more of a competition of who will, in the end, become the sole winner? The one with the most political power, and the one that came out on top could only get there through brute force.
It was pleasing, really, to feel the man's hands twitch lightly, as if he was nervous.
"You're an impatient person," Kaede said. "You want success, and quickly - it shows in your business deals and investments. That's why you're willing to deal with the mafia, and why you're willing to take so many risks. You want your company to become even more powerful that in already is - and in order to do that, you don't mind squashing down any other rival companies that would offer competition."
Kaede opened her eyes, and was pleased with the unsettled expression on Mr. Richard's face.
"I...am impressed," he said.
Kaede narrowed her eyes. Even in this situation, he retained some semblance of composure. A politician through and through. She had completed what Tabitha and her father had asked of her.
She wasn't done. There was one last thing.
"My strings never lie," Kaede said, and she felt as if her voice seemed a little strained now, as if it pained her to speak. "My strings will always tell the truth...so I will know if you are lying. I only need confirmation."
She dropped Mr. Richard's hands.
I've been hired to kill someone. Certain circumstances prevented me from doing it right away. I'm surprised you even picked that up.
"His name is Hisoka," and this was her battlefield again, her warzone. She was finally revealing her cards. "Red hair, pale skin. A star on his right cheek, a teardrop on his left, wearing a magician's outfit. He seemed perfect - brutally strong, frighteningly skilled,willing for hire, and yet manageable, because he isn't very well known. You didn't want an especially notable assassin, like one of the Zoldycks. No - instead, you wanted someone easier to manage, someone who guaranteed success but wouldn't be difficult to remove."
"Yasukawa-san..." Mr. Richards swallowed, "I have no doubt of your abilities. You may stop now."
"I'm not done," Kaede hissed. Her Nen swirled around her, shrouding her, like a cocoon of liquid glass. "Who did you hire Hisoka to kill...and why are you planning to kill Hisoka afterwards?"
What are you plotting, Kaede-chan~?
"Answer me," Kaede said, "and I will tell you everything you want to know. Help me get rid of these bothersome threads on my hands, and I will make you rich. Make a deal with me."
Remember those colorless threads?
Yeah, they're important. Sort of. It's complicated. You see, I gave Kaede an absolutely god-awful backstory...so this is my apology. Plot twists will abound. Be prepared.
I love you guys :)
