Thank you very much ultraviolet read, ItsLiz, Razorblade Mistress, winddemon199, Deja Via, 5O5AAA, Sailor Pandabear, SoulxHunter and Wavywavy for reviewing to last chapter! :D
Before begining this one, I have something to share with you guys that is related to the fic:
A couple of weeks agoe, I received a message from another user warning me about the rules in this site regarding explicit content, telling me that graphic descriptions of sex were strictly forbidden here. Truth be told, I hadn't read the rating guidelines with much attention so, since I've found - and still find - many fics with lemons and whatnot, I believed it was alright to post this ind of stuff here. I find it silly and everything but I really don't want to risk having this fic deleted from here so I've removed all of the MA-rated content from my chapters (even if I do find they quite important for relationship-development).
To those of you who enjoy lemons, do not worry! I've already uploaded all of my uncensored chapters in my account in AO3 (archiveofourown ENDPOINT org/works/3906163/chapters/8741686) and will continue to update my fic there. Whenever I update a chapter that requires censoring, I'll put an warning here and write the link to it so you can find it easily on AO3. ;)
I'm really sorry about all that. I know I'm behaving overly-paranoid and everything, but the PM I've received, albeit friendly in tone, left me a bit spooked about losing this fic...
Well, I think that's good enough explanation. Let's get to the chapter, shall we? I hope you enjoy! :)
Despite having Runvle's protective barrier enveloping her body, Bleach could swear she felt Illumi's body heat sweeping into her pores. The assassin had returned to his original form and cornered her close to the queen-sized bed so she couldn't take any step back unless she was willing to let herself fall on the mattress. He was standing right in front of the woman, forcing her to raise her head to look into his black eyes. Eyes that seemed to burn with a desire so intense that it was almost as good as physical contact itself.
"We're in private now." The thief spat out, willing her body to get a grip of itself. "Get on with it."
"Always so direct. Relax a little. After all, it has been so long since we've last been together; let's take our time." The man replied and rotated his body, allowing it to fall back on the bed by the woman's side. "Come here. I can help you to relax."
Bleach scowled and turned her face away from the assassin as not to let him see her blush. It wasn't because his flirtatious offer that embarrassed her, it truly wasn't. What shamed her was the fact that Killua was listening to everything through the wall right by her side and the small microphone she had implanted inside one of her molasses. Sure, she had ended up vaguely explaining to the boy the nature of her and Illumi's… "relationship" – a talk both of them wished to erase from their minds – but it was still humiliating to have one of the boys being present (even if only listening) to her adult activities. Especially when they involved a man with morals so low, he could trip on them.
"Quit it, you pervert." Bleach demanded, taking a couple of steps away from the bed before turning to face the assassin once again.
Words failed her when she found the man already shirtless and laying back on the mattress in the most inviting position. So fucking hot.
"Why should I?" The man asked in a husky tone. "You clearly enjoy what I can do to you. And you know just how much I enjoy pleasing you."
On that small moment, Bleach felt very tempted to just say "fuck it" and attack the man on the bed. She could get some pleasure on the side before getting down to business and yes, she remembered very well how he enjoyed pleasing her. Again and again.
Killua! Remember that Killua is right there on the other room! You don't want to traumatize the boy and ruin sex for him, do you?! You're already fucked up enough for both of you!
"Well, I'd enjoy more if you cut the bullshit and went straight to the point. What the fuck do I have to do for you to tell me what you know about the Republic of East Gorteau? Oh, wait! Let me guess: get on my hands and knees. That was your personal favourite back then."
Bleach felt an almost physical pain at saying those crude things knowing that Killua was listening, but she ignored it in favour to give Illumi a bored look. She had a part to play if she didn't want the assassin to become suspicious of her and Killua's plan and, if it meant keeping the boys safe, she'd endure some self-humiliation.
"Hmm… that was a very appealing position for you." The man answered with a teasing smirk on his lips. "Why don't you get on your hands and knees and we'll talk about our exchange then?"
"Ha. Ha. Ha." Bleach deadpanned. "Just spit it out. What do you want from me?"
For long moments, the man just stared up at the thief with that burning stare he was so good at.
"Drop your Nen shield." Automatically, Bleach's eyes narrowed in suspicion, something that didn't go unnoticed by the assassin. "I have no needles with me if you're worried about me manipulating you."
"And I should trust you because?"
Instead of giving a verbal answer, Illumi stood up and stripped from his pants and shoes, while all Bleach did was stare dumbfounded with irrational desire dripping from her eyes and drool from her lips. When he reached to pull down his underwear, the thief snapped out of her stupor and, with a will-power she didn't know she had, demanded him to stop.
"That's enough! I believe you're not carrying needles with you!" Then, she inactivated Runvle's power, allowing the small mirror to disappear from her hands. "There! Now tell me what you know."
"Come here first." The man spoke in a husky whisper, sitting on the middle of the bed with his back supported by the headboard. "I've missed you."
I've missed you too.
"I don't give a shit." Bleach grumbled as her feet took small steps towards the bed. "Just tell me what you know already."
Again, instead of answering with words, Illumi let his hands speak for him and pulled Bleach towards him until she was straddling his thighs and her waist was encircle by his arms.
"What do you thin-!"
The rest of the words died on the woman's lips as the assassin dropped his face on the crook of her neck and took in a deep breath before exhaling the hot air all over her sensitive skin. When he started talking, her body actually shivered in anticipation. But she held back any sounds.
Killua isn't seeing anything that's happening. Don't let him figure it out by your ridiculous gasps and moans.
"The Republic of East Gorteau-" He began in a soft whisper, running his hands up and down Bleach's arms. "-is a well-established dictatorship. Their ruler, the Supreme Leader, concentrates all of the powers in his person, giving him absolute control over his citizens."
As the assassin spoke, he nuzzled Bleach's neck and nibbled her ear-lobe making all of the woman's coherent thoughts disappear. All but one: how glad she was that Killua could only hear their conversation and couldn't actually see what they were doing. What would the boy think of her if he could?
Even that, the thief found, became a bit fogged when Illumi started to plant long and arousing kisses all over her skin as he continued to speak about that country. His voice was so soft and husky that he could as well be talking dirty to her. She had to bite her lower lip to keep from sighing in pleasure.
"This form of government came to be after a revolt that left many poor dead and one rich in power. The Supreme Leader and the ruling classes now can enjoy of extreme wealth while most of the population lives in misery and starvation."
By then, Illumi had managed to pull Bleach's shirt from her body, allowing his hands to caress her bare skin. The woman bit harder on her lower lip not to moan at the contact and clenched her fists by her sides as to not return the man's erotic touches. Her seeming brown eyes glared at the top of Illumi's head as he stopped talking altogether to kiss her now exposed skin, but there was no denying the burning desire in them. She hated Illumi, but she also wanted him, so so badly.
"This-" The assassin resumed talking, raising his face from the woman's neck to drop his forehead on hers and look into her eyes. "-is only possible thanks to the strong manipulation of their media. Television and Radio constantly report lies to keep the population under the fake belied that their lives are good, saying that in other countries half of the population starve to death before the age of 10. They also completely omit the fact that the country receives financial aid from other countries and non-governmental institutions. Instead of spending said aid on his impoverished citizens, the Supreme Leader spends it on himself and his Army. Talking about Army, the Republic have developed nuclear weapons and, in order to increase the financial aid received, threaten other countries about using them and starting a nuclear war."
It was a truly good thing Killua could listen to Illumi's words through the hidden microphone inside her mouth for, when Illumi started to undulated his hips beneath her, creating a mind-numbing friction, Bleach simply wasn't capable of paying attention to his words anymore. If she wanted to keep absolutely quiet for Killua's sake, she had to focus solely on that.
Damn this fucking bastard for making me want him so fucking much! It's not fair!
"Also, they have an extremely efficient espionage system; one that involves the country's whole population. It is an informant system called "finger-pointing group". It operates in secret, using groups of informants. Financial rewards are given for discovering spies, uncovering evidence of a revolution and catching defectors in the act. Not only that, as the group successfully uncovers traitors, it receives "informant points". If the informant points received reach a certain amount, all the members of the group increase in rank. However, if a report turns out to be false or a member of the group commits a crime, the entire group is punished. Family members are divided in different groups, so if a group attempts to escape to another country, the rest of their families are sentenced to death or imprisoned for life. If an entire family is caught defecting, they are executed without questioning."
If Bleach was in her right mind, she'd be disgusted and angry at such an absurd and oppressive ruling system however, at the moment, all she could think about was how close Illumi was to her, how good it felt to have him grinding his hips on hers and how better it would feel to have him thrusting inside her. The woman was close to tackling the man on his back and having her way with him then and there. The pain of biting on her bottom lip was the one thing that grounded her in place and kept her from doing so.
But she was so close to ignoring it too…
However, before she could tip over that edge, Illumi suddenly stopped all of his ministrations altogether, making Bleach's eyes widen in surprise as her mind slowly returned to Earth. Her contact covered eyes refocused on Illumi's face, which was barely two centimetres away from hers, spending seconds staring longingly at his mouth before raising to his black eyes.
"There you are. This information should help you and Killua once you're inside the Republic of East Gorteau." Illumi whispered to her, letting his warm breath touch her lips. "Now, I think I deserve a reward for that, don't you?"
Bleach immediately scowled and made to get off the assassin's lap but found she couldn't. Illumi's hands were locked on her arms, just above her elbows, holding them close to her body and pulling her down on him.
"Nah-ah-ah. This isn't how it works and you know it, Bleach." Illumi spoke, using that hold to roll them over so he was laying atop the woman, in-between her thighs as his upper-body pressed down on hers. "I give you something, you give me something."
"And what it is that you want, shithead? Another fuck?" Bleach snarled as she tried to wiggle out of the assassin's hold, feeling her hate for the man on top of her finally outgrow her desire for him. "Is it truly that fucking hard for you to find a willing woman? That's why you keep playing these shitty games with me?"
Illumi smiled that arrogant smile of his that made Bleach want nothing more than to drag his face on asphalt.
"I can have any woman I want and you know that, lovely." Bleach actually growled at the nickname. "But no, I don't want to fuck you again; not now. I just want a kiss."
The thief's struggles ceased altogether and her eyes widened in shock and apprehension. Never in a million years did the thief imagine that Illumi would ask for a kiss; it was much too simple to him.
It instantly made all the alarms go off inside her head.
Sure, he may have asked for it because he knew how much importance she put on the gesture and wanted to mock her for it, but she doubted he'd give up his last chance of recovering Killua just to crawl beneath her skin one last time. It was a trap and she knew it.
"What if I deny it?" Bleach defied, glaring challengingly at the man.
"Then I'll knock you out and go after Gon." The assassin answered in an easy-going voice. "He's still without Nen isn't he? He'll be a very easy target."
"Killua is there protecting him." Bleach challenged. "He won't let you anywhere near Gon."
"You're not the only master of stealth here, lovely." Illumi highlighted with a condescending smile. "I could kill that boy and neither he or Killu would realize it until he was dead on the ground. Sure, my little brother would soon find out it was me whom killed his "friend" but it wouldn't matter."
"I think your father would disagree. Killua told me how Silva promised him a chance of making friends. If you attacked Gon, you'd be directly challenging him." The thief spoke with a victorious smirk. "Gon is out of limits for you. You can't kill him."
The predatory smile on the assassin's face was more than enough to make Bleach's own smirk die on her lips and the blood run cold in her veins.
"Not if I do so as retaliation to a broken contract. Then it'll have nothing to do with Killua, but everything to do with you."
There was no denying the despair in Bleach's wide eyes as she stared up at the assassin and he felt a shiver of excitement run down his spine. Watching the woman's emotions run rampant in her eyes because of him was truly one of the most arousing visions and Illumi couldn't help but grind his hips on hers one more time as he whispered in her ear.
"What's your answer, Bleach?" Illumi demanded, finally letting go of his hold on her arms.
Bleach's eyes narrowed as she raised her now free arms to Illumi's head so she could roughly pull on his hair and make him raise his face from her ear. She glared into his dark eyes with all the anger and disgust she could muster.
"I hate you just like I hate Cressar."
Illumi's large eyes widened for a fraction of a second and his body tensed slightly at those words. But that went unnoticed by Bleach as she roughly pulled the assassin's lips to hers, kissing him angrily.
That kiss was unlike anything Illumi had experienced with Bleach so far. It was violent and cruel and the assassin couldn't help but scowl because of it. The woman wasn't one to associate sex to violence. Even when he had pushed her into selling herself to him, she hadn't tried to harm him or herself, she just took it as painless as she could. It bothered Illumi immensely how she was turning something that was so pleasurable for them both into a painful experience. It also detracted too much of his power in manipulating her through physical contact.
However, the assassin had his own agenda to fulfil and couldn't bother himself with that. For now, he'd focus on putting Bleach under his influence again and retrieving his Killu. Then, after his brother was safe and sound in their home, Illumi could worry about recovering his place inside Bleach's mind and, with a little more effort, gain a place in her heart. Gods know it would be much easier to control the woman if she actually fell in love with him instead of just having a combination of sexual attraction and mild fondness.
Therefore, pushing Bleach's obvious disgust aside, Illumi did his best to return the kiss in a much gentler manner, trying to coax the woman into following his example and return their contact to its original and pleasurable status quo.
At the same time, the poison that was coating the inside of the assassin's mouth started to release itself inside Bleach's.
The thief felt a sudden dizziness hit her and abruptly pulled away from the kiss. She weakly pushed Illumi from her and jumped off the bed, trying to reach her discarded shirt on the floor. However, as soon as her feet hit the ground, her knees buckled and she fell.
Kneeled on the edge of the bed, Illumi quickly grabbed at her, holding her around the waist to keep her body from hitting the floor.
"Don't worry." The man whispered in her ear, pressing her body closer to his. "This isn't going to hurt or kill you. Just relax and let sleep take you."
Bleach still found in herself the strength to narrow her eyes at the assassin at the same time she activated Namid's power.
"Don't bother." The assassin stated when he noticed the woman's necklace glowing. "This drug is an irreversible anaesthetic. It means that, to end its effects, Namid would have to replace the affected neurons or make your cells produce enough competitive substances to replace my drug in your cells' receptors. Either way, it should take her longer than usual to fight off the effects – we are talking about neurons, extremely differentiated cells after all. I should have more than enough time to take you back to my hotel and return you to a more… complacent set of mind."
The thief's glare darkened at hearing that but she didn't stop trying to use Namid's power to end the poison's effect. Until her last second awake, her necklace glowed a bright indigo.
When Bleach's eyes slid shut and her necklace finally stopped glowing, Illumi allowed himself to avert his dark orbs from hers and let out a sigh.
And to think she'd so willingly cuddle me in her sleep.
As the assassin laid the unconscious woman on the bed and started to collect their clothes from the floor in a fast pace, he felt a presence watching him. In a flash, he was standing in front of the window, staring at the top of the building just across the street. There, to his utmost displeasure, he found Killua staring back at him with murderous eyes.
He watched his little brother raise his cell phone to his ear and, not a second later, Bleach's own phone was ringing. Without a second thought, the assassin picked it up.
"Hello, Killu."
When his little brother spoke, his voice was astoundingly cold and murderous; in any other circumstances, it would've made Illumi proud.
"Tell your whore not to bother coming back to me and Gon. If she gets near us again, I'll kill her and tell Father about you."
Then, the line went dead and Killua left his sight.
With a feeling of anger and frustration starting to grow in his chest, Illumi methodically lowered the phone from his ear and started to dismount the piece of technology in his hand. As expected, he found a small tracking device in it.
Never trust anyone outside our family.
It had been one of the very first lessons Illumi taught all of his younger brothers, however, ever since he was a small boy, Killua had always ignored said lesson and trusted strangers with an imprudent ease. Until now.
Now, his little brother had rightfully suspected his "friend" and tracked her down. He found her in a motel room with his older brother. He forbade her of coming near him again. He check-mated his plans without even knowing it.
What's the point of having a puppet that can't do as it is told?
Controlling Bleach wouldn't do him any good if she wasn't allowed near his Killu to slowly enter his defences and manipulate him to come home. She was useless to him now.
Illumi's dark and cold orbs fell on the vulnerable and semi-naked woman laying facedown on the bed and he had to resist the urge to punish her for his failed plan. It wasn't the thief's fault she was too stupid and trusting to believe that, after getting involved with him and allowing herself to be manipulated into betraying her "friends", she would be easily trusted again. Of course, his Killu would be smarter than that; after all, he had learned from him how to deal with traitors.
Catch them red-handed. And kill them.
Maybe Killua hadn't followed his instructions to a T – at least not yet - but still, Illumi should've known better. He should've told Bleach to leave all of her electronics and exchange her clothes for new ones before meeting with him. Why hadn't he?
I believed Killu too soft to suspect his "friends". I underestimated him.
Mechanically, Illumi put his clothes back on and reached for his phone.
"Hello, Mother… Yes, I'm fine... No, I didn't manage to get Killu back… I know, but there's no time anymore. It has been too long since my last job and I can't have Father suspecting me. Call Grandfather so he can give me my next assassination… He's out on a job? Well, what do you have for me then?... Alright. Message me the data, yes?... Thank you… Love you too. Bye."
Putting his phone back in his pants' pocket, Illumi walked to the bed and sat down by the woman's side. Again he felt the passionate urge to punish her for his mistakes, for making herself not useful to him anymore. Despite all of the difficulties and complications, he had enjoyed controlling her to an unparalleled degree.
Instinctively, his hands encircled her throat and tightened. It would be so easy for him to hurt and kill her.
I hate you just like I hate Cressar.
Suddenly, his hands retreated from Bleach's neck as if touching her like that had burned him. Then, hesitantly, they reached out for her again but, instead of closing around her neck again, they fell gently on her cheeks. Then, his forehead fell on hers.
"It was good while it lasted, Bleach. Call me some time, yes? I wouldn't mind doing some catching up with you ever now and then."
With that, the man planted one last kiss on the woman's slack lips and walked out of the room. There was no other choice but accepting the obvious: he had lost his round. He had lost his Killu. And he had lost his puppet.
No matter. He'd do better on his next job.
Aaaand that's it! Illumi's schemes have finally come to an end! :D
Truth be told, I'm not completelly satisfied with this chapter... I still feel like it's lacking a bit of drama. XDXD However, I really think Killua and Bleach would do their best to end whatever interaction with Illumi quickly and with the least contact possible.
Now, to my usual question: how do you like the chapter? Believable explanation or not? IC Illumi or not? XDXD
Kisses,
RedVoid