I've actually written about this scene before, and considering the similarities, it honestly leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. Not because I think this chapter is bad, because I don't, but I dislike the idea that I'm rehashing something I've already done. It is different, though, despite the similarities. It's just that this particular scene is small enough and straightforward enough that there's not a lot to change, and I felt it was the natural progression of things so I couldn't just not. If any of you have read my story The Number Zero, you'll know what I'm talking about. I honestly think this scene is better than the one in that story though. Aaand I'm rambling. I'll shut up so you can just go on and read.
When she returned to her hotel room, she wasted no time changing into her old work attire. Loose leather shorts, a white button up, and a matching leather jacket. Leather wasn't exactly ideal material to move in, but employers wouldn't take her seriously in her usual clothes. The jacket and shorts were loose enough on her that they didn't really hinder her movement, too. She selected a number of fast acting venoms and toxins (most poisons took too long for jobs like this) and delicately filled her darts before carefully inserting them into the special-made slots inside her boots. Her hair she wound into a bun at the base of her skull.
Her phone...originally she'd never planned to keep it on her person, because that entailed being traceable, but she didn't particularly care if anyone who knew about her phone knew where she was. She discovered an inside pocket of her jacket was just large enough to fit it, so she put it there alongside her Hunter's license and room key, and headed out.
As per her usual tendency, she arrived at the agreed upon location no sooner nor later than the agreed upon time. Still, it was a few minutes before Kurapika and his employer arrived. In the meantime, she witnessed two men in similar colored martial arts uniforms enter and head up the stairs. Their demeanor, their clothes, their auras...they weren't trying to blend in much.
When Kurapika entered the lobby, she stood from the chair she'd been waiting in and approached.
"This is White Snake," Kurapika introduced. Then, to her, he said, "Snake, this is my boss, Light Nostrade. He is the one who is hiring you this evening."
She shook hands with the older man. Judging by the not-so-hidden appraisal he gave her, he was somewhat skeptical about his decision to hire her. That wasn't unusual. She was older than the boy who stood next to him, however.
"Kurapika tells me you have experience as a bodyguard," Mr. Nostrade commented as he released her hand. "And he assures me you will do the job as well as any professional assassin."
"I do not typically go after individual targets, but yes, I regularly hire out as a bodyguard and as a mercenary. If it is my ability to kill that worries you, you needn't be concerned. I have plenty of experience."
He grunted. "Good to hear. I trust you will not make me regret my decision to hire you."
The three took the elevator upstairs, and Nostrade lead the two teenagers to a room filled with people. Men in suits stood around the central seating area, where numerous colorfully dressed individuals waited for the meeting to officially begin. With all the seats filled, Kurapika and Snake remained standing beside their employer as the stout man in charge began to speak.
"Has everyone arrived?" When nobody responded, he took a step forward and scanned the room's occupants. "Your job tonight is to annihilate the Phantom Troupe. There's a chance they'll show up. If they do, dispose of them. Use any method you want."
And that was it. That was usually about as much as people like her got, unless they were to be in the public eye and the employer expected decorum.
The other hires in the room began to discuss code names, of which when they turned around, Snake offered her normal alias. The man who asked said they'd just call her White. When he turned to Kurapika, though, the older of the two martial artists Snake had seen in the lobby chuckled.
"It's like playing a game."
"Hm? What about you guys?"
The larger, younger one simply answered, "Silva."
The other one, " I'm Zeno."
"Huh? What color's that?"
"We'll use our real names. You are welcome to use them, but we won't follow orders. We do things our own way."
Well, that sounded familiar.
"Silva and Zeno...no way, you don't mean as in the Zoldyck family!"
This got Snake's head turning to fully inspect the two white haired men. Kurapika, after giving the two an intrigued glance, turned his eyes on her as the gears in her head cranked. The old man Zeno just replied by saying he'd give any of them a discount for being in the same line of business.
As everyone else recovered from their shock, they began to discuss whether or not they should work together at all, but Snake couldn't tear her eyes, or her thoughts, away from the alleged Zoldycks.
Ultimately, the decision was made that the assassins would all work alone. The employers said the auction would start at nine, and they'd provide transportation shortly. The resolution finally brought Snake's attention back to the job. As the men in suits filed out, she turned to Kurapika to ask if they, too, should work separately, but he raised a hand to indicate that she should wait with the others as he followed Nostrade. She supposed that was her answer.
The room didn't exactly fill with chatter when they were left to their own devices. Some eyeballed their weapons, others eyeballed the Zoldycks. Silva sat, as still as serpent lying in wait, with his eyes shut. Zeno was just as quiet, but his eyes were open.
And they met with Snake's.
She didn't back down from the gaze. He wasn't doing anything to discourage the stare, so she went ahead and watched. She couldn't even discern his breathing.
When someone eventually came to fetch them, she glanced at the clock. A full thirty minutes had passed.
Since the old man's eyes were still on her, she let the others exit the room in front of her, the Zoldyck duo the last to move. She settled beside Zeno, and Silva walked behind them.
"If there is something you'd like to say, feel free to say it."
Gaze now fixed forward, she gave him a slight shake of her head. "I waited because it seemed as if you had something to say."
"Hmph. If I have anything to say, it's only because you were giving me and my son such an intent stare one would wonder if you weren't tempting us to cheat on our wives."
"I apologize. That was not my intent."
"Then what was your intent?" the old man inquired, raising an arched, white eyebrow.
"Zoldyck is quite the name in the industry. I think everyone was rather interested, whether they were upfront about it or not." It appeared as if Zeno was willing to accept her answer, even if he was likely aware it wasn't the whole story. But the fact remained that she was talking to Zeno Zoldyck, the grandpa of both Killua...and Illumi. For some reason, that fact inclined her to add, "And a part of me wondered whether Illumi is the black sheep of the family."
"Hardly. Illumi is skilled in the trade."
"I suppose I should have said it more clearly." They followed the rest of the group down the stairs. The ones in the back kept their faces forward, but the occasional tilt of their heads suggested they were listening in on the conversation behind them. "I didn't mean to suggest he wasn't. I was referring to the color of his hair. Both of you and his brother have white hair."
This caused him to chuckle. "I see. No, he gets his hair from his mother. By any chance, did you take the last Hunter Exam with my grandchildren?"
"I did."
He nodded. "That makes sense. Tell me, how did they do? Illumi isn't exactly descriptive, and Killua didn't talk to me about it at all when he was home." For some reason, he cast a glare back at Silva as he said this. The man was indifferent.
"I wasn't with them the entire time. Killua went out of his way to avoid me, so—"
"Avoid you?" The man gave her a once over out of the corner of his eye. "Forgive me for saying so, but you do not strike me as so dangerous an opponent for my grandson to avoid you."
"I didn't think so, either. When I asked him about it, he said it was because I reminded him of someone." Someone specifically with Nen. Although he'd shown a disliking towards her even before, it was when she'd used Nen that he'd…
The old man began chuckling again as it dawned on her just who Killua had compared her to.
"And how about Illumi? When that stick in the mud came home, all we got was a 'good', and 'I got my license'."
She didn't know whether or not it struck her as odd that in the short time between the end of the exam and the time he'd found her to actually take her to the Halibut Lodge, he'd actually gone to see his family. It seemed an odd endeavor for a villain to undertake, but at the same time, villainy was his family business, and from what she gathered, he valued the family business. On that train of thought, it was also true that the old man she was talking to now and the man walking behind them were also shadows of the underground. Even if the people they were tasked with taking out tonight were the infamous Phantom Troupe, who knew how many times they'd spilled the blood of the righteous and good.
People like Kurapika, and Gon.
Like Ignatius and Blight.
Both Silva and Zeno gave clear impressions that they were not to be messed with, but they didn't quite have the...aura, that lingered about Illumi. They warned of danger. Illumi...warned of death.
The two talked until they'd left the building, and the silence returned as everyone boarded the truck that was to take them to the location. She sat beside the old man, though, and found it surprisingly comfortable. Illumi's grandfather or not, he was easy for her to get along with.
When they arrived, the assassins were let in through the back door and allowed loose to patrol the building. The only request was that they stay out of sight, and try not to cause a ruckus unless absolutely necessary. Quite a few appeared as if they'd stay on the ground floor, or head for the basement. Snake asked their escort which floors the auction was taking place on and took to the staircase. The upper floors were likely to be the least covered, which meant it actually had a higher likelihood of having Spiders. And they were coming. It was just a question of if she'd see them.
She chose a floor at random and began to roam. It seemed it was usually some sort of office building during the day. There were areas filled with cubicles, and meeting rooms with room-spanning windows. Some of them were decked out with long tables and chairs and coffee machines. Some of them were empty. Everywhere it was dark, but almost every space was large enough to be connected so some sort of window, the lit up city providing enough light for silhouettes to be traced.
She wandered into one of the break rooms and over to its window, staring down at the bustle below. Police cars, guests, spotlights that lit up every dark corner...it was probably so noisy.
She couldn't hear a note of it.
I wasn't expecting to get a chance to write about her working, so I'm glad I did! That's one of the reasons I decided to write this chapter, even if I've written something resembling it before. But hey, if you haven't read that other story of mine, I guess it doesn't really matter, does it? And wow, hey, I just looked at the publish date of that story. Has it seriously been four years? 0_o I feel old. But yeah. Anyway. This oldie will see you guys next chapter.