Her energy exploded at once before flowing dangerously from her body, hands ready to capture that filthy bitch in her threads and slice her into a thousand pieces. Her fingers trembled with the bloodlust she oozed; it had been a while since the last time she wanted to make someone suffer so badly. Nusumu flinched before her menacing aura, trying to shield the crying baby in her arms and using her own body to cover the hideous scene that made Machi's white-hot rage burst like that.
That hell scum, that disgusting monster who didn't seem to have a pound of flesh in her body, only bones, rotten skin, veins, teeth, and hair, apparently had breasts too. And she offered them to her baby. She deceived her child, somehow lured her to latch onto her repugnant nipple and was… she was feeding her. Or pretending to feed her. Machi wasn't sure, but she hoped that thing couldn't produce milk. The vision of her little, innocent daughter suckling on that creature's chest alone was enough to make her sick to her stomach.
She was going to kill her. She was going to destroy her now!
Machi moved at the maximum speed she could, feeling nothing but the determination to tear her down and wrapping her threads around Nusumu's body carefully to not hurt her baby. She viciously tightened her nen against the papery skin, what she expected would cut deeply and draw blood, but all she felt was pressure. No lacerations, no broken veins. That monster felt like she was made of rubber. Still, she didn't waver.
"Give me my daughter now, you sick freak!" Machi didn't wait for an answer before squeezing her harder, so eager to see her bursting in front of her.
But Nusumu didn't make a painful sound. Not even a sigh.
Nothing.
"You can't kill me, sweetheart," she coldly chuckled with a strangled voice. "And this baby is mine!"
She hissed threateningly, provoking Machi's nen to emanate more toxic, dense bloodlust. The child screamed, the high-pitched voice breaking her mother's heart and sending white-hot rage thundering through her veins. It didn't matter what honeyed lies or hissing threats Nusumu uttered: Machi would kill her. She would not stop until the creature was an empty shell before her eyes.
Suddenly, Nusumu shrieked like an animal about to be slaughtered and Machi felt her confidence grow. But this moment only lasted until her eyes crossed golden ones, filled with rage as if mirroring her own feelings. Hisoka didn't hesitate, he nimbly dashed towards the monster trapped in her nen threads and, with deadly precision, sliced Nusumu's neck with a card, accomplishing what Machi failed to.
Bluish blood gushed from Nusumu, and Machi felt her body convulse before it started vanishing in thin air. Like smoke. Nen threads falling without support, and her daughter would follow if Hisoka hadn't caught her in his arms. Soon Machi joined her in the safety of his chest. It was like her bloodlust was holding her up, and now it gave way to shock, horror, and confusion, as she watched that repulsive slime covering her baby, concentrated so dangerously close to her mouth. Machi felt her balance slip away from her completely. And for better or worse, he was there to keep her from crashing on the floor with a hot, wet hand on her waist.
She didn't pay attention to him, however. All that mattered was her crying little girl, and she rushed to take her in her arms.
"Careful, Machi," he placed the infant in her urgent arms. While he could safely hold her in only one arm, she needed two to make sure her head and her little body were secure.
Hisoka stood behind her, hands on her shoulders as if he was still worried about her falling, but her attention was focused solely on the baby. Machi desperately tried to sweep the strange blue blood from her face with her kimono's sleeve while lulling her, rocking left and right slowly. She knew emotions overflowed in her countenance and tears glistered in her eyes. It was unlike her. For a whole day, she hadn't felt like herself, and Hisoka hadn't seemed like himself either. It felt like she was living a nightmare, and anytime soon she could wake up in a comfortable bed in Heaven's Arena, with Chrollo — or Hisoka — sleeping peacefully by her side.
But she couldn't pretend that the image of her daughter in danger wasn't terrifying. The fact that she was still in the dark about what that monster had fed her, if she fed her at all, and the possible effects it could have on her child was downright scary.
"The bitch tried to feed Himiko," she addressed Hisoka for the first time after all that happened, the name slipping naturally again, now from her lips.
Himiko. So appropriate to a child born from their passion.
He remained silent for a moment, as if absorbing her name as well, and then touched her little face, trying to gently make her open her toothless mouth. She became more agitated but revealed a mouth glistening with her own saliva, nothing more.
"She's eager to be a mother, but I don't think she has milk," he evaluated the situation with a serious tone. "Not the way we know it, at least."
Machi raised her head to look at him, lips pursed in displeasure. He remained impassive under her stare, however.
"That's comforting," she murmured ironically, turning her head back to the child. Bringing aura to her eyes, she tried to use gyo to search for something in her tiny mouth again.
"Don't bother," Hisoka dismissed her effort before she concluded it was a waste of time by herself. Which she stubbornly did anyway. "You should sit down and take care of her, she's probably starving. I'm going to warm up some water for you to clean her."
Machi let him guide her to bed. She felt steady enough to stand and walk alone now, but little waves of pain were spreading from her lower belly and she was still feeling so sick a little hand wouldn't hurt. Once she was sitting on the bed, she unwrapped her baby and opened her kimono to slide the right sleeve of the cloth down her arm. It was the one she used to clean her baby's face, and now it was dirty with that thing's blood. She was so disgusted she didn't care to reveal her breast in front of Hisoka. Soon Himiko would be feeding on it anyway.
And it wasn't like Hisoka had never seen her naked before.
His eyes weren't malicious when he looked at her exposed skin, however. He simply acknowledged it, turned around, and crouched, opening the stove door to light the woods with a spark. Only then she truly noticed his hand was covered in blood. His blood, dripping from a deep wound. He could have asked her to stitch him. Still, he hasn't said a word.
He was so serious it started bothering her. It had been welcome yesterday, despite their arguments. It would have been worse if he didn't let go of his teasing. Now she wouldn't admit it, but maybe she needed him to tease her. To act normal. He was her only bridge to a normal life, after all. And she missed it.
She shook her head to dismiss the thought and focused on her daughter again. Himiko wasn't latching as naturally as she used to when she was hungry, and Machi started feeling frustrated. But she couldn't give up, and after some moments of trying, the baby finally started suckling, her whimpers turning into little, peaceful sighs while her teary mismatched eyes locked on her true mother's face.
"It's better now, right?" Machi said to her, her tone much softer than normal, which seemed to get Hisoka's attention right after he poured water from the bucket to the pan. They stared at each other for a quiet second, when she realized her eyes were probably too bright. She needed validation. She needed someone to say she was right. The baby was hers. Her milk, her breast, her warmth was better than anyone else's.
That she was a good mother.
"It certainly is better, Machi..." he answered to her pleading eyes, in a malicious tone, however. Her name escaped his lips as if it was the name of a lover he lusted after for too long. His eyes wandered to her cleavage for a brief, but noticeable moment.
It made her blush and turn away immediately.
"Idiot..." she muttered.
But deep down she felt good for he was apparently getting back to what he was before. And she felt that if she could remember how everything was before all the tragedy she had been living, it would mean she was still alive. Not in a coma trapped in a nightmare. Or dead, trapped in hell.
Just alive, trapped with the idiot who caused part of her tragedy. But still an idiot.
"What happened out there?" She asked, avoiding mentioning her friend's name. "Did you learn anything new?"
"Nothing new, actually. It was pretty boring," he rested his hands on his hips. "It only confirmed what I was already thinking about. But there's still a lot to discover." Hisoka looked at her, serious again. "He was already dead, Machi. She was only using him to distract you. If you want to check his body, it's right out there."
She tried not to frown at the thought. It was only natural to check his body, make sure Hisoka wasn't lying, search for clues. She was used to dealing with corpses since she was young. It was the only way to learn anatomy in Meteor City, and killing was part of her routine as a spider. But it was Nobunaga they were talking about. The only friend who remained, the one who brought her daughter to the world and who died protecting them both. The one that the monster tried to use to get her baby, according to Hisoka.
She didn't want to do this.
"I'll do it later," she said, instead of the truth.
"We'll do it. From now on we're staying together no matter what." His tone was casual as he touched the water with his left wrist to test the temperature, missing the way her widened eyes stared at him.
"She will be back, then," Machi concluded with a sigh. It wasn't hard to believe it wasn't over yet, but watching her vanishing while bleeding profusely had given her some hope.
"She will." He took a bowl and filled it with water, then walked around the room looking for any clean cloth. "Since we probably missed the ship, I suggest we pay a visit to the other cabins and take everything we can. Clothes, food, towels, we'll need it all. And then we should move to the coast, there are other cabins near the beach where we can wait for the next one."
"I know, there are Zodiacs living there." She said those words in a tone that made her reluctance clear. He sat down in front of her, water bowl on the bloody hand, a handkerchief on the other. "Rip it in half, you need to clean this wound if you don't wanna lose another hand."
She thought he would deny it, but Hisoka hummed and placed the bowl between them to rip the handkerchief in half, as she told.
"The Zodiacs are weak, we can kill most of them in the blink of an eye." With this, his eyes shone as if he was already anxious to fight them. "Are you afraid?"
"I just don't want anyone else taking an interest in my daughter."
"Our daughter," he emphasized, and when Machi opened her mouth, he continued before any word could slip out of it. "There's nothing of Chrollo in her. I am her father and I won't let anything happen to her while we're here. So trust me." She looked at his hands instead of his eyes. There was really not much to say on this matter, for as much as she wished there was. He gently dipped the piece of fabric into the water and squeezed it before calmly cleaning the cut. "I'm a Hunter too," he proceeded. "And I have acquaintances among the Zodiacs. One of them won't do you any favors, but I can make him leave you alone. The other has no choice. You'll understand if we find him. He's a rare specimen."
"Sometimes I forget you're a Hunter," Machi shook her head, and he chuckled.
It was her turn to carefully wet the fabric in the warm water, squeeze the excess and clean her baby's skin on one side as she was still feeding. She lazily moved her little hand as a reaction, as if she was shoving the cloth away, but she ended up grabbing Machi's breast, all the while taking her milk with no interruptions.
"Himiko?" Hisoka asked at last. "When did you think of that?"
"I don't know, it was natural," her daughter was still looking at her as if mesmerized. It was so endearing Machi couldn't help but show her a discreet smile. "Chrollo taught me to read when I was younger, and the book he used to do this was about a magical queen called Himiko. It means "secret child." I had forgotten about it until today… but yes, this is her name, I feel it."
He was looking down at his own hand when she raised her eyes to him. Then it dawned on her how naturally she was speaking about Chrollo to Hisoka. Her discreet smile faded and her lips closed in a thin line.
"That's a good name," he said quietly.
"Were you with Danchou when he died?" She insisted on staring at him, but he didn't reciprocate.
"He fled the wrong way, Machi," he sighed, but finally looked at her with a cruel smile on his face. "I would have saved him if I could, it wasn't supposed to happen this way."
She opened her mouth but closed it right after. So Hisoka hadn't killed him, the ocean had. Still, if Hisoka hadn't trapped him in a fight, maybe he would have survived. The magician knew it. And apparently, despite whatever he could say to try to deny it, he regretted it. She could feel it in his cold smile. His own dumb decisions frustrated his plans once again.
They remained silent when she lowered the other side of her kimono to place Himiko at her left breast so she could keep cleaning her. The only sound that could be heard after a while, besides the thunders, was a little yawn her daughter made once she was satisfied. Machi thought he was about to say something every time his golden eyes roamed over her figure. She waited for him to tease her about how soft she looked while breastfeeding, or how delicious her swollen, leaking breasts must be, but he only looked away each time, with his customary smirk on his lips.
She held Himiko up against her shoulder to make her burp, and only after she gently laid the baby on the bed beside her and covered herself as possible, Machi took Hisoka's hand in hers. His right hand was the one that Chrollo left intact in their fight, so when she touched his fingers, she knew he could feel it as much as her. They were more calloused than they used to be, a consequence of the constant struggles, improvisations, and lack of luxury of this place.
Machi carefully memorized exactly how every inch of his flesh, veins, and nerves was severed across his palm, right on the lifeline. She briefly shook her head. The fact that she even knew that the line nearest to the thumb was the life one was pathetic. Then, she raised her hand and utilized her own improvisation, conjuring a needle in the absence of her pincushion. Her transmuted nen turned into a thread attached to the object and she immediately traced the needle in zigzag on his hand, tying everything in less than a second.
Hisoka whimpered with pleasure.
"You have no idea how much I've missed this," he closed his fist and opened again when she let it go, his eyes were closed as his lips displayed the gentlest smile he showed her so far on the Dark Continent. "How much do I owe you, Machi?"
"Money's worth shit here," she snickered, noticing how the line on his palm looked completely different now. If she believed in such things as palmistry, it would be ironically significant. But she didn't. "If only it was easy to find valuable things in this shit hole..."
"I've found you," he hummed, his smile turning smugly, and she rolled her eyes.
"C'mon… we've got things to do," Machi glanced at her daughter, who was quietly kicking and punching the air with small movements, apparently normal. Maybe Nusumu hadn't done anything besides being a disgusting creep, after all. "Let's search the other cabins."
All the cabins looked exactly the same: two futon beds placed side by side, an old wood oven, buckets of water, some shelves, a chest, and a rudimentary bathroom separated by a wall. Only the smell and the personal belongings made them different, as well as the creaking points on the floor.
They were in the last one, searching for anything that could be useful for their survival when Machi started to rock her body on a particularly noisy part of the floor. Hisoka turned to her. She had cleaned herself and changed her clothes before leaving the cabin they were staying at, and he couldn't help but find her current style funny. Thankfully they'd found clothes closer to her size in their search, the oversized mustard shirt and the beige trousers she had to fix with her stitches so they stayed in her body without falling did her no favor at all. The baby was tied on her chest with a long piece of cloth since she denied his Bungee Gum. He noticed she was fast asleep, so she wasn't the reason why her mother was moving like that.
"It's hollow," Machi tapped her foot on the floor. "From here to there," she pointed below to indicate where, and Hisoka approached instantly.
"Well, well, what could it be hiding from us?" He crouched, hands searching for any kind of opening between the wooden boards. When his fingers slipped in, he couldn't pull it up without using force, however.
"Don't push it, the stitches can open," she warned him, probably noticing his white knuckles, but he didn't care.
He only stopped when the wooden boards gave way to his strength and revealed just a simple box where he hoped to find much more. But that should be valuable enough for someone to keep hidden, in a hidden continent.
Eyes filled with curiosity, Machi carefully knelt at his side, using his shoulder as support for a hot second she pretended never happened when he looked at her. He imagined she was still feeling pain due to the labor, and it had probably worsened with the recent attack, but opening the box would be more helpful than saying anything about it. She wouldn't stop because of it anyway.
And he understood that pretty well.
"Is it a book?" She eagerly asked, recognizing a red leather hardcover as soon as he opened the box.
Must've brought some more memories of Chrollo again.
Hisoka took the object and flipped through its pages under her attentive stare.
"Looks like a diary," he muttered, noticing the handwriting and sketches filling it.
Machi nodded, looking a little disappointed. It was natural, they both expected to find something useful, or at least valuable, but someone's thoughts hardly worthed a thing. He searched for a name on the first page and found nothing. Still, he flipped it over one more time before dismissing it. And something caught his attention at last.
"Machi..." he showed her the double page with a sketch, not very detailed, but that clearly showed a woman with long black hair, thick veins, black voids as eyes, and a mouth filled with teeth. "I think we're not the only ones who've encountered our dear friend..."
Note: Hi, aAangeldaisy! This time the update came faster :D I'm happy you're enjoying this fic! Thank you for your review!