A short chapter to fill in my long absence!
I thought about a hall of mirrors as I wrote about Akane and Hisoka, how you can see different reflections depending on where you stand.
A cold September wind combed through Hisoka's neatly styled hair. It seemed to go in the same direction as his wispy locks, while it hurled Akane's strands in her face. She paused at the sidewalk, struggling to see through her hair in the dark. As she raised her arms to fix her hair, she felt Hisoka's hand on hers, offering to guide her in the night.
Akane swatted it away in defiance.
"Thank you, but I'm not a child." She huffed, smoothing her hair behind ears. It was embarrassing enough that Hisoka had to comfort her twice in one evening. A third time would do wonders to his ego.
"No need to be shy, my pet." Hisoka cooed, delighted to move past false pleasantries. He returned the outstretched hand to caress the reddened palm, as if to push the sting into his skin's memory.
Akane wrapped her coat closer and tried to pick up the pace, but her shoes felt heavy and her legs grew weaker with each step. Trailing behind her, Hisoka rolled his eyes at the way she fumbled to keep up appearances.
"Let's stop here for a moment." He hummed, knowing that her pride wouldn't let her rest. "I want to admire the view."
Hisoka knew that she'd protest if she had more energy, but she was too weary to talk back. He rested his arms against the cold metal railing and admired the waterfront. The lights of Yorknew City shimmered in the sea's reflection, and suddenly it felt like the world was brightly illuminated.
"It's nothing." Akane said, unimpressed. While Hisoka was playing tourist, she grimaced at the murky water littered with plastic pieces. The light reflecting off the ever moving waves reminded her of snake scales. She avoided the rusty railing too, knowing that it had never been cleaned.
"It's romantic." Hisoka corrected her. He wore the usual expression- a look of sly interest and subtle playfulness. How funny, to be looking at the same scenery from different lenses, "It's your home. Don't you think the world of it?"
Akane took her first full breath of the evening, filling her lungs with the smell of the ocean. She thought it would be refreshing, invigorating even, but it only disturbed her. She bit her lip, and was disgusted by the salty taste of the air. Perhaps she was tired of the city.
"It is my home. But I don't know the world outside of it."
Hisoka perked at Akane's phrasing, deciphering her hints of displeasure. Here was another crack in her personality. He decided to prod.
"Then why not explore the world?" Hisoka asked. He was surprised by Akane's soft laughter, a genuine and gentle sound that echoed in his head. All Hisoka could think about was to get her to do it again.
"I'm a successful hairstylist in the biggest city on the continent. I don't think I can make a better living anywhere else, unless you know lots of rich people gathering elsewhere."
"Consider a career change."
Akane scoffed at that idea. She clawed her way through years of school and training. Sucked up to customers she hated to gain reputation. It wasn't about to go to waste for nothing, "Enlighten me. What else can I possibly be?"
"Be a hunter." answered Hisoka. He intended that to be a joke to make her laugh, but the way silence shifted between them made him realize it was a viable solution. The rhythmic lapping of the tides filled in absent conversations, allowing thoughts to linger in Hisoka's answer.
A small bud of happiness grew in Hisoka as she broke the silence with a chuckle. He hated cliches, but it was truly music to his ears.
"I'd be a terrible hunter." She said quietly, her voice barely louder than the sea's quaver. Today was a day of reckless accidents, Akane thought as she traced the palms of her hands.
She had heard stories of the abysmal success rates, and more so about the dangers and perils of the exam. Akane thought about Gon, who was just a child at plain sight, and wondered about the immense strengths he harbored. She thought about Kurapika too, and the drastic change in demeanor when he yelled at his friends. His eyes seethed an intense bright red as he thumbed his chains thinking about unspoken plans.
Akane glanced at Hisoka, remembering the debilitating bloodlust he exuded that rendered her motionless. Hunters were of different caliber.
"I think you could be one of the best." Hisoka smiled as she rolled her eyes. He wondered what it would take to see that possibility from his perspective.
"You can stop with the useless niceties." She repeated back what Hisoka said to her previously.
"I would never lie to you." He said, faking a hurt expression, "Don't you remember our promise, my pet? We will always be honest to each other."
"Well, I still think you're full of it." Akane replied, triggering Hisoka's sly smirk. She began to move away and headed towards the airship landing at the base of the hill.
He wanted to admire the waterfront once more before leaving. This time, he noticed the trash bobbing with the ebbing waves. And when he stopped leaning on the rails to follow Akane, he quietly scowled at the dirt on his forearms.
'It was near time that I should leave Yorknew City,' Hisoka thought as he caught up to Akane. When Hisoka approaches closer, he notices the paper parasol still resting behind her ear. Akane, still fumbling against the wind, misses the way Hisoka looked at her, the same way he admired the water.
As Akane smoothed her hair to the sides once more, she entertained the idea. Hisoka's words clung onto her mind like the remnants of the salty ocean.
A hunter. I think you could be one of the best.