2: Surprise
"A... kid?" Phinks' bewildered voice cuts through the awkward silence.
Chrollo steps forward. A little boy... being protected by Nen... probably Mori's nen... he must be precious to him... or could he just be a decoy?
"Do you know anything about Mori?" He asks. No point in beating around the bush.
The boy tilts his head to the side, his gray eyes wide with curiosity. "What's a Mori?" He answers with a question, his voice simple and innocent.
"It's the name of a man."
"A name... what's that?"
Chrollo can already feel his patience thinning out, which, for someone like him, is quite rare. "Phinks, keep an eye on the boy. Don't hurt him unless he tries to escape. I can't sense that man anywhere, but just to be safe, Feitan, let's search the rest of the house."
Cold, calculating black eyes wander over to the boy. They stay there for a split second, observing his stare, before finding another spot to scrutinise. "Understood, Danchou." A low rasp and the two disappear.
Left alone with the kid, Phinks sighs. He'd rather go with Danchou than babysit. His beady brown eyes survey the room. Painted with bright colors, with a bed in one corner and a closet in another, toys strewn around the kid sitting on the carpet in the middle of it, and a door leading to who-knows-where, it's nothing special.
"Hi!" The kid shyly waves.
Phinks snorts. Little brat. "What?"
"Who are you?"
"Doesn't matter."
"Why?"
"Shut up."
The kid's friendly smile turns into a pout as he busies himself with his toys again-- a dinosaur apparently terrorising a bunch of building blocks strewn around (a city?), with a robot trying to stop him.
Jet-black hair, gray eyes, ivory skin, soft features, a sprinkle of freckles on his cheeks, and a certain glint in his eyes-- judging by his voice and size, he must be no more than five. Despite living in such a lavish place, he wears only a simple blue jeans and a red sweatshirt.
Why? And why the hell is he there in the first place?
A few minutes later, the two return. Disappointment shines in Chrollo's eyes, and nobody dares to ask why.
His eyes soften, however, as he approaches the boy. His usual charm back in place, he sits down in front of the make-shift city.
"What's a name?" The boy asks, eyes still not leaving his toys.
"A name is a word used for addressing a particular person. Say, for example, if I had to get your attention, I would call you by your name. Everyone has a name--"
"I'm not everyone then." He cuts in, his voice devoid of emotion.
"Is that so?" Chrollo raises a sceptical eyebrow. It doesn't seem like he's lying... "Would you like to have a name? I could give you one."
For the first time, hopeful gray clashes with a darker gray. An opaque smile stuck to his face, he adds. "But only if you would do me a favor."
"What sort?"
"You'll obey me."
"For how long?"
"For as long as you want your name to last."
"Okay!"
Chrollo's smile widens. Convincing kids is always super easy or annoyingly hard.
"Does Atsushi sound good?" He chooses the first name that comes to his mind.
"A-tsu-shi." The boy echoes, his eyes lighting up. "Sounds great!"
"Good. You're Atsushi from now on then. So, tell me, how old are you?"
Atsushi frowns. "Dunno."
Can't be older than five. Doesn't matter anyway. "No problem. Who do you live with, by the way? Didn't find anyone else on my way here." A simple lie.
"A few butlers. I'm surprised you didn't meet them. They must be busy then. Oh, and Father visits sometimes too."
Chrollo perks up. "A pale-skinned gray-haired man, looks pretty old and wears glasses too?"
Atsushi giggles. "Woah! You know him?"
"Where is he right now?"
"I dunno. He doesn't visit often... the last time was a few weeks ago."
"I see..." Their only lead to that man... gone... the boy's the only thing left... should he just kill him, or can he actually be useful?
"Oh, wait. I've got a photograph of him too. Should clear any doubts." Atsushi jumps to his feet and rushes to the bottom drawer of the closet. After fumbling around in it for a bit, he returns, a photo waving in his hand. "Here!"
Chrollo feels his jaw tightening. It's him. Standing in a garden, an empty look on his face with a hand on an excited younger Atsushi's head. It's unmistakeably him.
He stops himself halfway through crushing the photo. It can probably help us track him one way or the other...
He stands up, preparing to leave. Should probably take the kid with me. Could be used as a bargaining chip maybe.
"Follow." Is all he says, and the boy eagerly obeys.
Down a flight of stairs, a couple of turns and they reach the main door. A cold smile crosses his face. Time for a little test of nerves.
Atsushi shoots a certain bleeding body with a crushed throat, a puzzled look. "Who's that?" He asks, unfazed by the violence.
"A butler." Chrollo he twists the doorknob open.
"Never seen her before. Weird." He mutters as they step outside.
Chrollo shrugs it off.
"Is this a car?" Atsushi gapes as they settle in.
"Of course. What else do you think it is?" Phinks scoffs.
"Well, I've never seen a car except in books." Atsushi checks the look out the window.
"What?" Phinks turns around from the driver seat to glare at him. A brat living in a mansion hasn't ever actually seen a car? Sure the front yard is pretty big, but-- "Haven't you ever been outside?"
"Not really. Have seen some photos though." Atsushi shrugs. "I was never allowed to go beyond the preperty."
Three pairs of eyes, laced with suspicion, click to him.
"Why?" Chrollo asks, his voice calm and steady.
"I never asked. Does it matter?"
"I... suppose not."
Neodigital: thank you!