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Chapter 38
Yorknew, from a distance, looked like a slavering, concrete dog, its ears and fur-trimmed in metal, its saliva the tumble of humans that streamed from every orifice. To every building there was a light and they stayed on through the long nights, casting even the darkest recesses of the city in a cozy haze. In Belcher's Bay, the shadows had been so dark that they had seemed like a void that you would slip into and never return to. There had been a comfort in that thought - a comfort for me who had grown up without the luxury of lightbulbs or candles. You could slip away in the dark, becoming something less…human, less present in the world. Here there was only reality.
Him, Minoru murmured and my eyes slid to a thin boy in a well-trimmed coat, his leather shoes gleaming in the lamplight. It was late - nearly midnight - and we were still no closer to Heaven's Arena than we had been two days before. There was so many lessons to learn on the streets of Yorknew - ones that made me feel a little bit closer to sub-human every single day.
My eyes tracked the boy as he went into a cute ice cream parlor, the door and wide window situated seemingly in the gaping mouth of a grinning frog. Froggy's Friends, it proclaimed jollily right below the seeking eyes of the amphibian. For a moment, I watched the way he fumbled with his wallet at the counter, his face tightening as he put the two full cups onto the scale at the register. He had only gotten the frozen yogurt with two toppings. I turned away. Too easy and too poor.
Minoru's sigh wooshed over me in a thick, humid cloud, his black button eyes glinting at me from beneath exasperated brows. Here no one particularly cared that there was a massive bear in their midst. We had barely gotten a single glance on our trek closer to the arena. Apparently, anomalies were expected in the big city.
For two days, I had honed my ability. Pickpocketing - it turned out - was a singularly good fit to my speciality. All that it took was one brush of my finger along another person's wallet - or better yet - a single card and it would tumble into a well-placed hand. Soon I might be able to influence where objects went but for now, the tugs and pulls of my own nen were a tune that I was willing to learn.
I experimented. I played.
And in the last two days I had earned a lot of money from my exploits.
Distantly, I knew that taking a job specific to being a hunter would allow me the same luxuries without the possibility of upsetting someone who could potentially beat the shit out of me… But already two of my teachers had dismissed me (Hisoka only because he was unwilling to take my education farther) and I wasn't entirely sure about the implications of that fact.
I couldn't help but think about all that had changed - not just in my own life but in my body as well. In the past short months, the ability to use nen had been one of the…easier results of becoming a hunter. I had finally gotten my eating habits under control. Months of slowly working up to three meals a day and then three meals with snacks and then heartier foods and fats had finally paid off. I had started to gain muscle. I had start to look like a woman instead of a starved rat. I had even grown a few inches. I could see the defined edges of my biceps and shoulders, the packed muscle like a reward for every day of sweat and tears, every hour of running and lifting.
Distnatly, a bell tolled. The sound of rushing trains and crowded bars, echoing down the crowded shopping center. Minoru and I curled on the steps of a chapel, it's stainglass windows lit dimly from within by a million candles. Off in the distance, I could see the pulse of lights, the jagged, disjointed edges of Heaven's arena as it rose dizzily up into the clouds. My eyes stayed on it for a moment too long, my insides calming. What did I want?
What do you want, Mori? I glanced to the side, catching the knowing, invasive glance that Minoru leveled at me. His maw nudged my arm, his cold wet nose leaving behind a residue that chilled in the hollow wind. You don't have any timeline or people to keep you from doing what you want… so… Where do you want to go? We have enough money to take us anywhere. We have a hunters card that can get us into 95% of all public facilities for free. If you wanted…
I could leave this plot behind. I could go anywhere. I could be anyone. I had no one that could tie me down, keep me on one path.
The freedom of it all was dizzying. But it was short-lived - like a clock that had to eventually move on to a different number.
I stood, brushing off my black trousers. This new life had given me enough money to pay for something right off the rack. I had gotten the most expensive pants that I could find - the ones that cinched at your ankles, the ones with pockets that you could put whatever you wanted into. I got a black top to go with it, the material like a second skin. I got clean, new shows that felt like clouds and didn't make my feet blister and break when I ran or trained. I got a new launching system. I got face wash and shampoos that smelled like tangerines and digital games that my brothers had always whined about. I got and got and got until it felt like my skin would burst, like a glutton shoving plate after plate of food into her mouth.
There were different ways to feel full, I had realized when I had gotten to Yorknew. Different addictions to make you feel whole again.
I think it's time to go see how Ichihiro is doing. A slow, savage smile curled my lips, the feeling like a knife carving into my cheeks. I've been worried about him.
The area around Heaven's arena was thick with people and shops, the crush of humans almost too noxious to handle. I had come to find out that I didn't particularly like the presence of other people. They were exhausting. Their emotions seeped and leeched off of me like a parasitic entity. Which was wholly hypocritical coming from me but I felt like I had more of a valid place to stand on since I knew specifically what that felt like. I liked my leeches to give me something in return.
The anxiety of each person as they milled around the doors of the arena was palpable. Friends chattered together in apprehensive huddles, their heads bent together as they glanced nervously up at the screens lining the outside of the building. Words and symbols scrawled across the tvs, jumbling together in a way that made my head hurt. I stared at them for a moment longer before looking away.
Want me to read it to you? Minoru murmured and I patted his head.
No. Thank you.
My eyes drifted around the streets, noting the long, twisting alleyways that dove off in every single direction. Not many people seemed to go near them, the obvious locals giving them a noticably wide birth. My head tipped to the side, a cool breeze winding down the concrete jungle of the city to rustle my hair. I had become so long now that I had had to start tying it up, my bangs falling just past my cheekbones. The smell of fresh leather and cloth tickled my nose, distant foods sweetening the aroma. All of the high-end clothing stores and bag shops grabbing up the prime real estate just beside the arena.
All that money, Minoru mused, his eyes intent on the brokers boxes lining the lobby of the tower. The prizes for the tower were easy to understand below level 50 and you got money enough to buy yourself a hot meal and drink per match. Below 100 and they 50,000 per match. Over 100 and you got your own private room and enough money to go on a very luxurious vacation. The lower levels would be easy enough to get through - with all of the none-nen users sticking to those fist-to-fist matches. You could spend years going through those circuits.
Each win was an advancement through the ranks of the tower - one level higher. But each defeat would come with a steeper disadvantage when reaching the higher levels.
We'll be able to get up to level 200 with barely any resistance. The main issue will be the wait between matches, Minoru mused. My eyes slid to a particularly dark alleyway just across the street. Nearly every person who passed it slid around the opening like they were avoiding stepping near a den of vipers. Instinctively, my nen reached out, flicking along the edges of the inky shadows until I felt it. There - just within. The flick of an impatient aura, the roll of nen so well trained that it took me reaching for it to find.
Where are you going? Minoru followed quickly behind me, glowering at a couple that yelped as we bulldozed through their path. I didn't answer, stepping into the darkness of the narrow alley. It felt like stepping through a door, new, interesting.
The concrete of the nearby streets and walkways slid here too, the floor made of the hard, unforgiving cement. Suspicious puddles dotted the walls, leaking from a garbage can just a few feet away.
The straps of my backpack slid free of my arms, thumping loudly beside where Minoru lingered at the entrance.
Don't let him beat you too bad, Minoru sighed, turning and sitting heavily back on his haunches, his eyes roaming the teaming street. I raised a brow, unwilling to speak on the utter lack of faith that he was displaying. I want to make level 200 in 2 days.
I'm much stronger, Minoru, I reminded him sardonically. His eyes slid to meet my side-long, his eyes darkening to a dubious glint. That look reminded me of the face full of dirt I got the last time I had tried to send a shoe into Hisoka's face.
I turned back to the dark depths of the alley.
That wasn't going to happen here though. My eyes slid down. There was only concrete to catch my fall.
Just past the dumpster was a long stretch of clean concrete, the alley narrowing a bit more. I kept walking, past a few discarded wooden boxes and cardboard boxes. The distant glow of streetlights cast the path in an odd, dusky glow. The chatter from the busy streets grew distant.
I knew he was hear, I mused, taking another careful step. I knew-
Wind whistled along my cheek, tickling the shell of my ear. One second later and Hisoka's fist would have plowed into the side of my face hard enough to allow me to see my mother again. My feet slid back, scraping along the concrete as I turned, ducking and driving a knee up into Hisoka's side.
Or what would have been his side.
His arm came down, catching the blow deftly. I flipped onto my hands, retreating a few steps before he decided to wrap his hand around my thigh and slam me into a nearby wall.
Calico eyes glinted like jewelry shining through the dim darkness of the alleyway. My heart gave an odd throb as he straightened, his muscular form unfurling in a graceful roll of packed tendons. His shoulders were as broad as I remembered them to be, the veins in his forearms bulging a bit as he slowly unclenched his fists. Canines flashed, that familiar smirk curving along his lips. He looked like a demon ready to drag me into the depths of hell. Scarlet strands of hair slipped free from the controlled chaos of his hair, slipping to tickle his brow.
He looked sharper somehow. More… vivid.
Slowly, those cutting eyes slid down over my body, catching on the flare of my breast now apparent through my shirt and the tapered lines of my waist. His tongue ran along the sharp edges of his canines as his eyes caught on my hips.
"Well, well, well," he purred, gaze finally sliding up to meet mine. "Looks who's all grown up." his smile was a sizzling promise. "Want me to kill anyone for you?"
My head tipped to the side, taking in his almost lazy tilt of his body, his weight sliding to rest on one hip. But his nen was anything but. It roiled, reaching out for my own like a needy child. Teasingly, I slid my own along his edges, watching as his eyes dilated in the low light, that smirk locked on his face. A smile tugged at my lips as I pushed against the barrier of his nen, sliding back away once more as his eyes narrowed.
"Did you miss me?" I inquired sweetly, ignoring his question. There was only once person I truly wanted dead and I didn't want anyone else but me to follow through on that.
That smirk of his curved forward, smoothing into an expression that burned softly. His eyes glinted a melting gold. "Want me to show you how much?"
I dug my feet in, taking the kick to my side with unflinching determination. A low ache started, tinging in my ribs as Hisoka teeth flashed a white grin, his eyes eating up my pinched expression. Those eyes burned into me, staying on me as I ducked under his next kick, bringing an elbow out and slamming into the side of his knee. He took it without so much of a wince, darting away before I could pop up once more and send my fist into his kidney. But I saw how his eyes flared, his pupils expanding slightly as he took the pain.
We didn't speak as we circled each other, keeping the same space even in the cramped alleyway. I had never attacked him first, I realized . Maybe I should change that.
I went high, the muscles in my legs burning as I took the short space between us in seconds. His eyes tracked me, able to see every single movement even as I blurred the very distance between us. Hisoka was fast - fast enough to see my hand flying toward the chiseled planes of his jaw. He would be able to stop me.
But I had touched both his arms.
Golden eyes widened on me slightly, connecting with mine in a moment of blinding clarity as those hands that were coming up to block his face, dropped, slamming down as my nen coated them, ratcheting up the gravity until all of the veins throbbed along his biceps.
Whack! His head slammed to the side, my fist throbbing deliciously as my hit connected. I missed you, I thought as my other fist came forward to send his face in the other direction. I missed you.
My nen released.
Still new to my abilities, the time limit on gravity manipulation was still short - even for small things like a single arm. Air whooshed from my lunges as his hands closed around my wrists, dragging me back into the expanse of his chest as I my body was turning with the force of my hit. The muscles along my shoulders strained, his hands dragging mine into an intimate embrace.
His breath was hot against my neck, panting in and out. Something wet and warm dripped along the curve of my neck. I glanced up, grinning at the sliver of blood running down his jaw from the raw, open skin along his lip. I could see the darkening from where my fists had slammed into his face.
"Now where did you learn that?" Hot shivers coursed up my spine, tingling along my nape. His lips dragged along the shell of my ear, his mouth opening like he wanted to sink his teeth into my skin. Something hot and unforgiving tightened my guts, the fingers holding my hands tightening and loosening in barely restrained intervals.
"It turns out that there are other people who teach nen," I whispered, stilling as his head dipped into the curve of my neck. His chest rolled against my back, his lunges expanding as he pressed both of my hands into one of his. I could get out of this if I really wanted to. My insides shivered, a soft breath leaving me as his free hand dove into the hair at my nape, his long fingers cradling the back of my head. I forced out the rest of my words. "Isn't that surprising?"
"There are reasons that I didn't want you to do the water divination." His words were low, guttural as his lips ghosted along my shoulder, barely touching. I wanted him to kiss me again. I wanted him to finally break the thin distance between us. I wanted. I wanted. "How did that go, by the way? Perhaps a little bit more of an ordeal than you thought it would be, hm?"
The sound of Minoru's wails as Eimear had torn a chunk of both of us from his very soul, cut through my mind.
"It was actually easier than I thought it would be," I lied, forcing lightness into my words. "You should have been there-"
"I would have been there-" he growled, the ghost of his teeth bearing against my ear. The hand in my hair tightened, sending shivers down my spine. Did I enjoy getting him riled? "But instead you run like a spoiled child told no-"
I hissed, easily yanking my hands away from his hold and whirling to snarl up at him. My chest skims along his, the distance between us minuscule. "Don't you dare pretend as if you gave me a single reason-"
His teeth flashed down at me in a sarcastic smile, his head craning closer until it felt like his whole body was curved around me, cocooning me in. "Did you grow stronger under my training?"
I let out a low sneer. "Compared to the mundane? Yes. Compared to you and Illumi? No."
The golden depths of his gaze swirled, deepening to a shimmering honey. His smile turned sharp with vicious edges. "How horribly did your training go, pet? How much of yourself did you give away to attain the things you wanted this quickly?"
I seethed, coiling back into myself like a venomous snake. How dare you talk to me like he knew anything about the things I had cut out of my own body to attain the level that I was at now? I dare he pretend to understand even a fraction of my pain? Righteous rage burned hot within me, scorching my throat.
I hissed my next words, spitting them up at him with all the loathing that I could muster. "Go to hell, Hisoka Morrow."
His eyes blazed, kindling with the same hatred reflected back at me. His eyes burned me, scorching me to my very core. I hated him but I wanted him. I craved his touch but couldn't understand a single thing about him. I wanted to burn him to the ground and light the foundations of myself alight at the same time.
"Spoiled brat," he bit out and then his lips crashed down on mine.
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