A Hunter Fanfic
Hunter Works
By Yomi
Chapter 21 – Revelations
He couldn't avoid him forever, and both of them knew that. So how come the other was still being so stubborn and refused to spare him a single glance? They were flat-mates for goodness sakes!
The kiss happened yesterday in the morning, before he left with Legato to confront his aunt with the news of Iori's insanity. His baby cousin had gone insane beyond all hope, committing one atrocity after another but here he was, pre-occupied with a kiss he had with another man.
He had to readjust his priorities.
The front door clicked open and Illumi sulked in, head dipped low, eyes covered by the curtain of his dull black hair. That mane had been lustrous and luminous when Illumi first arrived in Anime City, but in a mere month and a half, it had become as lifeless as straw.
"Illumi – "
"Got work, can't talk," he replied hastily and made straight for his bedroom in quick, hurried steps. Hisoka sprang off the couch and intercepted him, pinning his most severe gaze onto the frail man.
"There's always time to talk. You've been avoiding me like the plague since yesterday. You wouldn't go out to dinner with me and ignored me this morning. This…thing…between us can't be ignored!"
"I'm not in the mood to talk about this Hisoka."
"When will you be in the mood then? Tell me, go through your diary and find a time –"
"Don't do this to me Hisoka!"
The magician balked and stepped back but his hands tenderly reached up to brush aside the long fine strands of black hair, hooking it behind the ears, to get a better look at Illumi's expression. His face was twisted in grief, torn by an inner struggle and through blood shot eyes Hisoka beheld immeasurable pain.
"We can't ignore what happened between us," Hisoka said softly yet maintaining a gentle firmness in his tone. He pulled Illumi to him but he cringed as his fingers wrapped around naked forearms as cold as marble.
"Goodness, you're freezing. Where have you been?"
Illumi shook himself free of the magician and dumped himself onto the couch, slumping uncharacteristically. Hisoka immediately went to the kitchen, set the kettle boiling and made Illumi a hot cup of tea.
"I was with Lady Valerie," Illumi said after taking a small sip of the bitter liquid and gave a weary sigh. "I felt like I was sitting with a tiger who's ready to pounce the moment I showed any signs of weakness. Do you know what I'm talking about?"
Hisoka shook his head but remained attentive, so Illumi tried to explain it to him.
"It's like you're being watched by someone dangerously observant. Their eyes are forever fixed on you with an intensity that could melt your bones. They're not just listening to your words – they're scrutinizing everything you're doing, taking in your nuances and calculating how best to bring you down."
"What the hell are you doing with those kinds of people then?"
"She's wife to a very powerful husband," Illumi said, sighing again and his eyelids fluttered like the frail wings of a dying bird until they were shut. Hisoka took the cup from him and placed it on the coffee table. "If I can have Lord Vallissa's backing, all my dreams will come true."
When he felt the man beside him go rigid, Illumi cracked open an eye to see the dark frown on Hisoka's face. But he did not feel intimidated. A saddened smile curled on his lips.
"It is not your place to approve or disapprove of who I choose to come into contact with Hisoka," he said in an apologetic manner which also sounded like he had no choice, thus all the more infuriating because of the lack of remorse.
The cords of muscle on Hisoka's neck were visibly showing and a lone drop of sweat trickled down the side of his face. Ever so slowly, he leaned towards Illumi until he was close enough for the latter to see real fear in his eyes.
He said in a voice thickened by a sluggish tongue, "I've heard that Lord Vallissa is an extremely dangerous man. He is someone that even Salar would obey, the same Salar who would bow to no one. And around Salar, he's gathered to him all sorts of crazy people who can look death in the eye and laugh."
"You mean Misha?"
"He's contacted you already?"
Illumi pressed his body further into the yielding couch. "Yes – he wanted to buy the design for the sash I made for Dougy. He offered a sum I could not refuse."
Hisoka forced his fingers to stop fidgeting with the hem of his shirt and ordered his teeth to release his lower lip. "And what did you think of him? Did you meet him in person?"
He nodded and reached for the tea again, taking another delicate sip. "He's just a lunatic, extravagant, an outrageous man not capable of subtleties. Nothing I couldn't handle. Nothing compared to Lady Valerie."
"Illu, please be careful."
Illumi gave a meek nod but never saw the kiss coming until he felt himself responding to it.
When Hisoka had to break away for air, he violently pushed him away and savaged his lips with the back of his sleeve. "Now why did you have to do that again?"
Hisoka gripped the front of Illumi's shirt and mercilessly yanked him forward so that they were nose to nose. The deadly seriousness in his expression bordered on anger. "Because it felt damn right and you know it."
Vainly prying at the steel grip, Illumi gave his most threatening growl. "It's wrong you fool. Wrong!"
He found himself completely encircled by Hisoka's uncompromising arms and had no room to struggle. He shied away from Hisoka's hot breath on his cheeks .
"If it feels right then it's never wrong. Never! Stop struggling and accept it!"
Instead of breaking away, Illumi suddenly lunged forward and sank his teeth into Hisoka's exposed collarbone. He gasped but made no move to release Illumi, even as a wetness began to form, a mixture of Illumi's panting breath and his blood running freely. Illumi made a face of disgust at the metallic taste in his mouth, but Hisoka still held him firmly in his arms.
"Don't think this decision doesn't make me afraid Illu," Hisoka whispered, stroking his hair. "I'm still scared half witless. I don't know if my friends will think I'm abnormal and laugh behind my back. Silva is most likely never going to hire me again and I might never get another job in Anime City."
He relaxed his grip enough to see Illumi's face but did not feel disheartened by the dullness in Illumi's eyes or his perfectly neutral expression. "But what can I do? It was as if I've never been truly alive until yesterday, when that kiss shocked me back into living."
"You are confused Hisoka," Illumi finally raised his eyes up to him, eyes more unreadable than hieroglyphics of an long lost civilization, "because you're under a lot of stress and pressure right now. You're worried about your cousin but you can't do anything to help so you're feeling helpless and vulnerable. I was the first plastic floatie you latched on to when you were drowning in that chaos of emotion. This feeling you have for me – it won't last."
"But you responded to the kiss."
He shrugged. "Our bodies respond to touch. It's primal and innate but it doesn't necessarily bear the thought of love if it responds." Illumi's indifference then turned into a cruel smirk. "Don't tell me you've been feeling this liveliness with every woman you've screwed."
Unexpectedly, Hisoka did not become angry and Illumi hid his confusion and disappointment from his face. He quietly watched Hisoka's equally undecipherable body language but braced himself nevertheless for another beating. He could hear his own heart thudding away in his ears bearing no ill or good tidings, just a dreaded inevitability that he might never know Hisoka well enough to control him.
Finally, the red haired man spoke, in a calm manner which evidenced cracks around the edges. "How do I prove it to you then Illu? Do you want me to abstain from anything physical just to show you that I still feel alive around you? Tell me how you want to be convinced, or is it that you just don't want to be convinced?"
Illumi grit his teeth and muted a hiss. "Very well. You can try to convince yourself after your cousin's problems have been sorted and life is back to 'normal' for you."
"But I don't know how long Iori's problem is going to take resolve. It could be years!"
Illumi didn't flinch from the outburst. "Can you wait that long?"
After only the most imperceptible hesitation, Hisoka nodded and grated out a 'yes'.
When Illumi casually returned to
his room, Hisoka's cell phone rang and he was called to an emergency Ex
Club meeting. Great. More complications.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Elysian Mall
Karasu was looking for a gift for his wife and his quest for such gift took him to the shopping central of Anime City – Elysian. Run by Lord Hades, Elysian was established at about the same time as the first studios, Graude Foundation, Side 7 and Toriyama Studios, were set up and has been host to all the award shows, balls and parties since.
"Took your time getting here Xelloss!" he growled at the purple haired man who was jauntily walking up to him with an unaffected smile, as if the world could do him no wrong. Karasu smothered his jealousy and peered down at the jewellery. He still couldn't help sneaking several annoyed glances at the very wide smile.
"Ok, spill it, what's got you so uppity today?"
Xelloss' jubilance never wavered. "Xe's being a good boy. He went out with Fi and the jerk last night to dinner but called home afterwards. Of course, he didn't sound too happy but at least he's still talking and not giving me the silent treatment."
"Is that really a good sign?" Karasu asked with pangs of worry beginning to throb at the sides of his temples.
"It has to be. It means he knows what he's doing and he knows what his feelings are. There's nothing more bewildering than being confused and not knowing what or how to feel, or how your own son is feeling for that matter. I've got you to thank Karasu."
"Why are you thanking me?"
"I think Kaéry is helping Xe see through this transition."
Karasu shuddered and his face lost a bit of colour, this topic being the cause of his worries. "I think Kay is helping Xe block this transition."
Xelloss' unrepentant grin turned wicked and his eyes were narrow and shifty. "It's just all semantics. Get away from there. Lola isn't interested in sparkly things."
"Are you seriously going to let the two wreak havoc and raise hell with your arms crossed? I was thinking of digging a hole in the backyard and hiring some builders to make me a bomb shelter."
Xelloss' laugh was harsh and scathing. "Conflict only arises when you have two opposing parties evenly matched. In this case however," he smirked, "there is great disparity between the opposing parties. Kay and Xe versus insignificant bugs and worms. Our sons combined is like a steamroller and anything caught in their path is flattened without resistance. I predict things will work out rather well."
They wandered off into the sporting section and Karasu helped himself to some golf clubs.
"We're here to shop for your wife remember, not yourself. I didn't think Lola was one to be comforted by gifts though."
"That'll teach me to stick up for strangers again. She barely spoke a word to me last night and didn't go to sleep either."
"It's that bad? I'm sorry."
The tall man snorted. "It's really not fair sometimes. She bosses me around like I'm an insubordinate."
"No can do Karasu. You knew what kind of girl she was before marrying her. From her perspective, she feels that marriage has chained her to you considerably.
"Great. So she sees marriage as some sort of prison. Just what I wanted hear," Karasu noted wryly and put back the clubs.
Their mall trekking took them into the martial arts section of the sports store which was lined with arrays of weapons on the racks. Karasu stared at the display for a long time not knowing what to pick.
"Come on Karasu. Let's go grab a drink. You're obviously too pre-occupied to even think clearly."
Karasu let himself be dragged away and soon found himself immersed in the gloominess of a pub with dirty yellow lights studded into the ceiling at irregular intervals. Xelloss shouted him a cold, tall beer and the bitter taste of the revolting liquid made him shudder.
"Tastes like crap," he choked.
"That's supposed to be the idea. Feel like talking to me now? There're no reporters around."
Karasu sighed and raked a hand through his hair, wondering how Xelloss could remain so…buoyant in times like this when his separated wife was seeing a new man and a custody fight was impending over his son. He released a sigh.
"I've been nervous since Salar's back," he finally admitted, steeling himself to take another large gulp of beer. "Seeing the way Lola just lights up when she sees him makes me wonder why she's still married to me."
"You're not suggesting –"
"No," Karasu muttered irritably, abruptly pushing the glass away causing the amber liquid to spill. "I know she doesn't feel that way for Salar, but why is she with me if she doesn't seem as happy as she could be?"
"I think Lola is a satisfied woman."
Karasu gave Xelloss a hard stare and said testily, "There's a difference between being 'satisfied' and being 'happy' isn't it? You can be satisfied, but it doesn't mean you're over the moon about it."
"I think you're making a fuss out of nothing. She's with you – not like Filia and me, separated with a divorce on the way. What's there to complain about?"
Karasu struggled to find the right words to say. "It's like…she stays because she has to, because it's a duty. She doesn't like her new way of life but she shuts up and puts up with it and tries to look unaffected. If she's so goddamn discontent – argh!"
"Hey, calm down! Calm down!" Xelloss grabbed Karasu's hands before they ripped out handfuls of glossy black hair. Keeping his voice tight and low, the trickster continued, "What do you expect? She's trying to fit in. Maybe she'll never fit in to Anime City after the life she's had, but so what? At least she's trying every day and is giving this marriage of yours a shot. If it's some lofty principle of 'duty' that's the only reason binding her to you, well, why can't she just ignore this duty? Why didn't Filia have the same sense of duty to me? Think about it you stupid man."
"Hey!"
"I'm here to help and I'm helping you by saying that your problems are ridiculous. People only give loyalty to another if they feel the other deserves their loyalty. You've got a strong and stable marriage. Don't ruin it with petty suspicions."
Karasu didn't look as convinced as Xelloss had hoped. And then Karasu said the very words that he had feared to ever utter: "What if she's loyal to me if only because we have a son?"
Xelloss shrugged aside the suggestion. "I have a son with Filia, but did that stop her from finding Valgarv."
"Yes, but – Holy Shit. Lola! Um…I was just having a drink with Xelloss!" Karasu bolted out of his seat and stood to attention halfway through his conversation with his friend on seeing an all too familiar figure stride into the pub.
Xelloss spun around with an evasive smile already plastered on his face, plausible excuses already being manufactured in his mind by the dozen. But he stopped short of greeting the newcomer who didn't show any signs of having heard Karasu.
"Lola?" her husband called.
No response. She called for a margarita.
"Lola!"
She thanked the bar tender and began to sip the contents.
Xelloss pulled Karasu back and forced him back into his seat. "It's not Lola!" he hissed in the man's ear. "It's not her! Lola never lets her hair down, now stay still!"
"That's not Lola?" Karasu rubbed his eyes. He squinted through the murky darkness and dim lights and gasped. "You're right! Damn, I could have made a fool out of myself just then!" He abruptly paused and swung a deadly glare at Xelloss. "You tell this to anyone and I'll skin your hide."
Xelloss emitted a small laugh and defensively held his hands up to show his assent. "Chill Karasu. I'm not going to tell anyone how you have to report all your movements to your wife like a good little soldier."
He ignored the sounds of grinding teeth and laughed louder still. "I guess everyone already knows you're very much a controlled man, no longer master of his house, but hey, you have our sympathies."
Karasu launched himself at the madly cackling fruitcake and attempted to throttle the life out of him. Xelloss was still laughing as he was being choked, and it came out in weak splutters of hilarity.
Suddenly, an icy cold hand, whose touch numbed Karasu to the bone, broke his stranglehold over Xelloss and he reacted as if he had been scalded.
"Salar! I'd never imagine finding you in a place like this with an alcoholic drink! What's got into you?"
"I'm not Salar," Karasu said, an automatic reflex that he had fostered over the years of being confused with his identical twin. It came out unbidden and those were always the first words that he said if he was ever incorrectly addressed.
The woman, whom he'd mistaken only moments ago as his wife, delicately raised an eyebrow and peered into his face the snapped her fingers when she noted his violet eyes.
"Forgive me! You're Salar's brother, Karasu. I'd heard he had a twin, but you never really trust 'identical' until you see for yourself. And I have seen for myself. By all that is believable, if you put on coloured contacts, I wouldn't be able to tell you two apart."
"I can't send the fear of god into people with a bare smile as my brother can," Karasu muttered and subconsciously straightened his clothing. "Who are you?"
She was about to introduce herself when the heavy doors to the pub burst in with a loud bang followed by a heavy stamping of feet.
"Get her!"
"Well well, they summoned an entire battalion just to find me. I guess I should feel honoured. Now, now, don't be so eager gentlemen. Manhandle me and give me a bruise and I'll sue your pants off."
Xelloss and Karasu recoiled and had their backs firmly pressed to the wall to indicate that they were not acquainted with her and were very keen to mind their own business.
Around twelve beefy security guards armed with batons stampeded into the premises and bought in with them blinding shafts of white light from outside as the door was flung wide open. Some patrons actually hid under the table.
A single refined and elegantly dressed man picked his way through the round wooden tables and the guards instantly parted to let him through, almost afraid to touch him. With the light behind him, his hair shone like pure gold and his pale ivory coloured face took on an eerie, ethereal glow, imposing the presence of a divine being about him.
"You are not welcome in Elysian, Valerie."
A corner of her lips twitched. "Get a grip Hypnos. Do you think I'm committing commercial espionage just by ordering a drink in a run-down joint like this?"
The man with the stiff golden hair gave a sharp clap and the security men surrounded Valerie.
"These are Lord Hades' orders. You are not to step foot inside Elysian ever again. We have a right to physically eject you if you refuse to co-operate."
"Touch me and I'll scream," she said, coldly eyeing the men whose hands were very near their long wooden batons. "I can walk by myself."
She flicked aside the strands of hair that she had been twirling around her fingers and stalked out. But just she reached Hypnos' side, she paused and narrowed her eyes.
"I'm truly disappointed by this outcome Uncle Hypnos. Things really didn't have to be this way you know."
He visibly stiffened and stood more rigid than a statue. "I do not make things the way they are. You can thank your husband for this."
She gave a humourless smile which all the security guards could not endure and had to look away. "Yes, I'll thank my husband then."
On her own initiation, she left the pub with the security guards trailing like an entourage behind her, giving Hypnos meek, apologetic looks as they left.
"Just make sure you see her leave the building," he irritably ordered, then as if suffering a painful headache clutched his head and said, "I…need a drink. Can I have a glass of bourbon?"
"Straight away my lord," was the bartender's hasty reply.
Hypnos, Hades' left hand and also known in Saint Seiya fandom as the God of Sleep, spied on two A class actors slouching away in a dark corner trying to look inconspicuous. He took the glass of bourbon and sauntered over to their table although he gave a weary sigh when he sat down.
"Ok gentlemen, I trust you'll give it to me straight. What were you doing with her?"
Xelloss gulped. "With all due respect Lord Hypnos, we were here to discuss Karasu's imaginary problems with his wife. She came over mistaking him for Salar."
A flicker of trouble passed through Hypnos' expression making it all the more glum. He propped his elbows on the table and drank deeply from the glass.
"How can I forget about Salar? This has to be the Underworld's worst nightmare come true."
Karasu flinched at the overpowering smell of alcohol on Hypnos' breath and suspected that the bourbon was not his first drink today.
"Is she the Valerie?"
"Yes, and a very pissed off one at that. I don't think she ever forgave Lord Hades' public recognition of his real daughter, Integral. I think that's why she's asked her husband to give us so much trouble."
"Surely the enmity between Lord Hades and his late adoptive daughter cannot be that bad to go so far as to have her removed from the building?"
Hypnos looked up at Karasu's quiet inquiry and felt his headache grow worse. He let out an audible groan and finished his drink, signalling to the bartender to fetch him another.
"It all began to go wrong when Lord Vallissa appeared. Of course, I've never met him and I don't know enough about what happened between my lord and Miss Valerie, but Vallanor's imminent presence in Anime City is nothing but a revenge attack. This isn't reasonable, rational competition between two companies. This is a bitter fight between two private parties embroiling innocent bystanders, namely people like me."
"Have Lord Hades and Miss Valerie tried…counselling?" Xelloss suggested. Hypnos regarded at him as if he was stupid and Xelloss suddenly found his half-empty glass of beer very interesting.
"I've watched Valerie grow up. She's always been secretive and won't tell you anything unless she's sure you're loyal to her. I guess that's what the basic problem is – my lord Hades has found his real daughter and has discarded her for Integral, and she sees that as a breach of trust."
Xelloss stroked his chin. "That sounds a lot like something Xelan would say."
"Yes, but imagine Xelan twice as old and five times smarter with nasty, despicable people by his side to carry his bidding."
Karasu sighed and ran a hand through his hair again to push away the fringe which constantly pricked his eyes. "It's never pleasant when love turns into hate. I doubt Xelan would ever hate his mother though. He loves her too much. Surely there are still mutual feelings of love between Lord Hades and Miss Valerie."
Hypnos was already halfway through his second glass of bourbon and his tongue was coming looser by the minute. "Lady Persephone doesn't like Valerie and never has. Her blonde daughter is the rightful heir to Elysian, not some adopted pretender to the throne. I guess she will never agree to a truce, and if she says no, Lord Hades follows suit and says no and middle-men like me have to do the dirty work and look like bastards."
They watched Hypnos struggle to keep his eyes open and made him suck on a lemon when he threatened to pass out. Face twisted in revulsion from the shocking sourness of the fruit, Hypnos wiped away the tears that had formed in his eyes.
"I am not in a position to question my lord's actions and my personal feelings aren't worthy of consideration. You boys better be careful from now on."
Xelloss frowned. "What's going to happen?"
"War," Hypnos said curtly, face betraying fear, "war with Northside. Vallanor cannot possibly seek to undermine Elysian in its own territory, so it's making out new territory for itself. They have their sights on Northside and they're going to flush out the inhabitants and turn it into another paradise, a mini city which never sleeps. Light will finally come from Northside, Anime City will have a more respectable northern neighbour, but the cost will be tumultuous."
"Cost?" Karasu echoed.
"In human lives. If the Northsiders won't move, Vallanor's going to do it by force and there's nothing the authorities can do to stop them. In fact, they think Vallanor's doing them a service by flushing out all the filth and scum in there. I, the insignificant middle man doing another man's bidding, haven't been able to persuade Sergeant Kanon to see otherwise."
"But Northside has nothing but filth and scum. Heck, even I'm inclined to agree that Vallanor will be doing us some good."
Hypnos glared at Xelloss and made him look even more foolish. "You moronic man. They are still people in there, women and children, the disabled and the alienated. You'll be hearing the cracks of gunshots, and the smell of blood from the massacre will pervade the air for weeks to come. In your dreams, you'll hear the screams of women and children caught in burning buildings and the rank smoke will choke your breath. If we're ever going to deal with Northside, it's not going to be all out war."
Karasu nodded in agreement. "There'll also be revenge attacks in Anime City as well. Imagine car bombs and suicide bombers. We'll be living in fear of our neighbours; people will stop gathering and attending social functions and if the threat does not go away, Anime City might as well be renamed Ghost City."
"It can't be that serious," Xelloss scoffed. "If they were that capable, won't Northside have attacked us by now?"
Hypnos tasted bile in his hiccup and he pulled a face, looking a bit green. "They've never had a reason to attack and we don't ever want to give them a reason to do so."
"Damn," Karasu watched Hypnos bury his head in his arms. "I might have to think about moving away for some time to avoid this."
"Then Vallanor will have won. They don't care about business here – they just want to destroy us."
"Is there seriously no one who can talk to Miss Valerie apart from Lord Hades?"
"Some intelligence from you at last Xelloss, but don't you think we would have tried before things got this far? Miss Valerie, dear little Valerie, left some twelve years ago when she was only a teenager who loved us all. Not a teenager any more now, no – a woman now without a single iota of femininity about her. Did you see the way she looked at me just then? So cold, so cold, so damn cold. No more feelings, no more softness within her, just naked steel and ambition that she shares with her ruthless husband. He shook his head dejectedly. "No – the only person who can talk to her will not talk to her. And I? I will continue to drink, and drink, and hope that the troubles will go away when I'm asleep."
Two of Elysian's security guards came back to report on the success of their task but were instructed instead to help Lord Hypnos to his private chambers for he was too drunk and depressed to walk straight.
When the door to the pub shut and they were enveloped in the gloom again, Karasu's phone rang. He received the call and his eyes widened.
"We've got an emergency meeting at
Hellsing studios. Lets move."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Hellsing Studios.
As the Hellsing season, all thirteen episodes, had already been shot, edited and released, the studios were left vacant as if the inhabitants had merely gone off for a holiday. Which would be the case if the show proved successful and people demanded a sequel.
Now however, their footsteps echoed around the corridors and their meeting place ghostly still. Too still for comfort.
It was a medium sized gathering led by Kuroro von Drosgen and Alucard, who sat on the comfy sofas. Legato was made to sit on a backless stool and he had his hands firmly pressed in his lap. He would occasionally sneak a glance to either one of his sisters also in the room, but they turned their heads and ignored his plea. Hisoka arrived at the same time as Yomi, leaving Karasu and Xelloss to come last.
"Oh, Legato's on The Stool. I wonder what he's done wrong," Karasu murmured to Xelloss as they took their seats, bemused by Legato's predicament.
Kuroro cleared his throat loudly and when he was sure he had their attention, he began with the introductory speech.
"Some of you here are unaware of a matter which concerns our fellow Ex Club member Hisoka. As you are all aware, Leona is with us once again. She has escaped from Northside and has bought ill tidings."
Xelloss immediately snapped awake and gave Karasu a sharp nudge at the mention of Northside.
"Although it was originally a private matter, the conduct of Legato must be made public. We have a traitor in our midst gentlemen. The news that Leona took with her from Northside may have something to do with Salar. He is still in the very thick of a particular matter which I will not reveal unless Hisoka grants me permission, but with all due respect to Karasu, Salar's silence on the matter has not done anything to wash away our suspicions of his deeds."
"That being the case, our discussions about Hisoka's problem is strictly confidential. But what have we here? Alucard today has spotted Legato entering and exiting Salar's house in the wee hours of dawn whilst he was doing his morning jog around the neighbourhood. Neighbours have also confirmed that it is not Legato's first time to be in contact with Salar over the past week."
Kuroro's voice changed from casual indifference to fierce condemnation, "What were you doing at Salar's place Legato, other than to act as the snitch?"
Legato yelped and flinched from the severe gaze of his compatriots, all accusing him of betrayal. He sobbed and turned to them in pity, begging for forgiveness.
"It has nothing to do with Hisoka's problem. I swear to god! It has absolutely nothing whatsoever with the matter!"
"Then why will you not tell us the reason for your visits?"
Legato flinched again, tormented by a shame they did not know about. "Please Kuroro, just trust me on this. I'm not a mole. I'm not passing on any of our discussions and whatnot onto Salar. I'm doing him a completely different service. Please, don't ask further."
"Your silence leaves much to be desired, and if you cannot talk about what you've been doing with Salar and be open and accountable about it, then we can do nothing but be suspicious."
"Hisoka! Come on man, help me out here! You know I'm not that kind of person!"
But the magician remained stonily quiet and looked to Kuroro for advice.
"If I may ask some questions," Yomi delicately interrupted, smiling as if Kuroro had already approved. "Legato, can you at least hint at the nature of your dealings with Salar?"
"Nature of my dealings?" Legato repeated like a dumb child.
"That's exactly what I said."
The accused hummed a bit with his eyes steadily trained on the dirty lines between the tiles on the floor as his mind wandered in thought. His mouth was dry and his voice rasped when he replied, "It's in the nature of physical labour."
That gave everyone something to think about and it was Machi who gaped at her brother.
"It's got to do with Salar being your mentor once, isn't it!" she exclaimed before covering her mouth under the fiery glares of the Ex Club members. Hisoka was immediately on his feet and thankfully Yomi and Alucard were there to prevent him from throttling Legato.
"You ARE a traitor!" the magician roared as he struggled under the force pushing him back. "You work for him. You –"
"Hisoka, I'm not betraying you! God damnit, I'm not that kind of person." Legato mentally shouted curses at his sister but focused on his explanation so as to reduce the impact of the revelation. He breathed in deeply and counted to ten, waiting for the tremors in his body to quell before he dared to speak again.
"Ok. I admit. Salar was my mentor but only for half a year! He's not a real mentor – just someone I owe a heavy debt to."
"He was mentor to you in what?" Xelloss questioned, his tone still unforgiving.
Legato breath quickened but he brutally willed it to remain steady. "He coached me on how to act like a cool guy, how to act and how to dress so that I get the Trigun role and have my own base of die-hard female fans."
Kuroro closed his gaping mouth. "He taught you that?"
"Yes. I hadn't had a real job for almost two years and I wasn't not getting younger. This was years ago. I was desperate. So I went to the smartest guy in town to ask for some advice."
"You sold your soul to my brother for fame?"
Legato couldn't face Karasu. "Don't say it like that. It was only six months. I'm still my own person….sort of. Like I said, I just owe Salar a debt."
Hisoka snarled and brushed off the two men who had ceased to hold him back. "So how did Salar ask you to repay this debt?"
"Kurei's missing, Salar's unwell and he doesn't trust a hired stranger to look after him. So he called me. Let me tell you, he was as reluctant to call me as I was to serve him. He had one foot in death's door when I responded to his call. I've just become a temporary substitute for Kurei."
No one noticed Karasu pale and so they said nothing.
"He has asked me no questions whatsoever," Legato spoke on. "In fact, he doesn't talk to me unless it's absolutely necessary. Salar was an ok guy, but now, he's just damn creepy. God forsaken. I don't even want to be near him any more, but I'm bound by the debt that I must repay. He hasn't spoken a word about Hisoka's problem and he knows Lee is my sister but says nothing. I have not betrayed you. Please believe me."
"Answer the question now," Yomi's unwavering smile and unfaltering smooth delivery of speech set Legato's teeth on edge, "What do you do for Salar?"
"I take his orders. Every single order until he is well. He needs someone to prepare his meals. He needs someone to bring his mail in from the front door. He needs someone to look after his house. He needs someone to do the washing. He even needs a fucking person to pour him a cup of tea while he works. I'm surprised he doesn't need someone to chew food for him and breathe for him."
"You mean…" Xelloss rolled his eyes looking for the right words, "you're like a slave?"
Legato blushed and contented himself with mangling his coat rather than Xelloss' neck. Through clenched teeth, he said, "Salar is getting better now and doesn't need me to help me move about. But he lives like a king in his house and won't do anything remotely related to housework if he can find someone else to do it for him. I'm guess that Kurei used to have that job."
"Who would have thought that the exuberant pretty boy was just another slave to a horrid master?" Machi commented with a dash of pity. "Lives like a king you say? Sure as hell acts like one too. Ok bro, since you haven't revealed anything about Leona or Hisoka, have you seen anything out of the ordinary which could help us? Say…has he had any out-of-town visitors?"
Legato racked his brains but ended up shrugging in futility. "The only time anyone visited was on Wednesday night when I arrived early at about seven thirty and I saw Lola leave just as I was two houses down."
"I was with Lola and Kaéry in Elysian having dinner and we didn't get home until twelve that night," Karasu said with wide, frightened eyes.
"Well, that person looked a lot like Lola. But I guess I could be mistaken – street lamps aren't that bright are they? What's wrong Karasu? You look like someone's just socked the living daylights out of you."
Xelloss raised an eyebrow. "We almost mistook someone for Lola at the pub just then. Guess who it was."
Kuroro massaged the sides of his temples. "Don't tell me the demons are gathering and we're heading on a collision course with doom."
"Does anyone remember Valerie?"
Half of them blankly shook their heads. Kuroro hesitantly raised his hand.
"I met her once when I was eight, in broadway at that time playing the Artful Dodger. She was with Lord Hades then. I remember dad saying she was his daughter, his treasured jewel. Dad wanted me to be friends with her of course."
"You're shivering like you've seen a ghost Dancho." Machi began to move forward in concern but Kuroro recoiled and shrank away.
"No – that wasn't one of my happiest memories, but I've had worse. She wouldn't speak to me the whole afternoon we were together and Dad told me off that night for not trying hard enough. I was laughing my pants off the next day when she wouldn't talk to dad either. Imagine, an eight year old sitting there, just staring right past you because she considered you to be invisible. I really wanted to tell dad that he wasn't trying hard enough either."
"I'd hate to interrupt Kuroro, but everyone knows Integral is Lord Hades' daughter."
Kuroro nodded at Alucard's statement. "Valerie was Lord Hades' adopted daughter. I haven't seen her for almost twenty years. I didn't even know she was still in Elysian."
"She's not."
"Beg your pardon?"
"I said, Drosgen, she's not," Karasu spat out. "We met Hypnos at Elysian just then. He was drunk and said too much. She's been gone from Anime for almost twelve years and Lord Hades had security guys remove her from Elysian this afternoon. There's an ugly little feud between them because she's married to Vallissa – Lord of Vallanor."
Kuroro frowned. "Why are you so uptight Karasu?"
"I remember Leona mistook Lola for this woman who was with Salar in Northside. Legato thought Valerie was Lola from two houses away. I thought she was my wife in the pub just then."
Hisoka leapt out of his seat again. "It's her then! Where's she? I'll go and make her talk!"
"If you can't sit still for fifteen minutes Hisoka, I'm going to have you tied up and gagged," Kuroro said testily. "So let's get this straight. The mistaken identity has been rectified. Leona saw Salar talking to Iori and if the woman with him was not Lola, it was someone who looked quite similar to her – Valerie?"
Xelloss and Karasu nodded.
"With Valerie involved, and her relationship with Lord Vallissa, we can safely presume that Vallanor has a vested interest in Northside. Agreed? Now what could this interest be?"
"They want Northside," Karasu informed once again, "and they want to wipe Northside off the face of the earth. They probably want to incite the bloodiest gang war in Northside and have the inhabitants wipe each other out so they can walk in and pick up the pieces without any cost to themselves."
Leona slowly nodded and warm anger began to build up inside her. Through her thick, slurred speech, she said, "They want to make Iori everyone's target. Lola said that other gangs despise the stuff that Iori's doing. I bet Salar was the one who suggested opening those brothels with children and I bet he's also been telling all the other gangs that Iori has his torture chambers."
"To kill two birds with one stone," Machi whispered in horror, feeling sick to the pit of her stomach. "And at the same time, Salar's most likely telling Iori how to strengthen and consolidate his power and position so that they'll destroy each other."
"He set my cousin up just so he could profit from Iori's crimes?"
Yomi expressed his irritation for Hisoka's uncontrolled outbursts by giving the latter a solid punch to the face. "Let's leave that matter till the end. Why don't we worry about the bloodbath first? Don't think the gang wars will be safely confined to Northside. It's going to spill into Anime City and we don't have the manpower to contain it."
A fat drop of blood welled out of Hisoka's split lip but the magician merely blinked.
"That's easy Yomi. Foiling Salar won't be hard. All we have to do is tell the other gang members what's really happening and how it's just Vallanor pulling the strings in the shadows."
"Oh," Yomi turned to Xelloss with painful sarcasm, "I suppose you plan on waltzing into Northside and go up to the guild members then say: hey, Salar's just put a blindfold over your eyes?"
"Well…why not?"
"You guys are more stupid than I had imagined. You don't have the slightest idea about the geography in Northside. We are not law enforcers – we have no power to defend ourselves if we get involved in this dreadful mess. I have a bloody wife and child – I'm not going to put them in danger!"
"They want us to fear."
"Well it's bloody working!" Yomi continued hotly. "And I don't see why we shouldn't be afraid. Damnit! I came here today expecting to be amused by Legato's interrogation on The Stool, not stumble across this awful discovery! Tell Kanon – tell him to bring in the riot police and have them on standby for the next six months but don't expect me to become personally involved."
"You're not being very supportive, Yomi," Legato said quietly. The blind man would have narrowed his eyes if he could.
"You tell me how we can be supportive without risking our damn lives!"
"Iori and I used to hang around at that old Bowling place in Glamour Isle all the time when we were still kids who didn't come up to my aunt's hip. He considered himself an artist and was a prolific graffiti vandal. Someone dobbed him in to Aunt one day and he got six lashings for it but he laughed it off and moved from colouring people's walls to experimenting with colouring his hair. He almost went bald bleaching and redying his hair so many times, but he found the colour he was looking for – a deep vermillion that made him stand out in a crowd. That's all he ever wanted to do really – to stand out and be someone."
"Why are you telling me all this Hisoka?"
"He was innocent, Yomi, just another reckless young man who dared to dream big. And you know what? Someone then came along and took advantage of his courage to dream and turned it into one big nightmare. Someone robbed him of his conscience and broke his mind and bereaved him of his future. That someone is living in the same city as you; that someone freely walks the streets and could one day destroy your son if he could find a benefit from his downfall. My cousin was innocent."
Yomi heard the tears well enough. He swallowed the uncomfortable lump lodged in his throat and bit his bottom lip until it bled.
"I have a way of contacting Lady Valerie."
They all looked at him.
"But it's going to be futile. There is no hope you'll be able to negotiate to get your cousin back, Hisoka, because you have nothing they want. Lady Valerie doesn't know pity or compassion – she only knows bargains and contracts. What have you got to offer that she does not have from her husband or Vallanor?"
"You've met her too?"
"Answer the question – what will you give if you see her? An emotional speech? Your bleeding heart? She'll probably laugh and step on it. Don't do this to yourself Hisoka. Let Iori go – he's too far gone."
"There's……one way."
They all turned back to Karasu. He wished they wouldn't.
"Lord Hades. We tell him everything and urge him to everything that's within his power. Better still – get him to sign a truce with Vallanor and settle his quarrel with Valerie and the storm will go away. Think you can do that Hisoka? Patch up a relationship you barely know anything about?"
The magician rose to his feet with an aura of deadly calm about him as if he had achieved a breakthrough.
"No use wallowing in despair. I'll try to get them to talk then. That will my consideration to Lady Valerie. Give me the contact details."
The blind man nodded. "When you secure your end of the bargain, I'll try to contact her."
"And you'll not tell us how you know her."
"That is my business and no one else's. Push it and I'll withdraw my offer to help," he replied smoothly, to Hisoka and everyone in the room.
Kuroro clapped his hands to regain everyone's attention. "So be it then. Hisoka you deal with Lord Hades whereas the rest of us will inform police and tell them all we know. Do not spread this – we might prematurely alert them of our knowledge of their plans. Everything that has been said in this room today is confidential and will not leave the room. Agreed?"
They all nodded and began to disperse, going their separate ways. Hisoka was held back by the Bluesummers siblings.
"Leona's got something to tell you."
The tall blue haired woman stepped forward with her head bowed so that her bangs covered her eyes.
"I've seen your long haired friend with Iori in Northside as well."
"Illumi?!"
Author's Note:
I think I made this chapter more
Hunter related again - at least Hisoka is firmly tied to the main problem/issue
at hand, as is Illumi.
Thank you once again for the detailed
reviews - I value them over ten one liners. *bows low* thank you for taking
time to read my work and appreciate the ideas that I put in. I hope this
chapter will not disappoint.