Woo I have been so busy. I'm in a programming class this semester that's heavy on algorithm designs and guys... my brain is on FIRE. Someone get me a glass of water lol BUT, but you guys gave me so many lovely reviews and I just wanted to give you this chapter since I already had it outlined. I hope you like it and please keep up the REVIEWS and follow/favorites if you like it.
vain-gl0ry: Hope you like this chapter!
Watercan: Thank you so much for your comment! I have this very clear vision of Hisoka and I've always worried that it won't come across correctly so I'm so glad that you are enjoying it.
Kitteninthemoonlight: Your comment completely helped me re-ceneter Minoru. I've kind of been struggling with his character and that one line from you really brightened up my day.
Kairi: Oof I know. When I started this, I wanted to do a light read with some Hisoka romance but then I got into it and here we are... lol I'm happy with the direction that it's going but I'm going to enjoy developing their relationship even more.
Guest: Aw thank you so much! I'm so glad that you're enjoying it.
Chapter 30
Air rushed past me, burning my eyes and lunges with dirt and debri.
Woah, Minoru whispered, moving so that the bulk of his body anchored me against the overwhelming force of the Surgeon driving Hisoka's body into the ground again. Clean mountain air wooshed toward me, the ground around Hisoka shattering. A sharp breath left the red-heads mouth, the golden pricks of his eyes snapping to mine for a moment before his face was scrunching, every muscle bunching as he leveled himself out from under the smaller woman's hands.
It was terrifying. Overwhelming.
And absolutely breathtaking.
My body leaned forward, ravenous in a way that should have made me second guess my own sanity. There was something about seeing an unabashed display of savagery - seeing the light fade to a simmering heat as they finally decided that they would pulverize their opponent before they moved on.
At this moment, both Hisoka and the Surgeon had that look in their eyes.
"I told you never to contact me again." The Surgeon, it turned out, was an old, squat woman, her back hunched from years of hard labor. Her hair was twisted into a series of heavy dreads, clinking with an assortment of beads and twine which looked like they weighed enough to capsize her entire body. Which wouldn't have been that hard of a feat since she was only a few inches taller than me. Now, that head was tipped back, her dark eyes narrowing on Hisoka as he placed a hand delicately on his hip, picking at some dirt that was darkening his shirt.
Her face reminded of autumn leaves, russet toned, drifting to the forest floor in exhausted acceptance but unforgiving from too many seasons enduring the sun. Even though a thick, wooden cane was clutched in her fingers to make up for her bad back, her legs were defiantly spaced, a single nail tapping impatiently at the head of her stick.
"Now, now, Eimear." Even though Hisoka's words were lilting, rising and falling in a way that would have made anyone else think he was half a breath away from laughing, I could see the tenseness in his shoulders, the way he turned his body sideways so he made a smaller target. A grin played at the corner of his lips as the older woman gave a hiss, her cane cracking ominously at the dirt as she sneered up at him. "I thought we were friends~"
"You don't have any friends," she snapped immediately and Minoru gave a snort.
Burn. That was a definite burn. Glee curled his lips, his dark eyes lighting at the interaction.
"You get hurt too much," Eimear was saying, her cane cracking once more at the dirt. "Not to mention that you don't use my powers correctly-"
"Really," he hummed smoothly, still picking at that speck of dirt on his shirt. "With such lackadaisical, whimsical, frankly wishy-washy guidelines-"
The explosion his body made as it flew into the tree right next to me made my ears pop. Minoru gave a elated howl, his eyes nearly brimming with grateful tears as they took in the shattered mess that Hisoka's body had made of the tree and the chunk of trunk that was missing from the second tree that he had been stopped by.
Rumpled, looking less and less amused by the second, the red-haired man rolled to his side, twigs and leaves sticking at odd angles from his waves. A long series of scrapes was reddening the left side of his face, blood already dampening his cheek from where his face had probably collided with a tree trunk… Or possibly the ground.
"Don't you dare talk about my abilities when yours are so decidedly childish-"
"Effective," Hisoka sang softly, leveling himself to his knees and then feet.
"Whatever you want to call it, I frankly don't care, young man-"
This is amazing, Minoru whispered, his face slack with rapt attention and frankly idyllic devotion to the squat woman striding past us. If it were possibly for him to jump ship and become a devout worshipper, I think he would have already voided our parasitic contract.
I rolled my eyes. Down, boy.
She's a goddess, he breathed, his body curling tighter around me as he tried to get a better view of the whole display.
"I've come here for your help," he muttered, his body leaning delicately to the side, like a flower warily standing against the onslaught of wind. His eyes tracked up and down her body, the corner of his lips lifting with vague interest. Half-heartedly, he flicked a finger to where I sat. "I brought someone that needs your-"
The darkest eyes that I've ever seen snapped to me, the effect like the sudden realization that you had swam too far out and now the sea was pulling you under. I jolted, caught in their dark depths. Her eyes reflected a different age than her body - the sharp, penetration of her stare somewhere between young and timeless all at once. Eyes like that belonged to an immortal - someone who had seen enough to find the more harrowing a boring task.
My breath caught, unable to look away.
Goddess, Minoru gasped dizzily.
Eimear's eyes narrowed, her lip pouting out for a moment, one long finger tap, tap, tapping at that cane. I had thought that Hisoka was strong but she… she took my breath away.
When she finally released me, turning her attention back to a bemused looking Hisoka, I drew in a shaky breath. My body pushed back into Minoru's flank, trying to disappear from whatever she had sucked from me in that short time I had been trapped with her.
"What do I want from a little girl and her nen beast?" she asked, the question sounding more like an accusation than anything else.
Hisoka's face smoothed, the ruffled edges that I had seen after he had first gone flying into that tree. He brought a hand up to look at the sharp points of his nails. "I'm willing to pay double... not to mention that I thought it might be entertaining for you given your open distaste for me and the fact that I know how vividly you would enjoy fulfilling your guidelines on me."
A small twitch of her lips was all the answer that she gave for a moment, her eyes darting to me once more. "Do you have a name, little girl?"
"Mori," I supplied immediately. "And Minoru."
"Minoru is…" The way she said it made me feel like I had done something wrong by adding Minoru's name.
His eyes darted to me, widening. Fix it. Fix it before she beats us up.
"My…" I struggled for an answer, the sudden confusion of the past couple month's revelations making me dizzy. Words ping-ponged through my mind. He was… he was… "My family."
I resisted the urge to curse, feeling the old wound of our past rage through my mind. His eyes locked on mine, an invisible thread of hurt, distrust and loyalty going taut between us. He was...He was my family - no matter how much I wanted to fight against it. No matter how fucked up that might sound. There was flesh and memories between us, an inescapable past, present and future that I no longer shared with anyone else.
Understanding lit his gaze along with something much more dangerous: devotion.
I still don't trust you, I snapped, lurching away from the sudden uncomfortable swell of emotions.
His big head nuzzled mine. That's okay.
"Odd." I jolted, having forgotten for a moment that there were other people watching the exchange. Hisoka's eyes were narrowed on us, an odd mix of emotions tightening the fox-like features of his face. Eimear's face held the same cluster of emotions, her eyes squinting over at us like she was trying to work out some sort of puzzle. Her gaze zipped back to the much taller man, drawing his attention. "Just as odd. We both know that you don't help people, Hisoka."
Something flashed across his face before he could smooth it out, his hand twitching at his side before he was grinning. Hisoka was the only person I knew who could shuffle through emotions like that, picking and choosing which ones he wanted to display. Now he was electing to be the cynicist, the coy politician, his fingers moving in a nonchalant display.
"Think of it as an investment," he said airily, waving away her question with a hand and a smile.
Her eyes narrowed further. "Awful big investment. In both finances and flesh."
My eyes widened. Flesh? What the hell did that mean?
Hisoka's gaze slipped to me, a soft sort of warmth heating them to melting gold. He didn't look away, something altogether treacherous and tantalizing in that look. When he finally spoke, his voice was low, dangerously earnest. "She has a lot of potential."
Wind beat at the trees around me, leaves rustling free as the morning glow of sun started to reach over the mountains nearby. My heart gave an uncomfortable squeeze at the words, foriegn sentiments bubbling up as he continued to keep my eyes. There were so many lies to Hisoka… But I wasn't sure that he had ever told one to me.
"If you want me to heal her then you know the deal," Eimear finally spoke up, her eyes slipping from Hisoka to me in searching scans.
Hisoka's shoulders rolled, his whole body changing at the declaration. His eyes slipped away from me, leaving me confused and...hot. I placed a cooling hand to my cheek, grunting. What was that about?
His neck cracked, a savage smile lighting his face as Eimear moved forward, her gait wide as she took a running leap at the taller man.
"I think you've hit me enough, don't you?" he whispered and I saw Eimear's eyes widen a moment before she jerked sideways, her whole body slamming into a nearby tree. The impact made me gasp, a billow of dirt and debri bluming out from where her body had hit.
Aw, fudge, Minoru grunted, clearly disappointed by the sudden turn of events. A low cracking rent the air, making me curl farther into Minoru as the tree gave way, crashing into its surrounding mates.
Crack!
For a moment, I thought that another tree was giving way but then the sound continued, growing in volume and speed. Eimear...was laughing. That was how she laughed. Like a million thunderclaps on top of the other.
Even her laughter is a force of nature, Minoru sighed, dreamily slumping forward to rest his head on the grass.
"Ooohh," came the cackling sigh as Eimear stalked from the depths of the smoke, her eyes rapacious as they took in Hisoka's languid pose. "Impressive. I didn't even notice you attach-"
"Don't give away all of my secrets, Eimear," he called, a card slipping through his fingers as he watched the older woman hobble forward, her teeth bright in the dawn glow. "We have a student in the wings taking her first exam."
Eimear's eyes rolled, her cane giving a low clack as she dug it into the dirt. "You remember my rules?"
The first sign of tension - a vein of unease - stiffened Hisoka's shoulders, his face tightening in visible discomfort. I had never seen such an expression on anyone's face - like a lion that was being forced into a cage while the ringmaster held a steak up to the audience. It was the look of someone who had to restrain but wanted to do the exact opposite.
"Yes," came his tight reply.
"Good," she hummed, her cane giving another ominous thump. "Then you'll stand still while I take my price."
"I was thinking more of a give and take arrangement…" His sentence drifted off as Eimear cackled, her voice booming.
Her eyes twinkled. "I won't be healing anything if I'm broken as well, Hisoka Morrow. You'll take my toll and you'll take it willingly."
Obvious hatred bubbled to the surface, his bottom lips tensing as his whole body went rigid. At his side, his fingers spasmed. He obviously knew what was going on but I...was completely lost.
Do you have any idea-? I jolted, the resounding sound of the hilt of Eimear's cane driving into Hisoka's chest stalling me. He took the blow with a wince, sliding to the side deftly as the older woman grinned, twirling her cane.
Remember how I told you there are rules to nen? Minoru asked, his eyes rapt on the whole exchange. He gave a vindictive growl of glee as Eimear spun her cane slamming into Hisoka's knees and driving him to the ground with a snarl. Hisoka's eyes had gone nearly black, his face beginning to show a feralness that I had always known was just below the surface but had never seen. I think Eimear's nen probably has a trade - more than likely she's using this fight as a way to boost her own abilities before she can heal you.
A low growl split the air as Hisoka flipped, dodging another blow as the older woman gave a chiding tsk. His eyes snapped to me for a moment, his jaw tightening as if he were remembering something before he went stock still, accepting a hit to his side with a flash of teeth.
I blinked, trying to process his words before remembering the nen lessons from just a few days before.
Gyo, Minoru and I whispered at the same time.
Knowing the words hadn't really helped me with the abilities. I had always been able to see nen - in short bursts and at random intervals. Putting terms and definitions to some of the things that I had learned from my mother had actually hurt in a way. When something's in your blood, you don't necessarily need to know the clinical term for it. It's instinct. Routine. Having Hisoka go through the motions with me had tipped it into a confusing zone - making me doubt my original instinct.
That's why it took me a minute of teeth-gnashing and sweating to center my aura, forcing the roiling mess back inside of me and up into my eyes. The sensation was like a warm shot, a burst of liquid electricity across my tongue.
When I blinked again, the world burst with color, the new visual disorienting.
Can you see it? Minoru urged, nuzzling at my shoulder with his wet nose.
I forced myself to focus, a trickle of sweat dripping down my spine at the added effort. There was Hisoka's aura, chaotic, hot pink against his bulky form and right beside him…
I gasped, excitement lurching inside of me. "I can see it. I can see the nen."
As I watched, Eimear's cane snapped out, sending Hisoka's head snapping to the side. And… The blue coil of Eimear's nen licked out, touching Hisoka's nen almost savagely, ripping into the chaotic mess with a vigor that turned my stomach. There it was.
The shock of it distracted me, breaking my focus until the world dulled once more, shifting back to my normal vision.
"She's...eating his nen," I gulped, recoiling back into Minoru as Hisoka dodged another blow, blood freely flowing from his mouth now, his body angled so that his right side was more available.
Minoru gave a dazed sigh. God, she's awesome.
Jesus, get a hold of yourself, I snapped.
Hisoka's voice cracked across the clearing, the cane making a dull wack as his palm closed around it before it hit him once more. "I think that's enough."
"You sure?" Eimear quipped, sounding all too eager to keep going.
Hisoka's lips thinned, drawing back from his teeth into a gruesome sneer. "Heal her. Before I change my mind."
Most people would run away screaming from a threat like that. Eimear simply grinned, tugging her cane from his grip.
"If you insist." She hobbled over to me, her eyes scanning over me with a deftness that made me want to sink somewhere where she wouldn't be able to find me. I watched her warily as she crouched in front of me, her eyes darting from my hair to my nose to my knees before finally meeting mine again. "Time for you to go to sleep, girlie."
"How-" The cool tip of her finger grazed my finger and the last thing I remember thinking is how odd it was. I would have thought after beating Hisoka like that her hands would have been warm to the touch.
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