Magdelena: Thank you so much for commenting! I know I have a lot of lurkers lol so it meant a lot that you left a review. Hope you're doing well and that you like this chapter!
CrimsonMoon6: That means a lot! I'm so happy that you like it.
Chapter 33
What would my brothers think if they saw me now, curled beneath the canopy of trees so dense that they didn't let in a shred of light? What would they think if they saw me shivering beneath a blanket too thin for my fatless bones, pride holding my tongue from asking Hisoka to get me another? Amori, Umori, and Imori had always told me that my natural affinity lay with the brutal, the destructive but here, in Kukuroo mountain I could feel it. I could feel the darkness that had started when I had slid that knife into my mother and tried to forget. I could feel it festering inside of me, slowly eating away the red of my muscles and hollowing me out into something vile, half-human.
Here in Kukuroo Mountain, there was no forgetting. There was only the pain and the anger that came with it.
"You're shaking."
I gritted my teeth, feeling the way the cotton of my shirt stuck to the skin just under my breasts and along my ribs, trying to keep my eyes forward because if I looked down at the thin wire beneath my feet, I would fall. Again.
He said this would be the last one, Minoru encouraged from below, pacing impatiently back and forth beneath where I was suspended.
Three sets of eyes watched me, watched every muscle in my body quiver as I took another step, drawing my leg out into a wide, pointed arc before setting it down slow enough that I wouldn't jeopardize my position. I wanted to stop. I wanted to get down and fall asleep so bad that my eyes burned. But then my There was only a foot or two left from where the wire ended and the tree began. I could make that. I would make it.
"You know… I've always wondered-" There was a lilting edge to his voice, something that gave away that what he was about to say would be nasty, a dirty trick. My teeth gnashed, a burning response razoring along my gut. I took another unsteady step. "Why did your brothers enter the competition?"
The question hit me in the gut. Was it selfish to want no one to speak about them? In their death, there was an odd possessiveness that had taken over. Or more that no one should speak of them because no one had the same connection to them that I did. No one knew how we spoke to each other, the memories and feelings that I had with them. It made me want to keep even their names to myself - bottled inside of me so tightly that I couldn't even say their names.
I didn't say anything, forcing myself to bring my foot out again, my body painfully stiff. The foot still balanced precariously on the wire trembled, ankles aching.
Don't listen to him, Minoru pleaded from beneath me.
It was odd how I couldn't stop my ears from pricking as I sensed his next breath, the calculated measure of his eyes on my body.
"It's almost like they wanted to die-"
I launched myself from the wire, snarling as I used the rebound from the cord to tackle Hisoka. My body collided roughly with his, his bigger frame going down in a heap of dust and gravel as he took the brunt of the impact. I didn't know if he could have dodged - probably. Instead, he decided to roll in the mud with me. He was playing today.
"Would you believe me if I apologized?" he sounded slightly winded, my knee driving into his ribs as I levered myself up, my chest sliding along his much more defined one as I tried to get enough distance to punch his fucking lights out. His canines flashed in an unapologetic smirk, his muscles rolling beneath me as he laughed in my face.
Deftly, he swatted my fist away as I tried to bring it down on his nose. He would look absolutely wonderful with a few broken bones. I felt his muscles tighten seconds before he rolled, sending my body into the unforgiving ground with enough force to take the wind out of my lunges.
I snarled. He was like a fucking snake - a much bigger snake that was toying with me. If I let him get on top of me, this fight was over. Gritting my teeth, I readjusted, squeezing my legs to my chest just in time so that he wasn't able to flatten me completely. His smile became deadly, golden eyes lighting the shadows of his position over me as he stared down at me. My stomach tightened, teeth flashing in an answering sneer before I kicked my legs out, forcing him off of me. Barely.
Anyone else and they would have been launched across the small space. My muscles quivered as I heaved, almost rolling with him as he was forced to the side. He was so much bigger than me. Breath sawed from my lunges, burning my throat as I tried and failed to scramble away. Hisoka's hand circled my ankle, his fingers dragging me back to the ground with a simple roll of his shoulder.
Dammit. I growled, slamming my heel down on his wrist with enough force to make him hiss out a breath, his grip loosening enough for me to finally break free.
Dirt smeared my sweaty skin, clumping at my nape as he slowly got to his knees, his blaze of red hair slightly ruffled. The onyx flare of his eyes tracked me, keeping ahold of my every heaving breath as I got to my feet. Behind me, I felt the attention of both Minoru and Illumi, each either unwilling or uninterested enough to not get involved. It was how I wanted it anyway.
"Don't speak about them like you knew them," I spat, hands clenching in short, furious grasps at my side. My whole body ached with the training, muscles I didn't know I had whimpering at every movement. But I would never give up an opportunity to fight - not when Hisoka knew how to press my buttons so easily.
Hisoka's eyes had turned cooler now, his smile dropping to something more serious as his gaze ticked over my body. "I won't if you really don't want me to-" I startled, the concession odd, strangely considerate. "But your little friends, your enemies won't have the same consideration. When you finally meet that little worm again, he'll speak about them. He'll make it so that you can see their death. He'll rip you open with his words before he goes for your life."
My teeth gnashed against the notion, rage bubbling up in my throat as I took his words in and forced myself to swallow them. He was right. Fuck, I hated that he was right.
"What do you suggest then?" I hissed, putrid waste boiling in my gut. "That you bombard me with vile taunts about my dead brothers?"
Slowly, his body unfolded from his own crouch, the lines of muscles uncoiling in a languid display of strength. His eyes caught mine, head tipping to the side as he stalked closer. He crowded me, daring me to take a step back as he leaned down, those honey-colored eyes hypnotic. His breath blew across my lips, taunting me. "I suggest that you grow accustomed with the sentiments of the vile. It will be your best friend in this new world."
And with that he brushed past me, the air left behind filled with the strange sweetness that seemed to follow him. My breath heaved out, hot in the cool mountain air as I tried not to give into the urge to scream in pure frustration.
"That was oddly sexual," I heard Illumi's lilting voice murmur, the words lacking any real emotion behind them.
A lethal laugh purred through the clearing. "She brings it out of me~"
I snarled, whipping around and stopping at the blank stare Minoru had on his face. His beady eyes flashed in apparent disappointment. I couldn't blame him. I was disappointed in myself as well.
"Run, little mouse~" His breath blew hot against the shell of my ear moments before I took off, dodging around trees and through low brush, taking the darkening forest in with wild abandon.
They had told me to that all I needed to do was make a circle - get back to them in less than 20 minutes. The very thought made my legs pump faster, my muscles burning deliciously as I dodged around another cluster of brush. Maybe they thought that I was too dumb to realize that that wasn't the only thing I needed to do. Or maybe Hisoka was counting on that fact and delighting in my knowledge.
Minoru was good with knowledge, he knew a lot about a variety of different things but in this last week, he had taken to asking Illumi to bring books from his family's library. It had been astonishing to see him actually come each day with a stack of bound books, each looking more expensive than the last. When had he learned to read? I had always assumed that it was a trait of his breed, maybe a gift given by my brothers but now I wasn't too sure. Now when I watched him brush through those pages, the red swirls along his fur burning a shade brighter - now it made me wonder.
Three dogs - three dogs were documented as guarding the Zoldyck property. I swallowed, picking up my pace as I finally made it to the outer edge of the property, the massive slab of concrete keeping the rest of the world separate from the family of assassins, cool against my palm. The dogs were trained to stop any intruder that came onto the property and from what I heard they were very good at it.
A distant howl shuddered through the trees, the scent of decay growing a bit stronger.
This was a test of speed. And I wasn't entirely sure if Hisoka and Illumi would stop the dogs from tearing into me.
My breath picked up a notch, not entirely from the fact that I was a little over halfway around.
The ground gave a slight shudder and my insides gave an answering shiver. The wall was a good idea for one reason and a bad idea for another. For one, it cut off the option of one of the beasts coming from that side. But in another, it limited my options of escape. For now, while I didn't think they were close, I stayed where I was.
The sun was high enough that it should have been bright but there was a stillness, a dreary cast to the area around the Zoldyck property - something that told me that I would be gobbled up if I wasn't quick enough.
One coming from behind. Another circling around the other side. I dodged into the underbrush, cutting through the thicket and away from the wall as I felt my muscles quiver. I was moving faster now, branches whipping around my arms and thighs, my feet digging into the dirt with enough force that gravel sprayed onto the back of my thighs.
Minoru's voice drifted through my mind. He knows where you are. The third is staying closer to the main house. You have about two more minutes before he's on you.
Two more minutes would get me near enough the meet up that I could maybe slip through the door that we had entered from. I gritted down, taking a turn wildly as I tried to create a bit more distance between us.
But I could hear the sound of heavy breathing, the tremble of something big enough to swallow me whole without flinching coming closer and closer. I wouldn't make it. Not completely. Not if he kept gaining speed like that.
Where's the second one? I leapt over a thick cluster of bushes, drawing back to the edge, scanning the smooth gray finish of the walls with mounting anxiety. Fuck Hisoka. ANd fuck his stupid training.
Right behind the first.
My boots skidded, pebbles flying as I finally saw the ornate door, the handle cruel-looking against the elegant gold finishing. My breath sawed from my lips, sweat coursing down the curve of my spine as I latched onto it, wincing as the thing, razorlike edge of the curved handle bit into my skin, drawing blood. Another howl broke the quiet of the forest, the trees around me screaming as the foul stank of decay whipped toward me. My eyes darted to just behind me, the door bursting open just as the gleam of two pairs of eyes flashed in the darkness of the woods.
I fell forward, scrambling in the dirt as they stalked forward. God, they were fucking huge. Saliva gathered at the back of my throat, my stomach rolling at the stench that rolled from them. Teeth flashed, snapping and I kicked out, the door slamming shut just as they roared again, the ornate wood shaking on it's hinges with the sound.
I couldn't move, my eyes trained on the now-silent door as minutes ticked past. It had been way too close. That had been way too close of a call. My heart didn't slow, even after I knew that they were gone, even when I forced myself to my feet and made my way to where I knew that Illumi, Hisoka, and Minoru were, high above the wall where they could watch me.
I switched from zetsu to ren quickly, ruthlessly, forcing my nodes to open up faster and faster. Nen I was coming to find was a muscle just like every other. It required flexing, constantly training. My aura burst out in, whipping from me with enough force to whip away a circle of dirt around me. It didn't matter how many times I did it. Didn't matter that I was becoming better and better at quailing the flow of aura, forcing it to bend to my will with more and more ease each time.
Hisoka had yet to test me using water divination. I couldn't understand it - didn't want to ask.
My eyes drifted to where Minoru sat, books sprawled around him. He had been more and more focused, an odd thread of determination growing taut between us. Even though I was learning, I felt my incompetence almost painfully. There was only so much you could do if you weren't training in your nen abilities if you didn't know which category you were in.
I switched to gyo watching closely as Minrou burst into startling clarity. He was a beast completely made of nen - a startling beacon that would draw attention in any situation. No wonder Hisoka had zeroed in on me so quickly.
I focused, bending my nen once more, tugging at that small cord I could feel just in my gut that tethered me to Minoru. He glanced up, his eyes assessing. Experimentally, I tamped it down watching as he grimaced and slowly let up. That wouldn't do. That would hurt him. And in the end hurting him, hurt me.
Nen was hard to describe. Perhaps for others, it would be easier to explain the strange aura, the way I could feel it around me like a warm hug, a constant presence that was as a part of me as an arm or leg. But I had been using nen for as long as I could remember. It was a part of me the way that my blood was.
I played around with that single thread, tamping at it, pampering it, drawing it back and forth. My throat itched, frustration starting to gnaw at my gut as I pulled at it once more, holding onto it-
Stop. My muscles locked, Minoru's eyes on me as he held me, that single look penetrating. I didn't blink, focusing on the feel of this type of nen, the hold that I had on it - the grip -
"Minoru left?" I blinked, slowly drawing my gaze away from where my beast sat as Hisoka prowled from the depths of the forest, his eyes sweeping the clearing. Sweat ran across the strong expanse of his chest, caressing his muscles lovingly. He woke up just as early as I did, his morning routine as extensive as my own.
I didn't say anything, watching as he stalked to his pack and took out a jug of water. My eyes slid once more to where Minoru sat, his eyes deep and impenetrable as he waited for me to say something.
"Yes," I said slowly, dragging my gaze away from him. "He went out for a run."
Hisoka's eyes caught mine, the yellow catching the sunlight at a startling angle.
He couldn't see him.
I smiled. That was interesting.
Reviews are my love language so please comment and follow/favorite! Much love and hope to see you next chapter!