Accident 6: GAME (Not) OVER

"As you know, Erena-chan, despite the...circumstances that faced our team that Valentines' night...Leorio and the others were able to pull off a cover-up solution and dig interesting deets about our target," Ma'am Bisky was explaining in her rarely-used, motherly(well,almost) voice as we were seated in a cab, on the way to Delirium's Den.

"Unfortunately, some unlikely...happenings went down which...disabled you to take part in the said promotion activity, yes? I should say-" Ma'am Bisky paused mid-sentence, fixing me a meaningful stare.

And here it comes, I braced myself for the upcoming reminder of my failure that night: a bleak, pathetic comparison to my workmates who focused on the promotion and only on the promotion. The pity, the sympathy, the consolation...here it comes. AGAIN.

Ma'am Bisky tilted her head to the right as she continued looking at me, her expression now less serious. "-I should say, geez, Erena-chan: did you really think I would reprimand you about what happened? I may be dubbed the most child-like boss out of all the departments, but I understand what happened. I explained that to the other departments' bosses as well. And although I really appreciate that you're starting to learn from your past mistakes...I am not that insensitive to your plight to disregard your promotion entirely!Geez."

Ma'am Bisky began tilting her head to the left this time, giving me a silly, wide grin that made me breathe out a soft laugh in response.

"Yeah, can't agree more," Leorio began, looking at us from the front seat beside the cab driver. "Only that jackass boyfriend of yours is insensitive to princesses like you, Erena-chan!" He pumped his fist as if to emphasize his point.

A point which drove closer to home again with a sickening twinge.

"Leorio Paladiknight!" Ma'am Bisky snapped, child-like eyes narrowing accusingly at the front seat. "Brushing on that critical subject on this critical night just makes you appear more insensitive than Shai!" She then harrump-ed and crossed her arms like an elderly guardian would when she catches one of her children stealing candies.

Leorio winced at the reprimanding mention of his full name. I winced at the reprimanding mention of Shai's name.

Ma'am Bisky shook her head as she eyed the both of us. As if seeing something she didn't like but made her feel weary to even bother correcting it, she sighed aloud with arms still crossed. "You two are quite the two messy peas in a pod, aren't you?"

I opened my mouth to ask what she meant by that, but Ma'am Bisky was already talking again.

"His name is Chrollo Lucilfer."

I met Ma'am Bisky's contemplative gaze with my head sideways, eyebrows drawn in slight confusion. "Eh...eh? What?"

"Your target's name," Ma'am Bisky said more firmly. "Our target's name...your target's name for tonight is a man named Chrollo Lucilfer. The affluent CEO of the Genei Ryodan company whose influence is so diverse and tremendous, I won't be surprised if he will be considered as one of the candidates to run our country in the future." She then uncrossed her arms and looked at me, checking whether I can follow with what she said or not.

I can't follow at all. Heck, I don't even know the man, or any kind of name connected with that man.

Ma'am Bisky shook her head for the second time, as if trying to dismiss something in her mind again. "Erena, for starters...this man is very important. Now I don't personally know him in any way, since he is described to be a very private person, but he is, like, way-out-of-our-league important. He is the Class A of all Class A businessmen, the Alpha male out of all Alphas."

"Isn't that a bit too...far-fetched?" I tried, lacking words on how to describe Ma'am Bisky's dramatic low-down, with a matching expression on her face I might add, on the man's profile. "I mean...yeah, it's our job to interview important people but you're making this... CEO sound like he's already the Prime Minister or something fancily mind-blowing."

Ma'am Bisky's contemplative eyes widened into disbelieving saucers, I could almost see the pink hues in them.

"That is because, he himself is, a fancily mind-blowing jewe-I mean, man!" Ma'am Bisky exclaimed, raising her dainty chin up in a defiant manner. "Erena Shimabukuro, tell me: you didn't read those business stock magazines and books I lent you, didn't you?"

I bit my lower lip, trying to appear innocent even though I know the said gesture just confirmed it for the pouting blonde woman who was seated beside me.

Slipping into a more serious contemplating mood, Ma'am Bisky closed her eyes. "You know, it is said that he is as every bit as strategic and skilled as his company's logo: a Spider. I've also heard that his higher-ups there, the ones who are very close to him not only profesionally but also personally speaking...all possess volatile, difficult personalities.

In fact, Mr. Chrollo Lucilfer's father and his wife weren't effective enough as leaders, according to the papers. Money was being spent illegally, pockets are being filled unrighteously, conspiracies were developing within conspiracies...I'd say it's like the Spider was getting more and more trapped in its own web. "

Ma'am Bisky sighed aloud, eyes still closed. "Scandalous years for the Lucassen company, really. Made my head ache as a training journalist back then who had to cover all the bits and pieces to the fullest. Yet, here comes the 26 year-old prodigy of Mr. Lucassen, who in just half a year, turned everything upside-down!"

She then opened her eyes as if suddenly struck by something and sat up straight on her side of the seat, waving her hands away in energetic dismissal. "Or I should say, down-upside, since Mr. Chrollo changed the company's name,renewed its tarnished reputation and managed all those necessary feats without even breaking a single wrinkle on that perfect, alabaster-like fa...ha, I really knew compiling him as one of my S5 is the most ACCURATE decision I've ever made!"

My eyebrows met at the unfamiliar term. "S...Five?"

"Say what, Miss Bisky?" Leorio was joining in our conversation again as if he wasn't reprimanded by our boss minutes ago. "S Five is a kind of phone rig-"

"Yes!" Ma'am Bisky cut off Leorio's sentence, her sudden outburst of eagerness making me wonder if she even heard him at all. "Sexy, Single, Successful, Super Hot and So My Type!" A self-satisfied smirk graced her lips with every description.

"Say what now, " Leorio was the first to react, scratching the back of his head in open confusion. "But aren't the acronyms supposed to be S3 and THEN SHSMT? If I could remember correctly, in my English class days we were taught that acronyms should be formed by starting with-"

"As if you'll remember ANYTHING from ANY of your days, old man!" Ma'am Bisky retorted, reaching out to the front seat and slapping Leorio on the forehead with the clearbook she was holding.

"Ow!" Leorio groaned in pain, trying to shield his face from Ma'am Bisky's merciless clearbook-hitting assault. "Why so defensive, Boss? I bet that poor guy's just over-rated due to your fangirling tendencies like Erena-chan said and-OUCH!"

Ma'am Bisky used her small stature to her advantage, advancing further towards Leorio from the back seat that almost her whole upper body was in the middle of the two front seats.

"Stop being a smart-aleck when it comes to my treasu...to my S FIVES!" She was shouting, still continuing with the clearbook torture. "I wouldn't expect YOU to understand, you grumpy Grandpy. And I don't want you to!"

"Uh, um, Ma'am Bisky and Leorio?" I started to say, slack-jawed as I looked from one person to another. "It's nice that you two are acquainted well with each other and stuff but, uh, isn't this a bit dangerous when the car is still on the road and you know, both of you are-"

"Heh,heh-ouch,ouch!" Leorio managed to grin cockily in between Ma'am Bisky's continuous incoherent S Five blabbering and clearbook-slapping. "You're getting all worked up because it's so true! I really, REALLY bet that like those guys I saw in your-OUCH! OUCH, HEY! MY-that Chrollo dude is not even hot, I think I saw him once and he's just like a lukewarm glass of milk that will expire any time soo-AH, FUCK! My glasses,ow,ow...MY GLASSES FELL! BOSS TI-"

"You're always looking at your darn reflection in the darn mirror, so why should I be surprised that you don't KNOW perfection when you see ONE?" A clearbook slap. "Those eyes are so blind, your glasses can't even handle them anymore. Let those darn glasses be!"

Another clearbook slap that made me sweatdrop.

"I really don't know about you guys but maybe...we can continue this later, right. I mean, I still don't know what-"

"TIME OUT, BOSS! TIME OUT, TIME OUT, TIME OUT, I SURREND-OUCH!"

"DARN NO! Not until you take back everything you've said about one of my precious S5s and-"

"Fine, FINE! Chrollo dude is the handsomest, the awesomest, the bestest and-OW OW OW!"

"Not enough darn it, NOT ENOUGH! And why are you making that meme-like expression at me? For the hundreth time, you grumpy Grandpy, he is NOT-"

"I STILL THINK HE IS GAY, BOSS! I MEAN, HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN HIS LACK OF-" Slap. Slap. SLAP. "ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I give, I surrender, I yield: I think I AM GAY. I AM THE ONE who is gay, okay! Time out, please, I need to find my-"

"Four magic words: the four magic words, grumpy Grandpy, and I'll stop!"

I facepalmed at Ma'am Bisky's victorious tone as another sweatdrop formed on my head.

"This is power abuse! Position abuse! Just wait 'til Erena-chan and I both get promoted and-"

"Hey," I tried to mumble behind my facepalm. "I swear, I really don't know what to do with this Chrollo person. As far as I know, you guys have already dug up some juicy stuff, right? So what the heck am I supposed to do no-"

"Mercy, mercy, Biscuit Krueger!"

"I want you to say it with FEELINGS! And can you please wipe off that trolling face or I will have to do it myse-"

"HAVE MERCY,BISCUIT KRUEGER-CHAMA!"

With a final resounding slap from the clearbook and a loud protest from Leorio, Ma'am Bisky went back to her seat, nodding satisfactorily to herself. "Good, good! I'm glad we understand each other now." She then turned and smiled cheerily at me, as if she didn't just slap the glasses off of one of her subordinates' poor face. "So what were you asking again, Erena-chan?"

You can never have enough sweatdrops for tonight, I almost commented aloud. But instead, I smiled a half-smile. "Uh, yeah. About what I'm going to do for tonight...Leorio and the others have already managed to put together the necessary details to make a headline about this man, right? So if there's already an article in the making, then what will I be contributing?"

Ma'am Bisky took one look at the (miraculously, considering how much she hit Leorio over and over again) neat clearbook in her hands before handing it to me. "Here. Go through the contents and tell me what you notice."

I didn't hesitate in opening the clearbook, although the building anticipation clenching my insides begged to differ. There were lots of rough drafts and lay-outs inside, with identical scribbles of "CL Article Plan #1" "CL Article Plan # 2" and so on and so forth.

"Prestigious top businessman Chrollo Lucilfer rejecting elite females' advances: ALREADY IN A TOP-SECRET RELATIONSHIP?"

"Ex-Genei Ryodan business partner confesses: THE CEO AND THE SECRETARY ARE GETTING IT ON."

"CEO CHROLLO AND AN UNNAMED EMPLOYEE ON ANOTHER, ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SIDE OF BUSINESS."

Looking at the other details below, I knew it was a huge amount of gossip, of information, no normal by-stander could resist. I could almost imagine Leorio's shitling-eating grin as his continuous wad of cash rolls in.

But as I flipped the clearbook's pages, something was amiss.

"Um, Ma'am Bisky? Where are the photographs of this so-called, uh, affair? Are the pictures for these articles in a different clearbook somewhere?"

Ma'am Bisky reached for her clearbook in my hands, placing it back on her lap. "Exactly, Erena-chan." Bringing out something from her cutesy-decorated bag filled with light-pink ribbons, Ma'am Bisky now held a simple Canon PowerShot SX700 HS camera in her hands.

"Exactly, Erena," she repeated, waving the black camera in front of me for emphasis. "Where. Are. The. Pictures."

If it weren't for the dim lighting in the cab, I would've sworn Ma'am Bisky's pink orbs were sparkling.

Don't tell me...but I am not good at taking-

Listen up, silly, do you want the promotion or not?

But isn't that harrassment of privacy? What if that man and her secretary discovers-worse, what if I get thrown out of-"

You have absolutely no right to complain after EVERYTHING you caused them. Do you want the promotion or NOT?

"It's either you will accept or you will not," Ma'am Bisky was now telling me, twirling the thin band connected to the camera. "And I sure as well would NOT be forcing you to do anything you personally do not agree with. But then again, I would NOT be forcing our higher-ups back at the Paparazzi Press to be as lenient with opportunities like tonight either."

She then smiled a knowing smile at me, my mind's cogwheels barely registering anything other than the weight of the "Yes or No" question which, in all honesty, felt like a life-or-death situation.

As if on cue, the cab driver turned up the volume on his radio, the chorus from Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" blasting through the cab's speakers.

~X~O~X~O~

I squinted my eyes at the man who was standing at the center with a microphone in hand and a congenial smile on his face. A lone bright light shone down on his light blonde tresses, making him appear even, uh, blonder, I guess?

"Yoshi, yoshi,"I kept on whispering to myself throughout the man's speech, clutching Ma'am Bisky's cutesy bag to me like a lifeline. Letting my right hand slip inside for further self-reassurance, I let my fingers trail over the camera we secretly hid in the bag.

Phew, it's still there. Everything's in tact, nothing's gone, everyone's oblivious, nobody's suspicious.

"-at all formalities for this brand new establishment is finally over with, I would like to show my gratefulness for everyone's supportive presence tonight."

Trying to observe Mr. Smiling Speech Man who, if Leorio's sources were accurate (please, for the love of God, don't screw this up for me), owns this establishment and is also a member of those "higher-ups" that were "profesionally and personally close to Mr. Chrollo" as Ma'am Bisky put it, was no easy feat but I was doing it.

Do you hear that, my beloved Mom who's now a sweet, heavenly angel up above. I am doing it. I am doing this. And your daughter would not walk away from this anymore until she's done with this.

"DJ, take them away!" As soon as those words left the man's mouth, the spotlight disappeared, only to be replaced by swirling neon lights flashing in random places of the dark room. Said man now walked off to the side, looking eager to have finally ended his speech. He immediately settled down on one of the posh couches I've lost count of since we entered Delirium's Den, joining a handful of people who were already seated there beforehand and engrossed himself in his own phone.

Everything's in tact, nothing's gone, everyone's oblivious, nobody's suspicious.

I eyed Leorio who was seated in one of the club's bar-like stools for drinking. He was looking down on his phone, adjusting his glasses. I wasn't surprised anymore that my phone vibrated within just a few seconds.

[Sent On: 2/28/15]

[From: Leorio Old Oreo]

{Stop clenching things around you like you've got something to hide, E-chan! Get away from the dance floor before that DJ drops the beat or you'll be sandwiched for good between bodies. Don't make eye contact anymore with any of us and just do your own thing! One give-away that you know us and I bet we'll all be goners. X_X

We know you can do it. Now breathe in, out and hunt down that C-dude with your cam! \M/}

I looked over my shoulder to see Ma'am Bisky, toying around with the vibrant pink bows on her blonde hair, her lips in an irresistible pout as she laughed and engaged the huge-muscled security personnels standing nearby the doors in a playful conversation. With a quick wink and smirk in my direction, I had to shake my head and blink twice to even realize that she was signalling to me, I slowly began nodding at her and walked away into a corner, where I can easily monitor everything that's happening.

Slicked back black hair, cross-shaped tattoo on the forehead, a height of almost 5"10, orb-shaped earrings, wearing fur-collared leathers and fur-trench coats, usually with golden St. Peter cross designs on them...must look like one heck of a religious nutjob, this Chrollo dude.

"And Erena-chan, you might want to watch out for extreme hottie warnings!" Ma'am Bisky's nonsensical reminder danced around randomly in my head as I surveyed the tables beside the dance floor. "The guy has well-defined six-pack abs, let me tell you! So if you see anyone who is-"

I forced Ma'am Bisky's fangirling voice out of my head as I began circling the area sharply while still maintaining a casual and innocently curious facade.

"Yoshi! Hunt him down I will," I whispered to myself as a final reassurance, gathering all my inner determination, or whatever was left of it. "Hunt him down I surely will!"

The beat drops.

It's on.

Author's Corner:

Hisoka: All serious stuff and no experimental wordplay makes my Author-chan a dull, dull girl indeed~ *looks down as he leisurely shuffles his cards* Suddenly I find you no fun~

Author: *deadpanned expression* Wow, you don't know how much weight you lifted off my shoulders by saying that. Hop along, then. Feel free to find another source of fun. I'm sure many of our readers are willing to volunteer.

Hisoka: But I don't want the reader~ *licks one of his cards while making eye contact* I want the WRITER~

Author: *turning beet red while struggling to keep up a poker face* Y-you know what? I'm...I'm...I'm,like,so out of here! *throws a mouse keypad at Hisoka's face*

Hisoka: *flipping the card he licked, revealing a Joker card* Huuuuh~ It was just a joke, Author-chan~

Yeah, right. Just a joke my ass. XD

School is only a few days away and I've got lots of stories that I need to write since I'm planning to join a two-month HxH fanfic writing contest. AGAIN,hahaha. Unfortunately, I think I've been coming down with the writer's block, since this single chapter already took two/three whole days, when I would usually finish a chapter in one day, five hours tops. Still don't know if I'm getting lazier or dumber...or maybe both? XD

Again, arigatou gozaimasu to everyone who Favorited and Followed this story. Also, I've received awesome feedback from the previous chapter via FB and gosh, I'm super thankful I was able to channel my inner feelings into something useful, rather than just eating Mcdo all day. XD

As for the feedback/Reviews here:

sunlightxiii = Here's your chapter, hihihi. *waves at you* Reason behind Erena's reporting career, huh (or should I say, paparazzi career X). I didn't plan to go all "flashback" on her, because I originally planned that for this enigma named Chrollo. XD But that's a great idea, bruh! I've been considering it for days now.

Niomi Nicole287 = You fangirls really like Danchou's attitude here, eh? I should've known. *smirks and winks*
As for your Feitan X Kalluto fanfic request, I'll definitely do it as a one-shot, but it's just a matter of WHEN, since I've got my writing hands full. XD It might take a while because I NEVER start a story without familiarizing/ analyzing the characters for myself first so they won't be OOC...much. X) *cue memories of sleepless nights, repetitive HxH marathons and an Internet browsing history filled with psychology sites just to get the char right* XD

Theme songs/songs that were playing in this chapter are (just search it on YouTube,hihi):

(a) "Stayin' Alive" by The Bee Gees (the song playing on the radio while they were in the cab)
(b) "2014 Best Of Dance Music Launchpad Mashup(67 Songs)" by Exige (when Smiling Speech Man announced, "DJ, take them away"...fits the club atmosphere too much, 'ne? XD)
(c) "Zedd ft. Hayley Williams' Stay The Night" remixed by Exige (when Erena-chan said she heard the beat drop...it's safe to say this rad mix will be playing until the next chapter...IDK why, but I just find it fitting that Erena was like, "It's on" while THIS is playing as she looks around the dark club...my imagination's too much, I know XD)

Reviews and constructive criticisms are highly welcome. And if you can give me ideas on how to describe a luxurious club and its setting, what it's like inside, the atmosphere and all that stuff more effectively, do let me know! As you might have already guessed, I'm an ambiverted potato patato with no life aside from fangirling. Hahaha! *facepalms*