{Code: Amaranth}

"Are you seriously telling me to go there now?" A female voice gritted through the phone in her hand. The place bustled with printers and workers. Some walked around with tomes of manuscripts, while others enjoyed some leisure coffee in between their work. A third group of people were on their phones and busily talking, mirroring the heroine of today's story.

"I don't have time to argue with you, Aurora." The voice on the other end of the receiver responded with a sigh. "Isn't it interesting? Thrilling even?"

"It is," Aurora immediately responded. "Very much so... But! I don't like your tone."

The person on the other end sighed at her response. He for all that he knew, didn't know why he was tasked with putting up with her all the time.

"Haa..." He sighed. "Hai, hai. My apologies, Aurora-sama. Anyway, please board the plane at -"

"Nope. Not good. I refuse."

Aurora said and ended the call. Standing up from her seat, she looked down at her messy desk and decided to call it a day.

"Screw Ney and his stupid timing. I was close to finishing this, as well." Aurora fumed to herself when she quickly packed her bag. In a matter of seconds she had left behind a spotless desk.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Aurora hadn't made it far when her phone rang again. She escaped towards the hallway before answering the call without checking the ID.

"Aurora, goddamn. Don't just hang up on m-" Beep. .

It was Ney.

"Of course it was Ney, again." Aurora thought as she stared at her innocent phone with humor. She turned it off, and left the building without further ado. Although Ney was her superior, Aurora refused to listen to him. After all, she had always been one to follow her own nose.

"Yorknew City... Was it?" Aurora thought. "Hum ~ I have a good feeling about this!"

? Private Apartment.

"Hahaha, I see. So that's what happened." Solomon's voice echoed from the speakers.

"And I've been telling you. That woman is nothing but trouble!" Ney complained to his friend while busily crafting something.

"But Ney," Solomon said. "You are the only one I can entrust with this task."

"Hah?" Ney refuted.

"Besides," Solomon continued with a chuckle. "Knowing her, she's already caught onto it before us."

"That girl?" Ney asked. "You're overestimating her. Even I just only got the news recen-" The screen of his desktop lit up with an incoming call. He switched calls without another word.

"My, my~ Look who's calling." Ney greeted with smug.

"Ew. Don't talk like that! You sound obnoxious." Aurora shot back. Ney felt a teensy hurt at her response but quickly shrugged it off.

"Let me guess, you don't know where to go, right?" Ney asked with feigned smugness. "Very well, I can help you."

As an inbred actor he prided himself in being second to no one when it came to gathering information and getting what he wants. His shoulders were growing wider, inch by inch, from the pride he had in his skills.

"..." The other side was silent.

Taking this as a sign of confirmation, Ney continued his praises.

"Hah! I knew, I was the best in this profession." Ney said while he was striking poses of victory in front of the screen. "Not sure what Solomon sees in you but you can't beat me~." He singsung childishly.

"..." The silence continued.

"..? Oi! Say something, stupid woman!" Ney argued against the unusual quiet that greeted him. "Don't act like you're not there! I know you're there!"

"..." There was no response yet again.

"..."

In the background the soft sound of shuffling and voices could be heard. They each gradually grew louder.

"Hm? Oh, Hey Ney! Sorry, did you say something? I just finished check-in." Aurora apologized in a rush.

"Wha- Hold on! Where are you going?" Ney asked confused.

"Eh?! ...The plane's about to leave.. Already? Hai, arigato! Lucky~!" Aurora said to anyone but him.

"Aurora! Where are you-"

"Sorry, Ney!" Aurora interrupted. "I really gotta lea-!"

"SHUT UP and TELL ME are you going?!" Ney snapped. The sheer volume of his voice caused Aurora to winch and distance herself from her phone.

"Agh! You're so damn noisy!" Aurora complained.

"Where you say... Of course, it's Yorknew City~!" She replied with a shrug and casual smile. Aurora really didn't know why Ney was asking.

"Anyway, expect a report from me soon. Bye ~"

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Ney's soul crumbled into dust as the call ended with the final beep. He slumped onto his desk sullenly when the emptiness kicked in.

"Oh? Welcome back." Ney startled at the sudden interruption. Solomon's voice rang from the speakers again.

"You're... still here ?"

"Hahaha, I thought something interesting might happen if I stay a lil' longer." Solomon responded lightly. "And so? She should be on her way by now."

"... She is. Damn it." Ney cursed under his breath. He had many questions to ask but his pride wouldn't let him.

"Don't worry, your skills ARE and WILL ALWAYS BE irreplaceable to us." Solomon comforted him.

"When it comes to 'hunches' however," he paused meaningfully as if searching for the right words.

"Aurora's just of a different breed alltogether.

Notes

Hello all! I have started a new story. This is my first HxH fanfiction, and I hope you enjoy it! The story will be uploaded on Wattpad (dawnasterism) as well as here! I hope you enjoy it! I will post the Author's Note that I've also written on Wattpad here as well!

Dear Readers, it's nice to meet you (again)! I'm honoured to announce the release of my third fanfiction after my two Blue Lock ffs "ORBIT" and "WINGS"!

I'm finally entering the HxH-verse with this, and boy am I excited to see how it goes from here on! I don't want to talk much and just hope that you can enjoy this story of mine!

I spent a lot of thoughts into crafting the heroine and her part in the HxH World. From a specially designed Nen-Ability to her background story. This is basically her story and I hope you can enjoy it as much as I do!

Important Notes:

This story has a double title. The meaning however is the same: You can either choose to call it "𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐘" (RSL) or 𝐋𝐘𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐒 𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐀 (Lycoris).

This is going to be a slowburn with updates once a week.

While it is a Chrollo x OC story, there are also mentions of OC x Illumi /Others as well.

The story's focus won't always be on the romance, as I believe in character growth and individuality. Romance is more of a result of their bond and progress as "human beings" rather than the underlying panacea.

If you have read my earlier works, then I'm pretty sure that you are aware of my use of OCs and how I implement them as a story changing factor.

Meaning: While the start takes part in the Canon-verse, the plot and events might change following the POV and actions of the heroine: Aurora. Please keep that in mind as you read this story!

Ney, Solomon and Aurora are my OCs. You won't see the aforementioned in action again until much later in the story ( f.e. Aurora's Past Arc)

Unlike my other works so far, there's no goal or time limit for this story. It might keep going for a few months, or maybe even years later. Considering how the manga is also still on-going... and the Troupe... Anyway, I will leave the end date open for now !^-^

I apologize in case this chapter feels bland. I'm currently experimenting with my style and still improving ! Feel free to check out my other works for a comparison!

PS. I don't think that there's a better or worse in writing style. I just want to do what I think fit best for each story of mine ^-^

There is a pinboard for fanart. You can find it linked on my profile. Feel free to check it out one day!

And most importantly, please enjoy!

PLEASE CONTINUE TO LOVE & SUPPORT YOSHIHIRO TOGASHI and HxH for a long time!

Thank you and Best Regards,

DawnAsterism