Chapter 4: Bridge x And x Flour

Hanako had never been a fan of quiet nights. For her, they symbolised the calm before a storm. It was a quiet night when her own mother had sold her to a circus. It was a quiet night when the ringmaster had first entered her room alone, honey-coated words explaining her new duties. It was a quiet night when she had had her first show, when failing to please the audience had earned her a beating and three days in the room. It was a quiet night when Hisoka had broken into her tent, with pages from a journal long sought and a promise for revenge. It was a quiet night when she had first walked beside Hisoka, the flames of the circus left behind. It was a quiet night today too, when she was about to run the riskiest gamble of her life... so far.

Hanako refocused her attention as the mass of shadow on the bridge began to stir once more, with another figure approaching from the other end. The deal was on.

The visitor was dressed in a thick trenchcoat and a long hat-- classic shady attire-- while the other was dressed in a dark baggy clothes. The two slowly walked towards each other, stopping near the middle of the bridge. They seemed to have an exchange of words before the visitor propped open a suitcase on the stone ledge of the bride. Hanako struggled to figure out its contents in the dark. There appeared to be some sort of a packet-

A wet squelch and the trenchcoat man was on the floor, a nen-enhanced hand having pierced straight through his heart. Hanako's heart was beating rapidly in her throat. Strike him when he would strike the other-- that had been her plan. And he had been so unpredictable with it that she had missed her perfect chance.

She could feel his bloodlust thickening the atmosphere as he muttered incrompehensible profanities under his breath, kicking the limp body hard enough to have it literally fly above the bridge railings and off into the water. Shit. If she had been any closer, he would have sensed her by now. Perhaps, he already had-- but then, why would he be waiting? Maybe, she should just pull out now that she had the chance to. But no. She had been seeking this opportunity for months. She couldn't simply let go of it. Not without trying.

Steeling her resolve, she doubled back into the shadows. When there seemed to be no way out, there was always one advantage she had been able to count on.

Weeks before meeting the middleman, Feitan already knew the outcome of the exchange. There was no way in hell he would ever come to trust someone as scummy as Saibara and his pathetic crew. One of Saibara's bandits had 'accidentally' leaked the discovery of a special nen substance on the dark web. With a deliberately vague description, they had claimed to own some of it and were willing to sell it to the highest bidder. Naturally, it had caught the Boss' attention and after a winning bid, here he was-- sulking after disposing the body. Maybe he should have kept him around long enough to punish him for his insolence. Feitan scowled. The stuff in the packets didn't match the description in any way. Had they really taken the phantom troupe to be such idiots?

Not to mention, the uneventfulness and sheer predictability of it all had left him unsatisfied... itching for something more. The middleman hadn't even put up the barest of a fight. Perhaps he should call up his contractor to see if there was anyone from their hitlist around at the moment-- or he could simply take what he wanted from whoever crossed his path first. Not like they could stop him.

Hanako felt a chill run through her body as Feitan grinned under his bandana. She didn't want to consider the sort of thoughts running through his bloodlust-addled brain. There was something in his aura that eerily resembled Hisoka's; and she had been involved with the latter enough to have a decent guess at what it entailed. Chaos.

Okay, maybe she had chosen a bad time after all. But then again, she didn't know when she would come across a chance like this again.

Putting on her most innocent voice, she called out to him from the other end of the bridge. "Um... are you okay over there?" She had circled around two abandoned buildings and hid her nen in an attempt to make herself seem like a mere passerby. She doubted he would really believe her for more than a moment, but that moment just might be enough. "Mama says if you stay out in the night too long, you'll catch a cold."

She cringed internally as he slowly turned to face her, brows furrowed as he glared down at her. She must have been looking so pathetic at the moment. No one had really ever bothered to track her age so she had no idea how old she actually was. Somewhere around twelve would be her best guess as she wasn't fully mature yet. Regardless, to most people, she didn't look a day older than nine-- something she had quickly learned to use to her advantage.

Feitan considered his options. He could either let the kid go or... No. He shook his head minutely. A weak doll like her would break in minutes, if not seconds. He needed something that would last at least an hour or two, with an ideal voice and dark coloured eyes. With her wide golden eyes and annoying pitch, she would not even make for a good appetizer.

Ignoring her, he took his phone out of his pocket and decided to dial up his contractor's number. As the caller tone rang monotonously by his ear, the girl simply stood there-- watching him with curious unblinking eyes and an eerily calm demeanor. Why didn't parents ever teach their kids basic manners?

A pre-recorded female voice politely asked him to leave a voicemail and he gripped his phone tighter. Useless idiot. He'll teach him never to ignore his calls the next time they cross paths.

His bloodlust seeped out of him in rapidly enlarging bursts, colouring the air with a purple hue for anyone using Gyo. The girl stood rooted to the spot in alarm, fists clenched tight by her sides. Her eyes widened further, yet they were not looking at him.

His body reacted on impulse, whipping back to block the attack with his sword.

"Keh keh keh keh..." The strange yellow creature in front of him made a sound close to laughter. Its shapeless body seemed to be made out of a flour-like powder, Feitan's defensive move slashing straight through it.

With a frown he realised it was loosely wearing the same trenchcoat as Saibara's thug... the one he had just killed-

A blur of movement on his right. He leapt back on instinct, landing gracefully on the wooden railing of the bridge. His eyes found the girl's nervous face and he scowled.

"You two work together?" He demanded, calculating their auras. The girl glanced at the creature-

-right before it growled and jumped forward at him. He chose to dodge its swift attacks, slashing away its limbs when could. It appeared to have the ability to harden and soften its powdery body at will. Not only that, whenever he would cut off a part of its body, it would simply slither back into it. He increased the intensity and speed of his attacks, hoping to overwhelm its regenerative abilities. Still, the reattachment seemed to get impossibility faster.

Finally, he decided to take a gamble and concentrated his aura on his chest, deliberately guiding the creature's next punch there. Having been able to dodge or redirect all of its previous attacks, he had no idea the punch would have the power to knock the wind out of him. Moments after the bruising impact, the creature's hand exploded-- the particles flying out in the air-

-and into his slightly agape mouth. The powder stuck to his throat and he struggle to cough it out. Amidst the following flurry of attacks, he began losing his balance. Something hard drove into his side and his feet left the ground. A split second of falling through the air, until he found himself in water.

He somehow managed to open his eyes, still attempting to get a hold of his attacker. Through hazy vision, he recognised the girl from before-- her oppressive aura englulfing his body.

He felt his muscles weakening as he felt her aura literally eating away at his skin. As his head hit the bottom of the river, he attempted to leverage the ground beneath him to kick her off. Too focused on her ability, the kick managed to catch her off guard-- providing him with just enough time to escape. He quickly swam out of the water, the girl chasing close behind.

Having arrived up first, he had the advantage. In a moment, he had her throat in his grip, slamming her head into the concrete support of the bridge. She let out a desperate cough, before he tightened his grip further to completely restrict her airflow. She clawed at his wrists but he held on-- his overwhelming aura no match for hers.

Right before she could passed out, he loosened his grip enough to let her fall back to the ground. Satisfied with the absence of the creature's aura, he decided to finish her up first.

"Who you work for?" He glared down at her.

She coughed and spluttered out an incomprehensible curse. He kicked her in the stomach, turning her over to face him.

"You work for Saibara?"

She blocked his next kick, twisting back up to her feet in the same fluid motion. The two locked their glares, before the girl abruptly broke hers off and began running away.

"Bitch-" Feitan muttered under his breath as he raced after her.

[A/N: Sorry for the slow updates :( I've been really wrapped up in my studies atm. I seriously appreciate the support this story has gotten!! Thank you smm for all the follows, likes and comments :))) I may not have found the kick to continue this without them all!]