A Worthy Opponent (HunterxHunter)

Chapter 15 Bloodlust pt. 2

"Raine," he cooed. "Always a pleasure~"

"Stay back!" I lowered into my stance, glued to the position until Bisky retrieved his body.

"Silly, silly girl~" He raised an eyebrow watching Bisky scoop him up and vanish to the rooftop.

I stiffened.

Hisoka's eyes suddenly burned into mine. He didn't look like himself. I had never seen him so...monstrous. Was this what it was like when he was about to kill? At the climax of his bloodlust? The atmosphere in the alley simmered from blue to red and he started walking towards me, his smirk gone, his face overcome with shades of darkness and a violent scowl.

"I wasn't finished~" He scolded. His bloodlust visually oozed like a dripping pipe about to burst. His eye twitched. Dotted bloodstains were splattered over his cheek.

Chills ran up my spine, but I still held my ground. He knew I was shaking as my body betrayed me, terrified. I gritted my teeth and balled my fist to hold it in.

It's...so heavy. How can I...how can anyone-

I couldn't wrap my head around how different he looked from our conversation on the rooftop earlier. The only color of his aura and heart was blood red. No other colors were existent. What was happening?

If he didn't kill soon...he would. If not me, then the next person he set his eyes on would be dead.

Talking isn't an option, I realized too late. I need to hold him back until-

My thoughts cut off. He was even closer. Too overwhelming to think. My breaths became ragged, my chest compressed. All because I wanted to save this stranger.

But the bet...
and then I remembered...

...to save Hisoka.

He lunged towards me without restraint. My instincts took over, finally grasping reality as I dodged and leaped onto the walls, careful not to touch him in case he used his Bungee Gum. I bounced off and flung my blades at him but he pivoted away in a swift movement, and they twirled past him. I charged my Nen and called them back.

It's too narrow to throw them. I have to get him somewhere open.

I glowered down at him hanging onto a ledge.

He snickered. "I'm getting all tingly inside~" Shadows still crowded his face. His eyes squinted, his lips widened in an unsettling smile.

I landed in front of him thrusting my blades and he welcomed my closeness. His movements were somehow faster, blocking every attack. It was hard to concentrate with fear pounding my brain. My head fogged with anxiety. The man's life I saw haunted me. The things that would happen if he died...

"ARRRRGH," I screamed to break my mental stress. Every part of me sharpened; I hit harder, faster, bruising him in every block, slicing bits and pieces of his skin, keeping him on defense. I needed to hinder him somehow.
Hisoka's moves remained haughty. His face, I found, was difficult to look at. I pushed him against the wall and kneed his stomach, but he didn't react. That grim look. He enjoyed every second.

"Do stay mad~" He growled in my ear.

What?

My foresight...I didn't want to fight him. That wasn't my goal. I needed something else. Another approach.

"Ugh!" I grunted. With great force, he kicked my stomach. I blocked but my Nen wasn't focused on my legs, so I flew back, gasping for breath as I hit the wall behind me.

He took advantage of my hesitation.

"Oh, Raine...your breathing is distraught. Am I finally breaking you?~" A giddy laugh escaped his lips before he ran towards me at full speed with hunger.