fine line.

2.5 - You Have Been Kidnapped

Part 2
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Chapter 5

///

When you come to, your head is aching. There are words being thrown about by nearby voices.

Voice 1: "...would say that, technically, she is."

Voice 2: "What if she doesn't agree?"

Voice 3: "Then she'll take the number, but she won't take part in any meetings or jobs. Simple as that."

Voice 2: "But would we still have to protect her like she is one of our own?"

Your eyes crack open. The room is dark, but that gives you no insight as to what time it is. Your head is too blurred to even find spatial balance. It takes some moments of blinking and shifting around for you to discover the basics of your surroundings.

The voices hush as you look up and around. You are sitting in a room similar to the one that Killua and Gon were kept in, but not identical. Your arms have been roped together and are tied to a thick metal post that runs from the floor to the wall.

There are several figures in the room, including Hisoka and the girl with pink hair. Hisoka is standing across the room, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. His eyes are boring holes into your head; little yellow balls of fire. He is smirking. The pink-haired girl stands next to him, hands at her sides.

You blink at them. There are four other figures—two blonde males and a girl with a black bob cut are standing in a circle off to one corner. One of the boys has a soft, round, sympathetic face, whereas the other boy is the polar opposite, with jagged, angry features. The girl is wearing glasses and looks confused.

The last person is a shirtless man adorned in a flashy purple coat. His eyes are big and green; a lonesome tattoo of a cross hangs above them on pale skin.

"Ah, there you are~," Hisoka coos, seeing that you are awake. "How is your nose feeling? All healed up?"

You turn to glare at him. So he was there!

A sudden fire of rage plumes inside of your abdomen. Fuck all of these people! Fuck Illumi! Why are you even here? How did you get yourself mixed up in this gigantic shit-show of a situation?

There is a chime throughout the room. It is your text tone. You start to reach for your phone before remembering that you are tied up.

"What's this?" Hisoka asks. You look up at him.

Your phone is in his hand.

He hums, smirking. "Illumi texted you," he declares to the entire room. "He says he is sorry and that he acted harshly." There is another chime. "Oh, and he wants to see you. How perfect." Hisoka starts typing something.

"Hey!" you snap, yanking at the ropes that bind your arms. It makes your shoulders hurt. "What are you—"

"Don't talk," the pink-haired girl says.

You glare up at her. "Who even are you?"

The girl sneers; then looks away, as if she cannot stand the sight of you. "Machi. Number three."

Shit. So...

Now you have been kidnapped by the Troupe.

You close your eyes and draw your knees up to your chest. The movement makes your back ache, but you ignore it. You are too angry and too sad to be dealing with this right now... but you have to deal with it. Time does not stop for anyone. You have to push your emotions out of your head and focus on getting out of here. Clearly, you are in danger—you are tied up in front of half the Troupe, all of which think you were the one who killed Feitan.

"And... sent!"

Your head snaps back up in Hisoka's direction. He sent something? To Illumi?

"Illumi is on his way." He smirks down at you. "He should be here in ten minutes, give or take."

Will Illumi be able to rescue you? Do you even want him to rescue you?

"What time is it?" you ask Hisoka.

"About two in the morning."

The blonde haired boy with the soft face smiles. "I suppose we should go around and introduce ourselves, since you are kind of a member of the Phantom Troupe now. I am Shalnark, number six."

Wait.

Your eyes widen. "I'm kind of a what now?"

Shalnark blinks. "Well, since you killed Feitan, you have earned his spot in the Troupe, technically."

"But I didn't kill him!"

"Wait." It is Machi speaking this time. She looks up at Shalnark and the two others beside him, a serious expression on her face. "Before we start this conversation... I think I should mention that I don't think she actually killed him."

"What makes you say that?" The black-haired man next to you (the one with the cross on his forehead) asks. You wonder what his name is.

Machi shrugs one shoulder, now looking at the black-haired man. "Just a hunch. I felt it when I first approached her. Something about her words made it sound like she was hiding something, not defending herself." She pauses. "It wasn't Hisoka, and it wasn't either of the boys, but I don't think it was her, either."

Silence settles over the room.

She's right.

Hisoka examines his finger nails, the smirk on his lips curling upward, like the curve on a snail shell.

Nobody knows the truth except for you and him.

But, in approximately ten minutes, all of these people will be sure to find out.

///

Illumi broke your nose. How could he do that?

He made the decision to do so only minutes before he did. He calculated how much power he would have to give to shock you without causing lasting damage.

But still, he did it out of anger.

In Illumi's head, the only issue he sees with this situation is that he got angry over something involving you. That means that you have the power to manipulate his emotions with your actions.

But at the same time, something felt wrong, like he was not supposed to be hurting you anymore. During training, or on any normal day before he kissed you, he would have no problem beating you up if you did something stupid. He has impeccable self-control, after all, and would never hurt you to the point of excruciating or lasting pain. But now, even that slight slap he gave you before the kiss feels like it was a wrongdoing.

Why?

He does not want to talk to you, not yet. He does not want his toil of deformed love and agonizing emotions to seep into your heart.

But maybe seeing you will help him sort out his brain.

Maybe you can help him figure out what in the hell is going on with him.

Is this what love feels like? Feeling like you cannot harm someone; like you always want them to be safe? Wanting to be around them all the time? Not wanting them to smell like overly-friendly magicians?

Those thoughts are what led Illumi to text you. Of course, Hisoka answered, using your tone and grammar so Illumi would not notice a difference. Now, he is running towards the Troupe's hideout, because, in your text, you said that you were in trouble.