fine line.

2.4 - A Pink-Haired Stranger

(A/N: HEY GUYS sorry for the little bit of filler around the middle of this chapter (yeah, i know, fuck filler, it sucks ass) BUT we makin plot progress at the end i promise)

Part 2
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Chapter 4

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At least ten minutes of silence have passed.

Illumi is still leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, biceps bulging, even though his muscles are relaxed. You are sitting with your back against the broken circle of bricks that Illumi threw you against, your face crusty with the remains of tears and dried blood from your nose. The night smells like dust and smog, quiet aside for the distant sounds of life in the central part of the city.

"Well. I will be leaving now," Illumi says. He pulls away from the wall, his arms dropping to his sides. His blank eyes do not look at you. "You should head home and get some rest."

Then, in an instant, Illumi is gone.

You watch the shadow of his figure dart out of the alley, heading towards who-knows-where. It feels warmer without his baleful darkness swarming through the air, but you are alone now, and that fills you with emptiness.

It is all too much to think about. Nothing you did with Hisoka meant anything; sure, his touch was comforting for the time being, but he played you like a fiddle, and you went with it like the stupid, naïve girl/boy that you are.

Hisoka did not ask you out to dinner because you caught his fancy. He did not sleep with you because you are attractive and kind and loving. The whole night was simply part of his scheme, which was to break apart the connection that holds you and Illumi together. He succeeded. Sorrow burns within your chest, making the thoughts in your head swirl together.

You stand up. Bricks fall away from their plastered positions behind you, falling feebly against ground, as if they never mattered.

You place a hand on your nose. Yep, definitely broken.

That's a red flag, you realize. Illumi's not afraid to hurt me when he's angry.

Or maybe he just knew that you could handle the pain.

With two fingers, you crack your nose back into place. It hurts so bad that you have to stifle a scream. Perhaps adrenaline was the reason you hardly felt it break in the first place.

Your fingers are now dripping with blood from your nose. It should heal fast, for your Nen-trained body is stronger than most. It can handle a beating.

But your heart is a whole different story. Illumi crushed it to a beating pulp under the harsh glare of his chasmic eyes, and no amount of physical strength can heal it.

What was it he said?

"I was being tortured to get my love for you out of my heart and you can just sleep with someone else, as if I am nothing!"

"But, you're not nothing," you whisper, even though he is long gone, holding your hands together over your chest. Your eyes stare, unfocused, at the ground. "You are so much more than nothing."

Something floats through the air next to you and lands by your foot. It is a playing card. The queen of hearts.

Your eyes dart up to the rooftops above. Hisoka?

You wait. There is nothing but silence.

Was he up there this whole time? Was he up there at all?