SOUR CANDY | killua z. ✔

3 | crack

WHEN SEN finally had to bid Cigar Man goodbye, she found herself missing the scent of heady smoke. Her mild despondency was countered by the vicious smugness bubbling in her chest as she passed the other Hunter applicants she'd arrived with. They weren't so bold now, with their frowning, puzzled faces as they tried to work out the way to Zaban City.

I like you, little miss, so I'm gonna give you some advice, Cigar Man said, just before the ship pulled into the docks. There's a little bakery just past the pier. Jewel Treats. Can't miss it, it's all bright and glittery. Like that sweatshirt of yours.

Sen wanted to scream when he pointed it out. It was probably an average wardrobe staple for pre-teen girls like her, but the thing evoked a sense of deep loathing she couldn't really understand the source of.

The good thing about the stereotypical-little-girl sweatshirt is that no one else looked twice at her as she slipped into Jewel Treats. The bakery's lurid bubblegum pink awning was a sore thumb amongst the dreary, tried-and-true stores just off the water.

When you get there, ask for Miss Em—

"Hi, I'm looking for Miss Em," Sen announced to the seemingly empty store. The pastries and bread on display were so fresh the cases fogged up.

—and you're gonna order a very specific item.

"Here I am, hon. What can I getcha today?" A woman appeared from a back room, dark forearms streaked with flour, curly hair pushed away from her face with a rainbow-patterned headband.

"I'd like a bavarian cream doughnut, extra powdered sugar with a sprinkling of cinnamon on top."

The woman's demeanor changed instantly. She looked Sen up and down with the same disconcerting focus Cigar Man had. Sen shifted. What exactly she was supposed to do now? 

Finally, the woman smiled. It wasn't particularly friendly. "Fresh meat, eh? The Captain said he was sending a little guppy my way."

"Uh," said Sen, uncertain. 

"Let's go, guppy," the stranger said, untying her frosting-stained apron and hanging it on a hook behind the counter. "We've gotta get you to Zaban City. No time to waste. Oh! Forgive my rudeness, hon. I'm Miss Em." 

▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁

Much to the delight of Sen's stomach, she actually got the doughnut. And it was the best fucking thing she'd ever eaten. Or maybe it just seemed that way because she hadn't had actual food since that bento on the ferry.

"I used a new recipe for that filling. That one's part of the first batch. What do you think? Is it a keeper?"

"I'm never eating anything else, ever again."

Miss Em led Sen to a rather tame-looking hiking trail—popular among the local families, she'd said— which eventually branched off into several exits, the farthest one being to Zaban City.

"Ha," Miss Em grinned. "That's what I like to hear. Now, it's a two-hour walk to the city, give or take. We're gonna have a little talk, guppy. Girl-to-girl."

"Okay," said Sen. Not like she had another choice.

When someone said they were 'gonna have a little talk' with her, it usually meant Sen getting yelled at for doing something stupid, Sen attempting to hide her unrepentant mirth, Sen having an extra four hours added on to her shift. Sen the troublemaker.