The Dancer & The Magician (Hisoka Romance)

Chapter 19: Shots Fired

He walks further into the house taking a sidelong glance into the kitchen. "Apparently so do daughters."

I cut my eyes at the back of his head. "Excuse me?"

He turns to the side and looks at me. "Stop acting like this is about Gon. Face it, you're still pining over your dead father, who no man can live up to. Which is funny since he left you with an abusive mother who turns out wasn't your mother.

I fold my arms and feel my eyes sharpen like knives pointed at Ging. I forgot how vicious he could be when his ego was bruised. He really knows how to go for the jugular. "Watch it, asshole—"

He points a finger in my face. "And you'd still be in that shithole if it weren't for me."

Air sucks between my teeth as I knock his hand away from me. "I got out because I wanted to get out. You just happened to be the first option that came along. I would've gone to anything or anyone who could help me."

"But you didn't, did you? You came to me, a man who could teach you something, yet maintain his distance. Not unlike your father. Not unlike Hisoka, and Lord only knows who else."

This is what I get for opening up to someone about my past...no wonder Hisoka avoids doing it. People can use it against you like any other weapon.

But I couldn't hide my poverty, my tattered clothes and bruises. Ging saw that without me saying a word. Yet underneath it all, he saw my potential and offered to train me for the hunter exam. I remember all the countless times we fought with bamboo rods, how he thwacked me in areas I left myself vulnerable. In the river, on the road, the middle of villages. Wherever he took me, however he hurt me I knew it was to make me stronger.

Now, I don't trust anything he says. And how much does he know about Hisoka? How long has he been spying on me? "Shut up," I hiss through gritted teeth, "you don't even know him."

Ging guffaws. "I've seen things about him that you haven't, but fine. Keep living that lie if you think it'll help you sleep at night."

There's a silence between us. I've no interest in arguing on Hisoka's behalf again. I just want to get to know the guy. Why is that such a crime to everyone?

"You never wanted a relationship," Ging continues, "you wanted a routine. A familiar dysfunction that challenged you. Then when you thought you learned all that you could, I went from being your hero to your enemy."

I roll my eyes. "That's bullshit. You were 20 and I was 16. I was young and didn't have many options but to learn—"

His eyes wrinkle up as he shakes his head. "Don't play victim. Don't act like there wasn't something real between us. You're better than that."

Tired of looking at him and his bullshit, I turn away and look out the door at the moon. "I never said there wasn't more...or that it was all your fault. Just stop trying to use my past against me."

His fingers tug at a few of my locs. "Why? You haven't stopped harping on mine."

I shoulder him away from me and step forward. "That's because your past is effecting your child's present."

He sighs and raises his voice. "I never asked for him."

There's a cramp in my chest, a pain that I hope Gon never has to feel. How could Ging say that about his own child? I push at his chest. "Then why did you have him?"

He catches his balance and stares at me. "You have no right to judge me. You're just as fucked up, except worse because you pretend you're not. Like you've outgrown it. The real reason you've avoided me all these years is because you didn't want to hear the truth about yourself."