Hisoka ~
To my pleasant surprise, Gon and Killua managed to pass my little test. If they had been shocked to see me earlier, they were even more stunned to see Kira with me this time. Gon, the sweet child, tried his best to hide his judgement and waved at her with a bright smile. On the other hand, Killua's eyes flickered between the two of us, mouth open in plain disbelief and disgust.
"Why are you always with the clown?" The white-haired kid blatantly asked Kira. No greetings, no small talk, straight to the point.
I frowned. I preferred the term "magician" over "clown", yet some people seemed to insist on calling me the latter. Besides, what was wrong with Kira being with me?
She also looked annoyed and was about to protest before Gon interrupted. "Kira!" He exclaimed happily, throwing himself at her and wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. "I missed you so much."
Her mood instantly brightened and she laughed softly, hugging him back. "It's good to see you again, Gon."
So she was capable of showing affection. I must say, I was feeling a little jealous of the kid. Why couldn't she have had the same reaction when she saw me? I had missed her too.
"Killua also missed you," Gon said, gesturing to his friend. "But he's too shy to say it."
"Shut up!" The cat-eyed boy snapped, though a light blush spread across his pale face.
Kira must've noticed it too, so she decided to mess with him. I leaned against the wall and watched the entertainment.
"You missed me?" She asked coyly but with a teasing smile. "How cute."
If it had been directed at me, even I would've had trouble responding. That mischievous glint in her alluring silver eyes was enough to make the average man melt.
"I didn't!" The white-haired boy quickly protested. "You're annoying and made me sleep early, just like my brother."
At the mention of Illumi, Kira rolled her eyes in annoyance, no doubt recalling her rather unpleasant interaction with him. "Please, don't even compare me to that man."
Killua's expression darkened. "You've met him?"
I smiled in amusement. Illumi, it appears you're not very popular here. I casually stood off to the side but continued to listen to their conversation. Kira turned out to be quite good with kids. They liked her and she seemed to like them too.
"Kira, come with us to our room!" Gon pleaded, latching onto her arm. "Please, please, please?"
"Stop bothering her, Gon." Killua said, still trying to act nonchalant. "Besides, she probably has a date with the clown."
Again, I preferred "magician". But on second thought, I agreed with the kid. A date would be a good idea.
However, Kira didn't seem to think so. "Say that again and I'm sending you back down to ground floor the quick way." She warned Killua, before turning to the other boy with a smile. "Of course, I'll come with you."
Gon grinned widely in response. "Yay! Can you tell us stories? Killua says you have a lot of really good ones."
"Am I invited?" I asked, glancing between the kids. "I have a few stories, too."
"No way," Killua quickly objected. "You can keep them to yourself."
"Ah, what a shame." I feigned a look of disappointment. "Well, if that's the case, at least let me have a few words with Kira, before you two take her away."
I beckoned her to come to me and though she seemed irritated, she complied nonetheless. When she got close enough, I pulled her in by the waist, ignoring the kids. Her eyes widened in surprise.
Holding her tightly against me, I leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Should I kiss you right now?" I asked teasingly. I kind of liked the idea of kissing her goodbye. It seemed quite fitting.
"Don't you dare," she hissed, quickly pulling away from me. "There are children, you clown."
"So? Does it matter?" I could sense they were already getting uncomfortable from watching our little interaction. Gon's face had gone blank, while Killua's expression morphed from confusion to disgust. So imagine if we kissed...
"Try it and you'll be the one I send down to ground floor," she warned, glaring up at me. That only tempted me even more.
However, with what Kira had said... If the kids weren't there, would she be down? I smiled at the thought. If that was the case, I shouldn't waste our first kiss like this. Raising my hands in surrender, I conceded and let her push me away.
"Come back to me after, Sweetheart." I called loudly, ensuring the kids could hear too. "Or I might miss you."
I watched as Gon grabbed Kira's hand and excitedly dragged her down the hallway, along with Killua, who glanced back nervously to see if I was following them. I waved at him before turning and walking away with a smile. Neither of them noticed the blush that was slowly creeping up Kira's neck. Cute.
Kira ~
For the past few weeks, I had spent most of my time training with Hisoka. With his restrictions, I couldn't tell if I had made any progress regarding the demon but I had to admit, my Nen was beginning to feel more controlled.
Although I had gotten no matches, my days had become more interesting since Gon and Killua came into the picture. They liked to turn the most mundane, everyday activities into little adventures and though at first, I called it childish, I was beginning to find it entertaining.
The two had invited me to join them tonight for their training with their Nen master. I had eagerly agreed, hoping to find out more information on the theoretical aspects, which Hisoka had neglected. Despite being able to use Nen, I had little to no knowledge of it.
Like Hisoka said, the Mafia's methods of training were crude and primitive, covering only the most basic fundamental techniques. Even the initiation process was a hit-or-miss, with a fifty percent success rate. The Mafia didn't care if their assassins survived or not, we were mere tools for them and they could always train more. After escaping the Mafia when I was 13, I had pretty much been self taught from there on.
Taking the elevator all the way down to ground floor, I glanced at the address Killua had given me. It made me realise that since arriving at Heavens Arena I hadn't left the building at all. I knew very little of the city surrounding me.
I pulled out my phone to text Hisoka. For some reason, I felt the need to let him know. The clown had gotten extra clingy lately and I didn't want him to worry, I guess. Not that he would.
Kira: I'm going out tonight.
Hisoka: What time will you be back? Where are you going? And with who?
As expected, he wanted every detail of my outing. I sighed in annoyance. I was already 22, a grown ass woman, yet he was acting like I was incapable of a simple trip. I should lie, just to mess with him...
Kira: I'm going on a date, don't miss me too much.
I sent the message and waited for his reaction. He had read the message, but didn't reply. I wondered what he was thinking right now. Did he see through my bluff?
Hisoka: What a coincidence, so am I.
Now that was unexpected. The clown had a date? With who? I stared at the text and frowned. That had to be a lie.
Kira: Really?
Hisoka: No, not really. I lied :>
Of course. That made more sense. I rolled my eyes, irritated. The clown was clowning again and he had managed to get a reaction out of me. Though, to be fair, I was also capping...
Hisoka: Don't worry, Sweetheart. I only have eyes for you <3
Kira: You're acting like I care.
Hisoka: </3
Why did I even bother texting him? I slid my phone back into my pocket as I left the building. It was already dark but I still had time before meeting up with Gon and Killua, so I decided to walk there and take the opportunity to look around the city.
I hadn't even gotten fifty paces from Heaven's Arena before I felt my phone buzz again. I pulled it out to see another message from Hisoka. Did this man have separation anxiety or what?
Hisoka: I have some matters to take care of but I hope to see you later tonight. Enjoy your date, Sweetheart ;)
He actually bought it? And he was fine with it? It was unlike him to have no objections. Either he believed my lie and didn't care or he had caught on but decided not to call me out for it. Nonetheless, I took it as a win and continued down the street.
Hisoka ~
I smiled and put down my phone. Did she really think she could lie to me? With Illumi's help, I had a tracker implanted in her phone, along with a listening device. As long as her phone was with her, she could never go anywhere without me knowing.
And a date? Was she purposefully trying to get a reaction from me? If she wanted to toy with me, she better be careful. Who knows what I would do if she really was going on a date with someone else. If I hadn't known it was a lie, I might have gotten murderous.
Although, I must admit, going as far as installing a tracker was a little out of character for me. Usually, I preferred to keep things a mystery, to not ruin the fun by spoiling surprises. But with Kira, I felt the need to play it safe, especially with the recent activities concerning the Mafia.
All matches at Heavens Arena were broadcasted worldwide and after her recent success, she had gained considerable popularity. If the Mafia hadn't been aware of her existence prior to this, they were definitely alerted by now. But whether they still perceived her as a threat or not was still uncertain.
Despite knowing her rough whereabouts, the Mafia shouldn't be able to find her precise location, and I assumed they didn't know of her vengeful motives. Kira should be fine tonight.
Besides, I had my own mission tonight. My target, Rico Ritz, the head of arguably the most prominent Mafia families, would no doubt be heavily guarded. Apparently he was under direct instruction of one of the Ten Dons, which explained why Chrollo wanted him dead. Therefore, completing this task was paramount, as it would bring me a step closer to fighting the boss.
I glanced at the clock. It was time. I had done enough preparation to ensure that the mission would go smoothly. I had gathered information on Ritz's travel plans, as well as his bodyguards and their abilities. Unlike usual, I was taking no risks.
With just under an hour to spare, I left Heavens Arena. I had given myself ample time to make my way to the Royal Ritz Hotel and scout the area.
As expected, the building was heavily patrolled, with guards at several locations around the perimeter. From where I was camping, a rooftop across the road, I had direct view of the hotel entrance. The vehicle was already waiting in the drop off area. I now had roughly an hour until my target would step out and be escorted to the car.
With everything planned out, all I had to do was wait. I never liked waiting. As I started to get bored, I wondered what Kira was up to. Then I realised I literally had twenty-four-seven access to her exact whereabouts. I reached into my pocket and took out my phone.
Judging by the red dot on my screen, she appeared to be walking through some alleyway. No, she was moving a little too fast, she must have been running. But why was she running? Was she late?
Curious, I activated the listening device. She seemed to be alone. I couldn't hear any speaking, only her light footsteps on the road as she ran. Was she running from someone? Perhaps she was being pursued.
It wasn't like her to run, it was always her instinct to fight, unless she was badly outnumbered. Kira had been trained to critically assess situations before making flight or fight decisions, therefore, for her to retreat, she must have encountered multiple opponents who were relatively strong.
Could it be other Heavens Arena fighters? I only knew of three who would stoop so low as to target opponents outside the ring, and I had already taken care of them. One threatening voicemail was all it took to ensure they stayed away from Kira. And if there were others, I would've been aware.
The worst, but most likely, scenario was that the Mafia had caught up to her. But what were the odds that they happened to know her exact location? Unless they were already actively hunting to her, though I couldn't think of a reason, as she was technically no longer a threat.
I continued to track Kira's movements on my phone, watching as she turned down another alley. The map on my screen showed that if she kept going in that same direction, she would soon reach a dead end. She would have no choice but to fight.
Glancing down at the hotel entrance, I checked the time again. In just over forty minutes, my target would emerge. Even if I wanted to interfere with Kira, I didn't have enough time. Surely, she could handle it on her own. And if not, it wasn't like she could really die.
The red dot on my screen stopped moving, signally that she had reached the dead end. Through my earpiece, I could hear multiple footsteps approaching, as well as indistinct shouts. Though I couldn't make out the words, it was clear enough for me to realise that she was now cornered.
I wondered how she would deal with this situation. Even if her pursuers were Mafia mercenaries, she should be able to survive. I doubted they would send their full force after her, especially considering it was a blind hunt, as they wouldn't have been certain of her whereabouts.
But as the voices grew louder, for some reason, my anxiety increased. What if my assumptions were wrong? If she was really in danger...
Even so, there was nothing I could do. Reluctantly, I switched off the listening device and diverted my concentration back to the task at hand. I had my own mission so Kira would have to fend for herself.
~~~~
The Heavens Arena arc started really slow but it's about to get good, I promise. A lot more important events will happen from this point on.
Please enjoy and leave comments. I love reading funny comments, they're the only thing keeping me going. (Also, please feel free to correct my spelling/grammar, thanks.)
~ krypto