Assassin's Love Square

Chapter 20: Nightmare

Story By: @smilingasssassin 

Edited By: @jojopotato808

~The Next Day~

You returned home early in the morning, after spending the rest of the evening at the Zoldycks' mansion. Your night was spent in a daze as you tried to process the information that was sprung upon you. You sent Illumi back to his apartment and asked that Chrollo not come over later in the day. You knew you needed to be alone to work through your thoughts and get over your deep-seeded fears.

To clear your mind, you took a long, relaxing shower, letting the water flow over your stressed body. You allowed the water to stream down your face as you contemplated your dark childhood.

"I have nothing to be afraid of..." you mumbled, stepping out of the shower.

The sun began to set as you walked around your loft, comfortable in a large t-shirt, accompanied only by your underwear and fuzzy socks. You opened your fridge to find an old bottle of wine Chrollo once brought over. After preparing a glass, you poured yourself a generous portion and indulged. You had no appetite, so shortly after finishing off your glass, you headed to bed.

This was the first night in years that you decided to sleep with no one else in the room. You felt relief in unlocking your past and reflecting on that fact that you were tremendously stronger than you were when the source of your trauma sprouted. You quickly drifted into a peaceful, dreamless sleep...

~Meanwhile~

A small group of highly-skilled nen users loomed in the staircase below your loft. They wore dark-colored cloaks and their faces were shadowed by their hoods. The leader of the group gathered the members around and whispered orders.

"Alright, when we get in there, 'first thing we gotta do is gag her. If we don't cover her mouth, we're all dead," he advised.

"Yes, sir!" they whispered in unison.

They slowly crept up the stairs using Zetsu to conceal their presence. Silently, they unlocked the door and walked through your apartment in an organized fashion. The leader and two others behind him headed straight for your bedroom while the others fanned out, scanning the place for anyone else.

As they approached your sleeping figure, surrounding the bed, your In must have sensed their presence because you began to mumble in your sleep.

"Burn," you unconsciously whispered.

A wall of blue fire formed around the bed, blocking the intruders from your sleeping body and they jumped back. The leader signaled for the member closest to you to advance and gag your mouth.

They pulled the cloaks over their faces and walked calmly through the flames. Before you had time to react, you felt a damp cloth being held forcefully over your mouth.

Your heart raced dangerously fast as you awoke in panic and looked around to find your room engulfed in flames, full with unknown, darkly-garbed people. You struggled with all your might and managed to elbow the one who held the cloth to your mouth, but others soon came to assist them and restrained you further.

Black haze began to take over your vision as you felt your body growing heavier and heavier. Soon, your struggling slowed, your body and energy wilted, falling into the arms of the three people holding you. The last thing you saw as your vision went black was the ground as you were slung over the shoulder of one of your mysterious assailants.

~Some Time Later~

You slowly began to regain consciousness and opened your eyes to find that you were tied up in the middle of an empty business office. You winced at the throbbing sensation in your head and frantically looked around the room to find an exit. Reacting to your stirring, people began to emerge from the shadows and corners of the room. One tall, slender man approached you and roughly grabbed your chin and tilted your sluggish head up towards him.

"Welcome, Y/n," he said with a shallow grin.

Your body was bound to a chair and your mouth was still gagged. Whatever they used to knock you out must've still been in your system because your body felt heavy, however, you had enough energy to stare daggers at the man.

"Lock, if you wouldn't mind?" he said to one of the females.

A muscular woman emerged from the crowd and conjured chains that wrapped tightly around your already-bound torso. They squeezed you uncomfortably tight and you winced at the pain. Once the woman was done, the leader calmly removed the gag from your mouth.

"Lock's chains suppress nen so don't think about singing, little bird," he said coldly.

"Who the fuck are you?" you spat out as menacing as possible.

"I bet you're wondering why you're here. First, I'll introduce myself. My name is Steel, and these are my comrades," he said, gesturing to the group, "We are all ex-hunters who were wrongfully kicked out of the Hunter's Association and now we're out for revenge. Unfortunately, with these numbers and resources, we don't stand much of a chance against the Hunters. You're here to destroy them for us," he revealed.

"Why the hell did you drag me into this petty bullshit?! I don't give a fuck about the Hunter Association. And if you think you'll get me to use my nen for this idiocy, you're sorely mistaken!" you scoffed.

"Oh don't worry, we have lots of time to figure out just the right way to make you~"

~Elsewhere~

Hisoka was wandering around Heaven's Arena in search of his newest prey. Disappointed by his options, he sighed and headed out to find excitement in the city. Suddenly he felt a tingling sensation and sensed something eerie.

"Gyo," he called.

Hisoka kept strands of Bungee Gum connected to several things in order to keep track of them and one in particular was vibrating and bouncing about. It wasn't totally unusual for them to move around from time to time but something felt off about this one. It was violently jerking about and had a desperate energy lingering around it, like a cornered animal.

"Y/n?" he mumbled...