The Ninth || Chrollo x Reader

VI. The Blade

Chrollo's warm breath caresses my cheek, and I meet his cryptic grey eyes as he smiles at me. His Ben's blade is pressed against my throat, and I feel a trickle of blood flow softly from my wound.

I slowly release a breath and close my eyes while a smile grows upon my face. Chrollo doesn't seem wary, he simply continues to press the blade against my throat. My eyes follow the cruel glint of steel, that seems to shimmer under the moonlight that filters its way into this abandoned building.

Nobunaga sighs from beside us as he explains, "(y/n) was just fighting Machi, I would be surprised if she was even able to disarm you, Chrollo." I see his arms crossed, and though his posture is relaxed, his expression is tense. I begin to wonder if he would be punished for bringing in unworthy Spiders.

Frowning, I reply, "Would it be that difficult? It doesn't seem so, I was just going easy on him, because I was afraid I'd ruin his pretty face." As I speak, I lift my right foot an from the ground, and tap it twice against the concrete floor.

Chrollo smiles softly as he murmurs, "Pretty face?"

I huff a small laugh, "Yes, Spider, pretty face. However, that's not what I'll aim for, fortunately." A small blade appears from the heel of my black boot, and I drive it into his leg.

Swiftly rolling out of range, Chrollo stands as he lightly taps the dust off his coat. He is unfazed by the hidden knife, however, he doesn't smile as he says,

"Never take your eyes off the tail of a snake." His melodious voice warns, as it creeps over to me.

My eyes flash, before I mask it with cool maliciousness. I thought that perhaps he knew my identity, however I wouldn't be in this building, unscathed, if he did.

He lunges towards me, quicker than I can blink, and I barely manage to dodge his attack, before sliding a Ben's blade from beneath my sleeve into my hand, and whisk it across his face. A line of blood appears on his pale skin, and he touches the wound, blood tainting the tips of his fingers.

Emotionless, he says, "I believe you mentioned not wishing to harm my pretty face. The same can't be said for me."

The figure stands before the corpse, standing tall between the screams of terror. A sickening melody of death floats about the man, and he kneels before the fallen woman, as though paying his respects.

And though he believed no one was there, the girl listened by, to the song of death that this man sang. She heard him whisper to the woman, quieter than the breeze that carried the smell of blood.

"It is a shame, that I harmed your pretty face."

My feet slide against the concrete, as faint clouds of dust rise with my movements. We continue to spar, wounding the other slowly, and awaiting the death of our opponent. With every movement, we counterattack, blades meet blades, steel meets steel.

It is then that we simultaneously begin to use our Nen, in order to fully attack and wound the other. Knowing that this battle most likely would end in another's death, I have no choice but to use my Hatsu.

My aura flows about me, and I focus it into my forearms and calves. As I begin to fight freehanded, flames trace my movement, and Chrollo's eyes briefly widen before he dodges each move. He is barely singed from my attack, which I call Swift Serpent, similar to the tail of a snake, they are curved movements that weaken and create more damage than normal attacks.

"You're an Enhancer," he notes, as he continues to dodge my attacks. However, his movements are blunted and slower than usual. I don't reply to his note of my Nen, waiting for him to reveal his Hatsu.

Again, we continue to attack, as the moon become faints and the stars begin to fade.

                               ***
Chrollo spits out a bit of crimson blood, and my chest heaves with my heavy breathing. We've continued to spar relentlessly for hours, both of us badly damaged. Though, it seems that Chrollo is more fatigued than I am, he has not used his Hatsu.

I wave a sore arm towards him and say, "You should use your Hatsu." And he smiles, however it is more obvious that he is fatigued, in comparison to his demeanor before we fought.

"Have you run out of tricks, (y/n)?" He taunts, chuckling.

I nod my head to the side, "Perhaps," I reply. "Though I don't know if that was the response that you expected. People wouldn't reveal their tactics."

I am aware that I have begun this fight stalling for time, in hopes that the Zodiacs would retrieve me, however, I am now immersed in their presence, and wish to see why these powerful Nen users have set their base in Swardani. I have come to no conclusions that are logical, and set myself to find out even a whisper of information before I leave.

Chrollo pulls his brown, leather bound book from his coat, and opens it. I look at the object, which seems ordinary, as it was the novel he had been reading when Nobunaga and Machi brought me inside, however he seemed more sinister than before, and I had reasoning to believe that this was a weapon.

I take a step back, halting, when Nen appears around the book. Chrollo waves a hand from it, and a large, white, handkerchief is pulled from the book. A summoning device, perhaps? It would make sense if he is a Conjurer, however if there was an item for each page, then it was also likely that he is a Specialist.

The conjured handkerchief flows in the air, suspended about two feet above his hand. In the other, he keeps the book open, and smiles grimly as he says,

"At least this way, (y/n), I won't have to hurt your pretty face."

    Authors note: Hi everyone! Sorry again for posting late, school has been really busy lately, so I think I'm going to have to begin to post only once a week. I hope you enjoyed this week's chapter, and please feel free to comment, vote, or send me ideas for future stories and chapters!
~Amorevolous