A Worthy Opponent (HunterxHunter)

Chapter 23: A Broken Wall

The pleasant crunch of leaves crippled beneath his feet. Hisoka prowled through the jungle, pondering Raine's plans. Even in the back of his head, the subtle moments of tension verberated annoyingly. His thoughts had wandered too far when he wrapped her wound. The silence in the room reflected that of the woods, the night he followed her under the silver full moon a month ago.

Hisoka brought his fingers to his head, rubbing his temple.

What a headache~

He sighed.

And such a troublesome—

*CRASH*

A branch snapped, followed by a heavy thud. But Hisoka's ears twitched at the sound of a high pitch whimper in the distance. He quickly tracked the sound, anticipating the incident. As he rounded a thick tree, to his expectation, Raine had gotten herself caught in some vines. He let out a breath.

"So predictable~" Hisoka purred, arms crossed, admiring her clumsiness. Her body was squished upside-down inside a bundle of vines, her head a few feet above the ground. Her arms bound to her sides with her wrists by her head.

Raine rolled her eyes.

He approached her slowly then bent down so that his face met hers, a flirtatious smile fluttering over. "You do realize he said to be careful if we go off on our own right?~"

She awkwardly looked away. He chuckled but stopped short, noticing an object in her hand, a small light orange ball.

"And what do you have there?~" he asked. But Raine also laughed in response.

"You don't want to help me out of here?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Not really~" He gently pushed her, causing her to swing back and forth, relentlessly watching. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. A small stretching sound screeched from the vines as she swung.

She finally huffed. "Will you stop already? I'm getting dizzy." He stopped her then gazed down. Her wrist was extending out the orange object. "Here...I g-got you some fruit."

He squinted his eyes at her random offering.

How peculiar. Well...perhaps I should've expected this~

She had offered food multiple times. He took the fruit and noticed it marked. "You bit it?~"

"Uh...I had to use my hands to grip the vines." Her voice wavered nervously.

"Hmmmph." Hisoka placed the fruit back into her hand.

"Just eat it, don't be so picky," she glared.

He crouched down lower. "Not until you tell me what you did last night~" His voice simmered.

Raine opened her mouth then closed it hesitating. Her eyes sparked a crystal blue before she eyed the vines around her. She twisted her body, jerking her legs in a straddle, then fell flat on her head. She moaned in pain from her stomach and head.

"Had I known that would happen I wouldn't have asked~" Hisoka crossed his arms, disappointed at her release.

"Had I not, I would have been too vulnerable," she said looking down at her stomach wound. A red mark formed against it from the vine's harsh hold.

"You let yourself hang on purpose?~"

"Of course not. It wasn't till I thought of that escape route that I knew it would be successful if I attempted it. Your question simply triggered that thought faster."