Lotus Flower || Hunter X Hunter

Prologue

Bare feet paced over the cold concrete floors, the sound of footsteps echoing through the barren hallway. Bandages were looped loosely around thin  ankles, the ends trailing on the ground behind the girl. Small trembling fingers clutched a doll tightly to her chest.

She knew what was coming. It had happened multiple times before. She was always making these mistakes. It was her fault.

Over time she had grown used to the isolation, the days with little food or water. She knew every crack in the walls, every tiny hole in the concrete of the small empty room. Long ago she had foolishly tried to escape, to evade the punishment, but that behavior was quickly... corrected.

There were eyes in the walls, constantly watching her. Even if she couldn't see them, she knew they were there. She could feel their gaze on her back as she walked past. They saw everything she did.

The only things in the hallway were a few flickering lights in the ceiling and a few scattered doors, many with chains looped over them. Her teeth clenched as she passed by two of them in particular, her eyes squeezing shut as tears threatened to fall from them.

Jianyu, Meiying, they were both in there. They were in isolation too.

It had been a foolish escape attempt. A part of her knew it wouldn't work, but she had desperately hoped that she would be wrong just that once. But they were caught, and it was her fault.

Her fingers twitched, itching to grab hold of the heavy chains and tear them away from the doors so her siblings could escape, but if she did that the punishment would only be worse. Not only for her, but for them as well. She couldn't risk that.

The girl came to a halt in front of a large, solid door with a lock that was almost hilariously huge. Resigned eyes gazed at it, pondering momentarily why it needed to be that big.

Maybe it was because they knew she would be able to escape otherwise. She was getting stronger, after all. But maybe it was there for intimidation.

Small hands hesitantly cupped it, the cool metal feeling surprisingly good on the stinging callouses that covered her fingers and palms. It was heavy, just as she expected.

After a few moments a scraping sound filled the hall around her as the door slowly swung open, revealing an oh-so familiar room.

A single light illuminated the room, bathing it in an off-putting yellow. The sight alone made her stomach turn, but she still walked in nonetheless. Behind her, the door fell back into place. She could vaguely hear the muffled click of the lock.

"I guess you don't feel like escaping now, do you?" A voice taunted through a speaker hidden in the walls, "You sure do love coming here, dont you? Do you enjoy hearing me that much?"

The girl gritted her teeth, her hands balling into shaking fists. Still, she said nothing. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a response. As long as she didn't talk back, he couldn't do anything else to her.

"Its a pity you always try to fight back." He continued speaking, a small sight following his words, "You have so much more potential than the others. If only you listened, it would be much easier for all of us. Oh well, we'll get there eventually. I'll see you again next week, my dear Xiuying"

The speaker let out a buzz of static before silence fell over the room once again. She could feel her throat closing up, nausea overtaking her body.