Eyes on Fire

fight x flight

The past days consisted of fighting, and she still hadn't needed to use her nen. The desk woman wasn't lying though, the pay did get a lot better. She was on the 90th floor now and had made a few thousand jenny.

She was walking to the cafe this morning, she'd just woken up and over the past few days had began a routine for coffee first thing in the morning. She ordered her usual and sat at her usually booth, sketching in a small notebook as she waited. There were several people aside from the regulars here that usually weren't, as she scanned around the room she pause.

Familiar firey red hair told her exactly who the man sitting at the booth across the room was. Would it be weird to approach him? She asked herself. He was the only person from the exams she'd seen here. They weren't friends but they weren't cut throat with each other, they exchanged words during the exam.

~

The first time she'd noticed him was at the beginning, with the rest of the group. He had turned a man's arms into pretty pink flower petals that filled the air above the contestants. While the rest of the group was surprised, she was more intrigued. She figured the man deserves it and thought Hisoka's display to be beautiful. That was her first words to him later in the first phase;

"Hey, I just wanted to let you know that display earlier was beautiful." She had complimented as she ran alongside him. She had drifted away from the group, while Gon and Killua went back for Leorio, and towards Hisoka on accident but saw it as an opportunity.
He had given her an odd look, studying her and probably surprised by her comment. "Well, thank you." He had purred when he saw no malice or deception in her words. "Of course, I'm Elise, by the way." She beamed, "Hisoka." He let his name roll off his tongue. "Elise, come here!" Gon had called for her, she gave a small wave bye to the jester earning a smirk, before she dismissed herself.

They hadn't interacted again until the third phase at Trick Tower. She had been paired with Hisoka and Gittarackur. "Pleased to make your acquaintance again, Elise." Hisoka had purred when she had fallen onto him by accident. "Honored to make yours as well, Hisoka." She giggles in return before brushing herself off.

They had been separated and when they all regrouped and entered the finisher's waiting room, she had healed the deep cut along Hisoka's shoulder. She could tell he was intrigued by her ability, but acted nonchalant.

She had also aquatinted herself with Gittarackur who had eventually openly introduced himself as Illumi, although, left out the part about being related to Killua.

She had her final interaction with the both of them during the fourth phase at Zevil Island when she had eventually ran into the both after a few days. They had all showed each other their badges and the badges they had collected to find neither of them had their opponents. She already had her badge as well as her opponents so the phase from there was just for fun.

After the fifth phase, she didn't see Hisoka at the committee or graduation. She had witnessed Illumi manipulate Killua, which she was still upset about, but could do nothing.

~

"Ma'am?" The waitress, Kara, snapped her back into reality. "Yes, sorry, thank you!" She quickly replied before handing her some jenny for her tip, she always tipped an absurd amount earning a smile from Kara.

Looking back to Hisoka's booth, she noticed he was gathering his trash to leave. He turned her direction to begin walking, she sat up in her seat. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance again." She mused, as he had said to her in Trick Tower. He grinned, throwing his trash away before returning to her booth.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here. A flower almost in bloom." He purred, sitting across from her without asking. "When did you get here?" She took a sip of her coffee. "Not too long ago, yourself?" He was always one for vague answers. "I've been here little over a week." She explained. She lazily pushed her coffee across the table to offer him a sip. She watched as he angled the straw near his lips.

"I thought I felt a familiar aura passing through here." But she was focused on the way his adams apple bobbed as she swallowed. She recovered quickly when the straw left his mouth, blinking before focusing on his face again, He was smiling.

"Is Illumi here?" She scoffed, remembering his counterpart. "He is not, I believe he said he had business to attend to at his estate, poor thing." Hisoka had frowned jokingly.

Suddenly a group of girls a bit older than Elise flooded the table. "omg Hisoka" one girl said. "We're huge fans!" "Yea this is like, so cool!" "Do you do autographs??" The other girls chimed in like chickens clucking. Elise sent an amused look towards Hisoka, who looked a bit surprised. "That's me que, I'll catch you around?" It was a question more than a statement. He nodded, hiding the surprised expression.

"How confident are you in your fight against Kastro?" She had heard one of the girls ask as she left. She didn't see how she hadn't heard about him fighting, or even being here when he seemed to be so popular. As if on que, she looked up to see several posters of him and a white hair man plastered along the walls of the lobby.

Okay, so maybe she wasn't very observant.