Shuffle The Deck

Chapter 39 - Motion

Hisoka turned his head back to the ceiling, moving his eyes away from the two boys. He didn't seem fazed or startled at all, instead, he played completely dumb. Lilah followed his lead, but still gave his hand a small squeeze.

Every Phantom Troupe member stared at the two boys, with either a confused look or an unrattled stare on their faces. Shizuku seemed completely unbothered, since she just kept reading her magazine at a slow pace, her glasses almost sliding off the brim of her nose.

Nobunaga, Machi, Phinks, and Paku stood by Gon and Killua, who were both nervous beyond any doubt. Lilah made no reaction as they looked at her, and Killua did the same. Unfortunately, when Gon recognized both Hisoka and Lilah, he gasped slightly.

"Hey!" He began, but quickly shut himself up.

Hisoka winced as Lilah cringed, trying not to make any sort of reaction to the indication that he was looking straight at them.

This caused Nobunaga to become quite suspicious, and he took a step forward from behind the two to question Gon, who was now awkwardly staring at the ground. Killua was clearly pissed.

"What? Do you know someone here?" Nobunaga asked, looking curiously at Gon.

Killua nervously scratched the back of his head. "Uh...No..." he awkwardly began but quickly caught sight of Shizuku. He let out a small gasp of surprise and pointed straight at her. "Hey!"

Lilah watched Shizuku deny the fact that she had lost an arm wrestling match to Gon. Hisoka stayed in his position, twiddling Lilah's finger slightly as she watched Nobunaga challenge Gon to an arm wrestling match. Hisoka now started to pay attention and lifted his body from her lap. She shook out her legs and stood up with him, walking closer to the stone slab where Gon and Nobunaga prepared their hands.

It was a one-sided victory at all times. Nobunaga won easily almost every time, leaving Gon with a bloody and bruised back of hand.

Yet, he still went on. Lilah watched from her seat with Hisoka, clutching the collar of her jumpsuit with nervousness. Her other hand was tightly gripped in Hisoka's palm, attempting not to show any change in emotion.

But things began to get interesting when Nobunaga began to speak about Uvogin, who the Troupe had presumed to be dead. Lilah already had a hunch, but it seemed it turned out to be true. Hisoka watched in amusement as the man began to tear up at the loss of his friend, a sly smirk sliding onto his sadistic face.

But Gon turned the tables, finally activating more of his aura and crushing down Nobunaga's hand with anger and passion. And just as Gon prepared to stand up, Feitan stood behind him, his hand in a position to break the boy's arm. Lilah released Hisoka's hand and motioned her body forward, but he was already ahead of her.

Killua called out Gon's name in fear, not noticing the presence behind him. Hisoka stood behind Killua, a playing card to his neck. It drew out slight blood, making the poor boy tremble.

She stayed by the sidelines, watching it all unfold right before her eyes.

"Lilah."

She spun her head in the direction her name was called and blankly stared at Machi, who looked at her quite suspiciously. She moved her head discreetly to the far corner of the area, gesturing for Lilah to follow her.

She did as the woman motioned, locking eyes with Hisoka for a second before turning in Machi's direction.

Feitan was still holding Gon in the armlock, a sneer on his pale face.

Machi sighed and leaned her back against the wall, staring at Nobunaga, who was now in a position ready to fight Feitan to let Gon go. She grumbled and stepped forward, cupping her hands over her mouth to amplify her voice.