The Razor's Edge [[Feitan x Reader]]

36: The Cockroach

I didn't trust Hisoka.

It wasn't just the fact that his entire motivation for finding Chrollo was to challenge him in a fight to the death, though that didn't sit well with me either.

It was the way that his eyes shifted between the members of the phantom troupe while we sat around exchanging information on the boss's whereabouts. I didn't like the way his gaze lingered over the other spiders, like he was sizing them up, deciding how they would fare as opponents.

When he was pretending to be a spider, he wasn't allowed to fight any of them. Breaking the rules would have blown his cover, and he needed to blend in with the spiders until he had the opportunity to fight the boss. But now that the truth was out, the rules no longer applied to him. Everyone was fair game.

He was deciding who he'd pursue first. I could feel it. I wondered where I fell in the order.

Once he'd finished discussing matters with Shalnark, Shal called Feitan over so he could fill him in on everything that he'd missed. Hisoka noticed that I was alone and took the opportunity to come over and continue to make me feel uncomfortable.

"Y/n~" he said as he approached "I wasn't done talking to you earlier when your little guard dog interrupted us."

I frowned. "Well, I was done talking to you."

He gave an amused chuckle. "My, my, you do have quite the spark, don't you? How I'd love to be the one to stomp it out~"

His eyes darkened, whether in malice or lust I couldn't tell, but since it was Hisoka, I figured it was almost definitely a combination of both. I felt a cold shiver run through my spine. This man didn't care who he killed, so long as it might prove entertaining to him. He wanted to kill Chrollo, he wanted to kill the spiders, and now, it seemed, he wanted to kill me.

Couldn't I just catch a fucking break for once?

"But not yet," he continued. "Not until you're ready. And then you'll be seeing me." He leaned in closer, so that his lips were almost brushing my ear as he purred, "It'll be sooner than you think~"

A second wave of chills hit me at the feeling of his breath against my skin. I wanted to punch him, to shove him away from me and yell to the others, but I was frozen. Even as he walked away from me to go torment someone else, I felt I couldn't move. I couldn't decide what it was that held me in place—either fear, or the possibly that an outburst could erupt if I let myself get too close to him.

I needed to get stronger. I needed to be ready in case the time ever came where I had to face him. The troupe seemed positive that Chrollo would take care of Hisoka if the two fought, but I wasn't so sure. Hisoka struck me as being slimy enough to survive anything. He was like a cockroach in that sense.

Once he was gone, I went to find Machi and Nobunaga. They had overheard everything that Hisoka had said earlier, so they didn't need to be filled in like Feitan. Shalnark wouldn't need them to help him plan yet. We had time to train.

"Are you mad?" Machi asked. "After what happened this morning?"

"Ah, what's the harm?" Nobunaga questioned. "Of course she wants to go again. She's got that enhancer spirit—no regard for her own physical health."

Machi shook her head. "Feitan wouldn't like it, and i'm not in the mood to deal with one of his temper tantrums."

Nobunaga looked confused. "Why would Feitan care?"

"It doesn't matter. The answer is no."

It was too dangerous to train without Machi. I needed someone whose nen could contain Poe. If she refused to use her ability, then there was nothing I could do.