A Worthy Enemy (HunterxHunter)

Chapter 1: Unraveled Ends

"Y-you're crazy!" The man shuddered on his knees, crawling to get up. But he slipped in his pool of blood, crashing to his side as the crowd erupted in cheers. He slammed his fists on the ground. "Damn it! I trained so hard! How did you—how did you know I would lose? Please give me another year! I'll give you a better fight. I swear!"

Hisoka leaned in, catching a glimpse of himself within the man's terrorized eyes. "I gave you the fight you wanted, didn't I?" he whispered, holding the card to his throat. "This is what you get for forging my name into a match before you were ready. And now I see you will never become fully mature. You will never be worthy of a fight from anyone~" In one swift movement, Hisoka slit his throat. The referee blew the whistle as the crippled man was now a lifeless body with a face frozen in disbelief.

"And there you have it! The battle between two Floor Masters!" the announcer called. "With a score of 10-2, Hisoka keeps his title!"

The raptured audience buzzed through Hisoka's ears as his face was plastered on the giant screens. The chaos faded, inaudible. His focus zoomed back to the crowd, to each individual. It was only for a moment, but that moment grew longer as his eyes dragged on, scanning for the real audience. Hisoka bowed his head with a disappointed smile, and without another glance at the body, he left the arena

Hisoka collected his winnings and wandered back to his room. The mere silence of the entry whisked his exhilaration away as if he'd entered a deserted home. He took off his shirt and laid it on the lush, velvet couch which faced a large, glossed window, gazing out towards the city. The hue befit the room rather than flickering the light switch on.

After a steaming shower, Hisoka dressed in purple loose pants that cinched his waist, matching the accents of his silk sheets while the air-conditioned room hummed in the background. He pressed his forehead to the frigid window screen, letting out slow breaths. Everything moved slowly once more. Maybe if he tried again, he could fall asleep instead of falling into a mishap again. Anything to pass time.

A beam of rich light twinkled in the distance and he leaned back, adjusting his vision.

Hisoka squinted his eyes, looking for the source among the scattered, dotted city lights. Then he sucked in an excited breath as he made out a clustered area of red, green, and blues overlapping in a distant hue. A circus? This close? How did I not know?~

Hisoka quickly put on a pair of golden earrings and a fitted white button-up and tucked it into his pants.

*BZZZZ! BZZZZ!*

Hisoka stopped in his tracks, eyeing his ringing phone on the counter. When he checked the notification, he immediately rolled his eyes and hung up before continuing to get ready. There was finally something out there that could put him at ease.

But the phone only rang again. And again. And again. Guess he'll have to find me if he wants an answer~

As Hisoka fled to the door, leaving his phone behind, he stiffened at the doorknob. A familiar form of bloodlust rattled his chest, causing him to linger for a few seconds in hesitation. Was he imagining that?

Hisoka's heart leaped as the door burst open. Illumi stood rotting in the doorway with a deadpan stare and a crushed phone in his hand.

Hisoka chuckled. "I didn't think you'd actually come. Out for a midnight stroll?~"

Illumi entered the room, balling his fist. Spurts of bloodlust wafted Hisoka's face with a stinging pressure as he passed through. "Do not take this lightly. You knew we needed to talk since you didn't bother showing up at the meeting." Illumi's eyes fell to Hisoka's hand that was reaching for the door. "And where are you going?"