A Worthy Enemy (HunterxHunter)

Chapter 24: Shadou's Arena - Part 2

Darnell leaned at the edge of his booth, grasping the view of Hisoka and Chie's finished fight. His cushioned booth weighed down as Phinks sat across Machi with a refilled glass of beer. He peeked over to see the arena, then to the tv screens held over the bar.

"Is it over already?" Phinks asked. "Damn. Hisoka always gets away with it."

Machi leaned back in her chair. "What do you expect? If he couldn't survive this, Chrollo would have killed him by now."

"Well, you and Darnell come more often than I do so how did he do overall?" Phinks asked. "I thought there would have been a bit more damage to that Chie guy but he looks completely fine."

Machi glanced at the arena where Hisoka and Chie separated. "Chie has some sort of enhanced speed abilities like regenerating faster than others. But it's hard to tell exactly what he does because he only comes a few times a month and is hardly seen training so most people don't know how to counter his moves. When he does train, it's usually all day without breaks so he puts a lot of focus into his moves. That being said, I admit Hisoka did all right. He's the only one able to counter after only watching him fight those three opponents within seconds."

Phinks yawned. "That bastard." He took a sip of beer, wiping the foam from his face.

Darnell sighed, agreeing with Phinks. Both Hisoka's and Chie's face were zoomed in on the jumbo screens with Hisoka displaying an obvious look of displeasure from the blood dripping from his bruised cheek. Chie waved to the cameras, a bright smile high-fiving his comrades. No one cared he forfeited. It just meant another fight to anticipate in the ring and in training.

Phinks eyed the TV's with suspicion. "Why is he wearing a large earring? It looks expensive and doesn't even match his outfit."

"Since when do you care about what matches in an outfit?" Machi asked.

Phinks shrugged. "Corrin would have mentioned it," he quietly sipped his drink.

Machi's gaze softened, looking at the TV as well. "Well, he's always had that on."

"But it looks too heavy to even—wait," Phinks squinted his eyes at the silver jewel lacing the pearl in the most desirable way. He leaned closer, "you don't think– could it be another form of an invitation to the auction?"

Machi opened her mouth to say something but shut it. Her eyebrows furrowed deeper in conflict. "I mean, based on his skills he could get in but I don't see the purpose of wearing it out in the open like that. There's a lot of stuff we don't know about the Raven so it's possible the items could change."

"Sounds like a good reason to steal it." Phinks turned to Darnell who was still letting his eyes linger over the arena floor. "Darnell?" Phinks called. "Are you listening? What do you think?"

Darnell watched as Hisoka made his way up to their floor of the balcony. He would have thought the jester to be disappointed that no one wanted to challenge him at the moment but he also seemed to be lost in thought with an even expression and closed eyes. Even so, the fighters knew better than to challenge people who haven't trained here. If you can't study their moves, unpredictability can pay a high price of death. Especially from one who just forced the champion into forfeit. Darnell could feel the shift of uncertainty in his members as Hisoka strolled past them without a glance to the balcony's edge.

"Hello?" Phinks tapped his shoulder.

Darnall held his hand up at Phinks to let him know he was concentrating on something. "Yeah I was listening. To you that is."

"So?"

Darnell retracted into the comfort of his seat. Though he missed most of the fight because he just transformed into an enhancer from touching Phinks, he felt as though he missed something important. He let out a low groan, answering Phink's inquiry. "No. The earring is not an invitation."