𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝟏𝟖 | 𝐙𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐘𝐂𝐊 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘

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Everyday Pleasures

REAPER booked a room at a hotel considering evening had then fallen, completely turning Illumi down after he offered her clearance to spend the night within the Zoldyck manor, stating that it would be an 'honor to the Zoldyck name

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REAPER booked a room at a hotel considering evening had then fallen, completely turning Illumi down after he offered her clearance to spend the night within the Zoldyck manor, stating that it would be an 'honor to the Zoldyck name.' Having no interest in such things, she refused to be remotely connected in any way.

It didn't suit her, so she refused.

After locking her door behind her and ensuring a Nen-created barrier, she slipped her cloak and clothing off so she could then step into the shower, the hot water running down her scarred body a heavenly feeling. As her fingers traced her raised skin to clean herself, her eyes dimmed. She wasn't so bothered by the scars themselves, merely the memories they carried. There were the twin ones that wound up her back, the slash across her stomach, the 'X' that marked her chest, and the crisscrossing marks that trailed down her arms.

All created by them.

She had been nothing but a tool for them—an 'instrument of destruction created specifically for slaughter.' Closing her eyes, remembering the feeling of blood on her hand, especially that child's blood, she then shook her head to rid herself of those memories. She had no need to remember them now after so long. Shutting the water off, wondering if showers were one of the causes for her embroilment of memories, she toweled herself dry before dressing and exiting the room.

She stopped in the middle of her room, frowning when sensing both Hisoka and Illumi just outside, lingering, waiting for her.

Hm.

Now this... is becoming a problem.

They are becoming far too fixated on me.

This can't go on.

Opening the doors, she faced them.

"Ah! That took awhile," Hisoka smirked, shuffling the deck of cards he had in hand. "I hope you weren't doing anything naughty without me~"

"What are you two doing here?" She questioned, fully ignoring the comment.

"We were waiting for you," Illumi answered, tucking away the pins he was polishing before approaching her, putting a finger to his chin in thought.

"For what?"

"Must there always be a reason?" Hisoka hummed. "But, if you must know... we just had to ensure that you didn't run off somewhere and abandon us. After all, I believe we've become very good friends by now, haven't we? And, I don't believe friends abandon friends. Yet, you seem to have quite the knack for trying to leave us."

"I'm sure you understand why," she uttered, glancing at him.

His smile merely grew.

Flicking her gaze to Illumi, the assassin blinking when once more seeing her (E/C) eyes that glowed in the darkness of her hood, she didn't notice the way frowned when she turned away from him. Illumi wondered how she could get her eyes to reflect so much emotion after everything he had heard about the Reaper from legend, already knowing that she indeed was that Reaper one and the same. It was a truly confounding notion to him, one that only made his interest thrive, twisting around his heart like a harness, keeping him tethered to her as if he were only made to learn about her secrets.

"How are you able to do that?" Illumi questioned with a tilt of his head, crossing his arms over his chest as he did so.

"Do what?" Reaper frowned, not understand what he was talking about.

"Your eyes..."

"What about them?"

Illumi was puzzled, his mind racing with different ideas on what she did, if she did anything at that, ignoring the way Hisoka's eyes seemed to cut through him like a dagger due to the heightened intrigue he seemed to be showing in her—an intrigue that seemed to stem beyond just casual observation of a strong specimen. Tapping one of his cards to his chin, Hisoka tried to quell the rather dark thoughts brimming in his mind.

"Now, is there anything else you two need?" Reaper sighed, placing her bandaged hand against the doorframe. "I would rather not spend the rest of the evening up when I could rest."

"Not particularly," Hisoka hummed.

"Then leave, please."

"But why?" He gave a silent pout despite the animalistic glimmer to his golden eyes.

"Because then you'd be a criminal," she continued. "Both of you."

"How?" Illumi voiced.

"Because you'd be watching me sleep."

"Are we not all men?" Hisoka chuckled.

"Does it matter?" Reaper proclaimed, knowing for a fact that she was anything but a man, yet choosing to keep the charade going since being a man to both Hisoka and Illumi would be far better than being a woman to them. "Anyone watching anyone sleep without their consent is considered a criminal."

Both could not argue there, however Hisoka still tried to. After speaking for only a few minutes more, mostly chastising them about how they continued to try and implement themselves into her life, Reaper then shut the door in their faces without so much as a hint of losing any sleep over the fact. Both Hisoka and Illumi lingered for a moment longer before they turned away, glancing back just once. Then, they disappeared into the darkness of the night. When no longer sending the two men outside, Reaper let out a silent exhale of breath upon their leaving.

As I thought, this is a problem.

It's time to leave now.

I've stayed here too long, and I've entertained those two for too long as well.

Readjusting her cloak, she conjured a cloud of mist before walking through, reemerging in the marketplace once more. Music swirled around her, the cobbled path lit warmly by firelight as new items that vendors wouldn't dare sell during the daylight hours were now on display, different spices and herbs filling her nostrils. Her mind wandered back to the fight she had with Airi, noting how pathetically weak he was in comparison to her, but how she had noticed he held untapped potential.

I wonder if there's a place like that somewhere... a place with potential like that.

Swiftly turning her head at the sound of said fighting, she merely had to approach the crowd before they all seemed to part for her, allowing her to  observe the two men in the center. The larger man obviously had the upper hand as he flipped the smaller man over, pinning him down. The crowd cheered, urging the winning man on. She could understand why people were entertained watching two people fight as the stakes were high.

It certainly intrigued her.

If I can fight like that...

Maybe I can find some sort of entertainment.

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To be continued...

𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐒Where stories live. Discover now