Le Clown Rose

4!

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"OUCH! THAT'S GOTTA HURT!"

Cheers from the crowd erupted throughout the stadium as Hisoka lands his final hit on the much larger and older opponent, his fist effortlessly uppercutting him up into the air. His opponent's head smashed like a watermelon against the ceiling, the gruesome sight was what these people paid good money for.

When Hisoka exits the stage, he's met with fabulous bouquets of flowers and friends patting him on the back as they helped him down the stairs and wiped his sweat off.
His pink clown accomplice was asked to sit back and watch during his show, Karl felt like it was about time Hisoka shines on his own for once.
And yet, she wasn't bothered. In fact, watching Hisoka perform on his own was a darling sight for Opal. She gawked at the way he defeated his opponent effortlessly, his style and grace, his natural showmanship. He was the perfect culmination of everything she wanted to be.

As he descends the stairs with a proud smile playing on his lips, Opal rushes back into the tent behind him. She struggles to push past the other entertainers singing his praise, but eventually reaches him when he heads back to his room.

"Hisoka! That was great-"
The door slams shuts in her face.
She nearly stumbles back from the sheer force of his slam, the breeze from the door knocking off one of her earrings.
She dismisses it and knocks on the door furiously.
"HEY! I was talking to you!"

A few seconds go by before the door opens again, a lot more gently this time. The young boy had a towel wrapped around his neck, the glare in his golden eyes held unadulterated disgust as he looked at her.
"Did you not hear how loud the crowd cheered for me?" He asks her.
Her brows bend downwards at his hostile tone.
"Yeah, I did."
"Excellent. Did you see the gifts I was given? The patting of the back from our peers?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Then telling me I did a good job is redundant. You aren't saying anything I don't already know, so why waste your breath?"

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"I'd like to stay in touch. Reach out to me if you need anything."
Opal walks out of the main base with calculated steps as though she was walking out of a police department. Her demeanor was a strong contrast to how she first entered the spider's web. She was calm, collected and had a smile on her face.
She turns to Chrollo and gives him a sickeningly sweet smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"I will. Thank you, Chrollo! Hope we can be friends!"

The two contemplate one another for a quick second, both seeing unsaid words in the eyes of the other before they turned away.

"Are you really going to let her walk out just like that?"
Machi had been watching the exchange from afar and approached Chrollo only after the pink clown began walking away.
"It's okay. She'll be back." He assures her confidently.

"Man..." Machi lets out a sigh as she sees Opal walking in the direction where Hisoka was stood outside, leaning his back against the wall.
"He must have done a number on her."

Hisoka leaned casually against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest as he awaited the interrogation inside to finish. One would normally have worries over their past being exposed when an old friend talks to new ones, but this was not the case with Hisoka.

He was quite relaxed, eyelids shut like there wasn't much to see anyway. He sensed Opal's presence approaching him before he could hear her delicate footsteps and opened his eyes just enough to see her standing in front of him.
"Well, hello. Did you have fun?"

He muses delightfully, unfolding his arms to stand up tall and straight before her.
"Did you get everything out of your system?"

Opal had to forcefully bite her tongue to stop herself from giving him a snarky response, already feeling a migraine appear just from having to be face-to-face with him again. It's been so long since she was surrounded by his sickening aura that she forgot how depressive it made her feel.
"Please remove the bungee gum." She requests with unusual politeness as she lifts her bound wrists up towards him.

"It's nice to see you still have some manners," Hisoka comments mockingly, lifting his hands up to suck the Nen back up from tying her wrists together.
"I noticed you use a lot of vulgarity in your shows lately. Little Opal's now a big girl that uses big words, isn't she?"

Her jaw clenches together, her patience was being tested for the first time since she last saw him.
He always made her feel so small, so worthless and little when put next to him. It was poetic how easily he could put her in that mindset again.

"I haven't said a word."

Opal confirms a non-existent threat as he finished up untying the nen wrapped around her wrists. His golden eyes flicker up to meet her seemingly innocent gaze, silently granting permission for her to continue.
"I haven't... told them anything about you."

He stands up right and sighs dismissively, uninterested in her attempts at easing his non-existent worries. Whether she said things or not didn't matter to him as much as she thought they would. He would still play along with it, though. He liked seeing her this way after she had grown so confident without him.

"That's fine. Come on, we're going home."

Huh?
"Huh?" Opal says her thoughts out loud, watching him walk down the dirty streets. He stops and looks behind him when he notices she wasn't following. For the first time this night, he frowned. The moonlight would soften anyone's features but his, glowing golden eyes like that of a leopards were threatening to pounce.

"I'm taking you home, Opal. Let's not fight."

"I can't go with you." She defends herself reluctantly, her body staying still despite her mind screaming at her to follow his orders without hesitation, else there will be a price to pay like always.
"Police probably picked up Karl's body by now, I have to contact his family and set up a funeral."

"You don't have to."
Was what he said, but Opal felt that what he meant to say is that if she doesn't follow him immediately, he will ruin her reputation and her life. His eyes said it all, anyway.

She could sense his patience was running short from a mile away, so she reluctantly began walking alongside him once again.
Opal would feel much safer in the presence of killers and thieves than she did in Hisoka's, the unease bubbling in her stomach intensified with every step they took. She felt her legs would collapse if he kept this shield between them for long.
"We're almost there." He assures her as though reading her thoughts.

He first opens the car door and lets her in, surprising her by opening the backseat door. When she peaks her head in, she sees a driver sitting still in the front.
Opal glances at Hisoka with uncertainty, his gaze did nothing to assure her.
She steps inside the car and watches as he climbs in to sit beside her, quietly motioning for the driver to take off.