Le Clown Rose

8!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Eins, zwei, drei, vier - higher, Opal, higher! Fünf, sechs, sieben, acht!"

Plastic knives covered in a gooey, pink film of Nen surrounded Opal as she twists and twirls like a ballerina for her rehearsal. The Nen surrounding the knives tweaked and flickered until eventually disappearing.

Opal gasped for air, throwing her hands on her knees to take her breath as Franz walked across the stage to approach the young girl.
"Wunderbar! Your progress is excellent!"

Franz, the 6'4 German lion tamer and master Emitter stood with his signature black suit and red tie, his sandy blond hair gelled backwards per usual. Though the man was highly respected and considered one of the most sought out performers in the circus group, he would still take time out of his day to help Opal practice her Nen.
"But it's not good enough!" Opal cries out through her breathless panting, standing up to get a better look at Franz's shadowed blue eyes beneath the blinding stage light.

"Hisoka is already practicing his bungee whatever!" She exclaims. "Why am I still stuck doing Ren?!"

Franz's proud smile twitches into a slight frown, as though the mention of Hisoka was enough to bring a foul taste to his mouth.
"Hisoka is not like you and I, or anyone else. When a person rushes their Nen training, they end up digging an inescapable hole for themselves in the long run. You take it nice and slow, you learn how to improve. That boy will hit a wall soon."
He thoroughly explains to the distraught clown girl, but her head was as hot as her heart was heavy.

"It's not fair!"

"OPAL!" He suddenly shouts, his deep voice echoing across the stadium causes her to flinch.
"You can do it! Do not compare yourself to others, that is loser talk. Understood?"

She couldn't help but click her tongue, but still has enough respect to give him a quick 'yes sir!' before leaving the stage.
She descends the stairs and makes her way backstage to get some rest and practice her Ten. As she maneuvers through the dark hallway, the tapping of footsteps from behind catch her attention.

Swiftly, she whips her head back and raises a brow.
"Hello?" She calls out and receives no response.
Not thinking much of it, the pink clown shrugs her shoulders and continues heading down the hallway.

Just before she takes the corner to head to her room, a pair of hands viciously grip her shoulders from behind. She's effortlessly slammed against the wall before she could react, the hands smoothing over to wrap around her neck tightly.
"Hisoka!" She croaks out. Wide, mortified eyes meet with his slitted golden hues as the grip on her neck tightens considerably. "Let go!"

"Really? Let go? Give me 100 reasons why." Hisoka muses delightfully, clearly enjoying the way her cheeks began reddening from the clogging of her airways.

"I-I can't breathe!" She attempts to gasp for air, but his fingers only tighten around her neck, effectively strangling her until her eyes looked like they would pop out of their sockets.
"Good, that's one reason~! 99 more to go!"

"HISOKA!" She cries out, flailing her legs around his torso and clawing desperately at his veiny arms to no avail.
"I love hearing my name on your tongue. Unfortunately, that won't stop me from killing you. There is such thing called Nen, however."

Tears form in her eyes, the seconds passing feeling like hours with every moment she goes without breathing.
"Clock's a-tickin, Opal~! Do you really want to meet God this way?"