The Girl x the Magician x The Magic Trick

Cage x of x Iron

● □ 8x

"Hurry up Killua!"

Gon darts quickly through the spaces between the crowd members.

"What's the hurry?"

"If we get there quick enough, maybe we can talk to his owner! I wonder what he's like."

"He might just be a pansy, using the bird to avoid being slapped in the face."

"I doubt it, Birdy-san is really smart." He says with a big smile.

"True, and he doesn't seem classically trained."

"Look over there!"

Deep in the crowd a bird pops up out of the crowd for a moment.

"What's that?" Killua asks.

The bird pops up again, this time barely over a small head next to him. This happens several times before stopping.

"C'mon Killua, hurry!"

"Maybe it's some kid?" Killua says rushing towards the bird behind Gon.

Gon pushes through the crowd keeping low but Killua slides in between the people with ease when a flash of feathers catches his eyes.

"What the...."

♡

I can't see the screen. Go Zushi, go! This is too big of a crowd. No one seems to want to give up their spot and I can't jump high enough to see the TV.

I start to move towards the area for prep when I hear a couple of kids making lots of noise behind me. They are pushing through the crowd like me, but with less success. I wonder where they are going. The one with white hair suddenly catches my eyes with his own. He looks confused?

Concentrate!

I go back to pushing towards the prep area finally breaking through the crowd.

My opponent sits on the other side of the small room finishing the check in. He laughs at me and makes his way out of the prep room and to the other side of the arena.

The kind looking man in a doctor suit waves me over to him and motions for me to sit.

I nod for Abra-Kadabra to move to the small shelf off to the side and he quickly takes place on it while watching over us with intent eyes.

"Well well. You certainly are quite smart bird aren't you."

His smile to my current companion was somewhat off putting for some reason, but I quickly throw away this idea as he prepares his tools for the examination.

His aura is thin and appears to be very brittle. I wonder, if it was brushed against by another will it crack and shatter like glass, or maybe it would pop like a balloon? More likely it would tear in shreds.

"Doctor!" A young woman around my age runs in and brings the man a small folded paper.

After reading it he folds and tears it abruptly. "Thank you, Madison. That will be all."

The pieces on the floor seem to fizzle into a green flame.

"But sir!"

"I said thank you. Please allow me to return to my duties."

Her face turned from a mixture of panic and worry fell to pure confusion.

"Yes, doctor..."

She leaves with much less vigor than her arrival had. A rejection?

"You appear to be in fine health, but please remember that after the match you should come back here after the match for a follow up."

"Okay. I should be just fine though, so you might not have anything to do."

"That would be ideal of course. Good luck on your match." He waves to me but...

That strange looking smile appeared again gaining a shiver up my spine which suddenly took a turn for icy weather.

♡

I stretch my arms above my head making sure to check each muscle.

The man with blonde hair and flashy clothes stares at me. He hasn't blinked once since I first saw him.

"Are we gonna have a staring contest?"

His forhead scrunched up causing his nose to rise.

"A child after all, this will be easy."

"And the match will now begin!"

The man stands taller as if waiting for my strike. I stretch once more watching him closely. His grin turns into a grimace.

"Hmm, looks like you aren't as stupid as you look. Then. How about this?"

The man pulls strings that come out of nowhere. Suddenly puppets appear out of nowhere in a circle around him.

"Most people assume when I let them go first that I'm close combat, so they rush in. I'm either impressed you saw through it or annoyed that your wasting my time by standing around."

The puppets begin to brandish weapons and some of them charge me.

"Hufff.."

"What's that for? Scared?" His eyes look like they lust after his opponents fear.

"It just seems a waste to use it on you."

The man looks at me confused when suddenly he falls through a crack that appears in the floor.

"Wh-what did this get here?!"

The puppets that each stood at attention with small weapons fall to the floor with a clatter. The ones charging me slide to a stop just before me.

He tries to push on the bars and begins to punch the bars. He keeps struggling over and over but he starts to sweat and none of the bars have even a small bit of damage.

I pull my hands into my pocket watching him fight the cage with all his might.

O^O

I knew this would happen. There on the battlefield stood, no longer a little girl happy to fight, but dead eyes watching someone else...in the place she knew as home.

"Tch.."

"What's wrong?" The boy looks to me worried and I do my best to cover up my anger and worry.

"Watch carefully Zushi."

"Osu!"

♡

"Let me out of this right now!"

"..."

"What's...goi-..." the man starts to slump into the bottom of the cage. His energy seems fully depleted and his eyes close. Moments later the bars shatter into nothing.

The ref walks over to my opponent and checks him.

"Knock out, win goes to Princess! End match!"

=°w°=

"Hey, Killua, did you see where they went?" Gon turns to his friend but he only stares off into the crowd.

"Killua?"

"H-Huh?"

"What's the matter? Did you see him?"

"I think so."

"Haha, what's with that answer?"

"Gon, there might be trouble..."

The screen above them shows a young girl on stage surrounded by puppets, but the white haired boy seems lost in his thoughts and doesn't notice.