Vagabonds

Black Mud

Chapter 8: Black Mud

Hisoka's eyes deadly narrowed as he watched a sinister Nen fill the room. "Natsumi," he said coldly, "you see this, right?"

Natsumi stood from her position and clenched her fists at her side. "Yes," she mocked his tone, "and it seems as if it is more powerful than I had anticipated." Hisoka smiled crookedly, his pupils dilating wildly. He turned his head slowly to Natsumi, appearing as if he were under a trance.

"Then please," he said, trying to contain his enthusiasm, "allow me to do the honors."

A figure danced into the room, long and lanky, with black wisps of hair playing along its cheeks. It stopped in front of Natsumi and Hisoka, its head tilted towards the ground. Silence and tension spiraled together, creating an atmosphere that excited Hisoka. He licked his lips, anticipating the figure striking first.

It slowly rose its head upwards, and Hisoka was amused to find eyes as dark as the midnight that graced the sky outside, staring into the depths of his soul. This man oddly held no expression, but Natsumi and Hisoka could feel that he had a deadly disposition.

"So you are the ones that are causing such an uproar in my home?" Hisoka raised an eyebrow at the voice and how it did not match the body that possessed it. The man stood upright now, his long black hair flowing down his sides. He tilted his head to the side, indicating his confusion at the intruders in front of him. "I would've never guessed."

Hisoka closed his eyes and chuckled. "Why, you say that as If you were expecting us to look differently."

He pointed at Natsumi and shook his head. "You, maybe, but definitely not the girl. She's very tiny to have taken out so many butlers. But you were a part of our training camp, yes?"

Natsumi remained silent, gritting her teeth at his offensive words. He stared at her blankly, still not showing any emotion towards the scene in front of him.

"I can assure you," Hisoka said opening his eyes and slanting them at the man, "that she is much surprising. You mustn't be so quick to judge."

"Oh?" The man placed a finger on his chin and studied Natsumi up and down. A shiver creeped down her spine as she took in the cold, lifeless stare behind his pupils. "I suppose we will just have to find out." The man took a courteous bow, and tilted his head upright while in a downwards position. "If you may, I feel inclined to introduce myself. It's only polite, as Mother says, that those who die should know their executioner. My name is Illumi Zoldyk, and you have the grand honor of viewing our lovely estate. I should tell you that no one has ever seen this place and lived, but you have gotten farther than the rest, and for that you have earned my respect."

"Do you take us for fools?" Natsumi reached one arm to the other, sliding down her hidden blade. "You have to be buying time, giving us your credentials and courtesies."

Illumi raised an eyebrow. "Buying time? I assure you this battle won't be long, as I have stated, you have earned my respect making it this far. You should actually be glad that I am your opponent. Normally Father and Grandpa handle these sort of affairs, but they are away doing other work," Illumi's voice sounded far away and too close all at once, and Natsumi gripped her blade harder. "I am in charge until they return, and Mother should not have to deal with business as long as I am present. So," he pointed a finger back and forth between Hisoka and Natsumi, "who has the honors of dying first?"

Natsumi prepared to lunge towards Illumi, her blade nestled between her fingers, but she stopped as a shadow flew in front of her. Several strands of her hair fell to the ground, and it wasn't until she looked at the object embedded into the wall beside her that she realized what had occurred. A playing card -Hisoka's playing card- dropped to the ground towards her feet. She glanced over at Hisoka, angry and confused, noticing that he had not looked her way. A smile crept on the side of his cheeks, as if his face would split in two if he grinned any harder.