The Dancer & The Magician (Hisoka Romance)

Chapter 14: Lioness Pt. 2

Nobu flips a coin, ruling that the troupe keeps all three of us unharmed until Chrollo has a chance to meet with us and make up his mind about what to do. A part of wonder how he'd feel seeing me come back from the dead, but that's one mystery that can remain unsolved. Before the spiders get any further on the matter they realize it's getting late and have to prepare to leave for the second auction. Hisoka agrees to stay behind to keep guard over me while Nobunaga watches the boys.

Before leaving, Machi comes over to me and ties my hands behind my back using her thread. "Don't get any ideas or I'll kill you myself. Hell if it were up to me you'd already be dead."

"She's so cute and cuddly isn't she?" I say to Hisoka as we walk into one of the abandoned rooms. It's similar to the main hall, but smaller with a window that shows the sun setting over the city. Piles of rubble crumble around the corners of the floor.

"In a prickly pear sort of way. You just have to get to the fruit," Hisoka says.

"I'm happy with my own fruit, thank you."

"You are pretty ripe." Hisoka's eyes twitch as he looks me up and down. He rests his head on my shoulder and whispers, "Did you save some for me?"

I look at him crossly before nudging him off me. "You have a lot of nerve asking a favor after you were prepared to watch me die."

He folds his arms. "A lioness once told me she didn't need my permission to be strong."

He must have heard Kurapika call me that last night. I remember my fight at Heaven's Arena with Hisoka. How broken my body was before he offered me three free hits. That moment where he took pity on me and saw me as injured prey, not a worthy adversary. That was what fueled the fight in me the most.

He picks up one of my dreads and twirls it around his finger. "When I saw her teeth and claws bared, muscles braced, and how she tore through her enemies, I realized that for her to come into her power she needed to run wild and free."

I turn to look at him, trying not to laugh in his face. Does he think he can seduce me with silky, poetic words? Though I have to admit the look in his amber eyes  is decadent. I use my hip to push away from him. "Lovely sentiment, but lionesses hunt in packs."

He chuckles and sits on the floor. "It's not my fault I realized you were capable of saving yourself before you did."

I walk to the wall on the opposite side of him and slide down onto a flat stone slab. "No one could've known. The odds weren't in my favor."

"You my dear are the worst kind of tease. You get exactly what you came for and then pretend to be offended when you get it. You didn't come here for the odds, you wanted to test your strength, and I gave you an opportunity to do so. Besides, you know I like to watch."

He's right. I'm not even upset. Fighting the troupe was only meant to make me stronger and I wouldn't have been happy with my victory if he helped me. The fight was mine alone. It's actually nice to know he trusts me enough to handle myself. Or maybe I just prefer to think of it that way. I never know with him. And my power did grow. With time and practice, Parasyte will get stronger. Honestly, I just like messing with Hisoka. "I'm just another toy to satisfy your wet dreams."

He looks down with one hand propped up on his knee. "I'm practically drowning in them. I like the idea of us being each other's abuser and healer from time to time.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." I felt so alive in the fight. My heart never pounded so hard before. Taking all the spiders on at once, figuring out how to outmaneuver them was exhilarating. I even enjoyed fighting to survive Feitan's blade in my chest, because I summoned all the power in me to defeat death. Then to see the spiders on their knees at my disposal...I enjoyed every minute of it.