fine line.

2.7 - The Needle Lands

Part 2
-
Chapter 7

///

Hisoka, for the first time in his life, is unable to predict Illumi's motives.

Illumi does not have reason to kill you. He has reason to be angry at you, perhaps he might even hate you. But wanting to kill you? That is a stretch, especially since he holds such a thick, deformed love for you.

Machi glances at Chrollo, who nods a bit.

You watch the scene with a racing heart and a frazzled mind. You are hoping, down to the depths of your core, that Illumi does not actually want to kill you.

You are running through every word he said, trying to figure out his exact plan.

He said you betrayed him more than he can describe.

He offered to let one of the Troupe members watch as he killed you.

You shiver. This might really be your end. He might actually kill you.

"Okay," Machi says. "You can kill them. But I will be coming with you."

"Perfect!" Illumi chirps.

His eyes meet yours.

You are too crushed to speak.

"Illumi," Hisoka interrupts, his voice dark, "are you sure this is the route you wish to take?"

Illumi's eyes do not flicker from yours as he replies, "Yes, quite sure." The simple, emotionless sentence brushes Hisoka off in an instant. "Machi, if you could take (Y/N) outside, that would be lovely."

He then swivels around, hair swishing in the air. He walks with a slight sway in his hips, through the doorway, and out through the following hallway outside. Hisoka watches him with cat-like eyes all the while.

To himself, Hisoka thinks, (Y/N) cannot die yet. I'm not done playing with her.

"Uh..." you mutter. "Do I have any say in this?"

Chrollo glances at you, eyes icy. "No."

Well. Hopefully Illumi comes to his senses.

In an instant, Machi's threads are around your figure once again. Each microscopic string tightens over your flesh. You grunt, wincing.

If you had the breath to say anything else, you would be screaming at Hisoka, demanding that he save you, because Illumi's anger towards you is his fault. Isn't it? Or is it your fault?

Either way, you have been frightened to utter silence.

Hisoka is staring at one of his cards. He looks up at you.

You gnaw at the inside of your cheek and stare back.

Machi gives her threads a sharp tug, yanking you towards her. You stumble forward, but don't fall. She left your legs free.

"Follow me, or I'll drag you across the floor," she says drably before walking over Illumi's footsteps. You heed her words, even though each step feels like walking in quick sand. By following her, you are actively letting your body sink deeper and deeper into the suffocating particles of sand as they scratch at your skin.

He won't kill you. He couldn't do something like that. Right?

Outside, Illumi stands under the early morning moonlight. Yellow needles speckle his green vest, each needle glistening maliciously, like Hisoka's eyes. One needle sits between two of his fingers, awaiting usage. Illumi's wide eyes loom with spite, directed straight at you.

You and Machi stop a yard away from him.

"Okay, Zoldyck. Do your thing." Machi flicks a finger, and her Nen threads dissolve from around you.

The freedom will surely be short lived; Illumi does not waste his time. But time feels slow right now, the seconds drawing out to nearly minutes, and the minutes to hours. There is so much time to think, yet there is none at all. The suspense in the dark air is so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

A bit of hair has fallen limply over Illumi's forehead. It dances gently in the wind.

"Illumi, I'm sorry," you croak, tears burning the backs of your eyes as they spring to action. "I'm sorry for hurting you."

Nothing on Illumi's figure moves except for his hair.

"I am sorry, too."

He throws his fingers forward, the needle flying out of their grasp and into the air. It is slower than his usual throws. You could dodge it if you really wanted to, but you don't, because he would just throw another one. The needle punctures the suspense, shattering it as if it was always nothing but glass, shattering your heart as if it was simply an obstacle.

The needle lands, poking right through your jugular.

But, even as your vision slowly fades into darkness for the second time that night, you know.

He did not kill you. He only put you to sleep.

///

Your body collapses to the concrete with a thud.

"You poisoned the blade," Machi says. This entire time, she has been watching Illumi like a hawk, making sure he has not been hiding any tricks up his sleeve. "Otherwise, she would have died much slower."

Illumi does not look at your body, no matter how much he wants to. If you were really dead, he would have snapped at Machi and killed her in an instant. But he knew you were okay, and the thought reassured him. You would be out for at least a day. "That is correct. I poison all of my needles."

"What are you planning on doing with the body?" she asks.

"Burning it."

"Where?"

Illumi stares at Machi. His responses are quick and measured, even though they are all lies. "My yard. I do not wish to arouse the suspicions of anyone around." At that point, Illumi walks over to your body and plucks out the needle. A thin stream of blood begins to leak from your throat, but within the needle was also a reactant that helped blood clot around wounds much faster. This would prevent you from bleeding out; he prepared this needle on the way here, specifically for this situation.

Illumi picks your slack body off the ground, holding you bridal style. "Are you satisfied?" he asks Machi.

Machi glances at your body. She looks at it for too long.

"Yes."

"Okay." Illumi shifts you in his arm then. "I will be taking Feitan's place in the Troupe. Good bye."

With that, he dashes off with speed no man should be able to maintain with a human being in their hands.

Machi watches him leave.

If Chrollo finds out about her leniency, there will be issues. Severe ones.

She knows that you are not dead. Illumi did not have the heart to kill you; that much was crystal clear to her observant eyes. Plus, she could practically see the gentle breaths pumping in your chest from where she was standing.

But, still, she let Illumi go.