A HunterXHunter fanfic (Part V)

September 3rd, Yorknew City, 6:45AM

Nijiiro had only been asleep for about two hours when her phone began making a particular noise; it was a noise that made her fly out of bed and answer the call without so much as opening her eyes, or breathing for that matter. For that was the power of Chrollo's ringtone.
“Yes, Your Majesty?” She heard Chrollo chuckle softly on the other end of the call, and the sound was like a warm velvet glove running over her entire body.
“I call you with unfortunate news, Zahrat-Alqamar...”
“And what might that be?” Nijiiro said softly. Her guilty heart was already going crazy. As if it could do anything else when he spoke to her, guilty or not.
“Our Uvogin is missing, now presumed dead. And his killer is roaming free in Yorknew City.” Nijiiro's heart was beating too fast. 'Did he know? No, he couldn't. Not yet. But...did he know?!'
“And how did that come to be? Uvo himself may prefer to fight alone, but I recall giving specific advice as to solo activities whilst in Yorknew City.” And so she had. It had been her intention to have them all killed together.
“It seems there is an avenger amongst the Mafia, one of the bodyguards affiliated with the daughter of the Nostrade clan head. He uses chains as a weapon, so he's likely either a conjurer or a manipulator.”
“...If you know that much, how is he still roaming free in Yorknew City?”
“It seems that the Nostrade's daughter has a considerable power of prophecy...”
“Prophecy, if it were either concise or immutable, would indeed merit caution in your approach; however...”
“However?”
“However, the fact that she has multiple bodyguards in the first place is telling, is it not, Sama' Allayl?”
“Ah...And you think, should she find herself without her bodyguard...”
Nijiiro never needed to tell him exactly what to do, both of them knew that all too well; he could very well excogitate the rest on his own. Nijiiro could feel his smile on the other end of the call. She wished she were there to see it, momentarily forgetting that she was in the middle of betraying him, perhaps fatally. Cutting the legs off of a spider without the head's aggressive involvement was a delicate process, and his safety was never guaranteed, after all. Of course, there was no man on Earth in less need of safekeeping than Chrollo Lucilfer.
“It's not as if you're short-handed this time around. I'm sure Nobunaga is furious. Simply allow him to serve as pilot fish, and drag a sturdy net behind. I believe it best to capture our enemies alive this time. This chain user may be operating alone for now, but yet there remains the possibility that he hails from a larger congeries of revenge-seekers.” It was solid advice, of course. It was exactly what she would tell him under normal circumstance, circumstance where her goal was to prevent the Spiders from being killed. The only difference... was that Nijiiro herself would be along to gather up any decent results of the double-tail operation and convert them into her very own assets. Best case scenario, some powerful allies would fall into her lap after getting rid of the Spiders sent on the double-tail mission. Worst case scenario, she would have to move to Plan C.
“A call to you is never wasted, Zahrat-Alqamar. I'll send them out immediately.”
“That's your prerogative, of course. But it might be better to wait until noon.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because unlike me, the chain user is probably asleep right now.” Nijiiro made her voice as neutral as she could, but the thought of making a passive-aggressive comment to Chrollo while standing in the same city as him made her nervous. Which is why she did it now, of course. He needed to believe she was safe in her bed in the middle of Meteor City, right where he'd left her, and not gallivanting around Yorknew City searching for ways to dismantle her own gang. Or else. She shivered. Chrollo continued, pointedly pretending not to notice the sass.
“...Nijiiro?” Chrollo said quietly. Kneeling on the floor next to her bed, still tangled in the white bedsheets, Nijiiro's eyes widened. He'd used her name. Things had suddenly become...uncertain.
“Yes?”
“...Do you miss me?”
“Do I really need to answer that, Sama' Allayl?”
“If you wouldn't mind.”
“I miss you dearly. And right now, I want nothing more in this world, than to have your eyes upon me and my heart in your hands. I often wish, wish that I....could listen to your voice forever.”
“Further words?”
“I love you.” Nijiiro couldn't stop the words from spilling out of her mouth. It was the truth.
“Ahbk' aydaan, Zahrat-Alqamar.” Chrollo hung up.
Sometimes telling the truth was hard, but sometimes telling the truth was dangerously easy. Loving Chrollo was sweeter than heroin and a thousand times harder to quit. And in spite of all he had done to her, neither of them ever doubted that Chrollo held Nijiiro's heart in the palm of his hand. What he could not anticipate, however, was that this time she was willing to walk away without it. Not to save herself, but because she had been reminded that there were more important things waiting out there than the ephemeral joy of meeting Chrollo's approval.