Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

 "You didn't hear screams late at night, yesterday?" My voice drew lower, less confident of what I had heard.

"No, dear." Mr. Leafsteam repeated, his face wrinkling more before he eyed his wife.

"Maybe you should rest, Y/N. You look... Exhausted." She said worried, I could only sigh and agree.

"You're right, I'm so tired and stressed that I started to hear things." My eyes fell on the other side of the road, to my new neighbour's house and then to my own, on the right. Hiro was a rather creepy guy, but so was I to be awake at 3 a.m., barely holding a sleep schedule together.

As a genius writer, the need to keep writing good books was getting on my nerves, my ideas becoming flat, unappealing now that I had written so much. My life was all about writing and no thrill came of it so I could grow inspired.

I politely said my goodbyes to the Leafsteams and walked to Chiaroscuro, my library in the centre of Aeclos, a two storey building, with a royalty décor and comfort, filled with elaborate bookshelves of all kinds of books. I walked inside, being greeted by Lin, a purple haired girl who had fallen in love with my library and I couldn’t be happier to have her working here.

The natural lighting that came through the many windows, hit the stairs, making the gold edges sparkle and reflect on the shelves and books, a fantasy look.

The day went by quietly, it was only when I was returning to my lovely house, that I saw a large group of people, near a police car. They were asking about Rie, the chocolate-maker, her shop was next to mine.

“The woman was brutally murdered after being raped; we're waiting for the reports of the doctors, but we also believe she was badly tortured. If anyone has any clue or lead for us ...", I felt air escaping my lungs, wondering if I had heard her screams.

Hiro was there, in the verge of tears and nodding along with the horrified gasps of other people. Could it be the screams didn't come from his house? Or is he just faking it?

I walked to the policeman and told him I had heard screams nearby, here in the neighbourhood, but he shook it off saying Hiro had already said that he saw suspicious people in another neighbourhood in his jogging route. When I left, Hiro looked at me with a rather dangerous look.

×××

I typed at the speed of light as an idea sparkled in my mind after weeks of pure frustration. How come the good ideas only come at night? Over the sound of my quick typing I heard loud thuds against something, things breaking and a muffled scream. Took me some seconds to actually understand what I had just heard. I got up, hand grazing the bedside table lamp, wondering if I could get any writing material out of it.

Another screech outside shoved those thoughts away as I ran to grab my phone and call the police. I leaped to the window and felt horrified as I heard the screams choke down without doing anything to stop whatever was happening.

The blue and red lights of the police flashed as the car entered the neighbourhood, and all I saw was a shadow leaving the house so quick my eyes were probably tricking me.

The rest of the night was spent answering questions, without knowing what exactly had happened in that house. After being assured that I did in fact do the right thing, autopilot took in, leading me to my bed and drifting to sleep.

Waking up at 6 p.m. was not unusual, but this lifestyle sure wasn’t good for my health. Flashes of a long questioning session with the police ruined my mood.

Hungrily, I searched for something easy to make, and 2 hours later there I was, stomach full, bath taken, some casual clothes on ready to pass by Chiaroscuro to make sure everything was ok. Left my cosy house and grabbed my mail on the way to my bookstore/library. It was a 15-minute walk and honestly, I needed some time to set my mind straight and return to my "normal" life like nothing happened.

"Bills... Bills... Thanks letter... Invitation to a fancy party..." As a renowned writer, many high society people enjoyed inviting me to their parties. Whenever I feel like it I attend some parties. Mostly for book research and pissing random people off~. "Ugh I need to bring a date? Well, guess this bitch ain't going~."

Reached Chiaroscuro quickly so I shoved my mail in my purse to maybe read it later and walked in.

"Oh~ You look like shit today." I roll my eyes at the first costumer I had when I opened Chiaroscuro some years ago, we became good friends. He travels a lot, so I usually forgive him not returning the books in time.

"Why~ Thank you Chrollo!" I chirped as I grabbed the nearest book to throw.

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Obviously, he caught the book with ease while snickering. "So why are you in such a bad mood?" Chrollo asked tilting his head. I still remembered when I had met him, I was so unused to meeting and talking to people. But he was my first ever costumer, when he walked in my dear Chiaroscuro and looked around smiling, I jumped out of joy. Our friendship developed rather quickly as he was a fan of my books and a gentleman. Now, years after we met, he was being a douche, I guess we were that comfortable.

"You wouldn't believe the night I had..." The dark-haired man looked at me, eyes wide, as it was surprising for my life to be straying from a boring normality. He was wearing his usual fluffy coat, no shirt and some black pants with some lighter material crossed through each leg till his knee. His fashion did scream edgy criminal... along with this dark aura that always surrounded him.

"What? Did Y/N suddenly find a sexual partner? Did it not live to your sweet expectations?" I rolled my eyes at his guess and sat next to him on the beautiful cashmere sofa.

I sighed loudly, "Yesterday I had to call the police, there were screams coming from my neighbours house. Somehow when they arrived, the screaming had stopped, and I saw this purple shadow quickly leaving the house. It doesn't make sense... But yeah, they had a bunch of questions to me, I felt like in their eyes I am now a suspect of whatever happened inside."

"You saw a purple shadow? At night?" His calm and soothing voice was all I needed to relax and feel like I was sane again, so I just forgot some inhibitions and continued.

"Yeah, it was probably his aur- Oh fuck". My eyes widened when I realized what had left my mouth. It wasn't normal to see people's auras, I peaked at Chrollo who was simply smiling, he heard it. He was paying all the attention in the world to my words, yet his face didn't show any sign of confusion. "Well..." I cleared my voice, that was failing and cracking, expecting him to forget the secret I had tried hard to keep. "I had heard screams before, from his house, and told them but they didn't seem to consider them, my neighbour creeped me out... I still don't know what happened inside, but I have a really bad feeling about all this."

"Hmmm..." Chrollo's smirk widened as he raised his index finger up and above it his dark aura formed the shape of a spider, much to my surprise and dismay, I couldn't hide the dumbfounded expression, it was there, floating, a dark aura spider. "To keep that secret away from me for so long."

"I am going crazy. Delusional... This is what all the lack of sleep and frustration did to me..." I covered my face, taking deep breaths to calm myself down.

"Oh, you're not going crazy. So, about this purple aura, was it dark?" I drew my hands away from my face, gaze passing Chrollo's beautiful face for a moment before focusing on the spinning spider that he was now tossing from finger to finger.

"You can control it!" The silence continued and I remembered there was a question unanswered. "It was. Darker than my creepy neighbour, probably as dark as yours." He closed his hand around the aura spider, it disappeared, his gaze flickering to me, as he shuffled closer.

"So, you knew." His grey eyes almost black, even though there was enough light in this library to make them shine their usual steel colour.

"That you were dangerous? Yes. But you were also my first customer I was so excited." I turned away, seeing all the beautiful bookshelves filled with books, the most magical place, the one place I wouldn't mind spending hours or days on. "Ever since I met you, you never talked about your job so it must be around the illegal area."

"It is." He simply admitted, there was no point in hiding it. "It's actually called aura and with training you can probably control it too. Make it useful to yourself." It was my turn to draw closer, intrigued by the new discovery and filled with questions.

"Can you teach me? What can it do?" He seemed amused, his eyes lighter.

"If you knew I lied about having a good job, and that I am a ... threatening person from my aura, why didn't you distance yourself from me?" He asked as he pulled the book he had taken last time out of the pocket of his coat, handing it to me carefully.

"Why would I? Do you intend to hurt me?" I took the book, flipping its pages, a smile growing on my face to see it in pristine condition.

Surprised with my answer he quietly whispered. "No..."

"What do you actually do?"

"I'm a thief, sometimes I murder people too. Leader of a group of dangerous people." Wow, more dangerous people, could they use the aura too? The questions. The questions kept piling up.

"Huh... suits you~. When will you be back to teach me the aura thingy?" I stood up, walking to a bookshelf, placing the book he had returned. He followed me silently.

"I never agreed to that." He peeked to where I had returned the book. "Do you have a new one? I'll take it." My finger ran down Made in Hell's spine, a romance about demons and what values meant. Took me a lot of time to write it, but I was glad on how it turned out.

"I'll lend it if you come back to teach me." He snickered.

"Do you know I can steal it right?" I gasped, realizing he could, as blood rushed to my face. "How about this... if you find me, I will. Your deadline is September 1st." I nonchalantly handed the black book to the man wearing the same colour, taking the challenge. I saw him leave the bookstore quietly as I thought how I'd track him down, suddenly hyped to a game of chase. Ready to learn something new, to leave this boring live and gather some good writing material!

Chapter Text

I tapped my fingers in a book, Chrollo had left a day earlier and I was thinking how I'd start this big hunt. I had to leave someone to manage Chiaroscuro, along with checking my house once in a while.

There weren't many people in the bookstore today, so my racing mind could run away as far as it wished. That was until a cold pointy sharp thing scraped the back of my hand, I squirmed as my eyes focused on a pale hand with long pointy nails, that belonged to... A dangerous person. A pinkish aura roared around him, his hair was fuchsia and pulled up in what I could call a big waste of hairspray and gel. His eyes were sharp, narrow and golden, focused on me, his pale face had a teardrop and a star drawn in each cheek, and if I could define mischief as a person, it'd be this clownlike man with questionable fashion sense.

"Oh, hello, little lamb, finally back to earth?" His hand grasped mine as he inspected my nails, I couldn't move anything, surprise had left me stunned and fear started to take over me. If I took too long to answer, would he grow suspicious?

Taking a deep breath, I forced words out of me, "My bad, you look so out of a dream that I thought I was daydreaming. What do you need?" He smirked, leaning closer to me.

His gaze dropped, inspecting my body before he whispered, "Many things, but most importantly, your connection to Chrollo Lucilfer." Of course, it had to be a freaky, all powerful Chrollo acquaintance. I blinked, shoving those thoughts away, he was going to hear my complaints later. Also, Lucilfer? Talk about a badass surname.

"He gets books here. Would you like to purchase one?" I faked my best, commercial smile, as I politely drew my hand to the many shelves to my right.

"Do you know all your clients by name?" He snickered as he sat on the counter, I rolled my eyes. How could I deal with this...

"If they're hot, yes. Buy something and I may ask your name. Got to keep record." I shrugged as I noticed Lin arriving to take over the next shift. I waved her a greeting as she skipped to the staff room. "But then again, can you afford anything? Heard the clown business was running low..."

"Aren't you a bold one?~" My eyes met his golden ones, as I rose an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you to him?" That was a good question, what was I to the big bad guy, who stole and killed people...?

"Are you his wife? Fear not, I haven't laid my claws on him... yet." I smirked as he burst out laughing, "Now for real, are you buying anything or not?"

"No."

"Then please allow the next client to actually do so." A cute little girl approached holding a book about dinosaurs and followed by her mother. Seemingly annoyed, the man decided to roam around the library.

"Hello lovely, are you getting this beautiful book?" My lips curled up, amused at the shine in the kid's eyes.

"Yes!" She chimed happily, I pulled out a paper bag and slid the book that had been handed to me inside as the mother pulled out 1200 jenny from her sparkly silver wallet. They both left chatting excitedly,  Lin  took my place at the register and as soon as I stepped foot outside the counter, the clown was there.

"Going home, darling?" My spine felt the urge to run away, unable to, it simple trembled. Yeah, it'd be real smart to be followed home by this dangerous person. 

"Nope." I skipped down the first aisle, ready to pick a book to read. I sighed as he accompanied me. "Look... if you're so interested in getting in the hot list, just tell me your name and go."

"That feels like a pity addition though. ~ I should totally show my better sides, and you should answer my questions." I face him, my eyes widening as they landed on the large pink aura heart floating above his open hand. 

Fuck. FUCK FUCK fuuck. I reached for it, my hand shivering as it went through and grabbed a book on the shelf behind him. "Hmm... why was it in the wrong place... and I'm sorry you're just not my type, clowny." 

His golden eyes narrowed and inspected me for a second before he shrugged it off. It had been a good move, I cheered myself internally! So smart, yeees let's goooo! 

"What? Do I have something in my face?" He closed the gap between us and moaned next to my ear before whispering.

"You could have ~. You're a funny one, so I guess I'll let you be... Unless you want to come with me?" I blinked, stunned. What was this man even implying? Chocolate god, my life was going from bad to worse. 

"I don't even know your name and that's just proper courtesy before landing on your bed." I stepped back, my eyes moving from his face to his black crop top with a red heart and diamond,  his lower torso was covered with pink fabric, down the loose white pants to his black heels. I couldn't imagine I was even considering it. His confidence and mischievous wording intrigued me. I trailed back to his face, sloowly.

"Hisoka, remember it." I rose an eyebrow at the clown, he leaned back on the shelf, crossing his arms. 

"I will, Hisoka. Whenever I feel like fucking a clown, I'll look you up." I gripped the book in hand, it was about medicinal herbs, but I would read it all if it made Hisoka get bored and leave. He seemed to have other plans though, because as soon as I turned to walk away from him, his arm landed on my shoulders. 

"You meant, when you feel like being fucked by a magician-" He made a card disappear in his hand and let go, waving goodbye as he walked away with an ominous smile.

I sat on the couch and opened the book, ready to follow up with the plan just to make sure he didn't feel like following me home, to my surprise, a card fell on my lap. 

Not a playing card, a business card, with his number on it on one side and a very revealing picture of himself on the other. I pushed it into my pocket, fearing to be seen holding such a thing. I felt nothing but confusion as I forced myself to read about all the advantages of certain teas.

Chapter Text

My back hurt from sleeping on the couch of Chiaroscuro, I tried my best to stretch it and diminish the ache as I walked back home. It was half past ten and I could only hope not to have more unusual encounters. Meeting Hisoka had triggered my danger alarms, I had to find Chrollo soon. With those thoughts in mind, I decided that, once I arrived home, I would pull some strings and look for the infamous thief group led by him.

I held a wince back when my neighbours didn’t return the complimentary wave as usual. Was something wrong? Had I insulted them somehow? I unlocked the door and threw my keys to the little table under a mirror, the cold air inside made me shiver. It was time to push some strings and look for Chrollo, I rushed to the kitchen to pick something to eat as I struggled to find my phone. Laughter echoed through the walls, freezing me in place, eyes widen and heart beating unevenly.

Taking a deep breath, I spun on my feet eyes being caught by the bright fuchsia hair, Hisoka’s bright fuchsia hair. I gaped, unable to get any word out and just when I thought my eyes couldn’t open more another man shows up, his thin right eyebrow arched, black eyes pinned in the clown, long black hair accompanying his movement. “Now now, how fun to find you here, Illumi.”

The long-haired man tilted his head as the aura around him darkened beyond words and distended touching everything I could see. My s/c palm landed on my mouth, holding the panic in, at least the screams begging to be released. “Hisoka, you… Why are you even here?”

“I’m interested in the amazing Y/N.” That was so clearly a lie that I couldn’t help but sigh in confusion when the man, Illumi, took it. Hisoka’s golden eyes narrowed, turning into half-moons, apparently him being interested in someone was enough for forced entry. “How about you, Illu~~? Are we fighting for this one?”

“Hmm… No. Y/N L/N.” His void like eyes focused on me for the first time, “Called the police on me and saw me leaving the house.” A gasp left my lips, I took a step back, away from the dangerous men, away from my life that was seemingly crumbling over my neighbour’s damned death.

“Oooh~ Y/N, you are such a surprising person!” A sensual smirk played on Hisoka’s lips, before he turned to face Illumi, annoyed. “So? What are you planning to do here?”

“I was going to silently watch her get arrested for the death of her neighbour. You ruined the silent part.” Wait… WHAT? They couldn’t arrest me for killing Hiro could they? I obviously didn’t do it, this man did. Where would they find evidence…? A knock on the front door made me jump, I scurried past those men and my hand touched the door handle.

“Hmmm~. Want to run away with me Y/N? We could have a looot of fun.” Looking over my shoulder I saw the two dangers in my house, I heard the faint voice of a policeman requesting for the door to be opened.

“I didn’t do it. How could they arrest me?”

I twisted the handle, hearing the smooth clicks of the lock. Before I opened it, I heard a faint whisper on my hear. “You’d be surprised with the Zoldyck’s influence. ~”

I turned to face the clown, but he had disappeared, DISAPPEARED INTO THIN AIR, along with his long-haired friend. A sigh left my lips as a million questions formed in my head, but first I had to deal with the police. Readying a smile for the officers, I pushed the door open, it vanished from my lips in an instant when their hands landed on me roughly, pushed me out violently and they started reciting the long script of an arrest.

“Excuse me, why am I under arrest for my neighbour’s death? I did not do it.” I was forced into the police car in front of all my neighbours. What a blow for publicity. Y/N being arrested. I rolled my eyes as I thought of what to do. Ask for a lawyer? How bad was my situation even? What had Illumi done?

Surely there would be a trial, could I trust that justice would be done? You’d be surprised with the Zoldyck’s influence.~ How powerful was the Zoldyck’s influence? Would it go as far as forcing the judge to condemn me to prison? No. There was no way.

“I’d like to know what evidence points me as a culprit.” They drove in silence, ignoring all my questions. Did I have enough power over the city justice system to counter this framing? “When’s the trial? When can I call my lawyer?”

They snickered before parking the car and pushing me out, taking me to the station and locking me up in a cell. Yeah, this was going to take a while to get out off… Rolling my eyes I searched in my pockets for my phone to no avail, had I left it in Chiaroscuro? How could I? Was I so worried about Hisoka that I didn’t think about playing with my phone on the way back home? I had to contact people, I had to leave this place. There was no way I’d get framed for something I didn’t do.

How could this happen? That man killed my neighbour and framed me for it? BECAUSE I CALLED THE POLICE LIKE A NORMAL PERSON? I had to clear my name or else my library, my books, everything… Ruined…

Chapter Text

The cell was cold and dark, I laid on the tiny bed and sighed. Who were the Zoldycks? What was the range of their power? What could I do to get out of this? The police would never cooperate with me... I needed a trial, maybe I could prove my innocence to the judge... Unless the judge was also bought in some way... Could someone go that far? All I did was call the police when I heard the screams...

How did he know Hisoka? One more dangerous person to add to the list of weirdly dressed. Would there be journalists? This couldn't get out... What kind of proof would the police pull out at the hearing? I didn't do it. I never stepped inside that man's house. Could they fake it? With what?

Would I let my reputation go down the drain and let myself be considered as guilty? I could always escape prison, I had enough money to bribe prison guards... That would ruin it all, no more books I could write would be published, no more money would come from that... I'd be someone on the run, that wasn't a good way to live. I was sure a lot of other people could argue and say otherwise, but as a writer having your reputation soiled and being on the run would be too much...

I had to be proven innocent. I had to. It was the truth anyway...

First I needed to gather information about the Zoldycks, the best route would be overpowering their influence... That could only be possible if I knew how large and deep it was.

A skinny policeman with  shoulder-length dark brown hair approached the bars, his bangs covered his eyes, his tanned bony fingers wrapping around the rusty bars, "You have the right to a phone call... who will you be calling?" 

I shifted to face him, raising up, the cold hair hit my back and I hid a smirk, shivering would make the act much more believable.

"I... I'll call my law...yer?" I blinked hard as if trying to hold my tears, acting wasn't one of my best qualities but I wanted to get rid of this detour and go hunt Chrollo. I nearly tumbled out of the cell, I cast a meek smile at the police officer before he pushed me to a different aisle. My E/C eyes landed on the dark blue row of phones in the grey narrow room. I looked over my shoulder, the policeman was there waiting for me to do my call. "Could I have some privacy? I feel like... I'll be scolded a lot..."

His tongue clicked as he left the room, "Fifteen minutes." I dashed to the further corner of the room, grabbing the handset and forcing the rusty number keys in. My heart was racing, hope vanishing with every unanswered beep... That was until a click was heard and an annoyed deep voice rang on my ears, "Who might be calling?"

"Rune, it's me Y/N. I'm in a hurry..." Not to mention the danger of being sent to prison, I whispered my first question, "Who are the Zoldycks?" 

"Hoho... Y/N, how much trouble are you in? The Zoldycks are the infamous family of contract assassins, they kill for a living, their influence is humongous. A picture of one of them is worth millions, their wealth is enough to go against most royalty... They also hold a lot of information, dangerous people..." I took a deep breath, there went my money and influence, there was no way I could match that...

"If one of them wanted me to be arrested for one of his jobs, is there any way for me to be deemed innocent?" Laughter echoed followed by a string of curses as he tried to catch his breath. Fucking Rune.

"Unless you somehow trick a poor fool into immediately submitting his report... without money nor influence... unlikely." I shifted my weight to the other leg, mind racing.

"Is there a criminal group that goes by anything related to Spiders?" I tapped the old metal box.

"Oh my... Y/N... Your thirst for information is endless today, that'll be expensive..." 

"This is finally when you return my favour back, Rune. I'm in a fucked position right now..."

"Oooh... The phantom troupe, a group of thieves that call themselves the Spider. Thirteen members, most originate from Meteor City and have no records. It has been a long time since they acted all together but there are rumours that some of them will meet in Southworth in a few days." Rune cleared his throat, "Five minutes have passed., what's your request Y/N?" 

"Make me a new identity, that's the one who's going to jail. I'm keeping my writer reputation clean. Change one or two letters of both my first and last name, make sure the press thinks this is someone else." A sigh followed by an arrangement of keys being taped in a specific order. 

"I knew that you'd ask something difficult before I got rid of you but geh... Try sucking the judge's dick, he's a fan of your works. You'll be sent to a prison two hours away from here, I don't think you can escape without your writer influence..." I sighed, I had to at least keep my name clean, escaping prison or being considered innocent were two ways of getting out. I had to get to Southworth and hopefully find Chrollo.

"Ah Rune, I'll miss your bad moods." I looked at the entrance, no one was there. "How would you escape that prison?"

"I wouldn't be there in the first place, I won't miss you at all Y/N. You're too troublesome, there's a weak spot in the western fence, some of the guards are up for some cash, find someone strong and let them escape with you. Ready to break out some random murderer? This is the beginning of the end Y/N. You mess with the Spiders or the Zoldycks and you'll just be soiled further."

"I'll try my best not to be swayed... I won't stand still and be accused of some murder that I did not do." 

"Your name is now F/N, you work in a library, you adopted a kid and have been taking full care of your sick grandma for the last three months." 

"Rune, never thought I'd have to say goodbye. Get me a lawyer."

"Thirteen minutes, trust no one. Not even that lawyer. See you never Y/N." The phone disconnected, the policeman walked in as I stared at the handset in wonder. I never thought I'd have to use my hidden trump card like this... 

Chapter Text

Pacing around, enclosed by those cold stone walls, my mind thought about all the possible outcomes of this. The light was slowly fading, no longer able to pass through the tiny barred square at the top of the wall. One day, one day in prison. 

I could only guess my lawyer was going to arrive tomorrow and from then on a trial would happen to determine my innocence. A sigh left my lips, I avoided the media outburst but now I no longer had a writer's influence. How could I escape if I was deemed guilty? I sat on the thin bed, feeling the coolness seep through my bones, this was going to be a long night. Many more would come if I didn't manage to get out of this...

I took a deep breath before laying my back on what could only be described as ice, shivers ran up my spine and I felt my teeth chattering. A languid movement from my arm had the cold thin sheet cover me, well that would certainly help the cold night. A veil would be warmer than whatever material made up this sheet. 

×××

"F-F/N?" I was pushed out of my torpor by a husky voice, my lower back throbbed in pain and when I sat up my left arm clicked. E/C fell on an young man wearing a dark navy suit over a black frilly dress shirt, the policeman from the day before was gasping clearly noticing the name difference. 

"It's pronounced Y/N L/N, though F/N is the way to write it." A meek smile formed on my lips as I stood, wincing at my newly found sore muscles. 

"My apologies then, shall we see what we're dealing with here?" I hummed and patted my clothes down so they looked mildly presentable. Dusky mint, that's what the lawyer smelled like, his presence filled the small corridor as we both followed the guard. 

The silence was only broken again after we were both sitting, facing each other separated by a large metal table. My elbow landed on the cold silver and I supported my head as I stared at the lawyer with more interest. His eyes were purple, his skin pale contrasting with his curly navy hair that reached his shoulders. "I'm your lawyer, Daisuke Mori."

"It's a pleasure to meet you though the situation is rather dire." His thin lips stretched into a smirk before he dropped his dark briefcase on top of the table. 

"It seems like so, yes. The police have found the murder weapon in your house." I gaped, air seemingly not wanting to leave my lungs. No wonder Illumi was on my house, the demonic creature...

"That's very bad, considering I did not kill my neighbour and I'm certainly not dumb enough to think keeping a murder weapon would be the right choice." Daisuke nodded, his bony fingers flipping some papers as he pulled out a pen from the inside pocket of his suit. 

"It's quite the relief that you spent the night with your grandmother. That's a good alibi." My eyes widened, though I kept most of my expression neutral. He was watching my every move under his thick lashes.

"Yes, she has been going through a rough time..." His smirk enlarged, he leaned closer to me, his navy blue locks fell on the side of his face before he continued.

"Yes, heart problems are quite the predicament." I nodded, "I hear your child is staying with a close couple of yours, no need to worry." His phrases were growing sarcastic. 

"They always were like a second family to my precious." Was it a good time to curse Rune for the lack of information? Most definitely. Daisuke seemed amused though, would that be a good thing?

"The trial is scheduled for tomorrow, any reason for this rush?" My eyebrow rose and I bit my lip.

"Why are you asking me that?" His purple eyes roamed the room, gazing out of the door for an instant. 

"You didn't agree to the date?" Wow talk about using money to speed up things, fucking Zoldycks.

"No." The lawyer sighed and ran his hands through his messy hair. "This is my first time experiencing all this, I don't know what's usual and what's not..."

"I see... Y/N, I wonder what kind of bad things you did in your other life." I tilted my head, but he continued. "This is going to be quite the struggle."

That was nothing new. I knew this was going to be a pain in the ass. 

"I was told you'd have a little treat though." Daisuke slid all his documents into his briefcase and got up, "I'll see you tomorrow, Y/N."

"What? Are we done? Don't you need to ask me more things and tell me the plan?" My S/C hands landed on the table as I pushed myself out of the chair.

"No, I'm good." I felt my eyebrow twitch and I held back all the curses I'd throw at Rune if I ever found that dumbass again. "Oh right!"

He pulled out a bag and handed it to me, confusion filled my mind and the policeman snatched it away before I could peak inside.

"It's just clothes for the trial officer, don't worry." Leaving us behind, the enigmatic man seemed confident enough that he'd find his way through the dark blue corridors. 

I went back to my cell, siting once again on the cool excuse of a mattress. What was Daisuke planning? What did he know? Was he directly linked to Rune? Why was this so confusing? How far up had the Zoldyck bribed? 

×××

Getting dressed was nothing more than a blur, being pushed inside the police car was perceived by my dormant mind, the road and buildings running along with the car were a nice view. The car was much warmer than the cell had ever been. The large white building rose, cutting into view as the vehicle slowed down. My eyes caught a smudge of navy blue and Daisuke strode to the car nonchalantly. 

My trial would simply decide if I was free to go now or if I had to work hard to escape prison.

Chapter Text

Stepping out of the vehicle, my eyes trailed over Daisuke's outfit. He was wearing dark dress pants, a white shirt neatly tucked in, his square belt glimmered and his dark overcoat floated around as he walked. His purple gaze slid to the policemen accompanying me, a curt nod was all it took for them to distance themselves.

"Good morning Y/N! excited for your first trial?" Deadpan, my wide eyes met the seemingly serious expression on my lawyer's face.

"Is that a joke?" My eyelashes drew closer as I inspected his masked innocence. Why was it that every man I met lately was a weirdo? What had I done to deserve this?

He shrugged it off, too lazy to give out an answer and waved to make sure I followed him as he climbed up the marble stairs of the white court house. The police officers, a gray haired wrinkly but bulky man and a stoic looking man with the curliest black moustache followed closely. 

"How confident are you in winning this trial?" I mused softly, hoping Daisuke had heard the question, I didn't want to be laughed at by the voyeurs. 

A smirk filled his thin pale lips, and his purplish eyes seemed to contain stars when they met mine. "I'm an incredible lawyer... Today though... there's a surprise so what I do won't influence much."

"What do you mean with surprise?" Daisuke's head tilted, his curly navy hair was flung over his shoulder with the movement. 

"Hmmm... Surprises aren't meant to be explained beforehand." A wink was all he gave me before leaving to meet some other people dressed in fancy suits. The hall was large, the ivory walls met a chessboard of a floor, black and white shiny marble squares extended past my sight. I had never been in a courthouse before, it was quite formal looking. I wondered if they were all like this as the rude old policeman pushed me towards a heavy and large mahogany door, with scales and scriptures carved in for aesthetics. 

A square room opened up, walls and floor the same as the hall, but the floor was now full with long wooden benches reaching up to the balustrade that left a third of the room to the low lawyer tables and chairs to the tall and solid judge's table.

Few people gathered on the benches, a sign that Rune had done his job and changed the identity of the who was arrested. A sigh left my lips, at least that, if I was condemned to prison I'd have to find a way out.

The younger officer brushed his short hair as he opened the door on the balustrade, urging me in after pointing to one of the chairs on the table nearby. I did as told, if I behaved well maybe... 

Some minutes passed by and my daze was broken by the chair being dragged next to me, Daisuke sat nonchalantly, as if he was resting at a coffee shop. I felt relieved that this somehow didn't look like his first time on court, the background noise dimmed down as a man entered the room and headed for the tall table. 

Dressed in large black vests, his dress shoes were so well polished that when the light hit them I had to squint, his short dark hair was lightly styled, middle part as the bangs framed his tanned forehead, his red eyes landed on me over the rounded glasses and nothing more of his face was seen since he had a black face mask and coughed loudly when he sat. 

His pristine white gloved hands reached for the wooden hammer and slammed it lightly on the coaster looking protuberance of the table, it was more symbolic than anything else as everyone was already quiet, all attention on the judge.

"Good morning, I apologise for my hoarse voice and the face mask, it seems that my cold isn't coming down as expected." His voice was deep, didn't seem hoarse at all, it felt incredibly familiar, too familiar. I shifted in my seat, leaning forward and gazing at the judge. Daisuke never told me his name, I should ask him when I had the chance. Something just didn't feel right.

"So, today we're here to oversee the case of F/N -" Daisuke's hand rose, confidently as a polite smile that had been there before stretched to full force.

"Excuse me, your highness, it's pronounced Y/N L/N. My apologies for the interruption." Bright red eyes narrowed down on me, such an unnatural colour, an eyebrow rose almost amused.

"I see, so the case of Y/N L/N," My hands gripped the thin table top, my eyes widened and a small whimper left my lips when it finally clicked, it couldn't be! IT COULDN'T BE. This wasn't Rune. There was no way. He said he'd never see me again. His hair wasn't black it was forest green, his eyes were beige and his skin was gold, light cooper even. The shade was too light for him. "let us begin with the city's attorney, and review the case, is that alright with the defence?"

 This time Daisuke stood before he answered, elegant like a cat, "Yes, your honor." Daisuke slipped back to his seat as one of the men he went to talk to rose. And started to present the murder of my neighbour, Hiro.

My eyes fell on my lawyer, anger boiling within me, "Is that judge Rune? Is that the surprise? Did he just come to laugh at my situation?"

Dark blue eyebrows rose, as if surprised at my angry whispering on court, before his eyes landed on the judge, I followed only to find a glint of enjoyment, just enough creasing to know that he was smiling under the damn mask. 

"You caught on so fast, what an attention to detail this writer has." Despair filled my expression, Rune wouldn't be here to do charity work. He was beyond that. He was here to have a laugh and either get something from me or wonder how I'll escape prison. My expression must have been of utter shock since Daisuke whispered smoothly once more, purple eyes now trailing over the attorney. "Good acting."

Seemingly unaware that I was actually fearing, fearing for what Rune could do.

Chapter Text

I didn't hear nearly half of what the attorney was saying, my gaze fixed solely on Rune, the judge.

I knew I couldn't ask for what he had owed me. I knew but in my desperation, my complete horror at the thought of my writer reputation being soiled, I went and called him. Now that I didn't have my 'you owe me one' card, he'd strike.

It was foolish to think the card on my sleeve wasn't a double edged dagger. It was too late to mourn now, I had to figure out just how much was he willing to negotiate, what fun did he come looking for...?

How could I negotiate with him though? There was no way the police would let me just ask for a private chat with the judge. Maybe if we delayed the trial... How did one delay the trial? Could I ask the bastard of a lawyer I had for help? He'd be on Rune's side.

The attorney finally quieted down, bowing to Rune and confidently walking back to his chair. Must be good to be paid to fuck me over by the Zoldycks. Rune gave the word to Daisuke who rose immediately, not with his usual elegance but with a forced panic.

His voice held a worried tremble, "I apologize your honour, before we could -" Rune getting in with the act of sick judge, or secretly hiding his laughter entered a coughing fit. When a sharp inhale was heard and no more dramatic coughing came, Daisuke continued, his voice now edged with something else... Sarcasm? Annoyance? "My poor client complexion has been dimming, I'm worried that F/N may faint. I'd like to request for a pause so I can at least get some sugary thing."

I winced when a chair hit the ground and the attorney approached me, I must've been looking terrible because he seemed to agree.

"That is a good proposal I need some time to compose myself as well." He rose dismissing everyone for fifteen minutes, no less, no more, before leaving the room coughing.

Daisuke gripped my arm and pulled me along, had this all worked out as I wanted? Or was this Rune's plan? The policemen didn't follow us, perhaps they were surprised at the turn of events.

I followed my lawyer into a small room, didn't jump when my eyes landed on red flashy lenses. "Rune."

"Y/N, what a beautiful coincidence to see you here." He slipped his black mask off, revealing tanned skin underneath,  a clash with the top of his face that comprised his disguise. His pale foundation and red eyes made me shiver, he had this all thought through...

"Ah yes, lovely coincidence, it must've slipped out of my mind that your hobby is replacing judges in trials." My S/C hand flew to my forehead in the most dramatical way possible, "Just when you said you'd never meet me again..."

"At first I thought being rid of you would be good, but better... better would be having you owing me one... A role reversal... We'll have a lot of fun, won't we?" I cringed at his words, he laid against the coral wall and ran his gloved fingers over his black wig.

"You want me to owe you one for what exactly?" I eyed Daisuke, he was standing by the door, ready to intercept anyone who might want to interrupt.

"For kidnapping the judge, having him sedated in my car, impersonating him and deeming you innocent both on trial and paper, defying the infamous assassin family. Seems like you'd owe me big time..." He blinked twice, scratched his face, smudging off the makeup, "For having to use this disguise too, it's bothering me so much."

An eye roll followed and almost feline he stepped closer, "Now, now, let's give the one and only Y/N a choice, drop to your knees, suck my cock and beg for this to be a charity case or owe me one."

If my eyebrow could shoot through the roof it would've, my mouth hung open and a smirk filled his lush lips, soft cloth reached for my chin, "Mhmmm, just like that, I did tell you to do it to the judge... Though my decision is solely based on how good you'd make me feel and you have little time left."

"I'll owe you one Rune, how can I ever be helpful to you? I'm a writer..." A red gaze fell on the door, his hand left my chin and he waved it off as if disappointed.

"Oh? We'll see, worst case scenario I get a sex slave that's good with words. How unfortunate to not see you rushing to please me, begging me for mercy... Perhaps another day sweet Y/N, don't get too comfortable." He propped his mask back on, fiddled with the wig and left the room. Daisuke seemed to be enjoying the drama...

"You see, Y/N, I'm also a writer on my spare time, this just gave me the best idea. How does it feel to be on the other side? Being watched for ideas and content?" I ignored him and gripped the door handle, he leaned against the door, forcing it close.

"I have bigger things to worry with, so it doesn't feel like anything. I'd love to read one of your books someday Daisuke. I don't know why you're close with people like Rune though..." He held his belly while laughing before replying.

"You are waaay closer than me, Y/N, I would've dropped to my knees and begged. Imagine having the balls to owe Rune anything. I don't know what triggered you but what an insane sequence of bad decisions." He rose his right arm and glimpsed at his watch, deciding it had been long enough he swung the door open, pushed me out and went back to his caring lawyer persona.

The rest could've been nothing more than a blur, it wasn't. It was painfully slow and boring. The whole process, the exposure of arguments and discussion between Daisuke and the attorney whose name I had not cared to remember.  When Rune gave the final sentence, deeming me innocent, the policemen shifted in odd panic. Could anything happen to them if the judge was the one who didn't follow the plan?

The trip back to the station, accompanied by Daisuke seemed to take even longer, the process was so slow. Retrieving my belongings signing some sheets and finding myself home by nightfall, the whole day lost to something like that...

A week lost because of someone called Illumi Zoldyck, a favour I now owed to Rune and the whereabouts of the closest lead I had to reach Chrollo...

This couldn't have gone worse.

Chapter Text

Rune was still on my mind as I dropped by Chiaroscuro to check how things were going with my disappearance, I was pleasantly surprised when Lin explained how they had dealt with my disappearance. "That was well thought Lin, I want to hire someone to take my shift."

"Are you going to travel for inspiration?" Her eyes lit up in expectation, I simply nodded. The certainty and confidence I had before took a hit, Rune got the opportunity to have me owing him. He started with the sexual request but he knew I was going to curse him, it was just so he could delay it enough to have me indebted to his kindness.

How could I ever be helpful to Rune? He told me not to mess with the Spiders or the Zoldycks but he wasn't better. Aware that I had taken a long pause in the conversation, I helped Lin carry some books as I continued. "Yes, I've been feeling stifled here, the monotony has been... Less than welcome. It's time to go for a challenge." Did I truly felt that way? The stay at the police station and the trial sure broke my monotonous life but my mind was still clouded with doubt.

The conversation didn't advance further and I found myself walking home. I wanted my life to change, to be challenging, to be filled with adventure. I wouldn't hold myself back just because Rune felt like doing some sort of twisted revenge.

I pulled the keys out of my pocket and sighed at the familiar tinkering before I slid one into the keyhole and unlocked my dark wooden front door. It was time to prepare for a trip.

I grabbed a backpack and two changes of my favourite and most comfortable clothes, it took me twenty minutes to find a water bottle and prepare some dry snacks. A little leather-bound notebook and a few pens completed my travel item list, the F/C backpack was heavier than what I was used to as I swung it on my back but it would do.

I reached my front door when another thought came back to haunt me, the Zoldyck asshole knew where I lived, I should sell this house. I paused, would a few days of delay make me miss the only lead I had on the Spider? I had wasted three days already... The trip there would barely get me there in time... I locked the door behind me, wondering if I could ask someone to come here and pack all my stuff. The thought of any friend of mine killed because of something I asked chilled my spine and I decided it was something I'd have to bother with some other day.

I caught a bus to the airport, fidgeting as I noticed it was running on a three minute delay. The residential area changed to a heavier scenery with many tall apartment buildings greyed out by time. The airport was large, not one of the biggest in the country but it managed to provide with enough flights, it was certainly one of the reasons I had picked this place to build Chiaroscuro.

Ignoring the butterflies in my stomach after the zeppelin lifted off, I stared into the distance the excitement of a new adventure clouding all the bad thoughts.

Southworth was a large city, a city of merchants, a city where trading and selling never ended. It was only when I arrived there that I noticed many flaws in my planning, firstly all I knew was that some troupe members would meet, that didn't tell me Chrollo was here, how would I negotiate with them if he wasn't there? Second and most important, how could Rune give me a whole fucking city to look for them? It was worse than finding a needle in a haystack. It was nearly impossible...

A sigh left my beautiful lips as I wandered inside a coffee shop and ordered F/B along with some delicious looking cake. I would have to narrow down my search. How?

I paid in cash and asked the amicable cashier if he knew where I could get a map. He pointed out a few touristic spots and I struggled to follow his directions and find said places. Eventually I got a hold of a map and ruled out all the touristic areas, knowing Chrollo was an edgy criminal he'd go for a place that matched his activities. That was if Chrollo was in fact in Southworth...

Five locations, all in different parts of the city, what a pain. The first two were empty, the third wasn't accessible with a car so I cringed as I parked the car I had rented the best I could and walked through sinuous and narrow streets.

A black haired short man wearing a long black leather jacket walked in front of me. The sun was setting but it was still incredibly warm... How could he not feel like a chicken in an oven? My eyes narrowed as he continued to take the same turns I would take. How to look like a stalker 101. It was getting too dark too quick, the buildings were cutting the dimming sunlight...

When I proceeded to turn right, sadly following the man in front of me, he was no where to be seen and I released a huff of air in relief. It was getting too awkward. I looked down at the map once more there were a lot of shaky crosses and scribbles but two more turns and I'd be there. The last location I'd check today since walking in edgy ans shady parts of town at night didn't seem like such a good idea.

As I turned left my heart seemed to rush, all I wanted was to turn left once more ahead and meekly verify that this was not the right place. The last turn was drawing closer, I wished the building had been demolished and that the map was out of date.

I turned left. My E/C eyes fell on an ancient church and a hand covered my mouth as I was yanked back.

Chapter Text

I wish I had passed out when a sharp pain spread around my neck, my gaze drew blurry as tears streamed down my face, my legs gave out and a solid arm tossed me over a dark shoulder as the cobblestones in the street turned into large grey stone chunks. 

Regret could swallow me whole if I wasn't fearing for my life. Large streaks of dark aura flowed freely from the man carrying me, an indicator that what was about to come. Of course I wouldn't be lucky to just find Chrollo, that wasn't how life worked as much as I wanted it to.

A cold grip on my ankle had me sucking in a breath just as my body flew in the air and landed harshly on the floor. Pain struck my arse, my neck felt like it had snapped something my back was aching and lord why was my ankle a pulsating source of agony?

I blinked hard, a weak attempt to shake away my tears, my breath was shaky as I tried to get up to no avail. Pain soared through my trembling spine as I focused on the man, a dark mask with a skull covered most of his face, narrowed black eyes took me in. How was he so unbothered, almost disaproving of my very natural reaction. Dark talons spiked out hovering over my legs, hue shifting to crimson. Hyperventilating as my heart sunk to the core of the earth the realization that I couldn't get up hit me. My body was locked in place, aching in the parts that hit the floor but my ankle was the main source of my pain, was it broken? How could it hurt so much? 

More tears streamed down my face, my voice caught on my throat, lungs burning even as I breathed in more and more, sobs filling the silence of the darkness around me. The man was nothing but a blur of dark shadows, when he stepped closer my hands grasped the stone to run away from him, nothing could have prepared me for the pain that fried my circuits when he stepped on my ankle to prevent me from running. 

Unbearable pain. Nothing but shadows and distant whines fading away as I passed out. 

That had not been a good idea. 

✕✕✕

I was stirred awake by the raw blazing agony that was my left ankle, nothing could have prepared me for this. I had the hardest time opening my eyes, as if glued by my tears my eyelids refused to lift. Not only that but in an attempt to open my eyes I realised my hands were tied up by cold heavy metal chains, a shaky breath left me as I finally managed to flutter my eyelids and be shocked by the complete lack of light. Was I blind? I tried to move my right leg and again felt the tight cold chains whose feeling couldn't top the pain. 

I heard my breath quicken more than to feel it, in the dark and silence it sounded deafening. What if it drew the attention of the man? I swallowed hard, whatever had made my saliva taste metallic and bitter pushed to the back of my head, this was no time to panic about that. I just wanted to breathe slowly, regularly as if I was sleeping, or passed out. Only the high lords of hell knew what would happen if I drew his attention... I could picture his dark frame sitting in the throne, ready to be pleased by my sobs and whines. 

I couldn't go through torture, I could simply not. This had been enough to break me. I'd tell anything and everything to be free. 

My breathing slowed down but it still sounded extremely loud and ragged, I couldn't make it better. I felt too uncomfortable, too hurt, too... 

How could I even think that I wouldn't meet one of the dangerous members of the Troupe instead of Chrollo? What kind of dumb bitch was I? 

My eyes darted around the room, nausea filling my stomach, what if I was blind? What if this man killed me without as much as letting me argue or explain...? 

Why was everything so silent, why was I only hearing my breathing and the chains tinkering as they grazed each other and my breaths drew shorter and quicker. How was there a dark room in an abandoned church... 

Where was I... How long had it been?

Sobs started and tears dragged along the leftover salt on my face, I was going to die.

Light erupted from a corner, as if called by my sudden breakdown, I blinked hard to shake away my tears and to get used to the new light. I was not blind, how did that terrify me even more?

His voice was higher than I imagined, "Let's have fun time." He drew closer, stopping a step away from me, tilting his torso forward just enough for his face to be next to mine as his dark eyes and shadowed face crinkled into a wicked smile. "No scream?"

A whine left my dry lips, nothing but a first try at begging. "P-" 

"Pe?" His eyes widened and I was yanked forward, a yelp left me as the chains grew tighter around my poor arms. "What?"

"I- I'm here to... to.." A screech followed as the chains carved into my skin. "TO SEE CHROLLO, HE'LL ... HE'LL TELL YOU WHAT I'M HERE FOR!" The grip around my shirt didn't lower, nor did the pain now almost forcing me to stand up and that would be bad, for both my broken ankle and my legs chained to the chair.

"Eh... What if liar?" His low chuckle echoed and he pushed me back to the chair, I bit my tongue and cursed. "Why trust you?"

"Why would I lie?" My voice rose several octaves, "Does it look like I'm ready for torture?"

"Yes." I gasped, unable to argue with the man with bad grammar and weird accent. 

"Oh?" A smoother voice came from the shadow that crossed the open door, "That was quick Y/N."

Chapter Text

When the man in the dark jacket with white fur at the top walked into the room relief filled me intensely, as if I was finally breathing the fresh air. His slick hair caught the dim light from the door in weird ways, what kind of hair gel did this man use? I shook my head focusing on his dark eyes and relaxed smile as he decided he was going to focus on my captor.

"Feitan, I'm afraid this one is actually my business. When I told Y/N here to come find me... I wasn't expecting such... immediate results." I gasped with the last string of attitude I could muster after ... After the incident. Denial wasn't the way to go but honestly, I wished I could simply ignore it. Never touch the matter again. Chrollo didn't move an inch to untie me though, I trusted him, I did. Did I? He wouldn't leave me here at the mercy of this cruel and sadistic gremlin... Right? Right?

"I catched." His rough voice now sounding a tad annoyed, like a kid whose toy had been taken away. What if Chrollo didn't want to upset this gremlin? What if he actually thought about leaving me here... to be tortured? How could I survive -

"I know but this one came to us, that's not a good hunt, is it?" Feitan, how Chrollo had called him, remained quiet and this was my friend's cue to crouch down. His face remained undaunted, and his hands touched the chains, I held an involuntary groan as I pulled my feet closer to the chair. Pain was still unbearable and now that I saw the dark lines that crossed on my Chrollo's forehead I felt myself break.

"Whateverre." The shorter man ambled out of the room, seemingly unbothered by the loss of his prey.

"Chr- .... Chrollo... What the fu-" A strong tug had me wailing, the chains rattled, Chrollo hummed as he got up and stared at the chains as he walked around me. I took a deep breath, trying to calm down my heart and the ache that only seemed to yell louder as my blood rushed faster.

"Oh, this will hurt. How did he even..." Another stronger tug not only had me squirm as the chains on my chest dug deeper, I was about to ask for mercy and another way to be freed when the shatter sound reached my ears. Loud, scary, one of the new ends hit my neck, why was it insanely hot? I bawled my eyes out as my hands reached my neck patting it as if it'd calm the burning feeling.

"Oh my, that was unfortunate." He shooed my hands away to softly blow on it before he pulled the rest of the chains off me. "Can you stand?"

"I- My- My ankle..." I cleared my throat and smudged my tears away. "My ankle is ... incredibly fucked, hurting like hell!" He sighed before sliding his arm under my knees and the other on my back so he could pull me up softly.

"I was expecting a better description from a writer." I opened my mouth to argue but a loud sob left me instead, “How unlucky does one have to be to cross the one troupe member who enjoys torture?” I hated myself when tears started streaming down my face once more, I sure was an endless well of tears. I tried my best to silence my sobs but as Chrollo took me out of the dark room and the warmth of the sun caressed my skin I heard my shaky breaths of self control and despised them more than sobs.

How dumb did I have to be? Too dumb, I wasn't even drawing attention to me but had I truly planned to just waltz inside every abandoned building without expecting to be caught by criminals? I was looking for one! Chrollo was a criminal too, probably as much or worse than that short man called Feitan. What made him any different? The fact that he didn't seem to have any desire to harm me? So did the man in the long dark coat that was walking in front of me, his aura wasn't even present... How could I even know...?

I was carefully laid in a small bed, I blinked and focused in the room, there was the bed with wrinkly white sheets where I was laying on, the ceiling was wood and in the right corner there was a huge hole, sun shone through it and landed on the grey stones that composed the floor. There were many wooden cabinets, some with doors missing, some covered in dust... There wasn't anything else on the room, the stone walls were unadorned, the door that was barely holding itself in the hinges was in plain sight, in front of the bed. "I'll find you some ice and medication give me an hour or so..."

I whined for a second before I realized that I looked like a child asking their parents to stay. No. I was better than this. Sure... Sure staying in an abandoned church with the man who most probably broke my ankle and was ready to torture me was scary as shit, but I was here to grow. I was here to learn the inner workings of nen... Maybe to become strong? So that men like Feitan, the clown or the long-haired assassin didn't haunt my nights of sleep. 

Yes. I was going to be strong, so I held my crying urges and saw Chrollo hand me a water bottle before leaving, his fluffy coat pristine. I slow sips of water, before I felt like I was ready to evaluate my situation.

I forced myself to sit and didn't hold back the tears of pain and the threatening want to vomit, what would I even vomit? How long had it been without eating or drinking? Maybe that was the reason I was feeling so weak and nauseous...

I shook my head slowly, my arms had two finger wide red marks around them, some parts by my chest even bled, my clothes were dusty, there was some dry blood and my shoes... oh no I would have to take my shoes and socks off to assess the ankle situation... 

I took a deep breath. It was time to suffer. 

Chapter Text

Tears filled my eyes as I took off my socks slowly. Bile rose up. Not only was I feeling extremely nauseous, but the pain was... There were no words to describe such thing. How could I make my characters go through this without even blinking? My breathing was heavy, and it took everything in me not to drown in panic.

Sure I was alone inside an abandoned building, the man who mistreated me and took pleasure from it was probably still here... Sure... But I had brought this upon myself and the mere thought of Chrollo or, undoubtedly worse, Feitan witnessing my weakness kept me from wailing in pain, crying my heart out, breaking things, laying in fetal position until everything was but a dream.

No. I would not show weakness like that. I would simply not. These dangerous men seemed to enjoy looking down on me. Why? Because I was weaker. Because I had less influence than them. Because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. God knows what else. I would not lay on the ground, grovelling in the dirt for their entertainment.

I was mildly interested in the whole aura thing and it led me to this place... It was different, it put some whimsical magical properties in this world... It looked cute.

I didn't come with the right mindset, but those waters have passed. Now... Now I wanted to learn it, master it, raise to these bastards' levels and rub it all on their faces. Oh, how I longed to return all the weird fuckery that had been thrown at me.

My nausea only grew with my anger, with my shame, with all these swirling emotions inside me. These men where higher on the ladder and I didn't enjoy it. No. I wanted to climb it as well. Was this jealousy? Spite? I wouldn't dabble on semantics... No...

The door creaked open and my neck snapped up to meet Chrollo, his pale hands held a large packet of ice and an emergency medical kit, relief left my lungs.

"I need..." My voice cracked for a second and I took a deep breath, tapped my tears away and tried once more. "I need to go to the hospital, Chrollo."

His dark grey eyes narrowed, he took a step forward and a pale gentle hand held my leg as the other slowly placed the ice on top of my ankle. I shuddered, forcing myself not to swerve away from the pain.

The medical kit fell on the bed with a muffled thud, Chrollo opened it and rummaged inside. "How are you going to explain it?"

I merely looked at him, unable to say anything for a while as he gripped a bottle of alcohol and some swipes. The next noise that left me was a loud hiss when he proceeded to drench my ankle with the liquid.

"Well?" He wiped the blood away gently, my lips parted to answer but my sobbing only grew louder, it felt like a thousand needles stabbing my skin.

"I-" I cleared my throat as my eyes blinked rapidly the tears away. "I don't know, perhaps that I went into a shady part of town got my ass beaten by some random fucker and managed to escape?"

His lips curled upward, and he lined my ankle back to its original form in a sharp movement, I heard distant cries, the world blurred around me, all I knew was pain, the stabbing raw despair. A soft voice echoed far away too, warm and comforting. Why couldn't I understand it? I squinted, the lines of his forehead tattoo swam in and out of focus.

"You fucking cun-" Air left my lungs as he picked me up bridal style, "Wha-"

"Oh silence, you baby, I'll take you to the hospital." I smacked his chest and a whimper left me as the impact reminded me of many other open wounds I had. "Let's make it this way, I'll give you a month or two to recover and I'll meet you at the coffee shop down the road. If you still want to learn nen... I'll teach you."

My lips parted to deny any more of this crazy nightmare, but his nose touched my cheek as he bent to whisper on my ear, “Don’t decide just yet Y/N. Even if you don’t join me in my trip, I do still think you should get a ticket for the underground auction in Yorknew, it’ll definitely bring up your inspiration.” He pushed the door open with the tip of his shoe and carried me outside, we passed the evil creature he had called Feitan and I gripped Chrollo tighter. It was so cold my bones prickled, so so cold, yet my heart was beating out of compass, faster and faster, how could someone ever do that to someone else?

Was that what Chrollo did as well? Taking the word that he did horrendous things had not been hard, experiencing them on the other hand… My eyes felt dry, sensitive, catching the cool air that rummaged the abandoned church. I closed them. I may be weak as fuck but I wouldn’t cry for a gremlin looking emo boy with speech issues. No.

My ankle was still pulsing, hot, the only hot thing in my whole body somehow. Pain warmed me up, fuelling whatever sass I had left to open my eyes and squint at the fucker.

I would wait… I would heal and maybe when my mind wasn’t so clouded in a cocktail of pain, fear and hate… My decision would be wiser.

Chrollo made small talk on the way to the hospital and carefully placed me on a waiting seat inside before disappearing as the first nurse walked in and took a look at my raggedy looks.

Oh, this was going to be a pain to explain without calling for the police, and I was done with those paid actors with handcuffs. Ah… Paid actors with handcuffs could’ve been something so much better but no… I just had to get my life fucked up by calling the police about weird noises… Oh lord I was in trouble with the Zoldycks… And there was a wild Rune plotting some weird shit to get me in debt.

Perhaps taking Chrollo’s offer would provide some safety, how much worse could it get to learn how to defend myself?

Two months from now… I stared into the deep purple eyes of a lovely nurse, “Excuse me… What day is it today?”

“Oh lord, you may have a concussion.” I rolled my eyes. Ah this was going to be such a fucking pain. 

Chapter Text

"No, sir, I have no idea what or who attacked me. I was simply scouting some abandoned churches for this new book idea I had." Officer Cawthorn's incredibly jovial slanted green eyes narrowed, it was no wonder that he wasn't believing my story, who would when I was blatantly lying through my teeth. His round nose wrinkled, and his gaze finally dropped back to his dark notebook as he scribbled some faint words on it.

"How did you get to the hospital if you fainted for several hours perhaps a whole day or two after being attacked?" His tight voice gave a smidge of his annoyance away, was I being dumb by covering up for that disgustingly dangerous gremlin? Perhaps. But what could a policeman do about him? If I truly said that someone belonging to the Phantom Troupe had attacked me, how would they act? Would they even fill a form for me? Could they possibly try to catch them? No. What was the point of telling the truth then?

“Like I said before, I woke up in a lot of pain, I felt like retching, I crawled to and grabbed one of those tall candle holders that they have in the churches, I still haven’t remembered the name for them… The church was empty, I walked outside with the aid of the candle holder, the way to the main road was a downward slope so it was easy to reach. I hailed a taxi and got here.”

“And the taxi driver helped you with the leg, yeah. Have you remembered any new detail?” I shook my head, and the ginger man closed his eyes while running his bony slim fingers through his curls that reached his shoulders. His freckled face sullen, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes once more, pulled a chair and sat next to my hospital bed. It was the third time he was here, and the answers remained the same. Surely it was bothering him.

“Y/N… Are you in a relationship with someone?” My head tilted, that was a new and unexpected question. Had he quit? Was he just throwing casual conversation to distract me?

“No, are you interested, Officer Cawthorn? I’d have to say you’re a bit old for my taste.” His pale lips thinned when he chuckled, he was an attractive man, even as the creases of time appeared below his eyes and by the corners of his mouth.

“Not at all, Y/N, I’m happily divorced and focusing on my kids. I am however wondering if you’re hiding the person who did this to you to protect them.” I rolled my eyes. Yeah, I’d protect that gremlin, suuuure.

“Look, I’m sorry I’m not being helpful. I don’t remember what happened and I’m glad you’re fighting so hard to bring justice, but at some point, I’ll just drop this. It’ll be water under the bridge.” My lips stretched, this man was trying to get to the bottom of the case and it was reassuring that at least some cops knew what they were doing. Sadly, this was not it for him. “Thank you. Truly. Even if they are never caught- or we never figure out what actually happened… It means a lot that you were here trying.”

He sighed and pocketed his notebook, “You can’t be quitting like that, Y/N.” Yeah, if I could shove a chair up the midget’s ass I would but I can’t… So...

“I can, life is hard and I’d rather deal problems I can to fix than worry for those that I can’t.” Maybe if I learn that nen thing, would it inconvenience Chrollo if that one troupe member was incapacitated for a while? I deserved a chance for retribution.

“That’s a good motto. Just don’t get in trouble and don’t go alone to that part of town.” He got up, straightening his uniform trousers.

“Cawthorn your dad is showing.” He rolled his eyes and patted the bottom corner of my bed. “Thank you though, I’ll be sure to get some self-defence classes as well, not even the gods know what’s lurking in the shadows.”

“I sincerely hope you don’t have to ever need them but it’s a good idea. You’re not filing a complaint, are you?” I shook my head, and he tipped his hat. “May we never cross in dire situations then, my best wishes for your recovery.”

“Thank you~.” Now I felt bad that I had decided to meet with Chrollo again. I grabbed my new phone and booked a hotel for the next month. Only halfway to go. The recovery was going better than expected and hopefully by the time we met I was ready to at least learn some self-defence moves from him.

><><><

My cane was quite annoying but it was better than the crutches, the cast was off and I met the leader of the Phantom Troupe once more. Two months and a week after he left me sitting alone in that hospital. I was on my way to get F/B, walking slowly down the street with my cane when I saw his fluffy jacket with the inverted cross and the greasy black hair. A true extravagant criminal walking a few meters in front of me.

“Chrolloooo-“ He turned around and his lip twitched into a smirk as he stopped waiting for me to reach him.

“What are you? An old lady? I’m afraid I don’t know any of those.” His smooth voice was low enough that I struggled to hear it while slowly approaching.

“What an assho-“ My E/C eyes landed on Officer Cawthorn, walking our way with his partner, must’ve been his patrolling time, Chrollo however offered his left arm and I linked arms with him, happy for the extra support. “Been a while, what have you been plotting, oh great leader?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” My eyes narrowed and I hit his chin with my cane. “Is that the kind of behaviour you should display for the policemen, Y/N?”

I rolled my eyes and waved, “Officer Cawthorn! How’s that patrol going?”

“Fairly well, Y/N, who’s this? Didn’t you say you didn’t have a boyfriend?” Officer Mills gave me a shy smile as Cawthorn patted my shoulder. I often met both of them as I had made my goal to walk the most I could everyday by the main streets.

“Oh, I don’t, I’m still available for you, dear~.” A cheeky wink later I patted Chrollo’s chest. “This man here is my abandoned church companion, can’t go there alone, can I?”

“I’m devastated, I thought we were old friends, you’re only using me for the abandoned churches?” His dark eyes met mine, as if finding something they hadn’t carefully inspected before.

“Do you want to be used for something else?”

Chapter Text

 Chrollo’s smile widened, he did speak for a while and his eyes moved from mine to the officers standing in front of him. “Can’t really answer that question here in front of the officers… then they could catch us committing public indecency-“

“Pussy.” I whispered before lightly slapping his chest.  I laughed and cleared my throat, speaking louder, “Such a funny priest he is… Well shall we move along? I have old churches to be in now that I’ve got a good sacrificial lamb.”

“Please, Y/N-“ He scoffed, and it almost seemed natural. Falling back to the banter and the jokes, it was familiar and comfortable. “If one of us had to be sacrificed it’d have to be you… I’m rather impure of acts.”

The two officers exchanged looks, eyes large and fidgety feet, one of them coughed to signal their will to join the conversation. “I don’t mean to ruin your adventurous glory Y/N, but even with company you should be sure to be safe. Both of you. Wouldn’t want you both on the hospital just because you’re researching for your new book.”

I gripped Chrollo’s arm tighter, “Don’t worry, Officer Cawthorn, while he does look like a failed priest turned stripper… He’s actually reliable enough to protect… I’d say… at least four of me.”

“Is that so?” The policeman looked doubtful, Chrollo just smiled confidently and didn’t elaborate. “Maybe he should come along to one of the self defence classes today, weren’t you going anyway, Y/N?”

“You’re taking self defence classes?” The criminal standing next to me seemed to ignore the invite, I nodded in response. “With your ankle like that?”

“Just the basics that don’t strain it.” Officer Cawthorn added before I could answer. “Do come along, the station is just around the corner, and it’d give me some piece of mind if I knew you were both safe…”

Dark grey eyes moved to meet mine, dark eyebrow arched in confusion. I simply tilted my head and he sighed. “Alright, let’s get this over with then.”

The walk to the police station was mostly silent, the policemen were chatting excitedly, so we just followed behind, Chrollo had slowed down to be able to adapt to my current pace.

The white building with blue stripes appeared in sight and soon we were walking through the narrow white halls to the large training room. Several policemen and civilians trained in a mostly focused silence, some chatter echoed from the small groups that were taking a break.

Chrollo slowly unravelled his arm from mine, ensuring I had a decent footing to stand without his support. The two officers looked at him and he simply shrugged, “So… Pick your strongest and let’s just prove that I’m not absolute garbage?”

“Our strongest?” Cawthorn chuckled, Chrollo didn’t follow the laughter, so it soon faded into awkward silence. “Alright then.” He signalled a large man to come forth and inspected Chrollo from head to toe. “Want to warm up? Take off the jacket?”

“No need. So best of 10?” His opponent stopped nearby and nodded, rolling his ankles and extending his arms for a while. “Whenever you feel like starting just go for it then. No need for warnings either.”

I heard Mills whisper rather loudly to Cawthorn, “Trying to show off for Y/N? Owen has a short fuse maybe this isn’t a good idea.”

I rolled my eyes, Chrollo just stood there, hands in his pockets, I’d say relaxed even. I held in my excitement, this could be super entertaining to watch, a criminal hiding in plain sight. The man they had called Owen, Chrollo’s opponent, finished warming up and swung his fist straight for the priest’s face.

He dodged with a single step to the left and my eyes barely registered his leg, that is until it hit the policeman’s torso and he rolled several meters away. People stopped their exercise to watch from a distance and the chatter grew louder in volume.

“How are we defining points? Are they K.O.s?” Chrollo suddenly spoke, looking at Cawthorn with the most bored look.

“No, no. Clean hits are enough.” Cawthorn’s eyes seemed to be wanting to pop out of their sockets, Owen groaned as he got up, coughed several times before jumping for a while and shaking his head. Chrollo waited patiently for the next attack. Which ended up with the same result.

Cawthorn approached me, “Who’s this man, Y/N?”

“Someone whose abs aren’t just for show, thank goodness. Imagine if he didn’t have the strength to keep up with his horrible ego.” I said loud enough for Chrollo to look back at me.

“You should keep that foul mouth for yourself Y/N.”

“What? Can’t fight a policeman and find a snarky reply for me at the same time?” He dodged the next kick, eyes locked on mine and his elbow moved just enough to hit Owen’s throat. The policeman fell down with a loud thud.

“I can keep up with your quips yes, but I’d rather have my full focus on you when we banter, dear. You deserve better than a half assed burn.”

I broke down laughing, supporting my weight on Cawthorn. “Ah, well… That’s three, isn’t it? It doesn’t look like your opponent wants to get up. Should we call that a win for you? Come here and tell Officer Cawthorn about yourself.”

“Middle aged men aren’t my type.” He mumbled as he walked closer.

“What do you do for a living? What’s your name?”

“I’m Damien Redthorne, I own a beautiful library in Aeclos. It happens to be Y/N’s favourite-“ I coughed, how come he knew the fake identity I had created to own Chiaroscuro? “I mainly invest my wealth, but I’ve had my rebellious phase… hung out with some dangerous people and learnt how to fight. Lately I’ve been focusing on the martial arts, gathering black belts and providing good input for my friend over there.”

“That doesn’t sound believable at all.” Cawthorn’s eyes left Chrollo to question me instead.

“Yeah, he does look homeless most of the time. Damien is rather wealthy, a good friend. You can try and check the registry for him…”

“No… He proved he can keep both himself and you safe, I shouldn’t doubt his good intentions.” He seemed resigned to accept that that was all. We said our goodbyes and left the station.