Hunter X Hunter Fan Fiction ❯ Castle in the Sand ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

Castle in the Sand

Written by: Spook_Katz@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: Hunter X Hunter belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi, not me!

This is one of my first fics, written in rather a rush so it's not terribly good… thoughts? Comments? Curious to know! I may continue…

^.^

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Hisoka sat on the beach, humming softly to himself as he sculpted the pale sand beneath his graceful fingers. He had been swimming not that long ago, and his fiery red hair was plastered down to his skull. It didn't bother him though. He was thinking about other things. Or, if you will, a certain someone. A young boy's voice echoed from down the beach, followed by his laughter filling the still air. Hisoka smiled, his prey was coming closer. He bent down further using one of his playing cards to help him scratch out some of the details on what would be the battlements. The sand in this place was nearly perfect to work with.

Machi allowed a small smile to cross her lips as she regarded the boy beside her. The boy was very pale, and had the fragile look of one who had survived a horrible accident. As he had. The boy was in the backseat of the family limo when the rockslide hit it. The vehicle was sent tumbling off the mountainside, crashing onto the sparse forest below. The driver was killed instantly, but by some miracle the boy had managed to survive the initial crash. As he was extracted from the mangled remains of the limo, the rescuers were not so sure that it was a good thing he had. The boy was a mess, every bone in his body shattered; vital organs punctured, and blood escaping his body at an alarming rate. They AirVac'ed him to the nearest hospital, where it just so happened she was just about to leave, having killed a patent on the 3rd floor. His father was involved with the underground circuits, and had heard about her abilities. He had begged her to save his boy, offering her a rather good amount of money. Almost twice what she had made killing the man from before. She agreed to help, and patched the boy up in a matter of minutes. While the boy was fixed, it was obvious he would be weakened by the incident. Again, his father stopped her from leaving the building, asking her to become a bodyguard of sorts to protect and care for the boy while he was recovering. This time, the money was far more then she had been expecting. She didn't turn it down.

Hisoka patted some more sand into position at the base of his sand castle, shoring up the foundations which had threatened to crumble. Carefully, he began to carve in the doorway, which would represent a drawbridge. Head lowered in concentration, his eyes peered though the thick layer of eyelashes at the pair which were slowly making their way towards him. They were still to far away to see him, and Machi would be unable to feel his hidden aura. No clues were left. He had been very careful of that. She would not escape him this time. Obscurely, he noticed she had on a light sundress, her hair flowing unbound in the wind. It made her look different, more vulnerable. He liked it.

They had arrived on this island, which contained a small resort, and a tiny village. Insignificant, Machi could not even remember its name. Still, it was nice. A welcome change from abandoned buildings and doorways she was accustomed to. The job was easy too, although she worried about herself while doing it. She was getting soft. There were no opponents to fight here. No threats. The boy's father had done a good job. Too bad. Even this beach was void of people, except for herself and her charge. What was that in the distance? Possibly another person? Well, that made three. Probably some tourist or the village drunk sleeping off his past nights excursions.

"Machi!" called the boy, Tsukeru. He waved, trying to catch her attention. "I'm going to go collect some sea shells! I'll meet you at the Kingfisher, okay?!"

Machi sighed, really she shouldn't be leaving the boy alone like that, but honestly, what harm could he really come to? "All right…but make sure to be there in an hour, okay? That's ONE hour, not three."

Tsukeru grinned, trotting off presumably to find some of the shells strewn across the beach. Machi watched him for a moment, before flicking out a thin needle of Nen which caught of the side of his swimming trunks. She'd be able to monitor him this way at least. Sighing again Machi resumed walking, ignoring the breeze that had suddenly blown up from the sea. She decided to walk towards the person in the distance, might was well make some sort of an effort for her money. Who knows, with any luck he could be from a family rival, at least then she would be able to challenge someone.

The boy had left. Good. Hisoka was pleased; in all honesty he wasn't quite sure what Machi was doing with the child. In the past she had proved she had no bedside manner at all, and in fact seemed to dislike children. Perhaps she had changed? He hoped not. From his experience she was very short tempered, and liable to make mistakes when that temper was roused. Her annoyance, her anger, it was rare and simply delicious. Truly a fruit to be slowly savored. He wanted to taste that fruit, to trigger her emotions, to feel her fear. It was one of his greatest desires.

Machi slowly approached the man, probing carefully for the presence of a threatening aura. She couldn't feel anything. Apparently this man didn't have power over Nen at all. Either that or not very much of it. Satisfied she walked closer, examining the piece of art which was slowly evolving from beneath his large graceful hands. It was a sand castle, of all things. This fully grown man was playing in the sand like some sort of simple child. Yet, this wasn't any ordinary castle. Forgetting caution for the merest moment, she stopped just in front of it, captivated by its beauty. The man had delicately re-created some great castle from the past, complete with turrets, battlements, moat and wall defenses. It was truly amazing. Perhaps this man did have some creative Nen capability after all. But…there was something off about this castle. Instead of a fabric scrap to represent a flag, the man had carefully placed a playing card…

"Do you like what you see?" came a soft voice. A familiar voice.

Machi jerked back, but it was too late. Hisoka was already on his feet, his large hand easily encircling her throat. He had done his homework. Now she was close to helpless, her Nen drastically reduced as his aura flared to life, slowly crushing hers down as the grip on her throat tightened. Hisoka had gotten stronger. Much stronger. He smiled down at her, almost as if he could hear her thoughts. Slowly he lifted her by her throat so they were at an equal eye level, so he could read the emotion in her usually cool eyes. It never failed to excite him to see the spark set her eyes alight. This was no exception, although she was doing an admirable job of hiding her fear. Last time he had her in a position even close to this there had been nothing. Perhaps some annoyance, if he was grasping for something, but even that was faint. Not this time. She no longer was his equal. Her fear was obvious.

"I've been waiting for you," he whispered to her as she desperately attempted to remain calm. He could feel her trembling. Of course, that could also be from the lack of oxygen. She usually was not one to be afraid, no matter whom the opponent was. He planned to change that. His warm breath blew softly upon her causing her to draw back, at least as far as his hand would allow. Flinching, she felt his free hand run through her hair, down the side of her face. Bringing her face closer to his, Hisoka licked his lips. "I've been watching…"

Machi didn't want to think about it, how long Hisoka had been shadowing her. He had become so powerful that she was like a child in comparison. She has been out of practice for so long she wasn't sure if she could meet him in even battle. Her only hope would be a break in his concentration, which did not at all seem likely.

"I find you to be most intriguing Machi…opponents with even the slight ability to put up a challenge are few and far between now…even Gon and his little assassin friend are traipsing off on some mission to find his father. It would seem that I need to find a new toy to play with."

"Machi!"

A voice startled them both. Hisoka lowered Machi to her feet allowing her to breath, looking around curiously. He had been so engrossed in his new game that someone had managed to sneak up on him. The boy, Tsukeru appeared from behind the dunes. Hisoka watched as the boy picked his way down the steep slope, his arms full with shells.

"Oh," he stopped. "I didn't know you were with a friend…"

"It's alright Tsukeru. He was just going." Machi answered, as she felt Hisoka released his death grip on her throat.

Hisoka looked at the boy, his eyes narrowed and unreadable although his smile never left his face the entire time. "Ah, yes. I think we shall continue our conversation later…Machi-Chan."