Trials and Tribulations - A Kurapika x FEM!O.C. Fanfiction (HUNTER X HUNTER)

21. For x The x Weak

They looked at my hand for a moment before putting up their finger and writing another note.
" sorry, i do not shake hands i do not like to be touched." My eyes widened as I realized my mistake. I took back my hand.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to offend you. I guess an oral comprise will suffice?" They cocked their head and stared at me before making a noise like an 'mhm' I smiled again and scratched the back of my neck. We sat in silence and ate for a couple of minutes before I finally remembered something to talk about.
"Wait... I just realized. Weren't you the person who was going to fight Hisoka but tossed the match the moment you entered the arena?" I asked, furrowing my brow as I remembered. They wrote their response and slid it to me, a little cockyness in their aura.
"yes. you the girl who got her ass kicked by that clown?" My face turned red as I looked away, crossing my arms.
"Hey! A lot of people get their asses kicked by Hisoka... at least I fought him! Why did you toss the match before it began anyway?" I asked, turning from defensive to curious. They held their finger up and wrote something down quickly before sliding it to me.
" i want to fight. not die." As soon as I finished reading a smile came to my face and I laughed slightly. Mitsuki was funny.. they looked at me strangely but almost as if they appreciated it. I smiled at them.
"Good idea... I really need to stop fighting people out of my league. So.. why'd you buy me dinner? Why'd you feel bad for me? No offense but you don't exactly seem like the pitying type." I said before taking another bite from my dinner. Mitsuki finished the bite of ice cream they had eaten before holding a finger up and replying.
"I was intrigued and impressed by the fact you got up and continued fighting me even after I had broken your leg. it was impressive you were determined and I felt bad for putting you out of the fight for a while." I bit my lip and looked away before reading the last sentence, "most people do not get up after i break their leg," I smiled and rubbed the back of my neck.
"Thank you. That honestly makes me feel better... You're pretty cool Mitsuki! I think your friends are really lucky to have you," I said, giving them the most genuine smile as I read their aura. That's when I realized I said something wrong again. Dang, it. They put their finger up.
" i do not have friends." They thought for a moment before starting to write again. "but thank you." I was embarrassed as I stared at my food. I thought for a moment before deciding on a response.
"If you want, I could be your friend..." I said quietly, surprisingly nervous. Suddenly they dropped their spoon and stopped what they were doing. I saw their eyes widen ever so slightly. Even with Third Eye, I couldn't read what they were thinking. Had I messed up again? After a moment they put their finger up.
" i would like that.. but can you be friends with someone who cannot speak? i do not think it would be easy," I looked back up at them and smiled warmly.
"Of course! I don't care if it's easy or hard. I like you. I think you're cool! I'm willing to put in the effort to know you, Mitsuki."
At the time I couldn't tell but they smiled... Just ever so slightly that only a close friend would notice. I would become well acquainted with that smile one day, all because I decided to go to dinner with Mitsuki.

The next day I sat in my room as Mitsuki explained everything I did wrong in our battle. It almost felt like they were trying to make my every move look stupid as hell. To show me my mistakes they had brought a whiteboard that they used as a model. I listened to the squeak of the marker as they wrote,
" you should never throw the first punch. unless you are able to catch them by surprise, you should always start counter-attacking. attacking first leaves you open, especially to an opponent who is significantly stronger than you." I groaned and leaned my head back.
"I know that much already! I need to know how I can close my openings!" I exclaimed as I heard a knock at the door. I perked up and got up, walking to the door since I'd been able to use nen to quicken my healing so I could now walk on my leg. I opened the door to see Gon and Killua standing there expectantly.
"Hey! Come on in," I said, ushering the boys in. They both paused when they saw Mitsuki.
Suddenly Killua jumped up, sharpening his nails as he lept at Mitsuki. They put up their arms in self-defense and moved so his attack would only graze their arms instead of severing them.
"Killua!" I gasped, using my nen vines to grab the boy and pull him back. He fought my Tether vine and looked at me in utter confusion.
"Akasuki! There's an assassin in your room! Let me go!" Killua exclaimed, hacking at my nen. I grabbed the back of Killuas collar and pulled him back to me, slapping him upside the head.
"Assassin? This is my friend, Mitsuki." I explained, standing in between the boys and Mitsuki. Were they really an assassin? I looked back to see Mitsuki hold up a card that said,
"you are one to talk about assassins, zoldyck." My eyes widened. Did they know each other?
"Both of you calm down. Mitsuki's my friend, they aren't going to hurt me, alright?" I said, wishing I had a nen ability to make the two assassins calm the fuck down.
"Didn't they break your leg?" Gon asked.
"And your ribs?" My face flushed red.
"Well, yeah! But that was like two weeks ago and we're good now!" I tried to explain, stammering, and holding my hands out in self-defense.
"They're an assassin, Akasuki!" Killua exclaimed. I bit my lip. They were?
" so are you??? " Mitsuki responded, furrowing their eyebrows as they pointed at the card.
"Yeah but I haven't killed anyone in three months!" Killua defended. Gon was looking at him in total confusion as I desired to break the tension between the two.
" yeah and? i have not killed anyone in two weeks. and i have not killed anyone for a job in six months." I rubbed my eyes and sighed.
"Look, we get it, okay? You're both strong and you've both changed. Can we let it rest now? Just as it's safe for us to be around Killua, it's safe for us to be around Mitsuki. Right, Gon?" I looked toward him, my eyes begging for help. He seemed startled as if he had zoned out beforehand.
"Yeah! Let's just all be friends!" Gon exclaimed, smiling as he placed a hand on Killuas shoulder.
"Fine." I heard Killua grumble as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, trying to hide the blush on his face. I sighed and scratched the back of my head.
"Now that that's over... Gon, do you have a plan for when you fight Hisoka?" I asked, taking a seat on the couch. His face flushed red as he scratched the back of his neck.
"About that... I was actually coming over to talk about that. Do you think you can help?" I smiled and nodded.
"Yeah kiddo. Mitsuki, want to help?"
" did you say hisoka? " I nodded and watched them write their response in scratchy handwriting.
" if you want to die i can kill you right now" My eyes widened as I put my hands up, reassuring them that Gon didn't want to die and that Hisoka probably wouldn't kill him before I asked again if they wanted to help. They shrugged and leaned against the wall passively. It didn't seem like they necessarily wanted to, they just didn't have anything better to do. We spent the next couple of hours talking strategy and advising Gon and Killua on ways they could improve their training. Before Gon left I enveloped him in a hug. Tomorrow would be his match with Hisoka...
"Good luck kiddo! Remember what we talked about, alright?" I said, ruffling his hair. He nodded.
"I will! Thank you so much! Both of you!" Then before I knew it the boys were gone and only Mitsuki and I remained. They looked at me with those piercing yellow eyes. Then they held up a finger.
" why are you two so intent on dying? " I laughed slightly and bit my lip. I shrugged.
"Gon needs to fight him. For his honor. I wouldn't have let him if I knew Hisoka wouldn't kill him." I explained, staring into the night sky before turning back to Mitsuki.
" you are so stupid. " I smiled.
"I know."