Author's Note: I'm baaaaaack... Warning, dubious-consent kissing up ahead and other power-play weirdness. Though I'm not ever sure whether it's dubcon or enthusiasticon when Hisoka's concerned. I know I'm pretty enthusiastic. But enough about me. Onto the story...
"Come again?"
"We're headed to Kukuroo Mountain," answered the jester smoothly, stepping blithely around Ayako into the bathroom. He stood for a moment in front of the mirror, pursing his lips at himself, then took a couple of makeup pencils out of a well-hidden back pocket.
A tense silence reigned for a moment, as Ayako digested the information and Hisoka examined his perfect skin to see if there were any flaws (there weren't). Despite his unconcerned affectations, Hisoka was very much amused by Ayako's facial expression.
"Keep your mouth open much longer like that and I'll have to interpret that as an invitation," remarked Hisoka, seemingly preoccupied with his makeup application.
Ayako snapped her mouth shut. What a pervert! she groused. "You must be joking."
"I'm an illusionist, not a comedian," responded Hisoka with a haughty tone as he traced a star onto his cheek with precision. "That is our next destination. I've already purchased our tickets for the airship."
"Well, I've already been there." Ayako protested. "The Zoldycks refused to help me already."
"Illumi will join our efforts."
"What? How did you get Illumi to agree to it?" Ayako asked, curious in spite of herself.
"Oh, I have my ways," purred Hisoka, sounding utterly pleased with himself as he finished adorning his cheeks.
"Well, I don't care how skilled he is!" insisted Ayako with arms crossed. Seeing the magician's amused look, she scowled. "I don't want to work with him!"
"Why not, hm?" leered Hisoka.
Ayako met Hisoka's eyes with a fierce, fiery stare that sent all the blood in his body rushing to a certain location. They stared at each other in unblinking silence for a moment before Ayako broke the gaze, looking away as a rosy flush stained her cheeks. "You don't understand."
"Oh, don't I?" responded the jester mockingly. "You were the one who dared me to call him. So, I called your bluff."
Ayako had the pained, despairing look of an injured animal in the crosshairs of an expert archer. "What did he say?"
"He told me everything, Miss Ryoka." responded the jester, still examining himself in the mirror. "Really," he chided, "With all your blushing denials, I didn't take you for a woman with such dishonorable intentions."
Flustered, Ayako covered her face with her hands and groaned. Hisoka gave a wicked grin. "Did I ever tell you how adorable you look when you're vulnerable?"
"You're such a jackass, you know that?" Ayako fumed. "I just want to slap that smirk right off your face."
Within a second, Hisoka stood in front of her, his face so close to hers that Ayako stumbled back into the door. "Ohhh, my little peach," he whispered seductively. "I do wish you would try."
Before Ayako could react, the devilish jester had repositioned himself in front of the mirror to continue his preening. "Miss Ryoka, are you quite done packing yet? I would like to leave within the next few minutes."
Ayako's hands clenched in anger. How, how dare he act this way towards her! "I've had enough, Hisoka-san."
"Oh, now you're using honorifics?" drawled Hisoka. "Am I in trouble?" He put his pencils into his back pocket and checked his appearance one last time. Finally satisfied, he stood facing Ayako with his arms akimbo. Ayako, furious, looked away with arms folded and an attractive blush on her cheeks.
"What have I done?" Hisoka asked placatingly.
Ayako didn't answer for a minute, but when she did, her tone was hard. "Listen, I appreciate that you agreed to help me with Ako, but this needs to stop!"
"What needs to stop, Miss Ryoka?" Hisoka's amusement was quickly fading.
"Your mental games and your physical intimidation!"
Hisoka rolled his eyes in response.
Ayako raised a finger to start listing. "You used your Nen to bind my ankle to the door-"
"That was to ensure your safety while I was gone," Hisoka interrupted.
"Yeah, well so much for ensuring my safety! You threatened to physically assault me!"
"To spank you," Hisoka corrected, finger raised. "There's a difference."
"No, that's physical assault!" argued Ayako.
"Doesn't fit in my definition of physical assault." Hisoka shrugged, advancing with intent towards the woman. "I could show you the difference, if you like."
"What I'm saying is, you-..." Ayako shrank back into the door, alarmed at the sudden shift in the jester's mood. "...You have no concept of personal boundaries nor common decency!"
"I don't?" Hisoka gave a predatory smile, speaking softly as he closed the distance between himself and Ayako. "I think I have been very decent to you, Ayako-chan. You, however, have been trying my patience."
"Me?!" Ayako was outraged. "How dare you!"
"That's just it, Miss Ryoka. I do dare. And what's more, I think you like it." Hisoka strode quickly to her, grabbing her wrists and easily pinning them to the door above her head with one hand. Ayako yelped with a mixture of surprise and fury, struggling as hard as she could to free her hands from his vicelike grip, but to no avail. The magician merely stood above her, watching her intently, calculating, without making a sound. Panting both from adrenaline and from the physical exertion, Ayako slumped, defeated.
Satisfied, Hisoka continued. "I've shown you nothing but kindness and consideration, you know. I let you sleep in my bed, bought you breakfast, took care of your head injury, got your clothes laundered, agreed to help you find your brother, purchased your airfare. And what have you done, hm? You've stalked me, wasted my time, charged multiple meals and expensive bottles of wine to my room, assaulted me in my sleep, and now you tell me how I should be acting? I'm lenient about a lot of things, Miss Ryoka, but you won't get to order me around."
Shamed by the laundry list of her wrongdoings, Ayako looked away. "I told you, Hisoka, I wasn't trying to kiss you in your sleep. There was something wrong..."
But Hisoka had seen her weakness and seized on the opportunity. "You act all coy and bashful, but you throw yourself at Illumi Zoldyck," sneered the jester. "Then I wake up and you're kissing me, but you deny your interest... It's like you're trying to drive me crazy."
"Hisoka, no, it's not like that. I-"
"Shut up," ordered the man.
Ayako looked up at him, dumbfounded. "Excuse me?"
"Why are you denying what you so clearly want? Your body's saying a different story entirely."
"My body wants you to let me GO, you crazy bastard!" Ayako renewed her struggles with fervor. Hisoka enjoyed the flushed fear on her face, the tiny beads of sweat appearing on her collarbone. "This arrangement is DONE, Hisoka! I'm done. Now let me go and I'll be gone."
"Just when I'm starting to have fun?" He pouted for a moment, then shook his head decisively. "No, I gave you my word, and we are going to see this through to the end. But we're going to do it on my terms."
Instinctually, she raised her knee swiftly to injure Hisoka in a place that would be painful for any grown man. A low, animalistic growl came from the man's throat as he transfixed her with his golden eyes. Ayako stopped speaking as Hisoka grabbed her face roughly with the other hand and kissed her aggressively, his tongue ravaging her mouth. Overwhelmed by the sudden force, she feebly attempted to pull away but his hand held her fast in place. Infuriated by her helplessness, she bit down on the man's tongue until she could taste copper.
At this, Hisoka finally pulled back, transfixing the petite, wild-eyed woman with his golden eyes. A small crimson rivulet of blood trailed from his mouth, striking contrast against his pale skin. Slowly, thoughtfully, he raised a hand to Ayako's mouth, delicately rubbing off the blood smeared around her lips. His gaze appeared almost fond.
"Miss Ryoka, you are just so..." Hisoka sighed with pleasure, "entertaining."
Ayako's throat constricted with fear, both at his words and his appearance. "I'm not some plaything to entertain you!" she choked out, eyes shining with unshed tears. Hisoka's eyes glittered with a dark, dangerous amusement.
"You're quite right, Ayako-chan," he spoke softly, his tone mollifying. "I have a proposition for you." Ayako opened her mouth to protest, and he shushed her instantly by placing a bloody finger on her lips.
"Now, you're going to be quiet, girl, and you're going to listen to me. Or else I'm going to have a hard time staying in control of myself, and there will be consequences for you that you're not going to like."
"You can't speak to me like this. You don't own me," Ayako's eyes spit fire and hatred.
"Don't I?" spoke the jester softly, with a steely determination. "I accepted your ridiculous offer to put my life on the line to save your brother; you truly thought you could buy a Hunter as powerful as me with some old gum?" He chuckled to himself at the thought. "If Ako truly has been kidnapped by the mafia, which I sounds more than likely by your description, we'll need to partner with someone with questionable ethics and more resources than what I currently have access to. So I called upon Illumi Zoldyck. Now, you tried to enchant Illumi Zoldyck by offering yourself to him. Your mistake: money only speaks to that one. Whereas I..." Hisoka leered at the frightened woman. "...I am starting to see the value in what you offer."
Ayako took on a pleading tone. "Hisoka, what about the gum? I thought we had agreed-
Hisoka interrupted her. "I may have agreed to help you on those terms, but by no means does that cover my own costs."
"What are you talking about, Hisoka?" Ayako couldn't hide the nervousness in her voice.
"I offered Illumi a blank check to cover the costs of locating your brother. He accepted."
Ayako stammered. "But, His-hisoka-san... there's no need to do that. Can't we figure out some other way?"
"Miss Ryoka, you are in no position to negotiate. You are quite indebted to me; not only for offering to save your brother, but for the extreme sum of money I am prepared to part with in order to find him. Or am I wrong in believing you would do anything to save your brother?"
Ayako hung her head in shame. "What would you have me do?" she asked, utterly defeated.
"You will serve me, obey me in any and all matters until I deem you have repaid your debt to me. In the meantime, I will cover all costs of your room and board."
Ayako looked up at him in shock. "...any and all matters?" she asked, in a tiny voice.
"I will ask nothing unfair of you," reassured Hisoka, although he was certain his interpretation of unfair was quite different from Ayako's.
"What if I think something is unfair?"
"You have a right to refuse," Hisoka answered.
"And if I do?"
"Then I will decide a just and fitting consequence at that time."
Ayako had a sudden panicking thought. "But what about my leave of absence?"
"Your what?" asked Hisoka, genuinely confused.
"I'm going to medical school. I took a leave of absence to find my brother. Would I be able to go back to school?"
"Ah, I see." Hisoka filed that useful information for later. "We can discuss that at a later time." Inwardly he triumphed at her silent acceptance of the situation.
Ayako held her head, struggling to absorb all the changes that had happened over the past few minutes.
"Relax, Ayako-chan," whispered Hisoka seductively, "I don't believe you have any choice in the matter anymore." He paused, then kissed the shaking Ayako on the forehead and went back to the mirror to wipe the blood from his face. When he next spoke, his tone brooked no argument.
"Ayako-chan, get yourself ready and presentable in the next two minutes. Bags packed and all. I refuse to be late for this airship."
Author's Note: Well, Leorio did warn her not to get involved with the crazy jester.
Side note: Thank you all for so patiently waiting and encouraging me to update this story... hope you still like it! I'm a little rusty with the writing again.