Author's Note: Vote, vote, vote for this chapter and the next please. How are the dance descriptions and songs?  How's the chemistry between Hisoka and Oby? Comments and suggestions welcome. Thank you all for reading this!! xoxox

When I get to the bungalow, I spend the first hour sprucing the place up: dusting, sweeping, wiping things down, killing or chasing off bugs and other unwanted pests. The place is pretty much how I left it. Broad porch with two black comfy chairs, stone stairs, indigo walls, thatched roof, spacious floor that reminds me of the ocean, my cramped kitchen, bathroom, and luxuriously sized bed.

In my dark wood dresser, there's nothing but sundresses that I wonder if I can still fit. My breasts are about the same heavyset size they've always been since I was 16, but I've gotten a bit thicker in the waist, hips, and derriere. My body went from songbird to Amazonian in the last decade. I try them all on and am thankful they fit better than before. When I get to a beige dress that stops mid-thigh, I know it's what I'll wear on my date with Hisoka tonight. It's form fitting enough to show the outline of my curves, but loose enough to move around comfortably.

I look around the bungalow for a few minutes. It's strange to be surrounded by memories. I'm so used to some mission keeping me in the present to survive that having downtime to reflect is a privilege. Every room I walk into, I see another memory with the other game masters. Playing video games with Dwun in the living room. Uhh he always smelled like skunkweed and couldn't clean to save his life, but he was so fun to be around. Monitoring the progress of players in the game with Razor and List and betting on who would win.

I always root for the underdogs, namely women, who were typically invisible and constantly underestimated. Then the female player would help someone else to her own detriment, fall off a bridge, or get eaten. Hopefully one day I'll guess right. I remember sitting on the kitchen counter gossiping with Dee about which guys we'd date from the latest batch of players.

Then of course those walks under the stars with Ging. He always had another project in the works, some other exotic or ancient civilization he wanted to find. Always the dreamer. For a while I dreamed with him, even became a Ruins Hunter to make some of those dreams come true, but Ging is like the sky always unsettled, bright and present one day, dark and dismissive the next. Come to think of it he could be quite the narcissist, caring only about matters that had to do with his ventures. So easily bored like a child.

When he needed me for anything, he held me close as his hand. But when the task was done and he looked on to something else, I disappeared. Then I found out he had a son he abandoned and just couldn't do it anymore. Funny to think I used to love watching him walk away from my bedroom window. He moved through the grasslands like he was one of its blades. We always treated him like a her, but he could be just as much of an asshole as a villain.

Why am I standing around thinking of that fool? I have to pick up what I'm making for tonight's dinner and get ready. It's time to switch things up with my hair. I take a dread in my hands and think of what to try. Pin-up curls! It'll take a few hours for them to set so I get out my bobby pins and wrap small sections of my hair up into curls then dawn a headwrap.

I decide to make papaya chicken with coconut milk, rice n beans and plantains.

Because my kitchen's so small I cook outside  and place in it the oven inside the bungalow for when we get back. The place could use some color, so I go out back to pick wildflowers for the house and some herbs for tea later.

There's a tub in the house, but I choose to bathe in the river since it's more relaxing. I like when the silverfish nibble at my toes and how the rocks beneath me massage my flesh. There's nothing like my body inside the river's body, how alive and full it leaves me. Maybe I've just been craving touch lately and the stream is the closest thing to fingers. Yet it only makes me think of Hisoka. If he's been thinking of me since my faceoff with him and the Phantom Troupe.

Now that I've hooked him with my strength and intelligence, perhaps he'll be interested in more. I hope I intrigue him in a way that he never grows bored. I think he's someone I can be taken with, someone who can be as good as he is bad. I can't wait to find out. As I run my hands along my body, I wonder what Hisoka's touch will be like along my neck, my breasts, my thighs. Will I find out tonight?

I get back, dry off, lotion up, and get dressed. As I'm putting on makeup on I can't help but smile as we get closer to our date. I'm not used to being excited. The sun continues to shine bright outside as I Iet down my curls. With the time I have left, I decide to start a book I picked up at the bookstore while I was out today. A novel called Swamplandia! by Karen Russell. I'm a big fan of swamps, alligators, and anything to do with magical realism.

About 50 pages in, there's a knock at my door. I have to wipe the smile from my face before I open it, but Hisoka's grin is just as big as mine. "Hey," he says.

"Hey," I respond blushing.

He looks me up and down in the doorway. "Don't you look ravishing." Hisoka tucks a few of my dreads behind my ear then his arms wrap around my waist as he comes in to hug me. His nose tickles my face right before he kisses my forehead. The smell of cedarwood and grass fills my nose again. He smells so good, I want to bite his neck, but it's too early so I nuzzle him instead.

Hisoka lets out a soft moan as goosebumps break out on his neck. The sharp nails from one of his hands brushes over my ass, I feel him struggling not to squeeze it. How can we both be so horny after just a few moments of seeing each other? We have been texting throughout the week. There were a few flirty moments, but most of it was a genuine attempt to get to know each other better.

Like a godsend, I feel a bottle along my backside. I pick it up and walk towards the table with it. "What's this?"

"Just some red wine. Lambrusco."

I smile. I told him red wine and chocolate are my favorite desserts. Wonder if he's hiding chocolate somewhere on him. "Wanna have a drink before we leave?"

"Sure."

I pour us each a glass and sit on the table. Hisoka does the same. While his amber eyes are lowered I stare at him. His magician's outfit is pretty much the same, all white except for the pink stomach band and flats. The trademark star and teardrop are on his cheeks, except now they're pink and teal. His arms are out more than usual and they look more muscular than they did before. I wonder what heavylifting he's been up to.

"So how did you get this place?" he asks while looking around.

"I'm one of the game masters aka creators of Greed Island. Each of us have our own quarters."

"So you know how to win the game?"

"I haven't been here in years. A lot of quests have been revamped since I was last here. But I'm sure I could win if I wanted.

We watch a peacock cross through my front yard. "Of course. What keeps intruders out of here when you're gone?"

"There's a security barrier, a fence made of nen that makes our homes invisible and keeps people out of the perimeter. The game masters created them together. Basically, it works like the wall of nen I used to block your path when we first met." We both smile at the memory. "But I can disable it when I want, hence why you were able to get in."

"Lovely. So you're familiar with the island and participants who enter and leave?" he asks.

Ha, I can already see where this is going so let me nip it in the bud. "I don't work here anymore, so I have no idea where the nen exorcist is."

"Keep me posted if you find him."

"What's his name?"

"Abengane."

"I'll see what I can do." There's a nice pause in the conversation, a silence that doesn't feel awkward, just present and warm between us. Then I think about my conversation with Gon and Killua earlier and it makes me wonder more about Hisoka's kink. "Are you afraid of dying?"

He smiles. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you enjoy fights where lives are at risk."

"I never feel more alive than when I'm playing with death."

"But what if you don't win? What if your opponent is a better fighter?" I ask.

Hisoka traces my shoulder with his nail. "I haven't met better since I was a child. And that was only because they knew what I didn't. Now I know better."

"Doesn't mean you know best. It'd be arrogant to think otherwise. What about fighters like Netero? Kurapika? Chrollo? The Zoldyks?"

One of his arched eyebrows raises. "It's called confidence, not arrogance. I'd definitely respect an opponent who could bring me to my knees. To my knowledge, I've only met a few strong opponents, not stronger opponents. If any of them could beat me, I'd like to believe I'd greet death as an on old friend. At least I'd die doing what I love best."

I tilt my head to the side as I look at him. "What about loved ones? Wouldn't they miss you?"

"I don't think loved ones exist for people like us."

"If people like the spiders can care for each other, I'm sure you and I could fit in somewhere."

"Would you still want me if I was anyone other than the man I am?"

I brush the inside of my foot along his calf. "Who says I want you?"

Hisoka chuckles, "Well your foot just did," he runs his fingers along my cheek and his voice gets softer, "then there's your eyes," his thumb circles my partially open lips, takes in their fullness, "and your mouth." His nail presses against my teeth so I let his finger in, feel it glide along my tongue. I suck on it for a second, but when it digs in too deep, I bite it hard.

He sucks in his breath and bites his lip. When he pulls back his hand, a small drop of blood comes out. He puts his thumb in his mouth and sucks the taste of me off of it.

"And according to Killua and Gon, they're more of a man than you are."

Hisoka laughs into his drink then wipes his mouth. "How's that?"

"They'd be more willing to come to my rescue than you."

"How naïve to think the lioness needs our help."

I fight the urge to smile. He's been calling me that occasionally when we talk. Wouldn't be surprised if he saved my phone number under that nickname.

He leans closer to me. "Since I'm here and they aren't, I must still be in your good graces."

"Would you sacrifice your pleasure to help someone else?"

He stares at me, perhaps surprised by this question, but appears to genuinely consider it. "Maybe once in a great while. I've done it enough to know I'm capable of it, but it tends to be helping people to help myself."

I nod even though I'm not sure how to feel yet. But I decide to leave it there. For now it's enough for me to see that Hisoka's able to reflect on his actions, motivations, and listen to voices outside of his own. When he looks ahead, I notice the same slightly crooked angle of his nose that I saw at Heaven's Arena. I touch his cheek until he looks at me. "Are you mad at me for what I did to your nose?"

He looks down and smiles. "Of course not. It was just a love tap. The same as a kiss goodbye."

I draw an imaginary line down his chest. "How about a kiss hello?"

"I'd be delighted."

I rub the tip of his nose. "Take off your Texture Surprise."

He does so and reveals bruised and swollen flesh. I want to take his face in my hands kiss the place where I hurt him, but I don't want to smudge his makeup. The flowers I grabbed today are in a vase behind ua. I grabbed a few too many and left the extras on the table. In the past I've only tried healing myself, but I wonder if I have the ability to heal others. The condition I set for this ability is that I can only do it if I'm near elements of earth, water, fire. 

I'm not sure this going to work, but I'll never know if I don't try. Turning his head towards me, I reach a hand in the direction of the flowers laying on the table and plant my lips on the center of his nose. He giggles like I'm tickling him. I close my eyes. One moment I see the top layer of his flesh, in the next my vision grows dark and I see his muscles, ligaments, tissue, blood streaming through vessels. Everything goes black until I see his skeleton like a ghost in front of me. 

Light enters my hand and lips like a cool breeze, it travels through me to him ripening his flesh and bones back to health. Opening my eyes, Hisoka looks back at me. "I've never been kissed like that. It felt like a garden was growing on my face." When I touch my forehead to his, the smell of flowers is overwhelming. Part of me wants to stay in this moment, but it'll only lead to making love and now's not the time.

Turning to look back at the flowers' remains, I see they've become dried out husks and darkened to the color of dust. "We should leave."

*

https://youtu.be/-3JAoDWROLA

The drums are already thumping when we arrive at Penelope's. Then come the trombones, guitar, shakers, cowbells, flutes layering into the cumbia music. The women's heels glitter on the floor like rhinestones, their colorful outfits are floating flower petals that men perch on like dragonflies. Strobe lights onstage paint the musicians and singers in rainbows.

All 5'4 of Penelope shakes to the beat as she vocalizes, wearing a bejeweled top and matching shirt to flaunt herself more. She must be in her 70s now, but music lives in her blood. She won't stop performing til the day she dies. The odor of sangria and sweat makes the air thick and hot. As I look around at the sways, gyrations, birdcalls, undulations of the bodies in front of me, I remember what it is to fly.

As much as I'd like to spread my wings, I wonder if Hisoka's ready. To be honest, I brought him here to get him out of his comfort zone. To see if he'll surprise me, if not both of us. He's always so poised and unflappable, I wonder how loose he can get or if he'll reject the dance altogether. I watch him crack his neck and stretch his shoulders and back for a moment before taking my hand and walking over to the dance floor. 

While I'm wondering what's about to happen, he gets straight into it, circling his hips, one foot in front of the other, arms floating gracefully up and down. I follow suit trying not to laugh out of pure shock. We circle each other in this motion at first then pass each other in a straight line still rotating our hips.

Suddenly, his arm slides over mine and we begin a fast-paced salsa front, back, side. He spins me around him, then I spin him around me til I can't tell whose limbs are whose. I feel his hips push mine into a quick walk forward and back before he swings me into a seat on his leg. Since his ass thinks he knows so much, I spin out and spin back this time tucking one leg under Hisoka's shoulder and the other over his head on top of the same shoulder. He spins us in this position before I exit with a standing split to get back on my feet. By now there's some hooping and hollering from the crowd.

Penelope begins a call and response with the audience, " E mapale! E mapale!" telling us to do that style of dance. Can he handle all that gyration? We'll find out. It starts in my shoulders, then waist and my hips. Knees bent, on the tips of my toes, my dress pops with my body, the edges sneak up my thighs. He pops his chest at the fastest pace I've ever seen him move while swinging his arms at half the speed. 

"Don't throw your back out!" I shout at him. The entire time I've been cracking up at Hisoka's dancing, not because he's bad, but because he's unnaturally good. There's no way he studied these dances before, yet he can mirror them like he's known them all his life. For the first time ever, I see him crack the widest most genuine smile I've seen from him.

We step around each other in a kick ball change motion, our arms swing around like propellers. The crowd claps to the beat, giving us plenty of room to move around. He takes my hand and swings me in for a few more turns around each other as the music slows to a close. Hisoka dips me down so low my hair touches the ground, I can tell he's getting an eyeful of my breasts. As the music flares up one last time, he picks me up one hand on my back, the other in the crevice behind my knee. My thighs rub against his hip and our foreheads touch as his smile touches mine in a kiss.

His lips soften like water dripping from ice. Is this part of the performance or is it real? Whatever the case, I can't leave him hanging, so I kiss him back and run my fingers through his wavy crimson hair as everyone around us catcalls.

When I look back up, a small path to the front stage opens up and Penelope smiles down at me. She walks down to give me a hug and a kiss. Mic still in her hand, she introduces me. "Ladies and gentlemen, I haven't seen this gorgeous woman since she was a skinny little girl who spent more time against the wall than on the dance floor. She's really grown up hasn't she?"

Another round of applause as I feel all eyes on me, whistling as they take in my curves. It's happened too much for me to be embarrassed about, but I did want to lay low tonight.

"Everybody, please welcome back our mesmerizing work of art, Oby Nwaike."

Jeez, Nel really laid it on thick. That must mean she wants me to dance and show off my "art". I take a bow and kiss her hand as the crowd closes in again.

"Come see me at the bar in a few minutes," Nel whispers in my ear. I look at her and nod. Before walking away, she raises her hands to her mouth and blows kisses to Hisoka. He graciously bows, hands in a prayer pose by his mouth.

https://youtu.be/Fh4XsyQh6JA

The music slows down a bit and he holds out his hand for mine, which I gladly give. A young woman with a black wavy mane comes on stage and sings a kizomba song. The beat is slow and sweet. Hisoka puts his hand on my waist to lead and I put mine on his shoulder to follow. Our other hands are clasped together. This dance is definitely more romantic; it involves our bodies being pressed tight, pelvis to pelvis. I follow his hip sways, if he goes right I go left, if he goes front I go back. Occasionally he lifts one of my feet with his for a crisscross toe tap as we stand side by side.

My focus is in front of me, but Hisoka lifts my chin so I look at him. His golden eyes are shinier as he gives me hungry look. There's always a licentious look about him, one that's ready for anything, but the way he's looking at me now it's like the cat that ate the canary. It's muggy between us. There's sweat on his arms and between my thighs. It doesn't help that he sporadically brings his knee up to guide my pelvis in the direction he wants me to go. My sex begins to twitch after a few moments so I look away. I'm not ready to give into him yet.

Seriously, who taught this motherfucker to dance? His motions are too perfect. It's like he can mirror my movements or predict the choreography. I wonder if this is what helps him fight so well.

The music fades and his nails glide over my hips and ass. Hmm, his touches are getting bolder. As if on cue, a few women approach us, clamoring over me. I realize they're some party girls I used to hang out with. I try to introduce Hisoka, but they have no interest in him. They want to have a dance battle. From what I remember, they probably just want to have a twerk contest to attract some guys and they only want me because I tend to be the star of the show. I wonder if I'm ready to show out in front of Hisoka that way. Before I have a chance to look back at him, he pushes me toward the women just as soca music comes on. Guess I'm doing this.

Everybody's losing their damn mind over us. Arch in my back, hands on my knees, tongue out, smile on my face, I'm glad not all my carnival dance days are behind me. I've really missed this. I do all the basic moves: tick-tock with my hips, side to side, all around, taking it down to my heels, stretch over each of my legs, thunderclap, sweeping the floor, weave my knees in and out, cock my legs up, walking it out, some jumps...I forgot how much cardio this is. The ladies and I lean on each other sporadically performing some of the moves together, dancing around each other. Focusing on them is a good distraction from the burn that lingers in my thighs and glutes. But the burn means I'm doing it right.

I look back at Hisoka a few times. Leaning against the wall, he holds my shoes over one shoulder while he stares greedily at me licking his lips. In the few moments we see each other, he eye fucks the shit out of me like he's gonna tear my ass up when we get home. Ha, we'll see about that. Sweat builds on my lower back. I have the time of my life, but I'm grateful when the song's over. There are wolf whistles and applause galore when we finish. I'm not ready to enter the lion's mouth that is Hisoka right now, so I travel over to the bar to check in with Nel.

She pours me a glass of water and hands me a towel. "Killed it and took no prisoners as usual. That young man will definitely have his hands full with you."

"Who wouldn't?" I say before taking a sip and wiping my forehead. When I look up, I see some girls trying to talk to Hisoka. Arms crossed, my shoes still dangling from one of his fingers, he's smiles and looks down as they draw nearer. One girl's so bold she touches his shoulder and leans up against the wall with him. They smile and play with their hair, likely flattering him about how well he danced earlier. Short shorts, cut off tees, too much makeup, one of the them has nipple rings showing beneath her leotard. 

I almost feel bad for how young and desperate they are. I laugh at how disinterested he seems. Hope he at least keeps it polite. Obviously I'm not concerned because I'm grown and they're girls. Fan girls at that. I'd be surprised if one of them was even 20 yet. Besides, you know what I'm sitting on. Would you stop at a food truck if you had a slow-cooked pot roast waiting for you at home?

"They gotta start somewhere. He is handsome...in a scary sort of way," Nel says looking at the girls.

"Hopefully he flirts a little and lets them down easy," I say.

We chuckle at this as I look around the club. "Glad to see things are going well."

"You know I'm not going anywhere. And the freaks have to have somewhere to go at night. So what have you been up to?"

"Just hunting."

"With Ging?"

I smirk. She wouldn't be herself if she wasn't a little nosy. "Does that look like Ging over there?"

She holds her hands by her face. "My mistake. So who are you on the hunt for now?"

"A poacher named Mattheo. Heard of him?"

"No, but a few guys came in the other night talking about wambaris and trying to track them through the forest. They all had tattoos of 3 joined triangles on their wrists." She shrugs, "They might be connected to who you're looking for."

I nod, trying to remember the wambari. The last time I was on the island, I think I only saw a handful of them. They had bodies similar to a jaguar's and the head of an eagle with talons for feet. Back then they weren't that big and relatively easy to catch...I wonder if things have changed. I never came across anyone with that tattoo before. Wonder what it could mean. "Thanks for the tip."

We catch up for a little while longer before she asks the inevitable question. "Can you do one more dance for me before you leave? Something romantic. A solo."

Not even surprised. "It's the least I can do."

Nel points toward a mousy faced girl on the corner of the stage with a guitar as big as she is in her lap. "Go ask Natasha to do your music. And," she grabs my hand as squeezes it, "try not to stay away for so long again."

I pick up her hand and rub it against my cheek. "Of course."

https://youtu.be/5X1e6VEPiD8

I walk up to the stage and talk to Natasha. She suggests a rendition of "He Loves Me", which is perfect. Nel sends someone to do a quick sweep up of the floor before I perform. I go to the mic to get everybody's attention. "Before I get out of here, there's one last dance I'd like to do, dedicated to my date tonight."

Hisoka's eyes raise to me and I know that for the next few minutes, I'll be the only one he sees. After moving the mic out of the way, the other musicians get off stage, and I get ready. The lights dim to an ocean blue. Natasha gently thrums her guitar. Since this is a freestyle, I let each note pluck my limbs like the strings. She has the voice of a songbird, earthy and sensual. The feathers of each word rain down on me.

You love me especially different every time

You keep me on my feet happily excited

By your cologne, your hands, your smile, your intelligence

I can't help but think about the possibility of us as I feel the guitar, the song, Hisoka's eyes. This moment feels like making love without the flesh, pure passion riding the air. I'm flying and so is he. I want to fall asleep and wake up next to his bad and his good, the things that make him a question, a throwaway to rest the world. I want to continue to discover why I find him so beautiful like the wrinkles in my hand and why he's hard to let go of. 

I have no interest in changing him because I know better. But since the world we live in is always on fire, maybe we can save each other when the other burns sometimes. I want to know his heart, what beats beneath the darkness and death. And I want to know if he feels the same way about me.

You woo me, you court me, you tease me, you please me

You school me, give me some things to think about

Ignite me, you invite me, you co-write me, you love me, you like me

My limbs feel like they continue to grow as I dance, my toes feel like air as I spin them into an arabesque. Eyes closed, I backbend, feeling his finger trace down my chest even though he isn't there. I create angles with my feet and legs after I slide into a split. I think about all the things I could learn from him. But more importantly what he could learn from me... I don't know, but my curiosity excites me. 

I pull myself back using my core into a turnout position and put my hands around my face like a veil. I glide across the floor and slip into a lunge on my last step and open my arms like a breath before slowly raising them. My arms and legs pull together for a double pirouette and brush down my sides of my legs as the music comes to a close.

I barely hear the applause as I snap back into real time. The last few minutes felt like a trance. Natasha comes over to hug me before I leave the stage. I barely take a handful of steps before I run into Hisoka waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. He swiftly leans next to me and whispers, "Let's get out of here."