Hisoka Got Played

"Oh, Little Illumi, you finally decided to—"

A young boy in a clown costume stood outside, grinning.

His hair was orange-red, and his eyes were a shade of golden.

A five-pointed star and a teardrop were painted symmetrically on his cheeks.

They looked like stickers a mischievous child had put on.

His cheeks were plump and adorable, still rounded with baby fat.

The boy grinned, but the moment he saw who had opened the door, he froze.

He even forgot to close his mouth, staring blankly at the white-haired boy before him.

The brat he'd taken an interest in definitely hadn't looked like this.

White hair and red eyes.

There was a perfectly measured smile on his face, too.

Unlike Illumi, who liked wearing tight-fitting athletic clothes, Coleman preferred loose, casual outfits when the occasion didn't call for a suit.

And now, in the middle of summer, Coleman was dressed even more casually.

Gray sweatpants and a dark blue hoodie.

Though it was summer, the kid seemed unbothered by the heat, bundled up from head to toe.

Though he did have a popsicle in his mouth.

The boy outside looked puzzled. Without any attempt at tact, he asked, "Aren't you hot?"

Completely forgetting why he'd come, Hisoka just wanted to know whether this kid wasn't hot.

Especially since the little brat was even shorter than him.

Hisoka looked down at him.

He wasn't on guard at all.

With his mouth full, Coleman spoke indistinctly.

"It's not too bad. The sun makes you hotter, doesn't it?"

Really?

Hisoka, who had deliberately cut the sleeves off his clown costume, couldn't understand why Coleman was all bundled up.

Just as he couldn't understand why Illumi dressed so warmly.

But at least Illumi wore short sleeves.

"So, have you seen someone who looks like you, except with different hair and eye colors... um..."

As he looked Coleman over and tried to describe the person, Hisoka suddenly realized that this kid looked exactly like the Illumi he'd set his sights on.

The only difference was that this one had light in his eyes.

Illumi's eyes were like black holes, like a doll's.

At Hisoka's question, Coleman stepped aside, revealing Illumi, who was busy working his way through the snacks.

"Hey, is that him?"

Coleman tossed the stick from his finished popsicle into the trash can without a care. It landed right in.

"Oh! That's him!"

Hisoka was thrilled to see Illumi. He'd finally found him again!

It had only taken three hours this time, but finding him had still been quite a struggle!

Hisoka, who'd successfully tracked Illumi down thirty-two times, sighed inwardly.

If only the little guy would just fight me fair and square.

He was about to skip over to Illumi when the kid in the doorway unexpectedly blocked his way.

Hisoka tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, slowly shifting his gaze to Coleman.

A dense web of fine threads around the doorway glimmered faintly in the sunlight.

It seemed to warn visitors away, or perhaps silently lay a trap.

One more step forward, and Hisoka could be torn to pieces.

Hisoka raised an eyebrow and smiled. Very nice. This was an interesting kid, too.

Bending down without taking his eyes off the threads, he gave a strange smile and put his hand on Coleman's head.

"Hey, brat, don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong~"

Licking his lips, Hisoka smiled maliciously.

Coleman didn't react at all. He only said, slowly, "You can't go any farther. Big brother doesn't like you."

"Oh~ So Little Illumi's your big brother~"

With all those drawn-out little tildes, Coleman could tell this one wasn't right in the head either.

Tsk. Couldn't he make friends with someone normal for once?

He glanced discreetly at his big brother, who was still eating snacks and completely ignoring him.

Coleman felt a pang of disdain.

Why was his taste in friends so bad?

He couldn't just let his little brother choose everyone he was interested in.

Besides, Coleman was an omnivore when it came to friends. If they were all the same type, he'd get bored.

How to put it? Like someone who kept pets. They might not collect every kind of animal like stamps.

But they shouldn't keep only border collies, either.

Those dogs were clever. If you didn't raise them right, you might not know which of you was the pet!

While Coleman was "complaining," Hisoka suddenly pulled out a playing card.

He deftly flipped it between his fingers, then—

Hisoka flicked the card with all his strength.

In an instant, the threads snapped.

The dense web was now in tatters.

The spider's web had been destroyed.

Coleman raised an intrigued eyebrow at the sight.

Oh, a playing card.

He'd found the main thread controlling the entire web in such a short time.

Not bad.

Coleman's eyes lit up, and he smiled.

The next moment, he swiftly worked the threads, moving so fast that he was almost nothing but a blur.

Three or four seconds later, a brand-new web appeared in front of Hisoka, completely different from the one before.

Hisoka only felt more excited.

This kid was a fine fruit, too.

It was only a matter of time before he ripened~

At the thought, Hisoka felt his blood begin to boil, and his eyes gleamed with a fierce light.

His killing intent spilled out of his control. The more he looked at Coleman, the more pleased he became.

No, not now. He couldn't "eat" him yet.

Unripe fruit wasn't really to his taste.

Hisoka's pupils darted about as he seemed to sink into madness.

But Coleman knew this state well.

It was the prelude to a killing spree.

This man was holding himself back.

Coleman smiled helplessly.

Great. This was a lunatic completely unlike him.

Tsk. Big brother, honestly.

Why did he always attract lunatics like this?

He was better off. Most of his friends were information brokers.

Of course, Ku'er Ya didn't count.

That guy was a horny old letch!

Though Coleman himself clearly had a knack for attracting the same sort, he denied it outright and tried to pin all the lunatics he'd encountered lately on his big brother.

Feeling the killing intent grow heavier, Coleman snapped out of his thoughts.

His brows knitted together. He was getting annoyed.

For an instant, his red eyes seemed to narrow into slits.

Like a giant serpent provoked into anger,

he hissed and let his killing intent pour out.

Hisoka only grew even more excited.

This was the second person who'd dared to clash with him in killing intent!

"Coleman!"

Illumi, whose reactions were a little slow, finally sensed that something was wrong.

Why had his adopted little brother opened the door and still not come back after all this time?

And why hadn't that perverted clown come over to pester him with questions yet?

He stopped wrestling with his snacks and looked up, only to see the two little lunatics pouring out killing intent as if it cost them nothing.

If this went on, they'd attract the building manager.

Then he called out to stop Coleman and tossed a thumbtack he'd picked up along the way.

"Clang!"

The thumbtack shot straight toward Hisoka's vital spot.

He dodged, of course, and it ended up sticking firmly into the doorframe.

At the sound, the two brothers looked at the hole in the door.

They turned to look at each other, as though they'd reached an understanding.

"Hisoka/Freak, you're paying the fine."