[Silly, Minato. But it's okay. Cards are curious like that. People can read them how they want, can pull meaning from them however they'd like to fit their lives.]
That's simple.
[Minato can have the King of Hearts. Hisoka's hand balls into a fist afterward, and then two fingers pop up from the palm, holding a card. He flips it around. It's the Joker card Minato may remember from before.]
[ It's the wildcard that Hisoka took back... It's weird, when Minato isn't the wildcard in the equation, but instead the King to somebody else's social link. He takes hold of the King of Hearts, and holds it tight in his hand to he doesn't lose it. ]
Wildcard's what I was called back home. Something like that, anyways. It feels like I'm always drawn to others like that.
[He brushes the top edge of the card down along Minato's face almost teasingly, and then he holds it out for Minato to take. He can keep the Joker card, too, since it was given to him before and taken away.]
lets go of Minato's hand. Though it's more as if he pulls his hand away from Minato's on his own volition. The vines holding Minato's legs unravel and whisk away back toward the jut of the cliff. Minato starts falling faster than Hisoka.
Goodbye.
Down below, across the expanse, vines hastily begin puzzle piecing together, overlapping and cross-hatching until there's a sturdy blanket ten feet wide all the way around. It makes for a springy thing when Minato bounces into it.
Hisoka, of course, comes easing down like a spider by the vines around his legs.]
His eyes widen in surprise when he finds himself falling again, vines pulling away and leaving him free to twist himself around and try to get a sense of how much time he has before he goes splat.
It's enough time, apparently, because instead of reaching out for the cliff side, Minato has both arms out palms pointed at the wall of rock and crackling red and gold before he sees the movement below him.
He could either save himself, or he can trust this... But there's not enough time to think; his back hits the web of vines and he bounces up, letting his hands discharge and blasting the vines apart with fire. Mm, bad. He hopes he's not too far above the ground. ]
The vine burn and wither away, and Minato drops through, but two more vines split hastily off the ones around Hisoka's legs. They shoot down through the debris and latch around Minato's ankle.
And, slowly, wind the boy back up to Hisoka, upside down. Hisoka clicks his tongue. They're kind of high above the ground still.]
You haven't become ripe enough yet to die so easily.
[ IT WAS A GOOD IDEA ON PAPER whatever it was that Minato was trying to do, but the execution was botched and he finds himself dangling by the ankle instead of having his brains splattered all over the ground. ]
[He gives Minato's face a little pat-pat with his hand, and then they slowly start to wind back up the cliffside together. Slow and steady wins the race.]
Akane might not be very happy if you're dead, you know.
[ Less than 24 hours later, Minato gets in a car accident and has a concussion. ]
Yeah... People have been saying that. How they'd be upset if I died. Something like this... I probably would be do. Would rather die fighting or something.
[ He can think of a better way to die- ideally, in his sleep, no struggle no mess. But to die testing his strength against somebody else...
He looks thoughtful for a moment, then looks up at Hisoka. ]
If there were somebody known to be impossible to beat, would you still test your strength against them? Knowing if you do, you and everybody with you are going to die.
I wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, I'm doing that right now at home. You see, there's a man I want to fight. I know it's going to be magnificent when we do. He's the leader of a group of thieves, and he's very strong.
I wouldn't be so sure. Nen is your life energy. There could be a way to manipulate it enough to make you immortal. [Like, uh, fighting this guy and getting your ass kicked, but coming back because you wrapped your organs in Bungee Gum and restarted everything.
Baby steps.] A work in progress. [He tilts his head even if it's upside down.]
If someone was immortal, I would want to see if they really were. So I would fight them, too.
[ What the fuck does that mean, Anna, wrapping your organs in Bungee Gum and restarting everything. Is the secret to keeping Minato alive just having him eat this piece of gum he stuck in his bag and immediately forgot about. ]
...I guess that makes sense. If my team were here, I wouldn't be able to die either. Samarecarm. But that won't work if we all die all at once. Makes things difficult.
At the top of the cliff, the vines fling them up, unravel, but then retwine around their shoulders to gently place them back on the ground. Feels a little weird after being upside down and falling so much.]
Sometimes, you can only get the payout when you work together.
[ It definitely feels weird, and the first thing Minato does when he gets back up is to sit down on the ground, legs dangling over the edge and kicking slightly. ]
Yeah... I'm used to being alone, but I also miss having a team. You're always around by yourself... Do you want to team up sometime? We can double-team Lea in poker.
[ Shy people like just one or two friends sometimes!!! Minato's sort of like that. He enjoys the company of his dog and... well, that's mostly it, but he loves his dog.
He lifts his hand, holds his pinky out. It's a pinky promise. ]
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That's simple.
[Minato can have the King of Hearts. Hisoka's hand balls into a fist afterward, and then two fingers pop up from the palm, holding a card. He flips it around. It's the Joker card Minato may remember from before.]
I'm the wildcard.
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Wildcard's what I was called back home. Something like that, anyways. It feels like I'm always drawn to others like that.
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[He brushes the top edge of the card down along Minato's face almost teasingly, and then he holds it out for Minato to take. He can keep the Joker card, too, since it was given to him before and taken away.]
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Thanks. I still need to learn about magic tricks... I'll have a full deck at this rate, though. Has Lea asked you yet?
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Lune gave me these when I asked. [So ask Lune, little buddy.] Hmm? Has he asked me what...?
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To borrow your deck so we can play poker together someday. He said he'd teach me.
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Ah. He hasn't.
[Shame, Lea. Not upholding your deals with Minato. Guess Hisoka is the better clown after all.]
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Oh... Maybe he's trying to find the right time. Think maybe you can act surprised when he asks you? Like you never heard it from me.
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[He smiles, but
lets go of Minato's hand. Though it's more as if he pulls his hand away from Minato's on his own volition. The vines holding Minato's legs unravel and whisk away back toward the jut of the cliff. Minato starts falling faster than Hisoka.
Goodbye.
Down below, across the expanse, vines hastily begin puzzle piecing together, overlapping and cross-hatching until there's a sturdy blanket ten feet wide all the way around. It makes for a springy thing when Minato bounces into it.
Hisoka, of course, comes easing down like a spider by the vines around his legs.]
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His eyes widen in surprise when he finds himself falling again, vines pulling away and leaving him free to twist himself around and try to get a sense of how much time he has before he goes splat.
It's enough time, apparently, because instead of reaching out for the cliff side, Minato has both arms out palms pointed at the wall of rock and crackling red and gold before he sees the movement below him.
He could either save himself, or he can trust this... But there's not enough time to think; his back hits the web of vines and he bounces up, letting his hands discharge and blasting the vines apart with fire. Mm, bad. He hopes he's not too far above the ground. ]
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The vine burn and wither away, and Minato drops through, but two more vines split hastily off the ones around Hisoka's legs. They shoot down through the debris and latch around Minato's ankle.
And, slowly, wind the boy back up to Hisoka, upside down. Hisoka clicks his tongue. They're kind of high above the ground still.]
You haven't become ripe enough yet to die so easily.
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...yeah, that didn't really go as planned...
[ because there was a plan, presumably ]
Thanks for saving me, though. I owe you my life.
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[He gives Minato's face a little pat-pat with his hand, and then they slowly start to wind back up the cliffside together. Slow and steady wins the race.]
Akane might not be very happy if you're dead, you know.
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Yeah... People have been saying that. How they'd be upset if I died. Something like this... I probably would be do. Would rather die fighting or something.
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There's no better way to die. [A smile.] To die testing your strength against someone else.
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He looks thoughtful for a moment, then looks up at Hisoka. ]
If there were somebody known to be impossible to beat, would you still test your strength against them? Knowing if you do, you and everybody with you are going to die.
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I wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, I'm doing that right now at home. You see, there's a man I want to fight. I know it's going to be magnificent when we do. He's the leader of a group of thieves, and he's very strong.
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You're very strong too. But a man is a man. No person is immortal.
[ Compared to, say, a god. Something higher than a god. Going against Death itself as a concept, is that Minato faces, and turned away from. ]
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I wouldn't be so sure. Nen is your life energy. There could be a way to manipulate it enough to make you immortal. [Like, uh, fighting this guy and getting your ass kicked, but coming back because you wrapped your organs in Bungee Gum and restarted everything.
Baby steps.] A work in progress. [He tilts his head even if it's upside down.]
If someone was immortal, I would want to see if they really were. So I would fight them, too.
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...I guess that makes sense. If my team were here, I wouldn't be able to die either. Samarecarm. But that won't work if we all die all at once. Makes things difficult.
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At the top of the cliff, the vines fling them up, unravel, but then retwine around their shoulders to gently place them back on the ground. Feels a little weird after being upside down and falling so much.]
Sometimes, you can only get the payout when you work together.
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Yeah... I'm used to being alone, but I also miss having a team. You're always around by yourself... Do you want to team up sometime? We can double-team Lea in poker.
[ He has no idea how poker works. ]
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[Which is to say--what he doesn't say--he cares little for attachments. EVEN IF MINATO IS TRYING SO HARD TO SOCIAL LINK HIM.
He doesn't hate people. In fact, he really likes people (cursed), but for the benefit of entertainment.]
But I accept.
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He lifts his hand, holds his pinky out. It's a pinky promise. ]
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