Hunter x Hunter: Innocent Devils

"Ha, sounds like he really cared about you."

Isabella clutched at her teddy bear again, nodding slightly as Eustace went on for a bit. Despite aiming to keep quiet as he spoke, she couldn’t help but argue, “You can’t beat him though…”

As he went quiet, drifting off, Isabella still holding onto her waking thoughts, rolled over a bit. Forming a slight depression in the waterbed from her weight, the air of the van still stunk of dust, now mingled with the sweat of the two kids who hadn’t bothered to bathe. But compared to the sterile environment she knew, only ever scented with blood, it felt full. The cold, waterproof sheets and stiff bed seemed to resist her presence, but here, no matter how she oriented herself, the waterbed shifted to accommodate her. It was as though she had something of a place here, and that was where she would fall asleep.

---

The alleyways remained dark even as further horizons became brighter. But with time, light did finally reach the broken van where Eustace and Isabella slept. Cracking an eye open, Isabella was met with colors she’d never seen on waking before. A brief panic washed over her, and she shot to attention, arm going straight to push herself up. It was then when two things came to her. One was the realization of where she’d fallen asleep yesterday: a safe place, all things considered. Secondly: pain. That of her body suddenly moving after having been rendered supremely stiff from perhaps one of the most restful sleeps she’d ever had. Letting out a grunt, Isabella collapsed awkwardly, before stirring again, this time slower, as to better adjust, stretching away her stiffness as she moved to a sitting position.
 
Isabella would undoubtedly notice the absence of the helmeted boy as she woke up. From the light glow of dawn, it was clear that he had been out early. It was a calm morning, muted without so much as a bird chirping or a single car driving by. The first sound to break this silence would be peculiar, that of someone carrying a bag behind their back. At a rather relaxed pace, at that. It would continue to get closer and closer to her until it was right outside the van's sliding door. She would hear a hand being placed upon it, delayed for a second before cautiously rumbling open. And when it was just open enough, she would see none other than the face of Eustace, a single eye cocked and tongue partially out to the side as though being extremely careful. His expression changed to that of mild surprise, then to a smile.

"Oh. Mornin', neighbor. Sorry, I was trying not to wake you up. Those beds are real comfy, huh?" With newfound vigor, he forced the door open fully, a putrid stench following him as precisely as the trash bag he had slung over his back.
 
At a bit of a loss, Isabella had simply sat in silence as she waited for Eustace to return. Stomach growling, she was lucky he wasn’t too long before she heard his approach, greeting him with a smile as he flung open the van’s door.

“Good morning! Want to go get something to eat? I-” Isabella’s words came to a dead stop, her pupils shrinking, nose crinkling as the hairs within burned from the putrid stench. The smell was rancid, acrid, putrid, and probably more -id’s that Isabella didn’t have the vocabulary for, truly beyond anything Isabella had begun to experience, the girl’s life generally one of dry sanitation. Tears welling up in her eyes, she leaned back, losing her balance as she scrambled away, gagging. “W-what are you doing?” she choked. Falling off the bed portion onto the floor of the van, a puff of dust surrounding her, only mixing with the scent without quashing it out any. As she tried to control herself, her mind thought back to what he’d been saying yesterday about the place he’d come from, mountains made of stuff like you’d find in a garbage can. She vaguely remembered seeing a documentary on TV, years ago, and all she needed was the mental image to piece more than a few things together.

Fingers pinching her nose together, Isabella only breathing through her mouth (which only partly alleviated things), Isabella stood up, holding a defensive hand out. “Don’t bring that here! There’s germs and mold and bugs, we might still be sleeping here tonight! We have to keep our home clean!” Of course, Eustace had made no moves to do so, and on further thought, Isabella remembered that he was from a different culture, and she’d once heard that other cultures should be respected. Frowning, she bowed her head, “If you really need too though…”

While her stomach was hesitant to growl, she still hadn’t eaten since lunch yesterday, nor had she bathed since the previous evening, but she buried that discomfort for now.

---​

The morning crowd at Nozoi City’s airship hub was sparse, many of the first arrivals yawning as they disembarked. One among them reached the streets, hands in the pockets of his off white suit. His hair was slicked back, his features firm, his left eye covered in a black eyepatch. Brushing aside his light blue tie, a hand slipped into his pockets, drawing out a small box and a lighter. Plopping a cigarette in his mouth, he lit up, only for a sweet smell to emit. Confusion flitting to his face, he looked to see the end browning from the heat: caramelization from the melted sugar forming the stick of chalky candy. “Whoops,” he murmured, drawing the candy cigarette into his mouth and chewing it to bits while he fished out a proper cigarette. Lighting up and taking a drag, he breathed out a sigh of relief before flagging down a taxi.

Flashing a Hunter License, he requested, “Get me to the nearest police station.”

“Okay, but put out the cigarette first.”

“...”
 
Eustace's eyes widened and body jumped in place as he saw her reaction, that lazy smile of his receding back into a worried frown as he looked from his left to his right in quick succession as though there could be any other person here to prompt such a grand reaction. When she spelled it out for him in no uncertain terms, he went back to his smile, albeit one thinly veiling his own sheepishness at the situation.

"Oh... I'm sorry, Isa. Been a while since I've lived with someone. Don't really notice the smell too much anymore." Eustace laid down the trash bag unceremoniously and sniffed his armpit. Seemed pretty adequate to him. Though, admittedly, this wasn't the first time he had been told something to this effect, even when he was back home.

They actually did have showers there, public ones provided by the Elders, whose incompetent governing had managed to produce something beneficial for the first time this century. But his grandpa had died when he was so young, everything had fallen apart so quickly. All he could do to keep his mind off of it from the crying was dig deep into the trash. It was comforting, relaxing. Being able to dig through and find a bloodied knife one day an action figure the next, be cut by a shard of glass or find a new book to read. For as mindless as it was, it kept him sane. Not that he would ever talk about it.

"Nah, it's okay. I can show you all the stuff I got from right here anyway. I... think you might go blind if I get any closer." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he crouched down on the soles of his feet. He took a deep breath, eyes closed. When he spoke, there was grandeur in his voice. "And without further adieu, feast your eyes... on this!"

He pulled out a large necklace made up of 10 beads around the size of an adult's fist yet still having a variety of shapes. From the gleam in Eustace's eyes when he looked expectantly at Isa, you would think that he had struck gold.

"See? Worth the stink, right?" He held the beads up with both hands. "They use this necklace around here for their religious ceremonies. The one shaped like a crescent moon is meant to represent the goddess they worship, Roshanee, who took care of the people here since they were in tribes. The one that's chipped represents humans, 'cause we're really messed up and always making trouble." For as dull as the topic would have seemed for some people, there was an almost infectious enthusiasm in his voice. "This worn out gourdy looking one is meant to represent time and how things can stay the same but be different. And this one..."

Suddenly, Eustace's lecture was interrupted by his stomach's loud grumbling.

"Oh. I forgot how hungry I was. You wanna get something to eat? The people with all the food don't usually pay as much attention as the dial-y box guy so we could nab some good stuff real easy." If his stench didn't rot it all first.
 
As Eustace shoved the necklace in her face, Isabella flinched, as though bracing for something gross. However, as Eustace went into his explanation, Isabella started to get a little intrigued, drawn into his trivia, listening along until his stomach joined the conversation. Hearing Eustace’s explanation, Isabella blinked, not quite following, before responding, “Sure!”

Some time later, the stinky children were standing in the market, stalls of produce laid out for the day. Early birds were already after the worm, wizened housewives, knowledgeable elders, and restaurant workers getting their things for the day, but it was a number of only a dozen shoppers or so.

“I was hoping for a restaurant or something…” Isabella mourned quietly. Relenting, she poked around, leaving Eustace alone while paying for some apples. Slipping some coin change into her pocket, she took a bit, the other apple kept for Eustace. Alongside food, she was most interested in bathing, but when she took clothes with her, she’d been expecting to be in a hotel room or something. But if just one apple cost about 50J, then spending the night in a big room instead of the van might even cost 50,000J, and Isabella had only brought 5000. Holding a bite of apple in her mouth as she puffed out her lips in mild frustration: she’d even brought her toothbrush, but hadn’t gotten to use it. But the only one she could really ask was Richie, and he’d already given them the van, so she really didn’t want to come across as ungrateful by asking for more than was already agreed upon. Swallowing her desire for cleanliness with a bite of apple, she would endure. Sticking out her tongue, the flavor on the skin of the apple was really gross and bitter...but she’d endure that too.

“Eustace?” She called, wondering where her ally had gone off too.
 
Eustace looked up and down and all around for easy marks for him to swipe from. He thought that it should have been easy enough, with all the vendors speaking to their customers, all the food that was out there in the open—it should have been easy. So why was everyone so alert when he was around? And not just that, there was a look of sheer agony on their faces with tears that threatened to come out at any time. One vendor had even started slamming his fist onto his stall in pain. Now that he thought about it, these were pretty standard after his treasure hunts. Though he never paid them much attention until Isa pointed out how bad he smelled. Allegedly.

That hardly mattered, however. One way or the other he was getting himself some fruits and veggies.

In the midst of odorous walk of terror, he did something unimaginably cruel. He spotted a man selling bananas, apples, and oranges, then decided that he would stop dead in his track in front of the stall. Immediately, the vendor recoiled in horror and pinched his nose.

"Roshanee be good! You have a stink that could scare a man's soul from his body!"

Eustace ignored the comment and went on with his plan. He pointed at a banana and said, "Mister, can I have one of those, please?"

"50 jenny. And be quick, you are stinking up the produce."

"Oh... I don't have any jenny."

"Then leave, you are scaring away potential customers."

Eustace crossed his arms behind his back and clasped his fingers together with one another.

"Can I have it anyway?" The boy responded. To this, the vendor's eyes bulged in shock.

"What? No, leave now."

"But I can't go if I don't have anything to eat." The boy alternated from tip toes to flat on his feet in place in quick succession.

"Are you extorting me?"

Eustace paused for a moment, looking to the left to gather his thoughts before responding.

"Yes?" He said. The two of them stared at one another with a pregnant silence festering with tension as the man furrowed his brows in irritation while the boy merely stared plainly at him. This stalemate lasted for an eternity until the man noticed as people hurried past his stall with hands over their faces. He let out a defeated sigh.

"You are fortunate that wasting time removing you would be more expensive than a single banana." The man tossed the fruit to the boy, who let out a triumphant, "Yes!" Before hurrying away with a grin. Now all he had to do was get back to his buddy. He had gotten swept up with looking at all the produce and lost her. Thankfully, he remembered vaguely where she was. Maybe he could do something sneaky and pop up right behind her like a ninja or something. Ahh, that would be so cool!

Eustace chomped off the top tip of the banana with his teeth and spit it to the ground before shoving the peel into his pocket by reflex and the banana into his mouth. It had such a unique taste, a blend of sweetness and freshness with every single bite. Was it meant to be a local delicacy? He was so hasty with his eating that he surely would have missed his friend had he not noticed her in the corner of his eye in the nick of time. He waved at her, mouth entirely full of the banana he had gobbled down moments prior.

"Hmha! Huh hi he hm hoo hm ha hm." It was as though he were speaking an entirely different language. Luckily, even he understood how hard that would have been to decipher. So, he closed his eyes and focused on chewing rapidly before swallowing all the mushed up bits of fruit he had left and beating on his chest with a hefty pat and deep breath.

"Hoo! Much better." He swallowed up the last of what was left before opening his eyes to his friend. "Anyway, like I was saying, I think we need to take a bath or something. Maybe ask Richie? Or... find a river? I never noticed it but snagging food is really hard when everyone's got their eye on you."

He crossed his arms with a furrowed brow, as though he had just realized a harsh truth about life.
 
Eyebrow raised, expression scrunched in part due to Eustace’s words, in part from his aroma, and in part due to the apple peel that only got more and more bitter as she chewed it while the sweeter, light colored innards had already been chewed up and gone. Managing to swallow the rest, Isabella stuck out her tongue for a moment before admitting, “Why don’t you just pay for it? Or ask me?” Gagging a bit on the gross apple skins, it wasn’t as though her patronage had done her any favors, but…

“Oi! You two scoot already!” Came a cry from behind a nearby stall, its owner holding up a hose with a spray nozzle on the end as if it were threatening. Isabella frowned, but they were leaving anyway so she didn’t feel like arguing.

Making some distance from the market, Isabella thought out loud. “Bath, bath…” Lightbulb going off in her head, she pulled out her cell phone, opening the internet app and trying a search. “Oh, okay, so-"

“Turn RIGHT at the next intersection,” Her phone blared.

“Gah!” she cried out, almost dropping it. Regaining her hold, she looked to Eustace, explaining, “It said there’s a bathhouse nearby, whatever that is. I’ve never been.” Starting to walk, she admitted, “I wasn’t even really able to bath myself until a few weeks ago.”

Thinking a bit, she said, “Oh, we should get my luggage. I’ll pay for the baths if we need to but you can borrow some of my clothes if you want. Or, well, not my clothes, I took some of Jules’ that I liked since they fit me too, and we’re about the same size. And there’s Londoor...Laundry-mans...places we can wash our clothes too.” Clutching the sides of her head, she moaned, “But why does everything need money!?”

Letting out a groan, she started walking, before wondering aloud, "Er...do they have baths in Meteor City? Or do they not worry about it since, I mean..." Getting awkward, she said, "I'm sure it's a nice place!"
 
"Huh? Oh." Eustace placed a hand on his chin and thought deeply about the question. Why was he so insistent on thieving? Isa apparently had a good grasp on this whole money thingamajig so it would arguably be easier just to ask her for some. He could have all the fruits that he wanted without having to worry about the police getting him again or having to intimidate any more store vendors with his rotten stench. It would be the path of least resistance beyond doubt. And so, he had his answer for her.

"Just don't wanna." He put his palms towards the air and shrugged. Sounded boring.

He turned his head to the woman calling them out, tilting his head a bit like a confused dog. He noticed from the drips of water coming from the nozzle that it was a device meant to spray them. How nice of her to save them the time of finding a bath! Isa hardly seemed partial to it, though, so he walked alongside her as she pulled up her phone to find one for them. He watched over her shoulder, eyes widening at the digital map. When she was startled by the voice, he reacted with a shocked, "It talks?! Can it..."

Eustace poked the side of the screen.

"Can it feel if I touch it? Did that hurt, little lady?" He assumed the phone was a girl from the voice. His attention was quickly drawn to his friend again as she started speaking, first about her brother's clothes, then getting awful awkward when she referenced where he lived.

"Nah, it's preeeeeeetty crappy. So much fighting all the time—angry fighting, not the fun one. And everything's run by these old guys who can't ever make up their minds. I like it way, way better out here instead." He still remembered when he was younger and still getting over his grandpa, crying all the time, one of the kids he was friends with had actually punched him every time he opened his mouth. And when he opened it again, he just got another punch. And again. And again. Until his nose was bloodied, face swollen, and his first baby tooth knocked right out.

How 'bout you learn how to shut up and smile? 'Cause you're out of your damn mind if you think I'm letting you pop my ear drum.

He felt so weak and was so afraid of being alone that come the next day after, he had no choice but to comply. In hindsight, it was no surprise this was one of the guys who threatened to kill him if he came back after leaving.

"'Least we had free showers all over the place." To answer her question. "What's your brother even dress like anyway?"
 
Little lady? Isabella wondered, looking around, not sure of the person Eustace was talking about as she followed her phone’s directions.

“Fighting sounds bad, but a free shower would be nice,” Isabella admitted. Taking a detour, the phone regularly updating to adjust their route, Isabella stopped back at the van to grab her luggage. On the way there she remarked, “Hmmmm, Jules is a pretty plain dresser. I got some shorts of his, and shirts, but they’re just solid color ones with short or long sleeves. I’ll let you take your pick!”

Once she’d gotten her things, she returned to her route, the phone doing its best as its energy dwindled, the device not having been charged since yesterday. It survived, however, the two finally reaching a rustic looking bathhouse, neatly out of the way and surrounded with unorganized rocks, boulders, and foliage. Stepping inside, a middle aged woman manned the counter, dark pink curtains to her left and dark blue ones to her right, hints of changing rooms beyond.

“Excuse me~ How much is it?” Isabella asked, approaching the counter with Eustace.

Blinking at the two children, the woman began, “Well, for two kids-” Her voice cut off as she gagged. Pulling away, fingers clenching her nose shut, voice becoming gravelly, she answered, “You can pay when you’re done. It’s only 400J but you might get a discount.”

Isabella lit up. “Oh that’s cheaper than I thought!” Practically bouncing, she opened her luggage, pulling out a fresh set of wear and underclothes. With a light wave, she left the rest there for Eustace’s perusal. “See you in a bit!”

Hopping into the ladies changing room, from the sounds of things they might have been the only ones there. Leaving her clothes behind and taking a couple towels, she entered the bath proper, seeing one area with stools, soap, shampoo, and shower heads, then a large bath in the back, walls displayed with various designs and imagery that made Isabella think of that necklace Eustace showed her earlier. Was it connected to Roshanee, Isabella wondered? She’d have to ask later. Maybe it was just meant to look cool and mystic and divine.

Taking a seat on the stool and lifting the shower nozzle with an unpracticed hand, she accidentally pressed the lever to trigger it, spraying herself with a blast of hot water, square in the face. “Awaghki!” she squealed, voice carrying over the dividing wall into the boys bath. Hacking as she spat out the water she’d nearly inhaled, she was able to regulate things, rinsing herself off more properly. The warmth of the water was soothing, dirt and grime visible washing off of her into the drain. It felt good and satisfying to be getting clean again. Thinking about her ally, she didn’t understand at all how he could stand being dirty like that. Isabella remembered waking up in the middle of the night covered in blood so many times, aching from torn skin or cracked bones, throat and lungs hurting from whatever she might have thrown up. And like she’d bore being dirty this morning, she was used to just laying there in that mess of her own blood, not wanting to bother her caretakers yet again at such an inconvenient time. She’d hated it so much, so thinking of Eustace being so casual and calm while presenting himself the way he did just didn’t fit with how Isabella thought. She couldn’t understand it.

But maybe that was just her fault. He’d talked about Meteor City a bit, but just from that there was nothing that sounded good. It was probably worse than he'd said even. Mountains of trash implied filth and disease, there was regular fighting and anger Eustace had experienced, threats against his life. Maybe there was some psychological thing Isabella didn’t know about. If Eustace was used to accepting the filth in his life then…

Clapping her hands against her cheeks, the light pain helping her to focus, she let out a groan as soap from her hands got into her eyes. Maybe she was overthinking things, but Isabella did want to help him somehow. The way he was always smiling and having fun made it seem like he didn’t need help, but that fact only made Isabella more frustrated. Eustace was a Hunter after all. Isabella was with him but she’d yet to feel like she’d really done anything that he couldn’t have done himself. In the first place, he was only with her because she was the one who needed help. Wracking her brain, she tried to think of ways she could be more helpful, but for now all she could really think to do was ensure they were both safe, taken care of, and could enjoy themselves. A thought crossed her mind, one that could get her more money right away, but she decided to keep it on the back burner as a ‘just in case’.

Rinsing the shampoo out of her hair, she glanced at the bath, but in her restlessness she didn’t feel like relaxing much. Instead she went back to the changing room. Her clothes before were fairly nice, but this time Isabella went for a more casual attire. Putting on a light blue blouse with long sleeves and dark gray, form fitting, knee length shorts, she still only had her black wedge boots for footwear. Stretching her arms up as she left the changing room, she felt nicer than she had in ages, her freedom from home finally lacking the anxiety of having to do things alone. Approaching the counter with her wallet, the woman said, “Ah, I think it’ll be on the house.”

Isabella blinked, looking up for a moment. “I think I can get up there but...huh?”

Staring, the woman said, “I mean it’s free this time.”

“Really!?” Isabella squeaked.

“You’re free to pay for some refreshments if you’d like,” she added, gesturing to a small fridge with cold drinks like milk, canned coffee, water, and soda. "And be sure to come back soon. Any time you like, even. Often." Face wrinkling in disgust, likely at residual memories, she begged, "Please."

Isabella hadn't been listening too closely. Her stomach only possessing two apples and their gross skins, Isabella couldn’t help herself, buying a bottle of milk and downing half of it, the chill refreshing her insides warmed from the bathing area. Glancing at the boy’s room, she imagined Eustace would naturally take longer if he had more to clean, so she paid for her drink and took a seat, a comfy recliner waiting for her. It seemed as though she’d get her relaxation after all.
 
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