Kuroro + Illumi are so charming and ic in this fic! :) Although...I wish Illumi could just say "yes" to Kuroro's invitation to the auction, so we can all have the pleasure of getting to know them better.

I've read this fic a while back ( same for your other hxh fics, but I didn't get around to reviewing them,:P...about time I did )Anyways, I found the images very evocative and they stayed with me...like:

"...Kuroro asks, eyes managing a polite stare that’s still all too focused."( I'm like- that's it, that's a really good description of how Kuroro looks like, he appears to be a mild-mannered gentleman, but something in his eyes a just a little "too" intense.)

"...Illumi admits, eating himself only because he finds talking in a restaurant while ignoring the meal too crass, pathetic to be wasting food just because you need something to do." ( haha - that's so ic, he's been "well" brought up to be hardworking and practical, probably because Zeno and Maha scraped thru WW1/WW2/Great Depression sometime in the hxh universe )

"...although Illumi admits the boy would probably be safer in such an organization." ( very ic )

"“Then, I suppose, please wish me luck, I’m afraid I won’t be able to fulfill my payment otherwise.” Kuroro says this with typical good humor, although he looks a little sad to Illumi." ( great acting by Kuroro, love how it fooled Illumi, lol)

“Good luck, Kuroro-san.” He says. Illumi doesn’t believe in luck anyway. All the same, he finds himself reluctant to see the man dead, for more reasons than the petty money he may get. ( Go! Go! Go for it, Illumi! ;o) Great notion to start a new fic...?)

"...He watches the man take a drink, the long pale throat looking all too delicate in the midafternoon light..."

"...Afternoon sunlight glints off the expensive skyscrapers, people walk below them in the street, everything is so normal, like a thousand other cities Illumi has already seen..."

Nice, elegant mood. Cold and detached. I liked how these details and the suggestion of a stately interior, the relaxed pacing of the conversation, the comfortable sounds of a fine restaurant...created a really pleasurable and seductive atmosphere. No wonder Illumi gets lulled, lol.

Thanx for the fic!

Awesome! You pretty much nailed their personalities spot on ^o^ I love the dialogues and Kuroro's semi veiled invitation for Illumi to join the Ryodan. He really IS charismatic, no? Even Illumi had to think twice on how to take it. I was half-expecting him to nominate Karuto too. Hope you'll write more stuff like this!

Odd...but good. Great Job o^^o

this is beautifully written. I love your Illumi voice, and the way you write, and your Kuroro is just the right balance of elegance with an undercurrent of manipulation.

Woah. I really like the way this story is written...While the scene seems impossible, your writing makes it seem much more possible. Illumi and Kuroro were captured really well. ^_^

I can't express how happy this story makes me. Your writing, just, is it possible for you to write something I won't like? The flow of the story, Illumi's indecisiveness about Kuroro's motives, and the way you write the two of them is just so great. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this.

That was...interesting...they're both killers but so honest about it that it's hard to dislike them...