FORBIDDEN TASTING

How many times have we been here? he wondered. How many times have I stood across from this monster? How many times has my body told me that it won't be able to withstand more abuse?

Gon's heartbeat lurched, and he tried to subdue it by breathing deeply. But even though his mind urged his body to relax, his body wouldn't listen. It felt as if his body had become another entity altogether. His mind told him to run, but his body had become frozen. The only adversary that had ever come close to giving him this feeling of dread was Pitou—another good reason to be afraid.

A person he knew all too well stood several lengths before him. The person stood a head taller than him with eyes of a beast. The familiar smile that crept up his opponent's face sent shivers down Gon's spine. It had been a long time coming, and every time before now they had met, his adversary promised to face him when the time was appropriate for both of them—when Gon had achieved enough power and notoriety.

The two had met in Gon's early pre-teen days at the Hunter Exam. A selection of fighters gathered together to win the title of Hunter. Some competitors died in the process while others gave into their own fears or fatigue. But Gon had been one of the few who passed, though using unorthodox means (to this day he still didn't believe his win was justified).

Gon watched his opponent take a few steps forward. He took a few steps back in response. Even after six years, it still felt like the first time. His body shook, threatening to fall apart. His willpower remained the only thing capable of keeping him afloat. He needed his willpower for this fight. After all, he was fighting for his life. And this time, Gon knew he had reached the age where his adversary could feel confident slaying him.

"Gon," the voice came out smooth and soft, almost tranquil.

To someone else, it could have lulled him to sleep. But to Gon, the voice sent his blood pumping through him so fast, his cheeks and ears flushed red. His heart fluttered, preparing for the inevitable worst. Sweat permeated his forehead, and he wiped it away with the heel of his hand.

"It's been too long." His adversary smiled.

Gon didn't want to say the name. Just the thought of the name rolling off his tongue made him ill. The name was poisonous. Even the sound of it may stop his heart. If only he hadn't been so blasé about his current mission. If only he thought things through. If only he listened to Killua.

His mission had taken him far west, across the mainland. According to reports, an oasis sat somewhere out here that could cure those who's Nen had been stunted or severed somehow. In his fight against Pitou more than four years ago, Gon had risked his own life to avenge the death of his friend and mentor Kite. Had Killua not found him and brought him back, he wouldn't even be standing here, let alone breathing. Sadly, he couldn't restore Gon's Nen.

Gon owed much to his best friend, but Killua had also warned him about the west. Without his Nen to assist him, Gon would need to learn how to survive, not fight—survive. Killua mentioned he'd been forced to perform assassinations in these parts, and he never liked committing them here. There was something different about this part of the world than the rest. Something that even a trained and elite assassin like Killua shuddered about when reminiscing.

"It's the worst kind of place," Killua had said. "If you go, you're inviting Death to your doorstep. Stay clear of it."

Despite the warning, Gon wasn't the best listener. Asking to stay clear of somewhere infested with danger was like asking a child to stay clear of candy. Once you have had a taste, you want to go back for more until there's nothing left. Gon no longer resembled a child, but the childish curiosity would always find its way back into him somehow. This was one of those times, and now he had to confront the consequences for his poor judgment.

The consequence this time happened to be Hisoka.

Gon clenched his hands into fists. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Don't show weakness. If you show weakness, you're dead.

"Aren't you going to say hello?" Hisoka asked, raising a brow. "I thought you'd be happy to see an old friend."

"Friend?" Gon nearly scoffed. "We're not friends."

"No?" Hisoka cocked his head to the side as if in shock. His yellow eyes glimmered in the light. "Then what would you call us?"

Gon licked his lips. If he said they're enemies, that may give Hisoka an excuse to attack him first. And without his Nen, Gon would have to depend entirely on his instincts and natural strength, which may very well not help him at all. Nen was the essence of all good fighters. Nobody who risked such high-end missions could survive for long if they didn't have their main power source. Gon should have called himself lucky to even be standing here. His main reason for making it this far had been dumb luck.

"I wouldn't call us enemies, not the traditional kind," Gon replied, steadying his voice. "We may have fought in the past, but we've never been in each other's ways."

"Oh? That's true," Hisoka said and tapped his finger on his chin. "Would that make us frienemies?"

"I don't know," Gon said between gritted teeth.

Hisoka took a few more steps forward, and Gon remained paralyzed. The red-haired man surveyed the local forest and fauna, perhaps wondering if Gon had brought his entourage with him. His eyes fell back to the teen. "I've always liked you, Gon. What would it take for us to become friends?" His smile became mocking.

It almost sounded amusing the way he said it. Hisoka would rather murder innocents than play nice. That had been his prerogative ever since Gon could remember. Gon knew never to trust Hisoka's word. With everything the redhead said there always came a catch.

But above all Gon wanted to survive. A wrong answer would see his head removed from his shoulders. And he had reached the age where Hisoka may not have the patience to let him go. "What do you have to offer?"

A chuckle escaped Hisoka's throat that made Gon's heart stutter. "I have a few ideas. Here's one: if I defeat you in a fight."

Gon didn't want to ask, but he knew if he didn't, Hisoka might not go easy on him. "By defeat, do you mean kill?"

"Oh, Gon, haven't you learned from your time in the Hunter Exam and Greed Island? When you fight, you are always fighting to survive."

He plucked the word right out from Gon's head. Don't tell me he knows how to read minds now? Gon shook his head. No, that's impossible.

"Well? Do we have an agreement?"

"What do I get in return?" Gon asked, even though asking seemed pointless. As if he could win without his Nen. Should he just outright tell Hisoka the truth? Or would that give Hisoka even more of a reason to kill him because Gon could no longer keep him entertained?

"Your life, of course."

Gon steadied his breathing and got into a fighting position. Running away would have been feeble. There's nothing he could do but fight. He wished he had said goodbye to Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio one last time.

He watched the clown's knees bend and the rest followed in a blur.

One minute? Two minutes? Three? It didn't matter how long the fight lasted. He had lost. Gon tasted metal in his mouth and swallowed it like water. His body wouldn't move from the cold ground. All he could do was stare up at the sky and hope the end would come soon.

Hisoka loomed over him. "Did you lose your Nen?" There was a hint of disappointment in his tone. The intensity and blood-thirst in his eyes weakened. "Now I understand why you're out here alone. Were you too embarrassed to bring your friends with you?"

Gon opened his mouth to confess but shut it at the last second. Tears started to form in his eyes. He fought them back. "Just…do it."

"Hmm?"

"Just end it," Gon gasped. His chest felt heavy. It hurt to breathe. "That's why you're here, right? I can't entertain you anymore. Just get it over with."

Hisoka's brow rose, and he bent down to the teen's level. "Are my ears mishearing things? Are you asking to die, Gon? By my hand?"

Gon curled his mouth into a mocking smile. "Why the hesitation? That's what you want, huh?"

Hisoka watched him for the longest time. His face remained neutral, almost unreadable. Gon's vision began to darken. His body had had enough. It needed rest. At least he'd die in his sleep. His eyes closed.

When they reopened, he lied on a bed made of clean sheets. The room he lied in was dark except a blue night light in the corner. The door had been left creaked open. Gon attempted to sit up and leave to no avail. Something cold coiled around each wrist and ankle. He jerked his limbs, and the cold material seemed to tighten around his flesh.

Handcuffs.

Gon surveyed his body, even in the dim light he knew he had been stripped naked. His legs had been spread eagle, as had his arms. If this was hell, someone needed to throw him into the fire as soon as possible. He'd rather burn alive than remain in this embarrassing state.

Something moved beyond the door. Gon watched the shadow for a time before the door opened farther. His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped.

"Hisoka." His spine chilled, as if it already had an inkling of what to expect. Gon didn't want to believe even a mass murderer like Hisoka would do this to him, but he also shouldn't have let his naivety lead him into a trap set up by the red-haired demon. "What…what the fu—"

"Hello, Gon," Hisoka said in a voice that made Gon visualize a snake slithering through tall grass. "How are you feeling?"

"How am I feeling? What the fuck is this?" Gon jerked his body again, hoping to somehow escape his confinement. But the handcuffs proved stronger than his natural strength.

"This?" Hisoka teased. "Why, this is a bed."

"I'm serious, you bastard. Let me go."

"Is that how you treat your savior?"

Gon furrowed his brow. "What the hell are you talking about? I told you to kill me. Why didn't you just kill me?"

"Because you're more valuable to me alive than dead." Hisoka sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned in close. The smell of strawberries filled Gon's nose. "You've lost your Nen, haven't you?"

Gon flinched.

"The same happened to Chrollo, but he figured out a way to get it back."

"How?" Gon asked, given his state, he feared the answer.

Hisoka's mouth curved into a crooked smile. "I'll tell you if you behave yourself."

Behave himself? How the hell could he misbehave himself? Two good reasons blocked his chances: One, he had been handcuffed to a bed. And two, he had the most bloodthirsty, sociopathic murderer he'd ever known hovered over him. Escape was impossible and inadvisable.

"What do you want from me?" Gon forced out.

"Isn't it obvious, Gon?"

A chill ran down his spine. The handcuffs. His nakedness. Hisoka. Gon. Gon. Hisoka. Bedroom. Handcuffs. His heart pounded, and his chest tightened upon his epiphany.

"Hisoka…you don't mean…" His name took on a new meaning. Not just a reminder of death but a reminder of something seemingly far worse yet to come. The dryness in Gon's throat intensified. Then he started shaking his head. "No, no, no. Kill me. Just fucking kill me!"

Hisoka's eyes dulled, and his mouth turned downward. "No."

It was perhaps the most serious Hisoka had sounded ever. Not a hint of sarcasm or wit. Straight-laced professional. Almost like he were sitting in an interview.

"Please," Gon begged. "Not that." To think he'd resort to begging. Something his past self could never contemplate doing. Younger Gon would have hated what he'd grown into—a weak, scared little man.

"Let me ask you this to ease your worry, Gon," Hisoka began, fingering the lines between Gon's abs and making the teen tense. "Would you rather consent to this and get the answer you desire while also enjoying yourself? Or would you rather not consent and never get your answer and be left a broken pile of meat?"

The answer he spoke of was how Chrollo managed to revive his Nen. Something Gon had spent that last four years attempting to replicate. His only lead had brought him into the dreaded west, which left him clueless, alone and now here, imprisoned. Hisoka wasn't one to trust, but he was also not one to lead Gon astray. In the past, he had been the indirect reason for how Gon developed his Nen. Strange, but Gon owed the red-haired demon in more ways than he could count—even if Hisoka's plan had always been to kill him, or, in this case, break him.

"Well?" Hisoka said, a flicker of impatience in his tone. "Which is it?"

Gon closed his eyes and sent an apology to his friends Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio. He asked for their forgiveness and hoped he'd never see them in person again. Should he survive this, he wouldn't be the same. He wouldn't be able to stand on the same ground as them. He wouldn't be their friend anymore.

The desire to find his answer finally pushed the words from his mouth. "Okay," he said between clenched teeth. His wrists and ankles started to ache. "I'll do it. Just make it quick."

Hisoka grinned and chortled. "Good choice. But it won't be quick. I'm going to make sure we both enjoy this night." He leaned in close again, their faces barely inches apart. "You're never going to forget this night, Gon. I'll make sure of that." The redhead leaned back and pulled something out from his pocket. The black piece of clothing didn't look like anything until he unfolded it and stretched it out.

A blindfold.

He wrapped it around Gon's eyes, shutting the visible world off like a light.

"I'm going to make it so every time you close your eyes, every time your see darkness, you think of tonight," Hisoka purred. "Your body will be the only witness." His finger returned to the teen's abdomen and trailed down to reach between his thighs. "Especially this." His fingers curled around the flaccid organ.

Gon panicked but kept his voice subdued.

His long fingernails began stroking it, causing all the heat in Gon's face to drain and flow down south. He started becoming hard.

"Let's both enjoy ourselves, Gon."

After a beat, something wet and warm tickled his manhood. Gon bit down on the inside of his gum until it bled. His throat threatened to release a moan. God, if he dared do that, he'd never forgive himself.

Each flick of the warm wetness caused his erection to grow. Gon held his tongue and his voice, but not every part of his body could listen to him. Any man would agree that the one place impossible to control would be their member. It was the one place that had no sense of loyalty. And the more the wetness teased him; the great chance his body had of betraying him.

Numbness formed in his loins and expanded out to his thighs, his legs and his feet. His head felt light, like he was floating through clouds. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd never felt this good before in his life.

The hot wetness left him, and he thought that would be the end. An ambivalent sigh released through his nose. But, all of a sudden, the wetness came back in full force. Now something wrapped around his entire shaft and sunk down to the hilt. The tingling feeling he felt earlier evolved into an electric current of pleasure that sent waves of ecstasy through him.

Gon gasped, arched his back and shuddered. He couldn't control himself this time. The moan escaped him and, with it, all the energy his body had been withholding. He released his essence into the hot covering around his erection in several short bursts. Drool slid down the side of his cheek. Any pride he had left had been taken from him, expelled within the last burst of his bodily fluid.

The wet warmth released his shaft, and he felt a greedy grin creep up Hisoka's face. "The fruit has ripened down here."

"Fucking sick perverted asshole bastard," Gon threw every cursed word he could imagine at his adversary. His adoptive mother, Mito, would have been appalled. The amount of vulgarity he had picked up during his time traveling would have given her a heart attack.

The bed shifted, and Gon caught the strong scent of strawberries. Enough to make his mouth salivate. But his mind told him otherwise. A thumb wiped the drool off his cheek. "Gon," came Hisoka's voice, and Gon jolted, making the handcuffs clank against the bedframe. Hisoka cooed right into his ear, "I'm so proud of you."

"Fuck you," he hissed.

"Hmm, I don't think that's possible in your state. However, I'd be obliged to do the same to you. After all,"—a finger skimmed him from his collarbone down to his navel—"your face is no cuter angry than when you're cumming."

Gon had done the exact opposite of what he intended—he had invited Hisoka to fuck him. Heat slowly started sinking back to his neck and face. His heart fluttered as fast as a hummingbird's wings. A desire to fall into cardiac arrest from all this crossed his mind. It seemed promising, given his state, but he discarded the thought when the fingers wrap around his shaft again.

They start moving one at a time, adding a digit every few breaths. The first, most definitely the thumb, rubbed the head, the most sensitive area. The next finger massaged just underneath, and the third underneath the second, and the fourth underneath the third and the pinky finishing at the bottom. All fingers made swift work of him. His loins pulsed, and blood filled up inside, finding every niche available.

Biting his gums kept Gon from losing the last ounce of his rational mind that he had. His dignity and pride had already succumbed to Hisoka's hands and mouth. Now all that remained was Gon's sanity.

The deft hand left his erection, and he took that window of opportunity to breath in through his nose and expel any poisonous thoughts that kept threatening to kidnap his mind.

"Gon," Hisoka said. His voice alone sent a shiver through the teen. To think a voice could have such a hold over him. "Have you ever pleasured yourself down here?"

Gon sensed it was more of a question than a term of endearment. Of course, as any teenage boy would agree, there are nights where a man must take care of himself. Brothels had been an option, but Gon never visited one out of both concern for his status as a Hunter and because he would never be able to face Killua afterward. Plus self-service came free of charge.

"Well?" Hisoka insisted.

"Yes," he breathed. "I do."

"Even down here?"

Something cold touched the rim of his ass. Gon jumped. Digging the soles of his feet into the mattress, he tried to push away from the cold object. It pursued him, and, at some point, he couldn't avoid it. It pressed against him and started inserting itself inside.

"S-s-staaaahup!" he nearly wailed.

Surprising enough, the coldness obeyed.

"Too tight," Hisoka said. "Hold on."

A moment later, Gon felt something new touch him. It was smaller and more flexible. A finger. He arched his back as it entered and wiggled around inside of him, causing a wet sound to form. Then another finger joined it. Gon gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to give into euphoria. A third finger threatened to send him over the edge.

His body lurched.

"Ah, there it is," Hisoka said beneath a chortle.

He rubbed his fingers against Gon's prostate, sending shockwave after shockwave through the teen. Gon couldn't control his body. He couldn't deny his body this kind of pleasure. How weak he had become. How feebleminded. How pathetic. But his frustration in himself became marred by how good he felt. It was impossible to hold himself back. A loud moan released from him, and he felt hot spurts of cum across his face and chest. Thank God, he couldn't see what he had been reduced to.

He felt Hisoka's wicked smile. "How lewd." Hisoka removed his fingers and pressed the coldness back to Gon's entrance. It slipped in much easier this time. With a click of a button, the vibrator started buzzing against Gon's prostate, melting his already jellified insides.

"Ahh….mhmm…uhh…nnh!"

Gon felt another orgasm rise up, but it came from another part of him. His loins tightened and released. This level of bliss had never been experience before. Not all the delicious food or vigorous training in the world could compare to this feeling.

"Do it," Gon gasped. "Please."

"Hmm?"

"I…do it. Just do it. I give up."

"Gon, I thought you were stronger than this." Hisoka almost sounded disappointed.

The words panged him, but Gon couldn't deny their truth. What would Killua have thought if he saw him in this sorry state? No, Gon thought. Killua will never know about this. No chance in hell.

"I told you that you could do whatever you want," Gon reasoned. "You've already broken me."

Silence wedged between them.

"I won't do it," Hisoka finally said, removing the vibrator. "Not tonight. I want us to end on a good note. I want us to be friends, Gon."

Gon shook his head in disbelief. "Why?"

"Because I think we could produce a symbiotic relationship. You come to me for information, and I ask you for your body in return. But I won't take your body in full until you've reawakened your Nen."

He almost sounded like a reasonable human. Gon couldn't fathom that these word came from Hisoka's mouth. But they did.

The bed shifted, and Hisoka wiped cum off Gon's chest and face. "Besides," he whispered, "when I fuck you, Gon, I want to fuck you at your most powerful." Those words alone snapped Gon back to reality. This was in fact Hisoka speaking.

A wave of exhaustion overcame him. The blindfold only added to Gon's lethargy.

"Go on. I'll let you sleep."

And so Gon slept.

When he came to, the handcuffs around Gon's limbs had been removed, as had the blindfold. No trace of last night remained in the room. He sat up, naked underneath the blankets, and found a fresh pair of clothes folded on a chair in the corner of the bedroom. A sharp pain hit his lower back. The one reminder that last night had not in fact been a dream like he'd hoped. Grunting a bit, Gon pulled the sheets off and dressed himself. Entering the adjacent room, he noticed a plate of breakfast—eggs, toast, sausage, and orange juice—sitting on a glass table. Next to the breakfast rested a note written in red ink.

Gon,

Thank you for last night. I hope we can build a strong friendship in the near future. Attached to this note is a map leading to the location where Chrollo retrieved his Nen. I'm looking forward to our next meeting.

-H

Gon read through the letter one last time and checked the map. His stomach churned, and his throat felt dry. Hungry, he fell into the chair and sighed. Then he took a piece of toast with jam lathered on it and crunched it between his teeth.

It tasted like strawberries.

A/N: HOLY SHIT…Do you guys know how long this was? Sixteen pages, that's right, sixteen fucking pages. What the hell? Anyway, yes, Gon was big on the OOC scale, but being older, and this being a hardcore fanfic, it's necessary to keep the character's age legal. Hope Hisoka was IC enough though.

I'm currently open to requests, so please let me know what pair you'd like to see and in what kind of scenario. If I like it, I'll write it!

Anyway, let me know what your favorite quote, scene, description was. And please review/comment for more!