Chapter One
"Oh Gon, don't look at me like that, I'm getting turned on~" A low, seductive voice drawled. I sighed absently, sitting cross-legged on my bed, my eyes fixated on the 9-inch screen of my sleek, silver laptop. The red-headed clown was in the midst of executing his signature 'schwing' movement and I grinned. Hisoka is so cool~ I thought to myself, rewatching yet another episode of Hunter x Hunter. This was the fourth time I was watching the Heavens' Arena episode on Gon and Hisoka's fight. I had fallen in love with the Joker the first time I had seen him, when he made his debut appearance in the Hunter Exam arc, where he reduced a participant's arms to nothing more than flower petals. He immediately struck me as an enigmatic, pyschotic pedophile. And what did I do? I fell in love with him. Most of the Hunter x Hunter fans I knew of loved Kurapika or Killua, but not me. I was the weird one. I loved HISOKA. Of all people, I chose to love the sadistic clown with a thing for little shota boys. Way to go, Sienna.
I flopped back onto my belly, my face inches away from Hisoka's. Okay, fine. Inches away from the computer screen. I nestled my chin in between the palms of my hands and gazed at the screen, my headphones on. My eyelids slowly fluttered closed, with the sound of Hisoka's alluring voice ringing in my ears.
I woke up with a start. My face felt terrible. I lifted my head carefully. My brow furrowed. I had fallen asleep on my laptop. My right cheek had been plastered onto the keyboard for- I glanced wearily at my digital clock- 5 hours?! I reached up to rub away the creases and lines in my cheek. I couldn't feel my left arm, nor my right foot. How had I fallen asleep like that? I grumbled, sitting up and rubbing the numb areas. I needed circulation, goodness. I closed my laptop and set it onto my bedside table before tumbling back into bed, laying spread-eagled on top of the blanket, as I drifted into slumber once more.
I woke up for real this time, 3 hours later. No, no, my alarm clock hadn't sounded yet this isn't right... I looked at my clock again. NOPENOPENOPE. Exactly 3 minutes later, I ran out the front door, hair uncombed, uniform unkempt, face unwashed, socks unmatching, stomach unfull, a piece of plain bread in between my teeth, and a backpack over one shoulder, unzipped.
School was fine, pretty much. I was alone, as usual. I had always been alone, for 15 years of my life, I was alone. My parents were always out working, I had few friends, because I was a weirdo who liked anime, while everyone else drank and smoked. Yup, I was the "weird" kid.
Dark storm clouds were brewing as I trudged along. I quickened my pace and arrived home soon enough, picking up the newspaper along the way. I placed it on the dining table. There was a note there. It read "Sienna, there is some pizza in the fridge. Heat it up for dinner. Your Dad and I will be back late. Love, Mum."
I picked up the note and sighed. Almost every day it was the same. Your dinner is in the fridge, remember to eat, don't go hungry, we'll be home late, don't stay up and wait for us. I retrieved the cold pizza from the fridge. There were 3 small slices. I placed them in the microwave and heated them up. Oh! I have to collect the mail. I opened the door. It was pouring. I found an umbrella and ran outside into the cold, wet night. Opening the letter box, I fished out some letters and a parcel. Clutching them tightly, I ran back inside.
I shook of the droplets of water from the umbrella and set the letters and the package on the table. I sorted through the letters. For Mom, For Dad, For Dad, Dad, Mom, Mom... I set all the letters aside, on top of the newspaper. I looked at the package.
'To Sienna', it read in messily scrawled writing. My eyes widened and a rush of adrenaline pumped through my veins. A package? For me? Then doubt flooded my mind. What if it was a scam? I stared at the dubious package. It was about the size of a small shoebox, awkwardly shaped, wrapped in brown wrapping paper. I gingerly picked it up. It felt rather soft. I turned it over and over. But there was no name. I couldn't find the name or the return address of the sender. It was all extremely curious.
The microwave beeped loudly and I went to collect the piping hot slices of pizza. I munched thoughtfully. I was so curious. I had never received a letter before, let alone a package. But on all the other letters I had seen before, there was always the address of the receipient, as well as the sender, in case the letter got bounced back. But this package was strange. It only had my name, not even my address! How, then, had the package gotten there? A loud clash of thunder sent shockwaves down my spine and I shivered, rubbing my bare arms. I shook my head. Never mind that, it was addressed to me, I should open it, right?
Slowly, I lifted the small brown package and placed it in my lap. With two fingers, I plucked away the tape holding the brown wrapping paper together and peeled them away.