A/N

Kon'nichiwa everyone! *waves* I am univerallylightcherryblossom from Tumblr and this is my main story. It is also my first venture into the world of writing fanfiction.

Here is the chapter one of our little tale. I decided to post this much earlier than explained in the foreword as no one gave any indication of any special requests so I guess that I'll just surprise you guys *_~

*The title of this chapter not only refers to Hisoka thinking about his different prey (which isn't only Gon) but also the fact that Gon becomes the prey he focuses on once more now that he's found him.

Pairing: Hisoka x Gon

Disclaimer: All characters mentioned in this story that are part of the Hunter x Hunter Manga…indeed are the property of Yoshihiro Togashi and are not mine. All I own is the plot…

Chapter Dictionary:

Otouto: little brother

" Speech"

Italicized text : Thought

Now, without further ado, please enjoy ~


Chapter one: Prey

A sunny day. That was all it was. Some may have said that it was a beautiful day, a day to be taken advantage of with a plethora of fun activities, but beautiful weather meant nothing to him. He simply did not care and it was not because he had nothing to do with his time, but because the beauty of nature made him feel nothing.

To him, beautiful weather was simply a social construct that people with nothing to do but waste their time used to fill that time with meaningless activities.

To him, time was a continuum that he was gifted with in order to fill with things that gave him pleasure and whether it be day or night, his aim was to use that time to seek after the fulfillment of his desires.

Hisoka liked to consider himself a logical being.

If it rained he took shelter…

Sometimes~

If it was too hot, well...

Whatever~

All that mattered in his life was survival…and enjoyment.

A major condition for him though was that survival and enjoyment must each accompany the other.

If nothing at the moment fell under those two categories, he was not interested.

What was the point of going through each day and not having fun? To him, without it life would just be bland and uninteresting.

And that's exactly what it is these days~

It felt like ages since he had had the luxury of getting into a fight…a good fight: the type to make his heart pound and his blood surge.

One that actually made him break into a sweat and use at least a third of his latent power.

"Boring… ~ " Hisoka sighed in his singsong voice as he shifted to focus his idle gaze up at the blindingly bright blue sky. With the way the sun seemed to be trying in vain to get closer and the birds serenaded him with a cacophony of inexhaustible love songs, one thing was obvious – Mother Nature was clearly in a good mood that day.

"At least someone is in a good mood ~ " he soured aloud, feeling moody.

Tapping his foot rhythmically against the side of the rock cliff where he sat cross-legged, Hisoka continued his train of thought.

The last time he had something remotely close to a challenge was when he'd fought some pro hunters during the Hunters' Association's elections about one year earlier.

Damnthat wasn't even all that recent~

And it wasn't even fun, he added, remembering how easy it had been to best the horde that had come at him.

It couldn't even be called a fight by his standards; for not even their blood had been capable of vilifying the pristine white of his clothing.

Too easy.

He sighed.

I need a challenge.

Had it been that...had it been what his soul was craving, maybe there was a slim chance that Hisoka would have at least tried to recall the names and faces of those he'd killed that day.

But it wasn't. It was far from what he'd call anything even remotely exhausting; so as he sat looking absently out at the trees in the distance, he did not attempt to honor the dead with a memory. It was all meaningless and left a bad taste in his mouth.

"I need some action in my life ~ " Hisoka groaned aloud.

Sighing again, the Magician felt himself getting agitated.

Kill...

That feeling, it was familiar; that persistent, gnawing sensation crawling under his skin and hinting at the complete loss of self-control that may happen at any moment.

Kill. Now.

It was his bloodlust rising to the surface...becoming sentient and Hisoka resisted the urge to claw at his skin to stem its tide.

Instead of dreading it, Hisoka welcomed the harrowing descent into madness. It had been approaching, closing in on him more and more over the past few months, and now that he was remembering having gone to the city where the Hunters' Association Headquarters was located, for the voting and the subsequent fights that took place there, he could feel the final vestiges of his control slipping away.

Voting, he thought derisively as if the word was bitter on his tongue. As if I care what that wretched organization does~

Never the type to turn up for such a thing, he'd done it primarily to act as a cover for his meeting with Illumi. And in his opinion, since he was already there, why not ruffle the feathers of a few Zodiacs while doing so?

Their frustrations would only serve to feed his boredom.

Hisoka was a performer at heart and he loved a good show. Nothing was more pleasurable than giving the crowd the excitement they craved by throwing a few unexpected developments into the norm.

And boy were those Zodiacs overwhelmed by his ability to get under their skin.

He smirked. Messing with people, getting a rise out of them to the point where they could no longer think, was one of his biggest turn-ons and he did it whenever he could and to whomever he felt like messing with at the time.

And the most delightful part was the look that would arrest their features when they finally understood just how much power he'd held over them in that moment; the power to make them become enraptured in his show, abandon their will and start acting irrationally.

The Zodiacs, specifically the three who had been playing at being ballot box clerks on the day of the elections, were aware of – and judged him as a result of – his passion for a good fight.

What a group of hypocrites~

He smirked at the irony of it all, that they who belonged to an organization that had members within its office doing similarly atrocious deeds had the nerve to label him as some kind of mass murderer.

They didn't have to say it, the look on their faces said it all.

'Oh no...it's Hisoka, let's look at him like he's trash and maybe he'd see the err of his ways and repent~'

Hisoka snickered at that thought as he continued to mock the Zodiacs in his head.

'He kills people...~'

'Innocent people too...not like we don't do the same, but it's bad because Hisoka does it~'

~Boohoo where are the tissues~

Hisoka almost laughed outright at how they actually seemed to think that they could make him feel shunned by turning up their noses whenever he showed up for mandatory events where hunters were summoned.

Poor fools~

His smirk widened into a grin. It was pitiful, and their attitudes only made him want to show up for every event – mandatory or not – where he knew that they'd be officiating, so as to relish in their disgust for him and their failed attempts to ostracize him.

When would people realize that he could not care any less about what they thought of him? To him, humans were naught but faceless beings whose potential value was measured solely by whether or not they were good enough to be part of his collection.

And the Zodiacs were no different.

His only interest in them was their strength and the possibility that he could one day fight each of them for his entertainment.

To the death~

Mmmmm~

The memory of how absolutely delightful their aura felt on that first day of voting made Hisoka chuckle to himself as he sat perched on that rock in the middle of nowhere like a man gone mad.

Those Zodiacs present were strong and deserved no less than seventy-five points on his personal rating scale.

Their aura was impressive and that would surely have been a worthy fight, but back then there was no way to engage them without drawing attention to himself.

And this refusal to engage them was not for the logical reason that he was within their stronghold, but for the simple reason that he had been hired to do another job.

His time had been bought and he could not have acted too much on his own as his employer, fully aware of the character that he was, insisted that he not do anything of the sort unless he had no other option or was specifically requested to do so.

Illumi was always strict about things like that and as much as Hisoka wanted to do the opposite, in the end he respected his wishes.

He was paying well, after all.

Thus, the rest of the morning was spent passing the time by scouting the hunters who had come to vote and recreationally affixing numbers of value to them.

Unfortunately, their 'value' did not amount to much and this activity had only frustrated him as the so-called 'pro hunters' he'd secretly assessed from across the room didn't even cross a score of fifty.

The memory caused Hisoka's lips to twist in disgust.

Two.

Why was there even a guy who scored a two?!

What the hell? How did he even get his hunter's license?

In a cereal box?

That should be illegal.

I should have killed him and ended his miserable existence.

Hisoka shook his head.

I would have been doing him and the world a favor.

That was the only thing Hisoka found himself regretting as he reflected on that day. To him, if he had killed the guy, at least he would have had something to look back on and smile about.

This is why I hate thinking of the past...

That morning, so much of his time had been spent analyzing a useless crowd that by the time he was done, he was scowling to himself – sorely disappointed that he could not even locate some more toys to add to his collection.

Then suddenly, he'd felt it. In the midst of seriously contemplating killing everyone in the room in order to ease his frustration, he had been unexpectedly hit by an aura so strong that it scored ninety-five points on his scale.

Excited that his boredom had come to an end, he'd stilled as a minute ray of hope blossomed in his chest.

For a moment, Hisoka had allowed himself to indulge in all the sordid fantasies of what he wanted to do to that person until his fun ended too soon upon the realization that, regrettably, the aura was all too familiar. He had been so excited that he had not made the connection sooner – it was only Illumi, disguised as Gittarukur.

Hisoka sighed, mimicking the disappointment he'd felt that day and remembering the pleasurable tingle Illumi's strong aura gave him.

It's always so good... ~

Especially whenever Killua's safety is threatened.

Something about Killua always made the normally stoic, rational assassin become more reckless and of course Hisoka had taken advantage of this at one point during their surveillance of the younger brothers and the butlers of the Zoldyck family, using his skill in deceit to trick Illumi into thinking that he was contemplating harming his otouto.

And boy did Illumi not disappoint with his reaction.

Illumi had released a bloodlust so strong that the birds in a wide perimeter around them had been spooked out of the trees – and best of all, that bloodlust was directed at him.

Hisoka always enjoyed that momentary flicker of unbridled power and just witnessing it again was worth almost getting thrown off of the cliff that day.

Actually, he had hoped that Illumi would have done just that but the raven haired man – as usual – had regained his composure in record time upon realizing that he had been undoubtedly tricked.

Mmmmm...Illumi~

Oh how he'd love to fight him one day, but right now it was of utmost importance that he remain patient. It was a pity though, that Hisoka's patience these days was critically low, considering that presently he was literally thirsting for a good fight, one to calm the gnawing need inside of him…but alas, he had already decided a long time ago that Illumi Zoldyck was going to be one of those toys that would be saved for last.

This was because if they were to fight, it'd be a death match and right now he and Illumi had a bit of a symbiotic relationship in order to provide each other with valuable information or assistance when necessary.

Illumi was useful and he couldn't lose him...yet.

Briefly, he allowed himself to wonder what Illumi had been up to. That time at the Hunter Association Elections was the last he'd seen of him, which meant that the other had not provided any means of excitement for him recently, so he was left to once again be 'chasing after Kuroro' – as Illumi liked to describe his search.

But currently, that search was more of a frustration. Kuroro had gone missing after regaining his Nen and appeared to be quite good at staying under the radar. But then again, it was no surprise as that man was a renowned thief. He would not have survived this long if the authorities and every fool who wanted to capture him and exact their revenge were able to find him easily.

On his hunt to locate him though, Hisoka did manage to meet a few good fighters, but none worth keeping alive to develop into fruits ripe enough for his fighting pleasure later on.

Just then he remembered something significant from that last time when he had been working with Illumi, something that had made him both shocked and angry at the time when he had heard the news. He had been almost unlucky enough to lose two of his fruits.

Luckily for him though, in the end, things had worked out in such a way that he didn't actually lose both Killua and Gon...especially Gon.

That boy, as careless and hard headed as he was, was his favourite fruit on his way to becoming fully grown for his entertainment and just thinking about him whet Hisoka's appetite for action.

Maybe I'll pause my current search for Kuroro and see what Gon has been up to~

Hisoka already had an idea where the boy was heading as he had come across him (unbeknownst to the youth of course) in the last city and was subconsciously tailing him before he'd made the decision to actively do so.

Gon, most likely wasn't even aware that he was being followed as he could be quite clueless at times, so it had been quite easy to keep track of him for the last few hours.

Mmmm my little fruit...

Do you even know what's going to happen to you? ~

He smirked, looking down at the thinning trees below, his excitement mounting higher from the knowledge that soon his path would cross with Gon's. Now that I've found you, I'd follow you to the ends of this world Gon Freecs...and when I catch you I'll—

His smirk turned into an evil grin that spread across his face. If Hisoka was expected to be a clown, that smile: vile, lecherous and hinting at repulsive intentions, would have been enough to atrophy anyone's heart in seconds. But Hisoka never cared about appearances and right now he was having the time of his life, knowing that very soon he'd be meeting his most important prey.

It had been too long.

"Oh Gonnnnnnnn..." he moaned, hands gliding over his body as if the mere thought of the boy sexually aroused him. "The things you make me do,"—his breath hitched—"the things I want to do to you..."

Suddenly, the wind shifted and Hisoka froze in the midst of his fantasies. "Mmmm... seems like it's lunch time~" he whispered, excitement making his aura flare slightly, but he reined it in. Having anticipated that the boy would be heading this way, he had gone ahead to lie in wait and now as Gon drew closer to his location, he could sense exactly where he was.

It was only a matter of time before—

At that moment his senses were assaulted by the familiar presence and he jumped down – silently and with ease – into the thicket of bushes quite some distance below, advancing to a mere fifty meters from his target.

Right now they were in the forested area that stretched for miles before a cavernous, unforgiving desert and it would take at least three days to cross on foot (if resting at night) before coming to the next city.

York Shin City~

Was that where Gon was heading? Most likely.

What a coincidence~ Hisoka thought with a laugh that was not expressed out loud. The journey to get to that city would make for ample time to observe the boy, assess what strength he was able to boost in the time he had not seen him, and maybe…

Have some fun~

Hisoka leaned against the rugged, massive trunk of a Basswood tree to ponder all of this and as he remained in Zetsu at the edge of a clearing, his target came into view.

XXX

Gon ambled through the thick underbrush until he came upon a clearing. Looking around cautiously, he took a seat on a sizeable rock and retrieved the map from his satchel.

Three days.

That's how long it would take to cross the vast forest and the desert he'd soon come upon. He could have easily taken an airship in the last town and saved on some time, but Gon figured that the setback was only a small obstacle in his journey to meeting Killua again.

And it wasn't so bad, because the extra time would serve as a platform for some much needed introspection.

One year was too much time to be away from his best friend and he had learned a lot about himself during that period, causing him to become conscious of just how much he had to say to Killua in terms of apologizing for all the things he'd put him through during their last mission together.

Three days Killua and then I'll be there. I hope you've had fun seeing the things we've only spoken of.

Gon took a deep breath, enjoying the crisp, clean air of the forest and relaxed, focusing his senses on the environment. Everything spoke to him: the happy birds perched on slim branches in towering trees, the fluttering leaves and the rustling in the wild undergrowth by the nearby animals.

It all reminded him of home and Gon enjoyed the resulting pang of nostalgia until he remembered how close he had come to still being stuck on Whale Island, under Aunt Mito's careful watch.

He shivered, remembering all the homework he had just barely completed, knowing that, given the chance, Aunt Mito never would have let him leave or stray too far out of her sight and—

His heart skipped a beat.

She no doubt would have married me off to an island girl so that I'd have kids there and really never leave.

Gon swallowed to ease the sudden lump in his throat.

He did not, for one minute doubt that his aunt would have done something like that. Sometimes it felt as if she would do anything in order to keep him from running off into danger.

To make matters worse, there had been some strange happenings at home lately, little things that were so apart from the norm that even he was able to notice them immediately, like the butcher's daughter from the neighboring county suspiciously turning up at least twice a week for dinner and Aunt Mito talking about how he should get out and socialize instead of fishing all day…

Gon shivered again. Good thing I left when I had the chance, he thought, then promptly felt guilty. It wasn't fair to be running off once more like this and leaving Aunt Mito and Granny alone.

Maybe after meeting up with Killua we could go back to Whale Island to visit for a bit.

The thought of visiting Whale Island with Killua once more had Gon smiling widely. Remembering his recent phone conversation with his aunt, he regretted not telling her that he'd be coming back to Whale Island soon.

Mito-san would like that very much.

When he'd stopped off in the last town, he had made it his priority to give her a call so that she'd know that he had already completed eighty percent of his journey. Gon loved Aunt Mito with all his heart and hearing her sound like she was already missing him, broke his heart. Eventually, she had admitted that she was happy that he was safe and he promised to be extra careful and write as soon as he settled in. It was nice checking in with her and getting to know that she was okay and even though he had to endure being forced to send a kiss through the phone to Granny before he was able to hang up, Gon did not mind, he loved his family...and he loved Whale Island but now his eyes were focused on the journey ahead.

"Soon I would be in York Shin," he whispered, excited at the prospect of visiting the city again but this time as a tourist.

Smiling, Gon allowed himself to relax even more and let the sounds of nature soothe him.

This spot would be perfect to stop for now, especially since there was a creek to his left in which he could probably catch some lunch soon.

It felt good to be doing nothing as this was the first time in the few hours after dawn that he had allowed himself to stop – although he didn't need the rest. He had done it primarily to check his map and get something to eat before starting his journey again.

This is nice...

On the outside, Gon appeared relaxed and content but despite his relaxed posture, he was finding it hard to shake the persistent, nagging feeling that someone was watching him.

Hmm...

Unable to sense any aura, he lifted his head and sniffed the air.

Nothing…again.

But there had to be something out there – he was sure of it – his senses and nature were warning him of another presence other than his within a very close range. His senses told him by way of making him feel on edge and nature told him in the way that the animals seemed to be exercising caution in the immediate area bordering the clearing.

They're close.

Gon tried not to look to the edge of the clearing in the area where he felt the highest concentration of ill-intent.

It was frustrating to say the least: knowing that something, someone was out there and not being able to do a thing about it. Gon hated being at a disadvantage and as much as it irked him, he decided that his best course of action would be to stop wasting his energy in trying to assuage the identity of whomever it was that was following him.

I'm probably being overly sensitive, he thought, leaning forward to rest an elbow on his thigh and prop his chin on the heel of that hand.

In the past couple months; Gon had grown accustomed to being plagued with an overly sensitive perception of everything around him. He had noticed the change about one year earlier on returning to Whale Island and assumed that his already above-average senses must have amplified themselves in order to compensate for his current handicap – the loss of his Nen.

This heightening of his innate abilities was a change that he had welcomed and in a situation like this, where he was highly suspicious of being in danger, it came in handy. It could be the difference between life and death and because of that; he had the utmost faith in his talents.

In all his life, his nose had never failed him and despite the fact that it being a hot, humid day with practically no wind presented a bad sign for someone who had to rely completely on their sense of smell, Gon was not worried.

As usual, he refused to allow himself to stress too much about things like that and concluded that even if there was in fact someone looking at him from the bushes, they couldn't be too difficult to handle as he did not sense any danger in the malicious intent around him. So for that moment, he chose to ignore the feeling but still be a bit cautious.

Besides, at his current level with the amount of training he had completed, Gon felt that whoever it was could never pose a challenge to him. As a matter of fact, he hoped that they were a challenge, because after months of practising on weak opponents and enduring the pain of inactivity, he could surely use some action.

Maybe this would be fun...

Grinning shrewdly at that thought, Gon muttered with determination, "Gon Freecs has never backed down in the face of a challenge..."

XXX

Hisoka chuckled to himself as he watched Gon walk into the clearing and become instantly on alert. Although he was in a perfectly flawless Zetsu the boy was able to sense his presence and remain attentive despite being unable to pinpoint his location.

From his point of view, it seemed as if Gon was trying to make it appear to whoever was watching him that he hadn't noticed their presence, but Hisoka knew that Gon was aware of someone watching him.

Seems like I underestimated him~

Hisoka smiled proudly.

My Gon-kun knew that he was being followed~

The smile on his face widened and his heart beat faster.

Mmmmmmmm... Oh Gon-kun~

The fact that even with the knowledge of being followed, that Gon was not making a move to try to lose him meant that the boy was most likely trying to draw him out and take him on.

To always be so confident in his own abilities reminded the magician of the fiery resolve that Gon possessed.

I want to see that resolve~

I want to feel it...~

I want to... Hisoka looked down at his hands and moaned. I want to feel his neck under these hands... to hear him gasp for air as he looks up at me~

Those eyes...I want to...need to see them~

Mmmmm~ Hisoka was now thrilled at the thought of engaging Gon in a fight and started to get excited just thinking of how much his fruit appeared to have matured; seemingly even more than when he'd last met him.

"Just how much have you matured Gon?~ " he cooed to himself.

He was trying so very hard to rein in his desire to crush the boy but being this close to him, he had no idea how much longer he could remain in hiding.

XXX

What was that?!

Looking up suddenly, Gon sniffed the air. He still could not detect anything.

With no wind to help carry a hint of a scent to give him the faintest clue of what he was dealing with, Gon felt a twinge of concern.

Of all the days for the air to be still, hot and sticky...this had to be the worst one.

What should I do?

His senses, honed from spending his entire childhood on Whale Island, were screaming that there was someone out there, looking at him...analyzing him.

And that maybe…just maybe this encounter was one that he should do his best to avoid.

Before Gon could ponder on that thought, he felt a chill run up his spine.

What…the…heck?

At first when he'd sensed the unfamiliar change in the atmosphere that came with being closely observed, Gon had thought that it must have been a fellow traveler that was being extra cautious and had taken to following him at a distance to ensure that he wasn't a threat.

But now, he wasn't so sure that this person was entirely without sinister intentions. That is, because it had been a couple miles since he had noticed that person following him and from their growing presence he could sense that they had been getting steadily closer.

The thing that worried him the most though – the thing that he'd even dare to say frightened him – was being unable to infer whether that person was someone he'd met before, due to their presence being so well hidden.

If it wasn't for his exceptional senses, to cue to him that there was someone nearby, Gon was fully aware that he would have been as passive as a clueless lamb awaiting the hour of its slaughter.

What kind of creep was out there, and what did they want with him?

Almost immediately, Gon realized that running was not an option. If this person was so strong that they could be basically undetectable, he guessed that they'd be highly unpredictable as well.

Gon's look of contemplation evaporated and a determined expression took its place.

In any case, he had never intended to run and looking down one last time at the map in his hands and standing, he whispered, "Sorry Killua, I guess I'm going to have to delay a bit…"

Before Gon could formulate his next move, a sudden rustling in the bushes caught his attention and his head snapped up as he turned toward the source of the sound.

Seems like the coward has finally decided to show his face, he thought cynically as his blood boiled in preparation for the coming confrontation. But what Gon saw suddenly made that same blood run cold in his veins.

That definitely was no coward and the sadistic grin the man wore chilled him to the bone.

Whatever it was that he was planning couldn't be good, especially if past experience was anything to go by in this situation.

Run!

The command hit him like a bolt of electricity as the logical part of Gon's brain reminded him that this was a man who killed without remorse; a man who wouldn't hesitate to kill him either and that he'd be better off getting as far away from this freak as possible, but currently his legs were frozen in place, unable and unwilling to give in to his flight response.

I need to run…but I want to fight.

Gon's arms came up in a defensive gesture to protect his front as he put up his guard, hands fisted and ready.

Run!

No...

I can't!

I want to fight...

I need to run…

But...I want to fight.

In spite of this picture of readiness he made, on the inside there were so many conflicting emotions seeking resolution, wondering what to do with this immense situation that had crept up on him.

Run...

No!

I want to fight.

His body though, couldn't wait for his mind to come to a decision and had already started reacting on its own.

It's not like he could actually get away at this point; or that he wanted to. Because, unfortunately for Gon, that logical part of his brain that was screaming at him to run was drowned out by the loud thumping of his heart in his chest, the pulsing of the blood in his ears and the addictive fuel provided by the challenge in front of him.

His previously chilled blood started to burn again and with expressive eyes brimming with excitement, he stared down the man smirking at him and gasped breathlessly, "…Hisoka!"

Hisoka simply grinned wider and Gon was suddenly so worked up, so overflowing with anticipation and caution that he never allowed his eyes for one moment to leave the figure before him.


2nd Re-edit note 20/06/16: After all these remakes...I am finally satisfied with this chapter ;w;

Re-edit Note: Aunt Mito was trying to hook up Gon and Gon escaped the married life ;p (of course he wouldn't have been married right away, that girl probably would have just kept being invited over for dinner (by Aunt Mito of course) and next thing he knew, Aunt Mito would have encouraged him to take her places (and he would have agreed because he's a nice guy lol) and some years would have passed and poor Gon wouldn't even realize that he was dating until people started asking him when he's going to propose ha)

A/N

Hmmm I smell cliffhanger...*Gomen* XD

Hope you liked it! Don't forget to review and let me know what you think! A new chapter should be up soon, thanks for reading :)