Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Perfect Competence


She gritted her teeth in pain as she was mercilessly thrown against the solid wall across the room. The impact from the wall shook through her entire body, and the shock of it stirred up her insides, making her cough up stomach fluids. She glared at the strangely dressed man, who seemed to enjoy her pain very much, standing a few feet away from her.

Spitting out the bitter taste in her mouth, Kagome struggled to stand up straight only to be pulled and thrown to another wall with some kind of invisible force. Whatever power the man had, with a flick of his finger, she was thrown around like a doll, unable to control her own body. What was he?

"Feel like answering my questions now?"

His voice, sickeningly sweet and teasing, irritated her. Instead of replying, she simply spit out the pooling saliva and glared at him, her eyes burning with fury. What she didn't expect was that the man's face immediately became a little flushed as his pupils dilated in…pleasure? Her every glares and struggle only seemed to arouse him even more, and for once in some long, long time Kagome felt disgusted. What was this guy, a M?

"Ah, those look in your eyes! It's making me even more excited!"

Or maybe he's a S.

Even before her thoughts about the perverted and weird yet extremely dangerous guy before her concluded, she was suddenly pulled towards him. As she was dragged towards him, Kagome saw the raw excitement on his face that told her this guy was no ordinary guy who was giving her pain just because she wasn't answering him.

That arousal, that excitement, that hunger, everything about him was screaming danger. She needed to get away from him, now. She stretched out her arm and gathered her spiritual energy and blasted it towards him with all her might, hoping that the force will push her away from him. For a moment, the surprised look that flashed on his face made Kagome feel satisfied, but such satisfaction didn't last as she was pulled with much more brutal force, and his cold, large hand gripped her around the neck.

"You seem to have great understanding of nen, but at the same time handle it like a beginner. Hm~ A true puzzle indeed."

"Let…me go…you bastard!"

Kagome clawed at the tightening hand around her neck, attempting to escape from the death grip that was choking the air out of her lungs. What was nen? Perhaps he meant her reitsu? Did it matter? With her life getting sucked out of her, there was no time for her to ponder about Nen or whatever it was.

Kagome wheezed as she felt her limbs growing heavy due to lack of air. Just when she was about to faint, she felt his fingers around her neck loosen, dropping her on to the fluffy bed. Coughing and gulping for air, she looked up at the man with teary eyes silently wondering why he had suddenly let her go.

"It would be such a pity if I kill you when you have such potential to grow much stronger. Plus, you managed to gain enough of my interest to live. Isn't that wonderful?"

Kagome shuddered at the man's words, remembering Jurou had said something like that before attempting to kill her. Why was it that she always came across these creatures and men that had some abnormal tastes? And at that moment Kagome could finally conclude her thoughts about the man.

He definitely was a S. An extreme one at that.


The moment she opened her eyes, Hisoka knew that this petite yet well-toned woman would live. That look in her shining dark blue eyes reminded him of his little prey Gon, and at that moment he couldn't help but to smile. Her body was tense, ready for any surprise attacks, and her eyes continued to search him for any signs of ill intent. She wasn't a naïve little boy like Gon, but a more adept and experience fighter who had encountered countless enemies. She was in middle of becoming ripened fruit.

Was she going to be his newest collection to his toy box? Oh, it was a definite yes.

"What do you want from me!"

Her voice was raspy from his ruthless choking, and he stared down at her with playfulness. He wanted a lot of things from her, of course. It had been a while since he had another worthwhile mystery like her to appear. For Hisoka, this woman in front of her was a bundle of questions he couldn't solve. For example, he noticed how her aura circulated with ease, well controlled and smooth than any other experienced nen users he had seen. However, the way she handled her nen during the fight was like that of a novice, simply blasting her energy instead of using ken or any other nen techniques.

"What do I want from you? Well, that's a hard question."

He grinned at her and she frowned. Chuckling, he attached a strand of bungee gum on her and pulled her towards him. Feeling herself getting pulled towards him, Kagome grabbed the mattress with all her might, but with one more flick, she was in his arms again, her left cheek stuck to his right hand like a gum. She tried to glare up at him as much as possible, but Hisoka's left had covered her eyes to prevent her exciting him even more than she did already. Trying his best to suppress his excitement and rising bloodlust, Hisoka let out couple of deep breaths as he uncovered his left hand from her eyes.

"What's your name?"

"Hi…Higurashi Kagome…"

"Hm! A good name suiting a good girl."

"Wah?"

His cheerful comment made Kagome blush in embarrassment, and Hisoka grinned as he ruffled her raven locks and lowered his upper body to her eye level. His golden eyes pierced her blue ones, and she flinched as she saw that his smile didn't reach his eyes. That look in his eyes were much more ruthless and dangerous than those she had seen in Sesshomaru's, and it scared her. Just how dangerous was this man?

"I'm Hisoka. Nice to meet you, Kagome."

And with her small nod, their unusual relationship began.


revised 6/27