Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.

Warnings: Deaths. Violence. Expletives.

Beta: Arii-hime.


Eyes Open

Chapter Three: Battle In the Mist

Alluka held her hand all the way.

Gon still had doubts about them trying to trick her and her guard was up, much to her shame (what if they were truly kind people with no evil intentions?), but she dropped it when Alluka helped her up multiple times.

She was sure the young girl wasn't evil. But her older brother was a different matter entirely. He didn't say much and she didn't think he cared about her condition that much anyway.

"Gon!"

"Here!" Said girl cried back when she heard Leorio's voice. "Jeez, you don't have to shout so loud." That was what came from her but inwardly, she was happy; so was this what having an older brother was like?

She wished she had older brothers, perhaps people like Leorio and Kurapika; and like how Alluka had Killua, she was sure they were happy together.

"Who're they?" came Kurapika's slightly suspicious voice.

"I'm Alluka!" the cheerful younger girl answered. "And this is my brother, Killua! There's also Nanika but—"

"Allu!" Killua interjected sharply. "Enough."

"Sorry, I can't help myself. And she'd feel very left out."

"Who's Nanika?" Gon asked curiously.

"No one," Killua answered dishonestly.

Gon didn't need to look into his eyes to know that it was a blatant lie. She remained silent, not prying even though she was sure the siblings were shooting one another looks. Gon always had the sixth sense to sense someone's emotions, like her body was trying to compensate the loss of sight.

The skill was quite handy at times.

Gon nearly tripped when she failed to find another step. She wheezed slightly. "Ah... the steps came to an end?" she wondered.

"Yes," Alluka said. She jumped up and down, eventually coaxing Gon to do the same. "Yay! We're the first!"

Killua scoffed. "Stop it, it makes me look bad if the both of you continue to act like loons."

Alluka reached over Gon to swat her older brother but the white-haired boy swiftly dodged, batting his sister's hand away, making her pout at him. This, of course, was unseen by Gon who was busy sniffing the air.

"Where are we?" she finally asked, unable to picture things in her mind.

Alluka glanced at her, answering, "In the middle of a forest covered in mist." She paused. "I don't think it'd be much bother to you—or us. We'll lead you out of here, hold my hand, okay?"

Gon turned, reaching out to take Alluka's hand but someone shoved her, making her yelp; the sounds of thunderous footsteps from behind her, the crowd surging her forward, told her that the race had already begun. "Alluka! Killua!" she called, her voice hopelessly drowned out by the men who not-so-nicely shoved her out of the way.

She stumbled, barely able to regain her footing soon enough to move out of the way.

Now, Gon was worried.

She didn't know where her friends were, she didn't think anyone else would help her and she didn't know where to go nor did she know how to get there.

Hesitating, deciding to just trust her instincts and hearing, she ran after the grown men, hoping that the group she'd chosen was going the right way.


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Tonpa smirked when he saw the girl stumble, separated from the other two.

One of the Amori Brothers, the blue-shirted one, Imori, ran up to him, smirking. "All done, we got that blind kid separated from the rest." Tonpa clapped him on his shoulder, grinning widely. Imori shook his head, an amused smile on his lips. "Cruel as ever man, no mercy even for the blind."

Tonpa shrugged. "I'm just trying to help her realize that she's not cut out to be a Hunter." He frowned. "Where's that blonde guy and that glasses-wearing one?"

Imori shrugged. "No idea, they've been separated from the blind one since the marathon. Speaking of which, you have yet to pay us..." He wiggled his brow for emphasis.

Tonpa grinned, slapping a pile of cash in his hand. "It's been good doing business with you."

Imori shot him an odd look. "The things you'd do to make people miserable..."

Tonpa smiled. "It's my goal in life."

Imori shook his head, jogging onward, unable to hang out with Tonpa's weirdness. "What a weirdo," he mumbled under his breath, glancing in the direction where he saw the white-haired boy and his sister looking about wildly, calling their friend's name.

He spared them all a moment of sympathy for being on Tonpa's hit-list but pitying others wasn't his goal. So, he turned, cupped his hands over his mouth and called out to his brothers.

"Wait for me!"


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Leorio was almost glad that Gon wasn't with them now. He definitely didn't want that sweet little girl to meet this freaky asshole. Leorio gulped, tensing even further when another participant dropped dead.

Decided to play judge, what the fuck was going through that clown's head? Leorio shuddered to think about it, he definitely didn't want to understand how the other's mind worked. That guy's mind has got to be messed up!

Leorio met Kurapika's eyes, not at all surprised when he instantly understood what the younger boy was telling him with those grey eyes. He supposed that there were people out there who just clicked into friendship, could bond in a mere few days.

Leorio took a step back, waiting for Kurapika's signal to back away and use those guys as distraction.

Hisoka's eyes swept to him, as if he could read his mind.

That Tonpa didn't say that Hisoka was a mind-reader but just because no one claimed such, didn't mean he couldn't read people's minds. Leorio had the sudden thought that it'd be impossible to face this guy and escape unscathed, much less alive.

"Ah..." Leorio was forcefully pulled back to reality, and his jaw dropped at the sight before him. Where there stood about a hundred participants... there was no one but Hisoka left. He gulped when Hisoka turned to them, having been the one to make a petulant whine. "There's only three of you left."

Leorio glanced back, seeing Kurapika and an unfamiliar stranger. If a hundred couldn't defeat the clown, Leorio didn't know how three people could do the trick.

"Listen," the stranger whispered, low enough only for them to hear, "at my call, we'll run in three separate directions; that'd throw him off track, right? I'm sure all of you have good reasons to be Hunters, surely you wouldn't want to die here because of pride, right? There's no harm in running."

Leorio agreed, not that he was not keen on running in the first place. "Now!"

At that, the three separated, scattering across the clearing. Leorio expected Hisoka to pounce any moment, but the clown laughed, shuffling his cards, loudly saying that he'd allow them time to run.

His nostrils flared, skidding to a stop, turning around with a battle-cry.

Kurapika nearly tripped when Leorio shot past him, back to where Hisoka stood, clearly surprised that anyone of them dared to strike back.

"That's it!" Leorio roared. "I've lost my temper. Be prepared!"

"Leorio!" Kurapika cried, trying to convey every single warning into that one word.

Leorio brought his makeshift sword down, he missed, as Kurapika had expected. But just as Hisoka reached down to throttle Leorio or deliver a swift blow meant to kill, something smacked Hisoka's cheek with enough force to push him away from the short tempered man.

Kurapika's eyes widened, his stance relaxing for a moment in shock.

"Gon?" he called incredulously.

Very slowly, in no hurry or anger at all, Hisoka turned to face the newcomer. He arched a brow when he saw the bandages: the blind girl, the only handicapped contestant.

"Oh... did I get him?" She shifted her grip on her fishing pole. "Assuming, on the account that Leorio is still breathing, I managed to distract him, yes?"

"Pretty good aim for not being able to see, kid," Hisoka called back. "With a fishing rod, no less. What a peculiar weapon, show it to me how useful it is in battle!"

Leorio sprang up. "Your battle's with me, you damn—"

Gon stiffened when the sickening sound of broken bones rang across the clearing. Something blew past her face, and she knew Leorio's body had just been thrown carelessly past her. Her body tensed in fear, her brain freezing in the face of such power. In that instant, she knew she couldn't beat this man.

Blood trickled down Gon's cheek and she flinched; she hadn't realize Hisoka had thrown something her way. From how clean the cut was, she surmised that he'd thrown a card her way. Her bandages slid down her face; she stiffened, torn between letting go and staying in control.

She could sense, smell and hear her friends' fear, could feel and taste Hisoka's blood lust—if no one did anything, if she didn't sacrifice herself, he'd kill them all.

She couldn't let that happen to her friends.

She didn't think, she acted—she let herself go, sinking into oblivion even as she felt her body snapping into action.


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A fist to his cheek was not what Hisoka expected after intimidating the girl with Nen.

Hisoka skidded a few feet back, feeling his cheek smarting with a bruise; and whereas others would've been surprised by her strength (not to say he wasn't), he smirked.

This girl was interesting. He raised his head to look into what she'd hidden behind the bandages, what had given her such a boost of raw power.

The bandages slid off her eyes; Kurapika's eyes widened. "Gon, your eyes... The Kuruta Clan's Scarlet Eyes! How did you...?"

Scarlet Eyes?

Impossible. Hisoka may not have been present but he'd helped in selling those prized eyes of the Kuruta away. He scrutinized the girl; it may be possible that those eyes were transplanted even though every operation he'd heard of had failed so far as only a Kuruta blood may use the famed eyes.

Hisoka's eyes locked with the girl's. There was no fear, unlike the fear that had reeked off her earlier; just eerie calmness, the eye before a storm.

Then, she grinned—not the friendly smile, but one Hisoka himself had often wore: one of crazed blood lust, craving destruction. Hisoka jerked back as she lunged, her punches and kicks crazy fast, so fast that he had to rely on his body's reflexes to move on instinct instead of using his eyes.

She pushed him back, not giving him room to breathe but that was fine for Hisoka.

He would love to kill the girl, she'd be a satisfying kill, but she's got so much more damn potential, so much more room to grow and gain power that it'd be a damn pity if she died here now.

He grabbed her fist, intent on stopping her and retreating but the possessed girl didn't seem like stopping anytime soon. She jackknifed upwards, kneeing his chin, twisting midair, and landing on his shoulder, the force of her attack shoving him down.

She pinned him to the ground, having reversed their position: she, the hunter; he, the hunted.

She snarled at him, like she was ready to tear his throat out with her incisors alone.

Hisoka smiled up cheerily at her. "I lost. I'll let you and your friends walk away alive." She sneered, animalistic. Hisoka craned his neck to where he could practically smell the shock rolling waves from the girl's only conscious friend. "Blondie, if you wish to walk out of here alive, sane and limbs intact, I advise you get this girl off me."

"Gon," the boy called, voice strained and tight. "Please get off him. You're not in your right mind, you'll regret it if you kill him. I know you're not ready to kill anyone." Very bravely, he closed the distance between them, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "He's not worth the anger and we're safe aren't we? We're okay, Gon, you're safe, we're safe, everything's okay."

"It'd be even better if you're not trying to kill me," Hisoka butted in cheerfully as Kurapika pried her off him. But the moment Hisoka sat up, Gon snarled, body ready to spring forward, ready to tear his throat out and Kurapika flinched.

He'd only heard, and had seen Pairo like this once, and the adults had...

Kurapika grabbed one of the fallen men's belt, sliding it beneath Gon's fringe, efficiently covering her eyes. Hisoka observed; he waited and the girl slumped. Relaxing, Kurapika fastened the belt over her eyes, silently wondering how he was going to replace the bandages without her going crazy again.

"Strange phenomenon," Hisoka said. "Is she always like this?"

Kurapika shook his head, mystified, but then, seeming to recall who he was talking to, tensed. He eyed Hisoka warily. The Joker raised his hands in a surrender motion.

"I lost this round fair and square, you pass the test." Hisoka smiled at them, not very nicely, no, but more of a predatory sort, as if he was about to have dinner. "As a matter of fact, all of you will be good Hunters." Kurapika stiffened when the magician walked past him, to Leorio's body.

He threw a smile back at Kurapika, but his eyes were on Gon's unconscious form.

"You'll find your way to the finishing point fine, won't you?"

Kurapika nodded, eyeing Leorio.

"I'll bring him there, it'd be a pity to see him fail now," Hisoka said, seeing Kurapika's questioning look, waved and left, his back disappearing in the mist.

Deciding that their discussion could wait till Gon woke, Kurapika shifted her so that she was safely on his back and set off. He licked his lips, mind racing, his heart beating with hope.

Gon might be a family member, a Kuruta that had been spared from the massacre!

He smiled; coming to this Exam was definitely the best choice he'd made.


Question: Any theories about Gon's eyes and actions in this chapter?

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