The Red Book Cover

"Your friend is going to be okay."

Gon, Killua and Kurapika all looked at Aada, who's just come to the room they were sitting in to deliver the news. She frowned seeing the expressions on their faces, something between a wince and a scowl. Definitely not what she'd expect from friends hearing good news.

"He's not our friend." said Killua firmly.

Aada's eyes narrowed a bit as she readjusted her glasses.

"Well," she said, "Even if he's not your friend, you were the ones who brought him here. And now, since Leorio is completely exhausted, one of you will be helping me with him."

"What?!" Killua seemed outraged at the idea but quickly became silent, seeing the doctor's kind, green eyes harden behind her lenses. Women could be so scary sometimes…

"I'll help you." Gon chipped in and got up.

"Gon!"

"Don't, Killua." said Gon. "She's right, we should help. It's our fault he ended up like that."

He turned to Aada. "What do you need me to do?"

"Come with me." She replied, choosing not to comment on what he'd just said. She was there to heal, not to judge other people's business.

Aada led Gon through the house, until they reached a small room in the far end of the corridor, where Hisoka lay in a bed, barely big enough to fit his tall frame. It was surreal for Gon to see the magician like that, motionless, unconscious, breathing heavily, his face shining with a film of sweat.

Aada sat on a chair next to the bed and motioned Gon to follow. He carefully sat on the bed, barely fitting in and feeling very uncomfortable. The doctor took a piece of clean cloth and doused it in cold water from a basin on the nightstand. She put it in Gon's hand, and guided it towards Hisoka's face. The boy's eyes widened, but he allowed the doctor to guide him, as she slowly used his hand to delicately wipe Hisoka's face, the star and the tear dissolving slowly in cool drops. Gon was surprised how different Hisoka looked without his trademark makeup, almost vulnerable, so… human. Aada moved her hand away and Gon looked at her, unsure what to do next. She smiled at him encouragingly.

"Douse it in water, and put it on his forehead, it will help him." She instructed. Gon did as he was told, still feeling rather strange. When he pressed the cold cloth to Hisoka's forehead, the magician's erratic breathing slowly calmed. The boy looked at the doctor, now smiling happily, knowing he did well.

"Now put one more on his neck, and one on his chest." she said and Gon followed to the letter.

"See? He's already feeling better." praised Aada, smiling at the boy, endeared by his behavior. "Now we just need to watch him until the fever breaks."

"Go have some rest, doctor." said Gon, "You look so tired… I'll watch him."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes." He replied, his voice firm, decision made.

She nodded. "Very well. I'll take a nap. I'll come to relieve you soon. Just change the cold compresses from time to time, okay? But if anything happens, call me. Leorio won't wake up now even if this house gets hit with a bomb."

Gon looked to the floor and blushed.

"I don't know your name." he mumbled. "Or where to find you."

Aada looked embarrassed.

"I'm sorry." She said, "I really must be tired. My name is Aada. Aada Holme." She extended her hand towards the boy, who took it and squeezed it gently.

"Gon Freecss."

"Nice to meet you, Gon." She nodded, "Leorio told me about you. If you need me, you'll find me two doors down the corridor, on the left."


Upon returning to her patient's room several hours later, Aada found Gon asleep in the chair, snoring lightly. Her eyes widened in surprise when she noticed he was holding Hisoka's hand, the man's slim, long fingers limp and contrasting with the boy's much smaller tanned ones that curled around them.

Not your friend, huh?

She smiled; it was hard not to, seeing such a selfless act of kindness. Aada took a spare blanket and carefully tucked it around the boy, trying not to wake him. When doing that, she heard a pained moan from the bed.

Aada could see rapid movements of Hisoka's eyes under his eyelids, as his head moved erratically on the pillow. She frowned, worried, and touched his forehead. His fever was spiking, as she would often observe with her patients in the past – but it would break soon.

It WILL break, she reassured herself, her heart constricting when she heard another pained moan. I can't go there, she thought, I can't. He will be fine. It's just a few cuts. Nothing truly serious. He will be fine. She rubbed her forehead tiredly, trying to keep memories at bay, but it was too late, a single tear a silent testament to unwanted thoughts.

Aada firmly shook her head, finding strength in this decisive movement, forcing her mind to calm down as she slowly rationalized the situation, an action she was now well trained in, having repeated it with most of her patients for the past year. Yes, there was an infection, but not much time has passed since it had developed. She disinfected the wounds properly, Leorio helped her put the stitches in, and their patient got proper medication in time too. His fever will break. He will be fine. Unlike… Even after all that time, often she couldn't bring herself to think his name, much less say it. She was feeling better now though and despite the sting brought about by recollecting past events, she felt calm and in control of the situation again.

Hisoka started trashing on the narrow bed again, as if unconsciously trying to contradict her. Aada slowly removed his hand from Gon's grasp, not wanting the sudden movements to wake the boy. Hisoka's fingers locked around her wrist in a vice grip, but relaxed slightly when she placed her other hand on top of his. She wanted to pry his fingers off but try as she may, she couldn't succeed; the sensation was really strange – it was a strong, reflexive grip, but his fingers felt like they were glued to her skin. No, it didn't feel quite like glue – rubber? A mix of both? Whenever she managed to pry one of his fingers off, which was difficult enough given the resistance, it would snap back right in the same place as soon as she let go of it, as if it was pulled back. She thought it probably had something to do with that energy Leorio was using sometimes, the one she could not see – nen. Hisoka could probably use it too, and had limited control over it in his feverish state, most likely having used it unconsciously. She got up slowly, reached for the compress with her free hand, doused it in cool water and placed it back on his forehead, then repeated the movements until all pieces of cloth were cool again.

Aada sighed tiredly. She was effectively chained to her troublesome patient; she looked around and decided she would have to sit on the floor. Gon, being much smaller than her, could sit on the bed next to Hisoka, but unfortunately she couldn't. Fortunately the mattress wasn't too far from the floor level, so at least her arm wouldn't be bent at an awkward angle. Hisoka's fingers tightened their hold on her wrist again, as he resumed his chaotic movements, his breathing uneven, long nails scratching her skin painfully.

"Hey, stop that…" Aada whispered, although she was aware he couldn't hear her. She placed her palm flat on his chest, trying to press him into the mattress and the touch seemed to calm him somewhat.

"Shhhhhh… sleep… you need it…" she soothed quietly, reaching to carefully stroke his hair, and his fingers finally relaxed a little, though not enough to let go of her wrist.

Although she suspected she would not succeed, Aada tried to pry them off again for a while and then sighed, feeling defeated. Come morning, her skin would likely be bruised and she would be stiff from sitting on the floor. Despite her current predicament, her lips curved in a small smile as she settled on the wooden panels next to the bed.

"You're so much trouble, Hi-so-ka…" she whispered.


Hisoka wanted to sleep more, but the damn sunlight wouldn't let him, trying to crawl under his eyelids. He opened his eyes, narrowing them immediately at the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling. He tried to remember what happened, before sudden understanding hit him – he could see. The damned grey film was gone, along with the pounding headache. Memories were lazily returning as he moved his head to the right to look around the room he was in. What he saw was surprising at the very least – slumped on a chair next to the bed was Gon, already awake, although from the state of his crumpled clothes it looked like he had spent most of the night there.

The boy flashed a shy, unsure smile and placed his index finger against his lips in a silent plea for Hisoka to remain quiet, his other hand pointing to the floor. Only then did Hisoka realize that his right hand was clutching something and his eyes followed the direction indicated by Gon. Just like that, the final piece of the puzzle that was last night fell into place and Hisoka's mouth broke into a wide grin.

Good morning to you, little pine.

Aada was asleep, sitting on the floor next to his bed, her forehead on a makeshift pillow of her arm resting on bent knees, her face covered by dark hair that spilled from a loose ponytail over the night, her wrist still in Hisoka's grip. He noticed a tattoo covering her forearm, a serpent-entwined rod, the serpent's tongue reaching her palm in swirls of black ink as the tail curled around the elbow.

You're really dedicated to your work, aren't you?

He must have been clutching at her wrist for hours, and he quickly realized that it was possible only because his bungee gum activated by itself in his unconscious state. was then that he remembered more, not even memories, more of a feeling. Quiet, calm voice, a hand stroking his hair in slow, soothing motions. He felt strange and his brow furrowed when he noticed bruises and shallow cuts on the skin of the doctor's wrist, for some indescribable reason not enjoying the knowledge that he was the one who caused them. In that uncharacteristic moment of reflection, his fingers twitched involuntarily, stiff from grabbing Aada's wrist for so long, his bungee gum released and her hand slipped from his grasp, hitting the floor and shocking Hisoka out of the unfamiliar mood and jolting Aada awake. She looked around drowsily, before her gaze focused on her bruised wrist.

"OH FINALLY!" she exclaimed, but then looked directly at Hisoka, looking slightly apologetic.

Back to his normal self, Hisoka observed her carefully, being able to see her properly for the first time. She was dressed in a pair of jeans that that looked pretty worn out and a simple black tank top. She looked young; her pale complexion was complimented by the strands of long hair, its dark brown colour bordering black. She had nicely shaped, dark eyebrows; the black frame of her rectangular, cat eye like glasses sat on the bridge of a straight nose, framing almond shaped green eyes that currently hosted a slightly troubled expression, long eyelashes brushing against the lenses as she blinked nervously. High cheekbones were now accentuated by a slight blush; full, plump lips over a narrow chin completed the heart shaped face. Hisoka's smile grew wider. He liked pretty things; after all, he paid much attention to his own appearance. He knew that teasing someone who matched his own intelligence would make his recovery time much more bearable, but his doctor's looks were an added bonus. He would enjoy this even more.

Aada's eyes widened, awkwardness giving way to happiness.

"You can see me!" she exclaimed and rushed towards Hisoka, trying to fit next to him on the narrow bed. "Let me see…"

She took Hisoka's face in her hands, tilting it slightly upwards so she could fully examine the pupils' reaction to light. As the remnants of the pine scent reached him, the magician looked her in the eyes, his gaze calculating, searching. She flushed, his gaze making her uncomfortable, and pushed her glasses back in a nervous gesture. It was not the look that she'd come to associate with her patients – usually full of gratefulness and sometimes even adoration; this particular patient looked positively predatory.

"Everything seems to be back to normal…" she said, feeling awkward, her voice still groggy from sleep.

Hisoka immediately opened his mouth to speak, but Aada's eyes suddenly narrowed as she quickly raised her hand to stop him.

"I swear, if you say 'Hisoka', I'm going to throttle you, medic's oath be damned." she threatened.

Gon tensed and watched carefully, slightly nervous, not sure what the magician's reaction would be. To his surprise, Hisoka covered his eyes with his hand, his shoulders shaking as laughter slowly bubbled to the surface. Gon has heard Hisoka laugh before, but not like that; each time he's heard it, it was laced with malice or ridicule, but this time it sounded almost sincere. Hisoka's hand dropped to the duvet as he looked at Aada again, a wide grin on his lips.

"Fine," he said "have it your way, little pine…"

Aada rolled her eyes, but smiled back. She suddenly paused, as if she remembered something. She looked around the room, clearly looking for something, until her eyes focused on a book on the night stand.

"Gon, hand me that book, please." she said.

The boy did as instructed, curious. Aada took the book from him and held in front of Hisoka.

"What's the colour of the cover?" she asked.

Hisoka's brows furrowed. He wasn't sure why it was important.

"Red." He said.

Aada beamed and he knew that he must have given the correct answer to whatever underlying reason behind her simple question. Seeing his confusion, Aada quickly spoke.

"Optic nerve inflammation often causes loss of color vision, and red is especially tricky." she explained.

Hisoka watched his doctor closely, taking in the wide smile, the satisfaction that poured out of her, once again surprised with how easy it was for her to touch him and treat him, so simple, normal. Of course, she didn't know much about him, or else she wouldn't be so unguarded. Still, he didn't mind. It was… refreshing, for the lack of a better word. The only kind of touch he'd known was when he clashed with someone in combat - precise, focused, painful, or when he'd go about satisfying his carnal urges – quick, purposeful, not lasting, never too much.

"Now, read this, please, just to be sure." Aada opened the book on the first page and handed it to Hisoka. He sighed, but eventually complied.

"Rising at dawn, Casmeer found one of them hanging in the nets outside again. Would they never learn? It was a dying, broken thing. It clacked its beak at him in a last defiant, mocking gesture, shook its shaggy, dirty-white head, tried to manipulate its skinny elbows. It had come for the roche that stood on Casmeer's roof, attracted by the scintillant sparkle in the crystal depths, filled with a lustful urge to steal.*"

He paused and looked at his doctor, noticing an absentminded, faraway look on her face.

"Will this be enough?" he asked, amused.

She blinked a few times, then turned to him slowly and smiled.

"Yes. Your eyes are fine." She said, "Just a few more days to make sure there is no remnant infection from your wounds, and you can be on your way."

She got up and stretched.

"I'm glad you're feeling better." she said before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

Outside, Aada stopped and leaned against the wall, feeling a blush rising on her cheeks, thinking back to how she got distracted and caught. It was Hisoka's voice. Last night she didn't pay that much attention, preoccupied with treating him, but now, when he read the passage, she couldn't help it. He had a beautiful voice; low, but not overly so, melodic, with the cadence rising slightly and softening at the end of each sentence. It was like honey, thick and sweet. Smoky. Seductive. She caught herself thinking she wouldn't mind it if he read the whole book aloud, before chastising herself for being unprofessional.


*A/N: The book is "Calenture" by Storm Constantine.