Hisoka is so hard to write y'all. Guren is too, really, because she's so conflicted right now. Instinct is telling her to get the FUCK away from Hisoka for her own safety but at the same time, she's unaware that he's her first crush. Poor thing.

I'm not the best at fight scenes, which is why I plan to put a decent amount in here to get better xD. Be prepared for that~ There is more ajin stuff now, and Guren's resolve to take the exams like a regular mortal being is seriously tested in this chapter. As is her resolve with her other problem. She succeeds with one of them.

Here we are, sorry for any mistakes. Also thanks for the reviews and dm's guys! Hope you like it!

XXX

"So wait, Killua's whole family are assassins?" I gaped at Gon incredulously as we walked down the hallway early that morning. "Including him?"

"Yup!" Gon said enthusiastically. "He doesn't want to kill people though, so he ran away from home. He also knows this cool illusion ability that only assassins know! It was so cool when he used against Mr. Netero-"

Geez, what did I miss out on last night?

After taking a much-needed shower and eating my much-deserved ice cream last night, I couldn't find Gon or Killua but I did find where Leorio and Kurapika were sleeping. I ended up using the pretty boy's thigh as a pillow and slept there until early the next morning.

I woke up before most of the others in the room except for Hanzo and another applicant I didn't know and went out to find my brother. Not long after starting my search, Bean's voice spoke over the intercoms saying that we'd reached our destination. Lucky for me, I met up with Gon not long after and he excitedly told me about what he and Killua were up to after the kitchen fiasco.

I honestly wasn't sure how to feel about Killua now. It wasn't like I thought he was a bad person just because he was born into a family of assassins, but it did make him more dangerous than I'd previously thought. He didn't really seem like the type to kill if someone bothered him, unlike some people I knew.

A heavy wind blew around us, causing me to shiver. Why did my outfit have to show so much skin again? I couldn't help but enjoy the view, though. The third phase was held on a very large tower that stood on top of an even larger rocky structure. The blimp seemed small like an ant compared to the tower.

I looked around at everyone gathering out of the airship. I caught sight of Killua, Leorio, and Kurapika, and nudged Gon and pointed them out. He immediately brightened and called them over, loudly. I tried not to fidget when he drew looks from other applicants as well.

I felt a shiver race down my spine and looked around. Why did I get the feeling someone was...oh.

Hisoka was staring at me from a couple of yards away. Or maybe he was staring at our group…?

His smile widened once I met his gaze. He gave me a subtle wave and winked.

I almost waved back, but then remembered what that ass did last night. So instead, I glared and turned away dismissively. I decided last night that I was going to forget him and stick with Gon, and the first step to that is avoiding him.

"Hey, why are your cheeks red, Sis?" Gon inquired innocently next to me, and I quickly placed my hands on them. Damn, they were warm, weren't they? "Are you getting sick again? Maybe you shouldn't have had so many sweets last night," he fretted, placing his lips on my forehead.

I gave him a smile. "Aww! You're so cute, big bro!" I squealed and glomped him with a hug. He hugged me back a bit, before suddenly clearing his throat and pushing me away. I blinked at his embarrassed expression. Huh?

"C'mon sis, not in public." He chuckled nervously, glancing at Killua's teasing face.

I frowned at that. "Since when did you ever care about that? You started it, anyway!" I accused, flicking him in the nose lightly.

He pouted and went to respond, but just then Beans announced, "Everyone, the Exam's Third Phase will begin here, at the top of Trick Tower. To pass, you must reach the tower's base alive. The time limit is seventy-two hours." The little bean man held up his hands. "With that, we will now begin the Third Phase."

I pushed away my unhappiness at Gon's strange behavior and looked around. We were supposed to get down this thing? Was it a test of courage? Were we expected to climb down?

I shook my head and wandered towards the edge to peer down. No, there's no way. There has to be something we're missing.

A wry smirk pulled up at my lips. Well, I guess I could always just jump. I could probably sneak over the edge before anyone noticed. I'd be reset and before anyone even knew any better, too.

No! No unnecessary deaths! I wanted to do this phase with Gon, anyway.

I glanced back over to Gon only to see him and our group at the edge a ways away staring over the edge. My eyes widened a bit. They weren't considering climbing down...right?

My brother kneeled down onto his knees and peered over the edge. I jogged towards them, but I only made it four steps before a tile suddenly gave away underneath my foot, and I fell through the floor with a startled yelp.

I barely managed to land on my feet after the not so long drop. I looked at my new surroundings and saw that it was cold and dark. Well, I guess that's how we get through the Trick Tower...

A glance up showed the trap door that I fell through, and I was disappointed that I couldn't do the phase with Gon. Unless multiple people could fall through the same door?

I walked towards the only other thing in the room and read the blue glowing screen above a small table.

For this task, you and your partner will need to make it to the bottom of the tower together. If one of you dies or is unable to clear the tower with your partner, you both will fail. The two cuffs monitor your vitals, and cannot be removed again until you both reach the bottom. Good luck.

Hope bubbled up in my chest. So I could do this with Gon! Surely he heard my scream when I fell, he'll come and investigate and then he'll fall through and then we'll have this phase in the bag-!

I heard the trap door open up again and I grinned. My intuition was right!

When I heard Gon land I didn't bother turning around and just said over my shoulder, "'Bout time, slowpoke. I thought you were going to keep me waiting."

He didn't answer, but I heard him walk closer with barely audible steps. "You owe me a hug, by the way. I don't care if it's now or in front of your new friend, I'm your sister." I pouted and picked up one of the cuffs (it was a watch, really) that were sitting on the small table. "You know I can't function properly without my daily dose of affection." I teased and slipped on my watch. I could feel him right behind me now, and we both watched my heart rate come to life on the small screen. It had sharp lines and a number above it that fluctuated between fifty and fifty-five. I guess that's normal?

Then, Gon finally spoke up; except it wasn't his cute, bubbly voice I heard. This voice was unmistakable in both cadence and inflection and belonged to someone I wanted to avoid.

"Oh~? Is that why you ignored me so rudely earlier~?" Hisoka said in a honeyed tone.

No...

My heart skipped a beat in dread and I flinched. I tried to whirl around but his clawed hand gripped the back of my neck before I could and slammed my head down onto the small table, my nose just centimeters away from the other watch. It nearly clattered off the table from the force of my head hitting the table.

"I was really hurt, you know~" I clenched my fists, ready to strike back, but froze when his nails dug into my neck in warning. He bent over so that his face was right next to mine. He was so close I could feel his card suited shirt drape against my bare arm.

Hisoka's eyes narrowed further as he stared from way too close. "I don't take...kindly...to being ignored~," He said in a low and threatening way. His tone still held a certain lilt, but there was no mistaking the danger brimming underneath. I swallowed. He was serious.

Damn him, I wanted space, and now not only do I have to work with him to pass this phase, but he was also pissed off at me. That just multiplies the risk of him snapping and killing me.

"Well, I don't like it when people steal my dessert." I snarked, meeting his severe look with a smile. It wasn't a nice smile; it was sharp and daring. Honestly, I wasn't even angry about it anymore; annoyed, yes, but mostly at myself.

Really, I needed to learn to keep my mouth shut.

The magician leaned away a bit and grabbed one of my fists with his free hand. I fought against him, trying to pull my hand out of his grasp, but his strength far outmatched my own. He brought my hand up so that my palm was facing me, and started to apply pressure to the joint of my thumb. My heart jolted in my chest.

"I'm usually fairly good at reading people, but you have me at a loss, little Guren~," He said, eyes fixed on my face as he applied more and more pressure. "I can't figure out if you lack self-preservation, or if you're just an idiot."

My hand was really hurting now, but I only grit my teeth and snapped my garnet eyes up to meet cold amber defiantly. I wasn't about to show fear, that would only entice the beast.

A dull pop echoed through the small room as he pushed too much on the joint and broke my thumb.

My eyes clenched shut in pain and I bit down on my lip to stop from making any sounds. A small part of me didn't think he'd really do it, and I wanted to laugh hysterically at my own stupidity.

My lips twitched up as I felt the painful throbbing in my hand. I knew that he was a cold-hearted killer, why would I expect him to hold back on breaking a little girl's bones? I fell for his ruse like those foolish men did when seeing the beautiful butterflies in the swamp. His allure, his companionship last night, his humanity…I let myself be fooled, practically bared my throat for the snake to strike.

God, that was so hilarious!

I felt Hisoka grab my index finger and bit my lip harder to hold in the giggles. The sane part of my mind; the part that I liked to believe was the girl I used to be before I died, was screaming that there was nothing funny about my situation. The hungry wolf is playing with me before it ate me alive, I needed to fight back with everything I had!

But the rest of my brain; the voice I let influence me for years spoke with calm, unperturbed logic. So what? They're just broken bones. All I need to do is die, and everything will be alright.

I grinned and opened my eyes to meet his again. They were slightly wider than normal and were darting from my mirthful grin and back to my shining eyes. I'm sure I didn't look that sane, but couldn't really care right then.

"Probably an idiot with no self-preservation," I said, voice wobbly. I was trying not to let out manic laughter, but if he assumed it was wobbly from pain than that was fine. "But I'll let you know something, Hi-so-ka..."

He said nothing, but his eyes gleamed with interest and something else as he leaned a bit closer. "Even beasts need to be wary of prey every now and then…" My smile softened against my will when I took in his handsome features. "You never really know what kind of bite they have until it's too late."

Hisoka stared at me with an expression similar to the one he wore when he watched me eat last night for a few moments. Then his smile was back, and let out a hum as he studied me. "Mm, you're going to ripen deliciously…" He said, sounding like he couldn't believe his luck. I didn't quite get what he meant, but I didn't have much time to wonder about his fruit fixation when he let go of my undamaged index finger and took hold of my throbbing thumb again.

I grimaced at his touch and the sight of my thumb laying unnaturally against my palm. With a quick snap, he popped it back into place. "Nng!" I couldn't help but grunt out in pain, and then he let me go completely.

I immediately stood up and wiggled my thumb experimentally. It was sore, but back to normal. He only dislocated it, I thought, surprised. My chest warmed a bit at the merciful action, and I felt a bit more like myself.

"I want to have our fight now, little Guren~" Hisoka suddenly sang next to me, reminding me that he was still very close. I immediately moved a good distance away and eyed him warily. He merely blinked amusedly at me.

"What do you mean? We have to get through the trick tower together…?" I asked, unsure. Was he ready to kill me now? Did he really not care about passing the exams this year?

His vulpine smile widened. "And we will, but we have seventy-two hours to do that. Our fight shouldn't take longer than ten minutes~" So, he didn't want to fight to the death. At the moment. "Besides, you owe me~,"

I started at that. "For what?" I asked incredulously.

"For ignoring me earlier, and for leaving me so abruptly last night without even a goodbye…" Hisoka put a hand to his chest. "You nearly broke my heart, little Guren~"

Yeah, right. Hisoka couldn't even keep a straight face as he said that; his lips were curling up way too much at the corners of his mouth in mirth to be taken seriously.

Well, if he wasn't going to try to kill me, I didn't really see much harm in it. I shrugged, "Fine. I've been wanting to fight you, anyway." I said without thinking.

"Oh~?" He said, calmly walking towards the middle of the room. Something caught my eye on his wrist and I noticed that he had already slipped on his matching watch. When did he do that?

"Yeah," I answered, and moved so I was across from him on the opposite side of the room. "The first time was a little...quick."

He hummed in agreement and got a faraway look in his eye, most likely remembering nearly choking me to death in the swamp.

I took off my backpack and set it down by the table. I briefly considered grabbing the knife I had hidden with the gun but decided not to. Hopefully, this wouldn't escalate to weapons.

The magician waited patiently while I stretched. I flexed my newly fixed hand and tried to think of the best strategy to take him off guard. I had a bit more room to move here than I did in the slightly smaller bedroom on the blimp, and there was a good chance he would underestimate me.

I took a deep breath and felt my body come alive as the adrenaline started flooding my system. I thought back to my failed attempts last night. He probably thinks that was the fastest I could move. I can use that to my advantage. I fell into the boxing stance I'd copied from watching bar brawls and gave Hisoka a small nod, signaling that I was ready.

He didn't move. He just gave me a smile raised his hand palm up, beckoning me closer with his index finger.

Well, alright then. I took one more second to settle my nerves and dashed forward.

I didn't run at full speed yet, but I was definitely moving faster than last night. The redhead looked like he was just told that somebody was out for his blood; mildly interested, but not really surprised.

Just as I was within arm's length of him, I disappeared.

Not really, but I moved so fast that to the untrained eye it would look like I had blinked out of thin air. It was a speed that both my brother and I were capable, and but I couldn't manage it for as long as Gon. Not without resetting, anyway.

Hisoka raised a brow as his yellow eyes tracked me without difficulty above him, and I brought my fist down as fast and as hard as I could. He simply sidestepped out of the way, but I used my momentum to spin and axe kick him while I was still airborne.

The magician merely slapped my foot away and hit me in the chin with a jarring palm strike that sent me flying backward ass over teakettle. I caught myself before I could land head first into the hard stone floor and flipped back onto my feet. Damn, I could already feel a bruise forming from the hit.

I dashed forward again, not wanting to give him time to think. I attacked head on this time, throwing a flurry of punches at him as fast as I could, leaving faint after images of my fists. He blocked and evaded them all, that smile never leaving his face. After a few more missed hits, I changed tactics; when he parried my next punch and I quickly twisted my hand and gripped his wrist and tried to pull him towards me.

He didn't budge, but that was what I was counting on. I knew from our encounter at the swamp when I tried to break his arm that it would be like pulling the arm off of a statue. His biceps were nearly the size of my head when they flexed, I couldn't overpower that.

I smirked and wrapped both of my arms around the pale limb, using his arm as leverage. He easily held up my body weight and I slammed both my feet towards his unguarded face. He caught my feet with his free hand and turned my position against me; kneeing me between my shoulder blades so hard that the wind was knocked out of me with a wheezing gasp.

Stunned, I let go of his arm. During the second I was falling back to the ground, Hisoka took advantage and hit me with an uppercut. My eyes watered from the pain dealt to my already smarting jaw. Damn him to hell and back, he hit me there on purpose! I bared my teeth in anger and met his elated expression with a determined glare. His eyes confirmed it, he was enjoying my pain.

Sadistic son of a bitch! I swung my feet mid-air and flipped backward enough to grab that arm again, digging my nails in hard enough to break the skin in petty revenge. With gravity on my side this time, I finally managed to move him.

As soon as my feet hit the ground I swung the smirking magician over my head, intending to slam him into the ground back first. He effortlessly planted his feet and caught his fall, his body parallel to the ground in an impressive show of balance. He then turned the tables once more, swinging me over his head. I braced myself thinking he was going to throw me into the ground like I intended to do to him, but once my face was even with his abdomen, his foot slammed into my face.

I flew through the air and couldn't break my fall this time. I tumbled painfully over the unrelenting floor and slammed into the wall. My nose was definitely bleeding, but it didn't feel broken. Tears gathered against my will from the pain, and I looked at the redhead through slightly blurry eyes.

He calmly lowered his leg and rested the hand that flipped me against his hip. He held up the other one in a grand gesture. He didn't have a scratch on him aside from the bloody crescents on his forearm. "Very good, little Guren~" His voice was still velvety, showing no strain from our battle at all. Shit.

I wiped away the blood dripping from my nose with a shaky hand and got back onto my feet. My blood was pounding in my ears, and a heady feeling was swelling up from deep within me. He's not even trying, and his blows were still devastatingly powerful.

"Mm~...you're putting up much more of a fight than your brother did yesterday," Hisoka said.

The thought of Gon's alteration with Hisoka still put me on edge, and the anger and fear for my twin's life came roaring back. The cool air got even colder as I thought of what I would do to the magician if he harmed Gon again.

Hisoka groaned deep in his throat, yellow eyes raking over my form. "Yes, this is much more fun…~"

I narrowed my eyes and pushed off the wall, determined to land a good, hard hit.

"RrraaaaagGGHHH!" The battle-cry ripped out of my throat, the air getting even colder as I focused on making him bleed.

As I flew across the dark room, I vaguely registered that my voice didn't sound right. In fact, it echoed like Sandy's, only brimming with a harsh ringing that didn't fade away immediately.

Hisoka's smile melted off his face when I advanced, pure shock coloring his features. I don't know what I did to surprise him so much, but I didn't look a gift horse in the mouth. I grinned and plowed my fist into his face, using the teardrop on his cheek as a bullseye.

He didn't do anything, just took the hit and fell straight backward. Something wasn't right about that, but I ignored the feeling and took advantage, following him and cracking my knuckles against his other cheek.

The magician still didn't move or change expression. No, his expression was a bit different now. His lips were still downturned, but his eyes were staring up at me intensely. I punched him again, then paused.

Why...was he just laying there letting me hit him…?

I blinked down at him, my victorious grin dying down from confusion. Did he pity me? Or maybe he was toying with me? That bastard!

Enraged at the thought, I leaned over him and slapped my hands roughly on the sides of his face and positioned my thumbs over his eyes. "Are you making fun of me, Hisoka?" I hissed, leaning in so close that some of my hair fell onto his forehead. Gold clashed with garnet. "We'll see who's laughing when I pop those mocking eyes out…" I trailed off when I felt his body twitch underneath me.

His eyes were slightly dilated now, and the only thing showing any life. I lowered my thumbs and tried to calm down, taking in what I had missed before.

He wasn't moving or speaking, because it felt like his body was frozen stiff. In fact, it felt like I was sitting on a corpse, already post rigor mortis. My eyes widened and I quickly looked down at the chest I was sitting on. It wasn't moving. I couldn't feel him breathe.

Pure fear flooded my system, washing away the anger instantly. "Hisoka?!" My voice came out high pitched and raspy, and my mysteriously sore throat contracted painfully. I quickly shimmied down his body so I could press my ear to his chest, listening for a heartbeat. I let out a sigh of relief when heard it beating loudly.

"Holy shit…" I breathed, feeling lightheaded from the scare. I sat back up and met his gaze again. "Can you breathe okay?" I asked, but only silence was my answer. "Right, you can't move…"

I nibbled at my lip in contemplation and ran my hands down his arms. They were hard as usual, but instead of the slight give his flesh would normally do when pressed, it was stiffer. He really did feel like a corpse. If not for his heartbeat and body warmth, I'd easily believe him to be dead.

"Shit," I repeated, feeling his shoulders through his puffy shirt sleeves. Yup, they're the same. "I didn't mean to do...whatever this is," His neck felt stiff as death, too. God, I hope he didn't kill me when this wore off…or if this wore off. What the hell did I do?! "I don't even know how I did it, though now that I remember, my voice did sound kind of weird a minute ago…"

I stopped feeling Hisoka's frozen body when I saw motion just out of my field of vision. I looked up and saw that he was blinking rapidly like he had dry eye. I smiled faintly at the sight. "Oh good, it's not permanent!"

His golden eyes were still trained on me, and he made a low sound deep in his throat. My brows furrowed. "You know, you shouldn't try to talk while your muscles and joints are all stiff. It'll make it worse...I guess?" I trailed off, uncertain. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to understand this new power of mine. So what, not only can I not die and summon a demonic looking ghost, but I could paralyze people with my voice too?

What the hell am I?

He only blinked back slowly but didn't try to speak again. I never thought a silent Hisoka would be more unnerving than hearing the skin crawling dulcet tones of his voice, but here we are.

"...You're going to kill me when this wears off, aren't you?"

A slow blink was my only answer, but his eyes were gleaming. "I'd really rather you didn't? It's not like I'm going to kill you while you're like this, you know." His chest was moving more now; he could take deeper breaths. "Pretty please?"

I winced a bit when his left arm flexed jerkily. Shit, he was so going to kill me. I was going to have to fail the exam because as soon as I come back to life, I was going to have to find a way to kill him so nobody else found out.

I need to kill him now while he's defenseless. This is my only chance to do it with one hundred percent certainty that I'll succeed.

My chest gave a twinge at the thought. I couldn't even handle the thought of accidentally killing him, there's no way I could do it intentionally. Especially not like this.

I chuckled to myself and slapped a hand to my forehead. Kill Hisoka, yeah right. I didn't know what the hell I was going to do if he killed me here. I'd be trapped for at least seventy two hours with him to kill me however he pleases, and as many times as he wanted.

I was so screwed.

I ran my hand down my face and gazed down at the slowly reanimating Hisoka. Well, if I couldn't reason with the devil, I might as well try and entice him with a deal.

I situated myself so I was sitting on his chest again and placed my hands on the floor on either side of his head. Hisoka only narrowed his eyes a bit, and his lips twitched a bit at the ends. "How about a deal?" I murmured, smirking down at him. "Once my...death's voice...wears off, we have a round two? If I manage to hit you again, you spare my life?"

His lips curled up into a smile. Oh, you like that, huh? "You won't even have to worry about getting stiff again, because whatever I did messed my throat up something awful. I don't even think I can shout normally right now." I raised a brow down at the man. "So? Do we have a deal? Blink once for yes, twice for no."

He did neither.

"Ok~ay," He sung, sounding happy as a clam. All the serious and heavy emotions flashing through his eyes were gone, and only excitement and mirth remained.

Eh?

The magician brought his arms up and let the stretch above his head. "Wha- how long have you been able to move?!" I hurriedly jumped off of him, face burning. There was no way he was faking the whole time, he was definitely paralyzed!

Hisoka only hummed, smirking up at me. He didn't move an inch, instead looked quite comfortable laying on the cool floor. I glowered down at him. To think I was worried about this asshole!

"You've surprised me yet again, little Guren~," He said, and elegantly flipped up to his feet. I hurriedly jumped away from him, trepidation trickling through my veins when I felt my skin prickle from something I couldn't see.

"Your potential is intoxicating…~" He took slow, deliberate steps towards me.

I brought my fists back up in front of my face, and couldn't help but stare transfixed at the intimidating image that was Hisoka. Even the way he walked was predatory. His hips swayed almost seductively and his steady footsteps sounded like a countdown to my death.

God, how could someone be so beautiful?

I swallowed and felt my face get hot again. Wait, what? WHAT?!

"Now, it's time for round two, Gu~ren," His bloodlust was emanating now, making the air thicker with his intent. Hisoka licked his lips slowly, golden eyes glaring hungrily through the darkness of the room.

The beast had come out to play.

I barely saw him coming. One second, he was a few feet away and then his fist was hurtling towards my face, I abandoned my stance to duck; he'd break through my guard easily if I tried to block. My eyes widened when I heard the distinct sound of cracks forming in the brick wall.

Holy shit!

I weaved and rolled, frantically dodging his relentless hits. The magician followed me around the room in a dance as old as time, and he was wearing me down quickly. I already used up a bunch of stamina at the beginning of our fight, and my throat hurt with every breath I took. I had to hit him if I wanted to live, but I didn't know if I could do anything against him when he was putting actual effort in.

Then, the fox finally caught the rabbit.

He feigned a strike at my face and caught me unaware with a leg sweep. I hit the ground hard, and barely brought my arms up in time block a brutal stomp as Hisoka flipped out of sweep and attempted to land on top of me like last night.

My arm couldn't hold his weight and swore I could feel the bones bending painfully in my arms as he made impact. I let out a groan as my body bounced off the floor and landed a couple of steps away on my back.

Hisoka didn't give me any time to recover and buried his fist into my gut.

I convulsed in pain and a cry left my lips, ravaging my throat. The man didn't remove his hand, only unclenched it to lay flat on the bruised area, pressing down lightly as he sat down on my thighs to straddle me. My back arched at the agonizing action, insides burning. Jesus, it felt like he made my organs explode.

"Oh...you squirm so beautifully, little Guren~," Hisoka cooed, and leaned down to nip my ear, drawing blood. I cringed as he lapped up the blood. "Hmm, what's wrong~? Don't tell me that's all the fight you're going to give me…?"

"Fuck. You," I choked out and began to struggle through the pain, and tried to headbutt him. He casually leaned back to sit up straight, as if it had been his intention all along. I quickly sat up with him and aimed a punch at his face. He twitched his head to the side so that my fist just whispered past his skin, and then grabbed both my forearms and forced me back down with a slam.

He hummed and leaned over so his face was hovering over mine. "Mmm...don't tempt me, Guren~," He said lowly, voice like velvet as his eyes raked over my face.

I paused in my struggles, confused. Huh? Don't tempt him to...what? Kill me?

His smile widened at my blank stare. "I kind of liked being completely at your mercy," His golden gaze suddenly got more intense, and my stomach fluttered uncomfortably. "But this is so much better…~" I don't understand what was happening right now, but I don't think I like it.

I pushed away my uneasiness and glared, black sand pouring out from my shoulders to gather nearby. Unaware of what was happening just a couple feet away, Hisoka didn't take his eyes off me, his breathing getting faster.

The magician leaned closer and slowly licked his lips, looking at me in a way that was eerily similar to Buhara when he took in my dish during the second phase. Then, I felt emotions that weren't my own flare up and gave him a grin reminiscent to a shark.

He barely had time to blink at my sudden change in expression before he was struck across the face by Sandy's fist. Hisoka flew off me and slammed into a wall, dust forming from the force of impact.

I got to my feet slowly, holding my still hurting stomach. Sandy moved so that he was standing partially in front of me, limbs hanging loosely by his sides. His head moved as he seemingly took in our surroundings, or what little there was.

My eyes, however, stayed fixed on Hisoka, who was now getting to his feet, looking pleasantly surprised. He had a cut on his brow that bled freely.

"What…is this?" Hisoka said in a breathy tone, golden orbs riveted on Sandy. Huh, if he could see him, that means Sandy must have had some pretty strong intent directed at the man when he hit him. "Oh, little Guren~," Hisoka groaned, his voice echoing around the small room and making the hair on my arms stand up. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you~?"

The redhead stood up to his full height and stared hungrily at both Sandy and I, his eyes studying the former curiously as he continued to ignore the man in favor of looking at the glowing instruction screen. I let out a breath and thought about how to do this.

There was no way that Hisoka was going to hold back as much as I knew he had been against me now, and with how fickle Sandy was being right now, I doubted he could protect me quicker than the jester could reach me. I needed to play this safe and-

I couldn't breathe.

Hisoka's bloodlust permeated the air as it did in the swamp, his excitement obvious. I gasped for air, regretting my decision to forgo grabbing my knife now.

A card appeared in his hand and I knew I wouldn't be able to evade it. Then suddenly I didn't have to.

Feeling my sudden panic and distress, Sandy suddenly bounded towards Hisoka, claws spread.

The evil magician's face lit up with glee and then there were cards flying at Sandy. I steeled myself and ran at a much slower pace, belly still burning from the hit earlier. Three out of five cards hit their mark, but Sandy didn't even acknowledge the damage as it swung at the man. He made him work harder to evade than I did, with his long reach and deadly talons.

I saw Hisoka's eyes sharpen calculatingly at the deep gouge marks Sandy left in the wall, and aimed a powerful kick at the beings 'weak' middle. The force of the kick actually made Sandy skid back a couple of feet, but didn't damage him.

Then I was there. I was slower than before, but I still forced Hisoka to pay attention to me, attacking him with a flurry of punches. His expression didn't change, he just blocked my hits as he did before. I suddenly dropped to the ground in a low squat and Sandy's arm flew through the space where my head was a moment ago and I attempted to kick out his knees.

Hisoka still managed to evade our attacks with a spectacular barrel roll and pushed off the wall to gain some distance. I felt a sharp pain across my bicep and saw a fresh cut that hadn't been there a second ago. I grit my teeth at the additional sting and realized Hisoka managed to get me with a card on his way.

I turned around and saw him standing in the middle of the room again, licking up my blood off the card similar to how he ate my ice cream last night. His eyes didn't leave mine as he did so, also like last night.

My breath caught at the sight and I floundered for a moment. Why was it so hot in here all of a sudden?

Sandy didn't notice my distraction, and hefted me up by the back of my vest and chucked me at the magician.

I flew towards him, not really sure how this was a good plan. Really, Sandy?!

I heard the black ghost kick off the ground behind me and just focused on distracting Hisoka. Surely Sandy had something in mind. He was a part of me after all.

Hisoka looked amused at our team attack, and I braced myself for what I was about to do. I needed to catch him off guard somehow; hopefully, this worked.

His foot shot out to kick me before I could swing at him, and I saw my chance. I opened my guard and let his foot connect with my already hurting abdomen. I felt something well up in my throat, excruciating pain burning my guts. I quickly grabbed his leg, holding on with all my strength. He blinked at me in confusion, and that moment of forgetfulness was what we needed.

Sandy dived down from the ceiling towards the magician, and he quickly bent to dodge the lethal swipe; but not quick enough. I got to see Hisoka's smile fade away into shock for a second time when Sandy's sharp claws sliced into his right shoulder, staining the white material red with two deep claw marks.

He stumbled away with me still hanging onto one of his legs like a monkey, but Sandy lunged at him again with a punch this time. The redhead was forced to block, and I waited for the telltale snap of his arm breaking from the blow while trying to bite into his thigh through his baggy pants.

Only the sound never came, but instead, he countered and grabbed Sandy's arm in a lock-hold and then brought an elbow down on the limb, while somehow sending me flying away with a mighty sweep of his leg.

I rolled to a stop in the middle of the room and painfully coughed. Red dripped from my mouth and I scrambled back up with haste only to freeze in shock.

Hisoka not only withstood a direct hit from the black ghost but destroyed his arm. Permanently.

Sandy was as shocked as me, and he stared at where his limb used to be. He'd been damaged before of course, by wild animals claws and sword slashes from when he fought and killed that pirate years ago, but they had always regenerated instantly.

Why…? How did…?

Hisoka broke us out of our shock when his fist suddenly burst out of Sandy's back, right where his heart would be if he were a human. I swallowed and held in a breath of relief when it didn't make him go away.

"Hm, so that won't kill it? Interesting~" The magician only looked like he was getting more riled up, and suddenly there were three cards sticking out of Sandy's face.

"Quick, come back!" I said frantically, only to cough immediately after from speaking too loud. Shit, I was nearing my limit.

Thankfully, the ghost heeded my call and jumped back so that he was next to me. I watched Hisoka warily, but he didn't follow, only stared at us with a fascinated expression. He seemed to have calmed down a bit, although his body was still quivering; most likely restraining himself from snapping and going all out.

I glanced at Sandy who was now facing me and saw that the hole had yet to regenerate, along with his missing arm. Why didn't they reform? What was it about Hisoka's hits that made the difference? Was he really just that strong?

I winced a bit when I rubbed my tender belly. Yeah, he was.

I eyed the cards still sticking out of his head in thought. As if reading my mind, Sandy suddenly dropped down to sit on the floor, long legs spread to either side of me. I shot another look to Hisoka only to find him still staring at us. He did look suspiciously closer though. I went back to the task at hand and quickly pulled the cards out of Sandy's face.

I let out a sigh of relief when the cuts closed like normal. My relief was short lived when a smooth voice said right by my ear, "Well, look at that. So it can regenerate~"

I flinched away and saw Hisoka bent at the waist staring at Sandy with that same fascinated look, before looking to me. "What an interesting abilities you have~"

Before I even had to command anything, Sandy shot a fist out at the man. Hisoka didn't even attempt to dodge, and when the attack hit, he just vanished into mist.

My eyes widened at the familiar technique and then I heard a solid thud behind me. I whirled around, crouched in a defensive position and saw Hisoka's foot where Sandy's head used to be.

Finally, my friend was forced to disperse, black ribbons dissolving into clouds of sand, and then into nothing.

Shit...I glared up at the smiling magician as he calmly lowered his foot back to the ground. I idly considered jumping at the smug bastard for another round, but knew it was hopeless. My pain tolerance was pushing its limits, and so was my body.

I had to hope Sandy and I gave him a good enough fight for now, and he wouldn't kill me.

"Not bad, little Guren. You managed to wound me more than I thought~" Hisoka complimented, still smiling down at me. I huffed and slowly got to my feet, fairly certain the fight was done.

"Well, have you had enough now? Because I sure as hell did." I grimaced at the pain still flaring up in my stomach. I'm really glad I could still call out Sandy a couple of times today because I didn't think I would be able to do much right now.

"Mm...yes and no," The magician admitted, simply watching me. I walked over to where I'd tossed my bag and crouched down onto my haunches so I could dig out my canteen. That was the toughest fight I'd ever been in, and I didn't realize until the adrenaline died down just how parched I was.

"So, how long have you been able to make that thing~?" Hisoka inquired, and I turned mid-drink to see his golden eyes still fixed on me. He was looking at me with even more interest than before, and that small part of me that I wished would just die already was bursting with happiness. The rational part, however, realized the danger of such interest.

I parried his question with one of my own. "How do you make your cards so sharp?"

I gave him a smirk when he did nothing but smile wider, but his eyes narrowed further in annoyance. Yeah, that's right. Sucks to be denied, doesn't it?

After pushing my canteen back into my bag, I slipped it back on and strode towards the door. "Well, we should head into the tower. Who knows what they have set up to slow us down." I blinked and suddenly I walked face first into Hisoka's abdomen. I glared up at him and rubbed my sore nose, but he merely gave his fake little smile.

I huffed in frustration and took a quick step back, my nose still burning from close exposure to his sweet scent. "What?"

His smile stretched into his usual devilish one. "Just making sure my little partner is well. You got yourself pretty roughed up~" He said, sounding as if it were my idea to fight all along. I closed my eyes and counted to ten before answering.

"You know what your problem is?" I asked, giving Hisoka an unamused stare.

The jester's foxy smile didn't waver. He only bent at the waist so that we were eye to eye. "Oh~? Do tell~" He purred, a dangerous edge in his tone.

I ignored it, too tired right now to even think about being cautious. "You're really pretty, so no one ever told you to just shut the hell up."

Hisoka blinked incredulously like I just yawningly said I was actually an old hag. My half-lidded eyes didn't leave his gaze, and I watched him study me like I was the most complex equation he'd come across, and if he solved it, something better than satisfaction would be his reward.

After a few seconds of silence, Hisoka's demeanor finally shifted back into his usual slick expression. Then he did something that made me blink in surprise.

He started to laugh.

It started as a snicker, but then grew into shoulder-shaking laughter. He covered his eyes with a hand as deep chuckles started to get higher. I could only gawk at him, wondering how such an adorable laugh could come from such a cold, malicious person.

I felt my cheeks get warm at the giggles assaulting my ears and didn't know what to do. Why did this man always catch me off guard?

Abruptly, his giggles tapered off, and he peeked a golden eye through his fingers to meet my wide ones. I froze, like a mouse in the sights of a snake.

"Mmm...~" He suddenly moaned deep in his throat, and licked his lips.

His hand was suddenly on my neck, gripping firmly. I whined at the contact. My poor throat can't take much more abuse! He wasn't cutting off my airway, but if he applied any more pressure, he would be. Feeling his sharp nails dig into my skin snapped me out of my trance, and I quickly gripped his wrist.

"You think I'm pretty, Gur-en~?" Hisoka was close, too close. I could see myself reflected in his golden orbs.

I rolled my eyes once I registered what he said. Really? That's what he got from that? And please, like he didn't already know. Attractive people know that they're attractive, this isn't some tv drama.

"Just shut the hell up!" I said forcefully, ignoring my still flushed cheeks.

Instead of reacting negatively like I thought he would, he merely traced the skin of my nape with a nail, causing goosebumps to raise from the sensation.

Then Hisoka did something so unexpected that my brain shut down altogether.

Our eyes stayed locked. His were cool and half-lidded, mine were uncomprehending and wide. I felt his smile widen as he increased the pressure, and his nose lightly bumped mine. His already wetted lips pleasantly contrasted against my dry ones. I felt my entire face get even hotter the longer he kissed me, especially my ears. If my face got any more heated, I was sure I would give Hisoka singed lips.

Finally, he pulled away with an exaggerated smacking sound. He stood up to his full height, looking very pleased with himself. I could only gawp up at him, a weird clicking sound coming from the back of my throat.

Finally, I choked out "W-w-what...you...h-huh?"

The magician just gave me his signature vulpine smile and said, "I think you're pretty too~" And then he just walked away, leaving me to stare after him as he disappeared into the darkened corridor.

XXX

Welp.

To clear things up, I'm writing Guren like a borderline sociopath on purpose, because really, finding out you're immortal as a little kid and continuously killing yourself just to fix boo-boos or minor sickness is bound to fuck up your mental state. She obviously wants to be normal, but she makes mistakes here and there, like with the guy in the second phase.

I'm not planning on making her like Hisoka, where she kills because she likes it, but she definitely doesn't have a problem with taking a life. Another reason why being around Hisoka is worse for her, especially when she's having a self-crisis.

The whole story won't be so back and forth with this personality crisis though, so don't worry.

Let me know if you like it, and buckle up, because it's gonna get worse from here (because...Hisoka)

Ja Ne.