Paprika11- so remember how I said it this is 24 chapters? Well, since I've been sticking in multiple chapters in one document, it may not be twenty four. Although it still is 66 pages to print out... But, just so you know, these are chapters eight and nine. I'll update again tomorrow! Maybe late at night tonight.
also, please review! Talk about whether or not the story is progressing too quickly. And a message from Sage herself.
"hey there. It's me. Umm, so basically, you're reading my autobiography. If it sucks then screw you. (Paprika shaking her head disapprovingly in the corner) but let me know if something was forgotten, or if something doesn't make sense. Umm, so keep on reading. Also, don't read if you hate self harm crap. That's the definition of me. Umm, since I'm really awkward talking, I'm just gonna assume that's it and be gone. Oh, also, review, and if you have a question, I nagged paprika enough so I'll answer."
I spent the next day looking for another tree. It hadn't occurred to me that the man the night before might have climbed the tree to kill me, but I guess he hadn't. I still had both our tags. But the real reason I had moved is because I realized that I accidentally cut my upper side climbing up, and there was now a trail of blood up the tree. The cut had long scabbed my now, with a leaf that had accidentally stuck to it. I had tried to take the green sprout off, but it hurt, and I didn't want unnecessary pain.
I grabbed my backpack and skateboard, and my pen. I still had paper and various types of clothes in my pack. And I know that people always say girls have too many changes of clothes, but mine are very different- one for athletics, one for looks, a bathing suit, my normal tank top for everyday stuff, and pajamas. Along with these things, I also had a few twigs that fell in. I sighed. If someone were to attack me, I might die, I thought, but I didn't have anything else on me as defense. I couldn't fling my bra at someone and expect them to surrender. Well, maybe Killua would, after a severe nosebleed. I chuckled at the thought
So I started to travel around, looking for another tree, but I ended up stumbling upon the ocean, with a small island a couple hundred meters off. It had a bunch of trees and was roughly the size of a mansion, if my assumption was correct. It would be ideal to swim there, and I needed somewhere where I could see all around me. So I hopped into the water.
It actually wasn't cold at all, and since I loved to swim, it only took a bit of time to get there. Within two days, I had found a place to stay! I was pretty damn lucky. And, to be honest, it did seem like a home. The few trees weren't palm trees, for some reason they were thick with gnarled roots and covered branches that intertwined to make a natural room with a oddly shaped opening. I hung my backpack and clothes up on a few sprawled branches inside, and took out my bathing suit. I knew I should be careful, but I would see someone way before they had time to swim over, and I was feeling relaxed from the previous night. I hopped in the water and looked for fish.
After all, nobody ever tells the story of how they obtained food in the hunter exam. And I can understand why. Throwing around a penknife, for three hours, only got me one fish. And I only got that one because I stepped on it. Of course, Gon could have made a feast here with his rod, and Killua could have just grabbed one with his hands. Leorio probably had enough medical supplies to craft a rod, but I went around stepping on fish. And trust me, that hurt my foot more then it did the evil, floppy, glassy-eyed disgusting thing. Though it was quite tasty, I might add. Very tasty.
I got out of the water and changed into my now-dried clothes- the old tank top with a loose shirt over and sweatpants. When I walked out the door, there was a person there.
My senses went haywire- they were observing every twitch of his hand in an attempt to predict his movements. I instantly ran over and slit his side a quarter of an inch deep, where it would draw lots of blood but not kill him.
"Hey! What the hell is wrong with you!?" Kil asked, watching the blood pour.
"Oh my god it's you! I totally freaked out and so I tried to kill you. Why didn't you dodge?" I asked, as my heart finally slowed down. I wasn't dying- though I might if he was really ticked off
"I thought you were coming to hug me in greeting or something! It's not like I had my guard up- you're not going to kill me!"
"I just tried to! Anyways.. Well, now that you're bleeding, I'll be right back. Take off your shirt," I demanded, going back inside and grabbing my shirt for athletics. I ripped it apart and came outside, and then dunked a few strips of it in water. His shirt was off, and after a few seconds of staring at the scars he had, as well as the muscles, I walked up and pushed him over to his side. I scrubbed off the wound, and cut off peeled skin. I knew it would have hurt but he had probably experienced worse, judging by the scars. I then cut the tree and got some sap, and put it on the edges of the makeshift bandages. I stuck it on his skin, and watched as it turned red. I stuck a few more on, and applied pressure.
"How did you find me?" I asked, attempting to act normal, despite having been washing off my bloody hands
"Well I'd gotten 6 points and was walking around, when I saw your hair cut off near a tree. I recognized it's color. I thought somebody killed you, because of a pool of blood I saw, so I was wandering around and then I saw the island," he explained. "Why is there a leaf on your arm?"
"I got six points too, but instead of killing the guy, I cut off some hair off and dropped it on him. As he was confused, I took it, and cut my arm on the way back up the tree. I fell asleep, not having noticed yet, and woke up with a leaf stuck to it. But my body bleeds a lot, and I didn't want to remove it in fear of passing out by myself, alone," I replied, and he sat up and shoved me on my side, grabbing a couple more scraps of cloth. I took off my tank top so I was in my bra, but he remained unfazed (except for a blush) and gently cleaned the wound as he told his story of getting his pin.
"So there's three days left now," he said, once he had finished bandaging my side.
"No, five more- aren't there seven days?"
"There's three left. Four have passed, including today. Didn't you spend a couple of days in the tree?"
"No, unless I slept for longer then I thought. Dang, I must have been tired."
"Idiot! Then you could have died! You slept for three days!"
"Well, saying I gave you a giant gash, I don't think I would have died."
"Do you even know if you still have the pins, Leaf Girl!?" I grinned for a second at the nickname I had just gotten. Leaf girl.
"Yeah, they're right here, " I replied, pulling them out of my bra. "Nobody would check there," I explained at his red yet horrified face.
"But if someone saw them, then they would touch your... Thingies..."
"Are you jealous of someone touching my boobs? Would you like first dibs?"
"N-no! You idiot! I'm just saying!"
"Hey, I'm kidding!" I said as he buried his face in his hands. We continued teasing each other and telling stories until it was around sunset. "We should probably head in," I said, standing up.
"Yeah, and get a good night's rest," he said, also standing.
"Was it real?" I asked, suddenly remembering my question.
"Was what?"
"On the airship."
"Oh. Only if you want it to be, I guess," he said, pinkish.
"Only of you'll let it last," I said, smiling.
"I think we have a deal," he replied, softly. I poked him on the side, and laughed as I ran inside the makeshift home, as he tried to catch me.
The next day was us fooling around, going swimming and then taking turns whittling a branch with my penknife to make a real knife that was wooden with a sturdy handle. I engraved flowers in the handle and used a very thin coat of sap on the handle to make it less slippery. When I lightly slid the tip down my finger, it went very deep. It was a dangerous weapon that I could use for many purposes, although Killua was watching me at that time.
That night, I got up and pressed it to my arm, sliding it down the short way. The sand turned darker where blood spilled, and I watched it. Drip, drip, dr-
The flow had been falling but a pale hand caught it. "Sage..." He whispered gently, letting the blood trail on his fingers. I laid on back onto the ground, while he rinsed off the knife. I don't remember him laying back down next to me- I was long gone by then.
I woke up and Killua wasn't there. Nor was the knife. I hadn't changed into my pajamas the previous night, so I walked out without changing, although I stayed very silent. He was sitting there, whittling something else. I knew we didn't have much more time on the island, but he found something worth making, something rather small. I silently looked over his shoulder, and saw the most beautiful thing. It was two more knives, one smaller and one the smallest, and three sheaths. The knives, in total, were 12, 10, and 8 inches. The sheaths he had carved were intricately engraved with lines, etches, and carvings, creating an image. All three were engraved with vines, and he filled them with sap so the image also served as a sturdy grip. He also added extra sap to the first knife, making it more sturdy. The two new knives were blank, and he was fitting them in and out of the sheath.
So Killua had a talent for art...
"You would think that you would throw the knife in the ocean after last night, not carve more," I remarked, grabbing the infamous penknife and carving designs into the two new knives. I put smooth curves and jagged points, deep cuts and barely conceivable marks, creating an ocean crashing against stones.
"I'm just trying to make you happy, so you remember me when you become too silent for my ears to catch," he said, grabbing one of the new knives and throwing it point-blank into the ocean, so it pinned a fish into the sand. He stood to go and grab our lunch.
"Somehow, I don't think my clumsiness will go away," I joked, but he was already ripping apart a raw fish, eating it. I was finished with the second knife, so I started to engrave lines and scratches on the third, making trees and forestry and shrubbery come to life. An ocean, a forest, and some flowers, all with a vine sheath.
"But one day, if I get used to you, my killing senses will lower- the second that I relax, you will die,"
"I'm not ever going to die," I confessed, "I just watch the blood, thinking of my mom,"
He raised his eyebrows, and I realized I hadn't told him my life story.
"Since I have the skill to evaluate people, observe them, make them kill themselves, I had noticed this guy near us was a killer. I told my mom, and she told me to run, for reasons I hadn't known yet. I arrived at my home to see a guy shooting a bullet through her already dead face. The blood covered my feet, my toes, it washed away the puke that I don't even remember making. I wanted to die, my only family was dead. I didn't fit in at school because I would find out everything about them and then they would fear what I would soon do with my newly obtained information. I only had wanted to be their friends, but they feared me. So I had nobody. No money, either. I came here to find a fast way to kill myself. The thing is, I've been... Cursed, I guess- I can never directly or indirectly kill myself."
"And now you want to spill blood to be even with your mom," he finished for me. I nodded.
"I don't like being a freak. I can make you kill yourself in five minutes, or I could make you love me. I always fear when I make a friend that it was just my acting. What if you kissed the me who was acting, not the one who is a freak? Then what Killua? I'll never know which one you love, I'll die wondering who I am. My personality switches ever so slightly every single moment. And I don't even know... Anything. She died a few days ago, but it was just adding misery to depression, just fueling the fire," I ended, voice cracking but face blank of emotion. The fish carcass was on the floor, and he had finished adding sap to the third knife.
"How about you wait a while and we'll see how you feel then, okay? No hurting for a bit?" He asked, still the same thoughtful Killua. He acted as if the curse was normal, as if he had just heard about my favorite color, not something worse.
"Okay."
We swam off the island after I packed my things, and waited at the entrance, as we passed the exam. By the time we saw Leorio, Pika, and Fish boy, Kil and I had stopped holding hands.
But I still felt the warmth.
Paprika11- tomorrow I'll give someone squishy squishy jellyfish (if anyone does anything) (that idea is my sibling's- not mine!)
