Once Hisoka had claimed his rightful prize from the concierge, the two of them fled the auction house into the murky dark of the diminutive morning hours. The only things visible were those illuminated by the auction house lights; the mountains in the distance were caliginous. There were cars parked on the side of the road, waiting to take patrons back to the city, agents in black standing by the drivers' doors. The private train wasn't to leave the station until well after 4 AM, so Hisoka commissioned a car with a reticent driver, who only looked the magician up and down once before snatching up his Jenny and motioning for them to get into the vehicle.

The ride back was stiff and silent. Leorio kept glancing furtively out the windows for any sign of the Phantom Troupe, and Hisoka watched him from the corner of his eye in amusement. He threaded the chain of the amulet through his fingers, feeling the quiet hum of Nen like a cat's purr against his own. Up close, he could see that the amulet was a rather plain little thing: soft gold, stamped with a triskelion on a single side, smoothed with age and visually unassuming. If he'd looked at it with only his eyes, he wouldn't have bothered to covet it; but it pulsed with power.

His skin itched with the need to try it out.

He held it in his open palm, letting his aura wash over it in a form of Shu, eyeing the crests of the white waves and the way it settled into the grooves of the triskelion. Like the tug of strings tied to his fingers, he could feel the way the amulet pulled at his aura, sucking it away to store it… somewhere. Hisoka hummed with it, low and curious; with the oddest thready snap, almost like leather, Hisoka withdrew his Shu from the amulet's reach. He dangled it in front of Leorio.

"Here, try it," he insisted.

With only a momentary flicker of startled hesitation, Leorio took it. "Try what?"

"Drawing from it."

Leorio frowned at the amulet, bringing to close to his face as if he could observe it better while cross-eyed. "What am I feeling for?"

"I have no idea," Hisoka said honestly. "Just try it."

The creases of Leorio's frown deepened as he continued to stare at it, eyebrows furrowing in what Hisoka assumed was overly intense concentration.

Then the man inhaled sharply; the light emanating from the amulet danced before Hisoka's yellow eyes as it flared to life. The corners of his lips stretched taut as energy arced from the amulet to waver about Leorio's body, then assimilate with his Ten.

"It works," Leorio said, in wonderment. "I can… feel it."

An unspeaking moment passed. The muted glow sputtered before it died, and the amulet hung uselessly from Leorio's grip.

"I suppose we'll soon see if it really does," Hisoka commented mildly, taking the artifact from Leorio and settling back into his seat in self-satisfaction.

Ever more careful than Leorio gave him credit for, Hisoka had the driver stop several blocks before Leorio's apartment complex. The glare from the glittering city center partially illuminated their path, but here in the outskirts, there were still plenty of buildings and outcroppings that cast deep and dark shadows. Hisoka held the amulet in his palm as he walked, filtering in as much of his own aura as the restraints of the trinket would allow. Leorio walked before him, hands shoved into his spacious pockets and his shoulders hunched. The two of them didn't bother trying to initiate conversation.

Leorio stopped short before the reaching darkness of his narrow street, then took a wary step backwards. Hisoka only barely looked up before their roadblock made itself known, emerging from Zetsu.

"Long time no see, Hisoka," Shalnark remarked from the shadows, flanked by two silently watchful companions. The smile slipped from his face before he even looked up from his phone; the digital glow illuminated the furrow in his brow. He completely ignored Leorio.

"Yes, a pity," Hisoka returned lightly, and let his aura expand to test the waters.

Shalnark was steadfast. "Welcome back to the city. And farewell, too, I think, right?"

"So quick to say goodbye?"

"Oh, sure," Shalnark said easily. "Kalluto says they gave your our warning. I expect you'll follow it."

"And if I don't?"

He shrugged. "It won't make much of a difference to us, in the end."

"Hmm. I think it will," Hisoka said, with an insincere curve to his smile.

"I really don't want to fight you, Hisoka." said Shalnark intently, eying the chain that was wrapped around the magician's fingers. "We've had a decent run, and I suppose you haven't actually done much."

Hisoka's smile tightened just a fraction, dangerously close to cracking his face paint.

Shalnark's gaze flickered back up to meet his, unafraid. "You want the amulet? Go ahead, keep it."

"Why, thank you," Hisoka crooned, carefully saccharine. Beside him, Leorio tensed, but luckily none of the Phantom Troupe seemed to notice - or care. "Of course, you never really wanted it anyway, did you - you would have just taken it."

"Very nicely spotted," said Shalnark, and shrugged. "Sure. We don't conduct full raids without the whole Troupe, and - well, that amulet isn't all that rare. Buying works just fine for us."

Kortopi blinked a single bulbous eye at Hisoka. Counterfeit coin, then.

"You want it so badly?" Shalnark continued. "Take it. I'd rather not spill your blood if I don't have to."

"How considerate."

The Troupe members all scrutinized him. "You're out of here by tomorrow night," said Shalnark, "and this never happened. Yeah?"

"That was the plan," Hisoka assured him breezily, snaking the gold chain through spidery fingers.

"Glad to hear it. I hope I never see you again, Hisoka."

"Uhff. You've hurt me," Hisoka whined with false despair. "You can't really mean that."

"If we see you again, we will kill you."

"Hmm." The magician bent at the waist to see them better, and licked his lips with a wink. "Now I'm looking forward to seeing you try. You've always been so charming, Shal." He summarily pocketed the amulet, and drew his deck of cards.

He counted on Shalnark understanding the action. "Don't push me, Hisoka," he warned, his smile frozen. "Goodnight."

He lifted himself from where he had been leaning casually against the wall, and stepped between Hisoka and Leorio.

"By the way. Good to see you again, Tall Angry Guy," Shalnark said as he passed, patting Leorio on the shoulder, cheerily enough that it was almost believable. Without looking back, Shalnark and company made their way back down the dimmer streets, fading into the shadows as they headed back towards the west end.

Leorio stayed silent until all three of the Troupe members were well and truly gone, and then he let out a heavy breath. "You need to stop testing your luck, you bastard," Leorio groused, eyes dark as he glanced at Hisoka, continuing on down the alley.

"Where's the fun in that?" Hisoka asked freely, arching his back in a luxurious stretch before deigning to follow the man. "Besides, we were in no real danger."

"Yeah, sure," Leorio said waspishly. "Because you're here?"

"Because I'm here," Hisoka finished grandly, pretending he didn't hear Leorio.

He was answered only with a deep sigh, and then silence.

They approached the apartment. Leorio seemed to be mustering his words. "I know he said tomorrow night, but… You two should go, as soon as possible," he said eventually. "Leave the city first thing."

"I thought you said we could stay for two days," Hisoka pointed out mildly, with just a hint of accusation.

"First of all, I only said that Gon could stay," the man countered, crossing his arms with a huff. "But the Troupe found you tonight, and you heard what they said - and all you did was piss them off."

"I should hope so." He licked his lips as he thought of it; the idea of facing off with them sent a subtle shiver down his spine, as intoxicating as the taste of blood. He could just stay the extra day - and see what they did, what they'd dare to do -

He looked at Leorio. Leorio's face was mottled. "No -! See, this is exactly what -!" He took a steadying breath. "Don't you get that you're putting Gon into danger like this?"

Cards flickered dangerously between Hisoka's fingers, disguised his surprise. "Are you saying I can't protect him?" he murmured.

"I'm saying I can't trust you to even think about protecting him! You only care about yourself!" Leorio's fists were clenched. Fury made his breath short. "If you want to accompany him, learn to walk away from some things! Otherwise, leave now!"

Hisoka paused, taken aback. It was true that he still had to grow accustomed to having a traveling companion. It certainly… complicated things. He smiled at Leorio, broad and calculated. "You make a fair point, doctor," he said, not quite a purr but close enough to make Leorio retreat a step. "Having him around will certainly make things more interesting." Between his fingers, two cards became one, and he slipped it back into the deck before pocketing it. "But your concern is unnecessary. I can take care of the both of us. Don't underestimate me… or Gon. It was his choice."

Leorio's eyes flickered upward, as if he were praying to whatever god that existed for the patience he didn't have. Hisoka was hilariously familiar with that expression. "Choose your fights, is all I'm saying. For Gon's sake. You don't know what people like the Phantom Troupe will do - actually, I know exactly what people like the Phantom Troupe will do to Gon if they think it will get them the advantage."

"Oh, ye of little faith," Hisoka admonished, going back to tossing the amulet in the air and catching it, needing the stimulation of something passing between his hands. "I always choose my fights. That's what makes them interesting. Now I simply have more… constraints to consider in the game."

"I hate you," Leorio said stiffly, quietly, and refrained from saying anything else. He jammed the key into the lock, and wrestled with it.

Huh. Leorio had expressed that often, but that wasn't quite… the response he'd been looking for, this time. Hisoka blinked slowly, weighing his words on his tongue, finding the right tone.

"We'll leave tomorrow," he told Leorio measuredly, and flicked at his dangling earring with a long nail. "We'll be heading north - on the train, the Central Redding. For a few days."

From what he knew of the York New train station, the Central Redding North was a popular enough route that a train left the station every day at 7 am. The important thing was that it went north - from its stop in Miredale, they'd have to train-hop to the northeast.

Leorio paused before he twisted the handle. "Thanks," he said eventually, shortly, like it was the bitterest thing he'd ever tasted. "We have to let Gon know," he added as he opened the door.

"Let me know what?" a small voice inquired from the darkness of the apartment.

"G-Gon!" Leorio clutched at his chest, taking a deep breath to recover from a near-stumble. He flicked on the light. "What are you doing up, Gon?"

The boy sat on the couch, his legs curled into his chest as he watched the door. He pressed his face to his knees. "I was waiting for you. Tell me what?"

Hisoka side-stepped past Leorio to lean against the wall, watching Gon without moving his head in his direction. "We're leaving tomorrow morning, Gon," he said, running a quick hand through crimson hair.

Gon stared at him owlishly, then shifted his attention to Leorio. "Why?"

Leorio visibly buckled beneath the pressure of Gon's gaze. "Gon, I… I'm sorry, but in light of, uh, recent events…" He made his way to the couch and laid a hand on Gon's head. "I think it's best if you guys leave tomorrow. Follow… whatever lead it was that Hisoka unearthed."

"Oh… Okay. But, Leorio…" Gon stared up at him, eyes wide and liquid amber. "What about you?"

"Me? Don't worry about me," Leorio assured him, and ruffled his hair. "I've got some work I need to take care of, anyway. Well - I've always got work to take care of. And then I'll… head off for the expedition, I guess."

Gon chewed his lip. "Call before you leave, okay?" His smile was sunny. "It'll be good for you to see Kurapika again!"

Leorio huffed through his nose. "Yeah, Gon."

Gon's eyes slid to where Hisoka stood watching from the corner, and then back to Leorio. "Where did you go?" he asked. "I waited, and then you were gone."

"The auction house," Hisoka cut in dryly, when Leorio took too long to answer.

"I should have told you where we were going, Gon," Leorio said regretfully. "But I didn't even know until - I thought you were asleep."

Gon's eyes were somewhat distant; then he scratched at the back of his head, his teeth glinting white in a smile. "I wish I could have gone," he said.

"Believe me when I say it's for the best that you hadn't," Leorio told him seriously.

Gon opened his mouth to question this.

"We got you a little something," Hisoka said over him, voice saccharine, "to try." The amulet jangled as it fell from his hand, then swung like a pendulum as the chain caught on his waiting finger.

"Neat!" Gon exclaimed, suitably distracted. "...What is it?"

"It stores Nen, apparently," said Hisoka, gazing at it with the same clinical interest he usually reserved for Gon. He flicked it, renewing its swing. "I thought you may be able to use it," he explained, now watching as Gon's bemusement morphed into a cautious hope. "You know how to use Nen. You simply lack it. Perhaps this will… catalyze the reinitiation process."

"You really think so?" Gon asked, reaching out to take it from Hisoka.

The magician let it drop into Gon's imploring grasp. "Perhaps. I've charged it with my own energy."

"So… pretend it's just my own?"

"Precisely." Hopefully.

"Hmmmmmm…." Gon's fingers closed around the small gold disc of the amulet, obscuring the triskelion. His face scrunched in concentration, and he stared at his empty hand, visibly struggling for some sign of Nen activation. "Hmmmmm….." Sweat beaded at the boy's temple, and he took a violent breath, as though he were moments away from drowning. "I - I can't -"

"It's okay, Gon," Leorio said gently, running a hand through Gon's hair. "It's okay."

"Can you…" He looked back and forth between Leorio and Hisoka, imploring. Hisoka looked away, avoiding his gaze by redirecting his attention to somewhere beyond Gon's head. "Can you… see anything?"

Even with Gyo, there was nothing. "No," Hisoka said flatly, finding no reason to mince words.

Leorio just shook his head when Gon's gaze drifted to him.

Gon crumpled, his arms falling and the amulet hanging limply from his fist.

"Hey," Leorio said when his eyes glistened. "You're okay, Gon. You don't need to hurt yourself trying this. It was just a shot in the dark - you've still got time." He drew the boy to his chest, hugging him close, murmuring encouraging nothings that made Hisoka want to vomit.

This was not the Gon that Hisoka knew. The fires that usually lingered were doused, and he clung to Leorio with more ferocity than the magician expected. Hisoka wondered about those months, when he had disappeared to NGL and came back… markedly different. And not different in the way that Hisoka had hoped for.

Gon's attention was on him now even as he hugged Leorio. There was… fear there, in the way he held himself, and Hisoka kept himself from smiling wryly. He knew, at least, that he didn't have nearly as much time as Leorio would like to think, and that Hisoka himself would see to that. Hisoka looked away first, picking at his long pink nails, tucking away his bloodlust deep in his core and pretending to be nonplussed.

"Thanks, Leorio," Gon said as they parted. "You're right. We still have Hisoka's lead, after all." He considered the amulet, then strung it over his head so that it settled on his chest. "Until I can learn to use it, this can be my good luck charm!"

His smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Yeah, that's the spirit, Gon," Leorio encouraged, and ruffled his hair.

"You should make yourself scarce for the rest of the night," Leorio suggested less than kindly, once he'd put Gon to bed. "I really don't want you under my roof."

Hisoka stared at him measuredly, keeping his face stony.

Only a flicker in his eyes gave away the truth that Leorio was still, on some level, scared of him - the magician was impressed. A ripening fruit, indeed.

"I hadn't intended on sleeping, anyway," he said, disaffected by Leorio's hostility.

"Good," Leorio said. "Now get out of my apartment."

"Yes, yes," Hisoka sighed, complying but incredibly slowly, just to see Leorio get riled. "No reason to be so rude about it."

With Gon sleeping in the other room, Leorio was forbidden from yelling, but the minimal distance between his pinched brows must have been a fairly accurate measure of how close he was to snapping, regardless.

"I'm going," Hisoka relented.

The door hit his butt as it swung closed behind him. Hisoka fervently wished he could have teased Leorio about it, seen the way the man would have reacted if Hisoka had licked his lips and crooned. Another time, perhaps.

He used Bungee Gum to vault his way to the roof of the apartment building, landing fluid and feline on the dirty, ramshackle tile slats. From here, he could oversee the tops of the neighboring buildings, and out onto the main streets; downtown, the lights of the city still flashed, with people and vehicles bustling about it like moths drawn to the flame. He looked up to see the stars, but they were largely blotted out by the artificial lights.

He settled himself down, crossing his legs and casting out a 30 meter radius of En. It wouldn't do to have any unannounced visitors; his cards flickered between his fingers before he started up another careful card tower. Every so often he would raise his eyes to look out over the city, and in snippets he watched the moon duck down behind the towers and the distant mountains.

His card tower spanned several storeys by the time the moon disappeared. The circle of En went undisturbed.

It was a hazy-bright morning, the sun glinting harshly between buildings and trees, and slotting itself into every available space within the smog and low clouds so that its light seemed to be coming from everywhere.

Hisoka was almost convinced that Gon was solar powered. He soaked up the early morning sunlight, bouncing on the balls of his feet with a boundless energy. There was no trace of an exhaustion that might have clung to him from too little sleep - which, for someone not sustained by a constant and balanced Nen flow like Hisoka, was impressive.

The boy didn't even flinch when Hisoka hopped from his perch on the roof to join them. "Morning, Hisoka," he greeted cheerily.

His fingers tugged at the straps of his backpack, pulled taut against him, the cloth straining at the corners between the stress from his hands and the sizable fishing pole that poked out above Gon's head.

The shadow that had lingered behind Gon's eyes was absent. The glint that had taken its place could have been mistaken for a refraction of the sun, but Hisoka knew where to look, and when the boy looked up at him he recognized it as excitement. Hisoka felt the ignition of something in - or perhaps, just below - his gut, and his smile made his old face paint crack.

Gon step was bouncy all the way to the station, staying close to Leorio's more hunched figure, with Hisoka just pace behind. The cityscape was already bustling; or rather, the frantic movement of people had never quite ceased, and was already beginning to redouble as workers started their morning commute.

"Ah," Hisoka remarked as they stood before the timetable. "The departure for the Central Redding North is in…" He glanced at the wall clock. "Ten minutes. How lucky."

"I'd better let you get in line," Leorio said to Gon, who held tightly to his hand.

"Yeah," Gon said, then hesitated.

Hisoka moved to join the queue himself, and give the two their space - he certainly didn't want to be around for their moment of undoubtedly cloying sentiment - but before he took his leave, he paused in front of Leorio.

"Leorio," he began sweetly, and held out his hand.

"Uh?" Leorio said eloquently.

The magician flicked his wrist, and between his fingers was a business card, bright bubblegum pink and stylishly pearlescent. "If you want to start really improving," Hisoka said, a coy quirk to his lips, "here's my card, and I'll show you some truly amazing Nen techniques."

His perplexion clear, Leorio took the card, flipping it in his hand. It was nicely minimalist: the front of the card was stamped only with Hisoka's personal emoji, and the back read " /wikia/hisoka-morow/bungee-gum" in scrawling letters. It was his own personal page about Bungee Gum that he had written himself, in full detail, and frankly he thought it was something to be proud of.

Leorio stared at him.

"You can thank me later," Hisoka said graciously.

His voice reedy, Leorio stuffed the card haphazardly into his pocket and managed, "Please just… go."

Hisoka went, but not without a sly smile and a passing, "I do look forward to the next time we meet."

"I don't."

The magician said nothing, but took his place in line, and watched from afar.

Leorio's pained look trailed him for only a moment before the man refocused on Gon entirely. Crouching, Leorio swept Gon up in his arms, and suddenly vulnerable, Gon clung to his shoulders, burying his face in his neck.

"Be safe, kiddo," Leorio said.

"You too," Gon returned, and the silence between them was heavy.

"Good luck."

"You too," said Gon, and then he curled his arms tighter. "I'm going to miss you, Leorio."

"I'm gonna miss you too, Gon, don't you doubt it." The gears churning in Leorio's mind were audible. "And I know that if he were here, Kurapika would say the same."

"You'll call, right?"

"Yeah, of course. We promised, didn't we?"

Gon's face was completely hidden, his words muffled and hard to make out. "...Promises aren't always kept," he murmured.

Leorio held him at arm's length so that he could look him in the eye. "Hey, don't be getting down on yourself, now. I promised, so of course you'll hear from me soon." He ruffled Gon's hair. "Where's the optimism from before?"

Gon's lips cracked into a smile. "Still here," he said, voice stronger.

"Yeah, you are." He hugged Gon once more, then said, "You'd better get going. Ten minutes goes quick."

Wordlessly, Gon rejoined Hisoka, who pretended he hadn't been listening to everything, and with a bit more money spent on Hisoka's part, ended up with a matching ticket for their sleeper car - a cramped little thing since they were buying so late. But they got one, though Hisoka would be lying if he said he hadn't had to use a little mix of monetary and intimidating coercion - but Gon didn't seem to have qualms about it. The look in his eyes told Hisoka he was too absentminded to care.

Leorio stood only a few meters away the whole time, watching the proceedings.

As soon as they boarded and found their car, Gon stuck his head out of the window and waved at a teary-eyed Leorio.

"Bye, Leorio!" Gon called. "I'll see you again soon! When I have my Nen back, just like old times!"

Leorio replied something just as the train whistle blew. He gestured with two fingers to indicate he had his eye on Hisoka. Then at Gon he smiled wide enough to knock his glasses a bit askew, waving enthusiastically.

Gon replied in kind, and kept his head out the window long after Leorio was no longer visible.

"Lovely," Hisoka purred once the train pulled away from the station.