Author's note: Hey everyone! I have a chapter update for you all! Unfortunately tomorrow's the start of my summer course in University so I'm not sure how soon it'll be before I update. Hopefully it won't be too long. Also I know this isn't very author like BUT I have multiple ideas with the romance in this.

I kind of want Hisoka to have a proper love rival. I can't really decide, so I thought I'd ask you all so you can tell me what you want to see, (though I might end up deciding on my if I suddenly get some sort of enlightenment) So who would you guys rather see trying to take Scarlett away from Hisoka? Chrollo, Kurapika, or Gon (Lol, if I make a follow up series for this Gon has a more major roll, seeing how it'd be 5 years later) or You guys could just slap me across the face and tell me "NO! keep her with one man!" or something.

ANYWAYS, I hope you enjoy the chapter and it'd be wonderful for your opinions, help, and reviews!

(By the way I have deviant art! I just recently started uploading pics, you should check it out I drew a picture of Scarlett and will probably add a lot more hunter x hunter fanpics! the link is on my profile! I'd love some support!)

Chapter 10

And when it's fun she wants

She'll have

And when it's pain she hides

She'll forget

Scarlett didn't even consider leaving her room until after dark. She dressed in a jeans skirt with tights under them and a simple striped tee. Her grey jacket was had only one arm in when she walked out into the hall way. Hisoka wasn't there.

'Hm, someone's taking their job seriously,' she thought to herself and pulled the rest of her jacket on. It was better without him anyway. The night was her only chance to do whatever she wanted- in which this case met escaping the hell hole she'd been trapped in for the past week.

YorkShin. The city that annually holds the largest auction in the world-Southernpeice Auction. The place ever since she could remember was full of flashing lights, hostlers, women, and loud noise. Her father had drilled it into her head the most dangerous of Mafia members hung around the streets when the auctions neared.

It wasn't difficult to figure out her father was just as dangerous as the men on the streets, whether he was mafia or not, he'd mingled enough times with them for his name be known throughout the city and beyond.

To her left she passed the Bulls Market, a place she remembered a little too well. It was where she'd gone to and made a bit of money for the first week when she'd first run off. Her walk continued down until she reached deeper and deeper into city. Soon the streets became crowded with thugs and hookers. Large beefy guys with tattoos all over eyed Scarlett as she walked down the street, some of the women even laughed as she passed.

"Hey! What's a cute little girl like you doing out so late?"

Scarlett rolled her eyes and glared over her shoulder at the two hooligans who were considering messing with her. "Do you really want me to answer that?" releasing menacing nen right at them, her bottled up anger creating a much more hostile nen than intended.

The two were instantly paralyzed. Both feeling a sense of fear as they stared at the girl. It was Scarlett's turn to laugh, "That's what I thought," she turned and left. It only took her a while longer for her to reach the place she'd been looking for.

The Underground Fighting Arena. Literally. The staircases were wide enough to bring crowds in. The stadium wasn't anything compared to the Heaven's Arena. Nor did it offer a place to stay. This was the place her master, Biscuit, had bought her and Wing to train at one point.

The rules were simple.

To participate you have to have a partner.

Each Match consisted of three rounds.

The first two were one on one.

And the final round was a double team face off.

If one player isn't able to play off in the last match it would mean a forfeit.

The winner of ten matches would be known throughout Yorkshin as highly capable hunters/fighters and would be instantly qualified for all jobs from, assignation, man hunting, bodyguard and so forth.

Scarlett leaned onto the railing and watched the ongoing match from above. It was pretty nostalgic. Because of her, Biscuit had made Wing stay and help her train when they'd both ran into the absent minded man. They'd stayed here for two months until she was able to win nine consecutive fights using her hatsu ability.

"You have the most interesting hang out spots."

Somehow Scarlett wasn't even surprised to find Hisoka leaning on the rail beside her. His sneaking around after her had finally become something not out of the normal.

" What are you doing here?"

"Your father did say to keep an eye on you, he never said I had to be right next to you to do so~"

Her brown eyes fell on him. He was dressed in his magician's getup. His orange hair slicked back. Face-paint and makeup all over his face. So he did have other things he preferred to do rather than baby sit her. It got her thinking again. Why was he playing bodyguard?

"You liar, you were here the whole time."

He snickered and placed a card over his lips, "You have me figured out pretty well."

"Sure," agreeing half heartedly. Of course she didn't know the first thing about him. Other than his creepy habits and his fighting skills.

"So why are you here? The place is for double teams."

"I wanted to pass time," he tapped the tip of his foot against the tiled floors, "I didn't know I had to have a partner. I was about to leave until I saw you."

…

"Hisoka?"

"Hm~?"

"What's your last name?"

His smirk only widened in amusement. He could say that, he hadn't heard that particular question ever since he was a boy. Not many now asked for a last name, seeing his first name alone was enough for his face, "Why ask something unimportant like that?"

She shrugged and glanced back to the arena, one of the fighters had the other in a headlock, "Just wondering."

"Let me guess why you're here," he placed a hand on his chin, a teasing smirk in play, "You wanted to get out of the house, to make the pain go away, and when you realized I wasn't around you came to look for me?"

She actually laughed and ignored the fact that he was half right. She did want to make the pain go away, "Keep dreaming. I came to watch. Since there's no one here I want to team up with."

"Not even me?"

Her eyes narrowed and she eyed him carefully, "You don't seem like the partner type," she turned and rested her elbow on the of the railing, her side using it as way to keep herself hosted up, "You constantly look for new people to fight. You're so confident in your strength and power that you practically believe you're the strongest fighter around. Someone with that kind of confidence would probably feel that having a partner would just be a nuisance in a flat out fight, or in your case I'd imagine you probably just don't want to share a fight."

She deserved a round of applause. She, he would admit, could see through a bit of him. Though it wasn't much of a secret. Just watch one or two of his fights and you could conclude all of that. But when it came from her it just sounded a whole lot more exciting.

"Someone's been paying quite the attention to me," he stood up straight and placed his hands on his hips and stretched, "Though you could be an exception for tonight."

Was he playing with her? Or was he being serious? She stared at him skeptically unsure of what to say next.

"Well?"

A part of her wanted to say no. There was no way she would allow herself to fight with someone like him. But the sound of the crowd yelling with the excitement of watching two people fight… feeling the thrill of quick movements and those jolts of pain once she got hit. The adrenaline that would rush through her if she allowed herself to fight with Hisoka.

Teaming up with Hisoka, she liked the ring to it.

"Fine," she stood up and lifted her arm and bent it behind her head, stretching it out, "But you can't make it a quick win."

Hisoka smiled, "Alright princess~"

She was actually on the platform with the Magician. People were surprised to hear Hisoka was there. Their names rang a bell to few. It wasn't that surprising. She'd been fighting for five years from here to Heaven's Arena. She'd built quite the reputation. Paired with a crazy murderer and you got yourself the most likely to win double team.

People in the crowd screamed out with their bets in their hands.

"Scarlett vs. Gintas!"

She stepped up and faced her opponent. A lean yet built man, in his late twenties. His face was filled with scars and his expression was almost humored by the fact that he was facing a girl who didn't even look cut out to be a fighter in the getup she wore.

"Don't go easy on me if you value your life," she advised as the bell rung indicating the beginning of the round. The man-Gintas, flashes four sharp blades in each hand and threw them right at her. Quickly reacting Scarlett forced her nen to the soles of her feet just as she jumped to give herself a high boost into the air.

The crowd was cheering but with the lights, and rush of air as she descended at a quick speed at her opponent she heard nothing but the sound of her heart beat. But then as she held out her own conjured kunais, about ready to sink them into Gintas-something stopped her. She found herself flying back and hardly able to break her fall. Only stopping herself with her knee after skidding back on the platform.

She didn't even have enough time and she found herself falling back into a flip as she dodged his flying blades.

What the hell? Quick on her feet she took no time to use gyo to see how his trick worked. No nen strings attached. Yet they flew at her. Her eyes widened as she jumped out of the way as they came at her again.

Gyo still in her eyes she noticed a different nen on her body and realized she was still covered with the nen that had deflected her when she had tried to land a hit at him. Her eyes spotted the blades coming at her this time instead of dodging she caught three and forced her nen into them to cancel out the bizarre attraction to the coat she had on. In a matter of seconds she'd caught them all and let them fall to the ground with a clink. Metal blades.

He was manipulating his nen to resemble some sort of magnetic field.

"Fuck!"

Gintas surprised expression was replaced by amusement when he realized she must've realized she was screwed, "Had enough little lady? This ain't no playground!"

"These were my last pair of tights!"

Confusion over took Gintas before he snapped out of it, "That's the least of your worries!"

"No, no, I think it's my turn to make a move, you already had your turn," she remarked once he took out metal shurakins to throw at her.

She conjured her own blades and threw them right at him.

He laughed, "My blades aren't the only things I can manipulate! I can make your very own blades attracted to yo-" all four blades went right into his left arm, her weapons cutting right through the special nen. In his moment of shock Scarlett cut through the opening in his magnetic nen and appeared behind him with a knife to his throat, "Still think I'm playing?"

"And the winner of this round is Scarlett!"

She hopped of the platform and made her way to a smirking Hisoka.

"Kept you entertained?"

"You always seem to do," he pushed himself from against the wall and made his way to take his round.

"Hisoka vs Sangaya!"

Scarlett watched as Hisoka eluded each move so smoothly it was as if she was watching water move through each attack. But it didn't take Scarlett long to notice that Hisoka wasn't even trying to fight back. She'd spotted more than one opening that he could've used to knock the Sangaya guy out.

Was he just playing around to kill time?

"What's this? I-is Hisoka forfeiting? Yes it is Hisoka has forfeited this round! The win goes to Sangaya!" the woman referee screamed into her microphone.

Boos were heard from all over and Hisoka walked over with her as he casually shuffled his cards.

Scarlett blinked at him, "Not interested in him?"

"I wouldn't want to kill him before we had the chance to fight together."

Somehow, an answer like that made her heart flutter. Something was not right with her. She must've been spending too much time with the lunatic to even swoon to the idea he wanted to fight by her side and shrug off the fact that he was planning on killing someone.

Oh how twisted she was becoming.

The sound of the bell rang, and the double team round started.

Both stood two meters apart from one another facing the two they were up against. Gintas and Sangaya. Hisoka had dodged around long enough for them to see that he specialized in using double whips.

In an instant Scarlett used gyo to see that Gintas had his magnetic field large enough to have Sangaya protected by it as well.

Hisoka only smirked as he glanced over to Scarlett wanting see watch she was planning to do. Sangaya thinking it was an opening lashed out at the magician catching one of his arms with his whips.

Scarlett laughed as she hopped off the platform and practically skipped off into the tunnel that led them out of the arena. She still felt the pounding of her heart send the blood circulating through her. The screams and cheers still rang in her ears.

The feeling of Hisoka's bungee gum, though she'd cut it off still left a strange sense of excitement under her skin. The way he'd flung her at the two. A shiver ran through her. His calm smirk as he let her have her way in the fight. Like he was just there to watch.

"You seem like you're in a wonderful mood."

She could sense the sudden change of mood in his nen. One that took on a more restraint killing intent. It was her luck that there were people around to stop him from going all out and killing her on the spot. It helped keep her composure together.

"Want to advance to match two?" suggesting it for him. There was no way she was walking out into the night with him like that. Especially if he barely had control of the dripping murderous intent. She wanted to live.

The second match they were disqualified for killing of one of the members of the opposite team.

"I can't believe I'm walking beside a cold-hearted murder in the dead of night," she remarked while glancing to her phone to check the time.

He only snickered, "You allowed me take another match to save your own life and here I thought you were confident I couldn't kill you."

That made Scarlett turn beat red. He saw right through her.

"There's a difference when you can barely hold back your killing intent and when you're willingly killing people. Besides I just saved your neck from getting fired."

"Yes well I wouldn't have wanted to lose my job as your bodyguard. Thank you~"

They paused when they reached a bridge that went over a lit highway. From where they stood they could see the lit building sides. They summer's breeze in the city was welcoming to her. Calming.

"Gum?"

She blinked over at Hisoka offering her a piece of gum. She couldn't help but giggle a little before she took it. A sudden image of how they must look if someone had been watching their whole relationship through a tv screen crossed her mind. They were probably the weirdest pair around. Offering gum to your acquaintance you plan to kill one day.

Very Hisoka like. There was something about the way they were that suddenly Scarlett noticed. Despite how much he annoyed her and her one day death in his hands…she liked how they were. How she never felt a sense of aloneness since he'd started appearing at random in her life.

"You're such a freak did you know that?"

"I think you might've mentioned that a couple times."

She decided that whatever the reason was, she didn't really care, as long as he stayed.

"Alright lets get the princess home before her father get's upset."

"Don't treat me like a little girl. I'm almost nineteen."

"Well technically that still makes you a child to me, I'm a whole ten years older than you~" he answered back nonchalantly. She almost choked on her gum. A solid ten years age difference between them?

"What are you doing playing with kids? You phedo," when had she become this friendly with this guy? Her hand went to the pendant around her neck, fiddling with it when her hand had nothing else to hold onto.

"Oh By the way Hisoka," grabbing his attention one more time, "Thanks for getting me back my pendant."

She wanted to add on more like 'becoming my bodyguard, not leaving me alone, and giving me a sanctuary away from my family.' But she decided to keep them to herself. There was no need to look dependent on him-because she wasn't. She was just grateful.

Though when he grinned she felt her heart race again, "You're so cute it's hard to resist you sometimes."

The next morning she was back in her messy old self disguise for her mother. She'd spent the morning feeding the sick woman and telling her about her adventures she'd 'dreamt' of.

"He's a little boy named Gon, twelve years old, he wears this cute little green outfit and carries around his father's fishing rod as a weapon. He told me he was searching for his father!"

Her mother giggled faintly, "My you sound as if you've actually met him in person."

The guilt of having to lie to her mother about her friends pinged at her heart, "Well…I've seen him more than once…"

She'd continue like that. There was no point in risking her state of mind by telling her the truth.

It was after noon she left her mother only on the account of a maid calling her out. Her father had returned from his business trip early and there was an important announcement he had to tell the girls.

Scarlett considered changing into something presentable but the maid urged her to hurry along since her father had a flight to catch in an hour. With a heavy sigh she headed to the dining room already knowing what Alexis would have in store for her.

Ever since she'd taken back her job of nursing her mother Alexis had made no contact with her sister. She didn't cross paths with her, dine with her, share secrets with her, nothing.

And Scarlett liked it that way.

"You look like shit," Alexis commented once she had a good look at her sister.

Scarlett raised a brow and eyed the acne on her face, "Karma's a bitch you know? It's good to know it finally came around to slap you across the face."

Alexis's glare narrowed and for once she snapped her head away and said nothing at all.

Strange, but before Scarlett could dwell on it she spotted Hisoka, hair down and in a suit once more, and Revonika, hand still attached and looking as gorgeous as ever, standing beside her father's side. She raised a brow. That woman was still hanging around here?

"Hello Alexis, Scarlett," he got to his feet and walked over to his daughters, "I had to come by to tell you some important news. So you two could be aware of what will be happening in the weeks to come."

Why was it that Scarlett suddenly had a terrible feeling about this?

"I've been elected to be one of the chairmen at the Southern piece Auction this year. Thus forth I'll be hosting a welcome party here in two week for all our family friends, and business partners coming to YorkShin. Light Nostrade and his daughter will be staying over after then until the Auctions begin."

Alexis's face lit up, "Neon is coming?"

Scarlett on the other hand just stared at her father. A party to welcome a bunch of mafia members? Wasn't he the paranoid father that worried that one of those mafia bastards would be the ones that would kidnap his beloveds?

There something strangely off about the whole ordeal.

"Revonika will be placed as a second bodyguard around here while I'm gone. She'll watching over while the preparations for the occasion are made. I'll leave the main preparations to Alexis. Scarlett just…" he stared her up and down, with the messy hair, fake acne, and tattered up clothes, "Just don't come in looking like that."

Alexis burst out laughing, not even bothering to hold back. Hisoka had an amused smile on his lips-which in fact felt like betrayal on her end-and humiliation. To her surprise it was Revonika that was the only one who didn't laugh at her father's cruel comment.

A sense of gratitude for the woman came.

"Thanks father, yea don't worry I'll remember to add an extra more amount of fake acne scars and you know what, why don't I add on a couple of pounds or better yet, want me to get knocked up and sport a huge pregnant belly to make sure I DO disappoint you in my appearance?"

"You'd just end up making me shine all the more," Alexis commented and flicked some of long silky hair.

"I bet it'd be hard to show that shine with all the acne in the way," saying it as if she'd never experienced the problem first hand. For some reason she found herself regretting those words the moment they left her lips.

"That's enough you too," their father butted in, placing a hand on both girls' shoulders, "Just be prepared alright? If there's anything else that's important that you want to say let me know, I'll be in your mom's room for a bit."

And he left.

Wait her father still looked her mother's way? How come Scarlett found herself surprised by the fact? Wasn't he the one who told Alexis to play dress up and force her into pretending she was Scarlett? Wasn't he the one who allowed her to become a mad woman laying on her death bet?

What was this some sort of way to show his regret?

The moment he did Alexis snapped her glare back at Scarlett, "So you think it's funny that I have acne now? Trust me just because I'm going through the phase does not mean that you are better looking than me!"

"Alright alright, I'm sorry," Scarlett apologized and let her sister have this one. She was too busy reliving her own self insecurities due to the acne. Her anger had gotten the best of her the past few days. Making her snap and yell at everyone around her.

She was here now and there was nothing more she could do about it until September.

Her sister stormed off and left her to Revonika and Hisoka.

"Your sister's a real prick did you know that?"

Scarlett found herself liking Revonika more and more, "Yea what do you expect would happen to someone locked up all their lives?"

Author's Note: Woots a long chapter. I hope it was enjoyable. Apologies for any slaughter of Hisoka's Canon-ness. I tried. I swear. Next chapter will be more serious, just thought you guys needed some character development, and relationship building =D

Please don't for get to review and again let me know who you want as a second possible love interest- or no love interest for Scarlett. xP