Ugh… a lot of things have been happening in my life recently… its getting frustrating, but here we go. I'm writing for you guys. I made this chapter a little longer to cover for the absence. Haha hope you like the story so far. And thank you so much to all the people who have kept at it even though I have a ridiculously long pacing on this story. I totes love you all.

START

I sat in front of the television screen looking at it like a lost puppy. Snapping out of the trance, I looked back at the two behind me.

"How d-" I was stopped when Hisoka stood up and spoke.

"Can you hand me a towel?" he asked, seeming rather stern.

I obliged, walked over to my closet wondering if I should sound a lot more urgent. Took out a towel and handed it over to him.

"Don't worry about it too much. You'll be fine. There's two of us and only one of him; besides, this means he'll be cautious. He'll be easier to evade."

"Please stop treating me like I'm some damsel in distress!"

"THEN STOP ACTING LIKE ONE!" Hisoka shouted and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

Chapter 11 : Courage x School Life x Glance

I stood there astounded. I laughed a little.

Illumi stared at me, probably wondering if I had gone crazy. I turned to him.

"Let's get breakfast ready then."

I ended up having two elder brothers.

I started cooking up pancakes and some bacon and eggs. Typical breakfast for me who lived in the real world, not so typical for Illumi who had the same expressionless look in his face, well he did smile… barely.

Still figuring out how to hide from Sakashima, Illumi could see right through me as if reading an open book.

"Stop thinking about it." He said almost forceful.

I nodded. The rest of the day went by fast. I did not dare get out of the house. I was actually thinking of going back inside the other world so I can run away from this mess but thought better, it would be easier for me to know he's there if there were no other nen I needed to cancel out when I try.

Monday came and I was woken by Hisoka's hand nudging at my face softly.

*Good morning, Ringo." He said as he sat me up and patted my head. I wasn't used to him being nice. I couldn't understand why. But I had no right to complain. I was actually enjoying the affection.

I checked the time, it was eight in the morning.

"It's still early…" I said.

"You have classes, remember?" Hiska said gesturing at my class schedule.

I grumbled, "Sakashima's out there and you're trying to get me to school?"

Hisoka just laughed and Illumi answered in his stead. "If he was after you, he should have known you'd be here."

"Yeah, you're right… stay at home. I don't have any more normal clothes for you except for last time you two went out." I sighed.

"We'll be there." Hisoka said almost stating force.

"How?" Illumi said.

I sighed deeper. "Okay so I have like half an hour to instruct you if you two really don't want to sit this down."

The two stared at me intently.

"Alright, one, Illumi, your hair color is fine. We just need you with shorter hair, but your face is so emotionless it makes me laugh. No needles too. It will freak people out." Then I turn to Hisoka, "Can you change your hair color to black or brown or blonde? And no clown, jester, make up. Also, I think you already know the rule, no killing or harming people."

Hisoka rolled his eyes. I snorted.

"If you two are going to be there we need to drop by the mall and I'll be 30 minutes late for my first class…" I told them. "You two get showered and I'll make you two look like normal people…"

The two did so, "Ah, I'm a cosplayer… I can turn anyone anime, I think I can turn anyone normal…"

While the two got into the bath, I started to look in my closet for some clothes for at least the trip into the mall to get better clothes. All I saw was the oversized shirt I bought for my kareshirt trial from two years ago, a pair of pants Sakashima forgot to get from me after we did an overnight, this would be good for Hisoka… but Illumi… ah Illumi…

I stared at my closet for five minutes and Illumi just got out of the bath. I just stared at my closet still before Illumi stood before me with only a towel on.

"I've already sighed too much today Illumi. I don't know what to dress you with."

I then stood up abruptly.

"Unless you can change your body into my size and turn into a girl or something, can you?"

He nodded.

"Any needles that are smaller to hide?"

"None."

"You're staying home then. Besides, Hisoka knows the way around here, he's been here before…"

He looked away, probably disappointed I couldn't tell.

"Hey, you ok?" of course he was ok.

Leaning closer to see, I moved his head towards mine.

"Nillushi." I said.

"Nillushi?" he repeated as a question.

"If your mother adopted me."

"She did." He added.

"Ah… so the reason why you still take care of me."

"Mostly." He then leaned in close.

"Illumi." Hisoka's voice was cold.

Illumi backed off.

Heck I backed a bit. Considering the two, I found Illumi to be less than a threat than Hisoka right now despite me being so scared of Illumi before, probably because of the fact that he doesn't kill his family members.

Hisoka just suddenly scooped me up in his arms and got me into the bathroom after he said, "Get ready for school." And then he closed the door on me.

I did so and got out after taking a shower and grabbing the clothes I have at the bathroom counter, Hisoka must have set the clothes there while I was in the showe. Hisoka was already wearing the pants and the white shirt, his hair wasn't in his usual updo, and it was really dark brown. He looked pretty handsome. What the heck, he's too handsome.

Illumi sat at the bed staring outside at the buildings. I kind of felt sorry for him.

The tension between these two and the tension I have in my heart knowing that Sakashima was back in our own world terrified me. I didn't want to deal with that, especially with me having little to know power or control over everything. I have to be strong, but how do you become strong?

I combed my hair thinking, 'I can't deal with this shit.'

Heading out the door I looked back at Illumi before closing it.

"He'll be fine." Hisoka said.

"Yeah." I replied.

"Stop worrying about petty things. You have bigger things to worry about. I don't understand why you need to hide from him when you can just face him and take what's yours."

"I'm not strong enough."

"Then be stronger, simple." His voice was cold.

I didn't say another word. I just walked straight to school. Hisoka being my chaperone. It was a tense walk to school despite the girls form my school ogling at him because of his appearance. The experience was excruciating. Reaching the gates was a relief, but before I could walk in, Hisoka pulled at my hand and whispered in my ear. I froze in place looking at him. He just gave his usual cross between a smile and a smirk.

He gave a shoo gesture, telling me I should get going. I did so, my steps a little light and wobbly.

" We're going to Heaven's Arena tonight." His voice rung in my head like an alarm.

It is safer if I go back and I wouldn't have to worry about the people around me. Why did he even let me go to school if he was planning on taking me along? Why prolong it and risk meeting Sakashima?

I reached my classroom and Thalia, my friend since high school greeted me with a smile.

"Hey, Saka-kun's not around since last week, have you heard what happened?" she asked me, quite concerned.

"I don't really know, he hasn't talked to me at all since last time." I told her to ease her mind.

"You look different." She said. "You gotten pale, and your face got smaller."

"W-what?"

"I have not." My smile widened trying to assure her.

She sat in her usual seat next to me and I sat at the side of the class near the windows. Looking outside it was a clear day. I was wondering why the professor hasn't come in the room yet, my other classmates were huddled up near the other side of the room watching anime. While Thalia began reading her notes for her next class. I passed the time doodling on my notebook when suddenly a classmate called my name.

"Alex, hey!" the one who called me was Jasper, he was tall and lanky but he makes up for it with his intelligence. He was with the others watching before he called me. I looked at their direction and he made a 'come here' gesture. I stood up from my seat, Thalia was still reading but I looked at her and she smiled, like saying 'go ahead, I'll be fine.' So I went ahead.

"Yeah? What's up?"

"Are you cosplaying Ringo at school now? I mean is there an event later?"

I was confused. They can't mean Ringo as me 'Ringo'? So I acted oblivious.

"Uh... Ringo?"

Jasper moved to the side giving me room to see the laptop screen. The Hunter Exam arc was playing, showing me running and using fly, but the cards looked like tarot cards instead of actual clow cards. Well since I was a side character and I havent really used the cards as much as I wanted to.

"The copies of Hunter X Hunter's getting weird, I mean first there's a new character, Ringo. She uses cards too well until she got robbed off her nen and died and then she got revived again. It's crazy! You have the same hairstyle and the clothes you're wearing was the one she wore at the hunter exams. You sure you haven't watched Hunter X Hunter yet?" he explained.

"Uh... You could say I haven't. Besides I always dress like this. Maybe she was designed after me, you never know." I laughed trying to sound like I'm joking. "Wait. She got robbed off her nen? How?"

"It's best you watch, wouldn't want to spoil everyone else. We just started, The directors were weirded out too. They stuck with it though, their copies were changed too. So far the new anime is the only thing that changed, the 2011 one. It got covered all around the net and the news."

I was wondering why the professor hasn't come in yet and there he was watching the episodes too. I never knew my professor liked Hunter X Hunter. Or maybe it's because it was featured all over.

They spent the whole first period watching ten episodes of Hunter X Hunter up until the end of the Hunter Exam and the Zoldyeck family before they watched the Phantom Rouge movie. I watched and saw a new perspective on all that transpired through the experiences I went through. I was relieved that the part where there was me going back into the real world and the time where I spent my days at Sakashima's place were still in the Hunter World and a lot of it is cut.

"Wow, Ringo's a weak whiny character." I said.

"She isn't!" Jasper said with confidence. "She's weak yes but she's doing her best besides being a normal character with no physical ability whatsoever, even after getting her nen taken and dying she still does her best."

I was taken aback by Jasper's liking to Ringo.

The others discussed and agreed and disagreed but there was one thing they all had in common...

"I'd like to see what happens to Ringo next, not really sure why Hisoka's been helping her but I think her story's going to be good. Like, when will the person who took Ringo's nen be revealed? Or how will she get her nen back? She's pretty tough for a side character."

The door opened and someone went in, I was too absorbed to actually try and see who it was. Our professor's discussions with my classmates were about me and I can't help but listen. Then someone patted me on my shoulder.

"You look like you're having fun."

I knew this voice.

"Saka!" Thalia called out and waved at my direction.

I froze in place and looked up at the tall figure behind me.

"Ringo's quite the character isn't she. People have been talking about her a lot lately." Sakashima added.

I leapt away from his reach, staring at him intently.

He just gave a grin at me and the rest of the class watched. I tensed. His aura was terrifying.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Hi-sama and Illu-aniki?"

What was wrong with me? I could barely move, and I couldn't say anything.

The door opened again, Sakashima looked at the person who went inside.

"Hi-" I managed to say.

"I told you not to go to class today, you haven't even recovered from your fever, what if that gets worse?" he said calmly as he walked over and pretended to check on my temperature with his hand on my forehead. He then asked for me to be excused for the day and showed a medical slip forged with nen. He must have caught that from my hospital records back at home, how he found them was a mystery.

Heading towards the gate, Hisoka accompanied me. Sakashima was left back at the class, I think he's trying not to make a ruckus there or maybe he's planning something. I'm confused as to what he's thinking.

Right now I wanted to be decisive, realizing that I can't go back to the way it was before I picked up the Joystation.

"Hisoka." I managed to say.

"What?"

"I need to talk to you and Illumi."

He didn't say anything. He just walked me back home.

The moment I got inside, Illumi was wearing his usual clothes while Hisoka went to change. The Joystation was set and ready for going back. I sat at the couch and looked at my fingers as I twiddled them around.

"Illumi... I want to stay with Hisoka. If that's alright with you."

Without a second thought he said, "Do what you want."

It was a straightforward answer, like he knew I was going to ask him of that even before I did.

Heaven's Arena Arc... At least I'll have time to train. I thought to myself. Everyone thinks I'm strong willed. I never knew that they thought of me as a character in this story as one to look forward to. I packed my usual stuff in my bag and sat down on the floor staring at the Joystation waiting for Hisoka.

"Ne, Illumi... Can you start calling me Nillushi instead of Alex?" I said trying to conceal from people watching the series about who I am.

Illumi nodded, I could feel a pleased aura around him.

I checked everything I had twice and sat in front of the television screen. Hisoka and Illumi had stood behind me. I took a long breath before powering up the Joystation with some of the nen I have left.

Reaching the Hunter World we arrived at Padokea, near the city where Kukuroo Mountain. Knowing Illumi, he'd probably go back to the Zoldyeck estate. Looking at him as he was turning away I grabbed hold of his wrist. He looked down at me, with his usual emotionless stare I'd probably think he was curious as to why I stopped him.

"Thank you." I said sincerely.

He didn't say anything, he gently removed my grip.

"Thank you," I repeated. "Thank you... aniki..."

Illumi turned his back on me, "Okay," he said finally and disappeared from sight.

I turned to look at Hisoka too. "Thank you too..."

"In what instance do you owe me thanks?" he said in his usual whimsical tone of jest.

"For having me get a body of my own. You and Illumi both... you two gave me a second shot at living. I'm grateful. Going back... witnessing on a third person view at what I've been doing this whole time. I was a kid. I am weak, and I make a lot of mistakes. But that doesn't matter now. I need to be stronger, so I can fight my own battles."

Hisoka had that malicious grin and it scared me for a moment. I dismissed it.

"What do you plan now?" I asked him. "But I'm guessing you're going to tail Gon?"

"I will be checking in on their moves then."

Following Hisoka, I already know where we're going but it's best not to interfere too much or all the information I have may change. And as I thought, we will be going back to Heaven's Arena.

Upon arriving I put my bag down on a chair and I sat on the other one, my usual chair, Hisoka sat down at the bed beside it.

Looking back at what had always transpired when we were alone together, it sounds and looks like a badly written fanfiction. Him sitting at the bed not doing anything was awkward, every time I was with him was awkward, aside from his kisses which now feels awkward. The whole room with him is awkward.

I reddened and swiped the nearest pillow in my reach from the bed and covered my face. The awkward silence is killing me.

"Look at me." Hisoka said.

I refused.

"Don't make me ask again."

I peeked.

"Drop the pillow." He continued.

I shook my head in refusal.

He sighed and walked towards the bathroom, I'm guessing a shower.

I never knew I'd get this awkward around him. I reached for my bag and noticed something.

39.

My number card I hid. I didn't remember packing it here.

I set it on the table. It brought back a lot of memories. The exhausting run I had to go through, the constant evasion of things that wanted to eat me. The cooking exam I skimmed through. Breaking a lot of bones at trick tower, and trying to survive Zebil Island by myself which got me killed.

Reminiscing through it all, come to think of it, I was strong enough to withstand all that happened, right until I got killed by snakes. And that weird dream though... that was pretty weird.

I stared outside the window, falling asleep a few minutes later only to wake up by Hisoka carrying me to bed.

"Mn?" I grunted as I woke. I was too sleepy to protest.

Hisoka didn't say anything. He just leaned over with his makeup-less face, and his hair down. I liked him like this, as if he looked like a normal person without all the jester make up and the outfit. Not that he was wearing the outfit, he just got out of the shower. I turned red. He leaned closer inching at my neck and planting a light kiss at it.

I scuffled away. He laughed at me.

"Your reactions are amusing."

"What am I leisure? Besides, I'm weak, I don't have promise, and if you want my nen, you can go after Sakashima right?"

He continued laughing.

"I'm going to have to fight you someday won't I?" I said and he stopped with a grin on his face. The intent to fight and kill was there so I added, "I'm just for leisure then." Of course I was.

I sat up on the bed and stared at the number tag I lay down at the table. Hisoka noticed me looking at it and instinctively looked over. His face turned serious.

"You were a handful." He said blandly but forcefully.

I looked away from him and the number tag, lay down on my side of the bed and covered my face with the another pillow.

Hisoka moved the same pillow aside and looked at me straight in the eye.

"Look at me." And planted a kiss on my lips.

I shoved him away.

"No."

"Look at me." He repeated.

"No." I repeated.

He then forced me to look at him. I struggled to look away.

"Stop resisting me and start obeying. It's a simple order. I want you to look at me."

I fell silent.

"Don't treat me like your puppet."

He loosened his grip on me and stood up from the bed and put on some clothes, he sat the chair I usually sat in and looked outside.

I was relieved he stopped, I held my pillow tightly and fell asleep again.

Waking up in the morning, I yawned and looked around the room. I noticed the message on the television, Hisoka has two fights. I went to the bathroom and decided to take a nice bath on the tub. Without Hisoka in the room, the air was a lot lighter.

Walking out I scowled as he was there again, he must've finished the first match early.

"You're here early..."

He just laughed at my remark. Looking at him I noticed his arm was bleeding.

"Ah shit." I breathed and head on over to get bandages and some medicine for the wound.

I asked him to take his upper clothes off and cleaned the wound up.

"You'll need stitches..." I said, he didn't complain. I then, with my stitching needle and some medical thread, though it was my first time actually stitching someone's wound, Hisoka went through it like nothing had happened.

He was surprisingly quiet.

"Hisoka... I'm sorry about last night. I'm on edge. I know you're stronger than me but I really don-" he caught me off guard. His lips touched mine, slowly backing me up onto the edge of the bed toppling me over breaking away the kiss.

"Why?" I asked.

He didn't say anything.

"Why do you toy with me like this? Do you find pleasure in toying with my feelings? We both know that your only pleasure is to fight people who are on your league or higher. Besides, I don't need nen transfusions anymore. Are you trying to make it easier for me to get stronger?" It's hard to figure him out. I keep wanting to hate him but it's still so hard to.

"I want you." He said.

I stopped in my train of thought to process what he had just said. "You what now?"

"I want you." He repeated. "I want you to look at me, and only me."

Wait, hold up, stop the presses. Is he? "What are you saying?"

"I already said it twice, I want you to look at me."

"I am now."

He stared at me sternly. I laughed,

"Stop being so out of character, it doesn't suit you." I held his shoulders and had him sit down at the bed, I took a handkerchief from my bag and went over to the bathrooms to moisten it with warm water at the sink. Came back and took off Hisoka's make up as he, at first, reluctantly refused.

Looking at his bare face and I ruffled his hair out of the updo. I smiled.

"If you're going to be out of character because of me influencing you... then please be out of character with me without the makeup and the weird hairstyle." I smiled at him and kissed him back properly returning his kiss from before.

I stopped in my tracks, my face was burning, and if I saw it right now it would be red as a cherry.

What in the hell am I doing?

I pushed him away again.

Oh my god, Alex, you indecisive woman. I swear you have brain damage. What in the world, seriously. I crawled to the other edge of the bed where the pillows were, grabbed one and screamed into it.

"Stop being so charming!" I shouted the moment I took the pillow off my face. "Stop using that smile and that, ugh! You're not even capable of love! Why am I falling for you. Oh sweet baby Jesus."

He laughed. As always. Laughing at my flustered face, with my flustered response, and my flustered movements.

It was embarrassing me.

I threw the pillow at his face.

It hit and an awkward silence filled the room as he had this dark smirk latched on me.

"Uh, I- I um... Uh..." I fumbled with my words.

He sat beside me and patted my head. Pointed at my ribcage, at my arms, at my legs, and at random places around my neck and forearms and thighs.

"You were broken, bitten, and-" he stopped to point at my heart. "your heart stopped beating." Then he pointed at each of my eyes. "But you were the only person who I saw die, with the will to still fight in your eyes. That's enough to make me want to see you grow stronger."

"You're still going to fight me in the future are you?"

He was silent, and just gave me a smile.

"I see."

The television let out a light alarm telling Hisoka his second fight will be in 30 minutes. I looked at his shoulder noticing that his wound was bleeding again.

"Your-"

He looked back at me from the television and understood, he settled for me to change the dressing, asking him to put some pressure to stop the bleeding.

"Will you be okay?" he didn't say anything. "Of course you will, you're Hisoka and so far, no one has beaten you yet."

I finished changing his bandages when he held me close with his arm without the wound. He had me there for quite a while and it eased me. We spent quite some time just like that until he let go gently and put on a new shirt and got ready with his make up for the next match.

I stared at him until he had left. I smiled.

But this isn't time for that, I changed clothes and went over to the registration booth and submitted my registration to start at floor one.

Standing in line I heard a voice.

"Oh! It's that examinee! What was her name again?" the familiar voice said, I looked back and saw Gon and Killua walking towards me.

I pointed at myself asking if it was me. Gon nodded.

"Oh, you're the kid from the Hunter Exams." I said, lying. Killua stared at me, which made me nervous.

"K-kil..." I said instinctively. It felt like the right thing to do at the time

"Nil." He said.

Gon was confused, "You know her?"

"My mother adopted her, she's Nillushi. My new older sister." He said sternly. "Is aniki here?"

"No he went back to the mansion. I'm here with a friend." I said.

"Are you an assassin too?" Gon asked honestly.

I smiled, "No, mother just fancied me, I think she wants me to go the same path but I'm too weak to be like Killua. Killua's really strong. Are you two going to sign up or have you signed up already?"

"We have," Killua said, "will you be alright registering?"

"I can try, besides, I need to train to get stronger."

"Why do you need to." Killua asked, he was concerned.

"Because, you do know I don't want to get killed again."

TO BE CONTINUED

Since I'm juggling three stories now, it will be a round about update so next update I'll give is the Free! Fanfic, then the Kuroshitsuji one. The order will be HxH then, Free, then Kuroshitsuji. Just a head's up