"Oh... it's them. Interesting." His tongue slid over his lips before he smirked and easily jumped from the cliff, pulling me with him. I managed to land on my feet next to him, thought it was harder as he was still rather tightly gripping my hand. I came to a stop by a tree, and it was there that Hisoka decided to wait.
I still had no idea who he had deemed as his prey, but given the fact that he said, "Them" there was most likely more than one who managed to capture his interest. I was concerned as we entered what looked like a well beaten path, meaning that many have been down this way before and when I saw the two who Hisoka had his eyes on, Kurapika and Leorio, I was even more worried for them.
I didn't want Gon to see his friends being killed right in front of him, as I knew Gon was still trailing us. Gon was well hidden, but I was trained to find those things. Granted, Hisoka was very good at locating people, but Gon had his aura hidden. I assume that the only reason I knew he was there was because I knew that he was after Hisoka's tag so I was keeping an ear out for him to cover for him if he slipped up.
Hisoka may not listen to me, and just kill Gon anyway, but if he wanted Gon dead, I assume he would have already killed him. "Hey~" Hisoka said with a small smile on his face and the two tensed, their entire body languages changing. "Imagine meeting you here..." Leorio seemed to be rather stressed by the fact that Hisoka was there.
"I keep running into people I don't want to encounter." Leorio then looked at me and his eyes widened, "Did you tell him-" "No, I didn't because it is not important and now you just made things worse by asking." I wanted to sigh internally. During the second phase, Leorio said that they were in the presence of a beautiful woman, implying he was interested, and I told him Hisoka would be mad and kill him for it.
I did not plan on telling Hisoka about it, but now that Leorio has brought it up, there was almost no chance of avoiding it. "Tell me what?" Hisoka's aura turned a pure black as he became ten times more dangerous. If I was going to calm him, I would have to tread lightly. "Tell you that he implied he was interested in me during the second round when we were hunting the pigs and I told him it was not a good idea."
Hisoka grinned in a feral way and took a step towards the two. "Why did you tell him now, of all times?" Leorio asked, taking a step back and I sighed. "I had no intention of saying anything in the first place, but you had to bring it up. The mind that is left in the dark thinks of far more... drastic... situations. So I had to clear things up. And I have no intention of lying to him."
Hisoka had one of his cards now, namely, the joker card as he stalked towards the two. "You see, I need two more points. Could you give me your tags?" Hisoka was ready to kill, and I knew this. If they denied his request, he would kill them, and Gon would have to watch two of his friends die right in front of him. I knew the feeling, and it was a horrible one.
"What was that? Screw that! I'm not gonna..." "Leorio!" Kurapika cut him off and did not take his eyes off of Hisoka for a single moment. "You said that you need two additional points. Which implies that we are not your targets, correct?" Hisoka had his hands on his hips, his eyes narrowed in the thrill of the exchange.
"I'm the one who's asking the questions here. Will you give me your tags or not?" His voice had an edge to it, and I felt his blood-lust rising from where I stood, making me back off slightly. He looked at me from the corner of his eyes for a moment, his lips curling up in a smile, before he looked back at the two.
"That depends. We currently have four tags. Mine, my target's Leorio's, and a tag worth only one point to us. Of these, only two could be the number of your target. Mine, or the tag worth only a single point. Leorio's number is 403. He was the target of 16, Tonpa. And my target was 16. Each person was assigned a different target, besides 88 who is everyone's target and whose target is everyone, so 16 and 403 are out."
Hisoka stepped forward, a grin on his lips, "Indeed... Neither of those is my target. So?" Kurapika turned his eyes to look at me before back at Hisoka. "It is clear that you are not going to attack 88, for what ever reason, and she is not going to attack you. This being said, that leaves the other two tags. If you're willing to take the tag worth only one point to us and leave, you can have it.
"But... I will not let you have mine. And the same goes for the other two. If you insist taking them by force, you'll have to fight me!" They both got into fighting stances and Hisoka just smiled, his blood-lust was intense now, and I could feel it like a mist in the air. Hisoka put on hand to his face and began to laugh, slow and melodious at first before it tapered off just as quickly as it began, a low hum coming from him.
"Out of curiosity, what is your number?" One of Hisoka's eyes was peering past his hand, his voice a dangerous tone. "404." Hisoka lowered his hand, "Very well," He made the Joker card in his hand disappear, but I could feel his desire for bloodshed from where I stood, my heart was pounding, ready to take off at a single moment's notice.
"You have a deal. I'll only take the one tag." Kurapika grabbed his bad and took out the tag, leaving it in the crack of the rock. "I'll leave it here." I gave them a look that was almost pleading for them to run as I continued to slowly back off. "Don't worry. I'll be standing here for a while." His eyes snapped back over to me and I tensed, my heart racing even faster.
I did not fear him, per-say, but I did fear his blood-lust. Though he could not hurt me, that doesn't mean he is above doing anything to calm the blood-lust down. I would just have to wait for him to calm down on his own, and to try and stop him from being so riled up in future days to come. They slowly backed off and Hisoka remained still.
He laughed softly again, "In only a few days, they've grown so much, I barely recognize them. But they have much more to learn... why must unripe fruit be so tantalizing?" He turned over the tag. "Hm, pity. This is the wrong tag..." I continued to wait for him to calm or to become more riled, planning my actions accordingly as he stood by the tree, his body tense.
He slowly lifted his hand and a butterfly landed on it as he smiled down at it. He suddenly crushed the butterfly in his hand and slowly opened it to reveal around ten more butterflies flying away from him. His blood-lust suddenly rose, rolling off of him in waves and scaring away almost every living creature that could move.
The only two left near him now, happened to be Gon and myself. "Oh no." Hisoka said softly, his voice strained and wild sounding. "Those boys got me all tingly... I must calm it." He turned his head ever so slightly to look at me and I had already turned on my heels and began running. It was not safe around Hisoka at the moment, and I only hoped that Gon knew to get away from him.
'Please follow me, Gon... please! Please don't be caught by him.' I begged silently in my head as I ran as fast as I could, moving from place to place and realizing that I would not be able to return to my den for a few days if Hisoka didn't manage to calm down. I could feel his deathly presence behind me and I knew that he was following me, which meant that Gon was following him.
"Come back~! I need your help." Hisoka practically sang out the words, his voice dangerous and dark. He was far enough away that I couldn't see him anymore, but he was still on my trail. "Isn't that what mates are for? To help each other in times like this?" He was closer now, I could feel his blood-lust was only becoming stronger as he chased after me and I decided to leap up into a tree and mask my presence, hoping he didn't see me.
I sat quietly in the tree, holding my breath as he slowly came to a stop right by my tree, his eyes wild like an animal's and his breath labored, but not from running. "Kiame~! Come out, come out wherever you are." His voice was husky and his eyes scanned the trees and bushes for movement, but I was determined to wait for him to calm down before revealing my presence.
"Where did you go, my little toy?" His voice seemed more panicked now as his eyes began moving more rapidly, his body stiff and his hands slightly clenched. "Come back! I didn't say you could leave yet!" He was snarling now, his hand flashing out and multiple cards hit several tree trunks, as if he were trying to spook me out of hiding.
I covered my mouth, trying to stay as quite as possible as he snarled, his eyes rolling back slightly as he continued to breath like a man starved for air. He no longer acted out, but now he just stood in silence, his eyes upturned towards the sky and his body stiff. I moved slowly and quietly, as if I were stalking a bird that had just landed.
My footfalls were quiet and my slow movement from the tree seemed to neither interest, nor upset Hisoka. I moved slowly away, careful to not touch a single leaf on any of the bushes around me. as I was far enough away to not feel his blood-lust, I set out at a quick pace, looking for somewhere new to set up camp.
Hopefully, the next time I see him, he would not be in such a state as he was now. I had all of my points and I had no reason to do anything other than hide for the remaining time. I found what looked like a suitable place to set up a new den, high in the thick branches of a tree that towered over many others.
When I managed to get up into the tree, I looked around to make sure I wasn't followed. It was still a fair bit into the night, so I had some time to get a bit of rest. I slowly closed my eyes, anchoring myself to a good spot in the tree and drifting off. When I awake, I did so with a start, able to feel the blood-lust of a certain mate of mine.
I turned my head just in time to see a rather clear view of him cutting down someone who had a rather large nose and looked older. The moment he attacked, a certain fishing line snagged his tag, and I felt a small swell of pride for Gon having actually managed to steal Hisoka's tag. Hisoka looked up, having noted the line as well before I saw Gon standing on the other side of the opening, holding Hisoka's tag.
Gon seemed to be surprised that he go the tag, and Hisoka was thrilled. "Good job, Gon! Now run!" I called out to the stunned boy, who immediately disappeared when he heard me. Hisoka's gaze snapped over to look at me as I climbed down the side of the tree. The second my feet hit the ground, I was pinned down, a rather amused and annoyed Hisoka looking down at me.
"You knew I was his target, didn't you?" He was smirking, his eyes narrowed and his blood-lust considerably less, now that he had killed. "I found out yesterday, he was already stalking you and I warned him about my traps and and informed him you would most likely be somewhere near me. Though I didn't expect you to be as close as you were. I was planning on avoiding you for the rest of the phase."
His eyes narrowed and his grin widened into a twisted smile. "Now why would you do that?" He asked, his voice a gentle hiss and I chuckled. "Because, in order to approach a feral animal, you need to catch it in a good mood. And you were in a rather... violent... mood." He chuckled and I felt a small twinge in my chest. I immediately sat up, finding myself closer to Hisoka, slightly catching him off guard, but I was worried now.
"Gon's in trouble." I said quickly, headed towards Gon's presence to see a man standing over him, digging through his bag and taking his tag and Hisoka's tag. I growled, my eyes narrowing. "No... Gon worked too hard to get those." I hissed and found that Hisoka was already after the man who had attacked Gon.
I moved forward, checking to make sure that Gon was still alive. Gon's eyes slowly opened and he looked up at me, his body shaking slightly as he tried to move. "Don't. It's okay. You don't need to move." I pressed my hand to Gon's forehead, closing my eyes and using my Nen to corner and eliminate most of the poison that was running through his system.
"There... I've helped remove a fair amount of the poison... you'll be able to move soon, once you've slept the rest off." He looked up at me, his voice lightly shaking. "W-why are you helping me?" He asked, a slight squeak of strain to his voice. "Because, Gon, you remind me so much of my younger brother. You even look just like him too.
"He... was caught in a fire that killed the rest of my family. He was so badly burned that he would have never been able to survive. He cried, begging for me to help him, and I could do nothing but end his suffering quickly. I don't want to loose someone I see as a younger brother, not again. That is why I am helping you. Because you remind me of my family, Gon. My family. Those I couldn't save."
He breathed softer now, as if relieved by my answer and I stood up, wondering if Hisoka got the man yet. I turned, about to call out to him before I saw him dragging the man's body, throwing it next to Gon, scaring him. "You surprise me. You hid your presence, while waiting for your chance? Waiting for me to attack another?"
He held up Gon's tag, along with his own tag, a smile on his face. "Did you teach yourself how to conceal your presence? Marvelous... like a wild animal. And your timing was impeccable. You concealed all traces of your attack by timing it with my own attack. A splendid job." He tossed the tags down next to Gon, giving them back to him before putting his hand on his hip.
"His poison darts completely relax your muscles. The effects last ten days in a normal person. Only three days are left. I'm sure you will have recovered by then. Something already tells me that you have recovered most of the way." He then turned and began walking towards the trees, motioning for me to follow.
"Wait..." Gon said slightly, his voice strained as he struggled, "Did you come to take back your tag?" He asked, his eyes trained on Hisoka. "No, I just came to commend you. Turns out that he was my target. So I don't need that anymore." Gon growled, his body still shaking lightly. "I don't need it either."
Hisoka grinned, "Don't say that... you owe me one now. Feel free to pay me back when you want. Besides, my mate would be cross with me if I ruined your chances after you did so well in stealing my tag." He grinned at me when he said 'mate', shocking Gon slightly. He then turned around, begging to walk off. "Goodbye."
I fell into step next to him before I stopped, hearing rustling behind me. I turned to see Gon was standing, holding the '44' plate in his hands. "I don't want to owe anyone... you can have it back now." Hisoka smiled, turning and walking towards Gon, making me tense. "I refuse. Right now, I'm letting you live. And I'll continue to keep you alive, until you've grown enough to be worth killing..."
He punched Gon sharply in the face, making the tags fly a few feet away and Gon to go far back into the clearing, leaving a clear mark when he bounced slightly before going still. "I'll only take it back when you're able to punch me in the face, just like that. Until then, I shall leave the tag with you."
I frowned and picked up the fallen tags, not wanting them to be stolen, as it was clear that Gon was now unconscious. Hisoka now stood, waiting at the tree-line for me, watching me in interest. I walked over to Gon, putting a soothing ointment on his cheek that had already begun to swell before picking him up and setting him within the base of a large tree, safe behind the roots.
I placed the plates within his bag, and set it next to him, removing my jacket and placing it over him so he wouldn't be cold when he woke up. After I finished making sure he was okay and he was hidden while he was unconscious, I returned to Hisoka. "What happened to not touching anyone besides me unless it was to steal from or hurt them?"
I looked up at him, glancing back where Gon was. "I refuse to hurt him. If you have a problem, fine. Get mad at me. But I will not raise a hand against Kitsune-" I cut off, realizing that I had called Gon by my brother's name. "Oh? I see. He is replacing the hole in your heart that one of your brothers left, isn't he? I'm going to kill him, so stop being so attached to him, but for now, I will let him live. He will die by my hand though."
He turned away and began walking off. I hesitated for a moment, before following him, letting out a soft sigh. "We will never agree on that one, Hisoka. I will do everything in my power to stop you from killing him. I don't care if he is your 'prey'. I now claim him as my brother, and I will stop you." I glanced at Hisoka to see him smiling, his eyes excited, and he was now all riled up. "I look forward to it~"
