his past — a few days after Lei's departure

Some odd hunger pang filled days later, the golden-eyed boy had the fortune of stumbling upon the gang, or a member of it. Although the golden-eyed boy had stolen from his peer's gang once before, the gangster kept it quiet on the basis that the thief would share. The two stood in an awkward silence, both trying to figure out the others plan and feelings. Their intense expressions made them resemble old men and they surely had the experience behind them to back it up. When the two decided to do away with the hostility, a familiarity flourished.

"Hey, Hiso," the boy, not much older than Hisoka, greeted.

Hisoka gave a nod, "Hiya… um, how are... things?"

"Well," his eyes lied to the trash heap before him. "I never knew so much could happen in such a short time."

"I've known that for awhile," Hisoka said, ignoring his growling stomach.

He shook his head, "No, not like… not like this."

"What? Just say it." Hisoka pressed.

The boy turned silent and his eyes went dark. "Hiso..."

"Fang!"

"Okay," he sighed and gave Hisoka a blank look. "The gang has really clear rules, y'know? She broke them."

Hisoka's fingers traced over the sticker in his pocket. "Where is she?"

"Edin... did some crazy things to her; he killed her after." Fang whistled. "Wait, don't go!"

Hisoka was stopped by a hand on his wrist. "Then you're coming with me!"

"Hiso, listen!" Fang exclaimed. "They're patro—"

"She's such an idiot!" Hisoka screeched, "I told her not to!"

Hisoka slipped out of his grasp, Fang warning, "It's not worth it! You can't say I didn't warn you!"

"She didn't… she didn't deserve that." Hisoka said, but in a way he felt his sadness was conditioned. "Where are they?"

"You've never killed anyone before." Fang added. "Keep it that way."

Hisoka narrowed his eyes, "Stop treating me like a kid. You don't know what I've done."

"Then go and kill the whole gang." Fang rolled his eyes. "Like you could kill someone."

"I've got nothing to prove to you," he crossed his arms, looking away.

Fang scoffed, "You were just all high and mighty, a minute ago. What changed?"

"I don't wanna talk about this anymore," he mumbled. "This isn't—"

Fang looked Hisoka up and down, "Who was your first?"

"My what?" The boy asked, fidgeting with his candy wrapper.

"Who did you kill for the first time?" Fang asked, stretching his arms.

Hisoka bit his lip, "I said, I don't wanna talk about this."

"C'mon, it's not like anything that didn't happen then could happen now," Fang laughed. "Unless you believe in ghosts."

Hisoka turned, looking down at the ground. "Leave me alone."

"Not until you tell me."

Hisoka shut his eyes and battled the memories unfolding in his head. The inside of his lip was swollen from how frequent his teeth collided with the flesh. His shoulders shook, "It was an accident. I didn't mean to… he told me he was… I don't want to talk about this."

Fang's eyes were wide, "How'd you do it?"

Hisoka shook his head and ran off, clutching the wrapper in his hand. Fang wasn't an acquaintance at the best of times and he could be an ambiguous enemy at the worst; Hisoka didn't like to deal with either situation. Though in the past, he'd helped Fang out, thinking they were at least strangers on good terms. His feet carried him around several corners and as he didn't pay attention to where he was heading, he collided with a solid and hard force.

"Hey!" A voice yelled. "Watch where you're goi… wait a minute."

Hisoka rubbed his head and looked up at the large group in front of him. Why'd it have to be them?, he thought. His first instinct was to make a break for it, but a member of the gang caught him by the foot before he could run off.

"Goda," the young man said, "isn't this the kid that stole from us?"

"I think so," Goda scratched his chin, watching as the member dragged him closer. "Yeah! To think he'd risk his life for something so small."

The young man twirled the spiked bat in his hand, "Hold him upside down."

"Huh?" Hisoka mumbled, his world rotating. He faced the opposite of his original line of sight, meaning he couldn't see the person he ran into earlier. With the blood rushing to his head, silent panic swelled inside his stomach. Unsure of what was coming next, he asked, "W-what's going on?"

Laughter was his only answer and the group's collaborative quiet about the situation only served to fuel Hisoka's fear.

"Hey, wait!"

Hisoka tried to turn around, but Goda held him securely in place and kept his head forward.

Fang'll help me, Hisoka thought, he owes me!

"Whaddya want, Fang?" Goda barked. "We're in the middle of something."

Fang stood behind the bat-twirler, "Yeah, I can see that. I wanted to watch!" Hisoka felt his heart beat slower, confused at Fang's actions. "I was heading back, but I swore I heard y—"

"Yeah, later." Goda cut in. "Let's get this going!"

"Fang?" Hisoka muttered. "Why wo—"

The spiked bat connected with the small child's back, the heads of the nails getting stuck in his skin. Hisoka's scream of anguish did nothing to dissuade the assailant; he wrenched the bat from the child's body, small segments of skin stuck to the flat heads of the nails. Hisoka struggled to get out of Goda's grasp, but he was stopped by another strike to the back.

"What did he steal again?" The attacker asked, flicking the matter off of the bat.

Goda shrugged, "Don't remember."

"He still stole from us though," Fang added, standing in front of Hisoka's drenched face.

"Please…" Hisoka cried, "hel—"

The bat embedded deeper into his skin this time and the golden-eyed boy grit his teeth, the sensation heightened by the wounds he sustained the first time around.

"Like I would help you." Fang spit in his face, joining in on the rest of the gang's laughter.

Why is he doing this?, Hisoka thought, And why did she have to leave?