The Joker: The Fool

Beyond coastal waters infested with monstrous fish and leeches, past jagged cliffs, a dense forest spread over the horizon. Well within, a meadow surrounded a lightning-struck tree. Now toppled, the burnt black husk had been overtaken by moss. Lan perched on one of the branches not lost in the re-growth, eyes narrowed severely.

Hisoka found it adorable that she chose the former exam site for their reunion's stage.

Bird chatter died as he approached. He searched for eyes in the shadows. He didn't trust she came alone, unaided and vulnerable. Chrollo would deceive and lure, use Lan, his Spiders, whatever he saw necessary, to deny him the one-on-one fight he craved.

Already on edge, Lan present and scornful, her aura a controlled sheen of fury, he sensed no such attention from the shadows. Her little Hunter friends, she wouldn't dare endanger them when she had refused during the Fan Shi affair. Chrollo, perhaps some of the Spiders, while not here, he presumed they were near. Horribly possessive, Lan was Chrollo's kill as much as Hisoka's.

And proven by sweet Lan's warning, Hisoka was Chrollo's. So near, so tempting, Chrollo could finally be his.

Looking at her, smile cutting across his face, anticipation built. "Fledgling," he cooed, hand twitching, wanting her within reach. She brought such a special elation; she would be hard to resist.

"Hisoka."

"How cold!" He feigned hurt, hand over his heart, "You wound me so, darling. Returning my calls so soon, I thought you would be ecstatic to see me, run right into my waiting arms." Narrowed eyes looking down on him sent pleasure along his spine. Clothes tight, layers lost to avoid catching, sleeveless shirt exposing bare shoulders and arms, she looked as delicious as ever. With one exception. He pointed, pouting. "I do hope that's fake." Over his scar marking her loss was a snake encircling a reverse cross, ink more permanent than painted bruises, more obvious than a thin scar. She was more creative than to play the same trick twice, he feared.

"It's not." Monotone losing its edge, her expression shifted to pure anger as she tilted her head to the side, pulled back her shirt to show off the blemish marring her skin. His eyes narrowed, disgust kept on his tongue. "I hate you, Hisoka," she said, voice biting ice.

"Forgetful thing, aren't you, Lan?" His hands to the side, mocking smile loving, he repeated, "Love or hate, I don't care." So long as her attention remained on him, passionate hate or burning love, he sincerely meant it when he said it didn't matter which she chose. "Until death do we part, you're mine." A tattoo, spider or not, wouldn't change that.

Cold blue jagged knives, aura erupted around her as she stood. Eyes reflecting light and rage, he loved the expression twisting her pretty face, her focus on him. Restrained wrath, hands clenched into little shaking fists, she hissed, "You're going to listen to me!"

A card in his fingers, eyes scanning for a trap to set- Shifting wind, he leaned back, aura edge passing a fraction from his eyes. Nemmi distracting, Lan hit ground, feet tearing soil. Hisoka straightened his back, raised his arms. She rammed into him, bristle knife fur driving into aura-protected skin. Pinpricks more than bloodlust, she retreated as small punctures opened to seep blood.

He grinned, lust testing control. She had improved again. He had his aura perfectly divided to withstand her former strength and a tad more. First pass a show, he remained, craving punishment. But no, he shouldn't. Not with Chrollo waiting.

She dived, aim low, his side open. Shift in aura, she predicted. Scurrying under his arm, a rabid fox slammed into him. All teeth and razors, drawing blood by proximity, it opened its mouth to bite. He whipped his arm to the side, offering at a price. Disrupt, disperse, knock aside to pull her with- a tried tired tactic. He twisted, turned. Lightning redirect, her aura wrapped around her before his foot caught her stomach. A last second redirect himself kept his foot intact.

Lan let momentum take her, rolling a short distance, aura tearing through forest floor debris. She pushed herself up, standing, unbothered by the strike itself. Perhaps a bruise, certainly nothing more, such improvement.

His heart positively melted.

"Darling, you held back." Their pre-exorcism foray, such a tease. Her reaction time, prediction, mobility, control, strength, her everything, she was becoming such a deadly little thing. Yet, her fight against the Fan Shi woman, he wanted that raw power aimed at him. Until then- Until that rapturous moment, he should ignore her. But he needed her.

Rage, animal eyes, "I hate you," she screamed, fake calm killed. Dramatic, childish words, but oh how she meant them. "I hate what you did to me!" Bloodlust drenching, heavy, seductive, her words accented with fury, "I hate that you exposed me to the Fan Shi for nothing!"

Fanning cards to hide a wicked grin, his tongue running over his lips, her eyes, animalistic copper brown, this was the girl that had tried to kill him during the exam. He absolutely adored this blood ravenous side of her. He wanted her to tear him apart, demean him as he had her. "Are you still upset over Heaven's Arena?" A worthless grudge, but terribly minimally he recognized that he had made her recklessness pointless, sent the dominos crashing. Yet, ultimately, "You chose to participate." He only took advantage, pushed her towards the end he wanted.

He regretted nothing.

Cards thrown, neatly sliced halves fluttered to her feet. Hardly an issue. Lan stepped forward, aura shredding the leftovers. He smiled. Confetti capable of tiny scratches, not worth the effort, Hisoka released the Bungee Gum attached. Dragging his darling bundle of knives to him without defensive Nen present would jeopardize his fight with Chrollo. He needed to remember she was just an appetizer.

Her feet dug into the ground, propelled her forward. A card appearing between his fingers, she wasn't safe. He slashed, horizontal. Lan dropped, aura cutting ground. She tried to get behind, Hisoka twisting, card catching her arm. Her aura remained a steadfast barrier to flesh. The power behind the hit disrupted to set her on the defensive. A series of jabs, hair-width dodges, nails wanting to dig into skin, he pressed forward.

Wicked grin. Change-up. Her arm caught his knee before it dug into her stomach. Knocked back, both unhurt, she ran. He followed.

Coming to a towering tree, she jumped, sprung off the trunk. Fixated on striking him from behind- Her momentum in air slow, the snap of Bungee Gum yanking him closer, he slashed again. He missed as her hands closed around a vine. A dodge or plan? She scurried upward, fast and practiced, nature her preferred battleground. She chose the venue for a perceived advantage over him.

A flick of the wrist, Bungee Gum ripped him from the ground. Eye level, card's edge breezing by her nose, she seemed too surprised. This terrain worked just as well for him. He swung to the side. The vine severed into a second piece, Lan already plummeting from a first slash- the bird, again. Back on the ground and running, he dropped down to pursue.

Within a rapid rabid heartbeat, his nails grazed her cheek. Thin scrape dying skin beneath wide eyes, she struggled to turn, avoid a worse follow-up. Arri slammed into his chest, disappeared, Lan's nails driving into his arm. Blood staining, dripping, his fingers wrapped around her arm. He threw her aside.

He trailed his finger through bleeding flesh. So close to cleaving muscle from bone. The wound closed with Bungee Gum, he watched Lan push herself from the ground. He wanted to push her back down. He wanted her to shove him down, straddle his waist, choke him out.

Her right arm shook, ringed scars spattered red with his blood.

"I hate you," she whispered, smearing blood rubbing her right arm. Lifting her eyes from the ground, anger smoldering, voice harsh, "I hate you for what you did in Yorknew."

"Darling, haven't we covered that?" Numerous times, in fact. Such a vindictive girl, holding grudges. The past didn't matter; she should be more grateful for how he felt presently. Though, the closest to regret he had, "You wanted to meet them. I only made it happen." Yorknew prompted her growth, but Chrollo, piece by piece, pulled her from Hisoka's grasp.

A delicate touch to her neck, she ignored his bait. "You act like sparing me was some grand act of mercy. It wasn't. You wanted-" She swallowed the word, eyes to the side as her hand dropped from her throat. "You want Chrollo more."

Was she jealous? A hilarious thought, but no. It was simply a matter of value. She was a secondary interest, an afterthought in someone's shadow. His fledgling had always sought something from him: love. Love in friendship. Love in romance. Never mattered which. Yet, as much as he miraculously obsessed over her, Chrollo was a prize he'd abandon her to claim. He loved Chrollo more. That… He hurt her, didn't he?

"Then you betrayed them anyway," she hissed. Was she angry on Chrollo's behalf? "You left me to deal the aftermath!"

His forced grin faltered. Was she also blaming him for Chrollo manipulating her? Sweet little thing, nothing ever seemed to be her fault. "He wanted you alive-"

"Your head was worth more than me and you knew it." Again. Worth. Not only second to him, but second in Chrollo's eyes as well. Such a manipulatable trait. Why hadn't he used that against her? Chrollo certainly had. He really should have been crueler to her. "You knew I needed help, yet you ignored me. You left me to die."

He wanted to argue he hadn't known the severity of her situation, pretend he had assumed she could handle it herself, but he had never given her position any consideration. The exorcist for Chrollo was his sole concern. The fact he wanted to defend, not placate, with the lie he cared caught his tongue. Time and time again, such a frustrating, vexing, girl. He'd have her no other way.

"You shoved me right into Chrollo's arms," she continued, voice low, irritatingly lacking rage yet also ungrateful. As much as she could grow while in Chrollo's guiding hands, he wanted her to himself. "Then!" She threw up her hands, right arm's scars vicious. "Then you only helped me because you didn't want him dead."

His threat had only been encouragement… maybe. Would he have helped her had the Fan Shi not threatened Chrollo as well? It was in the past. She should feel reassured of her worth in his continued pursuit of her, not what-if scenarios. If she kept irritating him, he may just have to give her his undivided attention until she settled down. Though, he never quite wanted an unruly pet.

"Not only that-" She bit her lip, held back a frustrated scream. Face pinched, nose scrunched, through gritted teeth she said, "You knew about Fanghe's aura. Do you know how much pain I went through for that fucking item?"

"Pain? You can't feel pain, fledgling." Physical pain. She undoubtedly felt immense psychological pain. A glance around the aftermath told the story shell-shocked Lan had been incapable of sharing. Combined with that hallucinogen, she had experienced hell. Hell he could have helped her avoid.

"I absolutely despise everything you put me through!" Loathing in each word, voice raised, her fury was overshadowed by eyes shining with stubborn tears. "Hisoka, when I met you," her voice broke, a pathetic miserable whine, "I really did just want a friend."

An obvious truth. The exam, underneath the fear, beyond the admiration, he always saw that longing, that loneliness, in her. She would always be his little fledgling… His silence, her threatened tears blinked away with more frustrated anger.

What did she want him to do? Admit that she indeed fell into his unconventional definition of friendship? Because she did. Even without the give and take that kept Illumi useful for more than a fight, she remained an interest not to be carelessly devoured. She was something to keep, to watch, to enjoy for everything she was worth.

Saying it wouldn't change anything, and he had no intention of even doing that much.


His only response to all her suffering at his hands laid bare, no wicked curve to his lips, no insult in molten eyes, "I love you."

A fake laugh, her stomach lurching with a wave of nausea, she shook her head. "In some horrible way, I think you do." Lingering, hungry gaze. Malicious, shameless words. Possessive, invasive touch. Disgusting. His love always made her feel disgusting.

She was in the unfortunate position of being something novel. Something entertaining beyond a single fight culminating in death. She would never be Chrollo, never have the same battle potential as him; yet, Hisoka's obsession with her shone just as garishly bright. Even his words promising to be her eventual death were corrupted wedding vows.

He loved her in the worst way imaginable.

The clinginess in his cruelty, he overcompensated terribly in his affection-born frustration. Kissing her had been a joke that backfired when he found himself wanting more. Killing her would have put it to rest, but he had been forced to spare her, spare the attachment he felt, let it fester instead. Watching her with someone else, seeing her reciprocate their love instead of violently rejecting it, the jealously worsened the situation. In his twisted love, he refused to let go despite wishing he could.

He absolutely refused to change. He would rather their relationship rot than consider any possible compromise on his part. He wanted her to accept the garbage he offered.

Her aura darkened, Nemmi screeching above to punctuate vicious emotion. A bitter smile, the weight of bloodlust, if there were ever a three-sided coin, they were the equivalent.

"Above all, what I hate most," she said, the crux emotion, "I feel grateful to you."

Relief finally drowned the infuriating sense of rejection. He so badly wanted credit for everything leading to this point, yet genuine gratitude silenced him. She felt grateful. To say it, admit it aloud, felt freeing. Cathartic, even. It was completely fucked up, something she vehemently tried to deny for a long time, but undeniably part of how she felt. Far from forgiveness, it was just a frayed thread knotted in the tangle of emotions attached to him.

Apart from friendship, she had wanted, needed, a mentor. To survive the Fan Shi, had she not fixated on proving her worth to him… "Thank you. For teaching me. For pushing me to improve. For driving me to do better. And," alone in power, stagnated growth, reckless disregard, the most important lesson he taught her, "thank you for showing me what I don't want to become."

Single thread cast aside, everything else unraveled.

In his silence, a dead grin on his lips, she began circling him. Vindictive, waiting, she added, "Also, thank you for introducing me to Chrollo." There was a slim chance they may have crossed paths otherwise, but the circumstances would have never aligned the way they had. No response, almost slipping his vision to walk behind, she continued. "And for your advice after the election. It really helped patch things up between us."

Penetrating, saturating, nauseating, a wave of bloodlust raced her spine. His laugh, tense, a cadence away from crazed, skipped her heart. A glance with Gyo while safely behind his back, his feet planted firm, his aura wasn't attached to her, no obvious tricks strung between discarded cards and scenery. Still a blank slate, risk not critically high, but also the second act.

"Why don't you come show me how you've grown, darling? Prove my little mistake was worth it, won't you?"

Sharp breeze on her cheek, Hisoka whipped around as bark snapped, card impaled deep. A narrow dodge. Nemmi screamed above, Lan immediately covered in razor aura. The same card slammed into the back of her head, vision shaking, paper shredding. He could cut through Arri with a card in hand but not over a distance if she anticipated the hit.

Another card drawn and sent, she ducked. Again, the snap of bark struck, shaking leaves, a hit without protection would remove limbs. Arri erupting over her, Nemmi tucked in his wings. An exaggerated flick of Hisoka's wrist sent her eyes wide. His feet ripped from the ground.

Lan fell forward as Bungee Gum pulled Hisoka within range. Rolling, barely avoiding a nasty card to the shoulder, she fled. Hisoka's feet hit the ground, digging in against continued momentum as he redirected to pursue, only a step behind. Aura went to his hand, to sharp nails.

Nemmi rammed full force into his back, gave her the sliver of a moment to turn without consequence. Hisoka shrugged it off, laser-focused. His nails by her face, hers missing his chin, dancing steps forward and back commenced. A dodge into an attack and back, the fluid momentum of his art form, she could only copy. He forced her to choose lesser injury over severe damage, attack speed insane, full dodges to blurred consecutive jabs impossible while throwing her own.

Wicked grin curling his lips, she agreed. Before, she wouldn't have been able to attack back without near fatal retaliating wounds.

Close, pressure forcing her more steps back than forward, Nemmi dropped. Heat ripping through her chest, she poured aura into Arri. Nemmi passed through her. Damn it! His wing clipped Hisoka's shoulder as he barely avoided a severed arm. He noticed my aura decrease. Didn't balance Arri right again. Salvage the mistake? She pulled Arri to the side, straining, dividing difficult without it shifting to extremes. Nemmi circled around.

Hisoka pressed forward, allowed blood to flow freely. "Your new tri-"

Fox at her side, Arri lunged, cut him off with teeth snapping closed. His feet dug into soil. He jerked his arm away, teeth grazing without blood drawn. His defensive Nen shifted as he turned, impossibly bent. Nemmi redirected upwards, a feint. Hisoka considered him more troublesome.

Lan's fist connected with his nose. Satisfying crunch. Shocked eyes. Blood dripping. Broken.

Fraction of surprise waned fast, Hisoka moving to catch her retreating wrist. Arri finally crashed into his side, redirected the moment she had swung. His elbow slammed into Arri's face, but she didn't go flying. Instead she collected her aura around her, bent her knees, as Hisoka reached.

Nemmi slashed low. Blood, leg buckling, Lan hopped. Feet digging into his chest, she flipped backward. Unbalanced, his knee hit the ground as she sprung to her feet a distance away.

"Oh, Lan," he moaned. He repeated her name twice more, savoring it in sinful delight. Her legs shook, heart thundering. Voice dropping low, desire dripping, "Such a good girl. My good girl. My little fledgling." Hisoka stood as though nothing happened, torn flesh hidden and closed. Taking him to his knees, she had severed a tendon. She must have. A trick or not- His arms flung to side made her flinch. "Your coordination, it's like I'm fighting three opponents now." His eyes skating down her body, tongue darting over his lips, catching blood running down his face, she couldn't breathe. "I want you. Want you more." He smeared blood across his face, his eyes pinning her in place. "Show me everything you're worth. Make it so I can't bear to ruin you."

She stood, frozen, tactical, unknown. Hisoka charged. Arri razor-coating skin, she braced. Testing, lightning jabs, Lan blocked, stepped back. A hit to her arm numbed bone. His divided aura shifted, carefully calculated, no fresh blood drawn. To busy for gum, she prayed.

Nemmi returned, warm.

A step close, fingers catching his wrists, risk she took- His eyes gleaming, blood dripping down his chin, he pulled, reminded, every muscle under her grip flexed, hard, strong. Teeth in her lip, taste of blood, time crawling for her alone, her aura shifted, strained.

Aura still surrounding her in full, wicked teeth first, Arri's face pulled into form. Jaw snapped closed on his forearm, crimson running, her white-knuckle hold on his wrists, her every muscle screamed in agonized effort. Gold eyes widened, admired. Forming fox Arri without it pulling her aura away from her body, intense practice, concentration, and effort, she couldn't move, had a mere moment of use. It'd snap back to her or Arri. Too close. He'd escape and counter.

Heat searing her chest, Arri ripping its head to the side, serrating, she let go. Nemmi slammed into Hisoka, tore at his chest.

Lan ran.

Nemmi screeched, hit, fleeing to the air. Footsteps absent, she swerved. Damn nuisance gum. Nemmi zipped past her; only a glancing hit, he had another few without risking dispersal. Snapping branches, she ducked behind another tree, continued weaving. No straight-line path, but a miracle or a mercy she hadn't been entangled yet? Didn't matter. Needed distance. Masochistic, but he wouldn't let her kill him. Playtime would end soon.

Shattering bark, card hail, she flared Arri. A thud behind, she whipped around to defend. Shit! Not Hisoka. Partial tree. She scrambled for safety. His feet hit the ground, laugh betraying him. Her back pressed to bark, chest heaving.

"I see," he hummed, false calm trying to lure her out. She took time to breathe. "Clever girl, your new trick, the bird siphons aura based on time." Correct. She was glad it took a second use for him to confirm, or Nemmi wouldn't have lived that last attack, nor caused any damage. Needed to assess. "It's size before, you had it hidden the entire exchange."

She dared peek around the tree, gold fixating on her immediately. "You wouldn't shut up," she complained, swallowing down her re-accelerating heart.

His shirt torn, edges dyed deep red, no matter the pale perfection of his bare chest, underneath disguising aura, Nemmi had dealt considerable damage. Arri had almost taken his arm; another pull would remove it. Still, nothing disabling. Not in the way she needed. Not when it came to him.

Blood not pounding in her ears, rushing water instead, her plan still had hope.

A lazily drawn card, Hisoka flashed the face to her before bringing it to his lips. The joker. "I must say, you always impress," he said, voice crawling, creeping, eyes in half-lidded bliss. The joker, the equivalent for fool, a hilarious coincidence. He tugged at the remains of his shirt collar, leering, wanting. "Tell me, Machi, she's near, isn't she?"

No, no, no, no. Bad question.

"My little fruit, I'm feeling a bit peaked." A nightmare approaching with a predator's walk, she hid, teeth in her quivering lip. Act three: retribution. He would repay the damage received, bring down the curtain if it suited him. "I'm afraid I need a bite, or I may just die." He stopped, silence shaking her hands. To reach this point so soon… The pride was strangled by a phantom grip around her neck. "You'll do that for me, won't you, Lan? You're ever so grateful to me, after all."

She struggled to swallow the lump closing her throat. This isn't Yorknew. She promised herself that. Blood-stained face and blood-less wounds, self-preservation damned, but he isn't Adalei and I'm not alone. She needed to remember that. I haven't completely lost control. I'll be okay.

Corner of her eye, venom gold, maniacal joy, surprise kept in her throat, she flared Arri. Bungee Gum dropped Hisoka before her as she raised her arms. A horizontal kick leveled for her stomach, aura fox quickly formed, Arri acted as a buffer. Despite the force ripping at her feet, her knees bent, allowed her to jump. Her nails digging into bark, hands wrapping around a low branch, Hisoka followed through his kick as she pulled herself up.

Hisoka spun around, card in his hand sent. Harsh crack! The branch snapped.

Nemmi slapped Hisoka's face to the side. Lan's feet safety planted on the ground, aura building, glowing. Nemmi took an uppercut before fur spikes distracted from his destruction.

"Pay attention to me," she cursed, blood and debris spreading with wild aura. He flung his arm to the side, Bungee Gum. Delight darkened her Nen. "Don't leave." Arri's teeth snapped over the arm opposite. Can't leave. Her heels digging in, Arri forming in full, paws planting firm, their teeth-lined grip fought the gum stealing him away.

Hisoka deactivated Bungee Gum before he needlessly tore his arm off. She may have Machi's threads to close impossible wounds, but he didn't. Not anymore.

"Your eyes," he sung, desire palpable, bloodlust choking. "Darling, your eyes, you have to stop." She froze, fear subsiding to confusion. Stop? "That look," free arm around himself, hand running down his side, eyes following the curves of her body, "your carnal delight in violence," he moaned, warned, "I simply adore it too much to resist."

Arri whipped its head to the side, tried, failed, Hisoka rushing forward despite the awkward bend of his arm, the blood dyeing skin as aura shifted from protect to harm. Panic warped time, let go or keep hold? She didn't know. His fist drawing back, her aura in Arri leaving her open, she didn't know. Take the hit unprotected, risk shattered bone, to twist his arm from its socket, potentially tear it off? Or protect herself for lesser injury, give up his arm again while allowing him close? Trapped in a corner-

She pulled aura back, Arri dragging Hisoka closer, releasing breaking pressure on his arm. His fist dug into her shoulder at the price of bloodied knuckles. Lan stepped forward. Split aura between her and Arri, corner him with blades until Nemmi could attack, he saw the beartrap closing on him. Momentum flawlessly redirected, his foot struck Arri's neck. Blow worse than the stunning hit she'd received, her feet slid, Arri's grip faltered, and Hisoka tore free.

Bungee Gum stole him. A short distance, but a retreat. Despite bruising numbness in her left arm, her feet carrying her the opposite direction, she smiled, elated. Another small victory, but a victory.

Nemmi screeched trap. Her eyes shot to the side. Snapping branches, leaves shaking-

A tree branch slammed into her, twigs stabbing with speed.

Air knocked from her lungs, stunned by the impact, Lan hit the ground, coughing. Unsteady and dizzy, but she forced herself to her feet. When? When did he set that up? She didn't know, but she hadn't stumbled blindly into the trap. He was funneling her towards it. Maybe towards worse.

Hisoka left no time. Pouncing at prey, Lan stumbled to avoid him. Reignited, aura fur bristled over her. Another bout of close combat, she didn't understand. She was getting tired. He wasn't. Even with all the injuries, this monster, wide grin, shining eyes, elation in every feature, he kept fighting, strength unabashedly displayed.

Twisted admiration towards this terror-inspiring, unstoppable predator of a man, it'd never fade.

Cards fanned in both hands, he scattered them over the ground. Landmines. "That won't work," she snapped, eyes darting, searching. He already set another trap, cards misdirection. Heat in her chest, Nemmi rejoined her to prepare.

The flourish, hands sweeping to the side, cards laced to fingers by pink aura, he acted caught while grinning a liar's smile. "Your confidence is simply adorable, Lan."

He spun, cards whipped into the air. Blades whirling, paper reinforced further with proximity, Lan raised her arms. Edges tearing at her skin, litany of wounds opening, each card struck like the knives her aura mimicked. She pushed through. Reward required risk.

Cards falling from air, Hisoka bowed, hands open, arms at his side. Lan stepped into strike range as he stood dramatically defenseless. His aura disappeared, disguised not dismissed. Arri partially formed, its teeth sinking deep into his shoulder. Held in place, heat ripped from her chest, Nemmi unfurled his wings, sharp beak and talons ready to render flesh.

A curve of his lips chilled blood. "Bungee," the twitch of his fingers, sluggish as time spiraled to a stop, "Gum."

Shadows moved to impale.

Arri pulled her closer to him. Ring of cards around her, sharp broken branches attached, she'd be skewered. In a game of picking injury, shattered bone beat punctured organs. Stepping into his arms, Arri forced to release in favor of protecting her body, Nemmi reluctantly rerouted upward.

Massive branches driven deep into the ground a fence, she had nowhere to run. She tried anyway. Shoving against his chest failed to faze him. Instead of snatching her wrists to keep her near, he let her stumble a pathetic step back.

A pointed heel dug into her stomach.

Blood and spit from her mouth, she crashed through the branch cage surrounding her. Her back slammed into a distant tree behind. Despite Arri playing cushion, wood felt like concrete. Air stolen from her lungs, head spinning, she drew sputtering breaths while her vision swayed. Standing wasn't happening. Not unless she wanted to faceplant in the soil at his feet.

"My, what a familiar sight," Hisoka mocked, sauntering ever nearer. Savoring the blood on her skin, gold eyes wandering her body, she couldn't let him close the distance. This wouldn't end with him bopping her nose with a stolen badge. Not this time.

World tilting, she blinked away what disorientation she could. Rushing in her ears remained; they had reached the river, rapids thunderous. She forced herself up. Dragging her wrist over her mouth to wipe away blood and spit, she stepped to the side. Had he attached Bungee Gum to her? He continued his approach, speck of sanity still present. A little more blood, and she would lose the minuscule mercy keeping her alive for later. Gum or not, best to leave.

"Hisoka." His attention instant, his halt reluctant, curiosity at a calm tone was what she expected. Hair clinging to her skin, she brushed it from her face, his lust-struck eyes following. An absent motion hidden at her side, Nemmi disappeared. "I have something for you."


Silhouette against daylight, bloody cuts and deep bruises hidden in shadow, a harsh break in the forest with rushing water near, she captured his attention while redirecting his interest. Stubborn little thing, perhaps she had learned something more than fear in Yorknew.

He hummed, pausing pursuit if only to search the shadows again. "Whatever could you be hiding?" Her eyes fixated on his every move down to the slightest twitch of his muscles. If only she could see beneath Texture Surprise. Raw flesh, exposed muscle and bone, blood pulsing beneath would cause a stir if not tightly wrapped. The price of a masochist, but he loved it. Loved her. She should understand leaving so soon wasn't allowed. Not until she completely sated him.

He wasn't sure how he wanted her to do that.

Reaching into her pocket, too flat to be another interrupting knife, she retrieved her gift: a battered card of her own. Carelessly, she threw it at his feet. Fortune or trick of -

Eyes. Void eyes.

His attention shot from the card, from Lan. Switch? The pleasure in pain faded to inconvenience. Unfair, a sure loss, not the match he wanted. But he wasn't letting go of both without protest.

Lan took off, Hisoka a few steps behind. Swathes of branches crashed in front of him, the bird above creating obstacles, Hisoka forcing his way through regardless. An increase in Nen, eyes burning holes in his side, he needed to grab her first. He stopped, raised his hand, flick of his finger sending out Bungee Gum.

She disappeared.

Chrollo? No. That wasn't teleportation. She fell below. Not just a river, but a gorge. He could still pluck her from the water, drag her back to him.

A sickly green glow forced his focus elsewhere.

Earsplitting snap familiar, he jerked his arm to the side. Bungee gum pulled him away, concussive blasts shattering trees. He had only heard the ability echoing above in the chaos of the Fan Shi base. The direction, where- Opposite direction, Chrollo stepped out from the shadow of a tree, hand raised. Several more wisps sparked.

Chrollo directed explosive wisps with a sweep of his hand. Bungee Gum to a branch overhead, he avoided bright blasts sundering earth. His eyes fixed on the back of Chrollo's head. Cards in hand, he aimed, expressionless void eyes meeting his bloodlust gaze.

Hisoka's face met a tree.

The rush of air and motion blur prior, Hisoka landed gracefully on the ground, quickly turning, sending out a wave of cards to flush Chrollo out or hint to his location. That was teleportation. Troublesome ability, but he guessed one condition: it had a short range. A distraction at most, it meant as much as Lan's dear bird without the bite.

Cards impaled in green glow bathed scenery. So sudden, too fast, wisps dived into the ground where he formally stood, blast ripping at his clothes, burning already damaged flesh, high-pitched whine ringing in his skull. Searing light dissipating, a shadow moving through the trees, Chrollo followed Lan without finishing the job.

Mercy?

Hisoka landed on scorched ground. He walked to the edge of the gorge, irritating ringing disrupting all other sound. Churning water rushing down a steep-walled ravine, he saw no bodies fighting against the current. Sending out his aura returned with only one little blip of a result. Across the gorge, perched in a tree, Lan's bird glared murder. A distraction or reassurance? He stepped back, smile curling his lips. It didn't matter.

She had set everything in her favor. For a presumed familiar venue, she proved she had studied it more, ensured this would end with the result she wanted. Should he follow, injured as he was, he would find himself in a nest of spiderlings eager to devour. Lan, the sweet thing, this was her warning to him. Chrollo wouldn't be so kind when he finally accepted Hisoka's death match invitation.

Her warning, as always, fell on deaf ears. Yet particularly so, right now, not because of the incessant ringing accompanied by blood dripping from a busted eardrum, but because of Chrollo.

Playing along with Lan's will, Chrollo may have spared him despite the advantage, but how he flaunted and taunted his ability. Had he been misinformed on the conditions of Chrollo's Skill Hunter? Teleportation immediately and impossibly followed by more exploding wisps… Hisoka had several delightful theories that just made Chrollo seem all the more appetizing. Taking part in this little game, Chrollo had proven once more that their fight was an inevitability.

He waved to the Nen crow, bidding Lan goodbye… for now. He certainly felt displeased she ran off so soon, that Chrollo slipped away once more as well, yet also bizarrely contented in seeing her growth. Ever the contradiction, his fledgling's nature appeared contagious.

He turned to leave, now in need of the medical treatment one present seamstress would surely refuse to provide.

A battered card at his feet, he stopped, laughter bubbling up at her gift. Reversed tarot card, the fool, she had given him a fortune. The opposite of her own, in fact. The joker standing in for fool, the promise of freedom brim with possibility, the beginning of a new adventure indicated the end of the previous. The fortune she gave him-

The card bent underfoot as he trampled over it.

The danger of living recklessly in the moment. The careless disregard for the future. The past returning to reveal poor decisions. The stagnancy of a refusal to change at the cost of control. The failure to connect in a meaningful way in romance or friendship. Negative in every regard.

"I finally listened to you, fledgling," he complained, expression falling blank. "And how you've rewarded me for it." She left him with the knowledge his love wasn't enough for her despite him knowing that for quite some time.

He would say he hated her, but that would be a terrible lie. He would say he felt apathy towards her, but that was a worse lie.

When it came to Lan, his darling fledgling, he always seemed to be talking to himself.

He genuinely despised that.


A/N: This is the chapter I didn't want to ruin for myself! Hence the side-story and delay. My messy chapters are mostly sorted out now. I don't like to have to change things I've already posted, even the Ao3 edit isn't changed much, but the sheer number of changes in some future chapters… yikes.

Anyway, because I took that break from writing… more drawings! Go visit my deviantart AwkwardBlackCat to see my bad Chrollo fanart, OC sketches, and my attempt at digital art. As in I drew Lan and Chrollo together as a pencil sketch on bad paper because I figured it would be terrible, it turned out decent and I'm happy because it's the first oc x canon drawing I've EVER dared make, and then got to remake it digitally (something I've always wanted to try). Just want to share it.

Thank you everyone that reviewed last chapter! Seriously, like many, I have not been having the best year (aka it's been absolute shit) and I was already feeling burnt out and frustrated at the start. Writing/posting became way too stressful for someone already very stressed, and it wasn't the time to 'push through' when I honestly had been a bad day away from quitting. I want to finish this story; I just, still, can't promise how long that will take.

Again, thank you to this list of lovely people: dudeface, Guest, Back alley guest, Guest down under, seceretsita18, kitcatty, MissEkat597, and MissLaufeyson97. I'm glad that you enjoyed the side chapter and the nugget of Chrollo backstory; I also needed a little break from the main story. I'm glad you all reviewed, left encouragement and praise, I really needed outside positivity and affirmation.