Chapter 2: Darkness

Gon wakes up in a dark room. He can't see anything but can feel that he's hanging from his wrists. He tries to reach the floor but can't.

He rests his head against the wall behind him in frustration as overwhelming pain hits him. His latest memories flash in his head.

He tries to feel for his left hand, but can only feel bandages covering his palm. Tears stream down his face. His fingers are gone. They are gone forever. He'll have to live with only five fingers from now on... if he's lucky...

His left hand hurts... the pain's too much for words... perhaps if one puts their hand into a meat grinder they might get a good idea of it.

Tears stream down his face and soon he's sobbing his heart out.

He has no idea what plight Killua's in. What if he's in an even worse one?

A sudden fervor takes over him. He pulls with all his might, trying to break free from the chains. It only results in gashes on his wrist from the tight cuffs. In the end, he can only scream out in pain and frustration.

Damn it! These chains must be covered with Nen!

The cold air caresses his body. He damns himself for wearing shorts as he sneezes, painfully shaking his feeble self.

As Gon struggles to stay calm, the door creaks open. The outside light hits Gon's face, making his eyes sting.

"Hey! Easy!" A familiar voice orders.

He manages to open his eyes after a few seconds. The pink-haired lady-- what was her name again? -- is examining his left hand, shooting pain down his nerves with every touch.

"St- stop! Please..." He croaks out.

"Do you want me to fix you or not?" She asks in a rough tone, slowly starting to unwrap the bandages.

"But I... I can't be fixed... they're gone... for- forever... " Fresh warm tears bubble up in his eyes.

She simply sighs and throws away the bandage one the floor.

Gon can feel blood trickling down his arm, and crawling down his sleeve. It take every bit of his patience to not cringe.

But that slight discomfort is nothing compared to the pain. He grits his teeth, holds his breath, and promises himself that he will not show any more weaknesses in front of his enemies.

Tears continuously stream down his face, but save for his frequent gasps of air, he doesn't make a sound.

To his surprise, the pain in his hand starts to ebb away. There's the weird sensation of him being pierced in various places multiple times, but it's so much more bearable than its predecessor.

Curiosity finally takes the best of him and he looks up. His hand is still a mess of blood and torn flesh but... it looks a lot better now... and his fingers... they are back!

By using Gyo, he can see the lady skilfully stitching his wounds together.

Just a few minutes later, she wipes away the blood on his hand and arm, finally satisfied.

There is some numbness in his fingers but the pain in hand is nearly gone.

The lady examines his expression and smirks. "That will be twenty million jenny. I expect you to pay up soon."

Gon scowls. "I don't need to owe you anything!"

"Do you want me to remove your fingers again?" She rolls her eyes before leaving Gon in darkness again.

More tears well up in his eyes. He tries to blink them away, damning himself for crying so much today, but fails.

Memories of his encounter with Hisoka on Zevil Island plague him. He was too weak then... but even after learning nen... he ends up owing his enemy something.

Hours pass but nobody comes. He's left alone in the darkness, only to strain his already throbbing head to think up of a plan. In the end, he comes up with nothing.

His arms start to hurt from holding up his body for so long. His wrists itch. He's sure he has reopened the cuts and bruises there. He can't even stretch his muscles properly. The pain reaches the point where he believes his arms to rip off at any moment.

Another rush of bright light stings his eyes as the door creaks open. It's the lady again.

Without a mere word, she walks over to release him.

As his first cuff is unlocked, he sighs. The relief is great. The second unlock feels even better.

He carefully lands on his feet and stretches himself. His wrists are a bloody mess, but they at least work. They get even better after the lady wordlessly stitches up the cuts on it again.

Gon almost wants to thank her, but stops at her next words.

"The boss wants to see you. I expect you to keep your temper in check. I won't help you again."

Gon frowns defiantly.

She sighs. "Turn around. You're not going without restrains."

Gon reluctantly obliges. She transmutes some more thread and ties his wrists firmly but still more gently, careful not to ruin her latest stitches.

As the two walk through long dingy hallways and pass through endless empty rooms, the realisation of his truly helpless position smacks Gon in the face.

One wrong move, and Killua dies.

[A/N: Sorry for another shorter chapter.

Thank you, Neo-Digital for your concern! My hand's gotten better but my exams are coming up which means... studying even more than usual, so the chapters can't be too long.

Also, ReinRain37 I only consider making the rating M if there's too much romance. I've read stories with even more violence than this that are still rated T. I do plan to make it better for Gon... I think I'll specify it a bit more just to be safe. Thank you!]