Chapter 11: Similar

His ears feel weird, his brain fuzzy, his body numb and his eyes heavy. His eyelids slowly peel off his eyeball. It takes a few blinks to realise where he is and everything comes back to him-- everything including everything.

Yelping in pain, he flips onto his stomach and grabs onto his left hand. Ow ow ow ow ow! It's not as bad as some other certain injuries of his but ow!

"Ah Good morning, boy!" The lady says, sounding distant and bored. Footsteps and he's sure she's standing right next to him, looking down on his pathetic figure.

Trembling he manages to sit up. Still holding his left hand with the other, he shoots a glare at her. "How do you even know if it's morning or not?"

A smile and an index finger to the forehead. "Imagination~"

Gon feels sick already. A question dances on his tongue and he spits it out. "How long have you even been here for?"

"Don't know~" She answers, her smile widening. "It's your turn to shoot though y'know. Roll the dice and let's see how fate intertwines with time to weave our futures!"

Another wave of pain hits Gon and he doubles over, clutching his hand tighter than ever.

"Come on now! I bandaged that so well. You're putting too much pressure on it!" She complains and he ignores it.

Minutes pass and, surrounded by her muttering, he realises that simply lying down will do him no good.

"Yay! So we are finally resuming! I'll bring the dice and... hmm here it is! Come on--" She shoves it into his right hand. "--roll it!"

Gon staggers forward. Managing to support himself through the table, he observes the dice in his hand-- Or at least pretends to. The shiny red color escapes his mind as he strains his brain to find a way out. None.

Sighing, he massages the back of his head. How did I even manage to pass out?

Does it matter now?

Grimacing, he lets the dice be free on the table. Rolling around, it finally stops, making the number--

"One." Gon declares.

"Aww! Come on now! Just one?! Do that once more!" She whines.

Gon, on the other hand, still grimaces as he takes the gun out of the jole. He added only one bullet earlier and it was in the third slot, so this gun should be hers. By what he knows of her nature so far... all the slots should be full. Getting a one is pretty good but still... he really doesn't want to hurt anyone...

With a click, the gun reloads-- Of course, Killua taught him that. He slowly raises the gun, pointing it in her direction.

The corners of her mouth turn up.

His hands start shaking. He can't do this... he can't just shoot someone... even if he misses a vital spot she will still feel pain... she might even bleed to death.

His breathe hitches as she yells. "Come on! Shoot!"

But... he can't... what other choice does he have though?

"Tell me who you are and I will promise to shoot you." The least he can do is remember her... right?

"Who... I am?" Confusion paints her face as her mind struggles to catch up to the question. "Huh... why do you wanna know?"

"I... I may end up killing you... the least I can do to not be like them is to know who you are..."

"Like who?"

Gon gulps, mentally slapping himself. He shouldn't have said that. But does it matter?

"Like the people I came here with. They are... murderers who kill without a second thought... they don't even regret it afterwards... I can't imagine how but no matter what... I can never be like them..."

"Huh? Why are you with them then?"

"They have taken my best friend hostage. If I don't obey them they'll..." He takes a deep breathe as images of a bloody and broken Killua flicker in his mind.

For the first time a thoughtful look crosses her face. "I see... I suppose it's my turn now. I'm the sister of the owner of this house."

"What?"

She smiles, the thoughtful look gone to be replaced by her usual one. "He built this house and its mechanisms to protect me."

"Protect you..." Gon echoes. "From what?"

"Everything and everyone." She replies matter-of-factly.

"Huh? Wait... if he made this house for you... Do you know how to get out of here?"

"There is no way to do that. Once you're in you have to spend the rest of your lives here."

"But--"

"Now, fulfill your end of the bargain. Shoot."

Gon raises up the gun and a smile spreads across his face.

A gust of wind blows through her hair, making a strand get stuck to her lips. Despite her carefulness, she ends up smudging the lipgloss to the side.

Sighing, she tucks the mischievous strand behind her ear and continues her work. The day is cool and bright-- perfect for gardening. Her plants smile as she starts watering them, making her lips turn up as well.

Half an hour later, she's back inside the apartment. Ignoring the mess around, she flips open the laptop and presses the power button.

"You only know Ten?" Kurapika exclaims. "Well... I guess you at least have your nen awakened."

"Thank you, Kurapika"

"Moving on, show me your Ten."

A deep breathe and layer of nen covers him like a mist.

"Hmm... pretty good. Let's work on that today. Now I won't go easy on you."

"Heh. Suit yourself."

"245... 246...247...248...249...250... alright, time for a break." Killua stands up and stretches, his goal for the day not even half done.

Seeing as how he has practically nothing to do, he decided to start training. After all, that's what he usually did back home when he would be in solitary. Although... sometimes Illumi wouldn't even provide him that much freedom.

The lady's eyes narrow and a deep frown finds her brows. "Say that again?"

"There was nothing said about when the winner has to shoot the loser."Gon grins. He feels idiotic. He is an idiot. His head hurts. If only he had the common sense to figure it out earlier, but fear is one hell of a drug.

"I will... do anything. Just kill me already." She says, her voice hollow.

Gon doesn't miss the sudden drop in temperature from her bloodlust and takes a step back. "I am not... killing anyone... "

"It was all fair... all fair and square... and yet... you being a spoiled selfish little brat ruined it all." She mutters and mumbles, half-talking to herself.

A crazy glint dances in her eyes as she closes the gap between them. She slams her hand on top of Gon's bandaged one and he cries out in pain. "You will shoot." Shoving the gun from the table into his hand with no attention to his injuries, she grabs his hand with both of her own and point the gun at her temple. "Shoot. Now."

His head spins. His stomach flips. He manage to blurt out. "Once your brother is dead."

"You're not buying any more time--"

"I promise. I'll shoot you within twenty-four hours of your brother being dead if you would still want me to. Please. I need your help to get out of this place. You can even come out with me if you want to. Please! Trust me! I won't betray your trust again!"

"Kill my brother? Are you crazy? You really still hope of escaping? Did you not listen to what I told you earlier? There's no way to escape!"

"Except death?" He gives her a weak smile.

Who knows how long she has been stuck here. Who knows in how long she has met someone other than her brother. He even made her justify all this by claiming that he's protecting her.

Worst all, she's him. Just fast forward a few weeks and he's sure he'll be exactly like her-- completely hopeless. He feels it in his veins even now. If he doesn't fit the mould of the Spider, they'll carve him until he does, no matter what it costs him-- his sanity, his humanity-- they'll rip everything out to match their selfish desires. Soon, he'll be a thief and a murderer... just like them.

The haunting thought is all consuming. But it is the truth.

"Damn you brat." Her voice snaps him out of his thoughts. "Fine, I'll give you all the help you need. You're doing the rest on your own though. And if... for whatever reason, you end up dead... I won't let you get a dreamless slumber."

"Thank you."

[A/N: I keep switching between wanting to have Gon become a Spider at the end and having him escape. Thoughts?

Lilphantomtroupelady: Thank you. Your review made me so happy. :D ]