Damn, it has been a while, hasn't it? I don't think I realized how much time had actually passed since the last time I had updated. But it's all good because I'm back and so is (drum roll, please) HISOKA. Yeah, baby.

Anyway please review as always and send me some love.

Chapter Twelve

Drip.

I dragged myself towards the door, my bones giving a silent protest as I kept a steadying hand to the wall.

Drip.

Beside me, Minoru gave a soft snort, the fur of his sides brushing against me and painting my skin in another layer of grime and blood.

My blades had slid up and sliced through the vulnerable skin of my palm, leaving my hands raw, the tendons underneath bare, red and shining even in the low light that was filtering through from the gaslights above.

When we had succeeded in killing off our last attacker, the lights had flickered on, illuminating the grotesque slaughter that had taken place in the dark. Minoru's teeth had still been clenched down on the guy's calf, the muscles in my arms straining as I gave his neck a final squeeze, my back hitting the cold, wet surface of the wall behind me as his body gave out.

We hadn't needed to share any words, taking in the overwhelming swirl of stairs as they spiraled from the ground, up, up, up, crawling along the wall until I couldn't see the top from my vantage point.

Drip, drip.

Does that look like a door? I winced, trying to ignore the slicing pain that was spiking up my arms, the urge to sit down and scream whenever I looked down at the gnarled mess of my hands. Permanent damage had crossed my mind more times than I wanted to admit.

Beside me, Minoru looked grim, his face pinching further and further inward each step we took. His side was killing him. Briefly, my mind flashed through all the possible injuries that he could have. How strong would a kick to the side have to be to cause internal damage?

I don't want to get my own hopes up, he replied gravely.

And on we went, our injuries and the blood of all the people low, low, below us, following up like a noisy companion. Drip, drip, drip.

Door, Minoru grunted, his head tipping towards where the gaslights flickered against the shadow of a slot cut into the wall. Just above its top frame, a monitor blinked to life. Congratulations, contestant 200. I heard Minoru let out a snarl before one of his great paws came up, his claws flashing as they tore through the puny little thing. Glass twinkled to the ground along with the chunkier metal pieces, making me pause as I sent him a glower.

Real mature, I said bluntly as a sliver of light peeked from just below where the slab of solid concrete was currently being lifted. An agonized groan echoed through the cylinder that we were currently trapped in. My skin itched with sweat, grime and an uncomfortable sensation that I was a rat stuck in a large lab, running around a maze as someone watched me from the outside.

Your hands look like shit.

That did it. He was being a complete tramp. I shoved Minoru out of the way as the sliver grew high enough for me to slip under into the blinding light of the next resting area for the hunter's exam. I couldn't deal with him when it got like this. He hated killing - hated the way he had to use his teeth and the blood got all in his fur. In all honesty, I hated it too. In the moment, their deaths were immediate - the only answer. And the fact that this was the only answer made it worse. Why did it have to be? Why couldn't I stop? Why couldn't I just incapacitate them and be done with it?

I had tried once. That was the night that Mrs. Wetherman's goons had broken my arm in three places and fractured my ribs. The one time I had tried to restrain myself and I had been dumped at the edge of the city - left there for a day and a half until my brother's had hunted me down. The truth of the matter was that I wasn't skilled enough to stop. And maybe I was a little bit scared. Maybe I was scared that if I didn't stop them then I would end up like I had back then - thrown into a bush still covered in my own bile and waste, tears and blood mixing across my cheeks.

A hard life - that's what my mom had called it once. We live a hard life to make us stronger, panda.

But I don't think it made me stronger. I think it made me harder like a slab of dirt watered down and mashed up and tossed into the oven until it becomes clay.

"Holy shit." I blinked, yanking myself out of my own self-loathing thoughts as Minoru came lumbering through the door that had opened for us. Quickly, I scanned over the faces, looking first for my brothers...but-

"YOU SLIMY LITTLE SCUMBAG-" I lurched forward as Ichihiro's grinning face greeted me, sitting comfortably on the other side of the hall. Behind me, Minoru let out a roar that shook the very walls around us and sent more than one contestant skittering to press themselves against the wall. My hands gave a scream of agony as my daggers clicked down, sinking into the raw, torn flesh of my hands.

But I didn't care. I was going to rip his head off in this room. I was going to make him regret ever leaving Minrou and I in such danger. Slinking off to safety while we fought against nine prisoners in the dark. If Minoru had gotten hurt-

"No fighting amongst contestants until specifically instructed," a voice squawked through the loudspeaker. I didn't care. My aching muscles warmed, the ache simmering to a barely-there tiredness. I could fight him - I had enough energy left, just enough.

Teeth bit into my tank top, the sound of tearing cloth bringing me to an abrupt halt. Not worth the exam. I gave a low growl my eyes on that stupid smirk that was curling Ichihiro's lips. Minoru dragged me back another step, his breath hot against the nape of my neck. Not worth jeopardizing your brother's places as well.

I flinched, my stomach rolling. My brothers. I jerked to the side, meeting Minoru's black, glinting eyes. This is my choice. They wouldn't lump us together like that.

His head tipped to the side, his ears twitching. Wouldn't they?

For a moment, we stared at each other in tense silence, each of us tugging against the common thread, on opposite ends of the same line. My brothers - I felt a familiar lump growing in my throat, thinking about the past years. Their constant training. Sudden determination after the first time they had done the test. That light that had flared to life - a direct. Finally a direction, something that they had to work towards, not just the daily grind of stealing food and loose change.

I couldn't take that away from them. I couldn't even risk it. Not when they had given me so much.

The whirl of my blades going back into the straps at my biceps cut through the tense silence, Minoru's teeth loosening.

"Well, well, well," a deep voice chuckled, someone's fingers ruffling through my hair. I glanced up, catching the familiar scent of something sweet filling my nose. Hisoka's golden gaze met mine, his eyes moving slowly over the blood that had soaked through my tank top, his brows furrowing as he caught sight of the wounds that were still leaking down the edge of my blades. Something flickered across his face, something strange and foreign and apparently altogether disturbing for him because he covered it with a light smile. "It seems you've been having fun without me. Who's your friend, mousie?"

I glowered, debating whether or not to play along or to go sulk in a corner. But the way that Ichihiro's eyes were running over Hisoka… like he was thinking about what dish he would best be served alongside. I narrowed my eyes. Beside me, Hisoka's head tipped to the side, his lips curling in an almost derisive sort of sneer.

"I'd like to introduce you to our third exam companion, Ichirhiro," I said with as much forced calm as I could push into my voice. I held my tongue against the rest of what I wanted to say.

For his part, Ichirhiro was taking the attention of a man who had nearly butchered an examiner the year prior in measured strides. His smile had slimmed, turning into something almost cautious.

A low laugh slid from the much taller man, his fingers slipping from the sweaty, tangled mess of my hair as he moved to just in front of me, his hands slipping casually to toy with a playing card. His golden eyes flicked to me, deadly amusement making the way that that card flicked from finger to finger sound sharp and dangerous. "Want me to kill him?"

Was it bad of me to actually contemplate it?

The other contestants shifted warily, drawing away from Ichihiro. The ebony-haired boy took all of it in with a contemplative sort of attention, his eyes flicking from the space around him to Hisoka as if he were debating his odds. I let a sneer curl my lips. If he thought for a second that he could take on Hisoka than he was more than stupid - he was one degree short of stupid.

"No," I said slowly, my voice raw. His offer was genuine, I realized. If I said yes, then Ichihiro would be dead in a second.

Against the wall, Ichihiro finally broke his silence, his voice mocking. "How generous."

I let out a snarl, my own voice drowning beneath the low growl that Minoru gave from behind me. My eyes caught the ebony-haired man's with disgust. "You're not worth it."

With that I turned away, not wanting to be near him any longer. He had already taken enough of my time and energy. If the time came later, I would deal with him. For now, if he stayed away from me, I would let it slide. I was already covered in blood as it was. I didn't need anymore.

"Meet someone interesting while we were apart?" I glanced up at the casual question, watching with interest as Hisoka gave me a small smirk. Was that a genuine smile? It couldn't be. Hisoka didn't do anything genuinely. And why did he say it like that? Like we had more than a harasser - harassee relationship?

I decided to answer cautiously, tearing my gaze away from his golden one. "None more interesting than you, Hisoka."

The dry chuckle I got in reply was enough of an answer.

"I'll see you around, mousie."

My body moved before I could think, my fingers finding the playing card that Hisoka was still toying with and yanking it from Hisoka's grip as I whirled towards Ichihiro.

There were many things that I would later find to be ill-advised. One of the main ones would be taking a weapon from someone who was always on the verge of a murderous rage. But in life, I've found that there are a variety of things that we tell ourselves not to do. And a majority of them are broken within the evening. Today's not a good day to get drunk, Martha. Only one and then you go home. Or that boy has been staring at you for the last hour, Saiichi. No. Don't look again. He's the bad type. Can't you tell from the haircut?

I didn't realize at the time that that card felt completely normal, flimsy even in a used way. But I had seen Hisoka use them before. And I had been watching. So when I threw it with a precision that I saved for my daggers, I coated the corners in my own aura and let it fly, forcing all of the anger and frustration into that one motion.

A stillness fell over the others gathered in the room. From over in the corner, I felt more than saw the pinned contestant that Hisoka had warned me away from, fall completely silent.

Still sitting against the wall, Ichihiro's face had grown startlingly still. A sliver of blood leaked from a slim line running along his cheek. Embedded in the wall beside his ear, the playing card had cracked through the stone.

Slowly, I straightened, feeling suddenly drained. My knees almost gave out, I was so exhausted. I could feel the blood slowly drying along my arms and neck, making my tank top stiff. I probably looked like a doll that had accidentally fallen into a pot of spaghetti sauce. Around me, I caught the whisps of aura, wavering, wilting a bit as if it were a cloth just put to the wash. Hisoka's cards had always been coated in the stuff so I had thought… Had I made a mistake?

It was taking all I could to keep myself standing. Against the wall, Ichihiro was still staring at me, expectant, almost mocking.

And Hisoka… I avoided his gaze, feeling it drilling into the side of my head like a physical thing. And his aura - there it was, skirting along mine like it was debating whether to start toying with me or leave me be.

"I'll see you in the next match, Ichihiro." I straightened, forcing false bravado into my voice, a steely tilt of my hips that made it seem like I could run another mile if I was really pressed. I gave a smirk. "I hope it's a bloody one."

False. I hoped it was a sleeping contest.

I would use the last of my energy to walk to the other side of the room, choosing a spot just behind the food cart so that I wouldn't have to look at anyone. And so that they wouldn't be witness to my injuries as well as my exhaustion.

"Hm…" A warm, muscled arm landed heavily on my shoulders, making me stumble slightly as Hisoka fell into step just beside me. Behind us, taking the walk at a slower pace, Minoru gave a growl. Golden eyes ran over me, taking in the slump of my shoulder, the sweat that was running down my neck. He missed nothing. That's why I was surprised when his arm moved softly from my shoulders to my waist, taking some of my weight without the bat of an eye. "Interestingly enough, I don't remember teaching you that little trick, pet."

His eyes were penetrating, his smile sharp.

I didn't blink, feeling his fingers tighten at their place at my waist. Behind me, I could almost feel Minoru's contempt. Grunting, the big bear lumbered over to the wall, curling in a position that let his back be firmly towards me.

I glanced back at where Hisoka loomed above me. "I'm a quick study."

The sharp prick of nails along my throat made me pause as I started to pull away, my pulse picking up as Hisoka drew closer to me, his chest brushing mine. His voice went soft, his golden eyes searing into mine. "Or you're keeping secrets."

My eyes narrowed. What did he want me to say? I was a secret agent? If anything, that seemed to be more his lane than mine. What was a guy driven by his own ulterior motives doing playing in the kiddy pool?

My voice dropped as I glared up at him. "That's the pot calling the kettle black…"

For a moment, pregnant silence hung heavily between us, his nails still a very real threat at my throat. If he really wanted to, he could beat me to a pulp and set a very real example for the rest of the contestants. And it wouldn't have surprised me. In my current state, I was going to put up little of a fight.

"You know…" Hisoka started slowly, his eyes crinkling as if he seemed to savor the words that he was about to use. "We have a word for people like you. They're called geniuses."

I tried not to show the shock that coursed through me at that word - genius. I couldn't even read. My words came out less enthused than I thought possible, my fingers reaching up to tap along his until he released me. Reluctantly.

"Interesting." You liar, I thought bluntly as I turned away and walked the few feet to where Minoru was curled, settling against his side. "You don't mind if we continue this conversation sitting down?"

I didn't wait for his response.

My body gave a gasp of relief, my feet throbbing happily as I got off of them. I wasn't surprised when Hisoka folded himself in front of me, looking like a leopard that had just found a particularly meaty but all-and-all ditzy zebra to take down. Everything about him seemed to hold a feline sort of grace, a sly disposition that reflected through him like the flick of a tail.

One long finger wandered to just below my chin, tipping my face up so that he could run those stunning golden eyes over me. Examining me like an item that he had found in a garbage chute and cleaned up to discover that it was a diamond vase. His voice was low, harsh when he finally spoke again. "You know that people would pay for someone of your abilities. They would pay a great deal to get to mold you…"

"To do whatever they liked," I finished for him. I wasn't stupid. Even though I was an uneducated brat, I knew once I saw him fight that I could do a lot more with the few, fumbling lessons that my ma had given me. She had never told me that you could actually use that stuff that I had seen swimming around people. She had never told me that if I wanted to, I could make a feeble, flimsy playing card break stone and slice a man clean open. I stared up into Hisoka's glinting eyes, catching those familiar glints of green again. "Are you going to tell those people about me?"

The silence that followed my question should have been concerning. Most people used silence to maneuver around questions that they didn't like. Not Hisoka. Hisoka was strong and with strength came the ability to speak the things that you wanted to. He didn't need to lie. He already knew that he could knock me out and sell me to whatever creatures he knew of. I didn't know what he meant by "genius." I wasn't smart - not smart enough to manipulate or bring down someone powerful. Perhaps he was wrong and I really was just a quick learner.

"No," he finally whispered, letting his finger drop as he kept my gaze. For a moment, he stared down at me, his brain ticking away at some calculation that I'm sure I would never be able to fathom before he turned his gaze to the bloody mess of my hands. "Did I mention that you look ravishing in red?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "In an hour, it'll be brown." His grin was dark and sinful, his hands flicking out to his waist where - I blinked, taken aback. Tied around his waist was my hoodie. Cautiously, I watched as he took it off, surprised when he handed it to me with a quirked brow. "This is...nice...of you."

"You seem surprised," he observed.

Swiftly, I took off my tank top, ignoring the way that Hisoka's eyes burned along my skin, his smirk going dark as his gaze heated. Deftly, I yanked the hoodie over my head, glad for the clean, solid feel of it and - I drew the hood over my silvery hair, taking a breath - there was that strange, sweet scent again. His scent. "You kicked Minoru in the side hard enough to cause lasting damage."

That brow quirked again. "He's walking, isn't he?"

I resisted the urge to smile, annoyance combating with the urge to concede that Hisoka could have done far worse. In that battle, he had restrained himself. "Do you usually gloat about allowing your opponents to walk away?"

"No," he murmured with a smirk, his eyes twinkling. "Usually I gloat about how quickly I killed them."

For some reason, I didn't believe that either. Hisoka, no matter his flaws, wasn't a gloater. Gloating was for people that were easily amused. No. Fawning over his accomplishments seemed like it would bore him.

His eyes ran over me once more, quick, calculating. "You should sleep."

I scoffed. "Around you?"

His golden eyes glinted, his smile deadly. "Haven't you heard? No killing until a later date."

"Yes. You seem like a very passive person. I'm sure that you always follow the rules."

His smile was positively evil. "When it benefits me."

He wouldn't kill me, I decided, curling in on myself and sinking into Minoru's side. At least, he wouldn't kill me in my sleep. Too easy. Not enough of a challenge. And maybe more than that...maybe I thought even without the boredom factor he still wouldn't. Maybe… maybe I was beginning to trust him.

I shuddered at the thought.

I just wanted to say thank you to all of the people who have decided to follow this story and who have graced me with taking the time out to not only read my stuff but also give me a little love by reviewing when they have the time. You guys are the reason I keep pressing and I hope that you enjoy my writing as much as I enjoy writing for you. Who said that a little moment to escape from everyday unfairness was a bad thing?