I was so thankful for all the reviews I got the last chapter that I just had to post again! Keep it up!

SoulCatchingSin: Here's your more!

Lurvster: Aw, thank you so much for your long review! It really made my night, honestly. I'm so happy that you liked the end of the last chapter. I was totally thinking that it might freak some people out. But anyway - thank you again. I love you so much for reviewing!

molniya21: Thank you so much for reviewing! Honestly, sometimes I do think to myself - like ugh. No one's reviewing, they must think that plot twist sucked or this and that was awful. And then I go for a run in the rain to get out my self-doubt lol. Your review looked a lot like a guest review that I got. Is that you too? Otherwise, I'm going to feel so bad that I didn't reply to them.

EthaGrinndt: I'm so glad that you like my Hisoka! He's such a...wicked character to write for. He doesn't have straight-forward motivation so making him chaotic is both a challenge and a delight.

SmallLittleCagedBird: Thank you!

Kairi: I hope this is soon enough!

Stefany Hyuga: Thank you so much!

Chapter 22

The medical tape crinkled, resisting me as I clamped my hand into a tight fist. After the last exam, they had shuffled the remaining contestants back onto the airship, chattering away about this and that, oblivious to the fact that half of us were so exhausted that we could barely walk straight.

I didn't look Hisoka's way, choosing instead to keep a wide berth as we had been caroled into separate holding cells but his eyes had caught mine, that slim smile in place as his tongue had ran over his bottom lip. Stupid - that's what that kiss had been. A bonus in whatever twisted game he was playing. He had me in the palm of his hand, spinning around and around his fingers like a ball through a series of tunnels. It was a bad idea to pay attention to anyone so chaotic, so willing to inflict pain, so able to turn my emotions, churning them into something that felt decadent and...right.

The bandages pulled taught, pressing into the raw stitches in my shoulder as I brought up a hand to sweep my damp hair out of my face.

The examiners had quickly sectioned us off, pushing us into separate rooms with showers and our own medical teams waiting to patch us up and send us all pretty to the next round. I was uncomfortable - antsy. More than that, the lack of my brothers… I gulped, looking around the wide-open space of my cabin. The perfectly made bed. The useless closet in the corner. All of it...felt too big like a yawning space that needed to be filled. My stomach tightened, my head throbbing.

I wanted my brothers. I missed them.

My hands tightened again, the stiff side of the medical tape cutting into me once more as I sank into a chair. On the bed, Minoru was curled into himself, his body the smallest I had seen it in a while. Before, I had been grateful for the silence. Grateful that I didn't hear his voice and lull myself into a sense of security. But now, without even the comfort of another person near me, I felt… Something wet and heavy filled my chest, sinking me down like cement in a pit.

My head gave another uncomfortable throb, my eyes pricking with exhaustion and pain. I needed to get water and sleep and probably eat something in the next-

"Attention, all applicants." Minoru stirred, his ears flipping back and forth for a moment before raising his head warily. On that, we both agreed. I didn't like hearing from these examiners. It always made things more complicated. "The chairman wishes to interview you. When you hear your number, come to the reception room on the second floor. We'll start with number 44, Hisoka."

My eyes collided with Minoru's instantly, his gaze inscrutable. For a moment, we sat in tense silence, each of us listening for something - what that was, I couldn't tell.

You haven't eaten in 38 hours, Minoru finally said, his eyes impassive.

I kept his gaze, hoping that any emotion was buried deep inside. "I've gone longer."

You don't have your brother's to pick up your slack this time, he shot back and I resisted the urge to flinch. There's no one in this game that can help you any longer.

I didn't think that that warranted a comment. My head tipped to the side, running along his hulking form. He took up the entire king-sized mattress. "Have you always known when I eat? Does the amount that you're sucking out of me fluctuate when I'm weak?"

Now it was his turn to flinch, his head dropping slightly, muzzle dipping into his shoulder. Yes. Was that shame in his tone? Your energy feels… more forced… when you're like this. It makes me uncomfortable. Like I'm feeding from a dead body.

Oh, that was a lovely comparison. I forced a grin, my stomach churning sickly. "Maybe I should keep myself like this for you."

You would be hurting yourself more than anyone else, he growled, looking vicious and...hurt? I felt my teeth bare further, becoming something ugly. He looked away first. I don't have a say in how much I take. Like an auto-payment that goes through every month - I take enough to survive. Your nen is different from mine. You have different...abilities.

My breath halted for a moment. "What does that mean? Abilities?"

His eyes flitted to meet mine for a moment before darting away. He was hiding something. Nen is heavily influenced by its user. Each person's use of their nen is dictated by the person's needs, wants, emotional state. Your needs are different from mine-

"You're a creature from me," I snapped, my temples already starting to bang out a withering tempo. I needed food and water soon. "That would make us one being. So that doesn't-"

We're not one being, Minoru cut me off, looking annoyed by the comment. Think of me as a parasitic extension.

"Already way ahead of you," I hissed out acidicly and he grimaced, his jowls rolling back to flash teeth and gums.

Strained, he pressed on. My personality and appearance are influenced by you but… but that doesn't mean that my nen abilities are the same as yours. I'm not an extension of you. I'm a different feature entirely.

"Like another face," I whispered without thinking, rolling this information around in my head and getting a small nod in return. I barely knew anything about nen abilities - just enough to know that they existed and were more supernatural than anything I had ever confronted before. I had no point of reference. No picture or diagram or example, only vague pictures in my head from my mother's teachings. She had always been more of an action first, example later kind of woman. "You said there were others like you. How do you know that?"

Minoru closed his eyes for a brief moment. I just… do. Knowledge… is kind of my thing.

I didn't know what the fuck that meant. I leant forward, catching his eye. "Give me all the information on the sender of that letter."

Minoru visibly winced. I - I can't do that.

A low snarl slipped from my lips, my teeth baring. "Why the fuck not? You told me that you know things. Tell me all the things that you know then."

His eyes were pinched. It doesn't work like that… There are certain rules...vows and restrictions.

I nearly screamed, frustration mixing with my own hunger and thirst and exhaustion. I wanted answers. I wanted to stop playing this game - whatever the fuck this game even was. "So you can tell me some things but not the things I really need to know?!"

In a way, he whispered, sounding defeated like he hated himself for denying me. If possible that made me even more enraged. I leaped up, slamming across the room to the small fridge in the corner and yanking out a bottle of water before chugging it down.

Whipping around, I glared at him. "Can you tell me these rules then?"

His eyes darted around the room quickly before his head moved in a slow shake. Now wouldn't be the best time.

I sneered. "What? Think I would use them against you?"

He didn't answer, his eyes so deep and dark as he stared out the small cabin window beside the shower. My stomach dropped as that silence lengthened. That was exactly why he wouldn't tell me more. Because he didn't trust me. Not anymore.

Did I blame him?

"Number 200, Mori please come to the second floor." I jerked, staring up at the ceiling as if the chairman would be launching himself out from the air vents at any moment.

For a moment, I hesitated, my eyes swaying to where Minoru sat, his head still bowed. I… I gulped, grabbing another water bottle and downing it quickly. I couldn't be mad at him for not trusting me. And… I couldn't even fully trust myself to not use those limitations against him myself. To inadvertently end things. How disgusting was that?

"Stay here," I whispered finally, moving slowly to the door. "Keep our stuff safe."

I had only left my hoodie and blades behind. What stuff? But right now I needed separation more than I needed my next breath. I need to get away from the crushing reality that I was… alone. Maybe for the first time in my entire life.

And it was terrifying.

The way up to the second floor was confusing since I hadn't taken the time to look around the ship, choosing instead to shower and get my wounds looked at. Eventually, I found a small stairwell which brought me up into a clean, straight hallway just as-

My heart gave an uncomfortable pump, pressing against my chest until I could feel it expanding like a balloon about to burst. Metallic tang burst along my tongue, needles pressing into the inside of my stomach.

The smooth glide of a lanky boy closed a door at the end of the hallway silently, his hands pressed nonchalantly into his pockets. I felt something foreign pump into me, burning my muscles into heady action. Luminous eyes caught mine, a slash of a smile cutting along Ichihiro's face until he looked giddy. Giddy because he had wanted to see me. Giddy because atop his head sat a limp, dirty orange beanie, his greasy mop of hair pressing out from the frayed edges.

His teeth flashed, his tongue running along his lips quickly. "Mouse-"

I took off, my muscles burning, my whole body burning, not caring that I didn't have Minoru or my daggers or enough food in me to give me the energy to fight - because there - sitting there on his head was my brother's hat.

My stomach twisted, my mind near blank with rage as I reached him, sprinting the distance of the hall in a matter of seconds. I saw his eyes - those ugly, bulbous things roll, focusing on me for a moment in surprise right before my fist connected with his jaw, sending him flying into the glass window. The whole hallway shook, an alarming snapping ringing through the hallways. If I was more in control of myself I would have stopped, checking to make sure that I wasn't about to bust through the side of the airship.

Instead, I lurched after him, my hands scrambling at his clothes like a drowning man as I leveled him up again, wanting him to be closer so that I could ram my fist into the side of his face once more.

One more time.

Another. Blood splattered my tank, his spittle, and fluids mixing. Distantly, I heard voices, cries of alarm, and warning as my hand throbbed, the bandages around my knuckles offer little comfort. I would kill him. I would-

"GET OFF OF HIM, MISS MORI!"

I snarled, my hands curling into his collar as I yanked him up, his face already starting to swell and color, blood dripping from his nose and mouth in rivulets, my shoulder roaring at the strain. His eyes focused on me - looking - looking greedy. Like he wanted more. I hissed, frothing at the bit to give him just that. "What did you do to them?"

That mangled lip curled up, his hands curling around my wrists almost… delicately. My stomach rolled. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

My blood iced, burning me as I felt the agony of those words course through me. I imagined them sprawled out, waiting for me. Needing me. Calling for me. As he - as he trapped them as he had trapped me. Using those knives - That water rose up, burning the back of my throat. And the worst part was that he could see it. He could see every image as it skittered along my mind and he was bathing in it, eating it up like a starved animal.

A scream ripped from my throat, sounding like agony and misery and hatred all born into one breaking crescendo. I raised my fists to go in again, wanting to beat him until he told me-

"WE TOLD YOU TO STOP, MISS MORI!" I screamed again, kicking and clawing as arms bracketed my waist. Laughter filled the hallway, high and hysterical and it made me fight harder, my breath ragged as Ichihiro curled in on himself with glee.

I kicked one of the examiners in the groin, lurching forward just to have someone else's meaty hand dig into my injured shoulder, making me howl. My eyes caught on that scrap of orange - Amori's hat. That was my brother's hat. Another hand curled around the nape of my neck, yanking my head back.

Tears burned my eyes, my hand swiping futilely at the dark-haired boy, his face torn with glee. I sent a desperately elbow into another person's rib-cage, making them grunt and give me enough room to scramble forward, my hand closing on…

Air.

I howled, the sound cutting raggedly off as someone tackled me to the ground, making my whole body throb. I just needed to get that hat - Hand's yanked my own to the ground, three people crowding over me as I thrashed, biting, kicking, desperate-

Fwip.

My breath sawed out of my throat. I had started crying at some point, my vision a blur of colors. But even blind I would know that sound. The sound of playing cards being toyed with, of death served on a cute platter.

"I think it would be a good idea to let her up now, hm?" Hisoka crouched beside my head, his bulky body oddly curved around me as those slender fingers shuffled a card between them. His smile was anything but pleasant, a mockery of all nicety as he eyed the examiners who paled under his scrutiny. That only made his smile grow, his golden eyes lighting feverishly.

Panting, I jerked my hands, seething as the examiners didn't let up.

"She-" a plank-like man started, his face alight with fear but still unyieldingly dutiful.

Hisoka's face twisted, his canine's flashing. "Now."

A beat past, each second feeling like an offering of mercy from the red-haired man as the examiners swallowed. Finally, slowly, their fingers uncurled, letting go of my sweaty flesh. I sneered, kicking the last one to let go of me in the shins. He let out a yelp, grunting as I scrambled back, bumping into Hisoka's still crouching form as he kept a watchful eye on the three.

My throat went dry, my eyes immediately searching out where they had lifted the bloody mess of Ichihiro from the ground, that lopsided smile still on his face even as they started to usher him away. Still wearing my brother's hat. I lurched forward, intending to go in for him again - not caring that this would get me kicked out, not caring-

A hand grasped my nape, not rough like before but firm enough to jerk me to a stop. I blinked, my stomach tightening at the restraint, my hands shaking as I watch Ichihiro tug at my brother's hat. A strangled breath left me, my eyes unable to look away. "He has-"

"I know." My eyes snapped to Hisoka, his voice pleasant, almost amused. But - I shivered, ice chilling my spine. That look in his eyes was anything but. That look promised breaking bones and torment. That card flicked from finger to finger, his eyes tracking Ichihiro like a cat that had just spotted a particularly uninteresting mouse, but a mouse none-the-less. Finally, after a long moment, his finger's squeezed down on my nape - a gentle, almost comforting squeeze before he rolled from his crouch, graceful as ever.

Honeycomb eyes slid to me, his face unreadable for a moment before he was leaning down, grasping me under the arms with strong hands and lifting me like a doll into a standing position. My head tipped back, craning to make out anything on his face. Murder still pumped through my veins, begging. Maybe that was why he smiled down at me then - a genuine one. Because like sings to like and at that moment we were two hurricanes meeting in a lonely, sea-side town.

Let me go after him, I was tempted to beg him, my hands clenching and unclenching at my side in sporadic intervals.

Briefly, his gaze flicked down to my cut lip once more, darkening. Did he-? The moment was gone in an instant, his hands turning me deftly down the hall. "Time to go to your interview."

"No-" I bit out, half-heartedly turning against his hold only to be reeled back in, pushed toward that door that I had seen Ichihiro step out of earlier.

"You'll want to go to it," he whispered, leaning forward until I could feel the hot blow of his breath on my ear, a hand resting against my hip. "This one might give you something that you want~"

I want his head, I thought, my insides warming at the closed door. Hisoka had gone first. I turned, tipping my head to meet his eyes and seeing quiet laughter in them. My stomach loosened a bit. Maybe…

His voice was low, a sly promise. "I suggest you keep your answer...singular."

With that, he forced the door open with one hand, the other pushing gently at the small of my back until I stepped through.

Please, please, please keep up the amazing reviews. I'm just a lonely writer with a lot of self-doubt so your comments mean SO much to me. Much love!