Beyond the darkness of my eyes, I could imagine Kurapika with a dagger to my throat. Cold metal pressed against my neck as he crouched over my prone form. The wet grass and mud sinking into my suit and chilling my body. His breath was hitting my face, as hot and dangerous in my mind as a dragon's fire. Kurapika's anger bore down on me with his entire being. Killing Intent making my stomach flip over end and tense my muscles. It sent chills down my spine.

He would kill me if he had the chance. Any chance. Not a worry or concern if he went through with it.

All I did was breathe. In and out.

Calm. Relaxed. Breathe.

After a minute of silence, Kurapika lost his patience.

"Don't think you can pretend to pass out. It's obvious you're awake."

I ignored him. I wasn't trying to trick him. My rising chest made it plain as day I was awake. Controlled, deep breathing made it obvious I was in conscious control of my body. Even if I did want to fool him, there was no way I could in this situation. He had me at knifepoint and I was exhausted...

But that was going away. Quickly.

The fact that he said what he said was telling. He didn't feel as in control as he was pretending to be.

That didn't mean he wasn't. My fingers cried out in pain as he shifted more weight onto my hand, doing his best to elicit a response from me. The muscles in my face twitched as the pain increased for a minute. I stayed calm.

"That's enough Kurapika! He hasn't done anything to us! He helped us escape, even when he didn't need to," Leorio said.

I felt the weight shift off my hand as I heard Leorio try to move Kurapika off me.

Only for the pain to double as Kurapika shifted his weight back onto my hand. I bared my teeth for the world to see as I hissed out. I stayed clam. I had to stay calm.

"One good deed does not absolve him or his family of all they have done! You! Tell him what your family has done!" the blonde roared in the darkness of my mind, a hand to my throat as the metal touched my cheek.

I heard a foot-stomping ground, followed by Leorio speak, "Kurapika! Enough! You don't even know if he was involved!"

I wasn't...

No, stay calm. I can't get frustrated or angry.

My silence spoke volumes. But it didn't speak loud enough to stop him from squeezing my neck with bone-crushing force. His fingers were iron vices as they crushed down and dug into my neck muscles. I stayed calm.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know anything about my family. And I haven't done anything," I whispered.

My eyes opened a crack to find Kurapika staring bloody murder at me, his face a foot away from me on my left side. Leorio was behind him, his left arm on the blonde's shoulder and his face full of conflict. My left arm was at an awkward angle on the ground as Kurapika sat his right foot on the back of my hand as he stood over my flat form, the small wooden bokkens he used to fight the tortoises suddenly bladed weapons. There was loose tape drifting off the handle, the realization donning on me that they only looked like bokkens. In actuality they were blades hidden behind wooden sheaths, white grip tape hiding the seams to make the weapon appear like harmless blunt instruments. Just like Kurapika.

I stared into the... man's eyes. I could see the tell-tale sign of contacts that people usually never notice. The nigh-transparent edge of the piece of a plastic contact lens that danced around the iris when a person blinked. My ex used to wear colored contacts and it became obvious when you stared into a person's eyes for as long as I have, the dumb romantic I am. The other clue made it even more apparent there was something wrong with his eyes.

There was a ring of red around his grey eyes. Unnoticeable at any other time, but blatantly obvious when I was staring death in the face. A beautiful color that peeked out from the shadows of the fake grey. A red sun behind an eclipse.

Fury beyond understanding was in those eyes.

"Don't think lying to me will help you escape your situation," he punctuated his sentence with more pressure on my hand. Right now I was fighting myself more than him, and I was losing to both sides. It took everything in my power to stay calm.

"I only lie when I need to. Right now, I don't need to," I answered in a choked whisper.

Before Kurapika could answer, I continued, "Three. Times..."

I coughed as the grip at my throat increased the moment I said those words. But it was too late, my words had already latched in. I could see it in his fury.

I saved Kurapika's life seven times. Seven times in thirty minutes.

He saved my life ten times.

This wasn't battle I could win physically. Hopefully...

"I'll answer three questions. One for each time you saved me more than the amount that I saved you," I managed to wheeze out.

The face he made was that of rage. I didn't need an adjective to describe it. Everyone has seen it. The kind of rage that you never, ever want to see. The one that makes you uncomfortable to be around when someone has it. To run away from at full speed.

Rage.

With more strength then his frame should be capable of generating, Kurapika lifted me off the ground with one hand as he let go of my hand with his foot. He charged forward as he slammed me against a tree. Tiny branches, bugs, and acorns fell on to me.

An acorn fell onto my right shoulder. It moved. It shivered. It opened.

I stared. It was an insect. An armored beetle that opened up inside of animals intestines, the hard casing protecting it from stomach acid. The insect would then bury itself through the lining of the intestines and into the body of whatever was unfortunate enough to eat the 'acorn'. Once it had its fill it would lay its eggs inside the creature's body and... well, I don't have the explain the obvious.

Kurapika continued to stare at me with those eyes, unflinching, "I can tell you are aware of the Burrowing Acorn Beetle. They only reside in these swamps and no other place. I must commend you, you were well within your rights to chastise the other applicants. You are quite knowledgeable,"

The beetle sensed that it was on something it could bury itself into and began crawling on my left shoulder towards my neck. The lower half of the 'acorn' opening up to reveal legs and large, menacing pincers, with the stem on its back serving as a shell. The insect would find any exposed flesh and chew into me, its fat body not designed to facilitate painless entry; only to survive the trip through.

It crawled slowly. Ever so slowly.

"You will answer everything I ask of you, everything."

"Three questions."

Kurapika's left hand came over his right arm with his blade and tapped the butt of the beetle, propelling it a little faster towards my neck.

I continued to stare at Kurapika, calm and unflinching. That only enraged him further.

With a roar the blonde stabbed the blade on the tip-top of my right ear, giving it a tiny nick and drawing blood. He released the grip on my neck by a fraction.

"Don't you understand what is happening here?! I will kill you! And that will be a pleasure compared to the beetle! Once it enters your body, it and its offspring will devour you from the inside out! It will last for days!"

My eyes drilled into his, narrow slits that revealed green irises to his grey.

I spoke calmly, wheezing through his grip, "I have to commend you. You waited until I was weak and isolated from Killua to attack me. Even lowered my guard by hiding your Killing Intent. I believed you were a good and honorable person. I guess I was wrong."

Kurapika roared. He lifted me higher, dragging me up the tree before punching me in the stomach with his left hand, his hand gripping his sword with superhuman strength. The power of the blow went through me and reverberated through the tree, shaking it free of more weak branches.

That hurt. A lot. But Kalvin hit me harder you fuc-

No, I had to stay calm. He was losing his resolve. I'm not reacting like how he wants. I was exhausted and wouldn't be able to beat Kurapika in this state, so talking him down was the only thing I could do for now... And I finally realized why I'm so exhausted; but of course, only when getting my ass kicked by a raging blonde. No. Relax...

Every time my emotions flared, this white energy poured out of me like a fog machine against an industrial fan. The calmer I stayed, the less energy I leaked, and the more I could recover versus the amount I leaked. If this were a video game, my overall maximum stamina was decreasing bit by bit, but I could still recover my current stamina to my temporary maximum level. But the pace of my stamina regeneration was getting its ass kicked by my leaking body.

I needed him to calm down so I can calm down and let my body recover. No matter how big my gas tank was, I'll run out of energy and stop like a car. But unlike cars, humans can recover their energy, but not if all the energy you got from recovering leaked out like a faulty pipe.

This whole situation was not easy. There was a reason I had gone to therapy. A reason why I had my mantra. Anxiety, self-esteem issues, and bouts of rage. I've gotten over my anxiety and self-esteem issues, but frustration and rage were still there. The lack of control is what was making me go apeshit. Over my entire life. Even now, when I have all this power and it seems like I'm still getting jerked around by life. Instead, I was being a fool and lashing out, losing what little control I had of myself and around me. But, I needed to calm down and realize I did have control. And if I can't control the world, well, I just control myself until I can.

And there was no way to defeat him without accepting that. Especially since he was way, way stronger and faster enraged. Whatever his eyes did to him, I did not want to be at the other end of it for much longer.

I turned my eyes to my shoulder. Relief hit me like a drug as I saw the beetle had fallen off in Kurapika's manhandling of me. Truthfully, I wasn't scared of dying. That doesn't mean I want to do die. I did not want to get eaten inside out by bugs. I rather go out in a blaze of glory, not as bug food.

But... the fact the bug was gone was a good sign. He had discarded his torture method. As well as the fact he was losing his cool was a good sign. That sounded super counter-intuitive, but he was starting to crack. I should know.

He's trying to work himself up to do what he thinks he should do. To kill me or torture me, but his image of a Tao Long was conflicting with my actions and who I am as a person. It was the same thing that happened to me when I wanted to kill Caesar: he had a soft heart too.

I was wrong with Caesar, and I mean, Kurapika's heart was buried under two or three... hundred miles of calcified hate and cynicism. Maybe he couldn't or wouldn't understand that maybe, just maybe, I'm not some fucking scumbag. I just had to hope he or Leorio did...

Focus. I needed to concentrate. I needed to keep pressing him mentally.

It's exactly as Mayer taught me: a battle between Hunters began and ended in the mind. Kurapika was smart, probably smarter than Killua, and definitely smarter than me...

But I had my strengths in the realm of thought.

"Three questions... Since I helped you two with the tor-" I ended with a cough. There was no blood. Good. No internal damage. Just pain.

His eyes widened, somehow larger than before. He began throttling me against the tree, his blade so close to my throat I'm surprised I wasn't gushing out blood after the first shake. He effortlessly began to smash my body and head against the tree, ragdolling me without mercy.

"You have the audacity to continue your pointless posturing?! When your family took mine away from me?! You wear a green suit that signifies leadership in the Tao Long! You must have been there when the decisions were made four years ago! You will tell me everything!"

"WHY?!"

His why was not directed at me. He knew why the eyes were taken. That why was to the world.

The back of my head bounced against the tree, over and over. Smash. Smash. Smash went my head as my brain bounced against my skull. My warped senses and pain signaled that the damage to my cranium was starting to reach a tipping point. My eyes began to unfocus with each impact. The combination of the concussions from them collisions against the tree, combined with exhaustion, and the choking was sending me into unconsciousness. My body was losing feeling and becoming lifeless as I struggled to breathe. I could see my vision fade into darkness, the shadows creeping around my vision as I stared at Kurapika's face. Unbridled, all-consuming fury in him.

I guess I'm not the only one unreasonable and prone to rash decisions when angry.

I can't bring your family back. I'm nothing but a pawn in a bigger game...

My body dropped to the floor, my limbs in awkward angles like a puppet as my limp muscles did little to break my fall. Other than to be flexible and soft enough to mold itself over the tree roots I landed on. It took me a few seconds for my brain to decide whether or not it wanted to work, ultimately siding with me and not unconsciousness. Though, staying awake felt horrible, especially because I vomited immediately after the world stopped feeling like it was spinning and vibrating.

I turned up from my little puddle of vomit on the ground to see Kurapika's eyes wide open in shock and hurt. No physical hurt, but emotional. There was a red mark on the left side of his face. Leorio stood next to him holding a fist down at his waist, staring at Kurapika with rage and disappointment. Leorio's whisper was devastating to Kurapika as banshee wail, his head turning away from his friend's voice.

"Let's say he's as evil as you think he is... Even if you didn't want to kill him, how are you going to keep him alive with a massive brain hemorrhage?! Or would you like to torture some more instead?! Waiting for him to say anything to stop the pain?! Is this what you want to become? A raging monster?"

Kurapika shook and flinched with each question, as though physically hurt by each comment. He turned his head towards where I was on the floor, in a puddle of my vomit. My body shaking from whatever Nen sickness I was dealing with and, from what I could tell from the wet sensation at the back of my head, a serious concussion. I stared up at him, absolute defeat written on my face. He turned away from me and looked at his shaking hands.

"Everything the Tao Long has done, they deserve everything coming to them... but are you really going to become worse than them, Kurapika? To sink to their level? I thought you wanted to capture the Phantom Troupe, not become them?!"

Kurapika roared back, "That's unfair, Leorio! They slaughtered my family! All the people I love! Every last one!"

Kurapika was shaking, trembling down to his feet. He was drained: physically, mentally, emotionally. His next words were barely above a whisper.

"Nothing I could do can compare to the kind of evil the Phantom Troupe are," he said as he slumped his shoulders and looked to the floor. His eyes were distant. Dead.

Kurapika's body and face were detached from the here and now. His voice was clinical, monotone, like reciting from a report verbatim.

"The clan was sat down facing each other. They were stabbed multiple times and had their heads severed while still alive. No one was spared. The pure Kurta Clan members had both their eyes gouged out while the eyes of the 'outsiders' who were married into the clan remained. Their eyes were squashed and had injures that were consistent with torture. Most likely reason: used to bring out anger necessary for the Scarlet Eyes to appear..."

He continued, now obvious he was reading verbatim. From some kind of report, from memory...

"It is also believed the perpetrators mutilated the children more frequently and brutally in front of their parents in order to produce a more vivid scarlet color..."

Leorio stared in shock and horror at Kurapika, before starting at the ground with shaking fists. I found it hard to stare at Kurapika after hearing that.

I managed to prop myself up against a tree as I stared up at Kurapika, his body a statue as he stared off into distant memories. It was terrible to see and his story horrifying... but I'd be much more amicable if I wasn't beaten into a stupor. I felt dizzy, fighting off nauseousness as I spoke up, one hand on my head and the other on my stomach where Kurapika hit me.

"I can understand your hatred. You have both my sympathy and empathy," I said, honestly. And spitefully.

My voice ripped him Kurapika out of the past. He rounded at me, ready to tear my head off, "I want nothing from-"

Leorio, thank god, grabbed Kurapika and managed to hold him back before the teen stomped me into oblivion. But it took everything he had to do it.

Ya' know what? Time to change tactics from wear 'em down, to tear them down. This is going to suck.

My aura exploded out of me as I let my anger go. I saw them hesitate. I screamed back, tired of being nice.

"I don't know anything about what you're talking about! I'm only wearing this suit because I have to! I don't even want to be part of the mafia," I yelled at the top of my lungs.

My energy immediately started to disappear as my head felt like it was attached to a baby's neck. My aura sputtered out as my vision tilted, my head flopped to its right. The only thing keeping me awake was raw willpower and the conviction to win. I will not die.

I used my legs to slump body up against the tree as I straightened my neck. I closed my eyes, partly to hide the truth and partly because I felt like vomiting again.

"I am James. Tao Long was what I was forced to be. I'm the sole male heir in a criminal organization run by women. Some people don't like that, the women part. They want structure, order, and a clear chain of command in case my aunts died: preferably male. One faction wants to overthrow my aunts and be the leaders, while the other side wants to help my aunt; but has no reason to without a clear male line of succession to mollify the other side. That's where I come in,"

I slumped over, my strength starting to fade. My lungs sucked in air as I focused on breathing. I needed to relax, even though I was suffering a concussion. I felt tired, but I didn't want to sleep. You don't instantly die if you fall asleep with a concussion, you just never wake up because your brain is dead anyways... Hopefully, Leorio wasn't right about his prognosis about my head injury. My mind felt hazy and unfocused...

"I don't even remember my parents that well. I was raised by my Aunt on and off, but I'm the son of some woman called Gerel and her lover. Both of them died when I was young..." my voice hitched as I realized the information uploaded into my brain sounded awfully like my own, real back story. From my old life...

"I raised myself, and now my Aunt comes by three months before and says I have to train. I have to get a Hunter License. Or else I'll fucking die. All I was... was some nobody, alright? There! Is that what you wanted to hear?! No idea about a clan, I know almost nothing about how my Family works, or anything to do with the Phantom Troupe other than they like spiders and are bad," I finished harshly, my anger almost coming out again. I doubled down on the meditating and breathing.

"And what are your intentions with those two children?" was all Kurapika said in response. Motherfucker, leave me alone! Let me rest...

But Kurapika was smart, too smart. He had an inch was going to take me for a mile, and then for everything if he could. I heard him step forward, his voice cool but firm, "I said, what are your intentions with those two children. I know you're trying to recover from whatever it is that's affecting you, but I won't let you!"

"Relax Kurapika! Even if he could recover enough, you heard him! He doesn't know anything about what happened to your clan! He's just... he's just a normal guy, Kurapika. We can just leave him here. There's no way he can continue in this condition."

Shows what you know, Leorio.

"He's anything but normal, Leorio. The fact he is Mafia royalty is enough evidence of that. The training he underwent must have been rigorous and intense. Unlike other Mafia Families, the Tao Long favors raw power over numbers... We will leave him unconscious and bound up for the Examiners. After he answers my questions..."

I rolled my eyes underneath my eyelids. Fuck you Kurapika. Stop undermining me, you stupidly intelligent asshole...

"That'll be question one," I said as I opened up my right eye to see the two of them staring at me. One with indecisiveness and concern, the other with steely-eyed resolve. But... those almost imperceptible red rings no longer encircling his grey eyes.

"I said you'll answer ev-"

Leorio turned to Kurapika, "Enough Kurapika! We don't have time for this, we still need to catch up to the Examiner, remember?!"

I could tell even he was growing tired of Kurapika's behavior. Kurapika grimaced at the realization he couldn't do whatever he wanted to me. We were on a time limit. This was an asshole move, but I grinned. My naturally narrow eyes becoming slits with green peering through the cracks of my eyelids. I didn't want to use this yet... but I still had one last trap card on the field, ready to flip over onto the board.

"I'll even be gracious and give you a secret I know, but only if you agree to certain conditions," my smirk feeling good from the ass-kicking I received. His face of impotent anger made it all the better. The two of them were going to leave me here regardless if I answered their questions, but not after what I figured out.

"You said you know nothing, why should we agree?" Kurapika barked.

"Because it has to do with the Kurta Clan. Specifically something you don't know. I know you don't know."

I smirked. His eyes widened when he saw that I was completely honest. I laughed.

"Bastard!" was all he said as he rushed me.

Red Eyes, Blonde Asshole re-summoned onto the field, oops, I activate Solemn Judgement. Blah blah blah, fuck this analogy: I destroy him! Fuck this man!

"You have my word I'll tell you after the exam. But, if you attack me, kill me, or hinder me in any way during the Exam, you'll never know. And you know I'll never break to torture. I've been through worse and I'll go through worse," I whispered in the coldest voice I could muster. It wasn't very hard to do.

He slid to a stop a mere foot from me. His eyes willing me to tell me every secret in the world. He knew though...

I managed to get up to my feet as I stared down at Kurapika five foot seven frame, even though I was hunched over in everything-terrible condition.

"Agree to that and I'll sing like a canary. I'll gladly tell you."

"Your lying! There is nothing you could possibly know! Nothing!" he said on the verge of hysteria.

"It's definitely something about your clan. Something you. Don't. Know. You're like me Kurapika. You can tell if someone is lying. Like I said before, I only lie when I need to. Right now, I don't need to."

We both knew what I was talking about.

Someone from your clan is alive.

Who's to say how they are?...

Only I know.

The joy I felt at getting back at him was immediately gone when I saw his look he gave me. It was something I never, ever want to see again. Dead, emotionless, obedient eyes. It was the eyes of a man willing to go through anything, any suffering for the last burning embers of hope. Hoping it to be true... and I was standing over it with my foot ready to stamp it out. I had absolute control.

He nodded stiffly.

I grimaced at the sight of him.

I defeated him... So why does it feel like I lost?

'You must get that thought out of your head. 'Fair-fight' will not exist in the Hunter Exam, nor in reality. You must be content with achieving victory, no matter what kind it is or how it is gained.'

Mayer was right... Yet, I felt sick to my stomach. I have a problem with people controlling me... but I certainly am not a hypocrite. I don't want to control anyone, at the very least not against their will... Not like this...

I frowned and closed my eyes.

But Kurapika would kill me by sheer virtue of sabotaging me into oblivion. The fact he was going to leave me bound out here was tantamount to death. I miscalculated. You can't quantify revenge. I thought I could turn his mind around. I couldn't. Yet, this was... hope was more terrible. It was simultaneously the most powerful and self-destructive thing you can give a person. Revenge will control you, but for hope... the world will change from a shred of hope. Ask all the pilgrims, explorers, artists, dreamers, and such... An entire people were killed off. Every single person he ever knew and loved: he would never be able to speak to them, ask them a question, or share another happy memory. That's it.

Hope.

I came with hope in one hand, and collar in the other.

He would do anything for his clan.

Anything for his family.

Clenching my teeth in rage. I looked away.

A horrible suspicion hit me...

Earlier, during the start of this failed torture, everything had clicked when he said four years ago. The same thing Pairo said. A tragic event. They wore similar clothing, even moved around the same in those clothes. Had a slight accent that was almost invisible to the ear. Both ridiculously smart. But the eyes, the eyes. The connection wasn't even logical, it just clicked. Pairo's eye surgery and Kurapika's contacts. Circles around the irises. That's when I knew this trump card existed...

I don't fucking know why that was the thing that dusted off the cobwebs in my brain to make that leap in logic, but I swear to you that was it. Maybe it was all the evidence together put in front of me and the eyes were just the last push of inertia to make the picture clear in my mind. His reaction proved it...

Pairo didn't hate the Tao Long... so how...and yet...

...Nothing makes sense...

...And Evira wouldn't have let me see Pairo unless she wanted to. And I know why Pairo wanted to see Kurapika...

But why did Evira want to see Kurapika?

I started to shake when I remembered her words. I looked at my suit. Her orders...

'And a temper can be a dangerous thing. Ask my ward here, he would know about temper...'

How far was she thinking ahead?


Twenty minutes later and we were running in silence. I wasn't feeling that much better, but beggars can't be choosers. And I had an Exam to pass...

Kurapika refused to run beside me or in front of me. He also refused to let me keep Stick, which took everything in my power to stay calm about. We argued, but it was two against one. Leorio didn't completely trust me, even if he understood I wasn't evil.

I can understand that too, the caution. I would have done the same, but that weapon was priceless to me. I rather trade both my knives strapped underneath my armpits and my left arm for Stick.

Now I understand the swordsman and sword bond. It was like my baby being taken away from me. Stick saved my life so many times. It beat me into who I am. Being fondled by him...

I'll be honest. I'm salty as shit right now.

I sighed as I continued running next to Leorio. There was nothing much I could do about it for now. I was outnumbered, and while my stamina had recovered enough that I was ok... that wouldn't mean I could win. I was in shitty shape, and while my head hurt, you can muscle through anything given enough motivation. Like not dying: a great motivator. These past six or so hours have been frustrating the say the least...

My mouth twisted as I thought over my predicament. Any spike of intense emotion was driving my aura thing nuts. Right now it was wispy, like the solar winds on the surface of the sun. It took all my concentration to run and meditate at the same time, but the silence and tension were continuing to stress me out. The Kurta's eyes were burrowing into my back. I could FEEL it.

So, I distracted myself. I spoke to my grudging companions," I never answered your first question. The answer is: I have no interest in Killua or Gon. That being said, Killua is my friend. And I just see them as kids to protect."

Quiet stretched between the three of us. It went on for a few minutes as we ran, the tension slowly draining away with my olive branch of an ice breaker. It still felt like a reverse-Weeping Angel was behind me, though.

Leorio shattered the silence with the subtly of a breaching whale.

"Oh yeah? Here I thought you were just a pervert."

I twisted my mouth in annoyance, "Look, man, I just don't want any kids to suffer. Not if I can help it. Even if those two can handle most things."

Leorio turned away from me and nodded. We continued to run for a minute before he spoke again.

"Ya' got to admit though, it's weird for someone of your age and appearance to be around kids."

I frowned and narrowed my eyes, tilting my head back, before speaking, "Whatchu' talkin' 'bout Leorio?"

He raised an eyebrow at my accent before continuing, "I mean, you don't exactly look like the soft and cuddly type. You have a face like this,"

Leorio proceeded to make a face that looked like a glaring gorilla. With slumped brow, enlarged nostrils, and a grimace that made his jowls droop down his face. It screamed, 'Leave me the fuck alone."

Alright, I know I look, uh, aggressively disinterested in my new face, but I didn't look like Gori Rider, you mother-.

He laughed at my glare.

"I'm just messing with you. To be honest, I feel the same way. I just don't want to see Gon hurt, ya' know? From what I've seen so far, Gon doesn't think things through," Leorio said with a smile.

I nodded. My first impressions of Gon, he did come off as... I don't think I can really find a charitable word for slow. He's not dumb, not by any means. But I don't know what's up there in his noggin'.

"Me and Killua have only known each other for two days, but it's the opposite problem. He's like a hissing cat or something. It's weird."

"He doesn't look that different from Gon. Maybe a bit of a brat, but nothing too crazy," Leorio said with a shrug.

We ran for a few seconds as I collected my thoughts. I deliberated on whether or not to explain to Leorio the concept of 'sensing' someone's strength. I don't know if I could explain a complicated subject in such a short amount of time, especially one I just started learning. Maybe he'd use it against me? Wait, no, how the fuck would he use it against me? He knows he's weaker than me.

Fuck it. Maybe I could swing him over to my side. Stack the deck so Kurapika wouldn't flip out and torture me in my sleep or something. I wouldn't want to wake up with blonde and androgynous stomping my nuts out or some shit.

I mean, Kurapika knows how to measure strength. He targeted me when I was weak instead of during or immediately after the Noggin, a-million-words, tortoise gauntlet; when my guard was still up. If he attacked me during or before we fought the tortoises, I'd have thrown him into a tortoise mouth and have been done with it...

Whatever. Victory via diplomacy it is.

"You haven't trained with a lot of martial artists, or soldiers, haven't you?" I asked with an eyebrow raised.

Leorio looked offended, "I'll have you know I can hold my own in a fight. Don't start thinking you'll have an easy time beating me!"

I raised my eyebrows in surprise at his outburst.

Alright, well, he has bravado. I'll give him that. I shook my head.

"I'm not disrespecting you, I'm just asking. It's from what I can see. Me and Killua have been through intense training with instructors on the level of Masters. Killua even more than that. I can tell you don't have that type of experience since you're unaware of the strength, skill, and experience of people you're staring at. Like a vague understanding of the person's capabilities in front of you. It should come instantly if you were trained, like this," I finished with a snap of my fingers.

Leorio pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes, but held his tongue. I continued.

"I can tell you know how to fight. But a street fighter, even if your talented, isn't going to have that experience or knowledge. Unless you, I don't know, fought thousands of times or something. The rough and dirty way is, you have to compare the people you've fought in the past with the person standing in front of you. That takes an honest evaluation of you're strength and weaknesses. You have to remove ego from the equation. I'll be honest, Kurapika behind me can probably trounce me in a straight fight, but he knew it would be tough and not one-hundred percent certain victory. So, he decided to outsmart me then out muscle me. He hid his Killing Intent completely when we were fighting the tortoises."

"His Killing what now?" was all Leorio said.

I gave a small laugh as I shook my head. I twisted my head to look at Kurapika from my peripheral.

"Well, am I right Kurapika?" I asked, trying to extending the gangplank of civility.

His Killing Intent now was mostly muted by the end of me and Leorio's conversation.

A huff behind me signified that, indeed, I was correct. He was willing to engage in a parley. I smiled and imagined myself pumping a fist.

"You are correct. I'm surprised, you are quite perceptive. Given your poor grammar and atrocious Yorbian, I would have expected otherwise."

My eye twitched.

"It's 'Killua and I', not 'Me and Killua'. Lastly, my name is pronounced Ku-ra-pi-ka, not Curr-rap-pee-kah."

"Well, you're a cur, a rat, pee-pee, and ca-ca to me-me, you pedantic sonnuvabitch," I growled as I took my imaginary gangplank, lit it on fire, and threw into the ocean. A low growl behind me answered me. I guess we were both curs.

My English is shit, so what? But I ain't gonna' have some dude from another fuckin' planet correct me...

So much for that olive branch. I huffed and puffed. But my house would not be blown down! How will I be able to get Kurapika on my side, voluntarily that is? Not with a gun to his head...

The guy has a stick so far up his ass he's practically a flag with his flowing clothing. Is he going to keep doing me like that the whole Exam? Snipes and shit? He can't let me fail, because if I do fail I'm out of here. But he doesn't have to try that hard either. He has to know the first thing I'm doing if I fail is run like a bandit into the night. As much as I feel bad for Kurapika and holding the info on Pairo over his head, fuck this guy. Me first baby. I ain't dying to Kurapika! I ain't dying to Zhulong! They both have to catch me, right? Or... fuck, does my mark on my hand make me trackable with magic bullshit? Zhulong can enter my dreams. What if she just Freddy Krugers my ass instead? How long can I stay awake? Is there a drug like Hypnocil from Freddy vs Jason here? Grrr!

My steam flared up again from my annoyance and frustration. Damn it! I need a doctor something-

All frustration and annoyance disappeared into pure, high-octane fear as I saw a figure barely visible in the grey. All my exhaustion disappeared as survival instincts and a gallon of adrenaline kicked in. I remember that feeling...

I stopped dead in my tracks as I jammed my right hand into Leorio's chest to stop him... Kurapika ran into my back with a grunt.

There stood Hisoka. It was his outline in the fog. I could tell. His sinister aura was flowing around him in excitement, moving around against several indistinct shapes.

As though the universe wanted us to be found, some of the fog parted to reveal the end of the execution. We arrived just as Hisoka held a card in the air, cutting the throats of the nine poor fools too dumb run against that monster. He spun around, slicing them all in one smooth, elegant spin. He held his right hand up in the air, a lone playing card in between his index and middle finger. The clown posed like he had just finished dancing. The fog slowly parted to show everything. Blood pooled around the candidates still forms, their throats cut so cleanly that blood looked like it was coming from thin, red necklaces wrapped around the fronts of the necks. The only sign that anyone was truly dead was one person landed in an awkward angle, opening up their slitted throat wide and causing blood to gush out.

Hisoka calmly turned to the last man who fell back on his ass in shock, wordlessly staring at the mad jester with terror etched on his face. There was nothing we could do as the three of us stared on, mute from horror and self-preservation. The three of us instinctively holding our breaths and standing frozen, like wild deer who caught sight of a predator. That irrational thought that maybe, maybe, the big bad monster wouldn't notice us if we stayed quiet and still.

I remember him, seventy-six. Hammerhead. He didn't crawl far. The man begged for help. There was nothing we could do as a single card embedded itself into the back of his head, as easy as a knife. The simple playing card was shrouded in that same aura that Hisoka had.

The aura I had...

There was never a time I was more fascinated about something and while simultaneously horrified in my life. Never.

Immediately I turned to Kurapika. He nodded gravely. We both knew we fucked up when we continued to stare instead of taking the initiative to run, but at least we both wordlessly understood there was no way we could fight. Any and all animosity between us vanished in the face of a unified, overwhelming enemy.

We nodded again. No need to explain. All three of us would have to split up.

I sighed as I turned to the third member of our ragtag team of misfits and morons...

We really shouldn't have stopped.

It was plain as day that Leorio had other ideas as he stood up to his full height. He was angry. The lunatic wanted to face Hisoka. The idiot wasn't going to leave, and I knew that because I was outraged that Hisoka murdered ten people in a blink of the eye. I was compassionate as well, but not stupid. We would die if we fought. But Leorio wore his emotions on his sleeves and was motivated by them. At least I knew enough that my compassion could go suck it in the face of raw pragmatism.

All I could do was stare at Leorio as my emotions flared up. We had no time to argue with him.

Damn it! Kurapika was smart, incredibly smart. Almost as smart as Pairo, but he had the emotional intelligence of a block of cheese! Not that I was much better, but I was self-aware of my flaws. As a teenager, no matter smart as he was, Kurapika didn't. No one ever does at that age. I also had objectiveness and an outside perspective on my side. He trusted Leorio and didn't have the experience to see that Leorio was going to fight to the death for these assholes who picked a fight they shouldn't have. I could tell Kurapika believed Leorio would follow his instructions faithfully, but I could see what would actually happen in my mind's eye:

We only had seconds before Hisoka was on us, and the three of us couldn't afford to linger. The faster we split, the better our chance of survival. Unfortunately, Kurapika or I would have to explain the plan to Leorio before we could split. He would nod his head to us like an asshole; run, circle back, and then fight. He would die, or worse, and then I'd be wracked with guilt because I knew he was going to do it and I didn't do anything to stop it. Fuck that. Not if I could help it.

I turned around and ripped Stick from Kurapika's hand, faster than he thought I could, and smashed Stick against the ground in front of Leorio and Kurapika. Both of them moved to my right, having moved when we all gawked at the slaughter like dumb tourists. I turned around as I felt their stares fall on me, my own eyes on Hisoka. My attention completely and utterly on him. I couldn't let him out of my sight. At all.

"Get the fuck out of here. Now!" I roared as I lifted my sword up and held it in front of the two like a toll booth, blocking the two of them from proceeding forward. Rage poured from me as my wispy aura flared, exhausting me. God damn it. I mulled over the fact that I had to have a code to live by. I had to help others like I was helped. Why couldn't I just be born a dirty, spineless coward? A person who could truly say, 'I got mine, fuck everyone else!' I envy them, I really did. They can live with themselves forever and ever, fit and fine. A coward dies a thousand deaths my ass. I've been dying none stop, flirting with death like a god damn ladies man. I just caught a bad case of courage and bravery after the White Death... and bouts of stupidity, a fatal case of stupidity.

Or maybe stupidity ran in the family? Like a genetic disease?

I peeled away from my thoughts and dropped back to reality.

"We aren't going to let yo-" Leorio didn't get the chance to finish as I hit him in the jaw with Stick with a blur of my right arm, his eyes rolling back as fell back into unconsciousness. Every second we waited was another ten meters we lost that we couldn't make up when escaping Hisoka. I've had Hunters track me, and I've fought weaker Hunters than Hisoka, but Hunters nonetheless. Between the three of us, I had the most experience fighting someone like him.

I would like to say I had no choice but to stay here, but I had plenty of choices. We all do, right? Well, this was the choice I wanted to make. To hold this killing machine off and hope an angel needed their wings. I needed a miracle.

Or was that bells? Oh fuck. I'm gonna' die.

No. No. I refuse to die.

I could feel Kurapika's eyes widened in absolute rage as he saw his friend fall to the floor, the blonde reacting by instinct as he went to grab the giant, overgrown teen.

"You didn't ne-"

I turned to Kurapika, "Shut. The. Fuck. UP! I've taken a lot of shit from you! The least you could do is be graceful with and grateful for my help. Take Leorio and get out of here! NOW!" I roared as I turned away from the two and walked forward, my eyes quickly growing dry as I stared unblinking at Hisoka. The clown stared back at me with so much amusement I could barely see his eyes between his eyelids as he smiled.

"Don't... don't you dare die... I'm not through with you yet..." Kurapika whispered, but it wasn't completely a threat. Whelp, nice to know facing death head-on got me grudging respect. Fucking asshole is giving me death flags and shit. Great.

But I won't die. I refuse.

I could feel the glare Kurapika was giving me. Enraged I hit his friend, but probably because I was helping him as well. That blonde asshole really hated me. He could not reconcile the image in his mind of Tao Long versus what I was: an idiot way over his head.

But I'm an idiot on my terms, baby.

I stared at Hisoka's face with all the courage I had as I tried to read his mind through his facial expressions, eyes, and body language in the hopes of predicting his next attack. Something I was naturally good at...

...his thoughts were completely unreadable to me. This was the first that has ever happened to me.

In seconds, Kurapika was already running as fast as he could with Leorio on his back. Flying off to my right.

And here I stood. Alone with the scariest man I could ever imagine being with. The supernatural, super fabulous John Wayne Gacy.

At least I'll have died with my humo-

No! I fucking refuse to die to this man!

I took a deep breath to control my body and stay calm. Staring at this man was like staring at death. Sinister didn't begin to describe how it felt as he stood there, a hand on his hip as he grabbed his own face. He stared at me like I was a piece of meat.

A soft smile spread across his face as he spoke in a terrifyingly soft, amused voice.

"I'm so happy that this year's Hunter Exam is filled with so much potential."

I could imagine hearts at the end of that sentence.

Oh god.

He walked slowly, we all the calmness I wish I had at that moment. I held my sword in my fighting stance of... Pflug, or plow in German, the language called Doitsch in this world. Left leg forward and right leg behind me. Two hands pointing Stick at my opponent, right hand where a sword guard would be and my left at the bottom. I was ready to strike as fast and hard as I could...

...Intentions were all well and good, but I could plainly see he had no openings. None whatsoever. I could see in my mind's eye every tactic predicted, every attack countered, every route cut off. Overhead strike, my belly cut open. Strike to the legs, my throat cut open. Stay far away, pincushions me with cards. Use speed and my reach advantage, he'll wear me out and kill me at his leisure. Turn around, killed. Run to my left, killed. Left? Dead. Throw my knives at him... he fucking catches them?!

All mental battle simulations leading me to dead-ends and even worse fates.

My mouth was so dry it felt like it was packed with sawdust.

He paused his approach, just outside my sword's reach. With absolute precision and understanding of my distance from a single glance... My hands began to shake as I realized he somehow calculated my arm span, even though my reach was eighty inches. Far longer than someone my height should have. That's not even talking about how broad my shoulders were and how difficult it was to tell my dimension in all this fog...

Hisoka stood there, standing there with both hands on his waist. Staring at me with glee. Right outside where it should be possible for me to strike with a quick step in. How the fuck did he know how far I could hit? How? How?!

It's said to defeat an opponent with a weapon with your bare hands, you have to be at least three ranks above the weapon user. He felt like thirty ranks above me. And I'm overestimating myself.

"Quite perceptive, aren't you? It seems you're aware you're outmatched. Good. But that's the least exciting thing about you... you're so tantalizing close."

I knew what he was talking about by the way he was looking up and down at me. It was the fucking steam leaking out of my lower body with reckless abandon. The out of control energy that was causing me to be exhausted.

My throat instinctively swallowed before I spoke. Maybe in preparation to scream?

"You're talking about the steam coming off me, right? This is Nen? Is this why no one else can see it?!" I said as I fought to stay calm.

"Oh? So you know about Nen..." he grabbed his chin with his right and tilted his head back. He waved his index finger with his left hand at my lower body, rolling and then pointing his finger forward at both of my legs.

"It seems many of your Aura Nodes have been awakened, yet mostly below your shoulders and arms. How unusual..."

The most terrifying thing in the world happened to me. He began to enter my striking range. As my mind screamed at my body to jump back and keep my distance, I found out something more terrifying.

I couldn't move my feet.

This wasn't a fear response. My legs were working just fine. No, I was glued to the floor by something. Some invisible force. I tried to lift my legs and nothing. I pulled and tugged my feet, but no matter what I did they were bonded to the ground by something! It felt like rubber cement!

As he entered within seven feet of me, the maximum I could attack while pinned to the ground by something, I struck. Stick flew at him with more speed and fury than I had ever summoned before, as I tried and failed to hit him with my aura enhanced quickness and old technique. My eyes could see Killua, a person who could move so fast he disappeared, and I couldn't see how fast I was swinging my arms in my desperate bid to survive. All I could see was the wind and fog move around me as I frantically tried to hit him. It was like he was the fog himself as he disappeared and moved from my strikes...

I was a good swordsman, talented even: better than most people who trained as long as me...

And I didn't land one hit.

Not a single one.

He swayed, leaned, dipped, and ducked out of the way of my slashes, stabs, strikes, and thrusts with such casualness it sent my mind reeling. At some points he was simply closing his eyes as he danced between my strikes without effort, gracefully closing the distance between us as slowly and gently as a piece of cloth in the breeze.

The most humiliating thing?

He didn't need to walk right in front of me. I couldn't turn around or move my feet. Hisoka could have just walked behind me if he wanted to...

I roared as I did one last Oberhau strike, my upper body, and core compensating for my lack of balance as I came at him from above. Only to for him to slap my sword out of my hands with such ease and indifference I couldn't believe it. It was surreal. I felt like I was in a fantasy. Nothing was real.

All my trainin-

With the suddenness of a guillotine, he grabbed my cheeks and squeezed painfully with his right hand, his fingertips digging into my flesh with the strength of an industrial-strength press machine. I hissed in pain. He leaned his head back even further, looking down at me with pure bliss in his eyes. I desperately clamped onto his wrists with both my hands and tried to break it with all my strength, but it was like trying to snap adamantium. The thin forcefield around him even thicker around his wrists. Nen made him invincible to my super strength...

"At this rate, you'll die if you continue to leak you're Aura during the Exam. The added physical strain of the tests will only quicken your death. You won't last the day."

I struggled at the end of his hand, fear, and disbelief controlling me as I stared into his eyes with horror. He wasn't lying, in fact, he was sad about it. I was poor little pet goldfish dying in his eyes. He looked away as he raised his left hand up and bent his hand back, as though it was unfortunate. He stared back at me with something in his eyes. Was he going to kill me? No, more frightening was the change in his eyes.

He was going to do something about it...

"It wouldn't do to lose such a sweet fruit before it's ready to be plucked. So much potential, so much talent, so much..." Hisoka said with mad love in his eyes and a lick of his lips.

He pressed his other hand against my chest as I felt a burst of intense energy enter my torso and flow through me, overtaking my entire body. It was like being flooded with thousands of needles penetrating every cell of my body as I screamed in pain. I felt the sensation of some type of viscous fluid escaping every pore on my body. It felt hot, burning even, until it finally settled around me like a roaring ocean.

I felt my body drop to my knees as my mind was disoriented and preoccupied with the new sensations swarming around me. I turned my head, delirious and disconnected to the world around me like a lost child. I stared at the... shimmering Aura around my body. It surrounded me like an incredibly thick, white inferno. There was so much of it pouring out of me that I reached out and tried to move my hand outside of out it and I couldn't. It was so much. My breath and heart rate quickened as I felt incredible. Euphoric. I could do anything I wanted. Have anything I wanted. I could be a king. A god!

The world was at the edge of my very being. And the feeling of absolute power. Like the heavens themselves created a drug so powerful I could feel everything around me! My knuckles popped when I made a fist, sounding like gunshots from my new strength in the silent fog. My muscles strained from the coursing power, capable of tearing through flesh as though it were clay. My skin felt like hardwood or soft iron underneath the Aura, capable of withstanding much more than mere flesh could before. I could feel things I could like never before, my Aura letting me feel the blades grass at my feet and the gnats flying around me. I could feel them at the edge of my thoughts and senses. I moved it out to feel more... it was as if a second skin was added to me that floated around my body.

At the edge of my mind... was the massive dark aura of Hisoka that looked and felt as insidious as anything in the world. I could feel his emotions assault my Aura, my life energy protecting myself from his onslaught before he stopped. It felt disgusting on my Aura, the sensation akin to pins and needles on a numb leg. Floating all over me. Flaring it in joy. His eyes were alive with perverse happiness...

I moved my vision to the floor as I imagined all I could do. I could change the world with this power. No need for groups of people, no need to wait for a committee. I could tear it all down myself. No wonder-

My body wretched forward as I started to vomit and dry heave without pause. Arms shaking, body trembling, my head becoming more clouded than the fog around me. Hard to think. Aura released... all day. Running. Fighting... tired...

I shook my head and blinked over and over, fighting off the feeling of passing out. Or death. Am I dying? How close am I? Even if I don't die from this, if I pass out here I'll be eaten by something.

No, focus. Stay with it. Control. Concentrate.

Dying. Was this my life... flowing out from me? The euphoric sensation disappeared as pure exhaustion hit me. Deathly exhaustion... That still couldn't describe how it felt as my Aura flew off of me like a Dragon Ball Z character taking a year to charge up. Every second that my Aura escaped felt debilitating. No, that didn't describe it either. Not even weakened by sickness did it justice. No word could describe the physical sensation of having your leaking life physically exhaust you to death.

I had to do something. If it could escape, then I should be able to keep it in. It has to be instinctual. Like a baby in the water. They don't know how to swim, but they damn well know how to hold their breath and not die temporarily.

That was my motivation. I can't lose to babies.

Without any awareness of the world around me, I stood up and relaxed my body. My arms dropping to my sides as I stood there, survival instincts and willpower overcoming my physical fatigue. Without any prompting or direction from my mind, I stood relaxed and naturally: it just felt right. I closed my eyes and breathed. I imagined the steam all around me entering my body. I visualized tiny little, glowing marbles that I thought were 'nodes' that were inside my body. My mind visualized the steam being sucked back into those marbles. Urgently, yet gentle. Like a video of a fog machine played in reverse. To turn off the leaking and keep it all inside me.

I did this as I repeated the words I've meditation for years...

Control myself and control the world.

Slowly I felt the warm, dense, fluid-like Aura seep back into my body until it felt... full. All of a sudden, I was cold. The lack of Aura leaving my skin felt strange. Wrong. Like I was naked in the middle of winter. But inside I felt warm and amazing. I was being transfused with energy. I could feel my stamina coming back even faster than it ever did or could before.

It was amazing.

I opened my eyes to see Hisoka gripping his face while hugging himself as he giggled, his eyes full of joy and ecstasy.

Then his Aura hit me, without restraint.

"You learned Zetsu instinctively to survive... in no time at all... how much potential do you have?" he said with a giggle that made my spine shiver. I trembled in front of him, "How much more will you grow... I almost can't contain myself..." he slowly reached out towards my eyes as the euphoric feeling from before beat a quick exit to let horror come rushing back to my mind. Euphoria also locked the door behind her and threw away the key. I could feel his Aura even worse than before even before, my skin feeling assaulted by the energy. Naked before the blizzard. My body trembled at his presence, my mind and body screaming to run away as I tried in vain to escape my standing prison.

It was an assault against my very being. A crushing, sinister, terrible force.

Just like when I was staring at Zhulong, all those months ago.

A terrifying understanding I was naked in the storm.

The tips of his fingers on his left hand came mere centimeters from my eyes. Then down to my neck. Oh god. I still couldn't move. There was nothing I could do. What was he going to do to me? Snap my neck? Was he going to choke me?

He was going to choke me.

Please.

No.

No! I refuse to die!

Fear, despair, anger, and will was replaced by surprise when Hisoka was stopped in his tracks by a fishing lure smacking him in the face from his left. His head tilted sideways as we stared at each other in puzzlement. His was more from surprise then damaged. He turned to see who it was, only to be greeted by a boot to the face by a small child. The mad jester was sent sliding a few feet to my left by one person.

The Cottonball Kid.

At that moment, pure relief and joy escaped my chest like a dam exploding. As I hooted without any self-awareness or feeling of embarrassment whatsoever. Then I remembered who they were dealing with and I quickly sobered up.

My mouth responded immediately while Killua was falling, gritting my teeth before speaking, the frustration mounting as I realized who the two I would be dealing with.

"Get the hell out of here you two! He only wants me!"

Killua landed from his kick with two deadly hands out, not in his pockets. That's not good, he's not in casual mode, at all. The strangest thing of all, he was sweating. I never saw Killua sweat before. He stared up at me with anger, concern, and... annoyance.

'You're a real idiot, ya' know that?! I take my eyes off you and you run into Hisoka! There's no way I'm leaving you behind, so you better just shut up now."

Gon ran up next to Killua's side and looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed. He was upset at the sight before him. I smelled like vomit too, so that didn't help.

Rage grown from my concern for the two children bubbled up inside me. My body shook with fury because of my absolute lack of control. Why won't they just listen to me? I won't let more people die. I refuse.

I closed my eyes in pain. Not in physical pain, but the pain you feel when you know you're about to do something terrible.

"Get out of here! I was lying the whole time. I didn't want to be friends, I was just using you. I was told by my Family to get close to you at the request of your family. So that I could convince you to go back," I said, spinning and believing, the best lie I could make up on the spot. My blessed mind trying to make the worst curse imaginable. I needed him to leave. I wanted him to leave.

I knew he ran away from home. He had to, his clothing was dirty and smelled something terrible when I cleaned them. He had no money or form of ID. He wasn't hungry, but it was easy to tell on the train he was like a street cat. Just wandering. Directionless. Like I was once, upon a time.

The two stared at me with concern in their eyes. Killua added subdued disappointment to his stare. That's it though. No shock, no anger, no disgust.

But they stood there! Why? GET AWAY!

"Don't you get it? We're not friends. You even said it yourself! I was paid to do this, that's all. Everything was a lie! Why would a mob bosses' son need a Hunter License, you idiot?" I felt hysterical. I was hysterical. I didn't want this to happen again.

Killua just shook his head while Gon looked pissed. Damn it!

I prepared another volley, only for Gon to cut me off.

"Stop it! I know you're concerned for us, but you don't have to be mean to Killua!"

Killua couldn't help but smirk as he looked away, "You're a crappy liar to the people you care for. You get too sincere in the eyes, old man. Besides, I already said there's no way I'm leaving you behind and only an idiot like you would tell their rescuers to go away. Anyone else would be desperate," he threw a thumb over his shoulder, "Also, Gon won't leave either, so you better stop right now before you sound any more pathetic."

Gon nodded, a smile of determination on his face. On the other hand, Killua was shaking and doing his best to stay composed.

"Killua's right. We both had a bad feeling and we were right, so we came back. We bumped into Kurapika and Leorio, who told us you were here. We aren't leaving here without you!"

That was wonderful, heartwarming, tear-jerking: I didn't give a fuck. I didn't want their deaths on my conscience.

"Then please, jus-"

My eyelids exploded wide as Hisoka appeared from practically thin air, his speed faster than even Killua. My horrified eyes landed on Killua as I saw the fear in his own eyes as his reflexes moved faster than his body could keep up to. The young Zoldyck's eyes began slowly turning to his right, the adrenaline of the moment making the world a grey still-life picture. To my surprise, Gon was slowly realizing what was happening, his reflexes a step or two behind me and Killua. But the surprise in his eyes was plain to see.

Slowly, so damn slowly, did I see Hisoka lift his right foot, his knee rising up to his chest with incredible flexibility and muscle control. Like a contortionist or dancer. Slowly, so damn slowly, I saw Hisoka's leg launch forward towards Killua, the boy's body only starting to react. Killua knew there was no way to escape the attack, yet I could see his body began to subconsciously adjust to defend himself. Even when he really, really couldn't. We both came to the same conclusion that Hisoka's attack was aimed at Killua's head. So Killua slowly turned his head away and leaned his upper body away from the kick, anticipating its force and velocity and choosing to roll his head with the kick to dissipate its damage.

From my frozen prison, all I could do was watch horrified as Hisoka's mouth slowly smiled

The clown landed the half dancer's push kick, half Sparta on the right side of Killua's body.

And then, suddenly, the limit of my adrenaline-fueled concentration ended. Time flowed as normal.

With a massive thumping sound, the bursting of air, and the displacement of fog, Killua was launched towards the floor like a rock being skimmed on a lake by a pro Baseball pitcher. But Killua's experience, skill, and instinct saved him after the first bounce against the ground. He twisted in his flight with cat-like balance and movement, instantly righting himself in the tenth of a second and skidding on the ground with his limbs. The momentum of the kick kept him going for a few more meters, his feet and his dagger-like nails digging into the ground as he finally arrived at a muddy stop. His eyes were wide with fear and killing instinct, or something because his eyes were wide-eyed fucking crazy.

Gon didn't have time to react as Hisoka turned to his left and swatted him away with the back of his hand. Gon flew backwards as he managed to block the attack, but I don't think Hisoka was even trying to hurt the boy. Just to give us some space. I went for the knives underneath my suit, but he grabbed both my arms just as I got to the opening of my jacket. He pinning them against my chest and shifting his hands so he only needed one to hold both of my wrists. His grip was steel.

"You've passed. Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to interfere in their test or my fun," he leaned in and whispered into my right ear. I wanted to scream "Quite the little manipulator, aren't you? Saying whatever to control your loved ones in an effort to save them. It gives me pins and needles. Especially a Zoldyck."

Hisoka leaned back. He pulled his fist bac-


In Killua and Gon's eyes, James fell backward as slowly as a leaf, but landed as hard and loud as a crashing tree. He wasn't moving.

Fury burned through Killua, even if he could tell James would be fine. The sight was still enough to send the young Zoldyck's bloodlust into overdrive. He wanted to fly forward and decapitate Hisoka. Or stab him through the heart with one clean strike. Anything that could or would put the clown down once and for all. All the different techniques and strategies flashed across Killua's mind, imagination and training giving him the brush and paint needed to depict the gruesome details.

But he stood there. Unable to move. Why couldn't he move? What did Hisoka say to James? Killua's hearing was superhuman, probably one of the best in the world, but even he couldn't pick up a concealed whisper from five meters away...

Killua's mind was a blur of thought:

What can I do? I can't win. James will die. I'm too weak. Should I run? No! I can't run! What's wrong with me?! What about Gon? Why is he standing there?! Doesn't he understand how strong Hisoka is?! A distraction maybe? That wouldn't work! Why can't I think?! What's wrong with me? I should run. No! Why can't I move forward?! Why can't I do anything?! Why am I so scared?! Why can't I go forward? Why?! What's wrong with me? What's wrong with me?!

Hisoka frowned. He took several steps forward, only for Killua to jump back to maintain the distance with every single step of the clown. Hisoka's frown deepened.

The Zoldyck wasn't ready, and Hisoka did not approve of what he saw. Even if the white-haired child was ready as a fighter. Such a waste, really. Hisoka's appetite was spoiled.

Illumi said not to go after Killua, but if Killua just so happened to come across Hisoka, it was self-defense... and who is to say what happened? A whisper here, an idea there. If someone were to hazard the Zoldyck's secret on the young heir, Hisoka couldn't be blamed if they found out all by themselves. Sheer coincidence without proof.

Hisoka didn't need to be told what was done to the Zoldyck. He inferred it all the moment Illumi told him to stay away from his younger brother. All from knowing Illumi's powers and motives. The child's reaction when Hisoka approached with his Aura on was all the proof he needed to deduce everything. Hisoka was just lucky the boy had come to him.

The jester sighed as he leaned his head back, a fishing lure fly past him. Being overprotective was poor parenting. Spare the rod and spoil the child. And Hisoka's fun...

Hisoka sighed again as he slid to the side. He turned to Gon and began approaching him, another attack with the lure flying past him as though he were made of the fog itself. Now that he wasn't consumed by his appetite his guard would always be up. The boy would never hit him. Well, maybe not until the next time he could let loose his appetite...

Hisoka turned around to look at the man on the floor. They seem to be friends with the redhead, who contained massive Nen potential. Talent attracts talent, and swords sharpen swords...

Oh no... just the thought of the seeds being planted now and what kind of fruit the Zoldyck would bear!

And this boy in the green. Just a magnificent body, muscles supple and flexible, yet hard as steel. The boy's focus, concentration, that intense glare. This child's potential was magnificent.

This man would be the fertilizer...

Oh no, he needed to go before he couldn't control himself again...

Sometimes Hisoka wondered why he was the way he was. He would quickly remember he didn't care. The warm feeling in his lower torso bubbling, shivering up his body as he felt bliss. Hisoka loved this feeling of ecstasy.

If the children could have seen the true, inner Hisoka superimposed on the one they saw, they would have been disgusted and disturbed. Instead, Hisoka's face was a mask of serene amusement.

As it always was.

Beep. Beep.

"That's enough," Hisoka said as he caught the fishing lure between his index and middle finger. After letting the boy flail about for the last minute without touching or hurting him, he was tired of this all. He had planned on choking the boy and tasting the hate, anger, fear, and pure despair that would no doubt appear on the green child's face. He had prepared to do it to the apprentice to Mayer, but he was rudely interrupted. The mood was gone. Mayer...

Oh, Mayer...

Maybe he could find him...

His stomach fluttered...

Hisoka frowned at the reality around him. He hated the phrase, 'Can't have your cake and eat it,' yet it was fitting for this moment. He planted the seeds for the harvest. He would have to be satisfied with the nibbles he took for now.

The clown crouched down to be at the boy's height and stared at Gon with a smile, "Don't worry, I didn't kill your friend. He's fine You see, he's going to be just fine."

Gon stared back at Hisoka, his fists balled up and his glare fierce. But his body was shaking with a mixture of fear and excitement. Fear of what to expect and excitement for the challenge.

"And that's because he passed," Hisoka said, finishing with a laugh. More than passed.

He smiled at Gon with a smile that a clown would give a child when giving a balloon animal, "And yes, you and your friend over there have passed as well. Now go and become good Hunters."

And reach your fullest potential.

All five of you.


Author's Notes:

Hey everyone! I hope you all are doing well and continue to do well!

Just to clarify a few things, I'm using an amalgamation of the different universes. So, like if you're wondering why Kurapika has bladed weapons, well the 1999 version of the anime (which is really bad in the sense that it is nothing like Hunter X Hunter or follows its plot, but has interesting stuff in it. It's not a bad show, honestly) Kurapika's weapons were actually swords, but he used the bokken. I think that fits his character very well since he's kind of person who only uses lethal force when necessary, but otherwise hides how deadly he really is. It's sad, 'cause he never uses those weapons again after the Hunter Exam. This universe is primarily set in the 2011 version, but I've taken what I liked from the 1999 version that wouldn't harm or change the story.

Hehehe, now you guys are starting to see the butterfly effects, the ripples... And I don't know what's worse: Being untalented in a world of Hunter X Hunter and being part of the Mafia, or being talented in Nen in the World of Hunter X Hunter, having Hisoka's interest and being part of extradimensional Mafia tasked with some dangerous mission in the future.

I rather go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for this all to blow over.

Thank you, everyone, who has reviewed. I appreciate them immensely! I hope you all stay safe and healthy, as well as all your loved ones. This chapter came out on 4/12/2020, or Easter Sunday, so for those who celebrate, enjoy! For those who don't celebrate, you enjoy as well!

See you next chapter. Rondo out.