A/N: I'm so sorry I've been gone. I started a new job, and I got a kitten (he had an URI so he's a very sick boi). Here's a new chapter tho! It's a long boi, so hopefully you all don't hate me! :(

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Chapter 7: Camp Hell Part 1

I had watched Hisoka leave off the boat. With most things in his life, he took his time and moved deliberately slow. He didn't have a care in the world. My eyes narrowed on his back – he was the reason why I had even made it this far. I should have dipped out during the first stage of the exam in the woods, but his threat was very real.

When I said that he was the reason that I made it this far – I was not thankful in the least. The only thing I wanted to do was sleep on Pokkle's couch in his apartment and drink until my kidneys fail and fall apart. That, and gorge myself on food until I gained at least fifteen pounds.

I was too stressed out to even think about a good strategy. I still didn't really know what I was going to do about the badges. I didn't know how I was going to protect my own since I was barely adept in shooting arrows. I was absolutely certain that I couldn't overtake a lot of the participants that were remaining on the boat with the exception of maybe the two twelve year olds.

There was no way I was going to beat up a kid – I was not that shallow.

I wasn't aware of my finger tapping nervously on my arm until a hand grabbed onto my shoulder.

"Want to wait for me somewhere?" Pokkle's voice asked, bringing me back to reality. Pursing my lips in mild irritation, I glanced over to him. Here my younger brother was again thinking that he had to protect me.

I was starting to get a little sick of it…

"We can meet at the highest spot. Day four sound good?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. Okay, Whatever," I waved him off as I began to walk over to where the ramp was. I had no intention of actually waiting for my brother. I just had a feeling – a very creepy feeling down in my soul that I wasn't ever alone even when I was.

That there was something watching over me.

Hisoka was out of sight and it was only a literal matter of time before my name was called. I had finished in second place from the tower of terror. That was the only good thing that came from that scarring mess of an experience. Along with finding out that I might have split personality disorder…

Or that I might have a powerful demon inside of me.

That newfound discovery certainly would make any person have a good day.

I scratched my head in frustration – fuck me. I wished that I had never been roped into Pokkle's Hunter agenda. During this time I would be nursing a hangover and getting ready to go out on the town for the night. My life would still be bliss and I would still be ignorant and everything would be relatively simple.

Fuck me indeed.

Still, I was here. This was now, and you can't cry over spilled milk. My next words were let out in a grumble below my breath. "Good luck, Pok." I hoped that he would be able to come out on top during this next phase.

"Shouldn't I be saying that to you?" Pokkle taunted with a teasing smirk on his face. I couldn't help but smirk back at him as well as flipping him off with a very forceful middle finger. He didn't seem deterred from making his point, even with my somewhat fowl sign language directed towards him. "Your luck is total garbage."

I waved at him and then descended the ramp when my name was called. Once my feet hit the ground of the soil, I instantly started to run towards the middle of the island. The quiver was bouncing up and down on my back by my quick sprint.

It felt honestly amazing to just run away from the crowd of people. I was never an extrovert and being around the same people for so long was making me sick.

No…

For real.

I was finding a good place to puke as bile rose in the back of my throat. I kept running and reached a large, towering tree. Placing my hand on the bark of it, I heaved out anything in my stomach. My fingers curled into the base of the tree as my heaves were violent and loud. It was mostly liquid and not a lot of solid foods.

Rolling my eyes, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

It was due to stress.

I didn't need to go to the doctor's to know that. I had been too stressed out in such a short time frame that it had finally caught up to me.

I was a little shocked that I hadn't puked earlier, to be honest.

Taking a look up at the tree, I then looked down at the vomit by the base of the tree. I let out a frown, "I'm not staying in a tree with my puke by it…"

I had standards – I didn't have very high standards, but this was one of them. It was bad enough on the days that I would drink myself into a coma only to wake up drenched in my own vomit and spilled liquor.

That wouldn't take my only love away from me, though.

She could hurt and abuse me all she wanted and cause me to hurl all over myself. I'll always go back to her and let her influence me softly with her beautiful words and tantalizing viscous liquids.

Drink. Vomit. Pass out. Repeat.

The life I long to go back to.

I slapped my hands on my face. "Stop thinking about alcohol for five fucking seconds…!" I whispered under my breath with a roll of my eyes. "You damn alcoholic…" I trudged my feet forward and began to look for a tree that would suit my very low standards.

I remained perched in my tree with my bow equipped with a tranquilizer arrow.

When I had woken up from the tower of terror for the last time, I only had the one tranquilizer left in my arsenal. I had a creeping suspicion that Hisoka had something to do with it, but I wasn't sure. It's not like I was going to ask him if he messed with my shit.

That would involve talking to him and getting within talking distance.

Two things that I didn't particularly want to do.

Hopefully I could run into an older participant. Being nervous and not very patient, I began to pick at the skin of my bottom lip. Staring intently around my surveillance area, I caught the sight of an older man from the corner of my eyes. I grinned as I prepped my bow and aimed it to hit the man in the leg.

When I was ready to shoot, I let out a sneeze. It was a silent one, luckily. My body lurched forward and I blinked my eyes. Looking back down, the older man was gone. "Oh…Fuck me…!" I whispered, rolling my eyes as I prepared myself to jump down from the tree.

Landing on my feet expertly, I held the bow and arrow in my hands as I looked around the area cautiously. Lightly moving on the tips of my feet, I eyed the forest as though a rabid beast would emerge from them.

Which, hell, it might as well.

People don't mind killing each other during this exam, or some other fuck shit might appear out of the bushes. This entire exam was bullshit.

Shaking my head, I kept walking around the area. After about five minutes of wandering, I approached a body of water. Gon, the boy in green clothes was chilling on the other side. Squinting my eyes, it looked like he was fishing. He was swinging his pole madly around. Raising an eyebrow, I chose to glance at the water.

If I remembered right, he was one of the last people to emerge from the tower along with Leorio.

That meant that most of the participants were already on the island.

I had wasted that much time and hadn't managed to find a single badge that I could take. "I'm so pathetic…" I muttered, flopping down across the lake. Some birds flew out from a nearby bush, causing Gon to turn his head to look at me.

We met eye contact, and his face was emotionless. He probably thought I was after his badge. Even if I was after his badge, I wouldn't take it from a kid.

I waved at him, flashing him a peace sign with my hand. I wanted to show that I was friendly and that I wasn't an enemy. We stared at each other before he slowly grinned. He began running along the outskirts of the lake.

I watched as he ran over towards me.

I began to sweat – the walking, breathing bacterial cesspool was coming towards me.

"Hey!" Gon exclaimed with a grin. He had a large and ignorantly blissful smile. I tried to smile back, but it was forced. I hoped that it came off as friendly. I wasn't good with kids – understatement, I detested and hated them. "You're Kaila, right?" He was now standing next to me. I had to act natural and respond like a normal human being. "Leorio talks about you a lot."

It took me a few seconds to understand those words and concentrate on not moving from my spot on the ground.

I felt like a damn computer trying to process the information.

"Oh, he does, does he?" I appeared not interested, but my body shifted into a more natural position. I placed my knees underneath me. Gon sat down with a smile. I eyed how close he was. How close he and his hidden bacteria was to me. "Yeah…" I trailed out. "Leorio is my friend," I boasted, placing my pink hair behind my shoulders.

Gon placed his hands on his knees. "There was this lady that tried to get him to touch her, but he said that he was waiting for you and that he wasn't going to spoil or cheat..." Gon frowned. I blinked as I took in the information. He probably didn't understand what Leorio was talking about – but I did. Leorio was such a gentleman. He was waiting for me. "Whatever that means!" Gon chuckled as he placed a hand to the back of his head. "Well, I think I have an idea…But…"

I stared at him and then smiled timidly. I wanted to change the conversation. It wasn't the right time to be talking about future relationships. Clearing my throat, I opened my mouth. "I'm surprised that your squad isn't together."

"Squad?" Gon questioned and then giggled. Okay, I'm not going to lie. That giggle was fucking adorable. "You mean my friends!" He nodded. I watched how his eyes shined brightly when talking about them. "We all went our separate ways. We can handle ourselves."

I looked him up and down, judging him. I wasn't very secretive about my action, but he didn't seem to be offended by it. Twelve year old that look like he'd get mauled by a bear when the sun set? "Yeah…Okay…" I muttered out. He smiled again at me. I had to turn away so that way I wouldn't be blinded by his excited and happy energy.

Did this kid have sunshine flakes for breakfast or something?

There was no way that he could be this happy all the time…

My eyes widened – was he on drugs?

I looked back over at him. He was looking at towards the lake, a grin on his face. Studying him for a few seconds, I narrowed my eyes before shaking my head with resolution.

He couldn't have been on drugs he's what…twelve?

I had Pokkle's words echoing in my head back at the tower. He said that I killed the Riven all by myself and I was only thirteen at the time. Then again, I doubt that Gon had some strange homicidal, demented, memory loss inducing demon that took over his body.

That's definitely what I'm calling it now.

"Which number did you pick?" I asked, and he slowly turned to look at me. "Clearly…" I paused for effect. "It's not mine," I raised an eyebrow. "And I didn't draw yours," I shook my head before choosing to shrug carelessly. "Though, I don't even remember your number to begin with. I have…" I trailed, knowing that I had very little that I actually remembered from my life. "A bad time remembering shit."

He looked down at the lake. I was waiting for his reply, but he was silent for a while. I furrowed my eyebrows in thought – it couldn't be that bad. It's not like he had picked Hisoka. What were the chances in that?

"H-Hiksoka."

My mouth fell open. "Oh my…!" I slapped a hand over my mouth. Shaking my head I let out a nervous laugh. "Wow…" I placed my hands in my lap. I strummed my fingers against my legs. I was still in disbelief. That kid was going to get mauled. He was going to get hurt. There was no way that he was actually going to go for Hisoka's badge. "Here I thought the universe hated me, but it must hate you even more!"

Gon was silent. I pursed my lips and looked to the side, almost ashamed of my outburst. I knew that I wasn't good with kids. This only validated my point. This kid must be scared to death.

A quick look in his eyes and I could see the timid smile on his face – the shaking of his eyes. I cleared my throat. "Listen…"I strummed my fingers on my knee lightly. I was going to regret the next words that came out of my mouth. "I'll help you get it."

I saw the boy stiffen from beside me. "Why?" Gon asked with genuine confusion on his face. I rolled my eyes and waved off his concern.

"If he's gone then it's easier for me," I spoke, but my heart was beating faster and faster at even imagining being close to Hisoka. I didn't know what it was – it might have been fear. It might have even been a small amount of lust.

I spat to the side of myself with disgust – I could almost taste sugar.

Why the hell did I taste sugar when I thought of him?

Gross, Kaila!

Gon perked up at my action. Glaring at the ground, I scolded myself for ever even thinking that possibility. The sooner that Hisoka is gone, the sooner that I can relax. I needed him gone – he needed to go. That was that and nothing more.

"We need to find him. Luckily for you I'm a country girl so I won't slow you down."

"I was also raised in the country!" Gon excitedly responded.

"For real?" I looked at him. "What island?"

Gon grinned. "Whale island!"

"That is really far out there…" I began to remember the geographical locations in my head. My best subject was unfortunately geography in school, and so I had memorized the established world map in my head at an early age. "That's a port, isn't it?" I stood up to my feet. He hopped to his. I admired his energy and wished I could be as energetic as he was.

The liver damage that I probably had was probably one of those factors. Drinking is a blessing and a curse in disguise. She kills you softly with her love.

Gon nodded and I crossed my arms. There wasn't any time to think about our homelands. Now was the time to think and strategize. "Okay, so, any idea on where he might be?"

"No," Gon said with such absolution that I couldn't help the disgust that spread on my face. A large frown slowly started to form. He smiled which caused me to still. "But, I do have a plan on how to find him!"

My eyebrows perked up at that.

"So I'll get behind and you'll push," I whispered to Gon as we walked through the forest.

"What does that mean?" Gon looked over at me with a tilted head. I rolled my eyes and let out a scoff. I waved him off, silently telling him to not worry about it. I knew that such a simple and violent tactic wouldn't throw Hisoka off guard. I doubted that I would even be able to get behind Hisoka. That, and I honestly had no idea how I was going to get Hisoka's badge off of him.

He was way too powerful, and he scared me.

That's right.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm fucking scared of the clown.

For the record, a shit ton of people are scared of clowns…I just have a particular clown that I'm scared of.

Gon snuck into the bushes, but I didn't get the memo as I continued to walk. Hisoka was sitting right against a tree, eyeing a red butterfly that managed to land on his hand.

Shit.

Shit…!

Shit! Fuck!

I stopped moving, feeling my blood freeze in my veins. I knew that we were looking for Hisoka, but I didn't anticipate on seeing him this fucking quickly. Looking around for Gon quickly, I took a step back only to step on a stick. The sound wasn't very loud, but in a quiet forest with the tense atmosphere, it was deafening.

Hisoka's eyes flew to meet my own.

The universe was back to hating me again…

Fucking great.

"Kaila," he spoke out in adoration. It sent shivers down my spine. I made sure to keep my body as still as possible and not give anything away. I hoped that he wouldn't be able to see just how uncomfortable he made me. The last thing I wanted was to give him any ideas. "I was wondering when we would meet."

"You meant if we were going to meet."

He responded with a tight lipped smile. There was a feeling of dread that I felt. There was no 'if' by Hisoka's reaction. He was going to find me on this island on one day or another and it was only a matter of when.

That was enough for more bile to rise in my throat.

I forced it down – I was not going to puke in front of anyone. I wasn't going to let anyone look down on me. I had to remain strong – I was here to help Gon. I was going to help Leorio's friend get Hisoka's badge.

I only now realized just how fucking dumb this plan was.

"Come closer," his voice was dark and controlling.

"Fuck no," I spat out in disbelief. I gave no indication of coming any closer to him, and instead placed a foot behind me instead. I knew that Gon was around here in the bushes somewhere. I hoped that he wouldn't come out.

I was going to be a coward and run.

Fuck this plan. Fuck this clown. Fuck this exam.

He pointed at me, which caused me to glare at him.

This bitch…

I didn't know why, but that only caused me to get even angrier at the man. "You can point at me all you want, but that's not-!"

I began to fly towards him when he ushered me forward with his pointed finger.

I was being pulled by that damn invisible force again!

Digging my feet into the ground, I tried to tie a string around an arrow and quickly shoot it at a tree. But, I wasn't nearly fast enough before I collided with Hisoka's chest. I heard my arrow hit the ground a good few feet away, which meant that my plan hadn't worked.

Another plan that hadn't worked – I am on such a roll today!

Once I realized where I was, I quickly tried to scramble away from him. "You want to leave?" Hisoka complained. I didn't turn to see his face but I knew that he was pouting. The only thing that I was focusing was on my fight or flight instincts – and I was planning to soar high liked a fucking dodo bird because I had never been so terrified.

I managed to turn my leg and dig my right foot into the dirt.

"You just got here, Kaila. No need to be so rude."

I felt a tug around me again. I swallowed and breathed in deeply as I slammed into his chest once more. When my head hit his chest, my eyes were trained on his badge. It was proudly displayed on his chest. Blinking my eyes, I forced them to reluctantly meet his piercing yellow ones.

"Y-Yeah," I stuttered and then cleared my throat forcefully. I tried to not show him any ounce of fear that was spreading rapidly through my body. I couldn't help my instincts – the cold stare of his when he wasn't smiling or even when he was…it was enough to cause someone to be intimidated. Or become frozen on the spot.

I had to shake away my stillness, and stiffness. Gon and I hadn't exactly come up with a plan. Well, I was sure that Gon had one, but I had absolutely no clue on what to do when we actually found Hisoka. Acting on the fly, I tried a slight seduction technique. "I was being so rude…" My hand trembled as I slowly raised it and trailed my fingers up his chest.

It was clothing, but I felt awfully embarrassed by what I was doing.

Not to mention there was a damn twelve year old hiding in the bushes…most likely watching my actions.

I stopped what I was doing when I saw the intense gaze in his eyes.

He grabbed my fingers with his hand. My eyes went wide - abort the plan! Abort! Shit! "The game that you're playing, Kaila…" He let out a chuckle from his throat. The tips of my fingers tried to curl from fear but I forced them to remain straight. They began to tremble again. "I know it well."

"W-What game am I playing?" I asked quickly. My heart began to pound in my chest. I stared at him, but my entire body was shaking. Despite how much I wanted to pretend that I wasn't scared, Hisoka could break through my walls as if they were a fickle piece of glass.

"Am I your target?" Hisoka asked.

I stared at his face.

What would he do if I was? He wanted me to keep going in the exam, didn't he? Would he willingly give up his badge if I said yes? Evan if it was at the expense of his own safety?

"Yes," I spoke without any hesitation. If Hisoka gave his badge to me, then I would just give it to Gon anyways. I had no intention of keeping his vile number. Anything related to him I wanted to wash my hands of.

There was a pause between the two of us.

"Didn't I tell you back at the tower that I despise liars?"

I froze. Bile rose in the back of my throat again. "D-Did you?" I played dumb. He stared at me with his cold expression before he smiled. He took a strand of my hair, to which I tensed. "Don't touch me, Hisoka." I whispered out weakly.

He dropped his hold on my hair. It fell loosely to the side. I held in a breath of relief.

"Did you want me to help you, Kaila?" I looked down at the ground. I couldn't handle looking up into those judgmental and merciless eyes of his. "Why else would you be here if not for my assistance?" He leaned closer to me. I tried to once again get away from him by leaning my face away. "We worked well together back in the tower, didn't we?"

I stared at his face. "I'm capable of taking care of myself."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Are you?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Let me go and I'll prove it to you," I haughtily spoke. I dropped my fear and put on some of my bravado that came from nowhere. He looked at me and then released his hold on me. I fell backward onto the ground. He never broke eye contact with me, instead he slowly licked his bottom lip with his tongue. I withheld the urge to shiver.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Kaila. If you do not have your assigned badge or badges at that time then I will make sure you do."

I crawled some before quickly stumbling onto my feet. I ran away, dropping something discretely into the bushes where I hoped that Gon was. Then, I sprinted as I kept running into the darkness. I stopped when I felt a pair of eyes on me.

I couldn't breathe as my eyes landed on a tree. I couldn't see him, but I felt his intense stare. It was the stare of a predator – one that I had unfortunately been well acquainted with thanks to Hisoka and the prisoner back at the tower.

"Who the hell are you?" I muttered out into the deceptively empty forest.

"You can sense me?" The man's voice asked. He walked out with a blow dart in his right hand. "That's impressive. As impressive as handing that boy in the bushes Hisoka's badge." He smirked. I narrowed my eyes and reached for an arrow that was inside of my quiver. There was no way that I would be able to get to an arrow before he had time to launch his attack.

As if he could read my thoughts, he let out a knowing smirk. "Do you think that you'll be faster than me?"

My hand froze, the tips of my fingers brushing a few feathers on the arrow. "I don't think so…" I responded. The man waited for my next snarky remark but I was silent. He raised a hesitant eyebrow. "That's it," I spoke bluntly. I could have sworn I saw his form falter a small amount – no doubt disappointed by my lack of fight and discouraging words. "I don't think I could. I'm a lousy archer."

The man smirked. "Then allow me to do the favor of relieving you of your badge." He took another step. He was on the younger side and looked to be well built. There was no way that I would be able to take him in hand to hand combat, but I knew that I had to try. I wouldn't let him take my badge…that was for sure.

"Am I your target?" I questioned, getting ready to launch my first attack.

"No…" He spoke. There was a pause. "But I can't very well let you leave now that I've seen you," I wanted to stab an arrow through his eye and his attitude. I had a lot of pent up aggression that was just begging to be released.

I let out a loud sigh trying to calm my nerves. "Eat shit, dude…"

He chuckled at that. He raised his blow dart but before he could put it up to his mouth, a hand landed on my shoulder. I stiffened as sharp nails dug into my skin. I already knew who was behind me. "Kaila. You shouldn't throw my things into bushes…" A voice spoke lowly into my ear.

My eyes widened – Hisoka knew that I had taken his badge earlier. He knew I had thrown it into the bushes. He didn't know about Gon…at least…not yet.

I hoped.

"Hisoka…" The man trailed, taking a step. I wasn't aware of just how much sweat was starting to form on my face. I had seen what Hisoka could do – we all could see what he could do back in the first stage of the exam. This man was asking for it, and another man would be dead in front of me. I was seeing a lot of death for a license exam.

So much death.

He would be another one.

Hisoka wasn't going to stop killing.

"Ah…You're the number I need…" Hisoka looked at the man with sadistic glee. A warped smile began to spread across his face. He removed his hand from me. I collapsed onto the ground as I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Well, it looks like my Kaila has helped me…" He glanced at me, the leering and possessiveness in his eyes was enough nightmare fuel for a good week and a half for me.

His next words only solidified the need to get the hell away from him: "Such a good girl."

It was the purr in his voice. The complete and utter satisfaction when he said it. My fingers wrapped themselves into the dirt and I felt my chest rise and fall quickly.

Hisoka rose a playing card up in the air. It was being held with just two fingers. The other man looked at him. He took a step back, about to retreat into the woods. Hisoka tossed the card at the blow dart, causing it to be sliced all the way through. I quickly stood up to my feet and took just took one single step before I was yanked backwards and fell onto the ground harshly.

My hands caught my fall. I lifted my head up, pink hair strands obscuring my vision. Looking up at Hisoka, I noticed the intense gaze he was looking at me with. It reminded me of all the other times he looked at me with filtered anger. The look always reared its ugly head whenever I was flirting with Leorio.

"Stay. Kaila."

A cold sweat reappeared on my face. My entire body started to shake again. I didn't listen and instead resorted to crawling on the ground. The man let out a suffocating gasp and then I heard a large body tumble to the ground. I hadn't made it very far – I had only crawled a couple of feet away from the homicidal clown. I closed my eyes and stiffened.

"I told you to stay," Hisoka whispered into my ear.

I let out a yelp of surprise as I slapped my hands over my ears. I didn't know how he had gotten that close to me so quickly!

"Leave me alone, Hisoka!" I yelled, not knowing how to feel towards the man in front of me. I was scared of him. Terrified and felt a severe level of anxiety by how he murders people relentlessly and mercilessly. "I'm not your target. You're not mine-!" I breathed out shakily. "Please, leave me alone!"

I tried to curl my head towards my body, but his hand dug into my shoulder. He yanked me up from where I was on the ground. No longer on my knees, I quickly looked away from him. I slammed my lips closed and tightly closed my eyes.

"Kaila. Whenever I don't expect anything of you, you always amuse me in some little way."

"Shut up!" I yelled, not wanting to hear his voice.

"Why?" He asked, and the question caught me off guard. I opened up my eyes quickly to look at him. He was looking at me with a tilted head, observing me. It seemed he was doing a lot of that with me. It was as though he had never seen another female before. It was worrying me – there was a small amount of obsessiveness I could see in those orbs of his. I swallowed, not being able to answer him. "When you wind yourself up is when the show begins. When you feel in danger is when your nen awakens."

My eyes widened. He tossed me onto the ground roughly. My back was slammed against the dirt and I let out a cough as I turned on my side to try and breathe. The wind was knocked out of me, and my hair was back in my face.

This man…

No, this monster was insane!

"You might like it rough, you clown bastard, but I never said I did!" I sarcastically spat out.

"Really?" He trailed out, squatting down beside me. Then, he forced his body over mine. My heart was pounding loudly and I placed both of my hands on his chest when he leaned his body closer. I let out a gasp of surprise and then forced my head to look away from him. I strained my neck to get as far away as I could.

"Get away from me!" I yelled, not feeling safe.

He chuckled once or twice. I didn't know. His voice sounded far away. I was panicking so much that my vision and hearing began to get distorted. "Show it to me."

"H-Help!" I yelled out.

He gripped my wrists tightly with his hands. His nails were digging into my skin, and I could see a trail of red liquid emerge from my wrist. He had cut me – he didn't care about my safety at all. I blinked away the tears that started to blur my vision and they trailed down my cheeks. He moved his face closer until it was inches away from mine.

"N…!" I tried to yell but the word died in my throat. I stared wide eyed at him. "N-No!" I stuttered out. I forced my voice to be heard. "Help!" I screeched. He opened his mouth and licked his tongue on my face, successfully getting rid of a tear trail on my right cheek. I cringed and closed my eyes tightly.

I had to get away!

Had to get away!

He was going to hurt me!

My body began to get hot. It felt as though I were entering an oven. My insides were on fire and there was a desperate need to cool off my body. Sweat was starting to form on my face.

"That's right, Kaila. Little helpless girl…" Hisoka taunted. "Who will come to help you?"

My fingertips started to tingle and I opened up my eyes to look him in his. His yellow orbs were focused and wouldn't move away from my face. He wanted to see my reactions like a perverted creep. I struggled to breathe because I knew that I would inhale his scent – he disgusted me.

He disgusted and terrified me.

The winds started to pick up, and the trees on the leaves rustled intensely. I was vaguely aware of what was happening around the two of us. I glared over at Hisoka who was smiling at me. He wanted something to happen…

He had seen the other side of me on the airship. It must have excited him seeing a powerful force. I didn't remember anything, and when I didn't remember anything it was when the other me took control – the demon.

I was nothing but an unconscious soul when that happened and it scared me.

But…I was scared right now.

Hisoka was going to do something to me.

I didn't know what…I didn't want to know.

I just wanted it all to stop!

Stop!

The winds picked up again. I continued to glare at him and clenched my fingers tightly. My hair flew wildly around me. The ends of it became a lighter pink color as it made its way up towards my scalp. Hisoka was watching with delight.

His eyes were wide with interest and curiosity.

I felt something powerful try and dig its way from the depth of my mind – it craved control and wanted to be released. I was about to relinquish everything to it…

Then Hisoka was forced off of me. I blinked my eyes as I could breathe normally again. Looking over to the side I saw Gon who was holding his fishing rod in his hands shakily. He let out a few loud breaths before he ran over towards me.

The wind subsided and there was a calming peace to the area.

"Kaila! Are you okay?" Gon questioned, leaning down beside me. I stared at him and blinked my eyes. Then, I looked over to see Hisoka place a hand up to his cheek. It was the spot where the end of the fishing rod had struck him. A cold smile was on his face as he looked between me and Gon. "Stay away from her!" He stood in front of me protectively.

My mind was muddled – I had a hard time thinking about what to do. It was completely fried. I stared at Hisoka. Not feeling my legs underneath me, I made it to my feet and stared at him. Then, I fell backwards and felt my eyes close. I just wanted to rest. I opened my eyes to see Hisoka and Gon start fighting, but I couldn't find it in me to help him.

My hair was turning back to its original color.

A hand found its way onto my forehead, brushing some of the hair from my face. Blinking my eyes, I turned to find a disembodied arm emerging from my back. My breath hitched in my throat. Something about this seemed so familiar. "Kaila. Sleep…" I have heard the voice from before. It echoed inside of my mind. "Forget."

"N…No…" I whispered out. "I don't want to sleep…!" I shook my head weakly. "I don't…want to forget…!"

The fingers were gentle, they wanted to protect me from all the bad things that were happening around me. I wanted to give into it. I didn't want to remember. I just wanted to sleep.

There was a yelp that I knew belonged to Gon. The fingers disappeared instantly as I shook my head roughly. Gon was flung backwards, which caused my entire body to sit up. I was shaken from my trance and forced back into the real world. It felt like an adrenaline rush. The arm vanished into nothingness while I got up to my feet and caught the boy in my arms. We skidded backwards before we both fell to the ground. "Take it…" Hisoka threw his badge at Gon's feet.

I blinked my eyes and then looked up at the man. "I don't want it…!" Gon growled through clenched teeth.

"I won't accept it back until you can land a hit on me…" He tapped his cheek. "Just like the hit I gave you…" His eyed landed on me. I flinched while holding Gon tighter in my arms. "Kaila…" He began to walk over to where we were. My eyes searched wildly around me for something to use as a weapon. My grip on Gon tightened again. "We were interrupted before. We had been making such great progress."

I closed my eyes tightly. There wasn't anything that I could do to stop him. He was going to hurt me. He was going to hurt Gon.

Hisoka ran into an invisible barrier.

"Hmm?" He hummed out. I opened my eyes to see him tapping in the air. I even saw the area that he was touching start to ripple. "What is this?" His eyes landed on mine. "A new skill?" A smirk was appearing on his face.

My heart was beating rapidly in my chest. I grabbed Hisoka's badge that was on the ground next to the kid. Gon began to yell out in protest angrily. "I don't-!"

"Shut the fuck up!" I yelled out, gripping him tightly in my arms. He stopped struggling as I held him under an arm and then ran quickly away. I didn't spare Hisoka another glance. I kept running, hoping that the barrier that I know that I somehow manifested would be enough to hold him off.

Panting through the forest, I didn't stop.

I didn't stop running even though my chest was burning.

Tears were streaming down my face, and Gon looked up at me. "Hey, Kaila-!" He began to say, but at seeing the state that I was in, he stopped. I slowly stopped running and then collapsed to my knees. "Kaila…" Gon squirmed out from underneath my arm while sitting in front of me on his knees. "Kaila, are you…?"

I continued to cry and just wanted to cover my face. I looked up at the barely visible forest in front of me.

I didn't want to do this.

Hisoka's demented face flashed in my mind.

I wanted to go home.

Hisoka licking my face.

I needed my brother.

Hisoka's grip on my wrists.

I just wanted someone-!

Out of nowhere, Gon hugged me tightly. I stopped crying and stilled. His little arms were wrapped around my body. This little child was comforting me. I sniffled and wiped away some of the tears that ran down my cheeks. I was stunned for a moment and I took this moment to breathe slowly. "I'm sorry that I wasn't fast enough."

I returned his hug with my own. I held him tightly to me – this child. This twelve year old child that seemed to ward away the bad thoughts that I was having. I never thought that I would receive a hug - I was never a hugger. I hated all that physical touch bullshit. But, this felt nice. It felt right and I realized that maybe I didn't dislike hugs at all anymore. "Thank you, Gon."

We stayed like that for a few more seconds. The sun was starting to set. "Yeah," he responded back. For the moment there was peace. I could catch my breath and compose my emotions.

To be continued...