He was slightly disappointed so far. This year, just like the last, had no interesting fruits to be plucked, though he was still holding out hope for a few unripe ones to show up. But the rest… why, they were all just rotten or overripe! Just his luck…
Well, if nothing else his very~ good friend, Illumi, was here to brighten his day. And the tiny untouchable fruit that was his brother was wandering somewhere in the crowd too, of course. But no matter how much he wanted to go looking, to assess the potential of that forbidden fruit, doing so outside of the parameters of the Hunter Exam Phases would just set off Illumi… and as much fun as he'd get out of a true fight from that one-! It really wasn't worth it because then he'd just have unhappy Zoldycks after him. He wanted glorious, visceral fights, not to be hunted like a wolf, thank you very much.
As the exam began- and it turned out to be something very boring for the first phase, ugh- Hisoka decided to start searching a different way. If he had scared the little fruits into hiding with his earlier show, well, then he'd just have to sniff them out. He started with gentle bursts of Ren (causing quite a few contestants to trip over themselves to get away) but ended up hooking nothing. That was fine. They could still be scared~. He was very scary after all. So he sent out a wave of En, and, oooohhh!
He should have done that earlier!
There were quite a few pings, most were latent but that was fine because he was only looking for potential right now. Hisoka hummed as he narrowed in on the few people he'd managed to tag with his En. One was unsurprisingly, Illumi- who'd brushed his nen away with annoyance, knowing exactly what he was doing- so he ignored him and moved on. Another was the examiner, also not a surprise, but up near the front and close to the Hunter examiner was a bald man who, he vaguely remembered, had been telling anyone and everyone who would listen that he was a ninja. He'd keep an eye on him but he was latent, not even a single aura node open.
Near the back was a cluster of four, no five? Yes, five. He'd have to get closer to them to figure out their potential separately. But he made sure to try to memorize their unique feelings before moving on. There were one or two latents next to him but considering how they'd all scurried away before he really had no interest in them. With not even a spark of will they were useless to him. Fruits that looked appetizing on the outside but were quite sour when you took a bite. He'd run into plenty of those and they always left him feeling more bloodthirsty than usual. That just wouldn't do so early on!
Now for the only other awakened nen user… Hm. He was closer to the back, not quite as far as the little cluster but Hisoka would only need to slow down his rhythm a bit and he'd be close in just a few minutes~!
Waiting was always such a delicious torture! Hisoka had learned the hard way that patience paid off more than instant gratification. He'd never get to see a fruit ripen if he couldn't learn the art of restraint, after all. Mmm, but that didn't mean he didn't suffer in the interim. His excitement for the hunt could get so painful and yet it felt so goood-
Something thunked into the back of his head, pulling him from his thoughts. There'd been no malicious intent… or any type of intent really. An accident perhaps? Still, how annoying to pull him away from his thoughts so rudely. He glanced down at his hand that had snatched up the offending object almost automatically. It was a rather expensive phone with a writing application open. And an… interesting list? It almost seemed like a reminder list. Hm.
He glanced behind him to see where it had come from and- oh. Oh! One of the little clusters' fruits was separated from the bunch! Not only that but, he was not nearly so latent as he'd thought earlier. Definitely not fully awakened but enough that it snagged Hisoka's attention. He could check out the awakened later, they'd be easier to find after all (as long as they didn't use Zetsu but they hadn't yet so far-). Right now he had a precious little ripening fruit to go check out~!
He dropped back with a blissful hum, making sure to fall into step with the tiny little fruit. The little thing was completely covered with a beige desert robe, much too large for them but it looked like the bottom had been hemmed sloppily. Hmm. A little desert thief mayhap? It wouldn't explain the phone, though… unless that was stolen too? My, my, he might have a quick one on his hands! Yes, he could see it now, a little desert rat scurrying to and fro collecting new items with each person passed. And if the little thief didn't just give him the most wonderful reminder of that fight he's so longingly waiting for, hmmmm~!
He licked his lips, heat stirring in his lower gut. But he couldn't be distracted now!
Hisoka forced his mind back onto the little rat in front of him and allowed a smirk to settle on his lips. Time to see just how much potential this unripe fruit had.
Keeping his pace even with shorter strides to match the little one's pace, he bent lower aiming to get a glance under the hood. And if it put him closer than most people would be comfortable with? Well, discomfort was just a fact of life and he'd love to see how the child- they were definitely young and not just small, their nen gave them away- handled it. Would they fluster? Would they ignore it?
"I believe you owe me an apology, little rat~."
"Ah." Their voice was a little raspy but neither high nor low in pitch. Hm, no gender given away there. Ah well, not too important. It's not like he truly cared about gender, he only wanted the thrill of the fight. They continued flatly, "Sorry."
Hm. They seemed to be in control outwardly but standing this close he could feel the little fluctuations in their nen. He actually was making them uncomfortable.
Well now. He wanted to see if he could crack their exterior. Make them turn towards him, acknowledge him as the very real threat that he is. So, he let his bloodthirst leak into his aura and pushed a little Ren to wrap around the kid.
"Now, that doesn't sound very sincere~! Want to try again?"
There it was! A hitch in his breath, stumbling steps and-
Hisoka was not at all ready for the sudden blast of nen to spike dangerously close to his face as if it was trying to actually snap at him. Then it was gone, instead wrapping around the child in a cloak of Ten.
How-?
Hisoka stared, golden eyes wide, only still running because his body had fallen into auto-pilot the moment the surprise had stalled his higher cognitive functions. After a moment of staring, his breath hitched and his tongue wet his lips. That heat was back in his gut, his pants tightening because-
This one was interesting!
Most of the kid's aura nodes were still partially closed but the ones around his head and neck had blasted open, swirling with snapping Ren that had solidified into an instinctive Ten. It was enough to send examinees around them flinching back, and make Hisoka lean forward eagerly. He was bent in half now, a small grin threatening to split his face. An anomaly! How rare! How sweet and perfect and waltzing right towards being edible~! This one deserved his attention certainly!
"Give me my phone."
Oh? The voice was different. Deeper and smoother and with an accent that he couldn't immediately place. The hood turned towards him and he saw a flash of bared teeth set in a pale snarl.
"But you still haven't apologized~," he whined, tilting his body awkwardly towards the child. It made his back and abdomen burn to hold such a position but it was worth it because now he could see under the hood. Most of the child's face was cast in shadow but he could make out gorgeously defiant green eyes set in naturally wide sockets. That look just made him all shivery inside and a small pleased moan passed his lips.
"That look~! How splendid!"
Those eyes went wide before narrowing, disgust settling heavily onto the hidden lines of their face. "A pervert. Lovely. Give me my phone before I bash your skull into the wall."
"Well, now you're just trying to get me worked up," Hisoka purred in return. A violent little thing. How marvelous! "Why don't you try it~!"
There were a few moments that dragged on into eternity of the child just watching him, contemplating. Despite the rigidity of Ten hiding the major conflict, Hisoka could still feel each emotion as close as he was. Eventually the warring settled back down into determination. He waited, keeping his running steady, curious to see what the child would do. He didn't have to wait long at all.
Lashing out with a rough kick to the ankles as a distraction, nimble fingers tried reaching out to snatch the phone from his hand. Hisoka hummed pleasantly, letting it happen, though he hopped deftly over the kick. When the child had latched onto the phone, there was a grunt of surprise when it wouldn't move from his hand. Bungee Gum was ever so useful for keeping little rat's from stealing things after all.
"What-"
Hisoka's other hand reached out, quick as a viper, and snatched the wrist attached to the hand trying to futilely tug the phone from him. He felt the bones grind beneath the skin, Ten being the only thing protecting the rat's wrist from snapping. Hm, there was no padding there either, almost literally skin and bones. What an unhealthy little thing. That wouldn't do! He'd have to keep a closer eye than he thought so his new little anomaly didn't die from starvation. Though, they'd made it this far. A contemplation for another time then.
"Let go!"
Hisoka chuckled, straightening up so he had the little rat hanging by his wrist, his pale forearm on display as the sleeve slid down. Quite a few interesting scars, some silvery and small, one a botchy purple cut in three jagged lines like claw marks, and even one an angry red that wrapped around the base of the forearm closest to the elbow, looking suspiciously like a mottled handprint. Obviously not a happy life… or at the very least not a safe one. How perfect, like a little diamond still being pressurized.
The child barely made it to his hip so Hisoka lifted them straight off the ground with ease. He let the phone go, letting it stay attached to the thief's hand with bungee gum for now, but kept up the punishing grip on the wrist still caught in his other hand. The magician lifted them even further until they were face to face, the little kicking legs doing absolutely no damage to his abdomen. He allowed the punch to his face, not stopping his lip from splitting open on his teeth. Unconsciously licking his lips again at the beautiful sight in front of him, Hisoka relished the tinge of iron on his tongue. So much anger and burning defiance! So much fight~!
"That's not very nice, little rat~!"
"Shut up, pervert! Let me- ack!"
Hisoka squeezed just a bit harder, relishing the crunching under his hand and the even brighter glow of hatred and fear forming on the child's face. "All I asked for was a little apology. Were you not taught any manners~?"
"I know my manners fine," the child breathed with contempt. "You just don't deserve them!"
"Oh~! I like you," he replied, eyes rolling back a bit, a shudder running down his spine. It was going to be uncomfortable running for a while after this. Ah, the sacrifices he made for his little fruits! "Do be safe, hm? It would be such a shame if you were to die early!"
With an amused chuckle, he sharpened his bloodlust and flooded it in front of him. Despite the Ten still wrapped around the small form, the rat froze at such concentrated malice directed at them. Hisoka dropped them after that, chuckling as they practically collapsed to the ground with their phone clutched tightly in their white knuckled grip.
Now~ wasn't he hunting another active nen user earlier~?
"Jas! Are you alright?"
He startled, sucking in a deep breath of air. He was… on the ground? Why was he on the ground? What was he even doing before this? It had been something-
A shiver of terror ran down his spine and Jasper tried to chase the memory. If he was this scared he should know! He needed to know to avoid it! But, it vanished like smoke between his mental fingers.
"Tired already? That's lame."
What…? What had he been doing…? It was like… he was caught in a fog. So different from how he normally just didn't remember. This felt more like he was wading through mud to even think, let alone remember.
"No, he's not tired. I think something is wrong…"
His head was starting to pound between his ears, his heartbeat sounding like a deafening drum. There were noises around him indicating people and he knew that he should focus on them- never leave yourself defenseless!- but he just couldn't. It was toomuchtoomuchtoomuch-
"Jas-"
And there was a hand on his shoulder. That was enough to startle him into action. He was at a disadvantageous position on his hands and knees like this but he'd been in worse! He just had to go for the weak points!
He leaned his weight on one hand (his arm throbbed and throbbed owowowowow), lashing out with the other to catch the wrist attached to the hand. He dug his nail into the soft underside and there was a small yelp but- but- No tugging. He couldn't use them to pull himself up because they'd gone really really still and-
He was still scared? But not? Because-
There was nothing wrong. Nothing but his head pounding and too many people- loudloudloud-
In front of him was safe, what he held… he held-
"Jas?"
For the first time since waking up on the ground, he opened his eyes and glanced up, catching sight of greengreengreen. He couldn't remember this boy but the boy knew his name and green seemed safe. Green was- green was nice.
"Jasper. What happened?"
He could say. He could but he didn't know. So, he couldn't. More importantly-
"Who are you," he rasped.
The boy in front of him blinked but smiled anyway (safenicesafe). "My name is Gon! You're at the Hunter Exam to find your family!"
"I am?"
Another boy stepped closer before crouching down into a squat. His blue eyes -those sparked a memory, importantimportant, but he just couldn't grasp it right now- were studying him with detached curiosity. There was a board with wheels attached to one side clutched under his arm and his hands were stuck in the pockets of his shorts. "Wow… you look really out of it."
"What happened, Jasper," Gon asked again.
"I… I don't remember. I was- I was scared. And… that's it."
And he hated that he couldn't remember! It was important, he knew it was!
"Well… I'm gonna keep going. Are you guys coming?"
Gon- he totally wasn't going to remember that… but the color green? He could do that. Greenie maybe?- nodded and stood up, staring down at him with a kind grin wrist still held in Jasper's hand. Oh. He let go sheepishly. "C'mon! We're still fine. We haven't even gotten to the back of the group yet. Whatever happened must have happened recently because you haven't been here long. Maybe we can figure it out!"
He blinked at the sheer sunshine pouring from Greenie's pores. It was almost blinding but at the same time so very attractive. Jasper found himself smiling without much internal input. "Yea. Yeah I think I'd like that. Thanks Gree- er… Gon. I'm not gonna remember your name by the way."
A snort came from Whitey's direction -because seriously how many young people had white hair like that?- but Gon just laughed and waved it off. "I already told you I'd keep reminding you! I don't mind."
"If you're sure."
Jasper had always been alone after he'd been separated from his family. It was safer that way. Adults weren't to be trusted and kids were cruel. But… Gon seemed different. He seemed safe. And for once, Jasper found himself actually wanting to get along with someone. Gon could still have his uses- he'd already proven it by reminding him why he was here… apparently multiple times- but he really liked the boy himself.
(He wondered if they could become friends.)
Gon was… a little worried.
He'd had so much fun getting here and his new friends were really competent. Even if he'd had to stop for Leorio earlier the man had eventually gotten his steam back and plowed right back into the running contestants with even more energy than at the start. And that was great! Kurapika was doing just fine in front of them and Killua hadn't even started sweating.
But Jasper…
Well, he'd been excited to greet him in the beginning. It wasn't that all rookies should team up but when he first saw his cloaked form, he'd noted exactly how small the rookie was. And if Tonpa was going to greet him, well, it was fine if Gon did too, right? Making friends was nice, he'd discovered.
And when he first introduced himself, Gon had immediately liked him. He was bright and straightforward. That was something that Gon understood easily! He'd thought, then and there, that he was going to have another friend. There was just something about the boy that he really liked! And he still felt like Jasper was going to be his friend… which was why he was so worried.
He'd only left them for a little bit, not even half an hour most likely. And then- and then he and Killua had found Jasper on the concrete shaking so hard he almost looked like a giant noiseless rattle. And Gon just knew that Jas was terrified. In that moment the older boy had been less than human. And yet, Gon couldn't stop himself from reaching out anyway. He knew, of course, that animals backed into a corner would lash out so it was hardly a surprise when he ended up with a hand wrapped around his wrist and nails digging in deep. He couldn't stop the pained yelp but beyond that, he'd not moved an inch. No threatening moves but no fearful ones either. He knew he was bleeding too but there was little that could be done about it at that point. It would be easy to wipe away later.
And-
It worked. Suddenly, Jas was back and it seemed like things were going to be okay again!
Except. Well.
Jas seemed to be forgetting much more quickly and he kept zoning out. Killua was sending glances over constantly, his eyebrows furrowed with wary curiosity. Gon would probably feel the same if he wasn't so worried!
What exactly had happened?
He almost seemed- seemed... like Old Man Greg.
His Aunt Mito had told him once that Old Man Greg had been hurt a lot in his past and sometimes he would get stuck in his head, sucked into the past that hurt him.
Gon couldn't be exactly sure it was the same… the memory loss was kind of... unique… but if it was anything like that, he'd have to be careful. Maybe instead of leaving Jas in silence he should engage him more? Or would that make it worse?
No. He'd seemed to trust him earlier when he'd been scared (and that trust made him feel really warm and fuzzy!) so it should be okay. It would just be tricky because of the memory thing. Well! He could just carry on as he has been and keep reminding him!
Simple!
"So Jas! You want to be a hunter for your family, right?"
Killua glanced over again, blue eyes settling on the cloaked figure trailing behind Gon almost mindlessly.
"Huh? Oh… Hunter Exam? Uh. Yes."
Before Gon could say anything more probing, Killua cut in. "Hey. How do you remember your family if you can't even remember our names?"
It was quite a moment before the other boy answered. "The only thing I truly remember is my family. When I was young… we were separated. I don't… remember what happened. But I'm pretty sure I've been looking for them ever since."
Gon hummed. Sounded pretty tough. He would probably be looking for Aunt Mito if they were separated when he was younger too!
"But I still don't get how you can live without remembering anything," Killua huffed, a frown on his lips as he turned to look forward again. Oh. There were a bunch of stairs coming up in front of them.
"It's not like… I forget everything. I mean… I do… but I also don't. Like! I remember that green is safe!" A small finger poked him in the back and Gon blinked in surprise, turning back to glance at the shadowed chin he could see beneath the hood. Green? Did Jasper mean him? Wow! That was really cool. So even if Jas couldn't remember his name, he could remember that he knew Gon? "Colors are easy usually. And there are some things that I do over and over and over so that I can do it even without remembering! Like my phone. I write in it to help me. But even remembering I had a phone took… a while. Probably."
"Huh. That's really weird."
"I'm not… usually this bad? I think? I can't be. I'm pretty sure this is a bad day. A really bad day but I can't tell you how I know."
Jasper fell silent and Gon glanced back again before looking over to Killua. The white haired boy had his head tilted back, running up the steps with ease as he stared at the ceiling with a hum. He didn't seem inclined to say anything more so Gon took it upon himself to continue the distracting conversation. "Would you tell us about your family?"
"Huh? Why… why would I do that?"
Jasper sounded far more confused than before and Gon figured he'd forgotten again. "Because I'm Gon, and this is Killua! We're friends and I'm taking this exam to find my family too!"
"Friends?" Jasper's voice was hesitant, confused. And in the corner of his eye, Gon could see Killua staring at him with wide eyes.
"Uh-huh!"
Of course they were his friends. They were almost the same age, they were taking the Hunter Exam together, and they both seemed really cool! It would be pretty great to have friends his own age!
"Friends…" It was soft and he almost didn't hear it. "I've never had friends… I don't think."
"That's okay! You have me now," Gon responded cheerfully.
If both of his new friends were quiet after that, well... Gon could give them space. He'd just ask more about them later! Distractions were better for now. "Oh, look. I didn't notice we were so close to the front."
"It's because of the rhythm. Going the fastest is easier and less tiring but people don't realize that. The Hunter Exams seems really accessible… but really, it's no joke. I'm impressed you're both able to keep up with me," Killua answered. When Gon looked over there was an almost unnoticeable smile on his lips.
"Really? Well… you know me and Jas are looking for our family. Why do you want to be a Hunter, Killua?"
"I don't want to be a Hunter per se," the other boy responded with an easy shrug. "I just thought the exam sounded like a challenge and would be fun. But, besides getting here, it's been disappointing so far."
Well… there was nothing wrong with that! And Gon had had a lot fun getting to the exams. It had been a little less challenging than expected but no less fun for it. And he was making friends! Maybe Killua just needed to hang around them, he seemed less bored than before anyhow.
"Why are we talking about Hunters?"
Gon and Killua glanced back in surprise before Killua snorted. Gon laughed, bringing up a hand to rub at the back of his head. He definitely wasn't going to go back on his word but he was having to remind Jas a lot more than he thought he would. Oh well! Maybe tomorrow would be a better day for the older boy. But for now-
"We're talking about why we want to be Hunters! I want to become a Hunter like my dad so I can find him one day!"
AN: I don't understand how I can so easily write Hisoka... but struggle so harshly with Gon. What the hell does this say about me personally?
