Jasper fiddled with the numbered tile in his hand, his eyes staring out over the water, admiring the wide expanse of blue accompanied by the unique scent of salt. Seeing Greenie had been a relief. He felt a little bad about the shoe but he'd honestly been startled at his name coming from a fast approaching figure while he'd been half-occupied trying to puzzle over how much longer his shoes would last him. It had been instinct to chuck it like he used to chuck stones as a child and it had met its mark rather nicely. He was sort of proud of that. Would have been better if it hadn't been his maybe-friend's face, though.

A sea breeze brought some salty spray straight into his face, but beyond grabbing his hood, Jasper did nothing to avoid it. If he was being honest, it felt nice, a soothing balm to the heated itch still in his chest and the dizzyingly hot sun beating down on the ship.

The announcement that he could try again without any negative conditions from the chirpy lady- who also announced there was only two more hours left until they reached the island for the next phase- was another balm. That one being more mental than physical. The ocean was much better though because he'd be damned if he failed. He couldn't come back next year, he had to win this year. So, while it was a nice thought, and it made him slightly happy, it was also a useless sentiment.

"Yo!"

Jasper glanced down from his high seat on the 'railing'- it was more of a wall- of the ship. It had been a hassle to get up because it was smooth and stood over twice the height of Greenie. Even with the lift from said boy, he'd had to scrabble to pull himself up.

Underneath him, Gon was still perched against the wall. His head was lifted from his knees now, gazing at the white haired boy that was approaching. Blue eyes glanced up at him, the blazing sun catching in them-

He stared down at blue eyes, the sun catching and reflecting, lightening the normally deep color. Two arms raised up towards him-

Jasper blinked away the memory of his Ma and focused on the present. Whitey was squinting up at him with a raised eyebrow, a board with wheels clutched under one arm, and hands in his pockets. "Are you allowed to be up there?"

"No one's told me to get down," he replied. Which was entirely true. Announcer lady glanced at him but made no move to say anything to him so he hadn't moved. He liked looking at the ocean and wanted to enjoy it.

Whitey blinked, then shrugged, then plopped down sitting at an angle where he could keep both of them somewhat in view. Jasper shifted so he was straddling the wall instead of having both feet over the open water. "Which number did you guys pick?"

Gon immediately retaliated with a curious, "What about you?"

"Secret," Killua coughed with an awkward grin.

Jasper huffed at the both of them and shifted his number tile. A bold 294 stared back at him. He had no idea who this was but he was pretty sure it wasn't any of his maybe-friends.

"What about you, Jas?" He looked down at Gon who was staring at him with wide eyes. The boy's complexion was still pale and sweaty, with a half smile quirking his lips. It had been the same ever since they'd picked their numbers. Jasper had only noticed because he'd been clinging to the other boy, desperate for that feeling of safety that being around Greenie provoked. He had really needed it after sitting in that damn room for forever. Later, when it had been his turn to choose, he noticed that his hands had finally- thankfully- stopped shaking.

"Some person, I don't know," he mumbled. "Your numbers aren't 294, right?"

"No," Whitey laughed, with a relieved grin. "Don't worry. I don't have either of your numbers."

"Well, I don't have yours either," Gon smiled. "On the count of three we reveal ours?"

Whitey nodded. Jasper had already revealed his, but it still tugged on something in his chest to be left out. He kicked his other leg over and spun so he dropped, only the hand without the numbered tile holding him up. It was a bit of a strain but then he let go, dropping soundlessly next to Greenie. He rolled his shoulders making sure he hadn't hurt himself, before tapping his stinging feet on the wooden floors. The height was not that insignificant and he didn't catch his weight quite right. Thankfully, it wasn't anything serious so he plopped down as well.

"Nice of you to drop by, Nutty."

He scowled and stuck his tongue out at the other boy. "I'm not a nut, so don't call me that."

"I will when you remember my name," Whitey singsonged.

Jasper huffed again, much more disgustedly. The taller boy just wouldn't let that drop. Just the memory of 'reintroductions' while they were boarding the ship made him feel sour all over again. Stupid Whitey and his stupid name…

Greenie started laughing. "Speaking of names, I'd like you to try to remember mine too! You can even put it in your phone. It's Gon."

He turned from his stare off with Whitey, surprised at the offer from Greenie. "Really?"

"Yeah! We're friends and I wanted to tell you earlier but I was distracted by Leorio fussing over you. It was really funny."

Jasper groaned. Another reason he disliked thinking about earlier. Mister Drab, after finally being reintroduced, was able to make a big deal over Jasper's state and wanted to know absolutely everything. Unfortunately, Jasper couldn't remember much which just made Mister Drab even more insistent. The middle aged looking teen had almost succeeded in getting Jasper to agree to a full blown check up and Jasper still couldn't wrap his head around how that happened. He was only saved by Whitey muttering the cursed nickname Nutty. That had almost turned into a full blown tussle. Luckily- or unluckily depending on how one looked at it- it was interrupted by Pinhead, once again, displaying his malice. The whole group had closed ranks around him and shuffled onto the ship before splitting for a bit. He'd been surprised they split but Greenie- er, Gon- later told him that they'd spent the last three days together in very close company and wanted a bit of a break. Or so he said that the others said.

Jasper, of course, decided to stay with Gree- Gon.

He was really going to have to try hard to remember his maybe-friends names, especially if he truly became friends with them. They'd put up with him for this long, so he was hoping they'd stay.

"Aren't we supposed to be sharing numbers," he muttered trying to get them back on topic.

Gon and Whitey glanced at each other and gave a nod.

"1," Gon started.

"2," Whitey continued.

"3," Jasper gleefully finished.

Everyone flipped their cards and he was left staring down at two more tiles with blocky numbers. Unfortunately, he didn't pay attention at all during the exams to the badges (or if he did, he couldn't remember and there was nothing in his phone about it) so the numbers 44 and 199 meant nothing to him.

Apparently that was not the same for the other two.

"Seriously," Whitey deadpanned. "You have no lottery luck.

"You think so too, huh?"

"Is… your person bad then," Jasper asked, staring at the two fours on the blank white background.

Whitey glanced at him incredulously. "Bad? This is Hisoka!"

He stared blankly. Gon caught on and tried to explain for him. "I had a run in with him already and he's really strong. He moves so fast he's almost like an illusion." That itched at something in his mind but when he tried to grab it it shifted through his mental fingers like smoke. "Of all the people I could have gotten, I think he's one of the worst."

Jasper frowned contemplatively. "Do… you need help?"

Gon brought up a hand to rub at the back of his neck. He looked sheepish but happy at the same time. It was a weird combination with his current pallor. "I appreciate the thought, Jas, but I think I have to do this on my own. Attacking him won't do any good… but stealing I should be able to handle."

Jasper was rather good at stealing himself but he also completely understood doing everything alone. He was better off without distractions too, anyways. "Well, what about yours then, Whitey?"

The boy rolled his eyes so hard, Jasper was surprised they stayed in his head. "Must you use that nickname?"

"Must you call me Nutty?"

"Whatever," Whitey replied flippantly, waving his hand dismissively. "Anyway, I don't know my opponent. By the time I'd picked my badge everyone had already hidden theirs. Speaking of… I'm surprised you haven't hidden yours?"

Jasper blinked and looked down at his chest. "Oh. I forgot."

Whitey pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're making it too easy for opponents, you know."

"It's fine," he hummed, plucking the white badge from his chest. It was stiff beneath his fingers as he shimmied his robe up and attached it to the waistline of his pants so it sat snugly against his skin. "They'd have to catch me first. I'm good at running. Besides," he stared pointedly at the two badges on the other boys' chests. "You haven't hidden yours."

"As if anyone here could beat me."

"What about Hisoka?"

Whitey twitched at the immediate rebuttal and Gon let out a nervous laugh, his hands wringing in his lap. Jasper had the sudden feeling he didn't want to meet this Hisoka.

Whitey turned to Gree- Gon, having noted the same motions as Jasper, and asked, "Are you scared or excited?"

Which made no sense because why would Gon be excited. He'd already lost once. But still the brunette answered nervously, "A bit of both? I have revenge to get."

Revenge made… a little more sense but still… excited?

Whitey seemed to understand better than he did, for he just gave a nod and stood up, brushing off his shorts with one hand. He dropped his board onto the floor with a sharp 'clack' and hopped on it; one foot on the board, the other on the floor.

"Well, try not to die!" He said with a smirk and a wave before pushing off with his foot and wheeling away. Jasper watched slightly envious of the contraption. It looked fun and, more importantly, useful.

"Hey, Jas," Gon muttered. "Would you be okay if we separated for a bit? I'd like to think for a while." He hesitated but saw no reason to say no and gave a nod. Gon gave him a wobbly smile, sweat shining on his pale upper lip. "Oh, don't forget to put my name in your phone, ok?"

"Got it."

And with that, Jasper stood to wander off. He'd really rather stay with Gon but if the boy wanted space… well, he'd just have to try to find a better spot. He wasn't going to be able to climb the wall again by himself but he wasn't keen on asking anyone for help, either, so that option was out. He could find a place to sit but his thighs and palms were itching alongside his chest now. It was making him restless.

In the end, Jasper walked laps around the deck. Phone in hand, with numbered tile right behind it, and updating some of his notes, he was not expecting someone to outright walk right up to him and shove him. His phone and tile went clattering away and he wheeled around, feet shifting into a more comfortable stance for quick movement. He didn't want to get into a fight but he absolutely would not let any of these adults think they could push him around.

"Sorry, kid," the skinny guy mumbled, righting himself from his half bent position and adjusting his beanie. When there was no attack forthcoming, Jasper grit his teeth, ignoring the two similar looking men laughing in the background, and starting shuffling backwards out of reach before he whirled around to find his phone. "Kid, wait-"

He found it in the hands of a tubby looking man with tanned skin. He had a very large nose and was dressed in a large, blue v-neck shirt over a matching pair of light, grey sweats. The man was frowning down at it between his overly large fingers and Jasper practically sprinted over, dodging the reaching hand of the skinny adult that had so rudely shoved into him.

"That's mine," he informed the man bluntly, hoping he wouldn't have to attack him to get it back. He didn't want to be disqualified or anything.

"Oh! It's you again. Nice to see you. This phone is yours, then? It hit my foot and I was rather confused about it."

Jasper narrowed his eyes at the rather innocent looking grin. The man still hadn't tried to hand it over. He honestly didn't care if they'd met before. He wasn't important enough to end up on his phone and so wasn't much worth caring about. So he tried one more time. "Give it back."

"Oh," the man exclaimed as if startled he was still holding onto it. His eyes darted sideways a moment before he chuckled and extended his hand. "Sorry, sorry. I'm a bit scatterbrained with the next phase coming up and all. Here ya go."

He snatched it and beat a hasty retreat, not wanting to deal with any of the adults. He glanced around the deck for his tile but he couldn't see it anywhere. Scouring the area one more time, he gave it up for lost and moved on. When he was in a more secluded area, he turned it on, but everything looked fine. There were no cracks in the screen, there was nothing icky on it, and the notes were still open where he'd left it. He frowned at it for a moment, rereading everything carefully and-

No. There. In the section he'd written about the rules. He knew he'd typed the number at the bottom except it wasn't there.

Jasper sucked in a shaky breath. What had his number been? Who was he supposed to go after? He could definitely remember black numbers on a white background. Had there been a four in there or was he thinking of Gon or Whitey's numbers? Maybe a two or- or a seven? No matter how hard he tried to picture his tile, the numbers started swimming in his mind's eye, changing back and forth to other numbers.

He couldn't have already failed. There was no way!

He was going to have to scour the ship, especially where he'd been knocked into.

The scouring took much longer than he'd like and he attracted quite a few malicious eyes. Worst of all, no numbered tile had been anywhere in the vicinity. With the failure of losing his tile and the pressure of the adult eyes following him, he shoved himself in the most secluded part of the ship. Ironically, it was the front of the cabin under the blazing sun because most other people preferred to sit in the shade.

He was alone enough that his lungs quivered under his panicked panting and he coughed sharply trying to relieve the feeling. The immediate contraction forced his breath from his chest painfully and he hunched over at the awful feeling. But… when it faded, it had done enough to bring a bit of clarity back. He dropped against the cabin wall with a grunt, sliding down until he was scrunched in a fetal sitting position.

He'd lost his target. He'd been stupid and distracted and he was already going to fail. Another year! He'd have to wait a whole year before he could try again and that wasn't okay! It was too long! It had already been too long! At this rate he'd never find them-

He'd never see Daddy smile with crinkling brown eyes-

He'd never feel Mom peppering kisses on his cheeks-

So consumed was he by his spiralling thoughts that he didn't notice someone had approached him until they cleared their throat.

Jasper jumped, whipping his head up in surprise. It was a bit of a relief seeing Blondie there but at the same time, he was getting sloppy, letting his emotions get the better of him. He'd been startled twice already today and that was two times too many.

"Are you alright? I noticed you running around…"

He grabbed the edge of his hood in one hand, the other still clenched tightly on his phone, and tugged it down farther in frustration and shame. "I'm fine," he choked out.

"You don't sound fine."

"Shut up!"

He didn't want anyone to see him like this, least of all one of his maybe-friends. Already the teen's presence was making his eyes itch and burn along with the ache in his chest. He wanted to scratch it, to make it go away, but it wouldn't do anything. He wanted to hurthurthurt someone whether it be himself or someone else. But that wasn't good. He wasn't supposed to hurt himself and if Ma found out, she'd be really mad. Like the one time he'd cut himself so he could get to the really pretty black spider. She'd been so unhappy but so gentle. It had made him cry and he hated crying. He didn't want to cry then and he didn't want to cry now. He didn't want comfort.

Blondie settled next to him on the floor with a sigh. Jasper ignored him, curling around his knees even tighter, until something crinkly tapped the side of his head.

"I bet you're hungry. I have a protein bar I'd be willing to share in exchange for the story."

Jasper wasn't sure if he was actually hungry, he certainly didn't feel that way… but he couldn't exactly remember eating recently either. He didn't want free food… but it wasn't being offered freely, was it?

He tugged at his hood (though it couldn't go any lower at this point without tugging under his armpits) before releasing it with a sigh. It took a moment to fix it, and to shift into a more comfortable position with his legs crossed in front of him. That also gave Jasper enough time to suck in a few calming breaths and focus on Blondie's presence instead of his impending doom.

"I tell you why I was running around, and I get the food?"

Blondie hummed his assent, setting the bar on his knee and folding his hands in his lap. Jasper took a moment to observe the older boy. Blondie had really pretty features; long lashes, pale skin, thin face, big eyes. And all of those were facing Jasper with a... not quite blank, but serene look. There was no expectation, no curiosity, no demands.

His shoulders relaxed, surprising himself, he hadn't even realised they were tense. He pulled in a deeper breath, absently scratching at his palm and then rubbing his thighs with his bandaged wrist (which Leorio did end up rewrapping during his quest to get a full checkup, along with his entire right hand because of how cut up it was), using the sharp pain from it to center his thoughts.

"I was walking around, taking notes on people. I wasn't… really paying attention, even though I know I should have!"

He rubbed a bit harder, the frown on his face deepening. Blondie hummed again, quietly saying, "I see."

Jasper grunted, continuing, "Some- some rude asshole in an orange beanie just shoves me and- and my phone and my tile, I mean, my number… They went flying. I didn't want to get attacked from behind so I- Well, I turned on him, waiting for him. He didn't attack though. Just fixed his beanie and said sorry like he hadn't meant to do it! There was no way he 'accidentally' bumped me! I may have been distracted but I'm not- not that unaware!"

"And what happened then?"

He sucked in a breath, Blondie's voice breaking him from his increasingly loud rant. His shoulders slumped and he stopped rubbing his thigh, wanting the ache in his wrist to stop. Hadn't he just been thinking he shouldn't hurt himself? And here he was making his wrist hurt even more. The sharp pain was gone but now it was throbbing constantly. "This guy had my phone. I got it back," he muttered. "But I couldn't find my number tile. I didn't want to be there, though, so I left. Made sure my phone wasn't broken. It's not… but that blue bastard must have deleted some of my stuff. I know I put my target number on the phone. But it's not there…"

Blondie was frowning now, his eyes narrowed and drifting to the side. "So someone tampered with your phone and stole your target number. You said he was wearing blue? Can you describe him?"

"Not sure how much good it's going to do you, but sure." There really wasn't a point going back over to the ones that had messed with him- and he was positive that they messed with him just to see him fail because adults were like that- as they'd just deny everything. Jasper wasn't dumb. And he wasn't about to confront adults that he couldn't attack. "He was wearing a blue shirt, grey pants. Big fat guy with an ugly nose. Pretty tan, too."

Blondie twitched at the description. The next word was barely more than a whisper but that didn't stop Jasper from hearing it. "Tonpa."

"You know him," he asked suspiciously. Blondie was on his phone, yes, but that didn't mean he could fully trust him. Especially in a competition. He'd like to, of course, but… some people seemed nice but really weren't.

"We had to work with him in the trick tower," the blonde admitted sourly. "He's a nasty character. Proudly proclaims himself the Rookie Crusher."

And that just made Jasper's heart fall to his feet. Rookie Crusher. It looked like Blue Bastard had succeeded because he'd certainly gotten in a crushing blow on a rookie; namely him. The urge to break the man's fat nose was building ever stronger inside of him. Maybe he could go punch him. Jasper had already lost the next round, so it couldn't hurt, right? Maybe he could punch him right in the groin. The man was squatter than he was used to but Jasper would have no problems still landing a low blow.

"Don't worry about him," Blondie sighed, scooping up the wrapped protein bar and tossing it over. Jasper snatched it quickly, glancing over in disbelief. "Even if you don't know your original number, you can still grab three badges to make up for the points."

In the middle of tearing the top of the wrapper, he paused, letting out an incredulous, "I can?"

"Yes." His sitting partner chuckled and stood, brushing down the wrinkles in his weird overclothes. "I know you wrote what the Examiner said on your phone. You can double check there. Enjoy your food."

The smile on the teen's lips was near angelic to Jasper as he eagerly took the advice and grabbed his phone from his lap to pull up his notes. Lo and behold… Blondie was right. He'd read the words but hadn't really processed them. He'd been so focused on the missing information that the stuff he had right here had flown right through his head. He groaned, reprimanding himself thoroughly.

Panic was bad! Panic led to bad things. Like right now. And not remembering his own target number. His head was even mixing them up with Gon and Whitey's-

Wait. He'd shown the other boys his tile. They likely knew what his number was!

But… he didn't really want to ask them. Gon was distracted (had even asked for space!) and Whitey was rude. He did not need to be made fun of for losing and forgetting his tile and number.

No. He would be able to do this just fine himself.


AN: Look at Kurapika handling the traumatized child like a pro! With his own experience having to survive on his own, he knows that charity isn't well looked upon. (This was one of the subtler interactions btw. If you noticed congrats!)

And look at Tonpa being the asshole we all know and despise! :D

Badge #/Name
80- Siper
281- Agon
301- Illumi
118- Sommy
362- Kenmi
294- Hanzo
404- Kurapika
103- Bourbon
99- Killua
405- Gon
191- Bodoro
384- Gereta
34- Ryu
199- Umori
198- Imori
197- Amori
246- Ponzu
44- Hisoka
105- Kyu
403- Leorio
89- Shishito
53- Pokkle
371- Gozu
16- Tonpa
406- Jasper

Q&A: KrixLight- So many good questions as always! First, Drab is in his notes, yes, but Leorio is also very plain and looks older than he is. He's not easily recognizable. His misconception was shortly corrected as you'll see in this chapter! Secondly, in regards to the second personality- Good eye! The second personality is a lot more aware than Jasper is even if he's not out as often. As for his name, that will be revealed in the next... five? or so chapters... if you haven't already guessed it by then!

Also, yes! The black gunk he spit out did actually trigger a change!

We won't get to see Illumi personally fight Jasper or his other self. If it does happen it will be far in the future. That doesn't mean that Illumi won't go after Jasper in a roundabout way. ;)

Lastly, the timeline goes like this- Countdown from 72 hours

Jasper passes with 29.5 hours left
Jasper passes out with 29 hours left
Jasper 2.0 wakes up and starts using nen with 27 hours left
Jasper wakes up again with 18 hours left
Hisoka knocks him out with 18 hours left
Jasper wakes with 12.5 hours left
He starts charging his phone with 10 hours left
His phone gets put away with 3 hours left

Something along these lines XD I hope that helps clear up any confusion on the timeline!

Tetractys- You're back! And maybe :)

Bluepeony0- Hm, the tournament approaches so there will definitely be some fighting! I'm not great at fight scenes so I can't promise too much bloodshed but I'll try my best!