"Ugh."

Jasper collapsed onto his bed, limbs thrown askew, muscles aching. His whole body seemed to be throbbing actually and he could hear his heartbeat rushing in his ears.

Menchi is brutal…

"No kidding," he huffed. Not only had he been working on his body with these weirdly difficult stretches and the vest but she'd also had him running his Ren at full blast until he passed out. Several times. It was horrible!

But her excuse was that more nen meant a better foundation for later training.

She's not wrong but these spartan methods might just kill us.

"With all the work she's put into us? I don't think so. We'll just wish we were dead."

Ugh.

Jasper couldn't help the snort at the absolutely disgusted noise Harry let out. It made his abs clench in pain, his muscles protesting any movement. Jasper groaned, wanting to clutch at his belly but also not wanting to move in case it made anything worse.

Are you ready for tomorrow?

Of course he was. They'd put in a lot of hard work over the past twelve days. They went up 10 floors in one day for five days straight excluding the last climbing day in which they'd stopped on floor 199. Then they had a rest day which was a misnomer (as Harry had called it) because they didn't rest. Oh no. Those days were hardcore nen training days. On the climbing days it was more physical training with a side of nen. Jasper thinks he prefers those days honestly- no matter how much the training vests suck and so does pilates or whatever his teacher had called it- because using up all your nen was so much more exhausting than just doing a physical workout.

Today had been their second rest day, twelve days in total since they'd started the climb again after their three day break, and tomorrow they had their qualifier fights which would let them onto the 200th floor.

"It's not going to be the qualifiers that are the problem," he murmured, flexing his fingers and wrists. "It will be whoever is on the nen floors."

Harry hummed in agreement. Best get some good sleep then. You can't fall asleep with the vest on tonight.

He groaned again, this one more of a whine. That required getting up. Getting up required moving.

"Can't you do it?"

Today is your day, Harry laughed at him. They each got two days out before they were supposed to switch. Yesterday had been Harry's second day, which meant today and tomorrow were his days.

"Menchi doesn't have to knoooooow."

That's true. But I don't want to. And if she barges in here in the morning and you still have your vest on, there'll be hell to pay.

"You know, I still haven't agreed to her training!"

Oh, quit whining and change already.

Jasper made sure to whine for at least another few minutes just out of pure spite.


"So, how's nen training going," Jasper asked Killua, who was behind him, swinging his legs from the bench he was sitting on. Menchi and Master Wing weren't even in attendance, already assured of their victory. Surprisingly, Kalluto was sitting next to him.

Over the last week and a half, Kalluto had formed some kind of… well, Jasper wasn't sure what to call it.

A crush, Harry had once unhelpfully provided. Jasper didn't believe it for an instant but Kalluto sure did follow him around a lot. They'd even gone shopping two more times, though Killua had been on those trips. One was with Gon, a great time where they stormed through toy stores, a sweets cafe, and a musical shop. One was just Jasper and the assassin brothers. It had been far more awkward. Killua still avoided him without actually avoiding him and Kalluto was distant until they walked into a clothes store. And left with another bundle of clothes. This one absolutely paid for when Killua had corrected Jasper's 'truth' about commoner's pay.

(Killua had gotten a kick out of it when he made the correction, but now correctly informed, Kalluto had been determined to pay because a Zoldyck had no need for thievery.)

After that, he'd caught the pretty boy watching him more and more. He'd even seen him lurking down a hallway when he'd gone out for training. Jasper hadn't pointed it out but he was getting desperately curious no matter how much Harry said it would embarrass the other boy if it was pointed out.

He did make sure to call him pretty more often in revenge which would send the other boy scurrying away with red cheeks.

"We've got solid Ten cloaks," Killua answered, watching Gon step into the ring. "Master Wing said that we can try out the water test tonight if we wanted."

"Water test?"

It tests what type of nen you have, Harry answered at the same time as Killua's, "A nen type test."

"Oh. What are we?" He asked, directing the question to Harry. The response would have been confusing if Menchi hadn't been going over the basics with him again. "A specialist? Huh. What do you think you'll be, Killua? Kalluto?"

Kalluto sniffed from behind his fan, his rose eyes tracking Gon's opponent as he flew across the room into the wall with a solid thud. "I have no need for the test. I already know I'm a Manipulator. And Big Brother is likely to be a Transmuter just like Father and Grandfather."

Was it a familial thing then for nen types to be passed onto children? If Killua would be getting Transmutation from his dad's side of the family, did Kalluto get his from his mom's side?

"Is your mom a Manipulator then?"

Those pretty eyes turned to him and Jasper cocked his head to show his curiosity. He could see a hint of another flush on those pale cheeks which made his lips twitch up into a grin. Kalluto pulled his fan higher, almost entirely obscuring his eyes as he muttered, "She is."

Huh. He wondered if everyone inherited nen like they did looks.

"Tch. Just cause they have Transmutation, doesn't mean I will as well," the assassin grumbled petulantly.

"Does it matter? Transmutation is pretty cool." Jasper twisted his head back to look at his friend who only stuck his tongue out at him.

"Hey guys!"

His attention was turned onto Gon who was jogging up the steps towards their benches. In his hand was clenched a ticket that he was waving wildly at them. He didn't even look out of breath. It made sense once you knew he'd knocked every opponent of his out of the ring within five seconds using the same push.

"Hi Gon! Good job!"

"Yea, you whacked him really good," Killua chuckled.

"I know, right? And I finally got the pass for the 200th floor! Now only Jasper needs to go."

Kalluto had been the first to go, rapping his opponent so hard on the head with his fan that it had been an immediate K.O. Killua had been next, casually kicking his opponent out of bounds. Casually, meaning that he launched them into the wall so hard that it cratered. Harry was still worried about Killua's hands and occasionally bugged him about it when he was in control but the white haired boy always claimed he was fine. He was supposed to be after Harry's treatment but they were both worried because his friend still avoided using his hands where possible, especially when fighting.

"This match looks pretty even so it might take a while," he sighed watching the next two people fighting in the ring. There were only three rings on this floor; the rings had slowly gotten larger going up the floors which meant the amount of them shrunk. Supposedly there was only one arena ring starting on the 200th and above which meant there was a fair amount of space involved.

"Nah," Killua scoffed. "Ol' Fatty has more endurance. He'll knock his opponent out of the ring pretty soon."

Jasper bit down the urge to make a bet on that. He'd long since learned that Killua was pretty savvy when it came to physical fights and could claim the winner with 95% accuracy. Last time he lost a lot of coin because he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"What's that, Nutty? You don't want to make a bet this time?"

"Oh, shut up," he grumped.

Sure enough, he would have lost that bet.

"You get better the more fights you watch," Kalluto murmured into his fan. Jasper blinked at him, not sure he heard correctly over Gon and Killua starting a semi-wrestling match behind them over the results.

How cute! It seems like he's comforting you, Harry cooed.

"Thanks," Jasper whispered, gathering up the intent to throttle Harry into a ball of feelings as he chucked it at his partner. Harry yelped, before trailing off into laughter.

All he got from Kalluto was a snobby sniff.

Right. He's weird.

I think he's shy.

Weird, he reiterated.

"And that's me," he sighed when his number was called only moments later. He trotted down the stairs quickly, ready to get the whole thing over with. Besides the first match where Harry had taken over, Jasper had ended all of his matches fairly quickly even with all the restrictions Menchi tried to put on him.

His first match had been no hands allowed. His second was no kicks or punches. His third was blindfolded and so on. This match he wasn't allowed to move from his spot. And just because Menchi wasn't here doesn't mean she wouldn't be watching the broadcast on the television. (And wow! Discovering what a TV was had been fascinating! Everyone had given him funny looks but he hadn't cared, happily flipping through channels.)

It wasn't hard. His enemy- a muscly guy wearing a ridiculously torn white shirt and ripped jeans- charged forward in silence, probably overconfident because he was a kid. As if the other kids that already had matches hadn't kicked their opponents asses. Some people were just infected by stupid.

He crouched, keeping his feet planted as the fist swept over his head. The sweeping kick that followed he had to block with a wince, crossing his arms to catch it while still crouched. He pushed back, throwing the still silent man off balance. Normally, Jasper would have followed up but he wasn't supposed to move.

He clicked his tongue against his teeth as the older guy recovered and came charging back in while Jasper stood up. He wanted to toss the guy over his shoulder but the size difference made that unlikely while he couldn't move. Damn. Using Harry's style was weird. Jasper was supposed to be able to move around!

But Menchi was adamant that they know enough of each other's styles that they'd have more protection or something. And she said mixing it up every now and then would help with battlefield tactics or something. Harry had almost failed Menchi's 'extra criteria' on the round that he wasn't supposed to be hit but also had to land 50 taps on his opponent in under a minute without knocking the guy out. Jasper was determined not to fail at this one.

The next kick that came his way he grappled, catching it between his hip, twisting a bit to move with the momentum as much as he could without shifting his feet, and his right arm. Strength was really no issue here, it was just the awkwardness of not knowing what he was doing. But he couldn't stop to think too much either when he had a hold of his opponent because that left him open for a counterattack. And Harry wasn't supposed to help him.

So, he struck out with the flat of his palm to the inside of the man's knee which gave with a sickening pop, turning sideways not at all like a knee should.

Oops. That was probably too much.

But at least it made his opponent surrender through his screams.


"And what would you have done if he'd decided to keep fighting," Menchi hummed as they waited for the elevator to open. The whole group sans Master Wing and his student, Zushi, were crammed in here. It was a pretty spacious elevator but five people was still a lot.

"I don't know," Jasper cried in exasperation. Killua was snickering at him with Gon laughing into the slightly taller boy's shoulder. "Punched him in the face! Punched him in the dick! Something to make him go down!"

"A groin punch could have worked," Menchi huffed, tugging on his ear as he scratched at her wrist. "Look, you little brat. All I'm saying is that not everybody goes down so easily, alright?"

"I get it. I get it!"

The elevator door opened and a shiver immediately crawled up his spine. Menchi let him go, her eyes narrowing as she glared into the hallway. Harry, who had been lounging in amusement instantly snapped to alertness and they shoved out a flare of Ren that solidified into Ten not a moment later. Everyone else did the exact same and they stepped out into the hallway cautiously.

Jasper dragged behind the others. He wasn't scared. That would be ridiculous. He just didn't like fighting as much as his friends and this seemed like the beginning of a fight.

This nen intent was so…. Malicious. It reminded him of (redredRED) something unpleasant.

"Ugh. Probably someone trying to freak out the rookies," Menchi grumbled. "C'mon. Move along."

She stalked down the hallway in annoyance and they followed her like ducklings, scurrying to keep up with her long stride. When she made it to the intersection her voice practically dripped with annoyance and derision. "It's you. Turn that off!"

"Oh, but I want to see how all my little fruits are handling it." The voice was silky and deep and very obviously pouting.

"Oh, no," Killua groaned even as Gon seemed to both perk up and wilt in place right in front of Jasper.

"What?" He frowned at his friends.

You don't recognize the voice? Even Harry sounded wary and annoyed.

No? Why would he need to recognize- wait. He did actually kind of recognize it. It tugged on something from one of those shards that he'd seen. The one that had shocked him the most-

His wrist- being called a rat-

"Was he from the Hunter Exams," he asked cautiously. A duo of annoyed 'yes's was his response.

"Well," Menchi barked ahead of them. "Get off your ass and look then."

"Hmmm~ I think I shall."

The person that stepped into view was not what he was expecting.

Still has the terrible hell circus look, Harry grumbled, his presence seeming to puff up like a disgruntled alley cat.

The man was tall and lanky with obvious muscle that was accentuated by the pink rings wrapped around his biceps and wrists. The shirt was black, with a red heart and diamond, with the hem cropped a bit short so it could show off the very strange… pink sphere thing on his torso. The pants were white and mostly form fitting with the ankles taped down with more pink rings all the way up to mid-calf. Then his shoes were… Honestly, Jasper thought they wouldn't look out of place on a witch from a fairy tale or something; pointy and black with a heel enough that Jasper wasn't sure how one would fight in them.

His face had a painted yellow star on one cheek and a pink teardrop on the other. His eyes were an intense molten gold, looking over their group like he was starving. His tongue even swiped out to lick his lips.

While the outfit was different, this redhead was absolutely the same man from the memories. Jasper shuddered then froze as the gaze focused directly on him. That same feeling of terror from his memories locked his muscles and he stared, wide-eyed- like a rabbit hoping a predator wouldn't notice them.

"How interesting," the man purred.

Jasper's vision was blocked by Gon's pointy hair and Killua's shock of white. He took a moment to suck in a desperate breath, giving his lungs much needed air. His hands came up to tug on his hood as he hunched closer to his friends.

A hand on his shoulder startled him and he looked over to Kalluto, who was looking at him from the corner of his eye. Jasper didn't know what exactly the younger boy was trying to do- offer comfort, see why he was hiding like a coward, make sure he didn't bolt- but he shook his head slightly, firmly facing the front of the hallway again, peeking between his two friends.

Menchi had moved. She was now blocking line of sight, her back straight and arms at her sides. She was much smaller than this man but she was blocking as much of him as she could, the edges of his larger bulk just visible behind her, though his eyes were peeking over the top of her hair, flickering between her and them.

She was also arguing with the monster in front of them.

"-keep your perverted self away from these kids!"

"Better be careful, examiner~! I don't have reason to hold back anymore."

"I swear to God, if I found out you were stalking them-!"

"Hmmm, well, you definitely aren't my normal type but your defiance looks like it might be fun anyway."

He heard Killua gag and couldn't help but agree. This guy was just slimy and his aura was ridiculously bloodthirsty REDREDRED.

Before his mentor could reply, Gon was speaking up, his voice bouncing down the hallway.

"What are you doing here, Hisoka?"

"Gon," both he and Killlua hissed at their idiot friend. Why would you attract that madman's attention!?

The smiling face and (redredred) hair tilted into view. His eyes were scrunched up as if happy the boy had asked him. "Why? I love fights and this is the fight capital of the world. Shouldn't I be asking what you all are doing here?"

There was an awkward silence in which Menchi scoffed, backing away a few feet so she was closer to their group, her fists clenched tightly, her body coiled like a waiting spring.

Hisoka, the terror clown that he was, broke into an even wider, more disconcerting smile. "Don't be like that. I was actually waiting for you."

I hate this guy, Harry hissed spitefully. And he's already clocked onto us. If he was waiting-

Jasper didn't even want to think about it.

"You obtained your tickets electronically didn't you? With a little manipulation it's easy to find out where and when someone has been. Then I used a private plane to arrive before you, waited for you at the airport, and followed you~!"

There was a sharp spike of terror inside him, enough to make his knees shake and his breath catch. Kalluto's hand, which he hadn't noticed was still there, tightened on his shoulder. Only the training vest was protecting him from being skewered by the younger boy's perfectly shaped nails.

While he was terrified, Jasper had enough practice to know which feeling was his own by now. That had definitely been Harry. But there was only that empty space, the emotions he normally received from his partner cut off entirely.

Harry…?

"You've all certainly matured more than I was expecting, but you're not quite ripe yet," Hisoka sighed, as if it was some tragedy. Then, he chuckled, throwing his arms out as if in welcome. "Well, at least you won't have to undergo a baptism. Welcome to the 200th floor!"

The clown's hip cocked out as he settled a hand on it, his sharp nails perfectly in view. The smirk on his lips was directed at Gon this time, but it still made Jasper's gut squirm uncomfortably. How was he supposed to stand up for his friends when he was hardly able to handle this one guy without feeling as if he were being crushed?

"I can imagine why you're here," he continued. "You wanted to fight me after some training, didn't you?"

"I wasn't expecting to see you here," Gon refuted stubbornly.

"Oh? You've become more confident. Was it the nen? Do you think you have a chance now? Hm. To tell you the truth, I don't want to fight you as you are now. How about," the man hummed, tapping a sharp nail to his bottom lip as if truly contemplating something. "You win one fight on this floor. Then you can challenge me."

Hisoka didn't wait for an answer, disappearing down the hallways- his malicious nen disappearing with him.

There was a collective sigh of relief and Jasper allowed himself to plop on the floor, dignity be damned. His shoulder was ripped from Kalluto's hand and pink eyes studied his palm as if it had wronged him from behind his fan. Jasper still had no idea what was up with the younger Zoldyck but he was honestly way too tired to be curious like he normally was.

"Whoa. Are you okay, Jasper?"

Gon crouched in front of him and Jasper released his hood so he could scrub at his face. He didn't think he had ever been more happy to always be wearing it. It was like another layer of protection even if all it did was hide his face. At least it had kept the hell clown from focusing on him more. Or maybe that was just Gon's presence and voice. Either way.

"No," he whined. "I don't like him! Why is he so scary!?"

"Oh, come on, Nutty. Don't be a wimp!"

Jasper didn't even hesitate, kicking out with a foot to smash it into Killua's ankle. "Don't pretend you weren't scared too! And stop calling me that!"

The white haired boy howled, hopping on one foot as he cursed Jasper out.

"Aw, don't worry, Jas," Gon held out a hand and Jasper took it. The green clad boy pulled them both up with ease. "You just gotta stay away from him."

"Not gonna be as easy as you think, kiddo," Menchi grouched, her arms crossed under her chest. "That guy is something else. He was about ready to take my head off, damn the consequences. And I have the feeling that if he 'likes' you, you're not getting away easily."

There was another shiver in his chest and Jasper frowned, reaching out for Harry but still finding him blocked off. He would have to wait no matter how much it would bug him. He couldn't force Harry to come out, at least not while he was around other people. He'd need to be in the mindscape to do it. That knowledge was almost instinctual.

"Show yourselves!"

The barked order startled him back to the present and he noticed everyone was looking down the hallway. From out of the darkness slunk three figures, their nen suddenly popping into existence as if it had always been there. Jasper twitched at the feeling. This was Zetsu, which meant they could have been there for whoever knew how long.

"Rookies?" The voice came from the man in the wheelchair who was wearing a plain white outfit with a weird yellow headpiece that split his hair down the middle so they sat in two awkward tufts that could rival Gon's for spikiness.

"Seems so," the middle one giggled. He wore a blue robe decorated and edged in lime green with one empty fluttering sleeve. His face also seemed to be warped from… a burn? Or something? But it left his eyes squinting and his mouth lipless which was unique.

The third one was raspily chuckling away, as if he were trying to be scary but these guys had nothing on Hisoka. This guy didn't even have legs! He walked with a cane and breathed through a mask!

"Ugh," Menchi tossed her head back and stared at the ceiling for a moment. "Alright, you ugly ass failures! Out of the way!"

She flared her own nen, the feeling of it felt like a knife's edge- and the three men scrambled aside so they could pass and sign up for the next bout of rounds. Except… they didn't have to fight right away? There was a three month period between their required fight times unlike the week that was required past floor 100.

He glanced at his mentor but her face was stone. He had no idea if it was going to be a brutal three months of training or a fight right away to test his abilities. He probably could handle a fight up here, at least enough to make sure he wasn't killed but he was still so new to nen.

That bubbling frustration of time lost crept up on him. He'd get it every now and then when he thought of how strong he could have been if he hadn't been sealed away and slowly dying because he couldn't even properly take care of himself.

He bit his lip and breathed out slowly. He was just going to have to work harder until the feeling faded again.

"All of these prizes are worthless," Kalluto huffed, fiddling with his fan slightly farther away from the group as he seemingly listened in on the clerk's spiel. Jasper hadn't exactly been listening so he wasn't sure what the boy meant.

"Well," he hummed. "You're not here for the prizes, right?"

Pink eyes looked at him briefly before going back to his fan. Jasper also would have gone back to his introspection but he could see those three men from earlier creeping down the hallway. They almost looked like kicked dogs or something with how slow they were going. This didn't save them from being noticed though.

Menchi's head snapped around to glare at them and they froze before straightening and putting on something like confidence.

"Good. You're here. Jasper, fill out this form. Give it to one of them."

"Wha-"

"I don't mind fighting, too," Gon piped up, looking at his own paper. "I don't care what day it is."

"Pfft. I'm gonna wait," Killua yawned. Kalluto didn't say anything but also didn't seem interested, turning his nose up at the men.

Jasper took his paper glancing over it. He pursed his lips, thinking of his awful handwriting. He'd barely made his initial registration forms legible (the clerk had given him such a dirty look) and now he had to do it again?

He sighed and accepted the pen from Gon who offered one from the desk. Then he carefully held it against the wall to fill it out. Thankfully, there was more box checking than actual writing needed. And now he wasn't going to have to wallow over whether Menchi would randomly sign him up or keep him training. She wanted to test him and he would give his best showing.

He looked over the three options he had. One was in a wheelchair which would throw off his normal reading for body language in a fight. Same with the guy on the peg leg. Which only left the armless one.

He handed the paper over and watched the lipless mouth stretch into a grin as he glanced over his chosen date. It was two days from now, technically on Harry's day, but it would be up to Menchi which one of them would actually fight. And he'd had the feeling she wanted to get this test done sooner rather than later. The man checked the same boxes on his own paper.


AN: Sorry for the really long wait! I thought you might enjoy Hisoka on Halloween! You're uh... probably going to have to have another long wait-

But I have a vote I need your help with!

Option 1. I would like to see a bit of filler and character perspectives over a month time skip
Option 2. Screw the filler! Skip straight to the good stuff(after the month timeskip)!

If option 2 is chosen, I believe I will post the filler chapter on the Tumblr for those interested

Q&A:
Tetractys: Thank you for your kind words. I still have a lot going on IRL but in good news, I have been going to a chiropractor and my back hasn't felt this good in over 5 years! Killua has a long way to go, especially since I took away one of his canon character building obstacles but he'll get there! And thank you for your vote!

Dark n' dark: Thank you so much! This is definitely a challenge to make sure my character voices stay separate. I'm glad it's working! I do have some of the stories already up on the Tumblr, though they aren't long and feel more like drabbles to me. If you read them, let me know what you think.

Drakality: Always good to see you! I'm glad you liked Killua's POV so much! Menchi's training is pretty unique to Jasper right now. She's focusing on strength and endurance building while stuffing him full of nutrients so she can get the best out of his healing body. Jasper is still very malnourished and she has to be careful not to overwork him! As for nen training- she's going full throttle in stamina building since he already has some training in the basics. I'm pretty sure Killua will keep his electricity building because he's inspired by Rheivelt!

Guest: Not sure if you're the same person but to one or multiple of you- thank you so much for the comments. It makes me really happy to know that you're enjoying the fic.

Shonna C: It's more of a hiatus. I have no intentions of abandoning it!