So one thing I've always wanted to do is collect the weirdest fish I could find in one fish tank. Now that my angelfish has died ( a ciclid, that doesn't get along with other fish) I can finally start doing that! I seriously look forward to it! I'd like to get something like a hatchet fish, a ghost knife, maybe even a domestic crawdad. I want to have a tank of freak show fish! Also, I have this fishbowl from a couple years back when I had a beta fish. Now I want a pop-eyed goldfish! I mean, those guys don't need filters, right? I'm an animal collector. I'll have to keep my fingers crossed I don't ever become a hoarder in the future...

Back to Hunter x Hunter. Enjoy!

The first thing I notice is a coldness around my wrists. Then there's the twisting in my stomach, and the utter heaviness of my entire body. Groaning, I lean forward, my head dropping. Although I want to vomit, it feels like my throat doesn't have it in it to force up the bile.

"Corona?"

It's Kurapika's voice. My eyelids tremble as I gradually force them open, but with the darkness, it's no different from when I had them closed. I don't need my vision, though. I can just-

My eyes widen. I can't. My aura won't come out. I'm not in Zetsu, either. My aura just leaks out, like someone who's never awakened to Nen. I can't control it. My lips part, dried, and sticking together. My first attempt to speak ends with hacking, but once I've recovered I manage to murmur.

"...My Nen…."

"I can't use mine, either," Kurapika mutters. "They seem to be keeping us sedated." With his words I become aware of a pinching in my arm. Although I can't see it, it doesn't take much imagination to figure out what it is. An IV drip. To ensure we're too weak to use Nen properly.

Ah, this sucks…"This is so much worse…"

"Worse?"

I glance up towards his voice, but only for a moment. I can't seem to hold my head up. "I...said that out loud?"

I clench my eyes shut when light floods into the room. Footsteps echo as someone enters the room, stopping close in front of me.

"Are you sure they're awake?" a vaguely familiar voice asks.

A deeper, rougher voice replies, "I heard them talking just now."

Swallowing a moan, I pry open my eyes once more, observing from under my curtain of hair. Two men, one tall and thick, the other thin and short, stand before me, the light pouring in from behind them and hiding their faces. I disregard them, and glance in the direction Kurapika's voice had come from. Just out of my reach, his figure sits hunched against a different wall than me. Half of his golden hair reflects the light streaming in, the other half hidden in the shadows. Hanging from the ceiling, a bag of clear liquid resides attached to a tube that travels down and sticks into the front of his arm. It must be the same for me.

"Hey, girlie," the short man squats in front of me, moving my hair out of my face. I stiffen at his touch, as much as I can with the sedatives polluting my blood, baring my teeth at the guy. He quickly retracts his hand. "Feral. I would think I was mistaken about who you are, except that you look exactly like your mother."

"Who...the hell are you?" I snarl.

"Don't tell me you've forgoten me, Little Coro."

It's that infuriating nickname that sparks my memory. "Wish I had," I spit. That damn weasel! I get it now, what's going on. If I could use my Nen, I'd rip out of these chains and bite his throat out. My own father was despicable enough a human, but this man….he doesn't have similar blood to dilute my disgust.

"Glad you remember," he pats my shoulder. I begin to growl, but the dryness of my throat prevents it from lasting. He watches quietly as I choke on air. "You're probably scared right now, but don't worry. We'll return you to your father soon."

"Go rot in hell."

"You're more feisty than I remember." He stands, turning to the other man. "Why's there another one?"

"He was with her," the guys answers. "We were just gonna knock him out, but his eyes were glowing red. With an attribute like that, he'd be worth something big on the black market."

"I'll let you deal with that," the shorter one waves off. "Someone will find out if I dig myself too deep. I just want the girl."

"Can I take him, then?"

"Don't touch him!" I lunge forward, only to be jolted backwards by the chains shackling my wrists. I glare up at them from my place near the ground, my legs not strong enough to straighten and stand. "Touch him…" I hiss. "Touch him...and I'll see to it you live the rest of your life as a cripple."

The shorty laughs, my teeth clenching at the sound. "Terrifying, I'm shaking! You're so scary, Little Coro, tied down like that."

"I'm going to rip out your filthy tongue! And you," I shift my glare to the thug at his side. "If you lay your grubby hands on him, I'll skin you alive. I'll slice off your skin slow enough that you'll be able to feel every centimeter being torn from your muscles. Then, I'll take every strip and force you to swallow your own skin."

Although the lighting hides his face from me, his voice has gained an uneasy tone. "I'll come back for him," he decides, "once I've found a buyer."

"Her threats are nothing more than a little dog's bark," the shorty dismisses. "What can she do as she is now?"

"I'll get out of these chains eventually." Just thinking about it, my lips tug upwards. "Look forward to it."

The thug motions the shorty aside, whispering to him. The utter silence otherwise allows me to, for the most part, clearly hear their conversation. "Listen, boss, she might be really dangerous. Not only is she incredibly strong, but after we knocked her out we found eight knives hidden on her body. She's an experienced fighter. Who knows what she might be involved in?"

"I hired you to capture her. You've done your job, you'll get your pay, and the rest is none of your business. That girl is my bargaining chip. There's a lot of money behind her, so there's no way I'm just letting this chance slide. If you want the other one, I'll give her to you, but don't cause me any problems."

Kurapika's a guy, but…

"I get that, but look at this." The thug holds out something to the shorty. "That's the symbol of the Phantom Troupe. If she's involved with them-"

"Did you see a spider tattoo on her?"

"No sir, but it could be under her clothes."

"Yes, I'm sure a seventeen year old girl would have a tattoo on her butt or bust. Look at her! It couldn't be anywhere else! She's wearing a cut off shirt, shorts, and sandals! Even though it's fall! Honestly, what would Michael think if he knew his daughter's become such a skank? I'd love to see the horror on his face. Stop worrying. I'm sure she just picked up the coin off the street."

My coin! My hand goes to my pocket, barely reaching, and I feel it flat. They took my coin! My spider coin that Chrollo gave me! I liked that coin, and not just because it's pure gold!

Done conversing, the two turn to me. Shorty then says, "We'll bring you your meals later. For now, enjoy your stay." Their shoes clack against the cold, concrete floor as they exit, and the closing door plunges the two of us back into darkness.

As soon as it's shut I collapse to the floor, panting. I just don't have the energy. Every limb of mine feels like lead, weighed down by the chemicals flowing into my arm. It took everything I had to keep low on my feet, to speak clearly, to not take my treatment like an antique doll.

"Corona?" I guess Kurapika's done pretending to be asleep. "Who was that?"

I don't respond, my vocal chords constricting in defiance. I forced them too hard. I'm too new to this sensation, to these drugs. I'll get used to it soon; I have an adaptable body. Until then, though, I'm going to keep feeling like death.

"Listen, Corona," Kurapika picks up when I stay silent, "I can't reach my IV, but you might be able to. If you can pull it out, I might be able to use my Nen soon."

I clench my eyes shut, then open them again. Even if I could reach it, I can't see him at all. If I tried to pull out the needle in his arm, I could very well cause it to slice an artery or vein and cause him to bleed to death. I'd rather be trapped here with him than try to escape and kill him in the process. Then I might never see those beautiful eyes of his again.

When I don't respond, he speaks again. "Corona? Don't fall asleep. I didn't think you'd be this weak against sedatives, since…." Since I'm a spider. It's true, I'm used to a variety of foreign things in my body. Poisons, venoms, weapons tearing into me, all those I'm familiar with. Regular, pharmaceutic drugs, I've never touched. The last time I had anything like that in me was back when I still lived in that mansion.

Huh….I haven't thought about that in awhile. I remember. I caught the flu during that one summer when I was seven, and doctor's orders confined me to bed for a week. I snuck out the first night, like I always did, and collapsed in the forest. As I remember, the cicadas were giving me a headache. Needless to say, I didn't return for the next day. I woke up sometime in the afternoon. Then I just sat by a little stream and dangled my feet in it. My brain hadn't been working clearly, so I didn't really think about going back until the sun had set. And even then, I didn't think about the reactions anyone would have when I returned. Of course they'd all freaked out. Father had locked me in my room for the rest of the time I was sick. He said something about his heir becoming frail.

A small smile, just a little one, pulls my lips upwards. Is he happy now, I wonder? I doubt he'd think I'm so frail now. He'd more likely be horrified that his daughter is involved with something so scandalous as the Phantom Troupe. It would stain that precious reputation of his.

As I recall it, that man and that house, my eyelids start to sag and I yawn. My jaw cracks as I do.

"I know you're tired," Kurapika attempts to talk me awake. "I am too. We have to stay awake, though, or they could do something to us while we sleep. They could hook us up to different drugs, or move us. If they try to move us, that could be our chance to escape."

I don't care to even try to respond. My entire body is still shaking from my earlier efforts. What he says is true. They could move us, or put more needles in our arms, or could discuss something vital within earshot of us. For all of those, it's be better to be awake for, but I'm tired. And besides, I'm confident I'll wake up if they so much as touch me. So, I think I'll let myself drift off for now.

Kurapika still talks, but his soft words blend together in my ears and transform into some sort of lullaby that drags me deeper into the dreamworld. Really….I never….realized how nice it is….to have someone….there…..while you sleep….

This is actually kind of difficult to write. Whenever the door is shut, they're in complete darkness. As such, they can't see each other or their facial expressions. Body language is a lot, you know? You can communicate with it, sometimes more than you can with words. Now I'm lacking that. I can describe how Corona acts, cause she knows what she does, but only a few feet away from her she has no idea what Kurapika's doing. She can't see his reactions. Therefore, I have to write of their conversation purely with words, and Corona's one sided movements. It makes it difficult to convey Kurapika as a character. Anyway, what do you think? They've been kidnapped! Isn't this an interesting development? This allows me to take a creative license and run with it! Look forward to what's coming!

Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!