A/N: My first note for this story. Thank you very much for your support, it means a lot to me that people would actually read my silly OC stories. I really appreciate all of your favorites and reviews, I read them all and take all your thoughts into consideration. Please continue to support this story. Thanks again!
"How boring."
Jun's jaw was grabbed a titled upward, her face up for her mother's inspection. Her mother scowled and rolled her eyes, tossing Jun aside. "Enhancers are so boring. Why couldn't you be a transmuter like that Jin'ai?"
"Sorry, mother," Jun said, offering her mother, Jie, a sweet smile. She was met with a slap in the face.
"Stop smiling that stupid smile, Jun'suh," her mother commanded.
"Sorry mother," the seven year old said again, and was slapped a second time.
"I said stop with that smile," Jie snapped, disgusted. She turned to her guards, already forgetting about Jun. "I've had enough of you for today, Jun'suh. Take her to transmuter training."
"But mother, I do not have the same ability as Onii-chan," Jun said, standing as the other servants attempted to drag her away. "I've been doing transmuter training for months. Maybe I can have another role and train my enhancer ability—"
"My children are only transmuters," Jie snarled. "Their only purpose is to service this family with their abilities. You are no different."
"Yes, mother," Jun said, and allowed herself to be dragged out of her mother's room, the door slamming behind her. Once they were out of her mother's sight, Jun looked up to the guards. "Get your filthy hands off me," she hissed.
The guards did not comply. "We have orders to further your education in—"
Jun tugged her wrist out of the man's grip, using it to break the fingers of the other guard's hand. The first guard attempted to grab her again, but she jammed her foot into his gut, causing him to double over. She finished him with a kick to the temple before spinning around to crush her palm into the other man's chest, sending him hurtling backwards.
She smiled sweetly, fixing her clothes. "Time to visit Onii-chan."
Jun skipped all the way to her brother's room. He smiled upon seeing her. "You've been making trouble, haven't you, Jun-chan?" he asked, turning his wheelchair towards her.
"Not," she giggled, sticking her tongue out, causing her brother to chuckle.
Still smiling, Jin'ai offered her a glass of water from his nightstand. "Remember what I told you? When you get upset, you should just drink a glass of water," he reminded her, and Jun took it from his hand, taking a sip.
And she did feel better. All the intense training and torture seemed so small. All the disappointment she caused her mother by being born seemed like nothing. She smiled at her brother. "Thanks, Onii-chan," she said, putting the water back on the nightstand before hopping onto his bed, her legs dangling off the edge. She plucked something out of her pocket, tossing it to her brother.
He smiled, chuckling. "Bungee Gum."
Jun popped a piece in her mouth, grinning. "Stole some the other day from the market," she said proudly.
"You're pretty addicted to this stuff," he said, but ate a piece anyway. A richly sweet strawberry flavor filled his mouth as he chewed on the candy. As someone who didn't get to eat sweets very often because of their strict household, Jun's thefts were actually treats. "But it is kind of great. I understand why it's your favorite."
Jun laughed. "I know you like it too, silly," she said with a smile. But it was short lived, as she frowned, picking at his bangs. "Your hair is losing color."
It was true. Jin'ai and Jun were both born with dark hair, but now, the tips of Jin'ai's hair were fraying into a stark silver. "It's fine," he assured her, moving her fingers away.
"I don't like what mother is doing," she said, frowning. "When Onii-chan uses his ability, stuff like this happens." She gestured to his wheelchair. "I'm going to tell mother."
"If you talk to her about this again, nothing will change," Jin'ai told her. "You'll just get tortured again. I don't want that, Jun-chan."
"But it doesn't hurt anymore," Jun said with a smile.
Jin'ai frowned. "Jun-chan," he said quietly. "If you get hurt, then you have to tell me. I can heal you."
"No," Jun said, pouting. "Because it'll make you like this," she said, pointing at his wheelchair.
"It doesn't matter," Jin'ai assured her, fixing the blanket over his lap. "I don't mind—"
"I'm going to get us out of here," Jun promised. "Me and you, we're gonna leave Meteor City and get away from mother and all of this stuff and we're gonna be Pro Hunters and explore the world!"
Jin'ai smiled, and was unable to hide a hint of sadness. Jun was young, but by this time, she was already tuned to the world around her. The constant struggle to live everyday made her alert and aware of every little detail. Even the twinge of sadness in her brother's smile. "That sounds fun, Jun-chan."
Jun could tell in her brother's voice that he was lying. He had no intention, no hope, of leaving this place. "I promise, Onii-chan," she said again, hopping off the bed. She flexed her thin arm. "I'll definitely break us out! I'm an enhancer!"
Jin'ai laughed. "You are pretty strong."
"I'm the strongest! I can punch people and stuff and when mother tortures me, it doesn't hurt! That means I'm super strong, right?"
Jin'ai was certain that wasn't what it meant. But coming from the mouth of a seven year old, what was he supposed to think? He just decided that Jun was trying to brush off the pain. She couldn't just…not feel it, right? That wasn't normal. "Super strong," he decided to agree.
"And I'll find a way to get you to walk again! There's gotta be something out there, right? We'll find it," she said, clapping her hands together. She offered her brother a bright smile. "I promise."
Jun didn't come back home that night. She'd wandered around town and when she got tired, she fell asleep on a bench somewhere.
"Jun-nee? Jun-nee?" called a voice, and Jun opened her eyes, only to be blinded by sunlight. She rolled over, and fell onto the concrete, still shielding her face. "Jun-nee, are you okay?"
Jun shot up, taking a deep breath. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, opening her eyes to see Gon's concerned face. "Oh, hey Gon," she greeted groggily. "Heading to train with Wing-san?"
"What are you doing sleeping on a bench?" Killua asked, ignoring her.
"Oh, hi, Baby-chan," she said, pulling herself to her feet. She stretched out. "Didn't feel like staying at my place last night. There were mean people there."
"Why didn't you just kill them?" Killua asked, furrowing his brows.
"I can't," she said, shrugging. She smiled at them. "Well, I should go home and shower or something. Have fun training. See you soon, little ones."
And with that, Jun spun around and swept back in the direction of the tower without another word. She was a little afraid of going back to the tower. She'd been on bad terms with Hisoka for a few days, fighting on and off, and she really didn't want to have to do it anymore. But she knew that if she saw him, she'd just get annoyed again. The last thing she wanted was to destroy her house. She knew that if he was there, even if they both tried to avoid it, they'd end up fighting for real this time. That wouldn't end well.
She stalked through the lobby, her hair disheveled and her clothes wrinkled. But it didn't matter, because she just fell into zetsu anyway, so no one paid her any attention. She headed up to her room and opened the door. Despite the sun being up, she was half expecting Hisoka to still be at her room, waiting for her so that he could taunt her, but much to her surprise, her room was empty.
She spotted an envelope on the drawer near the door and picked it up, trading it for her haori as she made her way to the bed. Jun tore it open and gave it a cursory glance, groaning before shoving it back in the envelope. It was a fight challenge.
That was the last thing she wanted to deal with right now. How could she get energized for a fight when she was already arguing with Hisoka? If he weren't upset with her, then maybe the fight wouldn't be so boring because she would be fighting for someone, but now it just seemed pointless, as usual. She slapped the envelope onto the nightstand and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She needed a shower to clear her mind.
Just drinking water wasn't enough to calm her down anymore. She needed to be rained on, or she needed to throw her face in a tub. Things were definitely not the same as when she were a child; she wasn't tortured anymore and didn't have to answer to her mother, but her brother wasn't by her side. That'd brought a whole new slew of problems.
Jun shut off the water and changed into fresh clothes – a green bandeau under a sheer white long sleeve button up shirt, and a pair of black shorts before lying on her bed to stare at the ceiling again.
She didn't know how long she'd just laid there before she heard her door open. She didn't bother to look and see who it was; there was only one person it could be. She glanced out of her glass walls. The sun had come and gone; she'd been in bed all day.
"Jun-chan," said a voice. It was her favorite voice up until yesterday, when she found it rather annoying. She didn't turn to look at him, but by the sound of it, he seemed to be taking off his shoes and shirt, sitting on the side of the bed. "Jun-chan, I'm home."
Jun rolled over so that her back was facing him and heard him chuckle a little, climbing over her. "Jun-chan, are you still mad at me?" he asked, turning her onto her back. He folded his arms over her stomach, resting his chin on them.
"I don't want to talk to you," Jun said, pouting down at him.
"Even if I came here to apologize?"
"If you came here to apologize, you're doing a pretty crappy job," she said, puffing out her cheeks as Hisoka chuckled. "Besides, I don't believe your stupid apologies anymore. You're such a butt."
Hisoka lifted his arms from her stomach and crawled over her, propping himself up closer to her face. "Well, I am sorry," he said, a thin smile forming on his lips. He had gotten quite good at sounding convincing whilst apologizing. It was a skill he needed to get Jun to do what he wanted.
Jun turned her head away and closed her eyes. Even if she tried to struggle, he would break all the bones in her body to get her to listen to whatever he had to say. While that would have sounded like fun on a normal day, she wasn't in the mood for that right now. "I don't believe you," Jun said.
"What if I tell you that I was indeed jealous?" Hisoka said, and Jun turned her head, her eyes bursting open. Hisoka's smile widened. "I certainly didn't want that silver haired stick whisking my princess away. So, I had to kill him. You understand, right, Jun-chan?"
Jun smiled brightly. "Of course," she agreed immediately.
"I've even brought you something as a token of my apology," he said, sitting up to kneel over her stomach. Jun lit up and reached her hands up and made grabby hands, wiggling her fingers at him as he pulled a box from his pocket, placing it in her hands. She lowered the box down to herself and opened it.
Inside was a crisp new white hair pin, embossed with sapphire butterflies. Jun's eyes seemed to sparkle as she plucked her new gift from the box. She sat up and Hisoka shifted so that she could sit facing him. She took out her old black hair pin and swept her hair up with her new one, grinning at Hisoka. "I absolutely love it. Thank you so much!" she squealed, clapping her hands together.
Hisoka smiled. All was forgiven, as usual. "You're very welcome, Jun-chan."
"I've never gotten a present before," Jun said, pulling her hair down again to admire the clip. "This means so much to me. Thank you, Hisoka."
Hisoka wasn't sure if he had heard correctly. "You've never received a gift before?"
Jun shook her head. "You're the first," she said, shrugging. She was still smiling brightly, bouncing on the bed as she looked at her new present at every angle possible. She placed it gently on the bed. "You've been saying sorry to me a lot and I haven't been returning the favor. But I am sorry. For, you know, being crazy."
"Being 'crazy' is my favorite thing about you, Jun-chan," Hisoka told her. "No need to apologize."
"No, but I do," Jun insisted, bouncing on the bed for emphasis. Hisoka smiled. He just wanted to hear her grovel. "I shouldn't have gone to lunch with Kastro. I'm really sorry."
"It's all in the past," Hisoka told her. "I've already forgotten about the silver haired minx who tried to steal my Jun-chan away."
"Well, I promise it won't happen again," Jun said, making an X over her heart as she puffed out her cheeks and furrowed her brows to try to look serious. Hisoka smiled, patting her on the head.
"Well then I suppose you and I will never have a fight again," he said. "Since you're going to behave yourself."
"It was fun though, right?" she asked. "Fighting. I haven't fought like that in over a year."
"When we fought over chocolates," Hisoka recalled, chuckling.
Jun laughed. "Yeah, I remember. You ate all my expensive chocolate!"
"You left them out on the counter."
"Doesn't mean you can eat 'em all," Jun giggled, waving him off. Hisoka was surprised at the speed at which things returned to normal. Jun was actually being sweeter than usual, but he had to guess it was something to do with the hairclip he'd given her. It was her first gift, after all. "I actually kind of miss fighting."
"Well, if you're exceptionally impressive at your fight in a week," Hisoka said, reaching over the nightstand to pluck the envelope with her challenge. He slid the envelope between his teeth. "Then I may have a very special surprise for you."
"Do you, though?" Jun asked, squinting her eyes and scrunching her face together jokingly.
Hisoka smiled and squeezed her chin, lightly to convey a joking tone. He tossed the envelope aside, pushing her down onto the bed. He had been without Jun for long enough and he wasn't in the mood to answer any of her questions. He licked his lips. "I most certainly do."
The next morning, Jun, of course, woke up alone, wearing Hisoka's shirt. She laid in bed for a while. A way to impress Hisoka. She had about a week to think of something for her fight that would impress him.
"How should I know?" Machi said when Jun had called to ask her for advice. "You guys are really weird, Jun."
"He's seen all my other fights," Jun said with a pout, putting Machi on speaker phone as she ran a towel through her wet hair. "Is there something I haven't done yet?"
"I haven't seen your fights," Machi reminded her. She sighed, knowing that Jun wasn't going to give up unless she had something for Hisoka. "Maybe you should go train or something. You never know if you'll find something through traditional means."
Jun groaned. "Ugh, that means I have to fight people, doesn't it?"
"Not necessarily—"
"Wanna come with me to the underground arena?" Jun asked, perking up as though she'd had a great idea. "You can help me with ideas for my fight! Are you busy today with Ryodan stuff?"
"No, I can come with you," Machi said. "I'll meet you downstairs soon."
"See you," Jun said, clicking off the phone. She flung open her closet, thinking of what to wear. She hadn't fought seriously for some time and needed to find something comfortable enough to move in. She pulled on a black crop tank top, and a pair of loose shorts. She plucked her short sword and threw her haori over her back and headed downstairs.
In zetsu, Jun waited in the lobby, already starting to brainstorm. She had about a week to show something in her fight that would impress Hisoka. She wondered what the surprise was. Knowing him, it could literally be anything. She was half hoping it would be a free kiss or something. Either way, she knew that she wanted to impress him. Berserker Queen was such a difficult thing to be creative with, but she wanted him to be as enamored with her fights as she was with his.
Machi showed up, dressed casually, as she did when the two of them spent time together in public. Jun smiled upon seeing her friend, and Machi took a finger, turning Jun's cheek. It was bruised and cut, and Machi knew exactly who did it. "Dammit, Jun," she said, frowning. "What happened now?"
"Oh, no, we're totally okay now," Jun said with a bright smile. "We fought the other day, but he apologized and now we're okay."
Machi clicked her tongue and sighed, running her nen through her finger, poking Jun's cheek with it. The bruise lightened and the cuts healed slightly, enough for Jun's natural healing to handle a complete recovery. Jun smiled. "Thanks, as usual, Machi," she said, skipping together with her.
"So, what are you planning on doing?" Machi asked. "Have you been to the underground arena before?"
"Nope," Jun said with a shrug. "Berserker Queen is a pretty weird ability. I don't know if I can find anything."
"Did he ask you to do that?"
Jun shook her head. "No, he just said he has a surprise for me if I impress him," she said with a grin. She pulled out her hair, pointing at the white clip in her hands. "Look what he bought for me, Machi! It's so pretty! He gave it to me when he apologized."
Machi made a face. "So, he breaks your jaw and you forgive him after he gives you a hairclip?" Machi asked incredulously. "Jun, come on. You don't have to be his toy."
"I'm not," Jun insisted. "He told me he was jealous, too. That's mostly why I forgave him. The clip was a bonus!"
Machi couldn't believe what she had just heard. Hisoka had admitted that he was jealous? She frowned. What kind of game was he playing? In the two years they had known each other, Machi had never seen Jun be so emotional. The most intense she got about anything was really happy over an exceptionally good batch of French fries.
Machi wasn't having it. "He's just manipulating you, you know. All of this stuff, it's not real, Jun," she told Jun, unafraid of Jun's reaction. Maybe it was time to stop babying her. "Why do you even trust him?"
Jun's answer was short and simple: "Because he's all I have."
Machi didn't have a response for that, and just decided to follow Jun into the elevator. She didn't know whether or not Jun was really stupid, really bored, or just really…lonely. She just decided to drop it. No matter what Machi said Jun was feeling, she never really knew; the woman was a hurricane. Anything could happen.
Jun flashed her ID and pressed the B on the elevator and Machi shifted her feet as the elevator descended. "Aren't there multiple floors to the underground arena?" she asked Jun. "Why is there just that one button?"
Jun shrugged. "Dunno. Never been. I think it's 'cause there's another elevator there that can take you lower," she said. "It's only like, ten stories into the ground but I think it's hard, I mean other floor masters go there to fight, right? Must be fun."
"Whatever you say," Machi said, shrugging. She wondered why she often went places with Jun; for all she knew, they could be headed off to be sold on the black market.
The doors opened and the two women were greeted with the faint sound of roars and a wave of heat singing the skin on their cheeks. Jun fanned herself with her hands. "Uwah, it's so hot down here," she sighed, stepping out of the elevator.
"Greetings, Sekihara-san," greeted a woman standing outside the elevator. She was dressed like the rest of the Heaven's Arena workers, her blonde hair pulled up in a tight bun. "I don't believe we've ever seen you here in Tartarus before."
"First time," Jun agreed. She pointed to Machi. "My friend is coming with me."
"That's completely fine," the woman told Jun. "Because it is your first time with us, would you like to hear the rules?"
"Nah," Jun said, strolling past her. "I'm just here to fight." She made a move to leave, but paused for a second, turning back to the woman. "If anyone comes and says they're friends of mine, you would be wise to let them through," she added before skipping away.
The woman seemed surprised, but didn't bother to chase after Jun. "Wouldn't it have been good to learn the rules, Jun? Maybe they're different from the Heaven's Arena," Machi advised.
"Rules don't matter," Jun said with a shrug. She smiled brightly as they headed down the tunnel to where the cheers were coming from. "I'm not here with the goal of progressing further down to become champion or something. I'll fight how I want. I'd like to see them try to stop me."
For some reason, Machi found what Jun was saying to make sense. Jun didn't have that sense of pride as a 'champion', she preferred to achieve her own goals her way. To Jun, that was a win. That was the mindset of a champion: to win by one's own means. Machi understood. But she knew that just because she understood, didn't mean that other people would.
"Welcome," said a scratchy voice in the shadows of the tunnel. Jun didn't seem fazed, even though Machi was a little disturbed that there was some dude in a cloak lurking inside the tunnel. "Would I happen to interest any of you ladies in some items off the black market?"
"Are you sure this is a good place to do business?" Jun asked, frowning, but the man just let out a raspy laugh.
"This is the perfect place. Tartarus, the gates to Hell," he said. He pulled a box from his pocket. "I have here these anti-nen pills. If you force your opponent to eat this, it will cancel out their nen for six hours!"
Jun made a face. "No, thanks," she said, waving him off. She stalked off. "I'm not here to cheat."
"I have other wares you may be interested in," he offered, shoving the pills back into his pocket.
"Not interested," Jun insisted, waving him off without even bothering to turn back.
Machi just followed, but when she turned back, the man was gone. She turned her eyes forward again. The stadium was much like the first floor of the Heaven's Arena, with multiple stages. Though on this floor, there were only three, and the bleachers were empty. Most of the fighters were crowded outside of the individual rings while one-on-one matches ensued within.
Jun grinned at Machi. "One, two, or three?" she asked.
Machi glanced at the three different rings, gauging the nen capacity of both the contestants in the ring and the onlookers. "Three," Machi said after some time. "Those seem like the strongest people."
"I was thinking that, too," Jun agreed. "Plus, their match is almost over," she added, heading over to the right-most ring from where they were standing.
"Try not to attract too much attention, okay, Jun? I know you're here to train, but you don't need to make a scene," Machi told her. She mostly didn't want attention because she didn't want people knowing her face. If she were just able to blend in with the crowd of people as Jun's friend, that would be great. She wanted to go to these places and do things with Jun, but whenever she did, Jun always did something insane that made Machi regret leaving her hotel in the first place.
"Oh, don't worry, Machi, I'm super incognito," Jun assured her, as though that were the truth. Machi just decided to trust her this time.
The sound of Jun's footsteps – heels on the stone – alerted others to her presence and the other fighters turned with the sound. They seemed to realize who she was, as they either moved aside, or shot her the nastiest looks, their faces twisted with disdain. Jun just kept her eyes forward, as though it would take too much energy to acknowledge those who had turned to look at her.
She stood on the outside of the ring as one of the fighters was thrown out, crashing into the wall. Jun didn't seem impressed, her expression not changing a bit.
"Winner by ring out, Leon," the referee announced. Before anyone could move, she stepped into the ring, inciting a few angry protests.
Leon was a lean fighter, dark skin and dark hair, swinging around a battered sickle and chain that looked like it had to give Tetanus to anyone it touched. "Sorry, but you're gonna have to wait your turn," he told her, his voice smooth like velvet.
"Not in the mood to wait," she said, stretching out her arms. "Let's go."
"Fine, I suppose I'll take the floor master for my third win," he said, unfazed.
Jun was still not impressed. She pulled out her short sword from behind her back and tied it to her hip. "Not sure what that means, but let's do it. I don't even want to fight you, I don't want to get diseases from that disgusting excuse for a weapon you have."
Machi sighed. She would later need to perhaps give Jun a talk on how to not agitate people.
But Leon didn't seem affected by Jun's blunt words. "You haven't been to Tartarus before?"
"Are we starting yet?"
Leon was ignoring her. "In order to move on, a fighter must gain—"
Jun disappeared and reappeared not a foot away from Leon. He hadn't even realized that she'd flung her short sword across the ring, the blade piercing his chest and protruding out from his back. She tore it out and slammed her foot into the side of his skull, sending him hurtling out of the ring before he'd even realized that he'd been hit. He slammed into the earth, skidding along the stone across the entire stadium until he crashed into the wall, rubble and dust exploding into the air. The other rings had even paused in the middle of their matches to see what the ruckus was about.
Jun flicked the blood from her sword, sheathing it again. She smiled at the referee. "That's a ring out, right?"
Machi rubbed the bridge of her nose. She could tell that Jun had probably won by T.K.O., and by T.K.O., she meant death. Jun's stab had been the killer back there; she'd shoved the short sword straight through one of Leon's lungs. Even if she hadn't kicked him and shattered his skull, he would have died regardless. So much for not attracting too much attention.
Jun smiled. "Can I fight again? That wasn't even ten percent."
"Yes, you may," the referee told her, even though every cell in his body was telling him not to let this crazy woman fight in his ring. "In order to go downstairs, each fighter must win three consecutive matches."
"Oh, so you mean most people don't move on," Jun summarized. "Judging by this weak lot, I feel like a lot of these people don't ever get downstairs."
Jun's words incited more livid protests, but she didn't even seem to hear them. "Question real quick," Jun said to the referee, who nodded. "I am allowed to kill people, right?"
"Yes, but it does not count towards your quota to advance."
"So, that one didn't count," Jun said, gesturing to the wall where Leon's body was.
The referee swallowed a lump in his throat. "It did not."
"That's fine," Jun said, waving it off. "I can fight again though."
"Yes," he said again. "A fighter may stay in the ring as long as he or she wishes. Three consecutive wins grants you a ticket to the next floor, and deaths do not count towards that quota."
"Okay," Jun said, clapping her hands. "Anyone willing to help me train? Maybe going downstairs would be good; everyone here seems pretty weak."
With that, a woman stepped into the ring. She was much taller than Jun, at about six feet tall, her olive skin painted with tribal tattoos. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a tight pony tail, and she pulled out a curved sword from her belt. "I'll finish off this cocky bitch," she snarled. "Just because you're a floor master, you think you can come in here and say what you like and have your way."
"Are you in the 200's?" Jun asked, not impressed.
The woman's face twisted with scorn. "Of course. You can't get down here without being in the 200's."
"How many wins do you have?" Jun asked.
"Five," the woman bragged, crossing her arms over her chest triumphantly. "Five in two years with only one—"
"Ugh, can I fight someone else?" Jun asked the referee, making a face. "I don't want to kill random people, I just want to train."
The vein in the other woman's forehead looked like it was ready to pop. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted with Jun thrust kicking her out of the ring in one fell swoop. Jun turned to the referee. "I did my best not to kill her that time," she said, glancing over at the woman's body. She wasn't moving, and Machi didn't blame her. That kick could have taken down a herd of elephants.
"Winner by ring-out, Sekihara Jun," the referee said. The quicker he gave her points, the quicker she'd leave the floor.
Jun blew the bangs out of her face, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm already bored," she said with a frown. She seemed to think for a bit before doing a little jump as though she had an idea. She headed towards the edge of the ring. She stuck her finger in between one of the tiles and flipped it out of the ring in one swift motion. It slammed into the ground and she jumped onto it, pressing it a little deeper.
Machi headed over to where her friend was standing in the middle of the tile, pulling out wads of cash from the inside of her haori pockets. She swung off her haori and bundled all the money inside, tying it like a knapsack, letting it plop onto the ground.
"250 million Jenny," she told others who had gathered near her. "If anyone can hit me out of this tile, I'll give them 250 million."
The onlookers talked amongst themselves, the prospect of so much money riling up the greed lurking within. Fighters fought in Heaven's Arena for the money, but once a fighter reached the 200's, the money stopped, no matter how many fights you did. There was no other way to get money once in the 200's unless the fighter became a floor master.
Machi actually found Jun's plan to be rather smart. Motivating people with their own greed ensured that she'd never run out of people to fight. Not fighting in the ring allowed her to kill whomever she wished, and none of the referees were going to try to stop her from having her own little contest. A space constraint added desperation to both Jun and whomever she was fighting; the tile was only about six feet by six feet. Since Jun was just fighting to try and figure out something to show Hisoka during her fight next week, the situation was rather perfect for her.
Hisoka, also, found Jun's situation rather perfect. Granted, he hadn't expected her to want to progress further down, as Jun was rather selfish and had a one-track mind. He knew that if he had told her a specific way she could impress him, she would stop at nothing until she had achieved that goal. She'd been in Tartarus for a total of about ten minutes and she'd already killed two people. This was what he liked the most about her.
He'd come down to Tartarus rather early and perched himself in the tunnel opposite of the one Jun came out of. Of course, he had been using zetsu the entire time, as the last thing he wanted was for Jun to sense him. Jun was so easy to predict that Hisoka hadn't even waited very long for her to come downstairs.
He watched her for what seemed like hours. She'd at least beaten twenty people already and they'd been here all day. She didn't even break a sweat and had gotten bored with fighting with her sword that she'd stuck it so deep into the stone that only the hilt and handle were protruding out of the earth.
"How cute," said a voice, and Hisoka recognized it instantly, a smirk creeping onto his lips. Hisoka sensed a bit of sarcasm but the tone was so dry and devoid of life that perhaps the man was serious. "Watching over your girlfriend."
"Illumi-kun," Hisoka greeted, turning his head to see the dark haired Zoldyck standing behind him. "What brings you here?"
"I was in town and I heard that a little monster was killing people at the gates of Hell," Illumi said, his voice monotone, despite his words. "I thought it was Jun'suh, and it turns out I was correct."
"Jun'suh?" Hisoka asked, smiling.
"It's her birth name," Illumi told him, as though he didn't already know. The fact was that Jun always introduced herself as 'Sekihara Jun', so Hisoka, in fact, did not know that her birth name was anything different. He'd never once heard Jun call herself that and it reminded him that while he did know her, he knew very little about her. He wasn't sure if it was annoying or amusing.
"You know her quite well," he teased.
"As do you," Illumi said, turning his eyes to Jun. She was in the middle of another fight, dodging all the opponent's strikes with ease. He didn't know how long Hisoka had been here stalking Jun, but Illumi had a feeling that Jun hadn't even used her ability, even though she'd been here the whole day. He also had a feeling that the entire reason she was down here slaying other fighters was because of something Hisoka said. Jun, while strong, was easily manipulated and very simple minded. Illumi knew that she valued Hisoka's opinions and words. He also knew that Hisoka knew this and enjoyed taking advantage of it.
"Are you going to fight her, Illumi-kun?" Hisoka asked, his eyes gleaming.
"Even I wouldn't go near that train wreck," Illumi said, and Hisoka chuckled. The last time they had fought had been some time ago and after that, never bothered fighting each other again. Illumi actively avoided it out of the sheer amount of nuisance it was to fight Jun. "Besides, I would rather not touch your woman."
"You know she and I aren't like that."
"Does she know that?"
"Of course," Hisoka said. "My princess isn't stupid."
"So, she's aware that the clip in her hair is a tracker?" Illumi asked, and Hisoka did his best to offer an innocent smile. It did not work. It just came off as deceitful. "You know that if she had used Gyo, you would have been found out. Your nen is infused into that hair clip. I can literally see it from here."
"I just don't want her to get lost," Hisoka said with a shrug, as though he didn't already know all of that stuff. He was the one who gave it to her. "Since she has to travel sometimes. You know, working as an assassin and all."
Illumi glanced at Hisoka for a moment. "Did she finally tell you?"
"No, you did," Hisoka said, grinning. Illumi sighed, and Hisoka waved him off. "But I figured she was anyway. She had to be doing something in this town besides sit in her room. And she leaves her bloody coats all over her room as well. Don't worry, I won't tell Jun'suh that you spilled the beans, Illumi-kun."
"Are you going to fight her today? I am sure it is something that would please her," Illumi said.
Illumi went ignored. "What agency does Jun-chan work for? How long as she been there?"
"You should ask her yourself."
"She'll be upset. She didn't want me to know for a reason."
"Yes. Maybe it would be wise to respect her wishes."
"Illumi-kun, do you like my Jun-chan?" Hisoka asked, turning to face Illumi, a mischievous smile etched into his face. "You know I don't like sharing."
Illumi sighed, shaking his head. "Of course not. You are too protective of her, you know. Are you sure that Jun'suh is not your girlfriend?"
"Of course she's not," Hisoka reminded him, smiling. "I'm actually kind of jealous, Illumi-kun. My Jun-chan lets you call her Jun'suh. Even I don't call her that."
"She doesn't let me," Illumi told him. "However, we are not particularly friends, so addressing her by anything but her birth name is inappropriate. She has learned to deal with it, like I assume she has learned to deal with you calling her Jun-chan."
"I suppose," Hisoka said, turning back to look at Jun. She was already fighting someone new. "When is Jun-chan's next job?"
"She doesn't work for my family," Illumi said. "I wouldn't know."
"You can ask her."
"Or you can ask her."
"Pass," Hisoka said, waving him off. "What is she working for?"
"What do you mean?" Illumi asked. Though he had no intent of answering the question even if he knew the answer, it was actually a bit amusing for him to have Hisoka prying into Jun's life.
"Jun-chan is simple," Hisoka told him. "She is easily bored, especially if there is no goal in sight. She wouldn't do something like work unless she felt like the end reward is particularly extravagant. You work with her occasionally; do happen to know what that thing is?"
"No," Illumi said. Though that was not particularly true.
"Could you find out for me?" Hisoka asked sweetly. "I'll pay, of course."
Illumi sighed. "Or you could save yourself – and me – the trouble and ask her yourself. I'm sure if it was you, she wouldn't mind. Since you are her boyfriend."
"It's actually more trouble to ask her," Hisoka said, making arbitrary hand motions, ignoring Illumi's comment. "If I ask her for something, she'd ask for something from me in return. I'd rather not play games."
"That's unlike you."
"Give me a call when you find out," Hisoka said brightly, smiling at Illumi.
Illumi sighed again. "Fine," he agreed. He turned to leave, but paused for a second. "She got stronger since I've seen her last. Say I did fight her. Would you intervene?
A thin smile spread on Hisoka's lips. "Do you want to fight her? I'm sure she could learn a lot from you."
"Will you intervene?"
A thin smile spread on Hisoka's lips. "If her life is in danger, Illumi-kun, I will have no choice," he said simply.
"Not worth it," Illumi sighed, walking away, leaving Hisoka alone.