Jun hadn't slept in a few days. But instead of sleeping, she had a fight to be at. Gon and Killua's event matches were later this afternoon. She looked down at herself in the mirror and frowned. Her body was splotched in yellow-purple bruises and by the look of her swollen arm, she'd probably broken it again.

She sighed, pulling Machi up on the phone.

"Finally done?" Machi asked, and Jun laughed.

"Done," she said, hopping into the shower. She'd stayed downstairs all night, even after losing to Gon and Killua, fighting in the arena normally. She'd gotten her three consecutive wins and made her way downstairs again just to see what it was like. But the second floor was a tag-team floor, and she didn't bother pairing up with anyone down there; they were all weak anyway. She'd watched matches for hours until finally making her way back up to the 235th floor.

"I'll be right over," Machi said, and killed the line as Jun flipped on the water. She was still covered in sweat and dried blood, and decided it'd be best to wash all of that off before Machi came over to heal her.

Because of Berserker Queen, nothing really hurt, but Jun knew that if a normal person had taken the beating she had, they'd probably be in the hospital or worse. Other people's brains allowed them to feel pain. She'd deflected a lot of hits and taken some as well, but even though she didn't feel pain didn't mean that it didn't batter up her body.

The shower was hot and quick and she changed into a fresh sports bra and shorts so Machi would be able to access her injuries easily. She played some game on her phone while she waited for Machi to come upstairs.

"So, you gonna tell me who beat you?" Machi asked as she came in, already threading her need with nen. Jun sat up, ready to be treated.

"A Zoldyck," Jun answered with a bright smile as Machi wrapped her thread around Jun's arm.

Machi made a face. "A Zoldyck? Illumi came to fight you?" she asked. She hadn't personally met Illumi before, but from Jun's stories about the last time she and Illumi fought, she thought they were avoiding fighting again. She's almost been unable to recover from that fight.

"No, his younger brother," Jun said as the bruises on her arm disappeared. "The one I was gonna follow that one time. He's really good, you know."

"How much percent?" Machi asked.

"Forty."

Machi paused for a moment. "Forty percent? On a kid?"

"Well, to activate Berserker Queen, I have to use at least forty," Jun answered. She smiled. "But that's just to activate it. Doesn't mean I have to use all forty percent."

"What did Hisoka think of your little Tartarus trip?"

Jun shrugged. "Dunno. I actually haven't seen him in a few days. Since I went down there, actually. I like it better that way. It motivates me, you know?"

"Or you could, you know, train because you want to get better, not because some psycho clown told you to," Machi replied, finishing Jun's other arm. She leaned down to start on Jun's legs. Jun's ability, Berserker Queen, was one of the most dangerous Machi had ever seen, both to fight against and as Berserker Queen's user. Especially because it made Jun's recovery rate next to zero. If Machi wasn't around, she figured Jun would just be a sack of blood and bones. She wondered how she'd gotten by before they'd met.

"He makes me want to get better," Jun said with a smile. Machi sighed and finished up Jun's legs. She stood back up, and poked Jun's forehead. There were signs of dark circles under her eyes.

"You look tired. Have you slept at all?" she asked, making a face. "It's been four days, Jun."

Jun waved her off. "No time for sleep, Machi. I have to think of stuff and I also have a few matches to see today."

Machi scoffed, actually a little amused. "You sound busy."

"Isn't it great?" Jun beamed, clapping her hands together. "Things have been so lively lately! I'm so happy with you and Hisoka are in town. It makes everything so much better."

Machi sighed at Jun's innocence. It really was nice to have a friend sometimes. She was sure that a lot of people don't think the same thing about her that Jun does. Machi stood up. "Well, I've gotta go, so I'll see you later," she said.

"Wait, where are you going?" Jun asked, standing up and pulling on a loose crop top. "I haven't paid you. And I also wanted to ask if you'd see the match with me."

"It's on the house," Machi said, waving off Jun. "And sorry, I can't make it. Troupe stuff."

"Oh, okay," Jun said, giving up immediately. Machi knew that whenever the Troupe came up, Jun seemed to lose interest, though Machi never understood why. She didn't mention that some of the troupe were in town, because she knew that would definitely pique her interest. Fighting strong people. That was one of Jun's bad habits. And if she got in trouble, Machi wouldn't be able to save her.

"I'll see you at my fight?" Jun asked hopefully as Machi headed towards the door.

"Of course I'll be there," Machi told her. "Have fun training."

Jun headed over to Gon and Killua's matches later in the day. She'd spent the morning and some of the afternoon brainstorming, but couldn't come up with anything that would particularly impress Hisoka. She sat in one of the seats closer to the front, forgetting about Hisoka for a moment to cheer for her boys. Of course, their matches were shoo ins. She knew that if they could stand up to her, then these small fry in the 200's would be a piece of cake.

Killua's match was the main event of the day and despite the beating he'd taken from Jun yesterday, was at 100% to fight some guy in a wheelchair. Not that he needed it to beat his opponent, but Jun was impressed; with both his strength and his ability to recover so quickly.

She hurried downstairs after his fight to meet with him just as he wished Gon good luck with his fight as well.

Killua stopped in his tracks upon seeing Jun; he hadn't even sensed her at all. He realized that she probably traveled everywhere with zetsu. Without it, everyone would be aware of her presence. Despite having the attitude of a child, Killua knew that unwanted attention isn't something Jun pined for.

"Good job," she congratulated, smiling. "You can take some pretty rough lightning, huh?"

"Tortured," Killua answered simply, as though he was talking about the weather.

"Me, too," Jun said, clapping her hands together. That was new. Killua had a feeling that there was something darker about Jun, but he didn't suspect it to have been torture. He thought back briefly to the fight yesterday. Most of it was blurry; by the end, he hadn't been able to tell what was what, but he was certain that at a point in time, the woman before him wasn't Sekihara Jun. He wondered if that brash personality was the result of this torture she talked about.

"Anyway," Jun said, snapping Killua out of his thoughts. She held out a thin envelope, the contents of which Killua figured was a check for the other 250 million that she promised. "Wonderful job, Baby-chan. I really am sorry about yesterday. I hope there are no hard feelings between us."

"None," Killua told her honestly, waving her off. She was trying to be formal and he could hear the sincerity in her voice. She didn't seem to have meant anything that happened; she certainly hadn't intended to hurt him the way she did. Not that it mattered; he'd made it back in one piece and managed to pull himself together for the fight today.

Jun smiled gently. "I'm glad," she said, but shook the envelope again, insisting for Killua to take it. "But a deal's a deal. I owe you 250 million," she beamed. Killua wasn't about to say no to that much money, so of course, he took it without another word. Besides, he was fairly certain if he didn't, Jun would go a little crazy and he definitely didn't want that to happen.

Jun waved a little. "I'm gonna go think for a bit, okay? Again, wonderful fight. I'm looking forward to seeing you grow up, Baby-chan."

She turned on her heels to flee but Killua's voice stopped her. "We can still hang out, you know," he said, and Jun turned for a second, not sure if she had heard him right. Killua stuffed his hands in his pocket. "I'm not mad," he told her, averting his eyes. "So, stop acting like we're suddenly not friends or something. For as long as we're here, I'd be, uh, happy to hang out with you still, if we have free time."

Jun laughed that cute tinkling sound that Killua liked so much. She flashed him a bright smile. "Sounds great, Baby-chan."

Jun headed back out into the sunlight to think. She figured if she were out and about, moving around, then she'd be able to think of something for her fight that would particularly please Hisoka.

She thought about Machi's words. Training for herself because she wanted to improve, not just because Hisoka would be happy about it. Jun had brushed it off, but now, she found herself thinking about it. She'd been in this town for over five years now. How much had she grown since then? Jun knew that it hadn't been that much. She knew that for the most part, she had stayed the same. Complacency. Is that all she could take away after leaving this place? Would she even ever leave? Being from Meteor City could sure be a hassle sometimes—

Lost in her thoughts, Jun didn't notice the person in front of her and instead crashed into him, knocking coffee all over him. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry," she said immediately, waving her hands and trying to flick off the coffee from the man's coat. It had been like slamming into a brick wall, but of course, since Jun couldn't feel pain, she thought nothing of it.

"Don't worry about it," he said with a gentle smile, waving her off. He had shaggy hair kept out of his face with a headband over his forehead and was dressed in a grunge fashion style, with a loose grey striped shirt, dark washed jeans and combat boots under an oversized black trench coat.

"Oh, no, please let me buy you a new one," she said. She normally didn't do this for people but she was tired and didn't feel like being indebted to anyone. Besides, maybe interacting with another human would give her inspiration for her fight. Anything to get her to not think about the last five years she'd wasted away in this town. "The coffee and the shirt."

The man chuckled. "Well, if you insist," he said, making eye contact for a second. Something seemed to click. "Oh, you're, um," he pointed to an electronic billboard across the way with Jun's face plastered on it. Opposite her was a dark skinned man with the name ODIN splayed below, and the date for Jun's match.

"Oh, I guess I am," Jun said, not having noticed it before. She squinted, looking at the billboard, making a face. The photo they used of her was one from a few years ago; her hair in a bob cut that grazed her jaw line. "That's a really old picture of me. And I guess my opponent's name is Odin."

"You must be really strong," he complimented, walking alongside her as they headed to a coffee shop. "You fight in the Heaven's Arena. And you're a floormaster."

"Yeah, but a bunch of them are weenies," Jun said, waving him off. "You should come watch and see the weenies. My fight's not today though."

He chuckled. "I'm actually only in town for today."

"Too bad," Jun said, laughing as she ordered. "A black coffee?"

"Yes," he said. "How did you know?"

Jun shrugged. "A feeling," she said, and tapped her nose. "Just kidding. I could smell it." The barista passed Jun a cup of coffee and she handed it off to the man. "Here you go. Now, where did you get that shirt?"

He lifted his hands, waving her off as they headed out of the coffee shop. "There's really no need for another shirt. The coffee was more than enough."

Jun frowned. "I still feel pretty bad," she told him. "Is there another way I could repay you?"

"Well, I guess I wouldn't mind sparring with you," he said, smiling gently. "It's not every day you meet a floormaster out on the streets. I heard there was an underground arena around here."

Jun laughed, shaking her head. "Sorry, anything but that. I actually just spent four days fighting in the underground arena, preparing for my match in—" Jun glanced at the billboard and then checked her phone for the date. "—three days."

"That's too bad," he chuckled as they headed off together down the street. "I'm sure it would have been fun."

Jun smiled. "It would have been fun," she agreed. "But I kinda like my ability. It'd be a shame if it'd gotten stolen." She grinned up at him. "Nice to see you again, Bossu."

A thin smile curled on the man's lips, but he kept his eyes forward. He wondered how long he had to play along with this charade. He probably should have suspected she was playing dumb, being as she had been so polite. No matter; a little game of pretend had been fun. "Bossu? I think I actually preferred what you called me when we were kids. What was it again?"

"Chro-chan," she answered with a smile.

He chuckled, waving her off. "Right. Chro-chan. And here I was beginning to think you'd forgotten me, Huang Jun'suh."

"It's Sekihara Jun now," she told him.

"Took your brother's last name, I see," Chrollo commented, taking a sip from his coffee.

"What are you doing in town?" she asked, ignoring his mention of her brother. "I thought spiders prefer the dark."

"A few of us are in town this week, actually," he said with a shrug. "I'd expect some of them to be interested in your match. They might go and see it, considering how infamous you are."

"Uwah, I have Chro-chan's special guests coming to my match?" she asked with a hint of sweet sarcasm. "I should put on a good show. They can tell you about how some super cool lady named Sekihara Jun tore up the ring with her super cool powers! What were their names?"

"You know I won't tell you that," he said simply, and Jun giggled.

"Dang, and here I was thinking you'd forgotten how Berserker Queen works."

"You know, Jun, the offer still stands," he told her, finally looking down at her.

Jun laughed, waving him off. "It's been ten years, but I still don't think you'd want someone like me in your little crime ring," she said, wiggling her finger in a circle for emphasis. "All you strong people in one place would be too much for me. I might just try to kill you all."

"Are you sure you don't want to head to the underground arena?" Chrollo asked with a smile and a dark glint in his eye. "It's also been about ten years since we've fought."

"Yeah right, Chro-chan. I'm not gonna use my ability around you, you thief," she said, sticking out her tongue. "I worked hard on Berserker Queen and I'm not about to let it disappear into the pages of your little book."

"I wouldn't be able to make use of your enhancer technique anyway," he said with a shrug. "It'd just be a waste of space."

"I think I will take you up on that offer to go downstairs and beat your ass," she teased, thought Chrollo could hear the dry honesty in that statement. Insulting Jun was one thing; insulting that ability she'd developed was another. She was oddly protective of it at times. Chrollo actually thought for a second that he would agree to her challenge, but as quickly as the words came out of her mouth, her train of thought changed. "Forget it. I don't wanna risk it. I really hate that book."

Chrollo chuckled, shaking his head. "You haven't changed since you were twelve, Jun."

"You're pretty much the same, too," she said.

"I actually kind of like that about you."

"I'm pretty on the fence about you," Jun teased. "Anyway, I'm sure you have other things to do besides stalk me, Chro-chan."

"It seems I've developed your bad habit," he commented, and Jun stuck out her tongue in response. "I just thought I'd check up on you."

"And you knew for sure that you'd run into me here?" she asked skeptically.

"I had a feeling," he said with a shrug. "Where else would you go? There's a tower of fighters in this town; I'd figured you'd be around causing trouble somewhere around here. You haven't changed, remember? I still know you."

"It's been ten years, Chro-chan. There's no need to worry about me," she teased. She knew that the last thing Chrollo Lucifer did was worry, but it was still fun to pretend.

"Have you found anything on your brother?"

"Nope," she said, shaking her head.

"Maybe he's dead."

"I'd rather not talk about Onii-san, Chrollo," Jun hissed, and when Chrollo looked down at Jun, her eyes had darkened.

Chrollo wasn't afraid. While he figured Jun hadn't grown up at all, he figured that she was smart enough not to start a brawl on the street. Not after knowing that there were other spiders in town. He had played his card right; he was fortunate that even while Jun's name had changed, her personality was still that of a child's. "If you joined with me, I'm sure that you'd be able to find information on Jin'ai quite easily."

"What good is information when I can't use it?" she asked rhetorically, making a face at Chrollo. "Even if I do get information on Onii-chan after joining you, I doubt you'd let me leave you. You're all about loyalty, Chro-chan; don't think that I've forgotten that part about you just because time passed. I'm telling you right now that I'll never be loyal to you the way you want me to be. I've told you that before. If I get information on Onii-chan because I'm a spider, you're damn straight I'm going to go to him, even if it means I have to rip off the legs of the spider with my bare hands."

Though there was nothing menacing about her tone – Jun was simply stating her thoughts – Chrollo had no doubt that was the type of woman she was. A one track mind. She'd put her life in danger to reach her goal. While that passion was something he desired, he agreed with her; she could not be a spider.

"Well put," he told her as they reached an intersection, stopping as cars rushed by. "You belong to no one."

Jun laughed, wondering if that was even true. "Right."

He turned to look down at her. "It was nice seeing you again, Jun."

"Same, Chro-chan," she said. Jun had never been that great at hiding emotion, so Chrollo did hear the true sincerity behind her words. She grinned broadly. "But the next time we meet, I promise I'll be the one to kill you."

He chuckled. "I was just about to say the same thing."

"My death's already reserved for the hands of someone else, so no way you'll kill me," Jun giggled, heading past him as the light turned. "Good luck with everything, Chro-chan."

He watched her leave, taking a sip from his coffee before heading in the opposite direction, a thin smile on his lips. "You, too, Jun."

The day of the fight, the arena was jam packed with spectators. Sekihara Jun hadn't had a fight in almost a year, and it was almost like she making another debut. She had gotten quite infamous in the arena because of her gruesome record of 10 K.O's, all of which were deaths, as well as her little show in the underground arena. Every person in the audience was hoping for a bloody fight.

Especially a certain red headed magician.

"Ugh, why do you have to sit by me?" Machi asked as she took her seat in the lower half of the first set of bleachers. She had never seen Jun fight and was looking forward to it. Though, she wasn't looking forward to sitting next to Hisoka the whole time. "Shalnark, switch with me."

The blond was already taking a seat and Machi groaned, knowing she'd be stuck next to Hisoka. "Where's Shizuku?" Machi asked, pointing to the empty seat next to him.

"She stayed back in the underground arena looking around for a bit," Shalnark said with a shrug. "She can handle herself." He clapped his hands together. "Oh man, I'm so glad we decided to come to town. We're just in time for this fight! I heard she's a real monster. You're here a lot, Hisoka – do you know her?"

Hisoka smiled. "No, I don't."

"You have like, what, nine wins now? Just find some weakling to take the tenth from and challenge her," Shalnark said, pointing to the big screen across the arena that splayed Jun's picture. "I'd pay to see that." The photo was from five years ago, when she first became a floor master. Hisoka actually thought she looked more mature then, what with her short hair.

He hadn't seen Jun in a few days, and he had been purposely keeping his distance from her, as he assumed she was keeping her distance from him. It was better that way; he wanted to be surprised and she wanted to surprise him. It was the best way to motivate her. He was actually looking forward to watching her fight.

Machi had no idea why Hisoka lied to Shalnark, but she wasn't going to say anything about it. It didn't matter anyway. Besides, Shalnark was probably smart enough to know that Hisoka was lying. She looked at her phone, checking the time. It was almost time for the match, and she hadn't seen Jun.

Gon and Killua took their seats on the other side of the arena. Wing and Zushi were there also, sitting behind them. Killua was actually surprised that Wing came to see the fight, as he seemed apprehensive due to Jun's violent nature. Plus, it seemed like Wing and Jun knew each other somehow; Killua just assumed that strong people simply knew each other. No matter how large the world was, there were always going to be a tier of elite fighters.

"Are you excited, Killua?" Gon asked, grinning.

"Yeah," Killua answered honestly. He'd found out that the tickets for Jun's fight – the crappier ones higher in the arena – went for an insane 500,000 jenny. Hisoka's fight with Kastro, another highly anticipated fight, had only gone for 150,000. Seated more towards the front, Killua had to guess that the tickets she gave him and Gon were closer to a million each. But it was a Jun. People looked forward to her fights as she was a floormaster.

"Nooooow, ladies and gentlemen, we're just about to get started!" called the announcer, who was met with a thunderous cheer from the anxious crowd. There were no seats in the arena left unfilled. "Once again, my name is Kymaera, your one stop ringer girl for all your Heavens Arena needs! Welcome to the long awaited match between challenger Odin, and floor master, Sekihara Jun!"

The arena responded appropriately, screaming and cheering like wild animals, making the dome shake. Hisoka glanced around him, actually chuckling. People normally started excited about Jun's fights, and then ended up in the bathroom, their lunch on the floor. But no matter how violent she was, Hisoka knew there was something about her that made her so entertaining to watch. It was what kept him around all these years, after all.

"Now, introducing the challenger, Odin!" Kymaera cried as fireworks exploded from one of the tunnels, Odinstepping out. Clad in a series of light armor pads over his shoulders, chest and legs, he stood at least six and a half feet tall, his dark skin flecked with light silver scars. His blonde hair was kept neatly tied over his shoulder as he made his way to the ring, sword in hand.

"Sorry I'm late," said a voice, and Machi turned to see Shizuku squeezing in, taking her seat next to Shalnark. "Did I miss anything?"

"Nope," Shalnark answered. "It's just about to start. Where were you anyway?"

"Some black market guy downstairs was selling some stuff," she said with a shrug, waving him off. No one thought anything of it; Shizuku did tend to get curious about street vendors. She pointed at the tall man in the arena. "Is that the challenger?"

Shalnark nodded, flipping open his program. "He's got over a foot of height on Sekihara Jun and fights with a sword, which increases his range," he commented, checking out the stats. "Sekihara has a sword, too, but it's only about a foot long, so the reach difference is still pretty prominent. He's got the upper hand as far as reach goes, and he seems like a range fighter. Sekihara is better at close combat, right, Hisoka?"

"Who knows," he answered vaguely, keeping his eyes on the match. He pulled his phone from his pocket, checking the time.

"And, the moment you've all been waiting for – the tower is her kingdom, the ring is her castle: the vicious, the violent, the empress of the Heavens Arena! The Red Queen, Sekihara Juuuuuun!" Kymaera called, and all eyes turned towards the second tunnel as crimson fireworks burst up to announce Jun's entrance.

However, when the smoke cleared, there was no one there. The referee – Tanaka Shun – headed down to the tunnel to peer him and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. It was completely empty.

Jun burst up at the sound of her phone. She clambered up, not even having remembered lying down and snatched her phone off the nightstand. "What," she said groggily into the mouthpiece.

"I figured as such," said her favorite voice with a chuckle. "Where are you right now, Jun-chan?"

"What?" she asked, glancing around. The sun was out and she burned her eyes and pulled the blanket over her head to shield herself from the sun. "I'm in my room."

"Be sure to enjoy it," he told her teasingly. "You won't have one anymore if you're not at the arena in sixty seconds."

"What?" Jun said again, but Hisoka had already hung up. She checked her phone and yelped, bouncing right out of bed. She'd slept for three days straight! She threw on some fresh clothes, not even bothering to shower as she swung her hair up, slinging a haori over her back and leaping into the elevator.

She cursed herself. She'd spent all this time sleeping; she hadn't had the chance to think about what kind of new surprise she'd have for Hisoka. She groaned, massaging under her eyes. She was just going to have to wing it.