Sunlight beamed through the window, reddening the inside of Jun's eyelids. She groaned quietly to herself, pulling the blankets up and rolling over. She felt a body shift next to her, feeling a weight on her waist and her eyes immediately burst open and she flicked her wrist to move th ehand around her waist.

Hisoka popped an eye open, the color almost golden in the sunlight. "It's unlike you to be so fiesty in the morning," he said, his voice slightly raspy from sleep.

Jun clenched her teeth together. Why was he here? Their date should have ended when she closed her eyes to sleep. She had never seen him in the morning before. What had changed?

She couldn't help but ask. "What are you doing here?"

"I didn't have anything particularly pressing," he said nonchalantly, rolling back his shoulders as Jun watched his muscles flex. "Check out is at noon."

Jun didn't like this one bit. It was unfamiliar. She thought their relationship wouldn't change. Why had he suddenly decided to stay? Was it because of what she'd said about having done everything in her life for him? If Hisoka was the type to be swayed by words, Jun didn't know the man lying next to her. She had been honest with him, but she didn't think it would have affected him in anyway.

"Go back to sleep, princess," Hisoka said, closing his eyes.

Jun sat up instead, running a hand through her hair. "I'm going to shower," she told him, and an amber eye popped open.

"If that's the case, shall I join you?"

Jun swallowed a lump in her throat. He'd asked a yes or no question, but there was really only one answer. "Sure," she said, climbing out of bed and stumbling to the bathroom. She splashed her face with water, hearing the rustling of sheets as Hisoka stirred.

It was strange. She didn't like this new feeling but at the same time, she found him so fascinating and so beautiful, especially in the early morning light. She took a breath, pressing a hand to her chest. What was this strange feeling?

She stepped into the shower, the tiles cold under her feet and turned on the water. A burst of ice cold water washed over her, causing little bumps to rise up on her skin, but it soon warmed and she took another deep breath, running her hands through her hair.

Hisoka knew that shower sex was probably one of Jun's most favorite things. She would never admit it, no, but he knew for a fact that the water relaxed her body and therefore, made everything feel that much better. He thought she would be excited to see him in the morning. He really honestly didn't have much better to do, and figured it wouldn't hurt to see her reaction, so he had allowed himself a bit of sleep.

"I'll meet you out there," Jun said when they were done, standing under the lukewarm water. She didn't look at him, instead, wrung her fingers around themselves. "I kinda just wanna be alone for a bit."

Now, that was surprising. "Of course, princess," Hisoka said, flicking the shower curtain open before stepping out. He wrapped a towel around his waist and headed back into the room, the bathroom door closing quietly behind her. Tiny rivulets of water dripped from his stark red hair down the curves of his muscles as he dried himself.

Jun was sure being strange. Perhaps she had a bad dream or something of the sort and wasn't so enthusiastic about spending her morning with him. He glanced at the clock. They had to leave in two hours anyway, there was no point in leaving now, considering that the room was still a wreck. If Hisoka tossed anything that Jun liked, he knew she would throw a fit.

When Jun emerged from the shower an hour later, she was surprised to still see Hisoka in the room. He was in the kitchen area, the soft sound of crackling indicating that he was making breakfast.

Jun clenched her teeth. Why was he acting so strangely? She assumed that the longer she stayed in the shower, the more likely he would give up on her and leave. It wasn't like she didn't want him to stay. There were many times she had woken up alone and wished that he had stayed. How many times had she gone into her empty kitchen, hoping to find that red haired man preparing a meal? Jun had lost count. There was nothing more in the world she wanted than Hisoka to be in her life.

But not like this. She didn't even understand what 'this' was. She just knew she hadn't earned it. And that was enough to make her hate it.

"What would you like for breakfast, Jun-chan?" Hisoka asked, hearing Jun's footsteps near him. He was shirtless, his taut body catching the light in just the right way. "I was thinking that we could have a meal and-"

"I have to go," Jun interrupted. He turned, noticing she was already dressed. He had brought a few clothes from her room, as had he brought some of his own, but he hadn't expected her to want to leave.

"Oh?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I have something to do today," Jun said absently, stomping over to the closet. She found a haori and swung it over her shoulders. "I can't stay."

"Suit yourself," Hisoka said with a shrug, but Jun had already swiped her phone and fled the scene without another word.

Stuffing her hands in her pockets, Jun found herself back at the Heaven's Arena, in front of a room that wasn't hers. The door in front of her was pulled open, revealing a small silver haired boy.

"Where's Gon?" she asked.

"Out."

"Are you free?"

"I guess," Killua answered, furrowing his brows slightly. He hadn't actually thought Jun was going to take him up on his offer to hang out. She didn't seem like the type who even knew how to do that. "Why?"

"It's just me," she said, holding her hands up. He assumed she was referring to the lack of her short sword, Jack. "Wanna eat?" Jun asked, smiling slightly. "My treat."

"Since you're paying, I guess," Killua said, closing the door behind him. He had been half expecting her to have already started leaving without him, skipping off and jabbering cryptically about something, but instead, she walked beside him, her hands in her pockets. The normal, uneasy, nasty nen he always felt was no where to be found. He wasn't even sure that this was Sekihara Jun standing next to him.

"Uh, so why did you come here?" Killua asked as they reached the elevator.

Jun shrugged, looking down at him. "Bored."

Killua swallowed a lump in his throat. "I thought you'd be with Hisoka."

Jun stared at him for a moment, blinking, before her tinkling laughter filled the air. "I forgot about that," she said, ruffling his hair as she headed into the elevator. He swatted at her hands and she laughed some more. "It was my idea, you know. I knew you and Gon were being nosy."

"Well, it definitely worked!" Killua argued as the elevator whizzed downstairs. "I didn't even know you two knew each other."

"I've known him a long time," Jun told him, and Killua realized that was one of the first things he had ever found out about her.

"That makes sense," he mumbled. "You guys seem happy."

"Really?" Jun asked, the elevator reaching the bottom floor with a quiet ding.

"Yeah, I guess even that weirdo can be happy, too," Killua said, shoving his hands in his pocket as he followed Jun. He had no idea where they were going or what they were doing, but he had a feeling that Jun definitely wasn't in the mood to fight. For some reason, for the first time, she seemed...safe.

The sun was high in the sky as the two of them left the Heaven's Arena. A few times, Killua had to look up and make sure she was still there. He would never get used to her zetsu. She talked on about something she had seen on TV while Killua just listened.

"How about here?" she asked, gesturing to an outdoor concession. "Their french fries are pretty great."

"Not everyone eats only french fries," Killua told her as she took a seat at a table under an umbrella.

She glanced up at the menu, squinting as though she couldn't read.

"What're you thinking of getting?" Jun asked, turning her electric blue eyes on Killua, who immediately glanced down at his menu.

"I didn't even look yet," Killua said, but he saw Jun shuffling, and looked up again to see her handing him a stack of cash. His eyes widened. That was way more money than necessary.

"Get whatever you like," she told him, and he paused for a moment before bounding up to the concession to take a closer look at the menu.

Killua returned with a slew of junk food - hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, all sorts - for the two of them to share. Normally, he would have been a little apprehensive sharing a meal alone with this woman, but today seemed different. Perhaps spending a day with Hisoka, had, for some reason, made her a little more tame.

"So, how's training going?" Jun asked, stuffing a few french fries in her mouth.

"Good, I guess," Killua answered with a shrug.

Jun hummed for a bit, tapping her nose. "Transmuter."

"I don't think I should tell you," he replied, taking a bite of his hamburger.

Jun giggled, waving him off. "Yes, good. You shouldn't tell me. You shouldn't be telling anyone what your type or abilities are. You lose the element of surprise."

"Well, you told me you were an enhancer," he retorted. "Was that a lie?"

Jun shook her head. "Nope, it wasn't a lie. I am an enhancer. My ability is called Berserker Queen. Do you want to know how it works?"

Killua narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to refuse her, but she held up her hand. "It's not that I don't take you seriously," she assured him, knowing all too well that was exactly how he was feeling. "It's just that I want you to trust me."

Killua ground his teeth for a bit. "Fine," he agreed, his voice tinged with hesitance. "If anything just to get a bigger idea of what kinds of abilities exist."

Jun grinned. "I developed Berserker Queen with the help of a friend when I was about your age. Do you know about conditions?"

"Sort of," Killua said with a shrug. "A give and take, right?"

"Exactly," Jun said, tapping her nose. "Berserker Queen is an ability that takes off the pain limiter for the brain. For the last ten years, I haven't felt pain. Physical or mental."

Killua swallowed a lump in his throat. He was already starting to feel like he had made a mistake, but he remained silent and continued eating. Jun seemed...excited about telling him about her ability, for whatever reason. And if he had changed his mind about wanting to hear it, perhaps she wouldn't be so happy.

"I made this ability when I was younger, so it was easier for me to develop a sort of vocal command," she explained. "It's stuck with me all these years, so I made it a condtion. First, I have to say 'Berserker Queen'. Second, I have to indicate how much percent from the total of my nen I'm going to be using. Third, I have to say the name of my opponent."

"Why their name?" Killua asked. He had vaguely remembered her saying something about only remembering names when she needed them.

"Because when I beat someone, I'd like them to know who it was that beat them," she said with a shrug.

"What if you don't know their name?"

"I ask for it," Jun said simply, swirling her hand around with a shrug. "Humans are prideful, Baby-chan. Normally, if I ask, they tell me."

"Who's the other Jun?" Killua asked. "The one that fought me that time in the underground arena. I know that wasn't you."

Jun smiled, laughing slightly. "That was me," she told him. "I have to say 'Berserker Queen' because I have to call her out. It's another condition. Or, well, something like that. A side effect, I guess. Because the young me didn't want to feel pain ever again, someone had to do it in my stead. That's the Queen. She feels all of that stuff, not me. I gave up ever having to feel pain again. But to compensate for it, I had to grow another part of me. That's why she always seems sort of angry; I put her through a lot. But she is me.

The threshold used to be higher. When I first made the ability, I could use about seventy-five percent of my full strength without the queen taking over. I had to make another condition that limits her take over, so the amount of percentage I use is equivalent to the percentage of the possibility of her take over. It's a 'possibility' but it's been difficult for me to use over forty percent of my strength without a take over. I think the more I use my ability, the lower percentage I can use. It'll probably drop again soon."

"What happens when it's at zero?"

Jun smiled, but for some reason, Killua knew she wasn't happy. That was the most she had ever spoken at once and Killua knew that a little part of her was simply reminding herself of her own ability. Reminding herself of the hole she had dug herself into.

Jun shrugged. "Who knows?" she asked no one in particular, even though for some reason, Killua knew that Jun already knew the answer.

"And if you use a hundred percent?" Killua asked.

Jun shrugged again, and Killua knew their conversation was over. "I'd be pretty strong, I think."

Killua swallowed his mouthful of food. "Your ability's pretty complicating," he decided.

Jun shrugged, stuffing more fries into her mouth. "Some people have simpler abilities. I just stuck with Berserker Queen for a long time and I don't really feel like making another one. Ten years in the making, Baby-chan. It's saved me for ten years, so I'm grateful."

"Makes sense," Killua told her honestly. He sipped from his drink, only to realize it was empty. Jun nodded towards the counter and Killua hopped up to refill his drink.

When he was standing in line, Jun lowered her head slightly. "Berserker Queen, thirty-" she started quietly.

"Don't," said a man behind her, sipping from a cup of water. "I am not here to fight."

Jun paused for a moment before lifting her phone to her ear, as though speaking into it. "I figured you'd come eventually."

"Is that why you've been hanging around my brother?" asked the man behind her. He adjusted the hat he was wearing over his orange tuft of hair, unbuttoning the first golden button on his black coat.

"I like him. We're friends."

"Stay away from him. He does not need friends," Illumi said shortly. "You told him your abilities. You will soon find yourself tangled in the web of lies you weave, Jun'suh."

"I never lie."

"That itself is a lie," Illumi told her, to which she giggled. He continued speaking, deciding to change the topic. "I was approached for a job with you as the target."

"Ooh, from who?" she cooed, interested.

"Your boss."

Jun laughed. "Oh? For how much?"

"A hundred million."

Jun scoffed and Illumi could feel her roll her eyes. "That's it? Oh, man, I'm gonna kill that silly Lancaster. Did you accept?"

"One hundred million is far too cheap a price for your head."

"It really wouldn't be worth your time," Jun agreed. "I'm probably going to kill him tonight. Would you like to come? For old time's sake."

"I'll pass," Illumi told her.

"That was you at the hotel yesterday," Jun said abruptly. When Illumi was silent, she added, "I could smell you a mile away."

"Old habits die hard."

"Tell me about it," Jun agreed again.

Killua had reached the soft drink dispenser, so Illumi stood up. "Will you do it?" he asked, lllumi looking down at her, his eyes empty. "One hundred percent."

Jun put down her phone, shrugging her shoulders. "Probably."

"You will die," Illumi reminded her, as though he didn't already know what she was going to say. "One hundred percent will kill you. But you already know that. You did make the conditions, after all."

"I promised him," she said.

Illumi turned to leave. "This is the last time you and I will see each other."

"I know."

"But if there is a next time that you and I should meet, on behalf of the brother you have given up on, it will be I that will take your life, Huang Jun'suh."

"I know," Jun said, but when she looked up, Illumi was already gone. Killua returned to the table, placing his drink down.

"You okay?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jun looked up and smiled, though Killua knew there was nothing happy about it. "Yeah," she promised. "Don't worry about me."

Jun had dropped any serious topics as the day went on. Killua couldn't find the heart to just totally ditch her, not after she had shelled out so much money for their lunch and told him about her ability. She didn't seem to particularly be talking to him; she talked at him instead, but for some reason, Killua didn't care. For the first time, he noticed that Jun wasn't crazy. She was just lonely.

He wondered if she had any friends. Hisoka was the only person he had ever seen her interact with. She obviously got bored of people, and didn't know how to make friends with strong people she found interesting, as Killua had learned from their first experience together.

Whatever her reasons were, Killua figured he would just humor her. At least for today.

"Oh, that reminds me," she said, tapping her nose as they walked. "I have to pick up a gift. Would you like to help me shop?"

"I guess," Killua answered, knowing that he would tag along with Jun regardless of what he really wanted to do. He figured he didn't have anything better to do anyway. Gon was out with Zushi probably eating and shopping. Killua didn't mind having time apart.

"Ooh, look," she exclaimed as they passed a store. She glued her nose to the window to peer in at the puppies, turning back to Killua to grin. She tilted her head for a second and then placed her wrists on his head, lifting her hands up, mimicking dog ears. "You'd be a cat, I think," she laughed, tousling his hair before heading into the pet store.

Killua sighed and followed her in. The shop was filled with a bunch of exotic creatures. Killua didn't want to hang off her, but just made sure to keep an eye on her as she wandered about, amazed at all these animals.

Jun stopped at a bookshelf with a considerable amount of text on exotic creatures. She lifted her hand to pull out a book on the top shelf but found that someone else had the same idea. She jolted her hand back a bit, looking up for a moment to see a tall, lanky man with long silver hair standing next to her. His eyes were slightly hidden with a bright blue cap.

"Sorry," he told her, taking the book off the shelf. He handed it to her with a smile.

"Oh, no," she said, handing it back. "I wasn't actually going to read it," she added honestly.

He chuckled slightly. "Thanks," he told her. "It's the last copy."

Jun peered at the title and tilted her head. She blinked slightly, and then turned her electric blue eyes to the man. "What's a...chimera ant?"

He waved his hand dismissively, as though it wasn't something she should worry about. "Nothing important," he assured her. He raised the book at her before turning to leave. "Thanks for the book."

"Yeah," Jun said quietly, watching the man leave. She shrugged to herself and turned in the opposite direction, catching up with Killua, who was gazing at multi-colored fish. She picked at the skin around her nails as they browsed. Killua noticed.

"What?" he asked, looking up at her.

"I want to follow that person," she told Killua, her head snapping back to the door. Killua looked, but there was no one there; the person she was talking about had probably left a little while ago. He knew it was taking all of the woman's strength not to let up her zetsu and shatter the glasses in the store with her nen. She clenched her fist, Killua watching the muscle flex. "I want to fight him."

"Don't," Killua told her seriously, and Jun looked down at him. He noticed her blue eyes had dulled a shade, a tiny shiver rippling down his spine. But he didn't back down. "Breathe."

Jun took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, and Killua felt her blood lust leave her body. She smiled at Killua. "Sorry," she said, turning to walk.

Killua exhaled a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Jun left the pet store without buying anything, and she exited, glancing left and right. "Jun," Killua said, and Jun looked down at him. "Promise me. You won't fight that person."

"Okay," she said simply, shrugging her shoulders.

"Promise?"

"Promise," she said, holding out her pinky finger. Killua linked his own pinky with her and felt a little relieved. If he hadn't contained her, he knew that she would immediately start to track him. He had no doubt that she was skilled; she thought like an assassin and worked like one. The only thing that wasn't textbook about her style was her fighting style.

Jun and Killua spent the rest of the day wandering around town. She seemed to have forgotten about the person she had seen at the pet shop, as she became distracted with other things. She burned through money like it was nothing, though Killua could see why. She was filthy, filthy rich, what with being a powerful floormaster, and spent most of her money on clothes or accessories, or sweets. She ended up buying a pair of earrings in the last shop they visited, seeming pleased with her purchase.

"Who's the gift for?" Killua asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Hisoka," she answered, surprising Killua by giving an answer in the first place. "And for you," she said, shuffling through her bags to hand Killua a gold one. "I remember you mentioning you liked sweets," she added, as he peered in to a see several boxes of gourmet chocolate, his blue eyes sparkling. Jun laughed. "Be sure to share some with Gon."

Killua opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted with someone calling his name.

"Killua! Jun-nee!" cried a voice, and the two turned to see Gon jogging up to them, a younger boy in a stark white gi following behind him. He grinned upon seeing her. "Hey! You guys hung out today?"

"Killua helped me shop," Jun said with a bright smile.

"That's nice of you, Killua," Gon said with a bright grin, causing Killua to avert his gaze. He looked back to Jun with the same big smile. "Oh, Jun-nee! How was your date with Hisoka?"

Jun laughed at Gon' straight forwardness. "It was fun," she told him honestly. Killua noticed her smile waver for a moment. "But it was just a reward, that's all."

"Reward?" Gon asked.

Jun nodded. "Yep. He told me that if I did something cool during my fight, he would reward me with something. That's all it was."

"I don't think so," Gon said honestly. "It looked like he was having fun!"

Jun blinked, as though this information was completely new to her. "Having fun?"

Gon nodded vigorously. "Yeah! I mean, he's definitely weird, but we've never seen him act the way he did with you yesterday! I really think he enjoyed spending time with you, Jun-nee!"

"With...me?" Jun said quietly, seeming to ponder the idea. She smiled gently at Gon. "Really?"

"Really!" Gon answered, balling his hands into fists and though cheering her on.

She laughed. "Thanks, Gon."

"Ready to go back?" he asked both Jun and Killua.

"We'll head back after you," Jun told Gon, waving to him as he led his gi clad friend home.

Killua followed her back to the Heaven's Arena, not really saying anything. What could he say? He'd spent the whole day with her, realizing that she was lonely, and couldn't come up with a single thing to make her feel better. Gon had seen her for three seconds and simply told her that Hisoka had fun yesterday and that seemed to brighten Jun's entire mood. Killua didn't have any reassuring or comforting words the way Gon did.

"He's precious to you, isn't he?" Jun asked as they headed back to the Heaven's Arena.

"What?" Killua asked, needing a moment to process her words. They entered the building and he followed her into the elevator. "I dunno, I guess."

"No matter what, you have to protect him," she said, looking down at him. "He's a good person. Don't ever let him lose any of that."

What was Jun saying all of a sudden? "Sure," Killua said, knowing that answer would get her off his back.

Jun laughed quietly to herself. "You two remind me of my brother and I," she said softly. If today had been any other day, Killua wouldn't have realized that she was providing him an explanation. "You both make me want to leave this town and never look back."

The elevator doors opened on Killua's floor and she pushed him gently out. She held a hand on the doors to keep them from closing. "This is the last time," she said. "The last time we can see each other while we're in this town."

"I figured," Killua said. "Uh, thanks. I guess. It was fun."

"Likewise," she said with a big smile. "When you get strong, I'll come find you."

"Looking forward to it," Killua said honestly, and Jun released her hand, the golden elevator doors closing behind him.

Jun opened the door to her room to find Hisoka sitting at the dining table, flipping through cards while something played on the television. She dropped most of her bags on the ground and headed over to where he was, swallowing a lump in her throat.

He turned upon hearing her and smiled thinly, standing up. "Good evening, princess. I see that you spent the day-"

"I'm sorry," Jun blurted, interrupting him. He didn't continue speaking, so Jun took that as her cue. "For leaving this morning. It's weird for me, you know. To enjoy things. To be happy. But I was happy this morning. I just didn't understand it. You were being nice to me, and I took advantage of it. I'm sorry."

Hisoka blinked a few times, a little confused by Jun's sudden apology. He had been planning on forgetting the whole thing even happened, as he didn't even know why he had decided to stay in the morning. "It's completely fine," he told her patting her on the head. "I took no offense, Jun-chan."

She handed him a tiny black bag. "Happy birthday," she said, smiling at him brightly. "Or, well, I mean, it's tomorrow, I guess. But we don't see each other til nighttime anyway, so I wanted to give it to you now."

"I did not even know you knew when my birthday was," Hisoka told her quite honestly.

"You've just never been around for it," Jun said with a shrug.

Hisoka smiled thinly, placing the gift down on the table. "You are so thoughtful, Jun-chan, thank you," he said, and Jun smiled from the praise. "When is your birthday? I would need to return the favor."

"August 31st," she answered with a smile.

August 31st. He would need to leave on that day. Machi had said the meeting with the boss was mandatory. Hisoka was not going to miss the opportunity to meet with the boss of the Ryodan. He smiled at Jun. "Then expect a wonderful gift for your birthday this year, Jun-chan."

She grinned, clapping her hands. "Promise?"

Hisoka was already a professional at lying to Jun. His amber eyes gleamed. "Promise."