Disclaimer: Again, all characters in this story, sans the captain and the mafia boss' cousin and others who didn't appear in the anime or manga series, are not owned by me. Thank you for your support!

Previously: "It's you isn't it, Hisoka."

The girl paused in her typing the code in the keypad and turned around, a grin on her face. The keypad light was flashing green as the final door to the vault opened.

"Bingo!"

Chapter 6: Bingo X Oops? X Between a rock and a hard place

Bashou's face turned a sickly shade of green as Senritsu wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Of all things, you are cross- dressing as a girl? Why the hell are you here anyway?"

Hisoka slowly lifted a hand to remove a hidden needle at the base of his collar bones, shoulders and behind his ears.

"Really, these are a pain to have on and take off. They do hurt quite badly sometimes…"

In a matter of minutes, Hisoka was back to looking like a tall, malicious looking clown, with his fiery red hair pulled backwards. He gave a sigh of satisfaction and looked at the three full in the eyes in amusement.

"Am I obligated to answer your questions? I live to fight and kill what I deem as unnecessary and bothersome. I just came here to have a little fun, knowing that this little blond boy here," Hisoka pointed at Kurapika who returned the gesture with a venomous glare, "would want to start looking for his clan's precious scarlet eyes, this place being the closest. He is, after all, quite predictable." Hisoka chuckled as Kurapika growled in anger.

Hisoka put his hands up as in surrender. "BUT, as I said, since you figured out my identity before the last door to the vault was actually opened, you get to take those scarlet eyes of your clans like you wanted, so lighten up, won't you?"

Bashou scoffed. "As if we would want to, after being forced to play that stupid mind game of yours just a moment ago. Who knows what else you're going to pull on us?"

Hisoka looked at them thoughtfully for a quick moment before shrugging nonchalantly and turned to enter the vault. "Suit yourself."

The four entered the vault silently, passing through different displays of "treasures" that the owner of the island had been able to lay his hands on. Bashou looked in slight awe, as he absent-mindedly began naming the artifacts from the top of his head. "The mummified hand of Princess Tatalaya, the scroll made out of a hulusk's skin, the deformed skull from the black Yulak Plague… and what is this? There are some weird black dots on this bit of paper… Is it some kind of music?" Bashou exclaimed in surprise. Senritsu whipped her head around in surprise and apprehension. Could those possibly be… the ones she had been looking for all along? Was it just this close to her all this time? Could she finally reverse the curse, regaining her original body?

Senritsu rushed over to where Bashou was and took a close look at the pieces of paper, her heart pounding painfully in her chest. Bashou looked nervously at Senritsu, the scores and then at Kurapika, who stood waiting for Senritsu's announcement. After a moment's pause, Senritsu turned away from the display, disappointment shown clearly on her face.

"Well?" Kurapika asked. "Is it the one you were looking for all this time?"

Senritsu shook her head, frustrated. " No, it's a rendition of it. Whoever was foolish enough to do it must have died and the score nearly destroyed. Whatever is left of it here poses no danger though it still holds its value has a hard to get fragment of the original. Besides, it's not even close to the authentic one, since the original was written with Komul's skin and used a different way of writing the music. This is the translation of it into the kind of musical notation we use."

Bashou looked sympathetically at Senritsu before patting her on the back. "Let's go. We'll definitely find a way to get those scores." Senritsu looked at Bashou and gave him a sheepish smile of thanks and continued on their walk through the vault in search for Kurapika's scarlet eyes.

After what seemed to be a half hour walk, Bashou spotted the scarlet eyes. "There are your scarlet eyes, Kurapika!" Bashou pointed to three sets of scarlet eyes on display.

Kurapika's eyes widened in shock. There were three sets here? He called upon his Nen and examined the scarlet eyes cautiously, just in case they were Nen fabrications like what happened last time. Kurapika sighed in relief.

"They're real all right." Senritsu smiled joyfully at Kurapika as Bashou pumped his fists in the air.

"Finally, we get something done at last!"

After checking for laser alarms, Bashou, who was the tallest, made a grab for the three containers. Suddenly, an alarm began to sound the moment Bashou went to touch the container holding the scarlet eyes. Bashou jumped back in shock, confused at the reason why an alarm had sounded when they had made sure there weren't any sensors.

"Oops." Hisoka said playfully. "It seems I forgot to tell you that the table surface has Nen cast on it, the 'Magician's Eye'. It is activated right when the body heat of a human is detected; nearly undetectable when in dormant state."

Bashou growled in extreme hatred and lunged at Hisoka, ready to sock him in the eye. Hisoka dodged with ease and punched him in the stomach, causing Bashou to crash onto the floor, gasping for breath in pain. Kuarpika looked at Hisoka in fury, but turned at the sound of footsteps coming down the staircase outside the now closed doors to the vault.

Hisoka grinned wickedly as Kurapika summoned his Nen throughout his body.

"You did this on purpose didn't you." Kurapika stated rather rhetorically.

"I did say I forgot." Hisoka said lightly. He chuckled when Kurapika began to call on his chains to aim at him. "You know you are going to be wasting your time if you start fighting me, especially since with the guards on their way here and the possibility of them seeing you undisguised, my being here, and of course my friend accomplice who lent me his NEEDLES. You know who I mean." He smirked triumphantly, as Kurapika hesitated in attacking Hisoka with his weapon. They both knew that with Hisoka and Illumi together, there was no way the three of them could take on fighting, with guards coming at them as it is.

"Besides, I think you have a more dire problem of them seeing you guys here faking as their guards and recognizing you as Nostrad's bodyguards can be quite an issue and might even cause a drawn out mafia war, in a sense, between the two underworld leaders. I'm sure you wouldn't want that since your position as commander of the bodyguards will be at stake."

Senritsu hissed menacingly at Hisoka, catching Kurapika and Bashou off guard. They had never seen her so hostile before. "Then what do you propose? Speak not if you are only trying to delay our time. I can be a patient person, but you are waning it thin. Be quick about it!" She snapped.

Hisoka gave Senritsu a look that could have frozen anyone over though Senritsu didn't seem to react to it. His eyes held a dangerous glint to it, challenging her to retaliate, as that would mean he could get a chance to fight and kill someone who can at least put up a little struggle against him with her Nen.

"Watch your attitude, little lady. Why should I even help you? I have nothing to gain and I don't think I can deem this as a fun thing to do. Killing those termites would be too boring for me. I want to feel excitement in watching the people I fight squirm and struggle. I want to at least have a fight with someone who can at least fight back… though that person will die in the end. I want that luxury of tasting that person's fear in his struggle to survive!" Hisoka was hyperventilating by then and paused to calm his excitement at his imaginations. After a few seconds, he straightened his back and smirked at a disgusted and shocked Bashou, a glaring Kurapika and a stiff and steely Senritsu. "But if you can name me a proposal for an exchange, then I might consider it."

Kurapika was, by then, rigid with fury, veins almost popping out of his tightly clenched knuckles. Senritsu glanced worriedly at Kurapika, but not before shooting a deadly glare at Hisoka.

"Time is your worst enemy right now, so I don't think you have that many precious moments to think. If you can't name me a proposal, then I will just begin killing all of you, starting with the little lady here." Hisoka chuckled sadistically. The next thing they knew, Hisoka was standing behind Senritsu. Senritsu immediately took out a daisho she had hidden under her cloak and quickly managed to block the card Hisoka planned to use to cut her neck. She struggled painfully, shaking in the attempt to block and at the same time, keep her blade from cracking at the force of his Nen.

Kurapika jolted in shock at the sudden attack Hisoka made against his companion. Even now, he could not get used to Hisoka's spontaneous acts of violence. He gritted his teeth and made himself ready to attack Hisoka, plan or no plan. But Senritsu shot him a warning glance.

"Don't even think about it, Kurapika! Don't let him cause you to falter in your judgment and decision making. Don't belittle me, as if I can't even defend myself from an attack! Think of where our priorities lay!"

Kurapika shook from his fiery hatred of the man behind Senritsu. He couldn't stand the fact that his friends were being killed one by one, only to seem like he couldn't do anything about it. He had to make a way for them to get out of this alive!

"Well? If you don't state it now, then this girl as well as every one of the people in this building is as good as dead." Hisoka nudged the deadly tip of his card harder against Senritsu's daisho blade, making at crack slightly. Senritsu began to shake with cold sweat as she desperately poured more Nen into her blade in an attempt to hold her own against Hisoka.

"Oh! Feisty aren't you?" Hisoka laughed. "I know about you. You couldn't even prevent his de-"

Senritsu pushed the card away from her throat with an angry hiss and lashed out behind her toward his neck. Her aim was deadly and Hisoka had to step back, albeit smoothly, to avoid the swipe. His eyes narrowed in annoyance and in an instant struck Senritsu on the side with his Nen infused card. The attack drew blood from her waist and she winced in pain.

"Next is your… not so pretty head."

"Enough!"

Hisoka turned his head toward Kurapika with a frown. He didn't like being interrupted from his fight too much. He stood slightly straighter, though with his shoulders hunched, as if ready to launch himself on Kurapika to tear him to pieces.

"I will name my proposal to you. I'm sure you won't refuse this kind of offer… unless you've your interests somewhere else, that is."

Hisoka paused for a moment, his face expressionless. A small grin slowly made a way on his face and he cocked his head to one side, making his already crazed appearance all the more frightening.

"Well, about time. Name it."

"I propose that…"

To be continued…