By a Stretch of the Imagination

Bored to tears while the Hunter Association fights the Chimera Ants, Hisoka looks around for new toys to play with...until a sudden scent brings him back to a time he thought he had completely forgotten.

-Hey guys! I haven't written anything creative in a LOOOOOONG time and this is my first fanfiction. I'm a little nervous, not entirely sure where I'm going to go with this, but I had some vague ideas in mind and wanted to try them out. I may try my hand at lemon, don't know if it will pan out but I'll warn you before I do.

I wondered what happened to Hisoka during the Chimera Ant arc, so this is my answer. I'll try my best to stay IC for him, but if I mess up, I would love suggestions on how to improve! I have read plenty of Hisoka fics but haven't read too many that shed light on his mysterious past. :)

(Hisoka X OC)

Disclaimer: I of course don't own any of the characters or plotlines from HunterXHunter, I'm just letting them run loose in my own mind and seeing what they do.

Hisoka frowned slightly, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. This hadn't turned out as planned.

He leaned back against the marble base of a column, eyes closed, and folded his well-muscled arms. With nothing interesting going on since the world discovered the presence of Chimera Ants, and Gon as of yet unripe, he had had to look for a way to amuse himself.

He'd heard talk of an all-powerful King Chimera Ant, which could get interesting, but decided not to get involved. That would mean he'd have to take sides, and Hisoka wasn't looking to get embroiled in a war. Politics got too messy; he much preferred to remain on the sidelines. He'd be more than happy to fight whoever won. Until then, let them kill each other.

On a whim, he had decided to re-clear the lower 200 floors of Heaven's Arena and scout for any other potential unripened talent. The extra padding on his bank account was, by this point, unnecessary, but couldn't hurt. The more he had to play with, the better.

So here he was, waiting for the next match. Normally he felt a vague thrill at the prospect of an upcoming fight, but even those had lost their flavor. And now, all fights were on hiatus below the 200th floor. It was rumored an assassin lurked in the lower floors, picking off those who lost their fights as they slept in their rooms or waited alone in the corridors. Bodies were never found, but some fighters had apparently gone missing. Normally that wouldn't matter in Heaven's Arena, but with the current mass hysteria surrounding Chimera Ants, people were being especially cautious.

The fighters above the 200th floor couldn't be bothered to join in the search for the supposed culprit; but the entire lower half of Heaven's Arena was in an uproar. Most fighters stayed in pairs or groups, now, to avoid being selected, and apparently their vacated rooms were now being targeted by an opportunistic thief.

An assassin and a thief, possibly working in tandem.. Are the Spiders here? His interest had been piqued, but he knew Kuroro and his Troupe would never stoop to fight and win money; they stole as they pleased. Besides, Hisoka rather hoped he would run into an assassin, so he'd spent the past few hours skulking around in dark corners of the Arena's halls, searching for any threats with En.

Aside from his considerable prowess with Nen, the painted jester had a discovered another unusual skill in a...particular body part of his within the nether region. Said body part acted as a unique "homing device", which evaluated and reacted rather strongly to evidence of strength in an individual. The stronger the individual, the more of a "signal" he got (and the more uncomfortable his pants became).

For this reason, especially, he preferred to wear harem pants that were especially loose around the crotch. During this particular round in Heaven's Arena, however, not one contestant had achieved even one blip of interest on his "strength meter". Shame, he thought. I could use the release.

The snap of combat boots down the hallway snapped Hisoka out of his musings; motionless, only his eyes followed the pair of burly men with hulking muscles as they sauntered past him, talking loudly about their latest conquests. Hisoka noted a slight uneasiness about them in the way their eyes darted around. Thinking about the assassin, no doubt. If they were strong, they'd have a much bigger problem (in the form of Hisoka) to worry about than some silly assassin.

Hisoka had noticed these juiceheads in the Arena's Training Center, piling excessive amounts of weight on the bar, screaming for more protein powder while weightlifting to intimidate the other contestants as they trained trained. He flicked one of his cards loudly and exuded a murderous Nen their way.

The men turned, eyes widening in fear when they spotted Hisoka. His reputation, naturally, had preceded him. By the time he posed to run his fingers through his hair, they had scuttled away faster than two crabs whose sunlight has been eclipsed by the shadow of a hawk. He glanced down at his genital region. Not even a twitch of interest from the antenna. Weaklings. Oh well.

He thought back on the last time he had gotten excited in the Arena. Gon... his lips curled upwards with the memory of the fight and his fingertips ghosted over the area where Gon's fist had made contact with his cheek. Now there was some potential. He normally meted out swift retribution to his opponents without much explanation, but he couldn't help but to instruct Gon in his mistakes. He reveled in the boy's innocent fury and willful ignorance to the danger he was truly in. Just thinking about the moment caused a dark, visceral stirring within Hisoka. One day, his moment would come.

Hisoka had long since stopped caring whether his obsession with power and sexual appetites were mutually exclusive; as far as he was concerned, they were one and the same. He'd as soon fuck an opponent as kill them, it simply depended on whether the arena was the bedroom or the battlefield. The best manner of foreplay, in Hisoka's mind, was to lie in wait for a particular fruit to ripen. The best fruits, once ripe, had a particular scent he found utterly intoxicating...

Another scent, not quite the ripened fruit but just as familiar and intoxicating, wafted by his nose and brought Hisoka back to reality. He noticed a young woman seated on the floor against the opposite wall, reading a magazine. She had taken a stick of gum out of her pocket and began to chew loudly, popping loud bubbles. Bungee Gum.

Hisoka hadn't had a piece in ages, but the smell of his favorite gum caused him to salivate. Momentarily distracted from his ever-present ennui, Hisoka examined the young woman with a growing sense of interest. He assumed she was in her early 20s, brunette, a bit unkempt, wearing an oversized men's jacket and shorts that revealed skinny legs. She didn't look like a fighter, although it was sometimes hard to tell.

The image of Gon's fiery stare ignited his imagination for a brief moment and he closed his eyes again. He could sense something from this woman's aura, although he wasn't sure what. The mystery of her aura did not interest him as much as the smell of the gum she was currently chewing, though.

Perhaps sensing his gaze, the woman glanced up at Hisoka. In response to her glance, he unfolded himself from his lounging position and rakishly posed with hand on hip and fingers running through his hair. No matter who was looking, Hisoka enjoyed preening himself openly.

The gum-chewer inwardly smirked, and turned back to her magazine. She had always found a peacock's display of finery to be pretentious and unattractive, and his painted face and shock of red hair certainly didn't give him any points. Sure, he was hot, but maybe underneath all the makeup and outrageous clothing.. but she wasn't really thinking about him in that way, anyways.

She turned another page and popped another gum-bubble, and suddenly felt a presence drape itself on the bench next to her. She tensed slightly, and didn't need to turn to know the dangerous jester had stretched himself beside her on the floor.

"You're all alone," said the jester, voice dripping with honey. Did he know how much of a creep he comes off as? Actually, he probably gets off on being a creep, she thought.

"Well, I was enjoying my solitude in peace," she said meaningfully, not turning up from her magazine. She blew an especially large gum-bubble, and Hisoka blinked when it popped loudly.

A small piece of bubble-skin clung to her lip, and Hisoka watched intently as her tongue darted out to reclaim it. She noticed him leering out of the corner of her eye. Yep, he definitely gets off on it.

"You feel safe here?" Hisoka asked, although his tone reflected more lascivious intent than earnest concern.

"I do. What's your point?" she responded, pointedly not looking up from her magazine.

"Well...Aren't you worried about the assassin?" He queried. Bungee-Gum Girl, as he'd labeled her, scoffed.

"Why, should I be?"

"A young woman like yourself shouldn't be all alone in Heaven's Arena with an assassin on the loose. Your boyfriend should know better than to leave you here."

Her response was to sit in stony silence and turn the page of her magazine.

Undeterred by the awkward silence, Hisoka tried another tactic. "You know, I haven't smelled that gum flavor in ages. I looked in stores everywhere, but I couldn't find it."

"Yeah, it was discontinued," she responded distractedly, reading her magazine.

"It was my favorite flavor. I'd love a piece, if you have any extra."

"Sorry, it was my last one."

"Can I have a half of your gum? I can tell it hasn't yet lost its flavor." At this, the woman finally shot Hisoka a sharp look, to which he smirked in response.

"Are you serious? It's in my mouth already."

"I won't mind it if it tastes like you, too," he purred.

"Ne, forget it. You can't have any, you pervert. Go get your own gum." The woman sighed with exasperation and flipped her magazine shut, then placed it back into her teddy-bear backpack. She grabbed a pack of tissues out of her pack, then tossed one into Hisoka's lap as she stood up. "Here, that should help your drooling."

As the young woman walked away, she made a point of spitting her piece of gum out into a tissue and throwing it into the trashcan. From her shorts pocket, she pulled out a brand-new piece of gum and popped it into her mouth.

She looked over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at an open-mouthed Hisoka, then vanished around the corner. The last thing he saw of her was her Teddy-Bear backpack cheekily winking at him.

That little brat had more gum. Hisoka leapt up and dashed to the corner, but Bungee-Gum Girl had disappeared faster than the Steroid Twins.

Perhaps this stint at Heaven's Arena may prove interesting, after all. He peeked back at the trash can and saw the discarded piece of gum innocently wrapped in the tissue atop a decaying apple.

He sniffed. He certainly wanted a piece, but he was too prideful to grab a piece of gum in the trash. He walked away from the trash can purposefully, then stopped and turned. He certainly didn't need that gum; he could go to the nearest vendor and purchase a packet of Bungee Gum.

But this is the discontinued flavor you've been looking for since you were a kid... his mind whispered. You may never find it again... Hisoka turned and looked back at the trashcan with lust.

Who is this mysterious Bungee-Gum girl? Will Hisoka find the assassin? What is the significance of this particular flavor of Bungee Gum? Most importantly, will Hisoka take the gum out of the trash and eat it?

So many questions!

Anyways, that's the first chapter of my first FanFic! Any and all reviews would be appreciated.. I actually have part of the second chapter already written, which I'm pretty excited about, so I'll post it if people are interested!