Fuuuccckkkkk.

Sorry for the wait, but the time between June and December is a busy af time for me. I have deathdays, birthdays, holidays and of course work keeping me from doing much else.

I've been writing this chapter little by little throughout the months, and trust me, your reviews and dm's have been helping me with my determination to get this out faster for you guys. Seriously, thank you! This chapter is as long, but the next few will come out much quicker than this one did.

I'm going to be honest, and please don't hate me, but another reason why I haven't been writing as much has been because I've been playing the new pokemon game since launch with my boyfriend. Not only have we now beaten the game and completed the pokedex, but we have a few shinies under our belts so I won't be as distracted with that anymore. Heh heh, sorry?

To answer questions in some of the reviews:

Natalia: Your reviews still kill me, thank you for gracing me with them xD. Now, the idea is to have Guren be like a whole new species with her abilities, hence the name, Ajin. It literally means demi human in japanese. I'm writing her like ajins are seen in the Ajin anime/manga, or like the ants are seen in HxH. Now, saying that, this is still HxH, so her nen is going come into play with her ajin abilities as well. As far as I know ( I haven't read ajin in a really long time; Beastars is my life T_T) ajins can't normally manipulate the sand to do what Guren did last chapter, so that's an example of how I'm merging them. There won't be any conditions or restrictions to Sandy, but her nen is going to be exotic and mysterious mainly for how it merges with her abilities and doesn't do the most common functions like everybody else. Her revive time will also be affected by nen. Hope that clears some stuff up for ya!

Guest: I'm shortening her revive time based on how often she's done it over the years. It started out at the regular 3 minutes, but now its been cut down to about two. The more often she dies, the more her revive time will shorten and Sandy will evolve with her.

Noface: Yes, HxHxR was one of the first fics i've read that feature an oc, and I'm glad I did because when I was playing around with the idea of a twin sister, my first choice for a name was Gin! I shipped her and Hisoka like the freak that I am but oh well.

RainbowMaze: You came in late, but your love for my story is what gave me the final push I needed to proofread and edit this chapter so I could get it posted. You fuck, I love you.

Oh, before I forget! I've made a playlist on YouTube titled after this fic with all the songs that inspire me to write about Guren and Hisoka. There's some that are just for each character individually, and some for the ship. Eh, to me its all for the ship but if you wanna listen, take what you will from it. The playlist is under the handle Ramen Starr.

Well, here's the long awaited chapter! Nothing crazy, but it is kind of the calm before the storm.

XXX

When I started to gain consciousness again, most of my aches and pains were dulled down, and I was being cuddled by a giant octopus.

...No, that couldn't be right. It didn't feel wet or suction-like. Or cold and squishy. It was warm, hard and soft all at once, wrapped in a sweet scent that was vaguely familiar. The limbs wound around my torso were possessively constricting, aiding to my first assumption that a hungry octopus caught me in its tentacles. No, these were heavily muscled arms, with large, dangerous hands pawing and scratching away at me as they ran over my body.

That last thought blew away the last of my exhaustion and I woke up slowly. The first thing my eyes locked onto when they peeked open was the gaze of two men I didn't know from a couple feet away. One was sitting down, while the other was older and standing just next to the former. The men weren't looking at me directly, but were definitely giving me the side-eye. They looked uncomfortable and nervous as they gave me concealed looks of pity.

I didn't understand. Why would they look at me like that? I know I look pretty beat up, but they look like I'm just seconds away from getting eaten alive and they can't do anything to he-

I was sitting on something. I was sitting on something breathing.

And just like that, it all came rushing back. My eyes snapped wide open and I tried to push myself out of Hisoka's (because of course, it couldn't be anybody but him…) lap. He must've known that I was already awake, because the arms that were already wrapped around my back tightened even more. I was barely a centimeter away before I was crushed back against him, chest to chest.

My smarting face knocked painfully into his unrelenting shoulder, and my face burned up with fury and humiliation. He had me sitting in his lap how I imagined a father would for their sleeping innocence of the action was tainted by his hands tracing across the skin of my back under my shirt.

I clenched my teeth to stop them from sinking into his shoulder. That son of a bitch...he's doing the exact opposite of what I told him just to spite me! I knew there were other people in the room with us now, more than the two men to my right. I could smell them; the many scents of over ten people were here, all witness to-oh God! How long have I been unconscious?!

"Hisoka!" I growled, low enough so only he could hear me. If he did anything to me while I was asleep so help me…

"Mm, you're finally awake." Hisoka responded just as low, but when I moved my head to look up at him, he had his eyes closed. He also looked...different? "You've kept me very bored, little Guren~."

Yeah, that's why I'm worried. "How long was I out?" I asked, subtly testing to see if he would let me move away yet. I moved my legs with a wince; they must've been bent at the knee for too long from how stiff they feel. I only had time to flex when he squeezed his arms around me so tight the breath was knocked out of me with a squeaky wheeze.

"Oh, for a while...there's only about ten minutes until this phase is officially over~." He answered, not acknowledging that he was on the verge of squeezing me to death. The magician actually sounded pretty miffed. Not really angry like the time I ignored him, but definitely not a happy bunny.

"Well, that's not my...wait, I've been sleeping for over seventy hours?!" I exclaimed a little louder, jolting my head up from his shoulder to stare at him in shock.

Hisoka finally opened his eyes a sliver to look back at me. His lips upturned a bit at my expression. Seriously, something's different. What about his face is different? "Mhm~. That's what happens when you push yourself too far, little girl." He hummed, and moved his golden orbs down my body, making me remember why I overextended myself.

I swallowed, my throat as dry as sand. That's right...he was being creepy-touchy again, and I tried to force my sand to do more than it could at the time. Normally, it just doesn't respond when that happens, though. Did I really push my abilities that far?

Well, no matter now. I was still wounded, but most of my lesser wounds were scabbed over and healing, and my throat felt good as new aside from being parched. I knew from experience that Sandy could be summoned multiple times again, so at least he could be counted on for whatever the next phase was going to be. I was tempted to just let him shadow Gon just for some peace of min-

My head whipped around to finally take in the rest of the room, eyes frantic. There seemed to be about twenty people that passed, and almost all of them looked scuffed up and weary besides Pins and Needles and Hanzo. Actually, Hanzo looked morose as hell, but not injured or tired in the slightest. The most important thing I noticed, was that Gon and the others weren't here.

I cleared my throat and turned back to face Hisoka. He eyed me with a knowing look. "Don't worry, little Gon will be here~" He gave me a cheery little smile, instantly creeping me out. "He has way too much potential not to~."

Unbidden, some of the panic drained away at the magician's words. Yeah, he's right. Gon wouldn't die here. Or fail. Hopefully he's with Killua, so at least he'll have someone to watch his back. The fact that it should've been me with Gon instead of the white haired boy sent a pang through my chest. Everything's gone from bad to worse since we've been separated. I need my brother here. I need away from Hisoka.

Starting now. I tried to move again, but couldn't budge an inch and Hisoka only gave me a look. I glared with all my might, sick of his possessiveness. His lips stretched into his regular smirk in the face of my ire. "Let me go, Hisoka." I said calmly, my tone not matching the boiling anger building up in my chest. He didn't own me, I wasn't his fruit, and I didn't have a crush on him, dammit!

"Why should I~?" He asked, his voice just barely holding his usual tone. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was wanting a confrontation. I would probably be glad to give him one if we were still alone, but not now that the rest of the competition would see my abilities. Plus, I really needed to go to the bathroom.

"Because I asked you to." I snapped, wanting to follow up with a you asshole. "I need to go to the bathroom really bad, and stretch my legs out."

He hummed at that, the aggressive gleam fading from his eyes. Thank God. Hisoka eventually sighed and let me go. "Don't be too long, little apple~. The next phase will start in a few minutes."

The second his arms finally dropped, I leaped out of his lap as fast as I could. I wobbled a bit at first, my legs feeling numb. I quickly shook the feeling off and stretched out my legs, making sure to be careful and not pull at the stab wound on my side. It didn't feel too bad anymore, but I didn't want to risk opening it up again. The leg that was sliced by Togari's sword hurt the most at the moment, and a quick glance at the cut showed that the scab did get pulled open when I got out of Hisoka's lap so fast. I tsked at that, knowing I would have to walk very carefully on it so it would heal faster. Once I felt like everything was loosened up properly again, I headed towards the bathroom.

I felt Hisoka's eyes on me as I limped away, a feeling I was unfortunately getting used to, but what was worse was feeling the rest of the rooms eyes on me too.

I snuck a few glances around to see half of the room glaring at me with looks of hostile distrust. The other half looked nervous and uncertain. My eyes narrowed as I swept my eyes towards Pins and Needles, and was relieved to see that his eyes were closed. Well, at least someone has better things to do than stare at me!

I quickly entered the bathroom and did my business. I washed my hands and face once I was done, and scooped up handfuls of water to drink. On my way back out of the bathroom,I paused at the door, hesitating to open it. It was nice in here, all by myself with some peace and quiet. I knew I couldn't just stay here for the rest of the phase, even if there was only a few minutes left. I had to be out there and wait for Gon. I had made it this far, I could handle Hisoka for a little bit longer.

Still, when my hand reached out to press against the panel, it hovered just in front of it, trembling against my will. I grasped it with my other hand and cradled it against my chest, like I'd seen Gon do for small, frightened animals. My nerves were just...a mess.

I've never felt as off kilter as I do right now. Even when I woke up from my first death I was more calm and accepting of what my life was than at this moment. My whole body hurt all over, especially my abdomen, my wounded leg made it so I couldn't run, and I couldn't kill myself to reset like I normally would or I'd break my promise to myself to be normal for Gon...

Ba-dum…

Slowly but surely, the constant pain was wearing me down. The constant attention from the beautiful murder-clown was also tearing at my sanity.

Ba-dum…

I was freaking out about Gon's whereabouts and safety, and couldn't wait to see him again, but at the same time, I had no freaking clue what to say about my current condition or my current relationship with Hisoka.

Ba-dum ba-dum...

I just...didn't know what to do.

Ba-dUM BA-DUM BADUM BADUMBADUM-

With a growl, I brought my hands up to my face with a loud smack! The fresh stinging pain on my cheeks was unwelcome, but needed. I felt my heart calm down, its harsh beating leaving my ears throbbing from it's staccato pace moments ago.

It wasn't like me to stress out so much! I would just do what I normally do, and wing it. I would try to keep the lies as seldom as possible, and just skip over the more incriminating details of my trip through the tower. Which will basically be the 90% of it that involved Hisoka and his pouty lips.

I slapped my hand onto the panel and strode back out into the room with my head held high. I glanced over towards where Hisoka was sitting and saw that his gaze was on something across the room. A quick glance to see what had his attention caused the heavy weight on my heart to lift and an elated grin to spread across my face.

"Gon!"

My brother quickly turned away from his conversation with Killua and Kurapika and lit up when he saw me. I noticed that the other boys looked relieved to see me too. That they were so worried about me actually made my chest tighten up with guilt. I honestly haven't given them much thought…

"Sis!" Gon cried, and rushed towards me. The only thing keeping me from tackling him to the ground in happiness was my injuries. Something he took notice of. "What happened, Guren? Did you have to fight prisoners, too?"

Wait, Gon had to have death matches too? "Yeah, we did. Did you and the others all go through the tower together?"

He nodded. "Mm! Killua, Leorio, Kurapika, Tonpa and me all got through it together! We thought you were right there with us, but when we turned back around, you were gone! Killua and me thought we heard you say something, but those flying things were making a lot of noise and Tonpa said you wanted to do it by yourself but I knew you wouldn't just ditch me like that-"

I grabbed ahold of my brothers shoulders and gave him a little shake. Gon's rambling halted to a stop and he took a deep breath. I couldn't help but smile at the silly expression on his face. Part of me was still disappointed and sad that I didn't get to pass the phase with the group, missing out on yet another adventure with my most precious person because of Hisoka, but I was glad to have him here again regardless.

"Wow, what happened to your face?!" I threw Killua an unimpressed look. "What? Have you seen your face lately? You look like someone messed you up!"

No shit. "Well, you would look like this too if you had to go through what I did! This phase sucked!" Killua's eyes widened as he flinched back when I threw my hands up into the air, nearly catching him in the face with my fingertips. "I got beat up! I had to go through annoying puzzles! I had to have death matches too! And worst of all, a stupid hunter with a grudge tried to kill me at the end! And even worse, I didn't have my brother with me!" I ended my hushed rant with a wail, hugging my Gon with all my might. Okay, so maybe I was closer to a mental breakdown then I thought…

"Sissy...what did you say happened?" Gon asked lowly, hugging me just as tight, forgetting my ouchies.

"Let me take a look at you, Guren! You have cuts and abrasions everywhere!" Leorio demanded, his face more serious than I'd ever seen it. He claimed to be a teenager, but his tone held the authority of an adult at that moment.. I didn't argue, and let go of Gon to let him look me over, when suddenly a new door slid open, revealing bright sunlight.

This phase was finally over.

XXX

The fresh air outside felt great after being cooped up in that godforsaken prison/tower. One by one we exited, and I didn't let go of my brother's hand , he was acting normal and didn't try to brush aside my clingingness. In fact, he gripped my hand just as tightly as I did. Hopefully there would be time before the next phase for Leorio to properly patch me up. For now, I would just have to bear the boys' worried glares on top of my aches and pains until then.

"Ladies and gentlemen, congratulations on escaping Trick Tower." We all turned to face a short man with glasses and mohawk like hair near the edge of the cliff. In front of him was a narrow table with a box. "You only have the fourth and final phases remaining. The fourth phase will take place over there," he jabbed a thumb to point behind him, towards an island. "On Zevil Island."

"Now, I need you all to draw lots."

That brought up a murmuring from the crowd. "Lots?" One muttered. "What for?" The teen with the bow asked directly. The violet haired Hunter chuckled and smirked. "To determine who will hunt and who will be hunted." That made all of us pause. I couldn't help but feel excitement rise up and the idea of Gon and I being on an island together. We would breeze through this phase for sure, and whatever we had to hunt we would take out together!

"There are twenty-five numbered cards in here. In other words, the numbers correspond to all remaining applicant's ID numbers. Now, I need you each to draw-"

"Wait a minute!" Leorio interrupted. "There isn't an even amount of us here! Will one of us have two targets or something?"

Huh, that's a fair point. I forgot that there was an uneven amount of applicants left.

The man's smirk turned downright cruel, instantly putting me on guard. "Oh, I'll get to that soon enough. Now, as I was saying, I need you all to draw lots in the order you exited the tower and completed the third phase."

Oh.

The examiner gestured towards the box. "Will the first person come forward?"

I shook off my twin's hand and squared my shoulders. I walked over with as much confidence as I could muster up. I kept my eyes straight ahead, ignoring the sudden whispers that started once I stepped forward. I could feel all the eyes burning into my back once again, only this time Gon's burned the hottest. I cringed inwardly at the third degree I knew I was going to get once he got me alone.

Once I was in front of the table, I glanced up at the sadistic Hunter and swallowed in shock when I saw that he was giving me a leering look, his grin stretching to complete the creep of the year look. And I thought Hisoka was holding that spot indefinitely. I quickly dropped my gaze, not wanting to attract another one and reached into the box. I bit my lip in annoyance when my hand touched nothing, and cursed my shortness. I had to flex my toes to gain the extra centimeters just reach down into the box where the cards were. In front of everyone who, besides my family and friends, were sizing me up, coming to conclusions on how big of a threat I was, and how easy I would be to take out.

I finally reached one, and yanked it out with great relief, ready to get back to my brother. I saw that it was a blank, white card, with a red sticker covering the other side. I pondered what would be under there and walked back towards the crowd.

Two steps away from the table, the creepy examiner called, "Next participant,"

I glanced up from my perusal at the louder whispers that erupted. Not surprised, I saw Hisoka walking towards me. Well, not towards me, but to the table behind me. I wasn't planning on watching him walk towards me, but my eyes couldn't help but be glued when I saw the expression on his face.

He didn't look happy. There was no smile on his face, and his eyes were looking slightly more narrow. He looked serious. And annoyed. Not a good combination, especially when I ended up with a dislocated thumb the last time I'd seen him like this. When he was just a few feet away, he glanced down at me. I couldn't help but raise a brow in silent question.

His eyes swirled with something other than cold irritation and one of the corners of his lips turned up in amusement. What the hell was funny?

He must've read the question in my eyes, because just as he passed me he winked, answering my silent question. Not.

I looked straight ahead again and met my brother's eyes. I smiled at him, but he didn't return it. He was looking extremely curious, and extremely concerned. I took my place beside him once again and watched as Hisoka retrieved is own card. I could feel the other boys' sneaking looks at me, but I ignored them all. I waited while the rest of the participants went and drew their cards, silent and anxious. They had to be close to figuring out that I got through the tower with Hisoka, and are coming to the conclusion that he was the one to give me most of my injuries.

I'd thought of at least a dozen excuses and white lies by the time it was time for the others to finally take their cards. By the time Leorio and Tonpa pulled the last ones from the box, I was feeling so much anxiety about my upcoming interrogation that whatever the upcoming phase held for us felt like nothing in comparison.

"Has everyone taken a card?" I tuned back in to my surroundings when I heard the proctor. "All right, go ahead and remove the sticker now."

The sound of multiple people peeling off their stickers fill the area. I took a calming breath and ripped the sticker off my card like it was a bandaid. Underneath the blood red sticker was a white surface with the number 294 printed on it. It looked like the same as our ID badges…

Wait...don't tell me...

I glanced up at the creepy proctor in trepidation. He met my eyes with another sadistic leer. "That number on your cards indicates your target."

The curious atmosphere froze, and people instantly started to cover their badges. I glanced down at my card again, but couldn't place who it belonged to. Damn, the only numbers I remember were the boys, my own, and Hisoka's.

"The box you drew from has recorded which card each of you drew. This means that you're free to dispose of the cards if you wish. Your objective is to steal your target's ID badge."

Oh, so we don't have to kill our targets. Thank god!

One of the young men with the marks under their eyes shared similar thoughts apparently. He sighed out his relief that we weren't going to be killing each other off. The older looking one on the other hand; one of the smug ones that glared at me back in the waiting room quickly burst his bubble. "Killing our target and then taking the badge is much easier, bro."

The proctor nodded. "You may use any means you'd like to take your target's badge. Even kill." Shit.

The three started talking amongst themselves again, and I noticed just how quiet Gon was being. I glanced over to him and saw him staring down at his own card with apprehension. I nudged him in the arm, causing him to break out of his thoughts and look at me. "Who'd you get, bro? Do you recognize the number?" I asked, trying to steal a look.

He quickly covered the number so I couldn't see. "Oh, um, no. I know who it is, but I kind of want to keep it a secret?" He said, sounding unsure of his own answer. I gave him a deadpan stare. Yeah, right. I knew when Gon was lying. Why didn't he want to tell me? Wait, was his target one of our little group of friends?

"Attention please!" The proctor called, putting an end to the murmur of conversation that started up in the crowd. "Your target's ID badge is worth three points," he said while holding up three fingers. "Your own badge is also worth three points. All other badges are only worth a single point. You need six points to advance to the final phase. So while you're on Zevil Island, you must gather enough badges to total six points."

"So you can pass even if you never find your intended target…" I mumbled to Gon, hoping to help alleviate his worries about his own target.

"That is the condition for clearing the Hunter Exam's fourth phase." His eyes seemed to zero in on me again and I swear his glasses shined maliciously. "As for the special circumstances concerning the odd amount of participants left...the ID badge of whomever finished the third phase first is worth six points."

I felt the blood drain from my face.

Gon gasped beside me, and Leorio let out a choked, "What?!" I felt more than saw the heated stares from everyone else, only ten times worse.

"You may not be aware, but two of you in the crowd pulled the same target out of the box. There were two cards with the same number. Furthermore, if you complete the fourth phase with nine points, six of those points having to be from the badge of the lucky participant to finish the tower first, you will get the chance to become a Hunter immediately after leaving Zevil Island without having to take the final phase at all."

I felt faint. My knees were going to go out, I just knew it. My skin was crawling from all the ill-intent aimed towards me from everyone around, save family and friends. I was so dead. So screwed.

I jumped when Gon grabbed hold of my clammy hand. I woodenly turned my head to look at him and saw worry heavy in his gaze. I'm sure my emotions were written all over my face.

I barely listened to the bastard of a proctor wish us luck, and just let Gon pull me along towards the ferry that would take us to the Island of hell. Killua, Leorio, and Kurapika came up beside us, and were quick to box me in, hiding me from the view of everyone else. I felt like I could breathe a little easier with them with me, and I felt gratitude and guilt build up inside me once more.

To think I barely gave them much thought besides how much time Killua was spending with Gon…I bit my lip to help hold back the overwhelming urge to cry. I don't deserve their support or their friendship.

But I was selfish. There was no denying the fact. I would soak up as much of their friendship as I could while I could. I didn't deserve their support, but I would take it anyway. And make sure to give a damn about them in return like I should have been doing this whole time, and not just for Gon's benefit.

I squeezed Gon's hand and blindly reached for Leorio's as well. The only thing I wanted as much as Gon's love and support was Auntie to be here to hug me and tell me that it was going to be okay. It didn't matter that it wasn't true, and that her embracing me wouldn't shield me from the world; knowing that an adult would love and protect me was enough to make me feel safe and untouchable.

But, neither Auntie nor Granny were here. Leorio, on the other hand, was the closest thing to an adult of our group of adolescents, and with the maturity he showed when he wanted to check my injuries earlier was enough to let myself pretend that I had a sane adult man here to look after me. Well, one that didn't have perverted or sinister ulterior motives like the other man I've spent the last couple of days with.

Leorio looked down at me in surprise when I grabbed his hand. I gave him a shy smile and tried not to look too pathetic. I was twelve, not two. His brown eyes softened and he gave me a reassuring smile. I swallowed and looked forward once more. For the first time in years, I thought about what could have been if Ging hadn't abandoned us.

XXX

As soon as we boarded the ferry, Gon dragged me off to a secluded corner. The other boys followed, and once we were seated on the deck, Gon started in. "What happened in the tower, sis?"

I took a deep breath and found it slightly amusing that I was so stressed and fearful of this moment. It seemed like a silly thing to worry about now when I had much worse things to worry about. "Well, I was trying to join you guys by the tower's edge at the beginning of the exam when I accidently fell through a trapdoor. After I fell, well…so did someone else…"

When I paused, unsure of what kind of reaction my words will bring, Leorio let out an impatient, "Well, who was it?"

"It was Hisoka." Killua answered for me. Gon and Leorio gasped, while Kurapika nodded. I just stared at the two in shock. They figured it out already…

"What? It's obvious." Killua shrugged. "He was the second person to draw a card, so he was the second person to make it through the tower."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they made it through together!" Leorio refuted. "I heard that ninja guy boasting about making it through by himself in record time!"

Killua shrugged again. "Yeah, but why else would Guren be so reluctant to talk about how she got beat up? It was Hisoka, wasn't it?" He asked me directly.

I hesitated for a second, contemplating again about lying about the magician's involvement. Nah, there was no reason to dig that hole. "Yeah, Hisoka ended up falling into the first room with me. Luckily, we both had to make it to the bottom of the tower alive." I gently touched the bruise on my chin and let my eyes drift away from the boy's increasingly angry eyes. "That didn't stop him from wanting to have a 'friendly' fight, though…"

"Shit, that reminds me! Come here, I'll check over your wounds, Guren." Leorio said while waving his hands. I nodded, thankful that someone with medical expertise would help fix me up.

While I let Leorio look over my visible ouchies, the worst being on my chin and my legs, Gon was starting to develop a scowl. It was an expression that didn't belong on my beloved brother's face. "So Hisoka just beat you up for fun? Was this before or after you had 'death matches'?"

Ah, I forgot that I mentioned that earlier. "...It was before. I basically let him take the lead on all the puzzles and, um, stuff through the tower until we got to the prisoners. We both had to fight two and-"

"Jesus, what the hell happened here, Guren?!" Leorio suddenly exclaimed, and I looked down to where he was prodding at. I was surprised to see strangely shaped yellow bruising on my thigh that disappeared into my shorts. When did I get those? I don't remember getting hit there.

In fact, they looked kind of like fingers-

The way his fingers moved beneath the fabric of my shorts was almost hypnotic. I couldn't help but watch in stunned fascination as the clawed digits poked out from the hemline and how dangerously close his thumb was to my crotch.

Hisoka pressed chaste kisses up my neck, and kneaded my thigh. Panicked, I crossed my legs to keep his hand from trying to explore too far again. Hisoka made a deep humming sound right into my ear and tightened his grip on my leg hard, making me hiss in pain.

I swallowed hard and bit the inside of my cheek. Heat was warming my face and belly at the memory.

"Sis? Hey, what's wrong?" Gon asked worriedly, looking over my face. Killua also looked befuddled, but Leorio's face was also starting to get red, but the look in his eyes showed that it wasn't for the same reasons as me.

Oh no, this isn't something I wanted them to find out! What will they think of me if they knew I just sat in Hisoka's lap as he...he...as he m-mast-AS HE DID WHAT HE DID? "It isn't what it looks like!" I blurted out, stopping Leorio's hand as it tried to push my short hem up higher. The bruise was already telling without seeing what I'm sure is a perfect replica of Hisoka's handprint. Leorio snapped his angry gaze up to meet mine, and I almost flinched at the disgusted fury.

"What's going on?" Gon's voice cut off Leorio before he could reply. My brother sounded frustratingly confused. Killua was looking at Leorio, trying to find the answer to his sudden anger. But when I looked over a Kurapika, his reaction was the scariest.

His face was stoic, as if we were talking about something boring and mundane as what the stones of the prison tower were made of, but his eyes were locked onto my thigh, and they were glowing scarlet.

I felt the situation tilt even more sideways. "It's nothing, guys!" I pleaded, trying to keep my voice down. Most of the boat was already staring, but as far as I knew they couldn't hear us. "Bruises aren't the worst injuries I got when going against those prisoners." I said, hoping to avert their wrath from Hisoka and onto the long dead men I'd already killed. Then, I thought of what might just distract them enough to fully forget about the handprint. "Besides, Leorio," His attention was pulled away from glaring at the oblivious Hisoka on the other side of the boat and back to me. "I got stabbed in my last deathmatch; will you please make sure it's healing alright?" I asked with the cutest voice I could, my Gon impression leaking out as well.

The young doctor's eyes widened in shock. "You got freaking stabbed?!" He exclaimed, loudly. The handprint forgotten, he quickly lifted my shirt so it was bunched under my small bust and gaped at the horrible discoloration dotting my abdomen and the professionally wrapped bandage covering my worst wound.

Gon gasped out my name and quickly hovered even closer to me, acting like I was about to bleed out before his very eyes. I reached out and patted him on the head. "I'm okay, big bro. It looks worse than it is."

"Damn, none of us got hurt at all against in our matches," Killua said, looking at my wounds. He still had that cool look on his face, but his eyes showed that he was feeling just as much pity and concern as the other boys.

Kurapika rested a hand on my shoulder and bent so he was eye level with me. His eyes were thankfully grey again. "Are you in a lot of pain, Guren?"

"I have pain meds with me, Guren! Hold on, I grab you some!" Leorio piped in, rummaging through his briefcase.

I shook my head to both of them. "No, I'm not in as much pain anymore. It still hurts, but it's nothing I can't handle. I don't need pills, Leorio." I said, waving my hand at him when he held out two tablets.

"Yes you do! They just help dampen the pain, nothing else." He insisted, pushing them towards me again.

Like hell I was swallowing those horse pills! I'll choke! "No way, their huge. I couldn't even if I wanted to." I said, turning my face away to prove my point.

Leorio growled, "You brat! We have water you can take it with so you don't choke!"

"Not happening."

I peeked over towards the other boys and saw that they were trying to hide their smiles at my childish antics. Gon knew first hand that I hated medicine, especially pills. I hid my own smile, happy to have helped lighten the mood around our little group.

It didn't last long.

One of the eye-mark brothers wandered closer to us and made the snide comment, "I feel bad for you guys. That girl's going to be the death of you!"

Gon and I frowned in unison and turned towards the young man. It was the same one who let everyone know that he was all for killing for badges. The other two of the trio were nearby, smirking knowingly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gon demanded, looking offended by the comments.

"Didn't you know? Guren and that maniac Hisoka have become the best of friends. Two little psycho peas in a pod. I'd watch out for your sister, boy. It's only a matter of time before she turns on you, or worse, gives you up to that killer clown!"

I felt more than saw Gon tense up at the accusation. I quickly grabbed his arm, making sure he didn't lash out. I saw Kurapika do the same to Leorio in my peripherals. I grit my teeth and glared up at the jackass who was trying to turn my twin against me. "Okay, there were a lot of things in that sentence that I didn't like."

He only smirked down at me. "Well, why don't you do something about it, then? You and your victims- oops, I mean friends, can meet us on the south side of the island tonight. We can settle things fairly there." He goaded, and sauntered back towards the other two.

I watched him leave with a deadpan stare. Did he think we were stupid?

Kurapika echoed my sentiments. "He's just trying to lead us into a trap, obviously."

Leorio scoffed and gave them a smirk of his own. "Like we'd fall for that."

His ploy got me thinking, though. He won't be the only one to try to target my brother and friends just to get to me and my ID. Now that I think about it, taking this phase with my brother wouldn't be such a good idea after all. If something happened, and someone threatened or hurt Gon for my badge, I could never forgive myself. Not just for putting him in that position, but because I would give my badge over without hesitation and probably get us both killed.

And only I would wake back up to deal with the consequences afterwards.

A shudder ran down my spine at the thought. Gon was giggling with Killua over Leorio's postering. I smiled at my wonderful brother and felt regret and a deep sadness. I needed to do this phase by myself. For both our sakes.

XXX

Gon and company weren't happy when I told them that I would be going it alone. Not one bit. I was already prepared for that, though. Without saying anything outright, I told them that I'd have my imaginary friend with me, so not to worry. Killua thought that was stupid, while Kurapika and Leorio just thought it was a phase I was still going through like a lot of normal kids. Only Gon got what I was implying, and he looked a little more relieved.

We went our separate ways for a while. Leorio and Kurapika sat together for a bit, before splitting. Gon, Killua and I sat together for the first thirty minutes of the ride as well, but I left them in a huff when Gon wouldn't tell me who he got for his target and showed Killua instead! I even showed both of them my number, hoping that they would know! Not only did they not know either, but they had to audacity to show each other theirs while hiding them from view right in front of me!

So now I was sitting at the roof of the cabin away from everyone for the rest of the boat ride to Zevil Island by myself. According to our host...whatever her name was, it was still going to be over an hour before we got there.

I snuck glances at Hisoka now and then. When I was looking for a place to sit, I contemplated going over sit with me out of spite, but quickly crossed that idea off when I noticed Pins and Needles next to him. Nope.

As much as I was enjoying the time and space away from him, I was really curious to see who his target was. And hoping to god it wasn't me. I wasn't too worried that he would want to go after me for my points, seeing as that would be too quick and easy for him. I'm sure his plan is to just kill anyone that crosses his path and pass with multiple badges, the bloodthirsty psycho.

Careful that nobody was looking, I summoned up Sandy, willing him through our link to be as quiet as possible. As the black sand took shape, I changed my position from sitting to lying down on my stomach, feet kicking in the air. The black ghost copied my position across from me, kicking his feet in unison with his head resting in his much larger hands. It was very cute.

"Wanna see this new trick I learned?" I whispered, focusing on coating my index finger with black sand when he nodded. He tilted his head like a puppy once the pad of my finger was completely covered in shifting black grains of sand. I started drawing lightly on the metal roof we were laying on, making a tic tac toe board. It was much harder to keep up my shrouded finger than before, and I can only assume it was because Sandy was out as well. Practice makes perfect!

For the rest of the trip, Sandy and I played games and drew on the roof, enjoying the quiet solitude we had with each other.

XXX

"Thanks for your patience, everyone! We've finally arrived at Zevil Island!" Our host chirped and the departing plank was deployed. Now, please disembark in the order by which you cleared the third phase!"

Hah, I figured they would have us do that. Luckily, I've been strategizing for the past hour. Going first is the best thing possible for me. I glanced over at the person departing after me on the other side of the boat. The only thing I'm uncertain of is him…

"You'll all disembark one at a time at two-minute intervals. You will stay on this island for exactly one week. During that time, you must collect your six points and return to this location!"

I blinked rapidly at that. What?! We have to stay here for a whole WEEK?

That wasn't in my plans! "All right, the first person may begin!" Wait, I need to revise!

When I didn't move, heads turned towards me and Killua gave me a push towards the plank. I quickly schooled my features so I didn't show that I was freaking out, and walked off the boat at a brisk pace. I ignored the glares from all around me, and the unreadable looks from Hisoka and surprisingly, Hanzo. When I glanced around, I didn't see any badges in sight and lamented my bad luck. Seems like only Killua, Gon, and Hisoka were brave enough to have theirs out on display. I played it smart and hid mine in my back pocket for now until I could think of a better place besides my bra.

As soon as I stepped foot onto the island, I dashed forward towards the forest as fast as I could with my leg still giving me trouble. I had two minutes to get as far away as I could from the start, but by showing off a fraction of my true speed, they'll hopefully assume that I'm going to the far side of the island.

As soon as I got past the thicker part of the forest, I took a left and headed towards where the three brothers wanted to ambush me, and proceeded to climb the tallest tree I could find. I climbed just high enough where I wouldn't be plainly visible to anyone on the ferry if they had exceptionally good eyesight, but high enough to where I could see the boat and all the little dots still on it.

I would wait here for a while before finding a good hiding spot by some water. There were plenty of wildlife from the smells I've been picking up, so I wouldn't have to worry about food. Cooking anything without drawing attention would be something to worry about later, but I could just sleep in a tree and have Sandy keep an eye out for anyone coming up on me.

Yes, I would make it through this phase. I had to believe that Gon would too, and that he didn't have a dangerous target.

XXX

See you next chapter! Ja ne