recap, because my absence has been inexcusable:

- Kaede and Hisoka hatch a convoluted plan to bring down the rival CEO of Kaede's father, Mr. Richard, by destroying his corrupt company. Kaede hopes to do so by exposing him in the press; Hisoka, not so much.

- Kaede has just learned that her Nen was not, in fact, natural, but the result of a forced node opening that damaged her brain.

- Hisoka was supposed to tie things up on Mr. Richard's end, but, of course, he sends an army of bodyguards towards Kaede instead. They handle it though.

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Kaede took a deep breath.

Hisoka simply shrugged, and cocked one hand on one hip.

"So what now, fortune-teller-chan?" he asked, smirking at her. "It's your move, after all."

Kaede looked at him for a moment, brushing her hair absentmindedly from her face. Her muscles ached, and she could already feel the sting of several fresh bruises forming against her skin.

Then she reached out, and grabbed his hand.

"I'm gonna start charging a fee for this," she told him, her voice icy.

It was different, Hisoka decided, when she actually decided to touch him. Most of the time, she seemed averse to human contact, which was why he found it so fun to intentionally get into her personal space, whether it be tugging at her arm or pressing his hand against the small of her back. But sometimes she would willingly grab him - and he relished those moments, simply because they were so unusual - and it was a completely different story.

Her grip was strong and unyielding. Hisoka allowed his hands to be manipulated into position, enjoying the feeling of her thin hands wrapping around his, her fingers dipping and trailing over his rough and calloused skin. He fought back a surge of lust, she's just reading my strings, he told himself sternly, and forced himself to focus.

Kaede's Nen was cold and smooth, like the surface of an undisturbed lake. There was a certain edge to her Nen, however, as if the bottom of the lake was nothing but jagged, dangerous glass. Hisoka ran his tongue over his teeth, molars to canines, and smiled.

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"Good," Kaede told him, "the future changed. Because we've added in a lot of unexpected variables, it's not much of a surprise that things have gotten shifted."

"Unexpected variables?" Hisoka raised an eyebrow.

"It's a theory I've come up with in the past few months," Kaede explained, tracing lines over his palm, eyes glowing as she picked apart threads he could not see. "Usually, a person's future is set. But say an unexpected variable occurs - as in, someone decides to do something drastically different from what they were originally going to do - then there's a chance that the future could be affected."

She paused, eyes closing. Then they opened again, and she looked up at Hisoka.

"For instance," Kaede said, "if I decided to take one of the bodyguard's guns, and shot you. Or if I decided to run away and take an air blimp all the way to Padokia. In this case, I'm fairly certain it's because you told the bodyguards about me being a fake. It was enough of a deviation to probably shift the way the strings stretch."

She looked around for what seemed like the first time, taking in the massacre in the clearing. Her nose wrinkled. "Did you have to kill everyone?"

"What," Hisoka replied easily, "I wasn't supposed to?"

"I didn't kill anyone," she told him, her tone disapproving. Hisoka barked out a laugh.

"You are weak," he told her, and grinned. "So, fortune-teller-chan, what kind of future of mine did you see?"

Kaede hesitated. He could see her deliberating, the faint crease in her forehead.

"...a man," she said, finally. "A man with long, silver hair, and a wild smile."

"Nothing more?" Hisoka asked.

She was being vague, and she knew it, but she also didn't know how things would go from here.

Kaede let go of Hisoka's hand, marveling slightly at the way the black threads that bound his hand shifted slightly to reveal the scarred skin underneath. She'd never really thought about it, the callouses and scars on his hands - but then she thought about his cards, and the way they filled with Nen to become deadly sharp, and wondered how many times he'd cut himself by accident.

As long as I know your name and your face, the moment I touch your hand, I will be able to see your future.

I will be able to see the most important events in your life, starting from the present all the way to the moment you die. The more information you give me about your past, the more I will see about your future. However, I am not obligated to tell you everything.

In addition, she could not see her own future. Friends and family and relationships, on her left hand - yes, but not her future. It seemed taboo to do so.

She hesitated.

"Meet me at the hotel later," Kaede told him. She was tired from the fight, but there were a few more things she had to do. "In two hours. Don't be late. I'll tell you everything then."

Hisoka quirked an eyebrow suggestively at her. "Hotel? Why, if you'd wanted-"

"You know I didn't mean it like that," she snapped, color blooming in her cheeks.

Hisoka only laughed, and swept a hand through his hair. "Alright. See you later, fortune-teller-chan."

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The line connected with a beep.

"Kaede?" her father's voice echoed over the phone. "Kaede? Is that you?"

"It's me," she said, and took a deep breath. "I got the documents and a recorded confession. I sent them over to you already; your secretary should have received it by now. My end of the deal has been finished. Now it's your turn."

"Now? Surely this can wait, Kaede-"

"Now!" she snarled, her voice low and deadly. "Now, damn it! Tell me what happened that day at the hospital. When you found me knocked out on the ground, and you met Tabitha."

There was silence, and she felt like tearing the ground apart in frustration.

"...Kaede."

"What?"

"That day...they told me you wouldn't remember it."

"Well, they're right, father. I don't remember. In fact, right now my memories are a mess because I'm trying to figure out exactly what happened when I was younger but I can't."

There was a helpless quality to her father's voice. "I don't know, Kaede. You were hit in the head, and it gave you what Tabitha called retrograde amnesia. I can't tell you anything more."

"You never told me Tabitha was my doctor," Kaede said, "so - so what else haven't you told me? Or maybe you already knew her? Even when my mother was - "

"Kaede!" her father broke in, his voice cracking forcefully, "You - Kaede, damn it, you ran away! You scribbled some nonsensical note and then disappeared!"

The words hit her in the gut.

That's right, Kaede thought to herself, in that little instant, you're the one that ran away. But why? why?

"You -" she began, and then broke off.

"Ten years, Kaede," her father said, his voice strangely off-kilter even through the cellphone. "Ten years. I thought - I thought you'd been kidnapped. I thought you'd died. I almost gave up until Tabitha found you."

Ten years.

There was something ringing in her ears. Kaede took a deep breath. Something was creeping upon her, and she waited for it with clenched fists and bated breath.

"Look," her father said. There was a resigned tone in his voice. "Kaede - I know I wasn't always a good father. I was too caught up in my business and work and I rarely ever left the office to see you. Believe me, I have always regretted not taking care of your mother more when she was sick."

Kaede leaned against the tree. "I didn't run away because of you," she said.

"I know."

Impulsive actions. She'd never gotten her period, never been able to form close attachments, never stayed in one place for long.

"When Tabitha showed me the scans of your brain," her father finally said, his words heavy, like a confession, "in addition to giving you a concussion, something else had happened to your brain. Tabitha said she'd never seen anything like it. It was - it was - confusing. She told me...that some areas of your brain - parts that regulate reasoning, inhibitors, your pituitary gland - they'd been damaged. Things that a normal blow to the head should never have caused."

She'd already come to this kind of conclusion, but it was still somewhat shocking to hear.

Kaede breathed in - sucked in twilight air, felt it fill her lungs, stretching against her ribs, against her bruised skin.

"Then how can I talk? Walk? Move around like a normal person?" She could fight; she had bruises to show for it. And she had never felt limited, either mentally or physically. "Am I insane?"

"Kaede – what happened? Tell me what happened. You don't sound like yourself."

She exhaled. "It's fine. I've just been thinking, I guess. About leaving."

"Leaving? As in leaving this city?" There was faint pause on her father's end. "Are you sure?"

"I've been planning to leave this town from the very beginning," Kaede told him, running her fingers against the bark of the tree. The rough wood scratched at her fingerpads. "It's too cramped here. I think it's about time I explore the world a little. Don't you?"

"Kaede..."

"I'll come back to pick up my things tomorrow morning. I'm sorry I can't help you more than this, father, but this is goodbye," Kaede paused, hesitating slightly, and then said, "it was nice seeing you again."

She ended the call abruptly. Breathed.

So now.

Just one more thing, Kaede thought to herself. One more thing to do.

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"Mr. Richard," Kaede said to herself.

She had never killed before. Even with the bodyguards, she had never made a fatal injury. She had been careful, of course, that all of them were knocked out. Hisoka had taken care of the rest.

Inside her pocket, her scissors felt cool and heavy. They felt strange, and foreign to her touch. They had never felt unfamiliar before, but now they did.

There was a click of a safety to her left. She whirled instantly, Nen channeling into her fists, and slammed the heel of her palm into the bodyguard's gun, a feeling of vindictive satisfaction curling in her gut as the gun shattered at the impact. The bodyguard fell away with a cry; she lunged out and trapped him in a chokehold. He slid to the floor, unconscious, moments after.

Kaede darted into Mr. Richard's office. A cup of tea was lying on the table.

Kaede remembered the Nen that had glowed around Hisoka's cards, sharp enough that they would bury themselves into stone. Sharp enough to cut through flesh. Sharp enough to kill, despite being paper.

Her scissors glowed. She approached Mr. Richards. He did not stir.

"Mr. Richards?" she asked again. She walked to the front of the room, facing Mr. Richards fully.

He was slumped over, a card stuck in his throat.

Her breath left her suddenly, and it was as if her muscles had frozen.

Blood that had already started to blacken stained the front of his suit.

There was a note in his hands. Kaede plucked it gently from Mr. Richard's lifeless fingers, and unfolded it. She pretended not to notice how her fingers were trembling.

Sorry, little fortune-teller-chan. But this one's mine.

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Hisoka yawned as he returned to the hotel room. It was late; the sun was beginning to set. Kaede was sitting on the bed, eyes closed. For a moment he wondered if she had noticed his entrance. Her hair was still slightly damp and there was a towel around her shoulders; she must have showered once she returned.

"Kaede-chan," he purred as he approached, and relished the faint stiffening of her muscles.

She turned around to face him. Fascinating, he thought to himself again. She had a thin, boyish figure, an athletic figure; a dangerous one. The light from the window cast shadows against her cheekbones and sank into her eyes like tiny crystals drowning into a lake. There was an aggressiveness in her that he'd only seen a few times before, something sharp and promised a steely retribution. His lips pulled back against his teeth into the mockery of a smile.

This, he thought, this, I want to explore.

Slowly, she got to her feet.

"Hisoka," she said. There was a card in her hands. Hisoka glanced down at it, recognized the blood and the pattern on its back.

"You found my note," he said. There was a surprised edge in his voice; he hadn't expected her to. He paused, considering this new information, and then he grinned wickedly, "Interesting."

"We just can't be honest with each other, can we?" she said, "I won't tell you everything about your future and you never tell me anything about what you've done. When did you kill him?"

Hisoka only ran a hand through his long, slicked back hair, and laughed. "He was dead by the time the bodyguards had left the building, little fortune-teller." He leaned forward so was only inches away from her. "Anyways, shouldn't you be happy? Now that my employer's dead, I am under no more obligation to kill your father. And Mr. Richard's business is ruined now. Like I said, the simplest thing to do was to just kill him."

"You can't just go around killing people!" Kaede felt distinctly uncomfortable with him so close to her, but hated the idea of backing down. "There's the police, law enforcement, all of that - if you got caught -"

Hisoka abruptly took a step forward, and she instinctively retreated.

"Don't be silly," Hisoka hissed softly, and then smiled. "Law enforcement doesn't frighten me. And it shouldn't frighten you. In this city, occurrences like these are common."

"He wasn't supposed to die! Honestly - "

"If we're talking about honesty," Hisoka cut in, amusement dripping from his voice, "a cup of drugged tea isn't enough to kill me, Kaede-chan," he laughed, a faint smirk appearing on his face, "Neither will it hinder my movements so easily that I can be taken by surprise. What else did you see?"

"Hisoka," she said seriously, but stepping backwards all the same, "what are you doing?"

He had been steadily advancing without even realizing it, like a cat did upon a cornered mouse.

Her legs hit the edge of the bed. Kaede glanced behind her, panic rising.

Hisoka felt her Nen waver to life. The glass-like quality of her Nen was still there, he noted, but whether it was an instinctive reaction out of fear or a warning signal, it seemed less cold and much rougher, almost desperate.

He shivered a little bit at its rawness; there really was no better turn-on than the feeling of a powerful aura. He sort of liked the feeling of her rougher, more unstable Nen. Unlike her usual Nen, this one was warmer, more passionate.

His eyes sharpened.

"Why," he purred, and she flinched, "I really like that look in your eyes right now, fortune-teller-chan."

It was a mixture of things, confusion and frustration laced with panic all in one, but it was the hunger that set him off, made him shiver in want. There was hunger in her dark green eyes, the kind of desire that sent thrills down the spine and a burning in the stomach. Hisoka grinned when she looked away, a flush creeping up from her neck, her breaths coming out louder than she probably wanted them to.

"What? Out of words now?" he reached out slowly, grasped at her chin. "Tired of arguing?"

A flash of green eyes, a fierce glare. She knocked his hand away.

"Good girl," Hisoka murmured approvingly, and then kissed her.

She froze against him for the briefest of moments, stunned, and a panicked noise started in the back of her throat. Then her eyes fluttered closed, and all of a sudden she was kissing back, her hands reaching upwards and pushing at his shoulders as she was tugged into him. When he wrapped his arms around her waist, she made a noise that sent heat curling down his spine, her hands sliding up his shoulders and fisting into his shirt.

He could feel her heartbeat race. Somewhat desperately, and with a great amount of effort, Kaede pushed him away, breaking their kiss with a small gasp, eyes fluttering open. Her expression was panicked; his was amused.

"What-" she stuttered, dizzily, "you - "

Hisoka laughed, and pulled her in for another kiss.

He was addicted. Everything about her was intoxicating: her scent, her warm lips, the way her body pressed against his, sending small thrills down his spine. They fit perfectly, her leaning upwards into him, him leaning downwards into her. He tilted her head back and intensified the kiss, pressing her closer against him. She shuddered so hard he could feel it, something that rocked him to his core, and all of a sudden she swung them around, pulling them onto the bed. Hisoka let go of her briefly to brace himself against the mattress so he wouldn't crush her. He opened his eyes to see darkened green ones. She smiled against his lips.

Then her nails dug into his collarbone, and his senses flared white-hot.

Hisoka growled. He opened his mouth, drawing back slightly just in time to hear her gasp for air, and ruthlessly brought his mouth down for a much, much harder kiss. This one was rougher, and more bruising. It was dominating and forceful and she fucking melted into his arms and he pressed her body flush against his, his knee forcing between her legs. He broke away, letting his mouth trail hotly down her neck and enjoying the way she arched into him, tilting her head back almost helplessly.

She struggled, but there was nothing she could do. He easily dwarfed her, and the feeling of her pushing her hands hard against his biceps did little to stop him from trapping her in his arms and taking full advantage of her. Almost peripherally, he felt her hands slacken, her heady gasps egging him on, and then felt the warning crackle of her Nen.

Hisoka opened his eyes.

She was flushed and breathing hard, something which deeply satisfied him. They were still close enough that he could feel the warm pulse of her blood in her throat, and was pleased to find that it was racing. Her hair was mussed up, and a pattern of red marks ran down the side of her neck.

Hisoka exhaled sharply, eyes dark, muscles tensing. He lifted his head slightly, and took a moment to compose his somewhat ragged breathing. He rolled over so they were lying side by side.

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Hisoka, Kaede thought dizzily, was an absurdly good kisser. She couldn't even remember what they had been talking about. Something about honesty.

"...so," she gasped breathlessly, staring at the ceiling, "so maybe I've been withholding information. What of it? You won't even explain to me why Mr. Richards wants to kill you."

"You dragged me into this on the pretext that I was going to die," Hisoka replied, and Kaede was pleased to hear his shortness in his breath as well, "although I really doubt that poison or drugs will really affect me as strongly as you claimed."

"Fine," Kaede snapped at him, "but he really did intend to kill you. And even if you didn't die, you ended up blacking out."

"So?" Hisoka turned and pulled Kaede on top of him, grinning at her sharp inhale, "So what if I blacked out? So what if you thought I was going to die?"

Fear and indecision warred across Kaede's face, cold features softening and then hardening. Hisoka let a razor-sharp grin spread across his face, and then pulled her down to him, his breath ghosting against the skin of her neck. She stiffened.

"You wouldn't - you wouldn't understand," she said, voice strained. He drew back slightly, watched as her shoulders lost some of their tension, and then glanced upwards, dark amber eyes meeting hers.

"From the very beginning," Kaede told him, her gaze surprisingly steady, "I never intended to play politics with my father. I've been too far removed."

She shifted, but he held her in place by the hips. His fingers toyed distractingly at the hem of her shirt, the top of her jeans. "Keep talking," he purred at her, and ran his fingers across the strip of exposed skin. Kaede shivered, and her hands balled into fists.

"When I saw your future - ah - I really thought you were going to die," she was struggling to stay focused, and it showed in her voice. "But a black string goes both ways. So tell me if I'm wrong - Hisoka - you, from the very beginning - intended to kill Mr. Richards, didn't you?"

Hisoka paused. Kaede inhaled deeply.

"Yeah," she said, "you knew you weren't going to die from the beginning. It takes a lot more to kill you than some drugged tea. So going along with my stupid, risky plans, the bar, the 'partners-in-crime' - you liar. You just wanted a chance to kill him."

She rolled off of him. For a moment, she missed the warmth of his body against her hips, fingers fluttering across skin, and then she shook herself.

"You don't belong here," she said, finally, "and neither do I."

"So? Are you planning on leaving?" Hisoka asked her, propping himself up beside her. When she nodded, he asked, "Where do you plan to go?"

"I don't know," she responded, turning to face him. "But I know I can't stay."

For the briefest of moments, Hisoka considered asking her to travel with him. But just as quickly as it appeared, he dismissed it. They were too different, him and Kaede. He'd never been much of a team player, and neither had she.

"So when do you leave?" he asked instead.

Kaede glanced at him, a sliver of green ice. "Tomorrow morning."

"Mmm. And you tell me this because...?"

She only grasped at his shirt, glaring at his smile, and pressed her mouth to his again.

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The next morning, she woke up early and extracted herself from the tangle of limbs they had become during the night. She hailed a taxi, picked up her luggage – small, single, carry-on - said her brief, cursory goodbyes to her father and Tabitha, and then found herself in a taxi again.

She was standing in front of the airport gate when Hisoka appeared beside her. She didn't question how he had known when she'd be at the airport, or which flight she would take. Instead she just turned to him and nodded in greeting.

"Have you thought a little more about where you'd like to go?" he asked her.

"Have you thought about how much longer you'll stay here?" she countered, suppressing a smile.

Hisoka laughed, and a sudden clenching feeling appeared in her gut. I will miss you, she thought to herself, and almost said it, but didn't.

Instead, she asked, "Why are you here?"

"You never held up your end of the bargain, last night. You said you would tell me my future."

Ah. She had forgotten.

"I'll tell you what I saw," she began, slowly, "and it wasn't this city. The Heaven's Arena makes this city successful, but the city I saw in your future wasn't this one. It was larger, with tall skyscrapers and flashing lights and crowded sidewalks. The streets are filled with cars even in the night.

But it's not just that. One day you'll meet a man with long, silver hair. You can't see his eyes," her eyes flicked down to his hands, "and there's a black string connecting him and you. Be careful."

And later, far later. A man with a cross tattoo and a fur coat. A man with heavy piercings. A flash of silver hair and cat-like blue eyes. A smiling boy in green.

She paused, and met Hisoka's eyes. A brief frown flitted across her face. Then she shook her head.

"No," she murmured, "never mind. It doesn't matter what future I see for you."

"Why not?" he asked, a note of genuine curiosity entering his voice.

"Because you're someone who's easily bored, aren't you? Someone who absolutely can't stand routine. You seek thrill in your life; you hunt for excitement and adrenaline wherever you go," she paused, "and that kind of person will never let any perceived fortune dictate his life. To put it quite simply, there is simply no thread that can hold you down."

Hisoka hummed his agreement. Then he turned to her, amber eyes glinting. "Except for one thread."

She paused, surprised. She glanced down at her hands, her pinky, at the solitary strand of red that curled around it and connected to his. She blushed; it might as well have been a confession.

There they stood: a mass murderer, a brain-damaged woman. Neither of them were fully capable of love, or loving, and yet she knew that her strings didn't lie. No matter how separate their paths took them, they'd meet again. Weeks, months, years, it didn't matter.

"Except for one," she agreed finally, and smiled.

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GUYS ITS OVER AND I'M SO SORRY FOR DITCHING THIS FIC IN THE COLD FOR MORE THAN A YEAR, BUT I WRAPPED IT UP (MOSTLY)! And If I ever get around to it, I'll try wrapping up all the loose ends presented in this piece. For now, at least there's a sense of closure.

Love you all very, very much!

- Colorless Butterfly