Summary: Hisoka needs help to deal with Kuroro. He thinks about Illumi.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Togashi and Shueisha.

XXX

Sky Tower, Hisoka's Room

"Machi? How d'you feel about spending the night-" Before I could finish my sentence, the lovely Spider had disappeared behind the door.

With a slam.

"Heeyyy…will I see you again?" I whined. Machi liked to act cold, brushing me off like a piece of lint stuck to her cute ninja outfit, but every time I call for help, she shows up. She's a passionate, loyal woman. And that's the string I'll pull when I need to draw her to me.

Gon and Killua. We share "red strings", too. But more than that, we share the instinct to…play the game. I can just picture the two friends huddled in front of the TV, hitting the pause and rewind on my match with Kastro, terrified, sickened but also…thrilled. And that's where I want them, irresistibly drawn to…play with me.

He-he-he.

I stripped off all my clothes and hopped into the shower.

The water splashed, blood and grit draining away like a hollow tune. There's still one guy who has never played into my hands. His memory is so clear that I can almost touch him: the slicked-back hair. The penetrating stare. The soft thud of the nen book as it materializes in his hand, pages fluttering weightlessly.

Where are you now, Kuroro? I wonder.

Probably sitting in a quiet room, delicate fingers curled on his jaw. His gaze is as steady as desert dunes, makes me stare. And how will he look when he finds out I fooled him into thinking I joined the Spiders? He better not give me those puppy-dog eyes, it might get my engine started.

Rest well, Dancho until I…destroy you.

I sighed, then turned the hot water to the maximum. That was the trouble. No matter how badly I wanted to fight Kuroro, he's never alone. And I'm just a man. Just a man with limited resources.

As if to rub my nose into it, I came down from my adrenaline high. Hard. My muscles weighed a ton, tense numbness gripped me except for the stinging pain in my arms. I felt like food for worms, with hunger headache to boot. I continued to stand under the water for another moment, then stepped out.

I was thinking about Illumi. I wished he was here.

XXX

"Need a partner? I can help you."

Those were Illumi's first words to me. The socially-inept assassin always put me in such awkward positions. I glared hard at him, hated to reveal a need, wanted to shoot him a spades that said…fuck off.

But instead I nodded miserably.

I was immobilized by some kind of manipulation nen and I had no friggen idea how that happened. It wasn't fair. I was on Hunter Island, all worked-up from bloodlust. Tried to hold back the best I could, but temptations just kept throwing themselves at me left, right and center. I needed focus…yes, there he was, a mesmerizing silver-haired boy.

"That's my little brother, so hands off."

What? The cute, cat-like kid was the brother of this demented pinball machine?

"I'm a killer too, so I know. I know how it is. How your bloodlust can make you careless." I wasn't happy at his insulting toneless voice, dead-looking eyes and offensive rattle of his jaw.

"So what do you say to a little business arrangement? Once in the Hunter Exam, you can give unlimited free rein to your bloodlust. Play tag all you want, all day long, and I'll be your back-up. I won't let you get ambushed…like now." He let that threat hover.

"All you have to do is help me back. To be specific: stay away from Killua. Simple isn't it? You help me, I help you back. Can't get any fairer than that, can I?"

Well, I don't think I had much of an option. I couldn't move, so whatever the hideous android wanted to do, he probably could. He came closer to me, raised his eyebrows. "Your eyes say you accept my offer. But I can't let you go until we take care of that, now can we? Y'know, in self-defense."

Something about his eyes started to pull me in, as if peeling open my heart, layer by layer.

Next thing I knew, I was slumped over a café table in town. The waiter was shaking me awake. "Sir? Are you alright?"

Was I alright? I felt damn good! My mind was clear of bloodlust. My body was warm and pleasantly tingling. Delighted, I stood up and looked around. No sign of the weird manipulation user. No memory of how I got here, either.

"Are you looking for your friend? The er…long-haired gentleman?" the waiter offered helpfully. "He left 10 minutes ago. Why not go back to your room if you feel tired?"

"M-my room?"

"Yeah, I remember you. You and your friend got a room upstairs," he indicated the building adjacent to the café. The charming green signboard above the wooden door read: H O T E L. Leer in neon. "Do you want me to show you to your room?"

I shuddered, weakly said, "Nnn-no…where's the washroom. I feel s-sick."

The green-haired bastard, what the hell did he do? Did he just toy with my body? Bad move, you bastard. Real fecking bad. I peeled off my top and looked into the mirror. Nothing. No marks, no scratches…well wait a minute. Small puncture wounds traveled up my circulatory system. Acupuncture, eh? This was aggravating, but to kill him for it might be a little…embarrassing, and did I mention I didn't have any bloodlust left?

So I plunged ahead into the late afternoon sunlight pouring like honey along my shady path, brushed past a pair of blood-moths going at it like demented things, and headed for the examination center, resolved to get the pinhead out of my mind. Out of the whole island of 50,000 people – why? Anyone else who met him would be repulsed. But not me. I was attracted to his…scent.

My mood was foul as the underground air as I got out of the elevator. I spotted the silver-haired kid, Killua, weaving through the crowd, blissfully unaware of my tragedy. My cell buzzed. Under the foreign number, there was just one word: Gitaraku. A hand waved from the back of the room. His pool-like eyes stared at me.

"Hey partner" he said.

I was enraged, but this is life among predators. Show vulnerability and you're dead. So I put up my most flippant pose, hands on hips, card on lips. "Whaddup, Gitaraku?"

"And your name is…" Gitaraku's neutral tone floated out of the gloom, mockingly innocent. I felt the desire to smash him all over again, so I grabbed his cheek.

Surprisingly, he let me do it, small quiet smile revealing nothing behind. No other freaking expression on his poker face, as if to say: You'll never reach me. Just try it. I was overwhelmed by an emotion more intense than bloodlust. If only I could reach out, break through to him. What the heck was I thinking?

I meant to make my voice drip with venom, sound mean, sarcastic. But instead it came out all wrong, almost tender. "Why we love you, partner." Odd looks gravitated towards us from as far as Kojiro Island.

This was bad. My face felt so hot.

Oh boy, time for me to establish the status with these goons. As for Gitaraku, I'll pin him down for this…later.

To be continued...

XXX

A/N: I was inspired to change my style after reading straycat's Hiso/Illu fics.

Let me know what you think, thanks!

Next part coming very soon.