Anxiety played with Violet's heart in a tense and discomforting way. She spent the last week only donning Hisoka's shirts and bandages. But the presence of company demanded she perform the tortuous task of forcing her wounded legs into the tight, blood-soiled jeans. She tugged one of Hisoka's long, tight undershirts lower over her denim trousers as she rounded the hallway into the kitchen.  

Illumni bent over some of the documents and pictures, explaining in a dry monotone, "These are older documents. The group is disjointed, with branches in most areas of lower and middle-class society. The orphanages are where the woman you seek and Zanko spent most of their time..."

Violet drowned out the flat vocal resonance of Illumi, her pain and thirst taking precedence. She'd already taken the medication Hisoka gave her in the washroom, and the effects were beginning to hit with waves of dizziness as exhaustion threatened to reappear. Her body weight seemed to grow with each minute, and she hated the sensation. 

Maybe I am too injured for sex. I'll never admit it to him. The last thing he needs is an ego boost.

She grabbed apple juice and oatmeal, the only options safe for consumption while on two types of antibiotics and high levels of pain control. The pain medication caused nausea alone, and she didn't want to risk heavy meals. The struggle to prepare her breakfast seemed unreasonable, thanks to the dulling impacts of injury combined with drugs. Once she managed it, she leaned against the counter in front of the sink across from the two men sitting facing her direction at the breakfast nook. She mindlessly stirred milk into her porridge before taking her first bite.  

"Violet. Sit," Hisoka commanded, without taking his eyes off the document in his hand or looking towards her.

Casting her gaze towards the pair, she saw Hisoka pointing to the seat to his left while Illumni sat on his right. She furrowed her brow and swallowed hard. Nothing but death radiated off the guest clad in striking green with bright yellow bobbles and pins all over his outfit. If the striking outfit warned of even half the threat Hisoka's did, she wasn't sure she wanted a position much closer. 

Hisoka pulled out the chair of the seat where he wanted her to sit and gave her a quick, meaningful gaze. His eyes snapped lower to her legs, drawing her attention to how she trembled, struggling to stay standing. 

Movement always caused sharp stinging when she attempted it after a short pause. A slight limp rose as she made her way to Hisoka's side and sat with the murderous pair, her back facing towards the cosy living room. 

"I've called for the doctor," Hisoka said as he returned to the documents. "He'll be here shortly to check your injuries." He turned to Illumni with slight annoyance in the corner of his eyes. "What is it?"

"Nothing, just an observation," said Illumni with bored disinterest. 

"I know you struggle with basic human emotions and reasons," Hisoka responded, propping his hands on his elbows and interlacing his fingers. "Please, let us know what oddity has drawn the attention of that eccentric Zoldyck mind of yours."

"Zoldyck? Like Zoldyck, Killua?" Violet asked, interrupting the two that almost spoke as brothers or something more, something intimately closer. 

Hisoka turned to smile in her direction, but Illumni caught her attention more with his void-like black eyes. He watched her and provided a curt nod. If Hisoka hadn't been between them, guarding her, she would have stepped away. As if he noticed, Hisoka's hand moved to just touch her own, and it calmed the nerves. 

"Yes, Killua is my younger brother," Illumni answered, but a slight threat entered his tone as he asked, "Where did you last see him?"

Hisoka interrupted, "You and I both know he was in Heaven's Arena. That's where Violet met him, but she has nothing to do with your family drama." He propped his head on his open palm and grinned at Illumni. "I hear he escaped with quite a bit of violence towards his family. He plans to capture you all and hand you in to the authorities to collect on your bounties as assassins. You're aware of this, yes?"

"Yes, he stabbed our mother in the face and injured one of my other brothers, Milluki. It was impressive, but I haven't seen him since the Hunter exam," Illumni answered, returning to his monotone. "I was away on a job training our other brother, Kalluto. Father and grandfather were also away on jobs. It likely wouldn't have happened otherwise. We were all still impressed with his initiative and skill." 

Violet coughed on her juice, hearing the way Killua escaped his family. 

"Tracking Killua down seems to be a pet project for you, but it's not high on my priority list," said Hisoka, pointing to the documents to refocus Illumi and checking his phone as it rang. Hisoka answered the caller, "Hello, Madison."

He paused, allowing the faceless Madison he spoke with a chance to speak over the line. Violet couldn't hold back a few yawns or the ever-growing anvils her eyelids were becoming as she tried to finish her meal so she could slip away. While waiting for Hisoka to finish his conversation on the phone, Illumni moved some documents aside, and a few pictures slid out between two sheets of paper. 

"Yes, please see him to the gold elevator. He'll need your help accessing entry," Hisoka said to Madison on the other end of the line. "He's the doctor coming to see my guest." After another pause Hisoka ended the call. 

Violet's eyes widened at the image, and she tilted her head to get a better look. In the picture, Zanko spoke with a woman she didn't recognise. The woman embodied a strict and cruel church governess, including strict military clothing with a form-fitting deep brown overcoat. Her hair was braided tight and wrapped into a bun. Her frowning, thin lips and high eyebrows all fit the image of strictness and lacking any joy. 

It was the woman beside her that caught Violet's attention. She was not the subject of the photo and was blurred out near the edge of the shot. The woman stood back with confidence regarding Zanko and the stick mistress. Her hair was pinned up into a standard ponytail, freckles on her cheeks, and striking blue eyes to compliment the brunette's hair with red highlights in the photo. A black curved tattoo painted her right neck and caused Violet's eyes to widen as she recognized the distinct witch's mark. 

A knock sounded, loud enough to make Violet jump as her nerves flared, remembering some of the gruesome facts about the woman in the photo. However, it didn't make sense. She wasn't from this place. She was from back 'home'. She couldn't understand how she was in a picture with Zanko.

"Violet?" Hisoka asked, drawing her attention while the door went unanswered. "Do you recognise more than Zanko?" Hisoka turned the photo and moved it in front of her position at the breakfast nook. 

"K-kind of— possibly?" Violet paused to swallow hard as another knock sounded. 

"One moment," Hisoka called to the knocker. 

"This is Madam Luzena. Do you have information on her?" Illumni asked in a drawl voice, pointing to the governess-like woman with soulless dark eyes.  

"I don't recognise her," Violet answered while shaking her head before continuing, "Zanko mentioned that name the first night he attacked me, but I don't know anything about her. He was going to take me to her. He said it like a threat."

Hisoka stood and went to the door to answer it. When he returned, the aged doctor appeared with lines along his mouth and eyes of his rounded face. He donned his white coat and brought the medicine bag with him. Dr. Choa had seen her daily and had a pleasant enough bedside manner. His salt and pepper hair was smooth and thinning as it reached the top of his head.  

Illumi began pulling the image away, and Violet reached out, causing him to stop. 

"But!" Violet pointed to the woman beside the Madam. "I recognise her. Possibly. It just doesn't make much sense." She took a deep breath to regain her composure. "I know this woman as a deadly natural witch. She is ruthless and bloodthirsty when she's in a good mood. Many hunter units have gone missing pursuing her, only for parts of them to show up months later.

"She would mail them back both to the hunter outposts and to the victim's families. Sometimes, vicious dark hexes would be on the remaining pieces, killing whoever received the package. I remember one case where a hunter's daughter had her flesh melted off from a hex. The form she's taking in this picture is the one I was briefed on. But I focused on demons, not witches, so I only know this one. She has several faces and human forms, according to what the witch division said. She was from my... from the other world."

"What do you know about her abilities, Violet?" Hisoka asked as he cleaned the countertop for Dr. Choa, who unpacked his kit for her wound examination.

"Your wounds have been bothering you, Violet?" asked Dr. Choa in a hushed tone, trying not to disrupt the conversation between her and the other two others. 

Violet nodded and presented her hands to Dr. Choa, who began removing her wrappings gently. He wasn't without clumsiness in sections of the unravelling that made her half flinch. Doctors didn't have the practised hands of nurses, but the nurses were sent home along with the other doctors as she stabilised over the week. Dr. Choa had been asked to stay back. Violet assumed since he was the most senior on the team and had a less abrasive personality. The others tended to allow their zealous pride to cause them to push Hisoka too close to violence. 

"I never really dealt with witches unless they were involved with demons. And never a natural witch. All I know is they are powerful and dangerous. Particularly if they're elemental naturals," she answered Hisoka as Dr. Choa turned her hands back and forth and gently ran his hand up her right arm, frowning. "Witches often inherit their power from another source. A black witch sells her soul to a demon. This is well known from the lore of everyday people in my world. Mind you, they don't believe it to be anything but imagination and make-believe. Geen witches, also known as wiccan, syphon their powers from nature. Elemental witches are different. They also have a connection to nature, but it's stronger, raw power, and they can syphon the power of the base elements of nature—ouch..."

"Sorry... These hands are both infected, and it's climbing your right arm. Is there pain beyond the wrist?" Dr. Choa asked. 

Violet answered, "Oh, yes. My right hand will throb up to the shoulder. I thought it was a muscle strain injury." 

"No, that could be the infection travelling up the veins or, worse, your bones," Dr. Choa remarked, a hint of concern in his tone. 

Hisoka sighed. "There is nothing to be gained if she grows ill."

"I heard your leg wound is worse. Have you been wearing clothing like this most days?" Dr. Choa asked, looking towards her partially shredding jeans covered in stiff, dried blood. "These are certainly worsening your healing."

"The natural witches?" Illumni interrupted her examination. The first sign of emotion entering his tone—curiosity. 

Violet blinked, looking at Illumni. Hisoka brought a card forward and gently signalled for her to twist in her seat to face him. She obeyed the physical cues of her magician, understanding what he desired. 

As Hisoka cut the jean right leg off just below her hip and then worked on her bandages, she answered Illumni, "They have their own power within as well as—" 

She couldn't stop the yawn, which was highly out of place, with Hisoka cutting half of her clothing off while in the presence of company, and Dr. Choa descending on her leg to examine it. But the drugs she took in the washroom were hitting hard. She loathed the groggy exhaustion induced by the pain medication. 

"—and they can call upon it to siphon more of nature's natural energy than the Green Wiccans can. They're unmatched," she said, finishing her thought before adding, "Pastel witches come in different varieties depending on the type of fae they've sold themselves to. Still, they're the only entity beyond a Fae themselves that come close to an elemental witch. And both are leagues away from these witch's powers." 

She stopped to groan, and although she could tell Hisoka didn't want Illumni fully aware of their relationship, she grabbed his forearm and squeezed. It was the only thing she could think to do to warn him of her exhaustion. Hisoka looked at her and gave a slight nod before pulling away to sit back with crossed arms and continuing the facade of indifference around their guests.   

Dr. Choa mumbled while examining her leg, then stood and said, "I'm going to restart an IV and give antibiotics directly to the blood. I'll add a third antibiotic to your medication later and increase the dose on the current medication. I'm not sure if your Nen or the infection is interfering with their effect. It could be both." Dr. Choa caught her groggy attention to bore into her with a tense expression. "I want you on bed rest until further notice. These jeans aren't helping you. I left those supplies in the hotel room. I'll need to retrieve them; then I'll return to set up the infusion."

Violet groaned at the prospect of another medication to upset her poor gut biome further. 

"We'll get her new clothing," Hisoka answered. 

"Have you noticed any aura leaving the wounds? Could it be post-mortem Nen?" Dr. Choa asked Hisoka. 

"No. It concerned me at first as I did kill the one who laid the injuries on her, but they've been completely free of Nen—"

"What is post-mortem Nen again?" she asked, interrupting. 

"When you kill an opponent if their Nen is on you when they die, and the strength of their last wish is strong enough, the Nen grows stronger every day until the task is complete," answered Illumni. "It's a very basic concept."

"She doesn't have Zanko's Nen on her," Hisoka said curtly, with an annoyed tone directed at Illumni, before turning back and instructing, "Violet, go rest."

Violet sighed and struggled to make a sluggish walk back down the hallway towards the master bedroom. She used the wall for support as her body grew heavy with each step. Energy left her like steam rushing away from an overheated body on a brisk winter's day. The bedroom was blurred, and she thanked her luck that the drapes were already pulled shut, not that the mid-morning sun would have stopped her slumber. 

A fresh glass of water sat by the bedside table. He must have replaced it while I was in the shower. 

She took a quick sip of water and fell into the king bed, too tired to undress or wrap herself in the covers. Cold would nip at her due to the drug's effects, but she had little time left before unconsciousness would claim her again. 

Frowning as she sprawled out on the bed, she rolled onto her side to watch Hisoka's side of the bed. A panging sensation of anxiety nipped at her mind and heart. Rolling over, she crawled onto Hisoka's side and grabbed his pillow.

I'm pathetic...

The knowledge didn't stop her self-serving quest. Pulling the pillow out, she cuddled into the down-filled, puffy piece of bedding, burying her face within it. Hisoka scent surrounded her nose and comfort wrapped around her mind with it. 

A dreamless sleep took her away for a time frame she couldn't recall. It was disturbed by the sound of the bedroom door shutting and shuffling, causing her to moan in annoyance. The moan turned into a deep groan as her body was shifted onto her back against her will. 

Hisoka's whisper answered, "Let me get you out of the jeans. I'll buy you a new wardrobe by the time you wake." He ran the back of his fingers along her face, and she watched him through half-opened eyes. "I'll send the women at reception to collect more comfortable clothing for you to recover in." 

Violet nodded, allowing him to cut the last of the jeans free from her skin. They were tight and pinching her, and she wanted them removed. Her heart squeezed in worse discomfort than her body. She wanted to stay with Hisoka but didn't know how long she could stay and worried about Zanko's final words. 

Confusion plagued her while the drugs played with her inhibitions, preventing her from holding back the dark thoughts. A soft sob answered her self-induced tensions. 

"What's wrong, kitten?" Hisoka asked, responding to her sob. "I'm not going to touch you in any way you don't want. You have my word. Don't wor—"

"I don't want to go home..." She couldn't stop the second harder sob. "There is nothing back home for me. I want to stay here..."

Hisoka sighed. "We need to speak about that when you're less drugged." He rested his forehead against her, and she relaxed. "You don't need to go anywhere. Don't let that worry keep you from rest." 

Emotions she had never understood since first meeting him grew every time he showed her softness. It was as if they had always been there, waiting for him to rerelease them. 

"Do you want me to stay with you until the doctor returns?" he asked. 

She nodded, and her heart hummed with heat and happiness as he shifted into the bed with her and wrapped the blanket around them both. His heat and protection helped her race back to peaceful slumber. The only wish she possessed at that moment was that the comfort would never end.

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New character drop people! What do you think of the prospects with this new witch? 

What business could she possibly have with Zanko and his people??

Thanks for all your support. Don't forget to vote and comment!