"A player has cast contact on you."

The shrill ding sounded before the characteristic popping of Violet's player's book materialised out of her player's ring. Hisoka replaced it before leaving and passed many of the cards he'd stolen into her possession. He only kept key ones to ensure communication and easy access to one another.

After peeling heavy eyelids apart, she saw the book floating in mid-air. It opened to the front page with the utility window that allowed communication and players to utilise the game's different spell and attack cards.

The voice box on the page relayed Hisoka's vocal tones. "Hello, kitten. How do you feel?"

She responded with a cracked voice while allowing her eyes to close once more, "A bit better."

"You sound exhausted, Violet. Worse than when I left you~♠"

"I'm okay..."

The dark room called like a siren, summoning her back to fitful unconsciousness. Ever since Hisoka departed, nightmares swarmed, and tension plagued her rest.

Hisoka's voice broke her return to oblivion. "Have you been eating?"

"Yes, a bit. You've only been gone for a day, Hisoka."

"I left you three days ago, nearly four now," Hisoka said with a harsh tone. "I'm coming back."

With slow determination, she opened her eyes again, annoyed at his response. The room was fogged, but not due to anything more than her poor vision state. Casting her gaze to the far end table, she analysed the bedstand where Hisoka left a bowl of fruit— apples, bananas, and tangerines. Several water bottles sat beside it for her ease of access.

"No, don't, Hisoka." She inspected the end table with further scrutiny. "I'm disoriented. I just woke up."

"All the more reason I should come back. I'll try again when you're stronger."

"No, Hisoka. I've eaten. I can see three apple cores by the bowl and two banana peels," Violet explained before groaning. "Shit. They're growing fruit flies. I didn't throw them away."

"I left a bin by the end table. Wave your hand in front of it, and it should open."

She did as he instructed and pushed the food remains over the edge of the nightstand into the garbage. Tears began to collect in her eyes.

Come back, Hisoka. I'm vulnerable. This exhaustion isn't normal. She shook her head and snarled. No, I have to be strong. Hisoka must focus, and I cannot hinder him.

"The water?"

Violet paused, sniffing to compose herself before answering. She hid the sounds of her misery within bed sheets.

"Not enough. Only three-quarters of a bottle. I'll have some now."

"I can return if you need me, Violet~"

Yes, I need you... But she said, "I'm okay, Hisoka. I miss you." Her voice came out with more of a whimper than intended. She strengthened it. "But I can handle it. Do what you need to, and I'll be here waiting."

A sigh sounded through the player's book speaker. "Very well. Contact me if anything changes. Drink the water. You won't recover without food and water, kitten."

"You'll answer like we discussed if it's not safe to speak?"

"Yes~ I'll say 'what an unexpected pleasure. Whom might this be?' if it's not possible to speak freely. You can ask about a card exchange with the cards we picked, indicating whether you called to talk, want me back or are in immediate danger. I'll turn down every trade and then contact you or return when I'm safe to do so."

"Okay. Happy hunting, Hisoka."

Hisoka laughed with amusement thick in his tone. "Why thank you, darling kitten. Rest and recover~♦"

♠♥♦♣

"It won't be long. I'm almost finished, Violet. Stay strong," said a familiar yet foreign voice, a whisp above a whisper. It reverberated around her mind and jarred Violet.

Disembodied images of reality and beyond began an assault on Violet's resting mind. Shrieks cascaded off the walls rousing her sweating and thrashing body. Hacking coughs cleared her throat to force air through the closing pipes. Tumbling from the bed in a mess of sheets, she half crawled, and half ran on all fours for the washroom. The rush came to an end on the black and gold tile floor.

Pressure constricted around her throat, and the sensation of hair wrapping the windpipe wouldn't relent.

"H-Hisoka..." A wheezing whisper was all she could muster.

Images of all the torture she endured at the hands of the witches flashed along with every ounce of pain. A whirling tornado of white, black, red, and gold surrounded her as the hues of her environment threaded into one unreadable image.

Violet lifted her balled fist and pounded at her skull. "Wake up." Pound. "Wake up." Smash. "Wake up!"

But she knew there was nothing to wake up from as she was already conscious. The dreams were far more disembodied and less panic-inducing. Breaths came harder as if the hair was tightening as it had on the night she almost died. Tears burned down her cheeks.

A flash drew her attention from the stomach-churning spinning colours. Emerald green clung to her finger, promising aid. She only had to reach for it.

However, her throat muscles were convinced she was near strangled and continued to close. A close-to-impossible wheeze escaped. She pulled in as much air as her lung could hold in their strained state.

"Book."

Her voice was quiet, and it was hard to get even that much out, but effective. The game Nen obediently materialised the player's book in front of Violet. The edges blurred under her panicked vision, but she mustered the strength to reach for the contact card and place it in the playable card slot on the front inside cover.

"C-cassst-contact...H-hisoka Marou."

"There is no player named Hisoka Marou," the shrill female computer voice rang back.

Violet gasped desperately as her chest tightened, and the world spun. She wasn't sure there was enough breath left to correct the mistake.

"L-lucifer... C-contact Chrollo..."

Silence sounded as Violet fought for breath. It was long enough that she feared the disjointed way of pronouncing the name wouldn't activate the spell card.

"Contacting Chrollo Lucifer."

"Violet?"

Hisoka's voice created a sense of safety she couldn't describe. Her throat loosened slightly, enough to call back.

"I can't breathe... Jason's strangling me!" Violet cried. "Help, Hisoka."

Sobs and terrified gasps replaced Violet's speech. Pain raged across her throat.

"Do exactly as I say. Is that understood?"

Violet nodded, despite knowing he couldn't see her.

"Take a slow deep breath through your nose, as much as you can. Hold it."

She followed his direction. The breath was shallow and seared across her chest, but she tried. Hisoka knew so much about so many things. All she could do was trust him.

"Now, release it, slowly. I mean slowly. Through your mouth."

Again, she followed his instructions to the letter.

"Good. Do it again. In through your nose." Pausing, he waited for her next intake. "Release through your mouth. That's it. Good girl. Follow my breathing."

Violet emptied her mind and mirrored every breath Hisoka audibly took through the microphone.

Hisoka broke the cycle of in and out and asked, "Can you see anything around you? Where are you?"

"W-washroom..."

"Name three things you can see."

The spinning of colours had subsided, although Violet didn't know when it happened. The washroom was back in view in all its luscious glory, including a large soaker tub.

"T-the toilet, red towels, my player's ring."

"Describe each. Give me details, Violet."

"The ring is emerald green. Surrounded by a silver band. It's on my left hand. The middle finger." Casting her gaze in front, she continued, "The toilet is ceramic, white, surprisingly clean, given what happens in this place."

Hisoka chuckled, and it lit the room and their conversation at once. "Good. And the towels?"

"They're ruby red with black stitching. They're hanging from the towel rack on the wall closest to the toilet, between the bath and toilet."

"How do you feel? Can you breathe?"

"Yes," Violet whimpered, realising only at that moment what Hisoka had been doing. "H-how do you know how to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Calming techniques."

Another amused chuckle sounded. "I've been teaching myself and practising. I wasn't sure if it would help with a panic attack. Are you all right?"

"Y-yes. But I thin—" Violet reconsidered the word. "No, I need you, Hisoka. Please, come back." Her voice shook with nerves. Asking for help was a muscle rarely exercised by the huntress.

"Of course," Hisoka said without delay. "However, I want you to focus on what you can hear and see. Keep up the breathing technique. Can you hold on for a little bit?"

"How long?"

"Hopefully, only a short while."

Violet raised her eyebrows. "You found them; the Ryodan?"

"Yes, moments before you called. I'm in a forest where they're hiding out. I will have shown up on their contact list at this distance. Once they see the name Chrollo, they'll rush to me. It's not safe if I return now," Hisoka explained. "Let me deliver the message from Chrollo and leave the hunt for the Nen exorcist to them. Can you wait a little longer?"

"Yes, Hisoka. Just come back for me."

"You're my very next stop, kitten. Keep breathing and stay grounded. I'll be there shortly."

Several minutes on the cool tile floor saw improvements to Violet's state. She wobbled under her own weight, rising to her hands and knees. It was several more minutes before she could lift herself to sit on the edge of the bathtub.

"I'm not weak. I can do this—"

Frozen by the sight of herself in the mirror, she couldn't process what stared back. With a life of its own, her hand moved to touch the frayed and uneven hair riding the middle of her neck. Then her fingers moved to her light purple eyes. Tears swelled once more.

"Everyone has a limit." The droplets pushed their way out of the corners of her eyes and slid down her cheeks. "I've been tossed into a new world, injured, penniless and alone. I've fought up Heaven's Arena. I've survived being hunted like a dog. I've been betrayed by the people I trusted. And now I'm hardly even human. I can only handle so many paradigm shifts before I break."

Violet covered her mouth to curb the gasping sound as she cried.

"You don't have to be or do anything you don't want, kitten."

Hisoka walked into the washroom and knelt by her form. Her lips quivered at the sight of him, as much relieved as embarrassed that he heard the breakdown.

"I've never had a choice in any of this. Why would I now?"

His hand wrapped her hips and steadied her wobbly hold on the tub's ledge.

"Because I'm here. We're a couple, darling. And I will support you in whatever you want to do. We can fight together, separate, pursue this foretold destiny or yours—" Hisoka wiped her stray tears clean. "Or you can live a life of luxury I'll give you, hidden away, peaceful and safe. Whatever you want."

"We-we're together? Officially?"

Hisoka smiled a rare genuine smile. It was followed shortly by a relaxed nod.

"I cannot promise I'll love you the same as another. But I have formed a bond with you, even if it's a more self-serving love. I will take care of you when you need it."

Violet shook her head. "That's a misunderstanding about love, Hisoka. It's always selfish. And everyone feels it differently. Yes, you have something mental going on but don't think for an instant altruism exists. People that work for charity like doing it; thus, they get a payoff, even if it's internal. Love is selfish in a similar way. You only care about yourself and your loved one."

Hisoka grinned. "I do love hearing your off-mainstream way of viewing the world, but first, how are you feeling?"

Violet's voice cracked near the beginning. "I'm tired. I don't want to break. I need to be strong for you. And me."

"You're strong, my love. Few could handle what you've done and still be going. You came back from the dead."

Shaking her head, Violet said, "No. Don't make excuses! I'm caught in a never-ending cycle of damsel in distress, and the moment you stop playing the hero role, I'm finished. Zanko, the hunters, the witches, hell, even my first few nights here! It never ends..."

"Hush. You escaped the hunters on your own. I only aided at the end. I wanted to take you in the alleyway because of how outstanding you were that night," Hisoka revealed. "I was furious when your mouth tasted like another. It was probably at that point that my feelings for you were coming to life. You killed a professional hunter in Heaven's Arena. I don't think you understand what an exceptional feat that is alone. They are the top five percent of Nen users."

"Yes... but—"

"I'm not finished," he said, silencing her protest. "The witches. I was dead, Violet. I could not overpower their leader. Each witch was taking energy from me, not just what I used to kill them. I felt it but could only fight. However, it was you that saved me, me and yourself. You escaped whatever hell they threw you into. You came back."

Violet looked down and played with her fingers knit together in her lap. A frown formed. Is all that true?

Hisoka gently lifted her chin to look at him again.

"Bow to no one. Not even me. You're my Queen of Hearts. You don't bow." Hisoka looked at her dead serious in his command. "I am still recovering from the witch's fight. It's not just you, Violet. Don't feel guilty about needing rest. I certainly still do."

Hisoka lifted his two layers of shirts over his head to reveal gaping wounds over his heart, still healing. There were several bruises in different levels of repair, from black, purple, to green.

Violet gasped. "I-I did that?"

"Most of it, yes. Do you honestly believe I would choose my partner to be someone that couldn't kill me?"

Violet blushed. But a slow, meek smile formed. She touched his wound gingerly.

"Let me treat it. Stitch it. There is no need to suffer for longer or get a scar."

"I want the scar. It's proof of your skill and my pride. I'll take my time recovering with you."

His lips captured her own, and both rushed into the heated dance they usually took when meeting. How Violet missed the contact, and by the way he pushed in, so did Hisoka. Electricity scream to life and rushed down every part of her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed in for more and all of Hisoka. Their tongues twisted in bliss and love. The meeting was as short as it was fire-blazing. It was he who broke first.

"Let me take care of you, Hisoka. I'm worried. And you care for me all the time."

Hisoka sighed. "Very well, but only if you let the scar form and let me fix your hair. I can show you how to style short hair. You'll be just as breathtaking as always."

Violet smiled. "Deal."

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