[WARNING]: Insinuation of previous trauma and abuse. Nothing is described in detail. It's over by the 4th paragraph. 

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Sleep evaded Violet's grasp. Memories of Jason bellowing too loud to allow enough peace for dreams to whisk her away. She sighed, spotting the vomit-soiled duvet feasting on the bed, and callously tossed it into a corner. Slumping her shoulders, she tried to force every thought and emotion back into the carefully fashioned box created many months ago to jail it all.

"You're worthless. You've always been naive and worthless, as if you could lead! You're no different than Maggie, leading them to their death, even if I did help that failure along." Recollections of the assaults he forced on her body struck like hot iron, searing as though the mental and physical wounds were new. She clamped her hands around her arms, hugging herself with force. "This will be your role moving forward until the day I've no use for you. I'll take over the Hunter Association. You're just a stepping stone to that goal."

Jason's words and actions chiselled away at her sanity. She grabbed the sides of her head and released a harrowing scream while crumbling against the bedsheets. A different fire rose within her chest. The cold and dark flame forced its way up from her gut and through all her extremities. A war cry birthed within her throat.

No! You planned for months to force a position where you could take advantage of me like that! Violet growled and rose. On equal footing, you're nothing. I'll rip you to shreds if we ever meet again. I don't need anyone for this! I'll do it alone.

Violet moved into the kitchen and began a boil on the kettle. Distracting her body and mind with the act of preparing tea leaves relaxed her muscles. It became a ritual long ago when trauma-induced nightmares plagued her mental peace. She became something of a connoisseur. Stepping onto the balcony, silence greeted her in welcome like an old friend. Gingerly sipping her tea, she counted the night stars.

"I don't recognise any of these constellations," she mumbled, watching the dark night sky twinkling with bright white shimmering jewels, keeping her turbulent soul company. "They're beautiful."

Unbidden tears cascaded gradually down her cheeks one at a time, escaping the prison she wished they'd remain locked inside. A grumble sounded as she pushed her wrist against her face to remove all the wet evidence of weakness.

After a while, Violet could sit still no longer and moved into the living room. An open space was the all-encompassing task that filled her mind as she pushed furniture around. Without losing a beat, she warmed up and initiated training in the middle of the large room. She engrossed herself with muscle strength, core, and stamina exercises for over three hours before beginning Nen training.

Hisoka said building the Ten stamina could help me with the After Effects. She pushed energy isn't the clear barrier around her form, then settled into a comfortable position. It's worth trying.

The task proved reasonable near the beginning. Violet began with her eyes shut, concentrating on her body. She began moving from building Ten to mapping her body mentally, searching for any irregularities. Further into the process, areas of concern emerged. Activating her Nen, she tried to focus on the haze, best described as black-grey blobs of inconsistent size and shape. That was when she became aware of the sweat leaking down her chin, but she kept her attention on a larger spot near her mind. 

Come on, come on...

It remained a struggle to surround the pieces with her aura and Nen. The area of After Effect would spike and change shape before a stinging pain riddled her body. At one point, she almost fully encircled the area, and the sensations experienced during a night terror struck for an instant. She was jarred from her task with a gasp. 

"Well, that's definitely the problem, at least." Wiping sweat from her brow, she calmed herself before diving back into the effort. Maybe I should focus more on what Hisoka said, placing a barrier on my mind?

Eight hours into the training, she reached well past her breaking point. The Nen exercises had been far harder than expected, but she made progress. The sun, long since risen, indicated she needed to change her attention to more pressing matters—food and other supplies. While collapsed on the floor as a sweaty mess, she considered the Hisoka fight, absently inspecting the flawless ceiling.

"Should I just fight Hisoka now? I thought maybe a little over three weeks. But it might just be best to get it out of the way." Her voice hung stale in the air with no one around to respond. What could I possibly accomplish, even in six months, without a Nen teacher?

She sighed, resigning to consider it more later.

----

Hair still damp from the short shower, Violet yawned as she left the apartment. Once again, she wore the dress Hisoka gifted, completing the look with black flats. En route to the elevators, she passed a neighbouring floor resident in the hallway, a rare occurrence due to the fact that most of the upper floor rooms remained vacant. 

He wore everyday clothing: workout trousers, a red button-up shirt, and sensible shoes designed for fighting. A pleasant smile graced his features, lightening his triangular face as he passed. His sandy brown hair shone with dark brown and silver greying highlights, and his eyes gleamed but didn't show malice. The hair along Violet's arms stood on end, and alarm bells rang as the short interaction proceeded.

Violet had been fortunate. No one pounced when she entered the floor the way they did most new fighters. Hazing was performed to ensure all fighters were Nen-proficient. If they didn't know it before arriving, the trial by fire would either kill them or force an awakening. According to what she had learned from Gon and Killua, pressuring an awakening was frowned upon, as it caused permanent mental and physical disability.

It was not uncommon to see fighters missing limbs or in wheelchairs on the higher levels. These people were far from meek despite their physical appearances. They possessed Nen and were as dangerous as any fighter above the two-hundredth floor. All knew she possessed Nen based on her rise up the ranks, which negated the need to haze the fresh meat she assumed.

Violet was confident she had seen that particular fighter before. The name of her fellow floormate was lost. Instincts continued to prickle but didn't scream any further, resulting in her shrugging off the encounter.

A ding of elevator doors opening saw her inside the device before it whisked her onto the busy entry floor. Dodging around guests, betting gurus, fighters, and staff alike, she left the building and headed for the nearby shopping district. The grocery store was her first stop. After collecting necessities, she arranged for everything to be delivered. It was costly but worth the extra fee. She kept one yoghurt with fresh fruit and granola for a mid-morning breakfast and ate it while moving to the next store.

I'll need workout clothing, and sleepwear would be nice. As she wandered past a fancy shop, the dresses in the window caught her eye. The sundress in green with a fit and flare style drew her attention. She couldn't help desiring a little black dress, too.

It's so adorable...Would it fit me? Violet shook her head. No need for a dress! Best to remain invisible, or at least as invisible as possible, on televised fights.

Violet sighed and developed a frown before pulling her resistant eyes off the shop window. Lack of sleep did little to improve her mood. She found herself missing the days of wearing corsets and lingerie for a lover. Loneliness crept deeper, and a pit opened within her chest and gut. She teetered over the edge of the darkness that aimed to swallow her in one bite.

Hisoka's face flashed in her mind, and a responsive heat invaded her face. 

Stop being foolish. He's dangerous. She paused and noticed how much her body disagreed with the sentiment. No! I cannot get attracted to him. Maybe he's okay for a lay, but there is nothing more waiting there. I have to remember why I'm fighting! Money to hire a professional hunter and get home. Don't get sidetracked.  

She gritted her teeth and tried to appear relaxed despite the presence of eyes watching her movements as she walked inside the grand doors of Heaven's Arena. The sensation of the hidden people spying upon her was not dissimilar to Ren bloodlust but not as piercing. It annoyed her nonetheless and seemed more intrusive since she rose past the paying fight levels. More often than not, she experienced hidden onlookers whenever she left her room.

When the resolve to maintain control in public burst, Violet's response was anything but meek. "What that fuck do you want! If you have a problem, face me like men. Don't hide like a pussy!" she bellowed to the bustling groundfloor.

People paused and stared in disturbed shock before moving again. The crowd provided plenty of space once they started along their way once more. No one ever responded, yet the feeling of being watched continued.

Maybe I'm just really overtired and losing my mind.

An exhausted sigh escaped her dry lips before she turned and stalked towards the elevators. The abusive images stabbed at the back of her brain, screaming to be viewed. She fought to ignore them until their pleas would dull out or end, whichever happened first.

The Nen did help a little. They're less...intense. But it's still there. Frowning, waiting for the elevator to free up as so many waited to board, she closed her eyes and concentrated. Pushing the Ten barrier inwards, she ran the power across every muscle and nerve she recalled from anatomy class, searching for the oddities once again. It didn't take long to find the residual demon marks since she knew their location. She had managed to surround a few sections earlier to shield herself from their negative effects. 

Sweat laced her skin as she tried to cover a larger area. The whole mental image of her inner body still occurred as a blur. Maybe I should get a better idea of my body before trying this, but it's helping. If I want to sleep, I need to keep goi—

Waves of vertigo plagued her resolve. Hurled out of concentration, she swayed. Shit, I went too far. I'm at breaking—

The sensation of eyes on her person intensified. Gritting her teeth, Violet headed for the wide stairwell leading to the higher levels, avoiding the large crowd by the escalator running beside the stairs in the middle of the giant entryway. Reaching several levels up the battle tower, she paused, winded and shaking. She hid the slight vibration of her limbs to the inexperienced eye.

A blur of disorientation struck as her body jolted to the side down a short hallway. Gasping, she reached out to steady her body and found hot skin and soft fabric. The sound of a crowd of people passing to her right met her where she stood, fighting for her bearings. A wisp of vanilla wafted around, followed like a shadow by nearly bitter sweetness.

Her breath settled with time, and she knew exactly whose grasp ensnared her. Raising her gaze to look upon Hisoka, she found him distracted, glaring into the crowd with a snarl on his lips. He scanned the environment with malicious scrutiny. The sensation of being watched dissipated. She dropped her head to focus on recovery.

It was short-lived. Hisoka hooked her chin and forced her head to tilt upwards, but he didn't lock eyes, scanning her face instead. A frown ran over his lips. His thumb lightly ran under her eye. She knew how dark the circle appeared and didn't need his reminder.

Violet wrinkled her nose and vocalised a low snarl before she said, "Hisoka." She squirmed, struggling to free herself. "Let me go."

"We're meant to meet today ~♠" A smile lit his expression.

"Yes, in your room. You never specified a time!"

"True. You could have invited me on your little shopping trip, though ~♠"

"Urgh! Like I would want you looking over my shoulder the whole time telling me to buy stupid, unreasonable dresses and lingerie!" She resisted harder, demanding space.

"HooOOoo ~♥ Now, I'm even more upset you didn't invite me~" Violet froze, flustering with heat across her face. Hisoka grinned.

"Just let me go! I ordered groceries. They're being delivered soon. I need to change my bandages, too." Hisoka released her and stood back as she retrieved the dropped parcels. She turned to death glare. Stupid man! Pulling me so hard I dropped my shopping. None of that was necessary.

"Come. I'll walk you back ~ ♥"