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Bright and blinding lights narrowed on the center of the arena where the pink-haired Jester was standing and before him, was another man; he was well-built, he had long, loose pearl white medium-length hair that reached down to his upper back and his body was wrapped in a loose, dandelion yellow hood-less cloak that was thrown over a white robe with a black outline and white pants that were tucked into his grey boots.

Standing there, Hisoka radiated with an excited, perverted sexual energy at the thought of fighting with the man and it was clear to everyone that he was thrilled to be fighting an old rival once more.

With a grin on his face, Hisoka's light amber eyes; that were almost yellow in appearance, drilled into his opponent and his blood lust radiated off of his body, covering the stadium in an aura of death.

Keeping a hand on his hip, Hisoka watched the long haired man slowly begin to approach him and he immediately moved out of the way as Kastro charged at him; the man swinging his arm as a distraction and Hisoka dodged, only to be struck across the cheek.

Gasping in shock, eyes the color of ice widened at the sight of the man actually being able to land a hit on Hisoka and the two children looked towards one another; molten gold and ice blue eyes wide with surprise.

It was a surprise to everyone that a hit was able to be landed on the Jester, especially one that had caught him off guard.

'That was a clean hit! Kastro has landed the first strike of the match! Hisoka has surrendered the first point, after failing to evade Kastro's light-speed chop!'

Watching in anticipation, everyone couldn't hear the words that were shared between the two fighters and then, Kastro leapt into the air with full force, throwing another attack Hisoka's way. Dodging to the side perfectly, another strike hit the Jester across the face and sent him flying back, before back flipping away from another attack as Kastro charged at him and sent a incessant barrage of attacks his way.

'Are you just going to run, or are you going to fight me?'

Kastro sent a rough kick towards Hisoka's face and he swiftly blocked the attack with his arms, before being knocked down from a kick to the back of his head.

'That's a clean hit and a knockdown!',The ref yelled out and this caused the crowd to go wild.

Boisterous cheers broke through the air and filled the stadium with a cheering tension.

'What a surprise, folks! I can hardly believe it! Kastro has been knocking his opponent around like a rag doll! The score is now four-zero, but.. what did I just see? Was that my imagination?'

A strange feeling spread through Valentine's chest and her eye glowed brightly momentarily as she leaned forward, causing Killua to glance at her; confused.

"Just what is he playing at..?",Valentine muttered, glancing towards Killua,"Hisoka's barely even fighting. He's definitely holding back, but why?"

Pondering her question, Killua furrowed his eyebrows together and his lips pulled down into a frown, before he looked towards the fight once more.

Valentine was right, he was holding back.

But the question remained; just what was Hisoka planning?

As the referee asked Hisoka if he could still fight, the Jester's yellow gaze turned his way and a smirk formed on his lips, a low chuckle escaping which caused the referee to back away, sweat falling down his temple.

Standing to his feet, Hisoka wiped the dust from his pants and stared Kastro down, his gaze piercing.

'Am I seeing things?',Hisoka questioned, ignoring all of the grime and blood that had coated his face from the fight,'Because it looked to me like you just vanished'

Standing tall, Hisoka smirked and slowly began to piece everything together.

'That's right! That's what it was! He vanished! That's what I saw too!'

Lifting his hand, Hisoka placed his clawed fingers on his chin and let out a taunting hum.

'No. 'Vanished' is close, but it's not quite the right word',The Jester stated,'You were right in front of me, preparing to deal a kick, and then suddenly, you were behind me. I'd have to say that comes the closest to describing what happened. But something still feels wrong.. out of place. Yes. I can't help but feel as if I'm missing something very basic here'

Observing Hisoka, everyone could see the bruises and blood that coated his makeup covered face.

'This is futile. You can't solve anything if you keep running away from me. In any case, I'm done waiting. I'll take your arm with my next strike. If you insist on remaining pompous, be my guest',Kastro said and the tension in the air doubled as he changed his position, his stance beginning to resemble that of a tigers wide and open mouth,'I'm beginning to think that you weren't meant for anything more'

Seeing the stance, the crowd began to go wild and Kastro's fans stood to their feet, their fists flailing and pumping in the air in excitement.

With his eyes wide, Killua's gaze turned towards Valentine and she looked towards him, her eyes just as wide.

'That technique will rip Hisoka's arm off',The silverette stated.

Glancing towards the fight, Valentine's lips parted and her eyes narrowed, calculating and observing the match.

"And Hisoka still hasn't figured out Kastro's ability",Valentine explained, her golden eyes shimmering.

Nodding in agreement, Killua let out a low hum.

'Then again, neither have we',Killua said and the blonde nodded.

Watching in anticipation, the crowd began to wonder what Hisoka's next move would be and Kastro charged forward, while the Jester held out his hand, offering it to the man.

Gasping in shock, Valentine was almost standing as she leaned forward and her luminous gold eyes were wide in disbelief.

"What are you doing, Hisoka..",Valentine wondered in a whisper, her eyes observing every move that was made.

As Kastro charged towards the man, he suddenly appeared behind the Jester and as the man disappeared, a smile appeared on the magicians face as his eyes widened. Ending up behind him, the man took Hisoka's right arm instead and blood dripped from the man's open wound as his lost limb flew through the air.

'Hisoka's right arm has been completely severed!'

Seemingly gleaming at the sight, the Jester caught his arm.

'Wow, have we ever seen Hisoka in such a perilous situation before, folks? He's taken on some serious damage'

A low laugh left Hisoka's lips as he stared at his opponent and was unbothered by the loss of a limb.

'Yes, I see. Now I know exactly what your ability is',Hisoka stated, his eyes gleaming,'You can create a double, right?'

Looking at him with a similar expression, Kastro nodded and he had expected for the magician to figure it out on his own, but not as quickly as he did.

Within the blink of an eye, Kastro formed a double right next to him and the crowd cheered all around them, but Valentine and Killua were stunned with awe at the sight.

He could create a duplicate of himself.

Quiet words were passed between them and the crowd began to wonder just what they were talking about. The magician described what he had felt without anyone in the audience knowing what he was talking about and Kastro went into his usual stance once again.

His hands mimicked that of a tiger's jaw and his legs were prepped, ready to strike causing Hisoka to look rather amused and sadistic; much like a masochist.

Covering his right arm in a white cloth, Hisoka thew it into the air and suddenly, his arm dispersed into an array of cards, his yellow eyes observing Kastro.

Kastro was definitely strong, but Hisoka was on a different level completely.

Hisoka's display of strength was unbelievable and it wasn't even half of it.

And so, Valentine began to wonder just how strong the Jester really was.

'Woah! His right arm disappeared and now, cards are raining down! What is he doing?'

Momentarily glancing down at the cards, Kastro tried not to show his confusion and it didn't really work, for it showed clearly within his eyes.

'The cards you see go from one to thirteen, I want you to pick a number',Hisoka stated and looked up, his deadly yellow eyes piercing into his opponent's,'And visualize that card in your head'

Confused murmurs filled the stadium, while Valentine and Killua looked towards one another, confusion masking their faces.

What was Hisoka doing?

Was this a part of his plan or was he being completely serious.

'Ready?',The jester questioned,'Once you've selected your number, I want you to add four to it and then, double the resulting sum. After that, subtract six and then divide by two. Lastly, subtract your original number; now, what do you get'

((?+4) x 2-6)/2 -?= ?

So to keep it simple, the young girl chose the number one.

Staring down at the floor with wide eyes, Valentine desperately tried to do the math in her head and slowly; quite slowly, began to get her answer.

One plus four was five and double that was ten, so subtracting six from ten was four. Dividing four by two got her the answer of two and so, two subtract one was one. She had her answer.

It was one.

Confused murmurs filled the crowd as everyone desperately tried to do the math and most, had already forgotten the equation.

'I knew your answer before you even arrived at it yourself',Hisoka stated.

Reaching into the stump of his arm, Hisoka heard as loud screams of disgust and horror broke through the air.

With their eyes wide, Killua and Valentine let out gasps of shock, watching the scene in surprise.

Pulling out a bloody card from the skin of the stump that was once his arm, Hisoka confidently held it up in his clawed hands.

'The number you chose... is one',The Jester said, turning the card around and there it stood; the Ace of Spades.

Everyone sat still in shock and sweat fell down their foreheads, their eyes blown open with surprise.

Questions filled the stadium and everyone began to wonder just how the magician had known.

'What?! He's insane! This is the devil's magic! And he's incorporated his own injury into the trick!'

Low chirps of shock left Zeus's beak and he looked towards Killua, seeing his face showed no expression and was completely blank.

He was thinking.

'There are no points for tricks. It doesn't have anything to do with the match, but still, he's performing magic! That's the bizarre behavior we expect from Hisoka!'

Throwing the bloodied card towards Kastro, the Jester watched as he hit it away and scowled at him.

Watching as Hisoka held out his other arm, everyone began to ponder just what was this man doing.

Willingly sacrificing his remaining arm and looking calm while doing it, this man was a deranged psychopath, but it wasn't hard to admit that he was very skilled.

Activating his ability, Kastro immediately charged forward and all the while, Hisoka kept the wide smirk on his lips.

'Woah! One of the Kastro's is charging forward!'

With a loud shout, Kastro brought his hands down in a chomping motion and the magicians remaining arm went flying into the air, leaving a trail of golden particles behind it.

'This is unbelievable! Hisoka has actually sacrificed his remaining arm!'

Landing on the floor with a bounce, Hisoka's severed arm sat there and suddenly, Kastro's expression changed when he had noticed something.

As the double disappeared, the Jester took his right arm out from behind his back and held it up, the limb completely in tact.

The sounds of shock left Killua and Valentine's lips in the form of gasps, the crowd and the commenter letting out a yelp of surprise and disbelief.

'What? His severed right arm is back together again! But how?'

Eyes wide with either terror or shock, Kastro was frozen in place and watched as Hisoka chuckled, almost as if he were mocking the man.

'It's another magic trick. Can you guess the secret behind this one?'

Kastro broke out into a sweat. His heart pounded, and his hand began to feel clammy, before he was snapped back into his senses.

It made no sense for someone's arm to magically grow back.

So it was quite clear that Hisoka was using Nen to accomplish this.

Noticing the change in his mental state, Hisoka's eyes widened and with a smirk, he began to boldly walk forward with a maniac chuckle.

Stepping back, a scowl formed on Kastro's face and seeing this, Hisoka began to take advantage of it.

'What's wrong?',Hisoka questioned, his tone full of mock confusion,'Are you scared? You're surprised because you don't know the trick. But that's magic. See your power to create a double is magnificent, but now, I understand how it's done'

With a low grumble, Kastro tensed his muscles and his hands shook, rivulets of sweat poured off of him as he scowled, his brows twitching.

'I can anticipate how you'll attack with your double',Hisoka stated, causing the man to twitch more,'Not to mention, I know how I should respond. It's too bad, really'

Slowly, Hisoka began to walk towards his opponent, having a cocky, manipulative and hostile aura around him, the blood on his face crusted and dried.

'You had the potential to become a skilled opponent.. and that's why I decided to let you live',The Jester explained,'I predict.. you're going to dance yourself to death'

It begun to feel like cold spider like fingers were racing up and down Kastro's spine, his head pounded with tension, ominous thoughts squirmed at the back of his mind and thousands of questions prowling through Kastro's head.

With a low growl, the man covered up his mental strain and charged forward, a yell of anger leaving his lips and he pounced, jumping into the air as he created a double.

As Hisoka's gaze turned directly towards him, the man's eyes widened and his panicked thoughts grew wild, spasms of fear crossed his face as his heart hammered against the cavern of his ribcage with each breath, his heart pounding like a hummingbird's wings.

It felt like he was on fire and it was as if Kastro might spontaneously combust at any moment, like someone had set a slow and steady match beneath his center, deep in the pit of his stomach.

Immediately jumping back, Kastro halted in his spot and stared at the Jester, his body just barely shaking with nerves.

'Doubles are made from the image the original has in mind which is why they tend to be pristine',Hisoka explained and dodged the barrage of punches the double was sending his way,'But you can't reproduce the grime that builds up during combat'

Looking down at his clothing, Kastro noticed the blood and dust that covered his once clear, dandelion yellow hood-less cloak.

'Oh.. had you not realized that yet?',Hisoka questioned, noticing the shock on Kastro's face.

As Hisoka's sharp, cat-like yellow eyes stared him down, Kastro's mentality shattered and he charged forward, a sharp and roaring cry leaving his lips.

Without Kastro noticing, Hisoka's severed limb flew through the air and struck the man across the face, striking the bottom of his jaw.

'What is going on here? I'm seeing it, but I can't even begin to understand it! Is this another one of Hisoka's magic tricks?'

It felt as if his brain was scrambling around in his head and knocking against his skull, his vision dazed and blurred as he tried to regain his senses, his pupils dilated.

As a wave of cards barreled towards Kastro from each side of him, the man's eyes were wide as his pupils trembled and his body still swayed as he desperately tried to defend himself, trying to produce another double to block the attack.

But it wasn't working.

He couldn't do anything.

Cards sunk into his skin and Kastro's body flailed around like a rag-doll, he could only feel and watch as card after card deeply dug into his skin as his blood began to spill out of the wounds, soaking his clothing in the warm and sticky life liquid.

A loud thump traveled through the air as the man fell to the ground, falling back as his mind went blank and his vision went dark.

Loud cheers and hollers broke through the air of the stadium and Hisoka began to walk off of the platform, a victorious smile plastered on his lips.

'Kastro's down and he's not getting up! Hisoka wins by knockout!'

Back in the hotel room, eyelids shot open revealing uttered chocolate with darker rays fanning out around the bottomless pit of an iris, swirling with caramel crescent moons and trapped by a thick, hazy, black limbal ring.

His eyes eyes were like brown pebbles smoothed slowly by the trickle of a stream.

A voice as soft as the trickle of water and as gentle as the smallest flutter of wind escaped gentle lips, for if it weren't for the silence hanging in the atmosphere, the words he spoke wouldn't have been heard.

'Hisoka...'