"No! Father! FATHER!" She cried as she tried to wriggle her way out of the leather straps which tied her onto the large metal table.

Tears drenched her face as she helplessly fought. Her eyes were squeezed shut, but were forcefully opened by her father's hands. She stared at the wicked smile of her father, his raven hair and violet eyes that she shared. Violet eyes that she will lose.

He inserted his fingers into her eye socket and grabbed her eyeball, then ripped it away. For such a young child to experience this much pain was simply too cruel. Her screams and cries filled the room as blood poured out from both of her eyes. He was done collecting her violet eyes and prepared to install the scarlet eyes of her mother, his wife.

"You'll be so beautiful, my love."

She continued to cry as loud as she could, but it was not enough to express the intense pain she felt. Her father was crazy, but she couldn't believe it. The man she loved, admired and always showed her his kind smile.

He brought a jar filled with a kind of liquid which preserved a pair of rare scarlet eyes. It was the jewels of the Kurta clan, the jewels which Reiko did not inherit from her mother.

"With this, you'll be as beautiful as your mother and she will see the world through your eyes."

Reiko's eyes snapped open and she immediately got up from her slumber. Her skin was clammy as sweat dripped down her face. Her heart was racing beneath her chest, she looked to the side and caught Hisoka already awake, or he did not sleep at all.

The jester was smiling from ear to ear, but it was nothing friendly; much different from his vibe from the night that just passed. The sun has rose and the morning mist dissolved into the heated air. He stared at his companion who accompanied him throughout the night. Observing her had peaked his interest, there was something she's hiding— her weakness and he was curious to know.

His light amber eyes watched as the ravenette recomposed herself. Her earlier show of weakness was shrugged off and he attempted to start a conversation.

"Perhaps I'm your target that you're here~"

She answered him without looking his way, still flustered from her dream and to have shown it in front of Hisoka. "My target is somewhat a friend." And showed him the number she drew from the lot.

#403.

Leorio's number.

"Interesting~" Now that is a turn of events. He does not doubt she wouldn't hesitate to kill the man, but if Leorio was with Gon, Hisoka would have to stop her from killing the latter. He needed his play thing to be alive and well.

She stood up and dusted off the grass and dirt which clung onto her; the magician followed suit with the smile never leaving his face. Reiko looked at him from the corner of her eyes, already figuring out that he would want to follow her around from his gestures. As much as she did not want his company, she knew she couldn't stop him from doing what he wanted. The raven haired adolescent shrugged and began walking into the forest with Hisoka trailing behind.

If it was not for her, the jester would have gone on a killing spree to quench his thirst for blood.

As they walked, she was pestered by the annoying fuchsia haired man. "Was that a nightmare, you had~?"

"It's none of your business."

"Ow~ Cold." He tried again, "You almost cried though."

Reiko's eyes widened and she almost stopped on her tracks. Her fists clenched as she snapped, "I did not!"

His smile grew, there was a skip in his walks. He was having too much fun with her even though it wasn't a fight. Suddenly, he remembered that this raven haired girl was affiliated with Illumi.

"Ah~ I wonder what the Crimson Reaper wants with a Hunter's license."

She stopped.

"Hm~?"

"It does not concern you."

"Why would an elite assassin work with an elite assassin family though~?"

She continued her steps to an unknown destination, she wanted to be away from this annoying man. Hisoka continued to trail after her, but he jumped on top of a tall tree branch. She thought he was going to leave her alone, but she wished for too much. He landed in front of Reiko which caused her to halt.

"What is it?" She inquired, her red orbs glaring at the smiling magician.

He pointed to a direction, away from where she was headed. "You might want to walk this way."

She took a few seconds to think and finally agreed. Perhaps he had perched himself on a tree to search for victims and decided to bring her along; or he found either of their targets. Mostly hers if he had tagged her with him.

As she followed him to the other direction, they were shortly met with a couple of associates.

Kurapika and Leorio.

They were stunned to see the two powerful psychopaths, how unlucky for them to have crossed their paths. Although there was fear, they must fight to survive and to pass.

When she stared at the blonde, her nightmare returned. They were somewhat related and she knew the moment he introduced himself as the last surviving Kurta; however, he would not know about the Kurta blood they both share. With a pair of red contact lenses shielding her grey eyes which turns a beautiful scarlet, nobody would suspect her to be one of the Kurtas.

Unpleasant memories flashed in her mind at the sight of him and Leorio, who was holding a medical knife.

White.

The room was white, bright with fluorescent light. Filled with monitors and wires on one side while the rest of the room was filled with metal shelves. Plenty of solutions, books, everything illegal that her father owned for his twisted intentions.

The raven haired man was wearing a white lab coat, mixing some solutions and recording them on a book. When the young girl stirred on the metal table, his violet eyes looked up and a grin stretched on his lips as he gazed at the eyes of his wife in the body of his daughter.

"Good morning, my love."

Her demeanour became fierce as she pushed the memory off her mind. Her gaze was glued on the medical knife that she had seen in her father's lab, a place she lived in for years, the very tool which cut open her small body for her father's purpose. No, it was not just him.

There was another man, a hunter.

The reason she decided to take the Hunter's exam.

To find him.

To meet him.

To torture him.

Her eyes gleamed and the tone of her voice changed. "Leorio."

A jolt shot up their spines. The taller man knew he was in trouble. The aura she had was similar to the aura she emitted in the Trick Tower, when she battled in the first round.

"Your badge." The corner of her lips tugged into a smirk.

He stuttered, "N-No! I won't give it to you." What luck he had to be her target.

She stepped forward, "I intend to torment you whether you would surrender or not, you good for nothing doctor."

He gulped and his legs shook beneath him, he was dead meat and he wanted to run away so badly. However, his pride held him down.

"You have me to fight before you get him." Kurapika stated.

Although the two bickered a lot, they cared for each other. Leorio was touched by his protectiveness, he was grateful that his comrade would fight for him. He pursed his lips and tightened his grip on the medical knife.

"I won't back down."

She charged for the man in a navy suit, completely disregarding the blonde on the sidelines. Before she could get to him, a red, spherical object hit her face and threw her a few feet away. The impact left a purple bruise on her face. When she looked towards the origin of the weapon, Gon jumped out of the bushes.

"Raven! I thought we were friends! Friends don't hurt each other!"

She was taken aback by his attack and the jester was amused.

"Friends?" She smirked. "I don't have friends."

Before she could take action to return his attack, the fuchsia haired male stopped her. He held her by the waist and carried her on his shoulder, running away from the small group.

"Hisoka!"

"I cannot allow you to harm my fruit~"

If he did not stop her, she probably would kill every single one of them.

Her eyes were shining a vivid red, she was furious. "How dare you!"

She attempted to flip him over and kick him away, but he predicted she would fight back which resulted in him to throw her onto a tree trunk and threw his cards which pinned her jacket on it.

"As much as I would like to see bloodshed, I would do anything for my fruit to ripen~"

Reiko growled through her teeth. He was the same. He was the same as the chairman, always looking for challenges. The very same mindset that did not free her from her father's prison. Her muscles flexed and she stripped herself off her jacket, revealing horrid scars.

"I'll kill you."

+++

Dedicated to EddieLeeTodd for coming up with a nickname for Reiko's identity as an assassin!

Please go to the next chapter 'Opinions + Q&A' to drop your opinions(duh) and some questions! I'll publish a chapter with everyone's question and answer them as clearly as I can. Of course, I need a list of questions to do so.

You may ask me about anything at all, about the characters, why are they this way, where did I get my inspiration, this and that. Anything! I would love to answer some questions and to clear up any confusion about this story or Reiko herself.

If you're a follower, I've posted a preview of this chapter and I'll continue to post previews of future chapters! Hopefully I'll get some response next time, it gets lonely tbh (I'm sorry for being shameless(?) but I'm honest!)

Also, I wanted to show my appreciation towards all of you, so I've decided to dedicate every chapter to YOU, readers! Be sure to vote/comment/save to reading list so I know you're a reader of this story from my notifications! Published chapters included!

Have a great day/night and I'll see y'all soon!

~Joelle

Published: 25th June 2018