Chapter 5: BattlexClown

For the past year, I've been on the 200th floor, fighting off newcomers. Unfortunately, I have still drawn the attention of one particular battle clown. Some of my opponents are familiar faces from canon like Gido, Knuckle, Sadaso, and Riehlvelt. Right now, I'm just one victory away from challenging a floor master. I've been turning down Hisoka's offers.

Truth is, I want to explore the world a bit before the Hunter Exam and who knows when the next rookie will make it this far? Not many make it to the 200th floor.

Over the last year, I've worked a ton on my speed and also perfected my third Hatsu Celestial Mirage, a form of Genjutsu. It's not perfect, though. It requires intense focus on every detail or it falls apart. And the target has to be within my line of sight. I've got more Hatsu ideas in the works, but they'll take time. Most of my energy this year went into aura control, training my nen affinities by using Shadow Manipulation, expanding my En radius, and training speed. Right now I think I'm ready to become a floor master.

Next time Hisoka offers to fight I'm going to accept since he is my best bet on becoming a floor master fast to go out and recruit for my new mafia family I've been planning.

So, when I finally ran into him in the hallway, leaning casually against the wall with that trademark grin on his face, I knew what was coming. "So, Lucas," he says, his eyes gleaming with mischief, "I think it's time we have a match. What do you say?". I don't even consider refusing. "Alright, Hisoka," I reply, a smirk tugging at the corner of my mouth.

Now, Hisoka's already been announced, and I'm stepping onto the platform for our fight. My plan is simple shadow manipulation, similar to what I used against Knuckle, but more refined. I need to finish this quickly. If I don't, I'll lose. Hisoka might not have the strongest Hatsu, but Bungee Gum? That stuff is versatile. It can adapt to just about anything short of a nuke.

Before the match begins, I try to subtly manipulate his shadow, setting up a quick victory. But just as I move, I catch the briefest flicker in his eyes. They drop, almost knowingly, as if to say, I see what you're doing.

The announcer calls out, "Begin."

I spring into action. But dang it, Hisoka has already jumped to the far corner of the arena, with not even a scratch on him. I still have the advantage. I know his fighting style. He doesn't know mine except for my shadow manipulation, which he just saw.

I cover myself with shadow armor and Hisoka reacts immediately, leaping away, clearly expecting something. My heart pounds as I rush him, my Genjutsu layout already taking shape. I imagine myself blinking right next to him and landing a punch before he has time to react.

Hisoka's in my line of sight now. I cast my genjutsu. I see the look in his eyes. He's fighting a version of me only he can see.

But Hisoka's no fool. He bursts his aura and En, and I can feel it my Genjutsu starts cracking. He senses my Nen and pinpoints where I am.

Taking advantage of his momentary confusion, I close the distance, ready to land a shadow-enhanced punch. But Hisoka's quick. His aura flares, and in a blink, he knows exactly where I'm coming from. My punch lands, but just as I try to retract my arm, something sticky and elastic grabs it.

Bungee Gum.

I try to slice through it with a shadow Knife, but it doesn't tear. Dang it. Before I can recover, Hisoka pulls me toward him, delivering a brutal punch to my solar plexus.

I gasp, the air knocked out of me. Before I can even think, he pulls me again. His fists land like battering rams each one harder than the last. My shadow armor and pain resistance dull the pain about 5% of what a normal person would feel but it's still enough to send shockwaves through my body.

Hisoka's final punch sends me flying. I'm airborne, but I don't waste a second. Gyo. I scan my body for Bungee Gum strands. My stomach drops. There are eight strands attached to Nen-enhanced playing cards, all closing in on me from every direction.

I try manipulating the shadows around me to cut the bungee gun, but Hisoka's aura is too strong and too refined to cut them I need to focus on the blade and I only have time to block 7 of the eight. I can't block them all. I cut and dodge most, but one slips through, cutting my arm deep enough to draw blood.

Pain flares, but there's no time to dwell on it. The fight's slipping away. Hisoka's experience is showing, and I'm starting to feel it.

But I've still got one move left. A big one.

I've kept it hidden, even before I mastered Shadow Puppetry. It's powerful but it comes at a terrible cost. It drains 75% of my aura just to activate. Once it's done, I won't be able to continue fighting or possibly even consciousness. But I have no choice. If I don't win now, the fight is over.

The ability is called The Domain of Infinite Possibilities. I can control both my body and all non-living objects within a limited range of however far my En radius is. Currently, that would be 130 meters. In this tiny arena, I should last maybe a minute. Probably less.

I activate it, pushing my En to a 30-meter radius to be safe giving the ability more time. Hisoka notices the shift and goes on guard. His instincts are sharp.

The arena warps. My Nen swirls around me, the air crackling with power. The audience gasps, watching Hisoka's feet be swallowed by the arena while I teleport beside him, landing punch after punch too fast for the audience to react.

But just as I deactivate the Domain, I see it. Hisoka twitches his finger.

I use Gyo to scan above me. My heart sinks. There's a Bungee Gum strand attached to a card hanging from the ceiling. The card's coming down fast.

This is it.

Exhaustion weighs me down, but I force myself to move. Just enough to the left, bracing for impact. The card rips through the air, heading straight for me.

And then everything goes blurry. My body feels numb like I'm sinking into oblivion. My heart stops when I glance at my arm.

Where's my arm?

Panic floods through me, and my vision swims.

A nurse walks in and I croak, "Where's my arm?"

She looks at me, as calm as ever. "It's in a box next to your bed."

I feel a cold sweat break out. "How long have I been out?"

"Three hours," she answers, her voice steady.

Three hours?

I try sitting up, but the pain is too much. I lie back down, feeling nothing where my arm once was. After a while, when I finally have all the answers I need, I slowly get up. My movements are shaky and unsteady, but I leave the hospital. The weight of everything presses down on me, but there's one thing I need to do.

I call somebody and then proceed to wait in my room until they arrive.