A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own HunterxHunter.

Hey guys! Long time no see yeh? I'm sorry for the delay, this story will continue to be put on hiatus until November at least. Since it has been so long since I've uploaded a chapter, I thought that I might as well upload what I've written so far. This is more of an experimental chapter to be honest. I'm introducing a new character and a new plot and I don't know how well received it would be. So please leave a comment or an opinion. Your words would influence the general direction of this story. Thankyou!

This is part 1 of chapter 7. Very short and more of a filler or an introductory scene to the new character. Nothing happens much. I warn you now.

For Candice, the days had passed in a haze.

As each melded into another, seemingly, she had lost count of the days- or weeks she had spent in that village, the number of hours of actual consciousness and the periods gone without sustenance. She has lost count of the many households or food pantries that she's raided with a hungry eye or the number of times she had collapsed to the ground, content to stay there until morning.

Pained, broken and starving on her first day back on land, Candice had picked up her limbs to explore the new and sudden development. Fresh apples, as it turned out, were fast becoming her favourite snack and in all her reeking and haggard glory, she had been quick to snag her food under the orders of her rumbling stomach.

To her relief, the village was simple, plain and beautifully functional. Resources were easy to come across and obtaining it was simply, the easiest thing that Candice had experienced in a while. With stolen clothes, a full stomach and a proper wash, the dark-haired girl had felt at her best- the most accomplished in a while, despite her painfully aching and bruised body.

Slowly, gradually, everything seemed to begin to be much more conquerable, as if just within her reach and she could grab hold if she went on tippy toes. But it was lonely. She wished for someone to talk to. Someone who can look at her- actual eye contact- and smile. It didn't matter at first- she was too busy and distracted, gathering herself together. Then it began, like a round stone gathering momentum on a gradual slope. And all of a sudden, she found herself regretting, picturing hypothetical scenarios and hoping. Her future wasn't bleak. She had a whole life ahead of her and each step, each little bit of progress she makes would make all the difference.

But just as things started looking up, everything came crashing down again.

Candice was hopeful. Really. She had already a plan; of building up her strength and resources before setting out again, this time in the direction of the Zoldycks. Because if this world was anything like the anime, familiarity was sure to be there and Kurapika-

She's had her goal, her purpose all scratched out in the sand. She has stolen enough resources to last her a least two weeks and she's had her transport all worked out. She knew she could do this. After all, there were no more restraints on her. Her life was purely her own. There were no more costs in her decisions- it was either stay or go and frankly, there was no way, she was going to find her way home at this rate.

It felt out of place but strangely exhilarating, knowing that she could do anything and there would be no one there to reprimand her decisions. No one to criticise her. No one to guide her.

Yet when she became sick, she felt this hole all of a sudden. She missed the palm that would rest cold upon her forehead. She missed how her sister would declare her sick and despite her hot protests, shunt her off to bed.

She had started noticing it perhaps three or four days in. A headache. Disguised under all the other pains, she had ignored it, thinking it to be some side-effect from her lack of sleep. It had gone away then reappeared at the end of the day like the phantom, greater and more painful than before.

It wasn't an event, but a process, one that steadily worsened over time, and before she knew it, her cough had become almost unbearable. Her chest hurt to breathe and her throat- already so parched and pained from inhaling seawater- had further deteriorated. Thankfully, she could still keep her food in her stomach.

Her days grew hazy.

It felt like half an eternity later that she had to courage to raise a shaky palm to her burning forehead and declare herself sick. Hours passed between conscious and unconsciousness and every time she realised how weak she became, she had forced herself up in hunt for edible food and required resources to stock up over the days.

She didn't remember falling to her knees in the middle of the yellow streets. The red apples rolled far when she fell and she watched it in her attempt to keep her fading vision, her arm long in her reach. Before she knew it, blackness surrounded her in its buzzing lullaby and she thought no more.

…

"Weird. You are all so weird!" A little boy hopped dangerously along the straw thatched roof a few metres off the ground, his bare arms held out far on either side. A growing crowd looked up at him- all exasperated adult frowns and worried gazes but he didn't care. He was going to prove that aliens existed. And he was going to do it right there and then, on the tallest roof of the entire village. He looked to his watch.

It was almost time.

"Rabbit! Get down this instant!" A shrill cry stood out stark from the crowd of voices, so different and so scoldingly demanding that he almost fell over. It was Rei, one of the older girls in the neighbourhood whom always played with him whenever his mother was out.

The boy called Rabbit tried to steady his stance and to the worry of the people below him, he had only succeeded in wobbling in the other direction. "Rei! Rei!" He cried out happily, waving his hands about, his usually flattened brown hair sticking up from the wind.

"You big idiot, Rabbit! Get down before you fall." Rei shouted up angrily, her usually serene and feminine face contorted into the most horrible and scariest expression he had ever seen.

It made him laugh. Yellow eyes wide with mirth, he clutched his stomach and toppled, and as if in slow motion fell forward to kiss the straw thatched roof.

The people screamed below him.

Small sweaty hands clutched tightly to the roof. "Ah, so close so close." He muttered brightly and in an instant got back up again, peering at the dirtiness of his palms. "Uwahhh this is your entire fault, Rei!" He shouted down, face contorting into what he thought was an excellent imitation of Rei's previous expression and all at once began chucking a series of rocks at his offender. "Take this, Rei! I'm not gonna miss this time! Hiya!"

The girl didn't even bother dodging. She just stood there, exasperation clear upon her pale face as the rocks missed her by miles, hitting other people and rocketing in all directions off the ground.

"Aww…" He sighed sadly as he ran out of ammo, his chubby cheeks rearranging to form a pout.

"Darling. Come down now ok? It's dangerous up there." It was his mother, his ever dainty and sweet mother all teary-eyed and worried, holding out a hand to him.

"Mum! Mum!" Rabbit grinned, revealing a missing tooth. "I'll be down soon!"

"How soon, dear?"

"As soon as I prove that aliens exist!" He jumped in place, garnering concerned shouts far down below as the rafters creaked eerily. The straw-thatched roof was thin. Any sudden, heavy movement would collapse it. No adult could climb up to bring down the boy- they were too heavy. Any more weight and the roof would collapse.

"Of course aliens exist, dear." His mother assured him with that familiar smile, although a little strained. "We believe you, dear. Please come down from there."

"No, no, no, no, no…" He waved his arms back and forth, stepping backwards to the horror of the people below. "I have to prove it first." He made his way to where a strange dish-like device stood leaning against the chimney and all the watchers below had to step further back to keep him in their line of sight.

As if to proclaim some great, world-shattering news, the boy pointed dramatically to the sky. "Two years ago, I sent my alien-detector into outer space!" He yelled out, loud enough that the birds were startled out of the trees behind him.

The audience groaned collectively. Of course, how could they ever forget? It was the day the boy had disassembled the village elder's lavatory to use in his mishaps. A rocket, he was insistent on building, a little toolbox in one hand, papers of crude pencil drawings in his mouth and dragging an overlarge axe behind him. The phase lasted weeks and in the end, it was only at Rei's clever, clever suggestion that he sent his device up to the sky in a miniature hot-air balloon. No one had the heart to tell the poor boy that his invention had crash-landed in the downtown streets and tossed to the side where not even the dogs sniffed at it.

"The aliens have finally responded!" Rabbit continued, cheering happily to the mutterings below. "Only a few days ago, new life forms have been detected! Deep in outer space! Aliens!"

The audience watched warily as he backed up to the chimney, to fiddle with coloured buttons, a small screen on one side displaying an irregular wave that changed intervals every two seconds. Looking mighty proud of himself, Rabbit flashed a peace sign to the audience, and cupped his mouth as if to tell a secret. "It's solar-powered." He whispered loudly.

"No one asked." Only Rei had the delicacy to give the rest of the village a voice.

Rabbit pouted at her. "I've been waiting to do this all week! Today is the most auspicious day. And at noon precisely, will the signal be the greatest." He checked his watch again. "Almost, almost." He muttered brightly to himself.

"So… what are we expecting this time?"

Rabbit looked down for the croaky voice- for a tall, thin and balding old man with the wispy white beard and knobbly cane. The village elder gave a wrinkling smile and a nod of encouragement. Rabbit grinned back. He loved the village elder. He was the only one around that supported him in this village of underachievers.

"I've put this sound thing into my invention! My alien-detector will automatically link its data to this device here," He nudged the dish-like invention. "So then we can make out just how close the aliens are to this place! What we are expecting will be a small, low hum- after all I sent my device into space. It's gotta be light-years and light-years away from here by now. I've adjusted it so that the louder the noise, the closer the aliens are…", Rabbit peered briefly at his watch before whooping in joy, pulling down a certain switch with a sharp click.

There was silence. And then the air exploded.

No, it was an explosion of sound, a loud guttural whine increasing in frequency and shattering the blue sky.

Eyes wide and frantic from the force of the sound waves, Rabbit leapt to switch the machine off again, one hand clamped over an ear futilely. Silence fell. But the damage was done. Everything muted for a moment, leaving behind only the painful ringing of the ears that lingered.

And then there were the soundless yells of his name, crying from his mother and the insults from Rei; of people rushing headfirst into the wreckage to dig out the little, strange boy of their village.

The roof had collapsed.

As mentioned before, this is an experimental chapter. Part 2 may be added on a later date.

Thanks for reading :) And thankyou to all the people who bothered to leave a comment last chapter- it was really inspiring to read each and every one!