simply diminished: a phantom troupe story

breathtaking

The troupe was lined up on both sides of me, leaving a clearing for me to ignite my nen. I inhaled fiercely, breathing in a smoky aroma as I forged the flame in my hand. I imagined the small frame of Emi, shouting orders ferally. First Teachniqe, the Fiery Viper. I evoked the flow of my nen through my veins and brushed my arms to the side, guiding the dragon to fly all over the room. Second techniqe, Growing Inferno. Once the fire was now guided back into a shapeless cluster, I pushed my hands towards the ground.

"Step back for this part." I sang, trying to compete with the crackling of the roaring fire. The bolide sunk into the dirt-covered ground, only spreading it as far as I let it. Just to show off, I raised the flames and conducted them to sway, dancing in the smoke before I released the last part. Third technique, Final Demise. I drew in a large breath, inhaling the smoke-contaminated air. And when I inhaled, the soaring flames had turned to a thick layer of molten lava. Everything turned still when I deactivated my nen, even the cold expression of the spiders.

I looked around at all of the stunned members, while grinning proudly. But something was off. Someone was missing. Who knew where Hisoka had gone? But It's fine. Right now was all about me.

"Breathtaking." Murmured the boss, sitting back on the chair.

In that moment, the troupe began swarming me with compliments and questions. And soon after, Phinks came walking through the door with his hands full. He was leaning against the entrance fluently, focusing his cold glare onto me. There was a corpse draped over one of his shoulders, but the person's head was hung in an unnatural manner.

"Took you long enough." Noted Shalnark, who was sitting criss-cross on a large boulder, averting his eyes from Phinks when he saw the man's expression.

Phinks lowered his eyebrows displeased and threw my backpack across the room, causing it to land at my feet. Ignoring him, I turned to Shalnark.

"I was just about to say the same thing!"

Shalnark and I leaned into each other, laughing so hard It turned into a cough and small tears started to form in my eyes.

"I've got just the thing to shut you up." Snapped Phinks, walking closer to us and pointing a harsh finger my way.

"I know that you're-"

"Phinks, please stop antagonizing y/n." This time the interruption came from Pakunoda.

"Yeah, c'mon Phinks." Joined Shalnark, laughing at the tall mans face. He was practically burning up in anger and let it all out with one huff.

"You'll never be welcome here. You will never be able to replace Uvo."

He turned away and left out the door, he wouldn't be returning for the rest of the night.

"Whos-" My voice trailed quiet and I looked down at my hands as the pink haired girl came up from behind me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about that dickbag, he's just like that to new people. "

I laughed and turned towards the rest of the troupe. "I'm sorry if this comes off as insensitive, but who's Uvo?"

Almost immediately after I asked, Nobunaga spoke up, his voice strained and weary. "Uvogin was my closest friend. He was one of the strongest here, I'm sure his voice alone could break a carton of wine glasses." He smiled and his eyes were focused on the floor in front of him, practically bringing him into a trance. "But the chain user murdered him. And now it's our duty to...its our duty to avenge Uvo." Nobunaga was now trembling, trying to hold back tears and the rest of the troupe held quiet and sullen faces.

Even monsters have friends, it's the human in us.

"I hope you know I'm not trying to replace anyone. I don't even know if i'm welcomed here."

"We understand it to the fullest." The boss spoke up, rising from his seat. "And although you wouldn't be replacing anyone, we're in need of a spider."

"What are you getting at?"

"We'll give it a couple days, and if we're sure that we can trust you, then you'll become one of us. Usually...in order to become a spider you must kill a spider. But it seems the chain user has already done that for you."

I nodded my head and brushed the fallen rubble off my skirt, "I understand."