Itsy Bitsy Spider

18. The Morning Silence

Not empty like how a slate would be wiped clean after use. To her, it felt like the entire slate was just straight-up gone. The crumpled paper Chrollo had given her as a stand-in for it paled in comparison.

That's it. As soon as she saw him again, she would ask—No,—she would demand for the truth. No stories, no analysis, no reminding her of her purpose was as of the moment. She didn't care about the now. She wanted the past. She wanted to know her past. The hard, cold, raw truth. She'd wring the information out of him like droplets from a wet towel if she had to... Not that she stood a chance of actually being able to do that, but still.

"Thinking?"

Rein jolted at Leorio's voice.

"O-oh. Hey." She peeled her arm from the open window. Conversation. Right. "Hey. Did the window make the room too cold? I can close it. Or did I wake you up?"

"No, it's fine. I've been awake for a while now." Reaching for his glasses, he put them on, squinting for a few seconds to get used to the sudden clearness of the world.

How much was 'a while'? Stars, she hoped she hadn't accidentally said any of her thoughts out loud. What if she let something slip about the Phantom Troupe? Then he could put two and two together and realize she was more foe than friend. Stars, no. She was sure she could take on Leorio alone if he decided to attack now. But if he told the two boys, they could attack and or interrogate her later as a group. They all knew the basics of Nen whereas Zepile seemed to be a genius, one who had a Nen ability without any knowledge of it. She was sure Zepile wouldn't be capable of physically attacking anyone, so that left only Leorio, Gon, and Killua to worry about. She'd gotten stronger during the months with Feitan and Phinks, but she wasn't sure if she could take three nen users on her own. She didn't even have a Hatsu yet, and—

"Everything okay? You seemed troubled."

Leorio had finally stopped her mental speech. Stars, she really had to stop rambling to herself. She just really hoped she hadn't said anything aloud. "Yeah, just... thinking."

"Yeah." He drew a leg up to his chest. "Me too."

For a few moments, all they did was to exist. They didn't speak, didn't think, just breathed and were present.

"So, you heading for the auctions?"

"In a couple of hours. I just couldn't sleep, thinking about the Phantom Troupe and what they did and all." Leorio stretched, spine crackling.

"Yeah," Rein said, almost too quiet for him to hear. "Me too."

He tilted his head to her. "What are you planning to do today?"

"I don't know." Her fingertips tapped at the cold windowpane. "Probably just follow Killua and Gon around. Think about the future, like I said yesterday." Rein restrained from adding in she would think about the past as well.

The alarm clock gave a faint clicking in the quiet room, switching to 8:00. The others were still wrapped in blankets, drooling and snoring in their dreams. They were so tired from staying awake until 2:00 last night, or more accurately, this morning. They were so peaceful sleeping.

A spark of an idea.

"Leorio." Rein inched closer to the curtains and grabbed. She wiggled an eyebrow.

He shielded his eyes and gave a thumbs up at what she was about to do. "Ready."

Rein threw the curtains open, curtain rings wildly screeching as they clashed against the metal rod. Brightness violently flew into the room, and groaning could be heard. "Rise and shine! A lovely new morning, isn't it? Just smell that wonderful car exhaust of a new day! Darn, how fresh!" she shouted as brightly as she could. "Say hello to the wor-"