Hisoka made his way through the jungle beside Illumi, somewhere he never thought he'd be. In fact, he wouldn't need to when he could be fighting people in the city. Perhaps at Heaven's Arena. But no, a certain someone behind him held too much power for him to skip. Her aura consumed him in bliss. Just as he awaits to fight Chrollo, all this anticipation excited his bloodlust. His unquenchable bloodlust.
Hisoka strolled without caution, enjoying the scenery. He knew Raine was keeping her guard up for him. If anything were to happen she would be the first to react—
Hmm?~
Her footsteps suddenly went quiet. Although she was behind, he still kept tabs on everyone around him. But she suddenly...disappeared.
He turned around. Just plants and trees.
Everyone paused.
"Ahmad, "she said appearing in a tree, "Up there!" She pointed to a green figure surrounded by leaves.
Ahmad stepped back surprised. "How did you- never mind. Everyone, move to the opening over there and spread out."
He led them to a small circled area of thick leaves scattered on the ground within six large tree trunks.
She used Zetsu~
He and the others also turned on their Zetsu. The trees were as thick as pillars that could hold a whole mansion.
Hisoka sat down taking in the view. "Pretty~" He anticipated the precarious situation as if a show was about to begin.
Illumi stood next to him ignoring Ahmad's heed about spreading out.
"Hmm, I didn't know snakes could be that big," Illumi said.
A huge python-looking creature sat high in the branches. Its pigmented teal scales blended in with the leaves, but its head was ginormous. It wouldn't even fit into a house if it slithered through the garage. Its eyes were closed. The jungle went silent. Raine perched on a branch behind one of the trees with her blades in her hands. Bisky and Kurapika hid under a canopy behind another tree. All three of their eyes pinned the snake with that Hunter's gaze. A haunting glare pinpointing their prey.
Ahmad rose from the ground, vines lifting him up. His arm stretched out summoning lavender-colored flowers with bright green energy radiating from him.
Hisoka watched closely, amused by his strength. He already counted three habits of this man that could be exposed in a fight.
The flowers dotted the trees with the snake, silently surrounding it, who seemed to be sleeping and unmoving. Then the flower buds blossomed, releasing glowing spores that sprinkled the air, floating into the beast's nose. The snake finally opened its eyes. White and empty. Not red. Hisoka collected shivers from Bisky's hunched posture. It was indeed terrifying.
A wave of power released from its eyes, a sharp breeze followed. It froze the spores immediately midair. Ahmad's power ceased. The vines stood still. The flowers paused. But apparently, Hisoka and the others were fine.
Everyone stiffened. No one tried to move.
Oh my~
And then, the few glowing spores, that had already made contact with its skin, started melting through. The snake twitched once. Then twice. Then collapsed to the floor with a loud thud. Its eyes now closed as the spores consumed its body from the inside, eating the skin last like fire incinerating paper.
Ahmad moved again, his body out of breath falling to the ground. His arms raised in a desperate struggle to release his Nen on the flowers.
"Step— back," he grunted.
Sweat dripped down his forehead as he concentrated on putting every spec of the yellow spores back into the lavender flowers. Power wisped around the jungle in his brilliant aura until it faded away, along with the flowers.
Raine was the first to rush to him. "Are you okay?!"
Hisoka applauded, "That was very splendid indeed. I am impressed~"
Bisky made a face at him.
"What was that?" Kurapika asked.
"That was—
Raine helped him stand, Ahmad happily accepting her hand.
—just a pesky snake." He said nonchalantly as if it didn't just suck the energy out of him when it clearly took a heavy toll.
"Oh my goodness, it froze you didn't it?" Bisky asked with her hands over her mouth.
"Yes, a lot of these creatures hold mysterious abilities. The 'ular medusa' is similar to that of the gorgon in mythical legends. Anything within 10 meters will be frozen in time when detected. Then it eats whatever prey is in range. The flowers I used are decomposers. As you can see you wouldn't want to touch them."
"If it's frozen then how did the spores kill the snake?" Kurapika questioned.
"Anything touching or inside the organism is not affected. My father and I have run into plenty of those." Ahmad brushes off the dirt then laughs. "I told you not to take this jungle lightly."
Raine studied the trees.
"Well, this should be a good place to rest then." Ahmad walked around studying the area.
And the perfect time to ask her what she did last night~
The group set up a mini-camp. Kurapika gathered rocks for everyone to sit on while Ahmad answered questions. Hisoka sat comfortably with his legs crossed, tuning in for a moment. Anything to give him more advantages.
"Yes, Riv is currently the 'guard' of the tribe and the gemstone. Although it's quite large for a village and it's hidden within secret passageways that only us members or the natives know. There's a succession of guards that endure incredible strength and power that is not theirs, including Riv, through a ceremony celebrated by the village. He recently took power about nine years ago which means anything before is when he would have been a part of your so-called phantom troupe."
"That's after he attacked my village." Raine buried her face in her hands.
So he went after the gem before he became a guard. He was supposedly called back to take duty but if he planned to steal her necklace then he knew he would leave the troupe. A plan all along to take over this very village.
Nobunaga must have known and lied to us or was not aware.
Ahmad's face softened. "I'm sorry for what happened Raine, so it is only right I get you there safely." He turned back and continued. "My previous group of hunters were after the gem but haven't been able to survive that far. New animals are appearing every full moon. Which means-
"-the gemstone might have to do with the animals too." Kurapika finished.
"Yes. The 'Moon's Phases' has to do with the crazed animals. Again, I don't know exactly how it works but I do notice the jungle's atmosphere become...more lively." He paused in thought. "You mentioned earlier..."
Hisoka recalled seeing Kurapika talking to Ahmad when he arrived with Illumi.
"...the previous guard before Riv was killed by an animal. That I didn't know but if it happened when you say it did, I could only assume occurred just after the Blood Moon. Maybe a year."
"Hmmm." Bisky peaked at Raine. "So you're saying there's probably a bigger, more dangerous animal out there that could kill the ones who guard the treasure."
"Yes. That is exactly right." Ahmad narrowed his eyes sincerely.
Something tells me the last guard wasn't killed by an animal then if Riv did this~
Hisoka held a card over his mouth.
And Raine's necklace still activated last night after the circus, despite not being a full moon. If her necklace is a piece of the 'Moon's Phases' that they're after then...
What will happen to her power under a Blood Moon?~
Hisoka yawned and stood up. A small break would do from all this thinking when he had other plans in mind.
She'll come looking for me~
"If you go off on your own be careful. Red vines are alive, turquoise leaves are poisonous, and just don't touch any flowers." Ahmad told him.
"Thank you kindly for the advice~" Then he walked away.
-
I watched Hisoka leave until his figure disappeared. He was never invested in this stuff anyway. In fact, he'd always gotten in the way, spilling little information here and there. And yet I itched to follow him.
It's only a matter of time before he asks me what I did last night. I hate feeling guilty...
"Ahmad what about my necklace? " I asked to get my mind off this problem.
"This is a lot of information." Bisky rested her elbow on her knee.
Illumi stood a few meters away staring at a tree.
I wonder if he can sense it too.
"Raine, you have a piece of the gemstone in your necklace. It is very small but I've heard of it. Your ancestors carried it around, signifying the gift in your eyes. Riv wanted it for a reason. To destroy an entire village far from this tribe must mean it's important." Ahmad continued.
"If that's the case, wouldn't she have Riv or anyone after her?" Kurapika said.
"No," I said. "My dad made sure we were hidden safely. He mentioned it in a note he sent. He never talked about it...it was implied I didn't have to get revenge but he never mentioned why until I told him I was going to Jujib." I squeezed my necklace. His note was safely in my bag.
I'll have to show it to them eventually. My grandmother has come here before...someone dad never mentioned.
"Raine." Kurapika's eyes sparked a hidden red. "I will help you defeat him but...if he gets ahold of your necklace, his power might be unstoppable as if you were the missing piece to his puzzle. You might have to stay hidden while we fight them."
I gripped my necklace tighter. "What? I would never let you fight my own battle! Especially risk your life for me." I closed my mouth surprising myself. Raising my voice was starting to become a habit and I didn't like it. I cleared my throat. "Sorry...but no. I have to. I promise I won't let things get out of hand."
"Promise me too." Bisky tapped my shoulder.
"Yes, I promise," I exhaled then smiled. She was always the loud person, scolding everyone, but every time she was calm with me instead, I felt a little more special.
"Alright, enough talk. Here's some fruit." He handed out a bright orange fruit with a pink guava texture inside.
I took a bite immediately. "This is so good!" My mouth quenched from its sweet liquid.
Bisky laughed. "We know Raine."
"I wish I could take this home and grow it," I said.
"You could. I'm sure your dad would be delighted." It seemed light-hearted on the surface, but a hint of longing dripped from his words. We both looked at each other. Longing for what?
"If you get the chance, I could give you a tour of my home on Whale island," I said.
Was he lonely? I wonder what he's experienced growing up here...the same area as Hisoka.
I tried to lighten his mood. His chivalry wasn't an act. I already liked how he made everything feel like an adventure.
He smiled. "I would like that."
After a while, I stood up and made my way toward Illumi.
He can have my other fruit. Wait, do assassins eat this kind of stuff? And then I should find Hisoka to give him some....and find out what I heard in the trees.
I made a mental checklist in my head.
"Hello," I casually strolled beside him, tilting my head up at his tall, green figure. He was still staring into the trees. I realized I haven't said a word to him at all this whole trip. Even before the city. I was about to introduce myself but stopped. It was pointless now.
"Do you want some fruit?" I asked but attempted to hand it to him anyway as he didn't acknowledge my presence.
Hmm...
As I reached for his hand, Illumi suddenly released his dark aura to ward me off but I didn't react. I saw it coming and called my own aura in preparation.
I still retracted my hand but I walked around to the front of his body. His aura was definitely heavy and overwhelming, pounding against my skin. I had to push a little more energy out to endure it. We stood there in an eerie silence but I didn't mind. It gave me time to study his pins. Yellow bulbs tipped the ends, all of which were drenched in a dark coat of power.
Manipulator.
His assassin vibes complimented his emotionless face. Still, his heart had an uncanny feeling of protection, probably towards Killua. He made me very curious too now that I saw him up-close.
I reached out again to put the fruit in his hand. But just as I'm about to touch him, in one swift motion he extended his arm out to stab my head with a large needle. I stood to the side of it, already dodging. Faster than the sound could follow. That's what it took to avoid being killed. The silver needle twinkled in front of my eyes.
If I didn't have foresight, I would've died right then and there.
I looked at his needle still hovering then my piece of fruit. His blackened orbs stared straight ahead. I stuck the fruit on the tip and walked away. A part of me smiled as there were no words exchanged but I felt like it was a good start. I glanced back to see Illumi lower his hand, a bit surprised at my reaction time and unusual gesture.
I should've introduced myself sooner.
Before I crept into the jungle, I paused. The humidity stuffing my nose.
If I can't find what was growling earlier, I'll ask Illumi. An animal has been tracking us down. Ahmad doesn't notice himself so he's clear.
A blockade of trees stood cascading over me. I took a deep breath.
Now...to confront Hisoka.
-