Stars, she couldn't see anything. Stars, this was bad.
The all-too-familiar snap of chains rang beside her, and her hands quickly dove into her pocket. Rein fired some of her smoother stones without thinking, and she felt them hit a target.
But as her eyes started to grow adjusted to the darkness, her breathing tightened. She could hardly see though the dimness, but she could see enough. Enough to know that... No. Her target, the one she had to make bleed and bend over, her enemy... was the Chain User. Not... not him.
Leorio was in front of her, trying to smile at her through the pain. "I thought I told you to take it easy," he managed before crumpling to the ground.
No.
That one word was the only thing echoing in her head for a few seconds when Shizuku broke it.
"Wait, where's Danchou?"
All eyes danced around the area before falling to a collective conclusion.
"The boss is gone," Nobunaga remarked, seemingly not bothered in the least. He said it with as much ease and casualty like he was joining Chrollo for their afternoon tea session. "Shizuku, hold this guy for me," he said, pushing Gon toward her, the boy still upside-down.
Rein raked in a breath. Eyes now completely adjusted to the dark, she was now able to observe freely, and she did not like what she saw.
Paku, her arm cradled carefully against her side and a hand to her cheek. Most likely injured. Machi, with a certain stone set expression that—after years of knowing her—Rein knew meant she was in pain. The absolute lack of Chrollo. The two boys, while restrained and captured still, wearing a satisfied look at what they'd just accomplished with the Chain User. Somehow, she couldn't find the will to be mad at them for it. While her eye was on Gon, his gaze swiveled towards her and landed on the man on the ground. The room was still dim, but even so, his horror-stricken face drove her stomach to knots.
"Leorio!" Gon shouted.
Yes. And Leorio, who just... who she just...
Killua turned his head. His eyes widened at the sight. "Hey, you." Killua lowered his gaze, aura becoming darker and dangerous. When he finally looked up, his eyes shone with a malice she'd never seen before. "What did you do to him?"
Even though he was effectively held back by Machi, Rein took a step back at the threatening pressure. "I-I didn't—" Her eyes flitted to Leorio. Bleeding. "It was an accident!" she croaked. A lame excuse.
Killua huffed, concealing his bloodlust. "That's not an apology, and it's not fixing anything. You..." He trailed off. "I still don't trust you, but check Leorio. Don't try and hurt him more like you just did." He muttered something more. "Traitor."
All she could do was nod as she turned to take care of the man. She apologized, even though it was meaningless now.
This was Leorio she'd shot. Leorio, who'd legitimately cared for her even though she was a stranger. He'd tried to comfort her at her made-up trauma. Repeatedly told her to rest so she would stay healthy. Warned her about straining her limits and tried to preserve her mental health. He'd done that. He'd done all of that.
When she tried to shoot for the Chain User, Leorio took his place. Stars. Stars, stars, stars, stars.
Rein tried to collect her thoughts and looked for something staunch the bleeding. She would've gotten Machi to heal him if possible, but Machi was injured right now. She wasn't in any condition to use her Nen stitches.
In a stroke of realization, she dumped out her rocks from her pockets and pulled off her skirt, suddenly extremely glad she wore shorts under them. While her legs felt a bit chillier than usual, Rein ignored it as she pressed the flannel to Leorio's wound. She winced at his hiss.
"It's...it's okay. I'm okay. It's okay," Leorio repeated, if only to convince himself and to take his mind off of the pain. "It's o—" He suddenly cried out, cutting himself off before biting his lip to silence himself. His lip bled.
Now, she could see there were two wounds. Both the fault of her rocks. Both her fault. One in his side, and one closer to his hip. Right now, she was treating the one on his side, but she needed something else for the other wound.
"You can use my jacket!" Gon offered, dangling with his ankles being held firmly by Shizuku.
Shizuku brought him to Rein, and she quickly tore off his green jacket, cutting the material with Machi's threads tied around his wrists. Before she could even think about whether she could properly apply pressure to two places at once, Pakunoda appeared. She moved to Leorio's other side and attempted to staunch the bleeding there, taking Gon's jacket on the way.
"Thanks, Paku."
She nodded, silent.
"Phinks, hurry up! Danchou's been captured," Nobunaga shouted into his phone.
* * *
A few minutes back, Kurapika ran out of Beitacle Hotel, the chained leader of the Spiders being dragged behind him. He arrived at the car parked around the corner, Senritsu already sitting in the passenger seat with her bruised leg elevated. Kurapika pushed the Spider into the car first, standing outside. "Leorio!" he shouted for his comrade.
No one came running like he'd expected. If Leorio wasn't out here by now, that meant he'd gotten held up. By who other than the Spiders? That meant... they now had in their possession four captives. Four, all very important to him.
From what he'd seen in the hotel, he could deduce that Rein was playing along, convincing the Spiders she was their ally instead of his. Perhaps she was a key part in releasing Gon, Killua, and Leorio, but where would that leave her? How would Kurapika save her from the Spider's clutches before she broke down?
For now, all he had to do was leave the place and go far, far away. Senritsu couldn't drive because of her injured leg. If he drove, he ran the high risk of either crashing the car or letting the leader of the Spiders escape. He couldn't properly maintain focus on both his chains and driving, let alone calming his temper. He'd seen how well that worked last time. But if they didn't drive, they couldn't depart from the hotel, placing all his friends in even more danger.
What would he do? What could he do?
"I told you, I'm in Yorknew... yeah, I'm working with the auctions," a voice came. It was approaching the car. "Anyway, how's the family?"
"You!" Kurapika pointed at the by-passer, demanding. "Get in and drive!"
The man twitched a neatly groomed eyebrow at Kurapika's order. He spoke into his cellphone. "Uh... I'll call you back." He powered off his phone and slowly placed it in his back pocket, afraid any sudden movement would alarm the intense person before him.
At his hesitance to comply with his command, Kurapika scowled. Time was of the essence. "Get in!"
Somehow, a very shocked man found himself strapped into the driver's seat of a foreign car, with people he didn't know.
"Hello," Senritsu greeted. She smiled his way, buck teeth somehow enhancing her soft, cute air. "Sorry about the suddenness. I can tell you're nervous. I'm Senritsu. That's Kurapika."
"Hurry up and drive, we don't have any time!" Kurapika yelled at him.
The man obeyed, hitting the highway faster than he'd thought possible. "Nice to meet you too," he mumbled as he switched lanes, short of breath. "I'm Zepile."
Kurapika tried to calm himself down from the adrenaline and panic that came with Leorio not showing up. "I apologize for my actions, Zepile. Don't worry," he assured him. "A number of the enemies were injured. They won't move until reinforcements arrive." He caught the Spider's eyes on him. He glared. "What are you looking at?"
"No," the Spider shook his head slightly, "I just didn't expect the Chain User to be a woman."
"Did I say I was?" Kurapika questioned, pulling off his wig. He let his blond bangs fall back into place. "You shouldn't let appearances deceive you. Anyway, be careful of what you say. You do not know what your last words will be."
"You won't kill me," the Spider said, a knowing tilt to his head. "You left your precious friends behind."
"I'm not so composed that I'll ignore your taunts!" Kurapika growled. Still, it was true, and the fact that it was stung even more. He'd left them all behind.
"The girl's fortune didn't mention this." The Spider almost chuckled. His provocation was proving effective, and all in the car could feel the tension heighten. "Therefore, this event is not significant enough to matter. Let me say this again. I consider this the same as an afternoon tea break. A peaceful outing."
Unable to withhold his rage any longer, Kurapika punched him, eyes blazing red.
"Kurapika!" Senritsu cried.
Zepile pursed his lips and drove on. What had he been dragged into?
* * *
The doors slid open, allowing entrance to Phinks, Feitan, and Shalnark.
Phinks scanned the scene before his eyes landed on Rein. She was on her knees in only her black t-shirt and shorts, her normal vivid skirt pressed against someone's side as they lay on the ground, trying not to pant. As he approached, he could hear her muttering over and over: "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Now Phinks had no idea who this injured man on the ground was. He certainly didn't give a flying buttress about him. Who cared if he died? Not him, for sure. But for some reason, it seemed like Rein cared. And he certainly didn't... care about that either. But after what happened with Uvo and possibly finding out about her past, this was the least he could do to show her he wasn't a total jerk.
"Here." The jacket of his tracksuit hung from his fist when he pushed it her general direction. He didn't look at her.
"Oh." Rein reached forward and accepted the offering, placing the jacket atop her skirt before continuing to apply pressure. "Thanks, Phinks."
Phinks nodded, eyes everywhere but on the girl. His hand shot out to her hair, and he ruffled it in greeting. He thought to say something, but ended up just nodding once again.
Feitan came up behind them, grumbling. "Stop muttering," he ordered Rein. Feitan ripped Phinks' shirt off of him, earning himself a curse and punch from the blond. He ignored him and tossed Phinks' shirt to Rein, more material to slow the flow of blood with. "You sound pathetic."
"Aw, thanks. You too," she shot with with a thin sincerity, distracted. She whispered a final "I'm sorry" to Leorio before giving Phinks' shirt to Pakunoda.
Phinks, chest now bare, turned to the other Spiders. "Explain."
"There was a blackout," Shizuku replied simply.
"Danchou was taken in that moment," said Nobunaga.
"Here's the message from the chain user." Kortopi handed Phinks a crumpled piece of paper, inked with large, bold letters. Discuss their memories, I kill him. A threat to Paku.
"Why didn't you go after him immediately?" Feitan asked.
"Machi and Paku were injured," Nobunaga tried to explain.
"So?"
"He has pro Hunters as allies."
"So?"
"Read between the lines!" exploded Nobunaga. His fingers squeezed tighter on the white-headed boy's shoulders. "It means we can use these boys as hostages. If we give chase and let them escape, it's over! Danchou's probably been captured by those chains that even Uvo couldn't break. It'll be difficult for him to escape on his own."
The two continued to bicker. Usually, Rein liked to listen to bickering. But when Phinks looked at her now, she just seemed tense. Was it because Nobunaga reminded her of how dire the situation was in theory?
"Okay," Shalnark butted in, holding up his arms. "We can argue later. For now, we need to build a plan."
Phinks' phone buzzed in his pocket. He looked at the screen. "It's Danchou." Shalnark's mouth morphed into a little 'o', and Phinks turned away from the sight. "Hello?"
"I will give three demands."
"This the chain user?"
"The general rule is my demands are absolute. If you don't obey, I kill your leader immediately. First, do not follow me. Second, do not harm your hostages. Third, put the woman Pakunoda on the phone."
"Can I ask you something first?" The chain user didn't answer, which was enough confirmation for Phinks. "It's about the second demand. The hostages put up a struggle earlier, and we had to break a few bones and stuff." A villainous grin made way across his face. This would surely catch the chain user off guard.
"Then we have nothing to discuss." The line went dead.
Oh. Crap.
Phinks redialed, a dog with its tail tucked between its legs. He hated himself for making the comparison.
"Yes?"
"Sorry. I lied. My mistake. The... boys are unharmed." He stole a glance at the grown man in a suit lying on the ground, shot and bleeding. Well, he technically wasn't lying.
"This is your second chance. I trust you will take it seriously."
As soon as Phinks handed the phone over to Paku, both Machi and Nobunaga punched him. Pakunoda wandered off to the second floor, where none could hear her conversation.
"Phinks! Could you switch with Paku?" Rein was referring to tending to the man. "Don't crush his pelvis."
"Like you know what a pelvis is." Rubbing the back of his head where he'd just been double-punched, he left Machi who was ranting to him about his own stupidity. He crouched down and looked around him. When he met the eyes of the captured boys, they only frowned and averted their gazes, stubborn. They had fire, he'd give 'em that. They had an objective, clear moral lines they drew, and they were sticking to it. They were easy to read.
But Phinks, for the life of him, couldn't figure out why Rein was trying so desperately to try and help the one she'd shot. He was probably an ally of the chain user, and she probably knew that already. It made no sense. Yet there she was, on her bare knees and sitting in the same, cramped position all for some guy that she herself shot. He'd seen the wounds. It was obviously the fault of her rocks.
Paku walked by a few minutes later, eyes straight ahead on a target none of the others could see. "Hey, Paku!" Phinks called. She didn't turn back.
"Let Paku go by herself," Nobunaga said as she left. "We're returning to the hideout. Orders from the chain user."
Who was he to boss them all around like he was in charge? "What's your point?"
"If we disobey, he'll kill the boss!"
"Are you stupid?" Phinks spat. "If that happens, we kill the chain user. And that'll be the end."
"It's what Danchou would tell us to do," Feitan agreed slowly, voice low and menacing, as usual. "Nobunaga, you insult the Spider."
"We have to follow Pakunoda now," Phinks said, still pressing his shirt to the man's injury. Not the best position to be speaking from, but Rein asked him to do this. See, that's what was ticking him off. Nobunaga made demands and ordered them around like he had the right to act as king. Rein didn't act like she was above them and therefore had to issue decrees. But Nobunaga did that and more, and his attitude only made Phinks more pissed.
"I have to concur." Shalnark raised his hand, apologetic. "There's no point in letting Paku go alone. If we follow his orders, all will go as the fortunes predicted."
Phinks continued to argue with the others and their stupid ideas of listening to the chain user for now. Until when would that be? Till half their limbs were gone? They debated for much longer than they should have, and Shizuku even brought up the idea of flipping a coin to make the final decision. As if that was going to work for such a serious problem. The flippant tone she took really made his blood boil.
Still, at rare times, she was perceptive. She finished with: "But the rules are absolute. If we reject the rules, we reject the Spider. And we also reject Danchou. I don't want to do that." Somehow, that stuck a chord with all of them. At least they had one thing in common.
"Ah!" Shalnark broke the silence. He fished out his phone, which was vibrating. "It's him."
"I'll take it," said Phinks, swiping Shal's phone. Shalnark switched places with him for taking care of the man's wound. Phinks picked up. "Hell-"
"Put one of the hostages on the phone."
He growled. "You little...." He aggressively shoved it next to the white-head's ear. "Here."
A moment of silence.
"For now," the boy affirmed. "But they were discussing whether or not to follow Pakunoda—"
Phinks pulled the phone away, glaring. "Watch your mouth." He put it to his own ear. "Hello, you still there?"
"Return to your hideout in thirty minutes. You can try trickery if you want, but your leader will die. I'll call again shortly."
As soon as Phinks lowered the phone, the other kid started to yell at him. "Wait! Stop! Call back and let me speak!"
His eyelid twitched. Muttering curses under his breath, he redialed again and fought the urge to throw the phone into the boy's face.
"Hello? Kurapika?" the boy asked. "Me and Killua are fine, but Leorio's seriously hurt. He's bleeding."
Machi's eyes went wide. If the he knew that the man was hurt, there was a possibility that he would kill Chrollo. "Wait!" She held out a hand toward the boy, his brown eyes now wide at her outburst. "Can I talk to him?" she asked.
"Uh...sure!"
Machi didn't let it show, but relief flooded through her. She took the phone, skipping formalities. "I have a healing ability," she stated. Some of the others tried to cut her off, but she stopped them. "With my Hatsu, I can completely fix any damages done to your friend."
"Then do it quickly." His voice was cold. "With no hiccups. A full healing devoid of tricks and traps."
Machi's hand hovered over her middle, where the white-headed boy had tried to kill her. She was manipulating her muscles now and able to walk normally, but she was still far from being in any condition fit to summon up that particular Hatsu along with focusing on the threads already present so the boys wouldn't escape. "I'm injured. I can't do that at the moment."
Before the chain user could hang up, Machi barreled on. "Give me an hour! I can surely do it by then. For now, I can manage a few hasty stitches, just to patch it up." She held her breath. Would it work? If Danchou died... she didn't want to think about that possibility. The chain user had to listen to her negotiation, or else everything they'd done so far would be meaningless.
"All right." She could breathe. "Patch him up for now, and heal him completely with no trickery when you feel confident in your ability. If he or any of the others die or are further injured, your leader dies soon after." He hung up.
"Wait!" the green boy shouted. "Kurapika, Rein is-!" He stopped himself short upon seeing Machi lower the phone and hand it back to Shalnark. "He's gone, isn't he?"
She nodded, and made her way over to the injured man in a pinched suit. Being careful not to let the strings typing up the boys disappear, she hastily sewed up his wounds. Not her best, but as a makeshift, it would do. At least for the next hour.
"Hey!" The boy in green barked at Phinks. "Call back again! I still want to talk!"
Machi could see the veins on his forehead pop. "No. You don't have to," Phinks snapped.
"But I have to tell Kurapika that Rein is a traitor—"
"You don't have to," he snarled before turning away. "Let's go."
Machi and Rein helped the injured man to his feet, his clothes soaked through with blood. He limped along, all the way back to the base. While she'd stopped the bleeding, he'd still been shot. His internals weren't properly fixed. They tried to rush to make it to the Spider base in thirty minutes as the chain user ordered, but the man could only limp so fast.
As they walked down the street, the lights flickered, their shadows popping with life every pulse. Machi glanced up at the sky, dark yet unnaturally illuminated into a softer smoky blue by the city lights. Was Danchou okay? Were they acting as they should have done?
* * *
Lucky watched in the flickering light as the other Phantom Troupe members—like Emo Loser and Pinky—headed off. He and Crop Top had been sitting on the roof of the hotel, listening intently to what Blazer was discussing on the phone.
Or, more accurately, Crop Top had been listening to the conversation over the phone. Lucky had just been hanging onto his back for dear life, trying not to look at the ground and imagine what his bones would sound like when his skull cracked open on the pavement if he fell. And how if he survived, he would have to suffer as an ambulance came and slowly succumb to death while Crop Top smiled at him from above.
Yes, he was doing a marvelous job not thinking about that.
"So," Lucky spoke up, "where are they going?"
"I wonder," the man responded, a knowing glint to his golden eyes. Fortunately, he answered seriously. "They are heading back to base, so the leader of the Spiders will not be killed."
Lucky waited for him to say more. He didn't. Lucky narrowed his eyes. "Then don't you kind of, you know, need to go back too? So Danchou doesn't die?"
"Pass," he casually remarked. "My dear friend is posing as me. This great escapade, my darling fruit, was only possible by his wonderful Hatsu—"
"Yeah, whatever." Lucky didn't roll his eyes for fear it would cause him nausea at this height. "But shouldn't you at least care about your lead-WOAH!"
The man took to the rooftops again, leaping and running across wet, slippery shingles with Lucky refusing to look down.
"Where are you going?" he shouted.
"Oh," he turned his head to look at Lucky while he ran, knowing it bothered the teen. "Weren't you listening to the conversation?"
"Whose conversation? The one on the phone?" Lucky wanted to rub his temples when the man's eyes became slits in response. "I can't listen to that. I'm not superhuman."
Lucky was too young to be carried by a parkour clown who murdered and stole for a living. Honestly, he was too young for whatever life threw at him. He was only eighteen—
Wait.
He mentally counted on his fingers, a silly move for a person who excelled in mathematics. Today was September 4th, about 7:00...
Huh. Guess he was nineteen now.
"Oops," commented Crop Top as they plummeted off a rooftop.
What a wonderful birthday.
Lucky didn't even have time to scream before he was swung to a railing on the side of a building. Crop Top hung from his fingertips as some singles fell all the way down and landed with a loud shattering, pulverized from impact.
Lucky looked to him with panicked eyes. "You nearly got us killed!"
"A brush with death," Crop Top shivered excitedly, "is a beautiful thing."
As he was abducted and whisked away across dangerous rooftops by a man who didn't care less if he died an agonizing death, Lucky braved a glance back towards where the other Spiders had disappeared. He didn't completely trust the Phantom Troupe yet, but the pink-haired one had saved him from this man's crazed antics before. And he begged for Pinky to come and save him again.
In this version of the story, Lucky's Nen made it so the building stayed in blackout mode, so none of the civilians at the hotel noticed or called an ambulance for our injured Oreo.
So now that you know I am an evil author indeed...
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