a/n: welcome to this clusterfuck of a story! i haven't posted a legit story and finished it since i wrote cold to the touch, but it's time for something new! I've been binging hunter x hunter and i have loved every second of it, more or less a short little bastard named feitan. so here's his own little story, i have no idea how long it'll be so bear with me lmfao.
basic key: y/n - your name (usually just your first name on an informal basis) / f/n - first name / l/n - last name / h/c - hair color / e/c - eye color
this story uses she/her pronouns, but i'll try to keep it as neutral as possible
this will occasionally follow the storyline of hunter x hunter (2011) so there may be spoilers! this story will contain strong language, sexual themes, violence, gore, torture (we-) and lord knows what else that fool is into.
italics, unless stated otherwise, are your thoughts, but they can be others. i also looked into Jenny, the currency used throughout hunter x hunter, and found that roughly 1 jenny is equal to about 0.9 Japanese yen, and for this version, 134 jenny is equal to about 1 us dollar. i hope this isn't too confusing!
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Rain trickled down between the cracks of the stone brick-lined streets. Large thunder clouds gathered in the sky as the sun hid away, leaving the town draped in darkness. It was going to be a long day.
Despite the clock reading eleven am, it certainly did not feel like it. You were already bummed. Staring at the wooden board in front of you, your eyes skipped over pieces of paper. Bounties left and right.
This week's selection was uninteresting. Besides a few petty thefts and small felonies, nothing really stood out to you. You'd be alright for the next few weeks, you'd saved up enough to keep you on your feet for a while, not to mention the bounty you'd just turned in which would be deposited shortly.
Dreading your walk back home in the rain, you pondered your options. You could stay here in hopes of a new bounty being posted, which wasn't rare, but would you be the one to snag it first was the real question. Or you could head home and rest, take a day off and let this week breeze by.
Like he'd read your thoughts, Roky, the bounty organizer, responsible for posting and rewarding bounties, approached the bulletin board. You were itching for some fun. A bounty hunt that would satisfy you. You were, by no means, a cold-blooded murderer. If someone didn't have a reason to die, you sure as hell didn't kill them.
But if your name was on a poster, expect a visit from a bounty hunter. You'd spotted a few turning heads as the burly man approached the board, pinning three more papers up on the board.
Darting out of your seat along with a few other bored bounty-hunters, you all crowded around the board. You grazed over the new additions, one catching your eye.
Richard Larson, escaped convict, wanted for 16 counts of first-degree murder, 4 counts of serial arson. Last seen in Yorknew City. Reward: 500,000 Jenny.
A hefty reward for a rather hefty target. You'd never heard of the man, but it sounded like a challenge, one you were up for. Quickly snagging the paper down before anyone else could, you brought it back over to the bar and waited for Roky to return behind the counter.
"Were you waiting for a new target?" He asked, peeking out from a backroom. You smiled and nodded.
"I wanted an interesting target, not one I'd find doing mild mid-day grocery shopping." You retorted sliding over the paper as he returned to the counter. He scanned the code on the bottom of the paper, entering it into the system, activating the target under your account.
"You have plenty saved up, you could take a vacation." Roky gazed at your available funds.
"Where's the fun in that? I get to travel doing this work, what more could I ask for?" You watch as his fingers dance across the keys of his keyboard, changing the status of the bounty to active.
"I suppose pros like you do find this work to be quite the thrill. You're all set. Dead or alive, the reward is 500,000. He was last seen in Yorknew City, you've got a coupon for a free flight-"
"Save it. I might use it for my vacation." You tease slinging your bag over your shoulder.
"See you soon." Roky nodded as you headed out the door.
Yorknew City. Isn't there some big auction happening there soon?
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Upon your arrival in Yorknew, it was significantly less rainy. The cool breeze mixed well with the warm air. It certainly didn't feel like it was nearing the fall season.
With a visual of your target in mind, your first task was finding a place to stay. You'd be able to come in and out it frequently, but you also wanted to find a relative area close to your target and where he was last seen.
Yorknew City was huge. Luckily for you, you had just the right amount of time to sit and sift through security feed cameras. It was usually easier said than done, but being a bit of a people-watcher, you enjoyed sifting through the possible millions of cameras scattered around the city to track down targets.
It was like watching new episodes of your favorite tv show. Each feed showing different angles and plotlines. It was like a different world entirely.
You could also deduce some factors. Such as the man being an escaped convict. He wouldn't be hanging around highly populated areas, or highly populated police areas. You could cross out large crowds of people and places where police traffic was high. You'd stick to the smaller corners of Yorknew and work your way in.
Checking into a small hotel in an area you wanted to search through first, you made your way up to your room. It was quaint, definitely small, but tidy. However, upon entering the room, you began to feel uneasy.
Spotting small cobwebs all over the corners of the ceiling, you began to worry. You had to be one of the biggest arachnophobes in the world. Every time a spider or even the thought of a spider crept into your mind, you were filled to the brim with anxiety and fear.
"Oh come on." You grumbled, praying that it was just built-up dust. You could deal with a little dust. But if there was a spider somewhere in this room, you're not sure if you could sleep in it.
You'd killed and collected numerous bounties, but against a measly arachnid, you were yet again defeated.
Pushing away the thought of an eight-legged creepy crawler hiding out in your room, you unpacked your laptop and began your work.
After about three hours, you had a lead.
Just as suspected, he'd entered a small hardware store on the outskirts of town, one that happened to be near you. Guess your nose had led you in the right direction.
You'd barely even used your nen. A specialist with a sixth sense. A medium, to some extent. I mean what's better than calling upon the dead and asking them to lend their powers for a little bit?
Crypt Caller, your nen ability. Able to summon the forces and gain power from those who have died. It's an incredible thing really. You've made friends with a few of the dead, calling upon them to use their powers a lot. Your regulars, as you call them.
Along with calling them to use their power, you can also talk and see dead people with enough concentration, but you don't use this much. It's like breaking a barrier between the living and the dead, one that should stay mutually upheld, despite breaking it every time you use your nen ability.
Having just barely used your nen, you reached out to one undead member of society. Marc, a bounty-hunter you never got the joy of meeting in person. He was well respected in the bounty hunting community for many reasons. He always brought in a target, dead or alive. His nen ability was Locate. He could easily locate and track down his targets. No one ever stood a chance against him.
When he worked with other strong nen users to bring in bounties, he was unstoppable.
The ghostly apparition appeared before you, Marc standing before you, partially transparent. If only you'd let the paranormal investigators know all about ghosts.
"Glad to see I'm still doing good in the afterlife." He joked. You smiled and crumpled the wrapper of your candy bar up, tossing it into the trashcan.
"The bounty world would've been a mess without you." You close the lid to your laptop. Channeling Marc's nen through your own was a bit of a task. It took an immense amount of training to be able to use the tiniest amount of someone else's nen. Now to be able to use large amounts, as well as multiple nen at once, it took a toll on you.
The downfall of your nen ability was exhaustion. Too much and you could seriously hurt yourself. No use in contacting the dead if you're dead yourself.
So you trained like hell, pushed yourself to the limits and past them to overcome the boundaries. Forcing yourself to use more and more each day. And with every bounty, you get stronger.
"You got this kid, stay safe out there." And with that, Marc dissipated into thin air. His figure no longer able to be seen by the naked eye, but his aura had merged with yours.
Closing your eyes and allowing your body to stabilize, enforcing your body with his nen, like you'd done a few times before, you re-opened your eyes, the details, and location of your target now in your head.
He was on the outskirts of town, an abandoned portion of the city, run-down with decaying buildings. It was something out of a horror movie. You had half the nerve to turn back and wait for it to be daytime.
The thought of spiders running around, spinning their webs around this place like a playground was eating you alive. You wanted to get out of here as fast as possible.
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Pinning down your target was easier than you thought. He was much older and didn't have nearly as much fight in him as you thought he would.
"I was really hoping you were going to be a hard opponent." You sighed as you pulled your knife from his chest, crimson seeping through the material of his clothes.
Jabbing a pin in his heart, you scanned the code on the bounty and registered your target deceased. A ping alerted you that the transaction was completed and your reward would be deposited soon.
"And who do we have here?" A voice called out. You whipped your head around to the sound of a voice.
A mixed group of people stared back at you, you knew their faces all too well. As a bounty-hunter, you knew exactly who these people were, but you didn't exactly have a death wish. You weren't going to face the Phantom Troupe.
"Nobody." You shrugged your shoulders, turning back around. You pulled the pin from the dead man laying on the ground, groaning at the thought of leaving his body here or removing it.
"Cleanup is such a waste of time." You grumble picking the body up and slinging it over your shoulder.
"What should we do?" Another voice spoke, and this time, it was female.
"Apprehend her." The first voice spoke again.
"Chrollo Lucilfer." You turned back around.
"And let's see, I could list all your names, but frankly how much time could that buy me?" You pondered.
"Class A bounties, hefty rewards for all your heads. More money than anyone could ever know what to do with." You heaved the body back up on your shoulder.
"So she's a bounty hunter." Machi, the pink-haired girl who had spoken before, spoke again.
"Well if it's that easy to tell I should be-" And then you felt it.
The creeping sensation of a spider ironically so, crawling on you. A shrill of terror ripped through your vocal cords as you tossed the body off of your shoulder and onto the ground, and danced around hopefully shaking off the evil being that had decided to crawl on you in the first place.
The group's expression shifted to confusion as they watched you humiliate yourself.
"Fuck fuck, ew ew ew!" You cried as you finally saw it crawling on your arm. Flicking it off, you took a deep breath and stepped back.
"Are you guys trying to kill me?" You glanced at the ground and then back up at the infamous 'Spiders.'
"Is she-"
"Arachnophobic?" A blonde-haired boy, Shalnark, stated.
"I'd much rather deal with you than actual spiders. They're so..." You shook at the thought of them. On any given day you'd much rather tire yourself out with the Phantom Troupe than deal with an actual spider.
"Interesting." Chrollo added.
"Well, if that's all-"
"Not...So fast." A gust of wind to your left and sharp pain in your side knocked you down.
Feitan. The Phantom Troupe's interrogator, and known torturer. You were in for a wild ride.
"H-hey!" You snapped, looking at the ravenette as he stood beside you.
"Give me a fucking minute." You groaned, holding your side.
"Why?" He responded in his monotone, one that was sure to quickly get on your nerves.
"Because I'm gonna beat your ass, that's why." You smirked, your fingertips touching the ground, a beaming light shooting up around you, several apparitions coming to light.
Nen users who had great combat skills, nen users whose nen abilities were ranked highly when it came to fighting, great agility to great strength. All you'd need is a sliver from each and you might be able to make it out alive.
"Lend me, your power!" You shouted as the apparitions shot inside your body, giving you the usual rush of adrenaline you loved when preparing to fight.
"Should we-"
"Let's see where this goes." Chrollo stopped Machi from speaking.
In a few swift movements, you were up on your feet, dodging almost every attack being thrown at you from Feitan. He knew exactly what he was doing. He'd handled dozens, if not hundreds of bodies. He knew how they worked, how every human ticked. The spots to hit and immobilize you.
You had to be careful not to tire yourself out, though if you couldn't land a good hit on him, you'd be in a lot of trouble.
Finally managing to come into contact with him, your fist connecting to his right cheek, sending him hopping back, you took the chance to dart toward the exit, leaving the body behind.
You were in no position to fight him and win. You'd die before you could even come close. And you didn't really feel like dying.
"She's getting away!" Nobunaga pointed out. Chrollo sighed and looked to Feitan.
"She's all yours."
That was all Feitan needed to hear. He chased off after you.
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Running through the abandoned city of sorts, you were looking for a place to hide, although hiding was probably pointless, it would give you a possible opening to attack again, this time without fear of the others ganging up on you.
Darting through alleyways and old buildings, you finally reached a spot to hide. Concealing your presence was a risky move, but one you were willing to make.
You'd put a fair bit of distance between yourself and Feitan, it was possible he'd check the wrong building and give up. You had to hope he would.
Ducking into a very small room, more like a closet, you'd concealed your presence and now you had to wait.
Feitan noticed the change almost immediately. He couldn't sense you. This was a problem. There were three buildings nearby. Which one were you in, if you'd even chosen to hide in one, a rather foolish move.
"Such...a chore." Feitan spoke to himself, unpleased at the thought of now having to play hide and seek.
He wanted to tie you up, torture you, hear you scream and cry out. That was the thrill he got from his work. A true sadist. He'd experimented with numerous victims, and he learned as he went along, finding the ways to torture people that broke them.
He breaks people. That is his talent.
Quickly searching through the first building, he doubted you'd made it up past five floors with the injury he'd given you. A sharp and simple cut to the side, sure to leave mild to high discomfort and a fair amount of bleeding until it clotted.
Blood. Why had he not thought of that beforehand? Trailing back outside, his eyes swept around searching for the tiniest drop of the crimson liquid. And just like that, he had a trail that would lead him right to you.
Shifting in discomfort, you winced at the pain in your side. He'd sliced you open in what didn't even feel like one second. He was quick, agile, extremely skilled. You had to give him that.
You'd been able to slow most of the bleeding, but your clothes were significantly stained a dark red. Blood was not easy to remove from clothes, and at this amount, you'd have better luck throwing it out.
Man, I really liked this shirt too. You thought, feeling a bit discouraged at the thought of now having one of your favorite tops ruined.
Creaking floorboards drew your attention to the door of the dark closet. Outside from underneath the door, you could see a set of feet, black boots belonging to Feitan. He'd found you.
Clumsily leaving him a trail right to you, you'd failed to notice this earlier. Rookie mistake.
"Wait." You called from behind the door. Feitan wasn't exactly sure you'd still be inside, but you'd confirmed his suspicions.
"Why?" He called from the other side of the door.
"If I come out, and go with you, what's going to happen?" You question, hoping to have a few choices. The lesser of two evils, see just what the hell they want with you, or try and escape without dying.
"Chrollo...He wanted to apprehend you." Feitan's voice didn't waver. He spoke in the same tone, it all flowing together like one melancholy sentence. Does he always speak like this?
"And if I try to run?" You didn't exactly like the idea of Chrollo Lucilfer wanting to apprehend you, let alone hold a conversation like he didn't have numerous murders under his belt, and god knows how many more combined with the members of the troupe.
"I'll...kill you...or torture you until you...submit." Feitan's words echoed through your ears.
Yeah, torture didn't sound like the best option, and you knew this guy was pretty famous for it. Going back with him would most likely end in the same result, but perhaps giving them false hope would help you escape with your life.
Standing up and unlocking the closet door, you stumbled out, heaving a sigh past your lips.
"I can walk on my own." The wound had finally stopped bleeding but it felt like it would burst open with the slightest turn of your body. It was nowhere near your legs, but it had affected your walk, causing you to lean to the side.
One slice to the side of your abdomen and you've been knocked down a few pegs.
"I didn't plan...on carrying you anyway."
"Tch, rude." You mumbled, walking down the stairs. Feitan would've pushed you down them to speed the process along, but so far you were being compliant.
He could torture you later, when you weren't expecting it. It would feel way better that way.
"Feitan, right?" You broke the heavy silence that had fallen upon the two of you. Never in a million years would you have thought you'd be trying to form a conversation with one of the Phantom Troupe members, let alone Feitan.
"Are you...seriously trying to talk...to me?" Feitan retorted, his hands shoved in his pockets but ready to attack if you try anything.
"How's it go again, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer?" You glance over to look at him. His smokey grey eyes piercing through your soul. Shivers raced down your spine as his glare fell upon you, for the first time since you'd been around him, you were scared.
"You are...odd." Feitan mumbled, looking back ahead of him, ignoring you.
"Well, Feitan, my name is F/n L/n. I really can't figure out if meeting you was a good thing or not, but then again I think if I sat down and thought really hard, I don't think meeting you at any point in time would've been a good thing." You introduced yourself, deciding to go with the false hope, let them think you're surrendering.
"That's not saying you're a terrible person, I mean morally you are, but I guess I've never met you as a person. We've both killed people, yet we're totally different."
"You must like the sound...of your own voice. You...talk too much." Feitan finally contributed to the conversation. You hadn't realized how far you'd managed to make it, you probably could've made it out of this area if you'd chosen to keep running. You had to be getting close to where you once were.
"So I talk too much and you don't talk enough. Another difference." You cringed when the fated building came into sight. Your feet stopped moving, and Feitan noticed as soon as they did.
"Keep walking." No pauses, no hesitations, straight to the point.
Swallowing the lump in your throat, you wanted to move. But your body wouldn't let you. Hanging your head in defeat, what little confidence you had was beginning to fade.
"Just a second." You mumbled, sitting down.
"I won't hesitate." Feitan was at your throat in an instant. His hand pressed firmly against your neck, squeezing with just enough pressure to limit your breathing.
"P-lease." You eyed him, hoping he could read your eyes. Releasing just enough pressure to let you breathe, his hand didn't leave your throat.
"I don't have nearly enough energy to call upon any spirits, nor do I have the stamina to fight you. Ironically, I don't have a death wish." You mumbled, touching your hand to the ground.
Contacting the spirits was another hefty task, and it took a lot of concentration. You'd let Feitan believe it was easy but he could most definitely see the strain on your face as you pulled a spirit from their rest.
"Notify Roky that I've collected my bounty and that I'm taking him up on that vacation." You smiled at the spirit, a girl, with long wispy white hair and a beautiful flowing dress. If you were to draw a spirit, you'd probably come up with something that looked like her.
"Are you taking up another bounty soon?" The spirit asked, unaware that your 'vacation' wasn't going to be very relaxing at all.
"Maybe, but for now I just want to relax. Thank you for your help." And with that, she was cast back into the spirit realm.
"Conjurer." Feitan spoke, pulling you up off of the ground with his grip on your throat.
"Specialist." You corrected him. His eyes widened but not enough for you to notice.
Arriving back with the other Phantom Troupe members, the group wasn't surprised to see Feitan with you. It would've been surprising if you'd gotten away but that was assuming he let you get away so he could get you another time.
Chrollo Lucilfer sat atop some rubble from the building. He lifted his head and looked toward you as you entered with Feitan. He rose to his feet and cleared his throat.
"F/n L/n. Let's have a little chat."
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