I looked around the slightly crowded room as Gon sold his Hunter License. He had suggested to sell it for money so we could find information on the Phantom Troupe using the Hunter Website.
Gon came back with his money, and I stared in awe at the number. 100 million?! Damn.
"Should I sell mine too? I mean we need all the money we can get." I offered, and Gon looked at me like I was crazy.
"No, Korudo! I don't want you to sell your license for me! That would be selfish of me." Gon replied, and I sighed.
"If you say so..." I stated as I put my license away.
"That's crazy! You actually have the money!" Leorio gaped at the Jenny.
"Idiot. I can't believe you actually pawned your Hunter license. You're insane, you know that?" Killua sighed at Gon's decision.
"Ha, you're just jealous because you don't have a Hunter license to sell." I teased Killua, and his eye twitched.
"Shut up! I don't need a Hunter license!" Killua yelled at me and I laughed at his annoyance.
"So, what do you think we should do first?" Gon asked, ignoring our bickering.
"To start with, we should buy ourselves a southernbees catalog." Leorio stated.
I leaned over the counter, watching Gon take the southernbees auction catalog from the woman behind the counter.
We then walked to a table as Gon looked through the book. I lounged around in a chair, occasionally sneaking glances at Killua. His words from the night before rung in my head, and I couldn't get over it.
"Hm... Got it! Greed Island is right here!" Gon exclamed as he pointed to a page.
"Seven total units on sale." Leorio mumbled as he looked at the book.
"Wow. Minimum starting bid is 8.9 billion. No change there." Killua stated. I also leaned forward in my chair, looking at the page.
"Man, this game is annoying." I complained as I fell back into my chair.
"Not as annoying as your whining." Killua grumbled, and I smirked.
"You can't insult me for whining when all you do is scold people." I shot back, and he shot up in anger.
"I do not scold people! You're just stupid, and somebody has to point it out! Maybe you shouldn't be such an idiot, and actually think for once!" He yelled at me and I laughed.
"You're only proving my point." I smirked as Killua froze, sinking back into his chair.
"Sh-Shut up." He grumbled as he crossed his arms in defeat.
○●○
I walked around the city, searching for items with nen aura. Gon had pointed out that some items had aura, and Killua told us to bid on them. He figured if they had aura, then they were authentic and we could sell them for a good price.
I had been mindlessly walking around the city for awhile with no luck in finding an object with aura. Something shiny caught my eye, and I walked towards a stand. My eyes landed on a sheathed sword. The sheath had beautiful carvings on it which wrapped around it down to the handle.
"Oh, I see you've taken a liking to that sword. Good eye, this sword, or more particularly the sheath, has one of the most beautiful carvings in the world!" The woman behind the stand exclaimed. I was sure she was exaggerating, and I sighed.
Nonetheless, I still placed a bid on it due to the small shroud of aura surrounding it. Once I knelt down to write the price, I noticed somebody else by the name of Zepile had already placed a bid on it.
Killua's words flashed through my mind. He said if there was already a bid, then place a bid for two and a half times higher.
"Two and a half..." I mumbled, trying to do the mental math. The price Zepile had set was 15,000 Jenny. I sighed.
"Damn... I'm no good at math..." I sighed as I stared at the price. I counted on my fingers until I came to an answer. I quickly wrote down 37,500 Jenny as my bid.
I yawned as I continued to scan the streets, looking for more items. I hadn't found any since the sword.
I suddenly felt somebody grab my shoulder, and I turned around in panick. My aura flared, going dangerously cold. I burned the person who held onto me with my icy nen.
"Ow! Korudo!" I heard a familiar voice yell, and my eyes widened in realiztion.
"My bad, sorry!" I apologized as I looked Killua. He had grabbed my shoulder to get my attention, and I accidentally burned him in defense.
"What the hell was that for!" He yelled as he held his injured hand.
"You scared me! It's not that bad, get over it." I replied and Killua scoffed. It was true though, it was a minor injury. It would just sting a little before dissapearing completely.
"Hmph, whatever. I came to get you because we're done looking for items." He stated, and I perked up.
"Thank god. I've been bored out of my mind." I complained, and Killua crossed his arms.
"Did you even find anything?" He asked, raising a brow.
"Yes, actually, I did." I huffed as we walked down the street.
"What was it?" Killua asked. I could now see Gon's bright green clothes as we approached him.
"It was a sword. Pretty cool I guess, but somebody had already placed a bid on it." I explained as Gon turned to us, hearing the last part of my sentence.
"Really? Did you see the name?" Gon asked, and I brought a finger to my chin, trying to remember.
"Uhh... it started with a Z. Man, what was it... Oh, I know! His name was Zipper!" I exclaimed with a grin. I felt somebody hit me on the head, and I turned to Killua.
"Ow... why do you keep doing that!" I cried as I rubbed my head.
"Because you're an idiot! Who in the world would be named Zipper!?" Killua yelled at me, and I scoffed.
"I don't know! Why don't you ask him!" I shouted back.
"Uh, I think you mean Zepile, Korudo." Gon interjected with a soft laugh. I perked up at the name.
"Yeah, that! Zepile! That was the name!" I exclaimed as I pointed to Gon. I heard Killua sigh as he muttered something inaudible under his breath.
○●○
Gon, Killua and I walked down the street with bagged items in our hands. I had won the sword, and I rested it on my shoulder.
"In the end, we won three and lost one." Killua stated as he carried two bags.
"Yeah, they got that weird vase at the last minute." Gon added, referring to some vase he told me about earlier.
"I'm kind of sad we're selling this sword. I kind of like it." I stated as I lifted the sword, which was wrapped in a bag, from my shoulder.
"Don't get attached, we need to make money." Killua warned me, and I sighed.
"I know, but it looks so nice." I spoke as I remembered the sheath's carvings.
"Well that's too bad. Come on, let's take them to the auction house now." Killua replied, completely dismissing my admiration for the sword.
We were now sitting on a couch in front of some fancy man. We were trying to see if we could sell these items in the auction.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, but the auction house simply can't accept any more items once the catalog has been published. You're too late, I'm afraid." The man stated.
"Can you make an exception? You see, we really have our hearts set on auctioning off these items." Killua acted like an innocent child, and it took everything I had not to burst out laughing.
"Hm, perhaps you might be interested in testing your luck in the Dealers Market." The man replied.
"The Dealers Market?" All three of us asked at the same time. We looked at each other in wonder. The man explained what it was, and sent us on our way again.
We entered a shop to sell the items. I looked around as we walked in. There's so many things I've never seen before, it's amazing.
"Oh? You said you found these in your store house?" The man behind the counter asked us as he examined our items.
"Yeah! And my dad said we should sell them if the price was good enough!" Killua lied as he smiled sweetly.
I literally had to duck below the counter so I could cover my huge grin. I slapped a hang over my mouth as I tried to keep my laughter in. Once I stood back up, the man gave me a weird look.
"Sorry, I had to tie my shoe." I lied, giving him a smile. He nodded, believing my lie.
"These are excellent pieces. Only fifty copies were printed, and yours has a single digit serial number. Not to mention an authentic autograph. It's worth at least 150,000." He stated as he pointed to a painting.
"And look at this antique doll. It's in great shape, both the doll and the box are in pristine condition, which raises the value. 300,000 I guess." He added as he examined a doll.
"This sword is also very valuable. The carvings are very unique, and there's only one sheath like this in the entire world. I'd say it's worth 500,000!" He stated, and I beamed. I must have gotten a hell of a good deal on this sword.
"But, I'm sorry to say this one isn't worth nearly as much. The box ans statue are from different periods. The box is from recently, the statue is roughly carved, and doesn't adhere to any theme. I'd say its only worth 1,500 Jenny." The man gestured towards a statue.
I narrowed my eyes at him as I sensed the temperature around his nose rise. Signs of a liar.
"Now don't worry, thats only the price for the artwork. The wood it's made of is actually quite valuable. I would be more than happy to make you an offer on it. 820,000 for the sword, doll, and painting, and I'll throw in an extra 80,000 for the statue." He offered. I crossed my arms as I analyzed him.
"So 900,000? What do you think?" Killua asked as he turned to Gon and I.
"I don't know..." I mumbled as I gave the man a suspicious look. Killua seemed to notice my skeptical look directed towards the man, and he turned towards him, trying to see what I was so suspicious about.
"Take your time. There's no rush. But you're probably not going to find a better offer from anyone else around here. In the meantime, let me analyze this and find the exact age of the wood." The man stated. He then picked up the statue, and started to walk off with it. I was about to say something, but someone else beat me to it.
"Stop right there. Put that statue down. Now." A voice demanded from the entrance of the shop.
"I'm sorry, but who are you?" The man behind the counter frowned at the new man.
"Watch out, this guy's a scammer. That's a fair price for the doll, sword, and painting, but he's lying to your face about the statue." The man by the door stated, and I perked up in realization.
"I knew it..." I mumbled, and Killua gave me a confused look. I shrugged at him, and he scoffed.
"I... I'm not lying! I swear I'm not!" The scammer yelled.
"Real convincing, man." I sarcastically commented as I leaned against the counter.
"You sure about that? Because no collector would pay 80,000 for that wood. All you're interested in, are the contents of that statue!" The man by the door accused him. We all perked up in suprise. The contents inside?
"That's actually a wooden vault." The man continued.
"Wait, are you serious?!" Killua and Gon exclaimed at the same time.
"That would explain why he's trying to scam us." I sighed, and the scammer jumped up.
"I'm not scamming you guys!" He argued, and I only gave him a 'bitch please' look.
"Around three hundred years ago, wooden vaults like these were used by the wealthy to avoid taxes." The man explained.
"I didn't know that." Gon mumbled, interested in the subject.
"If it's the real deal, then there should be something valuable stuffed inside. You planned on stealing it's contents while pretending to analyze it's age!" The man accused the employee.
"No, No! I would never do that!" The scammer yelled. One of the back doors opened, revealing a buff man. He walked up next to the scammer as he stared at the man by the door.
"Hold on. Do you have any proof at all that thing is a genuine vault?" The buff man asked, smirking.
"What was that?" The man by the door frowned as he walked up to us.
"It's fairly obvious that the wood if over three hundred years old. But all that tells us is the age of the raw material. It could have been carved recently. That's a doctoring method called a facelift, kids." The buff man explained as he turned to us.
"A doctoring method?" Gon asked, tilting his head.
"He means when a counterfeiter tries to trick a professional appraiser. But that isn't what I'm doing! An amateur would never recognize this seam." The man, who now stood next to us, explained.
"Here. A seam which contains a type of glue that was commonly used in that time period." He pointed to the top of the statue.
"You're insisting this is a real wooden vault, are you?" The buff man smirked.
"Yeah." The man next to us stated confidently.
I put my head down on the counter as they continued to argue. All this appraiser stuff is weird. The man helping us eventually convinced the scammer to open the vault.
I perked up as a bunch of treasure poured out from the vault. My eyes gleamed as I looked at all the jewels. It's so pretty!
○●○
"Oh, so you're Zepile." Killua stated as we walked down the street.
"Thanks a lot Mr. Zepile!" Gon thanked the man as he smiled up at him.
"Yeah, thanks. It was awesome seeing you put that stupid scammer in his place!" I grinned, and Zepile smiled down at me.
"Ah, there's no need to thank me. It's just a matter of give and take. Say, twenty percent? My cut of the prophet when you sell the treasure." Zepile grinned.
"What?! Are you trying to rip us off, old man?!" Killua exclaimed, insulting the man.
"Now that was uncalled for. Look, I've got to charge something for advising you." He replied.
"Quit being a brat, Killua." I elbowed him, and he growled at me.
"It's okay Killua, he did help us out back there, after all."
"Give me a break, man. We need to collect as much Jenny as possible, remember? We can maybe buy him lunch." Killua replied.
"Oh yeah? Sure, works for me." Zepile spoke up.
"Aye, you're a simple man. I like you." I laughed.
"Oh, really?" He sheepishly smiled as he scratched the back of his head.
All four of us sat in a booth at a restaurant. Gon, Killua, and I all sat on one side, and Zepile sat across from us.
"So Mr. Zepile, I still feel kind of bad, so we will pay you a commission." Gon spoke up, and Killua snapped his head over to him.
"Dude! You're such a pushover!" Killua yelled, and Gon sheepishly smiled.
"Nah. Really, it's perfectly okay. Just tell me one thing, and we'll be even. What was it that made you guys bid on all these items? Something tipped you off." Zepile asked, and I felt slightly surprised at how chill this guy is.
"Well? Should we tell him the truth?" Gon turned to Killua and I.
"Sure, why not?" I shrugged as I slumped onto the table.
"It beats paying him, anyways." Killua added.
Gon explained the auras surrounding the objects we bought, and Zepile nodded.
"Nen aura, huh? Well, if you're being honest, that does explain why you purchased that statue. It was pretty obvious you didn't know something was stuffed inside." He stated as he looked at Gon in thought.
"So, why do you three need money so badly?" He suddenly asked, and I perked up at his interest.
"We can tell you, but not for free. You've got to answer one of our questions too." Killua stated, skeptical of this man.
"Great! You start." Zepile grinned.
"At the auction, there's an item we want to buy, so we need money." Killua explained.
"Oh? Which item is it?" Zepile asked.
"It's our turn now. Three hundred million jenny. That's how much you estimated this treasures worth. So do you think that's how much we could get for it at the Dealers Market?" Killua asked, wanting to find the best offer.
"At the Dealers Market? I don't know, they pay mainly in hard cash, so if you show up early on, it's unlikely you'd get a fair price for it." Zepile answered, and I slumped down in the seat.
"Great." I sarcastically grumbled.
"What?!" Gon exclaimed.
"Seriously?" Killua sighed in disappointment.
"Now it's my turn. I'll repeat my question, which item are you looking to bid on?" Zepile questioned.
"It's video game called Greed Island." Killua answered.
"Oh, you mean the one that's super expensive." Zepile stated.
"Yeah, it's ridiculous." I sighed.
"I'm real curious about weird vase you bought. How much do you think it's worth?" Killua asked, pointing to the bagged vase next to Zepile.
"What? This thing? It's just a piece of junk. Totally worthless." He replied, and I was slightly suprised by his answer.
"I don't get why you'd want such an expensive game. Doesn't it cost, like, six billion Jenny?" He asked.
"Starts at 8.9. Thing is, we're trying to find Gon's father. We need to buy the game because it has a clue inside." Killua explained.
"Ohhh." Zepile perked up in realization.
"So, why did you pick that vase? You knew that wooden vault was the real thing, didn't you? So you could've bid on that, but instead, you didn't. You bid on that weird vase instead. Why?" Killua asked.
"Well, you see. I sort of made this vase myself." He answered with a sheepish grin. All three of us jumped up on suprise.
"Sort of, because it isn't my original work. This is a knockoff. In other words, it's counterfeit. When I was poor, this is how I made my Jenny until I became an appraiser, and started earning money. As soon as that happened, I quit all that. But when I see how poorly made these things are, oh boy, it's really embarassing. I swore I'd buy them back any time I saw them at the market." Zepile explained.
"Any clue what a real one would cost?" Killua asked, and Zepile held his hand out, stopping Killua.
"My turn. What does your dad do for a living?" He asked, ignoring Killua, and pointing to Gon. I laughed at Killua's annoyed expression.
"He's a professional Hunter." Gon replied.
"I asked how much a real one would cost!" Killua yelled, irritated at the man.
"20, 50k." Zepile replied, swatting his hand at Killua, brushing him off. I tried to keep in my fit of laughter as Killua got even more pissed.
"What are you laughing at, four eyes!?" He yelled at me, and I laughed even harder.
"What do you think I'm laughing at?" I choked out between laughs, and Killua huffed.
"A pro Hunter, huh? There are a couple of them in the antiques community, but not one of them is someone you'd describe as normal. Won't it be impossible for you to find him on your own?" Zepile asked, ignoring Killua and I.
"We'll be fine. You see, I'm a pro Hunter myself!" Gon smiled and Zepile froze in shock.
"Wait, really?!" He exclaimed.
"Yup! And so is Korudo!" Gon pointed to me as I was trying to push Killua off of me since he was yelling in my face.
"Huh?" I perked up at the mention of my name. I shoved Killua away, and he grumbled about me being annoying or something.
"What? You're a pro Hunter too?! But you're just a little girl!" Zepile exclaimed as he pointed at me. I stared blankly at him as I also pointed to myself.
"Me?" I tilted my head, and Killua pushed me.
"Yes you! Who else would he be talking about?!" He yelled, and I smirked.
"I'm not sure which little girl he's talking about. Me or you?" I grinned as Killua fumed. He gripped me by the collar as he started shaking me in anger.
"Are they alright?" Zepile asked as he pointed to the scene. Killua shook me, yelling nonsense into my face as I smirked, laughing at his anger.
"Yeah, they're fine. They're usually like that." Gon replied with a smile, and Zepile sweatdropped.
"Kay, it's your turn to ask us a question now." Gon added, and Zepile looked away from Killua and I, and back to Gon.
"Oh, right. This one is for her." He stated as he pointed to me. Killua stopped shaking me and let go of my collar.
"Hm?" I hummed, and stared at the man.
"Do you know somebody with dark hair and a small beard? Oh, he also had this weird X shaped scar on his cheek. He was going around asking people about a girl with pink hair and glasses. He said that the girl was lost, and needed to be brought to him immediately." Zepile explained, and I froze.
"I was just curious since you match the description." He added, but I wasn't really listening. I could hear my heart race as it pounded in my chest.
Black hair... small beard... X shaped scar. There's only one person that could be.
Jiroku.
My breath caught in my throat at the thought. No... he can't be here. I felt pure terror claw at the pit of my stomach, and I tried to keep my breathing under control.
A gentle hand on my shoulder ripped me out of my thoughts as my head shot up to see Killua. He stared at me, seeing my panicked expression. His calm and gentle demeanor somehow made me feel safe. I calmed down a little as I looked back at Zepile, who stared at me with a confused expression.
"Um, No. I don't know who that is." I lied as I tried to clear my mind. He nodded, accepting my answer.
"Did he have anybody with him? Just curious. If I match the description, then I should look out for them, right? Even if I'm not their target." I nervously laughed, trying not to look suspicious.
"Actually, I think he did. Some big guy with really short blonde hair. I didn't really get a good look at him, sorry." Zepile answered, and I leaned back into my seat.
"No, it's okay. You gave me everything I needed." I assured him, and he just nodded.
Zepile then offered to work for us, but I was hardly listening.
Gon and Killua looked at each other, thinking about his offer. I had blocked them out at this point, the ringing in my head getting louder. I couldn't focus as one thought lingered in my mind.
Jiroku is hunting me.