She'd sensed it ever since stepping foot in Yorknew City.
She had walked off the train and stepped into the streets, and instantly felt it. It hadn't mattered, then, that the sky was completely cloudless, or that a cool, winter breeze brushed past her cheek. It hadn't mattered that the man taking her ticket had smiled at her and told her to have a good day. She could still feel it: a gathering pressure, an atmosphere too quiet to be at all natural.
The calm before the storm.
She had felt the growing hush as she'd called up Gon and arranged for the meeting. She had felt the foreshadowed crackle of electricity running through her veins as she'd looked into Kurapika's eyes for the first time in ten months. She'd felt the ominous tension roiling through all five of them, as they'd pretended to laugh and talk and catch up, telling each other about what had been going on since they'd last seen each other.
A storm is coming, a cataclysm that will rock this city down to its foundation. Kurapika is the precipitant; the Phantom Troupe is the thunder and lightning and rain. She knows that anyone caught up in it will be lucky to leave unscathed. And she knows that this will possibly be the most dangerous thing she's gotten involved in yet. For if Esu himself is in the Troupe, she knows they may very well be just as powerful as he, if not more so. This could very well cost her her life.
But Kurapika is her friend. And friends help each other.
"Si? Are you okay?"
They're sitting in Gon and Killua's hotel room, chatting. After meeting up several hours ago at a restaurant, they'd walked around Yorknew a bit before deciding to go back to a hotel. Since Gon and Killua had gotten the nicest rooms (she's broke, and Leorio is a college student, which is its own form of poverty) they'd decided to come to here. As comfy as the chairs are, she thinks they made a very good choice.
She turns to Gon, smiling faintly at the remembrance of her 'name.' Years ago after suffering the worst pain of her life, she'd changed her name from Y/N to Silent, then to Si. She's used it for so long it now almost feels more a part of her than her own name.
"Yes, I'm fine, don't worry. Just thinking."
"Oh, okay! We were just talking about the auction. Killua and I, uh," Gon looks a little sheepish and shifts awkwardly in his chair, "made some bad investments recently and we don't quite have enough money to get that game, Greed Island, from the auction. Leorio was suggesting some ideas."
She wonders what 'bad investments' is supposed to mean but decides it'd be better not to ask. "Oh, yes. That game your dad wanted you to play, right?" Gon nods. "How much is the starting price? Several hundred million?" After all, it's the mafia. Everything they do is pricey.
Killua huffs, muttering something like I wish. She raises an eyebrow, slowly growing suspicious.
"Actually, Si..." Gon's sheepish smile gets a little larger, "It's more like...uh...5.8 billion."
She blinks. "Six billion!?"
Kurapika and Leorio look similarly stunned and horrified. Apparently neither of them had known just how high the price was, either. "Gon, how much money did you say you have now?" Leorio asks suspiciously.
This time, it's Killua who answers. "Combined, around ten million."
"Gon, Killua, it's not possible to get enough Jenny to secure a winning bid in the amount of time that's left," Kurapika says measuredly from her left, crossing his arms and leaning back against the couch. "You'd have to actually go out and steal the money yourself."
"We're not stealing it!" Gon declares. "And we're not gonna do anything else illegal, either. But we are going to get a copy of Greed Island!"
Suppressing a sigh, she and Kurapika exchange glances that read something like well, you have to admire his stubbornness. "Okay, Gon," she says then, "if you aren't going to steal it, then how are you planning on getting it?"
Leorio claps his hands. "That's where I come in. You see, I have a plan..."
"Arm wrestling? That's your plan?" She and Kurapika lock gazes and shake their heads minutely in exasperation. "How are you going to make 6 billion off of that?"
Leorio laces his fingers together and leans forward. Since he's sitting on the other end of the couch, she has to lean forward as well in order to see him. "It's a technique I've learned. We buy a diamond worth several million and put it on display. Then we put Gon at the table. Most people will underestimate him since he's a kid. We make each person pay an entree fee of, say, ten thousand dollars. And bingo!"
"In order to get the amount of money you need from that, you'd have to beat 590,000 people. And that's just to make a starting bid! Gon couldn't possibly beat that many people in a few days."
"Hear me out." Leorio glances over at her, a trifle pleadingly. "We only do that for the first day. By then, word will have spread that there's a super strong kid here and we'll start attracting the bigger fish. Probably a little into the second day, we'll have someone approach us for something not quite so legal and a whole lot more lucrative."
She glances over at Gon. "I thought we agreed we were going to keep this legal?"
Leorio groans in exasperation. "I didn't say it'd be illegal! Just...a little riskier."
"I think it's a good idea," Killua cuts in before she can say anything else. "It's our best bet right now, anyway. We need more money if we're going to even try other things."
Si nods and stays quiet a few seconds, thinking. "Why Gon? Aren't you stronger than he is, Killua?" Everyone stiffens, turning towards her in surprise. She just raises an eyebrow at the assassin. "You can try to fool me, but I know that you Zoldycks are put through a severe training regime." She recalls what he'd once mentioned about himself: that he'd gotten to floor 200 of Heavens Arena years ago, when he was just a child. "There's no way that you aren't at least as strong as he is without Nen."
Killua scowls at her. "I was hoping to keep that hidden for a little longer. Thanks a lot, Si." She grins at him. "But yes. I could probably beat Gon at arm wrestling if neither of us used Nen. If we did use it, Gon would probably beat me, seeing as he's an Enhancer and I'm not."
"So why not use Killua instead?" she asks. "If he's stronger, he'll do even better."
But Leorio's already shaking his head. "No, we shouldn't use Killua. There'll be some people there who recognize him as a Zoldyck. And even if they don't, you agree Killua has that aura around him. He looks scarier than Gon does."
She assesses Killua for a moment and has to agree. Whereas Gon is all naivety and innocence, Killua is clear and cold, analyzing his surroundings at every moment and ready to attack. "Alright. Gon does the arm wrestling, then. Leorio, I'm assuming you'll be the announcer for him, right?" He nods. "Kurapika, what are you going to do in the meantime?"
"Like I told you earlier, I'm a bodyguard for a certain family with mafia connections. I'll be reporting back to them soon. If the Troupe does happen to show up here, I feel confident I'll be able to get them to let me hunt the Spiders down. What about you, Si?"
That's what she's been trying to figure out, too. She doubts that Gon needs anymore help today- knowing Killua, there's no way he won't be with Gon at the arm wrestling thing. With Killua there to handle anything that gets out of control and Leorio as his announcer, Gon should be fine. Kurapika's going back to work, so he doesn't need her, either. That just leaves...
"Kurapika, have you met up with Esu yet?"
Everyone tenses at the name. When they'd first met several hours ago, they had discussed their various plans while they walked through Yorknew. Si had sensed Esu in the shadows by way of her new abilities and told her friends then and there that Esu was hers to fight.
"No, not yet. I haven't seen him except for earlier today when we were all together. I believe I'll be meeting him tomorrow morning."
She nods. "I'm gonna go looking for him, then. Maybe check out the rest of the city while I'm at it. When should we meet up next?" The irony of the situation doesn't escape her. Ten months ago, it had been her trying not to get too close to these four, mostly out of fear of abandonment. Now, it's she who's basically organizing meetings for them.
"Um...how about tomorrow night at six?" Gon asks.
"Good enough for me."
Kurapika nods, and Leorio does as well. After a short discussion about the meeting place, Si and Kurapika stand up, bid farewell to the three remaining, and walk out. It's only as they're partway down the stairs that Si speaks. "Kurapika...how have you been doing?" Tell the truth, she begs him silently. She's seen the new resolve in his eyes. She knows well how good people like him are at faking being fine.
"Me? I've been fine."
Liar, she thinks. But she stays silent.
"How have you been, Si? Did you find a Nen teacher?"
She smiles. She'd never actually told any of them that she'd left to find a Nen teacher- just that she wanted to find a teacher to help her grow stronger. But of course Kurapika would put that together. "Yes, I did. An amazing one, actually." Images of Nigg, with his unruly hair and equally unruly temper, flash in her mind.
They exit the building and step out, and are greeted by the cold, December air. "Do you truly, honestly think you're strong enough to kill the Spiders?"
Kurapika doesn't hesitate. "Do you think you're strong enough to fight Esu?"
They start walking down the street, presumably towards the hotel Kurapika's employer is staying at. "Don't turn the question back on me, 'Pika." She snorts at the disgust on his face. "Don't like nicknames?"
"Not really, no. But to answer your question...yes. I do believe I am strong enough to kill them. All of them."
They're silent for a minute or so. The sun begins to dip down the horizon, turning the buildings pink and yellow and orange. She sighs. "I don't just want to fight Esu. I know he wants to fight me, but...I just want to figure him out. He's a mystery. More than that, though, I can't help but feel there's something familiar about him." Her head throbs. "I just can never put my finger on it."
"Well, if he does turn out to be a Spider, I guess I can spare him for you, but only for a little while. Once you know what you want to know, give him back to me."
She nods slowly. Kurapika being confident- no, certain- that he can kill Esu, the man they've seen kill people like they were no more than flies, says something about the kind of person the boy's become. And she's honestly not sure if she likes this Kurapika more...or less. How can she support someone whose only goal in life is to murder people, revenge or no revenge?
Kurapika stops. "This is as far as I'll go with you. The less you know about me, the better."
She stares at him for a few moments. "Kurapika, we aren't your enemies. We're your friends."
"I know that. But what if the Troupe found out about me through one of you?"
"Kurapika, you can't go through life expecting the worst. You can't carry everything by yourself."
The boy just shakes his head, eyes flashing coldly. And then he turns his back on her and stalks away.
Si watches his back as he moves, watches it slowly get smaller and smaller until it's swallowed up in the sea of people. And her heart aches for him, for well does she understand the pain of losing your family. She knows, better than many, the incredible emptiness that accompanies it, that emptiness that for Kurapika is held at bay by his rage.
She wants to run after him and stop him and ask him what happens once that rage is gone. She wants to shake him and tell him that revenge will do nothing to fill that abyss growing deeper inside him with every day. But he would never listen.
Si turns away and starts back towards the auction. She only half concentrates on her surroundings, knowing Nigg would kill her for it but too caught up to care. Kurapika might very well get himself killed by the Spiders- and if he doesn't, if he kills them instead, he won't be much better off. She can't honestly think up anything to help him. Helping him kill the Spiders won't help him out of that void of nothingness.
She continues down the streets in a sort of daze, not noticing when a new presence begins to move along with her, carefully hidden with Zetsu. But then, as the night grows darker and the streets less populated, the presence finally reveals itself. And steps out in front of her.
"Well, imagine seeing you here, Si."
Esu grins.
"Esu." She greets him with the barest nod and crosses her arms. Her head begins throbbing at the sight of him, like a hammer pounding through one specific spot in her skull. As used as she is to pain by now, she doesn't even blink.
"Isn't this such a pleasant surprise?" he purrs.
"Am I remembering wrong, or did you not tell me you wanted to kill me the next time we met?" she returns coolly.
He laughs. "You're the only person around who would dare say that to me, you know."
"I just want us to have an honest conversation." She stares into his gold eyes, unflinching, even as the throbbing in her head increases. She imagines there are words in her eyes she's trying to convey. I know you're lying about something. I want to know what.
"Aren't you quite the impatient one today?" He's wearing different clothes from the ones she saw in the Hunter Exam. Honestly, she likes them better. He's lost the weird, puffy-sleeved blue shirt and replaced it with a sleeveless green one. His yellow jacket, thank God, is also gone, and he has new shoes. His armbands and makeup are different colors as well. Apparently he has some fashion sense, after all.
"Like what you see?" He's smirking at her as she tears her eyes off his clothes and suppresses an automatic blush. It's not that she finds him attractive- of course not. It's just...the way he's looking at her. It'd be impossible not to blush!
"I was just assessing your new style," she tells him. "I was beginning to think you didn't have any fashion sense at all, but you surprised me."
He huffs. Then his gold eyes flicker, taking stock of their surroundings. It's only then that Si begins to grow wary. Not scared- no, she didn't train with Nigg ten months to get scared the moment she's alone on the streets with someone. But wary...yes, definitely. Once he's ascertained the same thing she has- that they're alone- his eyes flick back to her. Purple flares up- his Ren. She expects to be hit with a wave of blood-lust, but it feels different this time. Almost searching, calculating.
She realizes what he wants almost instantly and shakes her head. "Like hell am I gonna show you how powerful I am."
"Is that so?" He steps closer. She steps back.
"How do I know you won't turn around and report my strength and abilities to the Spiders?" she challenges. She holds his gaze for a moment.
"Because they might very well kill you if I do, and that'd be disappointing. I'd still very much like to do that myself."
"Again with the threats," she mutters, stepping back again as he tries to get closer to her. She realizes he's close to pinning her against a wall and sidesteps, turning her back to the street instead. "What do you want, Esu? You wouldn't approach me if you didn't want something."
"How cruel. Maybe I just wanted to ask you how you were doing."
"I'm not asking again."
He laughs again, running a hand through his hair. A few strands fall out of whatever gel he put in it, falling into his eyes. "My, you certainly have gotten bold. I quite like that in a woman."
"Esu," she hisses. She glares at him until he caves, his eyes narrowing into something very much like Killua's whenever he goes into assassin mode.
"I wanted to see how powerful you'd gotten."
She senses he's telling the truth but...not the whole truth. "You're lying. You have other reasons."
"Well, let's keep it at that, shall we? My reasons are my own."
Her fist itches with the urge to punch him in the face, but if she did, she'd reveal how strong she is. And that is something she knows better than to do. "You're a real bastard, you know," she says instead with a scowl.
"Oh, I know." He smirks and turns to walk away. "Well, I'll be seeing you soon. Give my regards to Kurapika."
"Give them to him yourself."
With a last laugh and a mocking wave, Esu walks away. It takes five seconds for her to remember how to breathe again.
A/N: To any and everyone reading this, thank you so much for coming back again to read this fic! I know sequels often aren't nearly as popular as their predecessors so I'm honored you apparently liked me/my writing enough to come back. I'm very excited to be writing this fic, and I hope you enjoy!
Until next time!