For most people, time made memories blur together, but to Pakunoda the past was as sharp as the tapping of Shalnark's finger on his phone.
The warehouse hideout was dim and drafty with the salt smell of the sea drifting in from the nearby docks. A moth darted above Pakunoda circling the flickering industrial light. She scoffed as it crashed and burned. Creatures of the darkness had no place in the light.
Shalnark's foot crushed the remains as he walked up to her. "Paku meet the new girl! This is Shizuku."
Smiling she accepted the new member while ignoring the slight tightening in her chest. Number eight was nothing but another memory. She wouldn't let death get to her. It was the nature of the spider to keep crawling forward no matter who made up its legs. Or at least that's what she told herself.
Even the smartest of people believe the lie that's most convenient for them.
And so she did.
Over time her memories of the past number eight never faded, but she made new ones with Shizuku. There was the bank heist in Gasva, the fashion show they robbed up in Rispa, and the auction they raided in Steel City. Most importantly there was their first kiss.
Crescent City, she and Shizuku had gone to indulge in gambling away some loot that had managed to make its way into their hands. Pakunoda had been on a losing streak all night when she'd joke about needing a kiss from Lady Luck.
With a gentle hand, Shizuku had grabbed Pakunoda's chin and tilted her head to look at her. Leaning forward their lips met and Pakunoda felt like she could take on the world. She still lost the next hand and they had to kill most of the casino staff to break even, but it was the thought that counted.
The next day she nearly shot Shizuku when she said she didn't remember.
Whether it was a restriction on her ability or simply a quirk, Pakunoda wasn't sure. But she lost the heart to ask when Shizuku had looked up to her with a smile and said, "I don't need my memories. I am who I am. "
Pakunoda was made of other people's memories and Shizuku was a blank slate, but each maintained their own distinct personality.
The logic was simple and clear. Shizuku was Shizuku and every kiss was their first.
In Yorknew they kissed for the first time for the last time.
Kurapika, her grim reaper stood in judgment as she was ensnared within his chains. "Do you remember the people you've killed?"
"I remember everything and I don't regret it at all. I am who I am."
He sentenced her to live without the Troupe – to lose her family since she'd taken away his. A verdict both too cruel and too kind.
The rain dripped down, a shower to wash away all her sins as her feet carried her home. A cat meowed and she smiled back.
It was a good day. The sun had come out shining down through the broken stain glass roof of the hide-out even as it rained. She stared down the end of her gun at Feitan, Phinks, Nobunaga, Machi, Shalnark and Franklin. Each was a founding member; they'd been her family for the longest and would remember.
The sound of six shots.
Pakunoda was nothing but a memory. However, the Spider would survive.