Here is my contribution to the Hunter x Hunter Big Bang. I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. A special thank to EverythingwillbeDaijoubu for the proofreading! Letstalkhxh did an amazing art you can here : post/145736794577/part-of-my-contribution-to-the-hxhbb-go
Check it out!
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He had thought it was Chrollo, of course he did. At the very second Shalnark's phone rang, everyone had come to same conclusion as he did, that it was Chrollo calling.
Feitan had felt the tension in the Troupe. The eager expectation. The disappointment had been real. But, of course, he didn't show anything. He never showed those kind of feelings. Only Phinks could be so spontaneous. Teasing him had been a good release to calm their frustration.
"You sound like a girl with a crush."
"He's being very feminine."
His left arm was horribly painful as he escaped the friendly stoning. He held it as gently as he could without further damaging it. Feitan wouldn't want to be healed in Meteor-City hospital, but it hadn't been proposed anyway. The Council, politely but firmly, let them knew that, since Zazan was defeated, their presence was no longer required. The Zazan's soldiers massacre was a controversial topic, and the Council was about to receive the Chimera's Ambassadress. The situation was getting political, he had heard of a war coming, and Feitan had seen enough wars in his lifetime to know just where this particular war would get them.
When the Chimera materialized near them, completely out of nowhere, he almost killed him out of reflex. And he would have, if it weren't for the fatigue and curiosity refraining him from doing so.
The Chimera had a chameleon shape, and they seemed to have the chopped phrasing of someone who was trying to hide his shortness of breath. "The Ambassadress has a message for you. Your missing friend will be on the Zoldyck's fields in thirteen days. A rare power is hidden here, that will bring them you back. Let the exorcist guide you. He's henceforth your brother, a new leg of the spider."
The Chimera threw anxious glances around, took a deep breath, and disappeared again.
Feitan heard the crunching of steps which he assumed to belong to this Chimera. It was the clumsiest trap he had ever witnessed. A Chimera whose people they just killed, speaking for an ambassadress he had never heard of, before sending them right into the heart of notorious assassins territory. Yeah, like they would believe that shit.
"So, when do we go…? As soon as we feel better?" asked Shalnark.
Feitan looked up at him in surprise. Where did this boy draw so much enthusiasm from? It was always a mystery to him as he, himself, felt so empty, as every time he used the Rising Sun, the pain in his arm increased to a point which it became exhausting. He just wanted to go back home, to any place he could call home. He would've called Meteor City home, if he ever felt at home anywhere that is.
The rest of the Troupe came over and Shalnark repeated what they had just heard.
There was a long silence, easily broken by Shizuku as she looked to Feitan for guidance. "What are we going to do, Boss...?"
Feitan looked around, automatically searching for Chrollo, as if expecting to see them standing behind a rock. It was with delayed realisation that he noted that she was indeed talking to him. He had already forgotten he was the new head.
He defeated Zazan out of defiance, pride, annoyance, and sheer enjoyment. He never thought that Phinks' childish proposal, that the winner would be the new Troupe's leader, would actually be taken seriously. He didn't want to be the leader. He wasn't made for this. He was made for the shadows, quietness, and comfortable silences. He was made to be the second, the standing behind, the one who dealt with the details out of the limelight. He demanded that his speaking was to be heard, but not expected.
It was a new experience, to have everyone turn to him for guidance. Feitan had felt their impatience at his silence. He simply told them they would meet again in thirteen days in Dentora Region, at the foot of Kukuroo Mountain. Not that he trusted this Chimera; the message they'd given him had made no sense at all. He just didn't know what else to do at the moment and didn't want to think about it. They were looking at him, eager for his orders, and he just wanted to make them stop. It created an uneasy feeling inside of his chest, a feeling he had never felt before but instinctively tried to avoid.
Chrollo liked large, dark and decaying places as hide outs, but Feitan surprisingly preferred a cosy, warm house; the dwelling of a rich Dentoran bourgeois in vacation. He had gotten settled in the music room. It didn't feel like home, but it wasn't so bad. The closed shutters drew sunrays on the wall, and sculpted strange shadows into the ghost-like sheets covering the furniture. Feitan could hear Nobunaga playing fetch in the park with the guard dog. The guardian himself had stopped spreading his blood on the carpet. It made a little spongy noise under Kortopi's feet who beat the strange and fascinating melodies Bonolenov played on the piano.
Feitan's vision was a little blurry, his limbs numb and head heavy. Shalnark's slower speech showed that he was sensitive to the music too. Abengane wasn't listening. He had come in without greeting anyone, spotted the huge hi-fi, put the headphones on, played a CD, sat on a chair, closed his eyes, and didn't move.
Feitan disliked him. Their experiences with Okomage and Hisoka taught them to be wary of the new ones, but it only partially explained this aversion. They had a private brief meeting, before Feitan agreed to give him the adress. He had told Phinks to question him, but Abengane claimed that after he exorcised Chrollo, he never heard about them again. But the thing was, the man couldn't lie for shit… Feitan pretended not to notice or care, really. And, in a way, he didn't. If what the Chimera had said was right, he would find Chrollo again, and if he wouldn't, he would torture Abengane. He liked both options. Life was simple, just as it should be.
Shalnark sat down next to him, on a fluffy velvet bench where Feitan himself was settled, and wedge his cast into the arm chair. "I talked to Kalluto. He confirmed no contracts were dealt on our heads. He says that this "rare power" the Chimera talked about is probably his sister's. Kallu doesn't even know if it can be called Nen, but there's nothing she can't do. She's confined, so there's no other way to steal it but to come directly onto the fields. It makes sense for him and his family recently received someone with a strip on their forehead. Something surprising; it seems that the visitor didn't come alone…"
Feitan perceived a twitch on Abengane's eyelids, a tension in his fingers. He focused his sight on the hi-fi. The digital display showed the "pause" symbol. Interesting.
"We can only make assumptions here, but the other visitor may be Hisoka."
A slight relief in Abengane's breathing. Very interesting.
"Fine. Call Franklin and Machi. Tell them they can come back."
"I'm not your secretary."
"I don't like phone."
Shalnark sighted, but dialled the numbers. Bonolenov politely stopped playing.
Chrollo would had phoned themself. Chrollo wouldn't have had to delegate. Chrollo was an easy talker. Chrollo didn't stutter in public. Chrollo didn't pause in his sentences. Chrollo had a wide range of vocabulary. Chrollo was always understood.
Feitan's knees started to shake. He wondered what time it was. This was new for him. He had chosen a way of life where he would never care for something so menial like time. He wrote it off as another 'leader's thing'.
"Nervous?" Phinks asked, sitting down next to him and taking up almost all the place.
Feitan forced his knee to stop moving. "Not at all."
"What did you send Franklin and Machi for?"
"To watch over Kalluto. He's young and new. We don't know if he's good at anything."
Phinks raised his non-existent eyebrows but didn't comment. At the back of the room, Kalluto blushed, fidgeted with his fan out of irritation, and ran outside, slamming the door as he went. Feitan heard him a little after playing with the dog along with Nobunaga.
"He heard you."
"So..?"
"He's just a kid, you should be less straightforward," Phinks said, putting down his book to open a beer can. A perfect occasion to change the subject.
"What is that?"
"Calm down, it's only my third."
"No. The other thing."
"It's a book. They put words in it and it speaks into your head. You should try it sometime."
"You read now?"
"Ho, yeah," Phinks replied, slurping a mouthful of beer to hide his embarrassment. "It's an idea I had when Chrollo disappeared. He read a lot and likes to chat. In the rest of the gang, those who read, don't chat, and those who chat, don't read. I thought he might feel lonely, even when he's with us, and maybe that's why he's still not coming back. So, well, I thought it would be a surprise of sorts for when we reunite…" Phinks rubbed his neck.
Feitan felt stupefied. Phinks was often embarrassing, but never felt embarrassed.
"It's the second book I read from the guy but I don't get a damn thing. This guy, Danish dude, and his father passes away, fun stor- ok, it's sad… So, his uncle becomes king, pretty normal except the fact that he killed the king, the dead one I mean, who is not so dead because he's a ghost, and he comes back to tell his son, and this dude doesn't run on the uncle to slay him, like anyone would, he acts foolish, kills the wrong guy and his chick falls into the water. And he unearths his old bro's skull and speaks to it, like, it's not what you're supposed to do, you have to put some dead corpses into earth, not the contrary, seriously what is up with this plot?"
"Wait. You're talking about Hamlet ?"
"Oh. You've heard of it?"
Feitan sneered. "Everybody knows it."
"Everyb-? Oh, well, my bad. I didn't bore Mister Brand New Head, did I?"
"Don't call me that."
"You deserve it."
Feitan felt a twitch inside his chest, as if the uneasy feeling was fading away. "You mean that?"
"Yep. Only a new head can be so stupid."
Feitan growled and clicked his tongue in annoyance, moving away to sit on the windowsill lest he do something he'll later regret. The uneasy feeling came back, twice as hard and twice as shockingly cold as if the very feeling was an ice block itself.
Through the window, he saw Machi and Franklin walking back with Shizuku who they met on their way. Ok, great. The whole group was here, now he finally had the perfect opportunity to state the plan… and Phinks was sulking. How terrific.
"Hey, Shakespeare."
Phinks didn't take his eyes off of his book.
"Hey, highbrow. I'm talking to you. The others are coming. The plan, the pairings. You explain."
"Why can't you do it? You're not a mute, ya' know."
Bastard. Feitan felt his anger bubbling below the surface of his chest, almost merging with the uneasy feeling as ran along the veins in his arms, not stopping until he felt their warmth reach his wrists. If it reached his fingers, he couldn't trust himself to not hurt anyone. A stranger perhaps, someone from the outside… Or Abengane. They would just waste time. Shit, now wasn't the time to be thinking about such things.
Feitan felt a hand on his shoulder and refrained from drawing out his sword. It was just Shalnark.
"Don't worry, buddy, I'm taking charge."
Feitan grunted in agreement, dug his lower face into his collar and took slow, deep breaths, simultaneously forcing his anger to flow back from his wrists to his shoulder and from his shoulder to his chest, and from his chest to a much deeper, darker place he never dared to enter.
When Kalluto and Nobunaga came in, the dog very excitedly following after them. Feitan suddenly yelled, "Retain the dog!"
Too late. The dog saw the corpse of his master and started to howl. Its groans were unbearable so it was no surprise that Feitan had lost patience, then and there.
"Nobunaga, you idiot. Dogs are attached to their masters. Everybody knows that."
"And Feitan knows everything about everything, does he?" Phinks snidely commented, face still buried in his book.
Feitan threw him a seething glare. "Keep the dog quiet or I kill it."
"Have you lost your mind? It's just a dog!" Kalluto shouted.
"Shut up, kid."
"Feitan, you idiot. Children are attached to animals, everybody knows that," Nobunaga mocked, ironically so.
"Don't talk to the boss like that," Machi spoke up.
"I wasn't here when the others decided to make him the boss. He's not the boss to me".
Someone had finally said it.
Franklin raised his gigantic hands in a calming manner, the very gesture showing his peaceful nature. "Let's all take a moment to calm down," he suggested. "It's the first time we've all reunited since Dan… Chrollo disappeared." He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "We don't know if they're still alive, it'll be an unusual mission, we're all nervous, but there's still no need to lash out at each other."
"I'm gonna clean up," Shizuku decided, materializing Deme-chan. "The dog might calm down if he can't see his master."
"Thanks, Shizuku," Shalnark sighed, loosely massaging his forehead. "So, can we continue?"
While Shalnark was stating the plan, Feitan observed Nobunaga. He was the most rebellious of them all, there was no doubt about that, and usually protested against authority, but Feitan would never have thought that he considered him to have no authority at all.
Franklin was looking at him. He could feel his heavy stare yet when he met his eyes, Franklin immediately looked away. Feitan knew why. What Franklin did, calming everyone, it was the boss' job. Feitan was losing them, one by one, during their first mission at that. Chrollo may be in this damn mountain, as a prisoner, hostage, whatever you wanted to call it, but he didn't care, they had to be here. He couldn't handle this situation for much longer. At least, he still had Shalnark. He spoke like it was perfectly normal for him to state a plan he hadn't made.
"Now that Chrollo is free from those chains, it may be a reason as to why he didn't show up or why he didn't contact us himself. That's why we're going to do a rescue mission, even if we don't exactly know what Chrollo has to be rescued from."
"He's obviously not here," Nobunaga groaned. "Why would you trust such an obvious trap?"
Another flutter in Abengane's eyelids. Feitan liked honest guys. They were so bad at hiding their thoughts.
"Are you suggesting that we ignore the only clue we have? Do you want us to leave Chrollo behind? When they're nearby us and they could be in danger?" Machi harshly whispered, sending him a sharp glare.
Nobunaga looked at her with the corner of his eyes, not letting up on the murderous intent he that seemed to ooze out of him at her reply. Shalnark chose this moment to speak up, desperately trying to prevent the fight he knew would break out if he didn't.
"We know – Ok, Nobu, we suppose – he's at the Zoldyck's fields, but we're purposely going to ignore how the Zoldycks are involved. We're going to play a diplomatic part - no need to roll your eyes, Nobu - and avoid any direct confrontation with the whole family, that includes their butlers, on their own territory. That's why you'll stay at the gate, Kalluto."
"What? Why? I'll be far more useful with you!" He protested. "It's my house!"
"That's the point. If things turn bad, Fei doesn't want you to fight against your own family."
Feitan raised a dumbstruck gaze over his collar. He had never said that. Shalnark was taking advantage of his difficulties to speak in public to add words he never uttered. Feitan didn't care about the kid's conflict of loyalty. But Shalnark did.
Chrollo would have cared, too.
"And you won't be alone," Phinks added. "Abengane and Shalnark will be with you."
"Yes, Kallu." Shalnark nodded at Phinks' words. "Don't contest the boss' decis… Wait, what?"
Shalnark turned to Feitan. He noted he was trying not to yell, but he wasn't doing a very good job if his red face was anything to go by. He was about to explode any second now.
"What? Why I am outside? What teams? And why I am not with you and Phinks? You feel eloquent enough now, do you? You'll deal with the Zoldycks with your five vocabulary words? We're always together! Every time there are three-person teams, we're together!"
Feitan sighed and went to sit down near the windowsill. He dragged Shalnark away and out of earshot from the others and lowered his voice as he spoke, "You know why," he mumbled. "If we need to use Kalluto as a hostage, you'll have to manipulate him. You need to stay with him."
"What a mission. Great. Manipulating one of us against his will. I'm worth much more than this."
"My plan is good. It's solid."
"A plan is good when everyone agrees."
"A plan is good when I say it is."
"You're becoming very annoying, you know that, right?"
"What are the teams?" Machi asked, quite loudly. "You talked about three-persons teams."
Feitan was pretty sure she didn't hear anything, but it was unnecessary for her to know a conversation had to be cut short.
Feitan turned to Phinks, who hesitated, but put down his book, stood up, and took the speech.
"Machi," He called. "You'll be paired with Shizuku and Kortopi. In case of confrontation, we would be lost on an unknown territory, facing enemies who knows it off by heart. Your role is to reverse the situation." He paused to take a breath. "Kortopi will copy trees and bushes around, to erase paths and trails. Shizuku will vacuum typical rocks and reference points. Machi will weave a string from the gates so all we'll have to do is to follow it. Only we will know the way out. It'll give us a serious advantage," he summarised.
"So, Franklin, Bonolenov and I will protect them..?" Nobunaga interjected.
He loosely shook his head. "No, you will be sent as pathfinders, if it's a trap."
Nobunaga tut and gave him an unimpressed look. "Finding the same paths that Korto and Shizuku erase? What a great idea."
Phinks sighed in annoyance and dragged a hand down his face. "Ok, so now you no longer believe it's a trap? Make up your mind."
"And if it is…?" Nobunaga droned. "Shizuku and Kortopi are both the weaker and the rarer powers of the Troupe. Knowing that, you're willing to leave them alone in the Mountain? What if they're to be surrounded?"
"I can handle that," asserted Machi.
"You will stay in the Mountain, if everything is clear," said Feitan. "Between them and the mansion. You will be able to intervene at any moment. I already thought about that."
No, he didn't. He just invented that. He was a fighter, paired with fighters, and never had to worry about others' safety. Chrollo, on the other hand, would've at least taken their safety into consideration.
He felt eyes upon him. Shalnark was looking at him with an indecipherable face. "Yeah, let's do that," he added, without taking his eyes off of him.