"Welcome to our base."

They're roughly shoved into a large room filled with rubble and lit only by the moon shining overhead and a few small lanterns placed here and there. It takes Si a few seconds for her eyes to adjust, but once they do she takes stock of the room.

Pakunoda stands next to them, Nobunaga and Machi nearby. In front of them and all around stand the other Troupe members. A huge, scarred man with creepily long earlobes sits on the rubble; next to him is a small, dark-haired one with a bandanna. Out of the two, the second makes her far more wary: something about his scowl screams danger. Above them, perched high on the rubble, sits a strange, mummy man. She barely even glances at him, though, moving her gaze to- oh. Esu. What a surprise.

But apparently, it is one for Gon, since he makes a surprised sound while staring directly at him. Idiot.

Of course, Nobunaga picks up on it- it'd honestly be hard not to. "What is it? You know someone here?"

"Uh..." Gon looks away. Si looks desperately around the room for a solution. Her gaze alights onto another woman, dark-haired and wearing glasses. Something about her seems familiar...

"Oh yeah, you're right, Gon! That's the girl you beat at arm wrestling, right?"

Gon looks confused, before following her gaze. "Oh...yes!"

"What's this?" someone else asks. "Shizuku, this kid beat you?"

The girl barely glances at Gon. "I would never lose to a kid."

"Well," says the large, scarred man, "You were using your right hand."

"Why would I do that? I'm left-handed."

Small Bandanna Man and Scarred Man exchange glances, before dropping the subject. Apparently Shizuku's chronically forgetful. But Nobunaga seizes onto the subject with a quick, "You beat Shizuku?"

She doesn't like the gleam in his eye. But Gon answers, "yeah."

"Okay. Then I challenge you," Nobunaga says. He gathers his hair into a ponytail.

She exchanges a nervous glance with Killua, unsure where this is heading. She'd expected several things upon arrival here- interrogation and torture, to name a couple- but never had she imagined one of their captors challenging Gon to an arm wrestling competition.

However, as a true Enhancer through and through, Gon doesn't entertain such thoughts, one-track mind focused only on Nobunaga. "I accept." Killua and she have hardly enough time to exchange exasperated glances before Gon's hustled up to a stone slab, where he and Nobunaga take places opposite each other and hold out their right hands.

"Ready...go!"

Gon strains tremendously. Si can tell immediately that Nobunaga is stronger than Shizuku; not a whole lot, but enough. The two strain for half a minute, a minute, a minute and a half. A vein throbs in Gon's neck and a bead of sweat begins to drip down his face. Nobunaga's lips thin. With a final burst of strength, he shoves Gon's arm down, pinning it against the stone.

"Again." Nobunaga looks, and sounds, bored. But Si's been around this kind of people enough to know he has a reason behind this other than boredom. He must.

This time it takes longer, and Nobunaga's arm very nearly gets shoved down instead, but Gon loses once more. The older man lifts his arm back up, Gon copies, and they go again. And again. And again. Each time, Gon lasts progressively shorter. Each time as Gon picks his hand back up, it becomes bloodier. Each time, Si stubbornly resists looking at Esu, wishing she could ask him why he's allowing this to happen. Surely Esu doesn't want his toys hurt? But he says nothing, does nothing, and Si's patience grows thinner and thinner.

"When it comes to arm wrestling," Nobunaga says casually after a while, "What's my rank among the Spiders?"

The sheer absurdity of the idea that the Phantom Troupe has arm wrestling competitions serves to instantly melt her frustration away. She giggles. Her eyes flick to Esu and she abruptly imagines him arm wrestling the tiny, black-haired dude. The giggle becomes a full-out laugh.

"What's so funny?" Nobunaga demands, relaxing his grip on Gon's hand. The kid sags, obviously grateful for the reprieve.

"Nothing," she manages to get out, before the image in her brain becomes Esu and Nobunaga, grim-faced and serious, and her laughter increases. "Nothing, j-just-" she bends over, gasping for breath. "You have arm wrestling competitions? Regularly?"

"Yes..." Confusion settles over Nobunaga's face, like he doesn't know why that would be so funny.

"You're- you're the Phantom Troupe," she gasps out. "You're arguably the most wanted criminals on earth. And you arm wrestle each other?" She sets off into another bout of laughter, and is slightly gratified when Esu smirks, affected by her amusement.

"Shut up," comes a voice to her left. In the span of an instant, the dark-haired guy with the bandanna moves to her, pinning one arm viciously behind her. Normally, Si would've been fast enough to stop such a thing, but in her amusement she'd left herself completely unguarded. "Make fun of us again and you won't like what happens next."

She tries to contain her laughter, but utterly fails. The fact that the man would be willing to hurt her just because she made fun of his precious arm wrestling competitions sets her off again. But then his hands move to her right pinky. It takes barely a fraction of a second to realize what he's going to do; once she does, she twists out of his grip so quickly she thinks she manages to catch him by surprise. After all, none of the Spiders could've expected her to be as fast as one of them.

Then, once she's facing him again, she stares him straight in the eye. It's a clear challenge. The man stiffens, then one leg bends in preparation to lunge forward-

"Feitan." Nobunaga stands up, arm wrestling forgotten. "Stop."

"You are the same rank as I," the man- Feitan- hisses, but stops anyway. "You can't tell me what to do."

"I want to recruit them," Nobunaga says, shocking all of them. "Well, at least the black-haired kid. And killing one of his friends won't endear him to us. So, again. Stop, Feitan."

Feitan scoffs. "Recruit them? The boss'll never accept. And you still don't get to tell me what to do."

From the side, Machi sighs. "You know what we're supposed to do whenever there's a conflict. Stop being egotistical idiots and get it over with already."

Although he looks a little offended, Nobunaga pulls a coin out of his pocket and tosses it in the air. He catches it on his arm, covering it with his hand, and glances at Feitan.

"Tails."

"Heads." Nobunaga pulls his hand off, revealing a spider. Feitan steps backwards, away from Si, but the fury in his eyes remains unabated. She watches him retreat and silently thanks God for Nobunaga's intervention. If she'd ended up fighting Feitan, the entire Troupe probably would've fought with him.

"Nobunaga, if you want to recruit the kid, you can babysit him," a blond guy wearing lavender says. He seems sweet, unlike the rest of them. She wonders how such a seemingly sweet guy could've gotten into the Troupe. "As for the others, are we sure they don't have anything to do with the chain user?"

Machi nods. "Pakunoda checked on the way over. They know nothing."

"You're affiliated with no one?" Feitan asks coolly, directing his gaze to Gon instead of her. "The chain user is part of the Nostrade family. Have you had any dealings with them?"

The Nostrade family? The same one Kurapika's part of? Si subtly glances at Gon, knowing that if he just realized the same thing she did, he'll show it. But Gon, thank heavens, remains as oblivious as ever. She's never been as grateful for Gon's mulish fixation on what's before him: if he'd stopped to think, he might've alerted Pakunoda to the fact that he'd figured something out, and thus spilled Kurapika's secret. She flicks her eyes to Killua as well, but knows she needn't bother. She's certain that, if she figured it out, Killua is well on his way to the same. And Killua's smart enough not to let the knowledge show on his face.

"No," says Gon, glaring at Feitan. "It's like we told you. We don't have anything to do with the chain user!"

The blond guy sighs. "Since they don't know anything, let's let all of them but the black-haired kid go. We don't have time to waste guarding prisoners."

"We aren't leaving without Gon," Killua says coldly.

"You think we're giving you a choice?" Feitan asks.

"Eh, if I have to guard the kid, might as well guard the other two as well. If we let them go, they might try to interfere with our search for the chain user by trying to catch us again."

"You think they're that stupid?" Feitan asks.

Several of the Spiders exchange glances. It's the sweet-looking blond guy who speaks up. "Nobunaga, Feitan, we have more important things to be doing than arguing among ourselves. Let Nobunaga guard those three if he wants, but we need to get back to our search for the chain user."

Esu stands up. He'd been unusually quiet the entire time: back during the Hunter Exam, he'd always been the center of attention, most likely because he was by far the most powerful one there. Now, though, Si can't remember him saying a single word this entire time. Is it because the Spiders don't trust him? Is it because she, Gon, and Killua are there and he doesn't want to give away that he knows them?

Whatever the reason, Esu finally breaks his silence by saying, "I'll help him guard the captives. That will bring our number down to an even one once more, yes? You'll be able to pair off much easier."

The blond guy frowns. "Well, Feitan prefers to work alone, as you know. Why don't you switch with Nobunaga, if you're so eager to stay here."

"Wait," someone else says- the scarred dude. "Shouldn't Nobunaga be the one who guards them, if he's the one who wants to convince the boss to let that kid in?"

"Yeah," Machi agrees. "And why do you want to stay here so badly, anyway? It's not like you're injured or anything."

Esu frowns. "You did say that my arms would take awhile to heal back in Heaven's Arena..."

She stares him down. "That was months ago."

"Ah, but the scars still ache in cold weather, and it's freezing right now." A pause. Upon receiving basically the entire Troupe's (plus Si's) unimpressed looks, he sighs, hesitating for a moment longer. His gold eyes scan each person, Spider or no, like he can divine what they're thinking.

"Very well. The truth is, I'm interested in that boy as well. Can you blame me for wanting to make sure no...harm comes upon him?" Something about the way he says it is unnerving, enough so that Si fights the urge to flinch. "And I'm sure Nobunaga will be able to talk to the boss about him once we're done. Really, it's a win-win situation. I get to...play, and Nobunaga gets the chance to get him to join us."

"You say that like there's a chance I'll say yes!" Gon cries, apparently unaffected by Esu's general creepiness. "I'm never going to join you!"

Si sucks in a breath, but Nobunaga starts laughing. "This kid is great! Fine, you guard him til we get back, I don't care. But you better not let them escape, you hear?"

Esu flicks a hand carelessly. "Don't worry. I have it handled." He jumps down from his perch on the rubble and moves to them, briefly pointing at Gon, her, and Killua's hands. Pink aura flares, and as he moves his hand again, Si finds her own hand moving with it. Surprised, she sees Killua and Gon's hands move, too. "Come," he commands, starting to walk. The three of them have no choice but to follow.

Esu leads them down several passages, finally coming to a stop in a room a floor up and fairly far away from the Spiders. With a wave of his hands, they're forced inside. Esu follows and shuts the door behind them, setting down a lantern he'd carried with him. It's the only light in the entire room, but the room itself is small enough for it not to matter. The flickering light casts deep shadows on everyone, making Esu look strangely younger and softer, and Gon and Killua older.

Esu waves his hand again and the pink, rubbery substance fades from their hands. The three of them exchange looks, staring at Esu suspiciously. Si finds herself wondering what he's planning.

"Well, you're all rather quiet," he says. "I was expecting a little more...excitement."

Si rolls her eyes. "Cut it out with the innuendos." It's the boldest thing she's said to him yet, and she senses and ignores Killua's concerned look.

He looks thrown for a moment, then clutches a hand to his heart, making her head throb. "You wound me."

"If I could wound you the way I wanted, you'd have a nice black eye," she snaps, harsher than she'd intended because of the pain.

He blinks, but the swift anger she'd expected doesn't come. Instead, after a brief pause, he just says, "I'll help you escape the building once the Troupe is gone."

Silence. She stares at him for several seconds. "Why are you helping us? Won't that endanger your position in the Troupe? They already don't trust you." Her last sentence is more a hypothesis than a fact, but she sees his eyes narrow and knows it was spot-on.

"My only object upon joining the Troupe was to fight their leader. I have reason to believe that objective may be accomplished soon, so my standing within the Troupe matters not as long as I am not expunged from it within the next several days. And I would have to do quite a lot for that to happen."

"You still didn't answer why you're helping us."

He sighs. "Nothing escapes you, does it? Well, consider it another favor. After all, I'd hardly want my favorite toys to get killed, now would I?"

It isn't good enough- he's holding back something. But Si purses her lips and nods, accepting that she isn't going to get the truth from him anytime soon- maybe never. Besides, her head is hurting so much she feels like she might pass out. "When do we move?"

"Once they're far enough away to be safe. Shalnark's probably briefing them right about now. In the meantime..." he grins. "Want to play a game?"

Killua shakes his head instantly, but Gon asks, "What kind of game?"

He brings out a deck of cards. Before he can say anything, Si lets out a quiet groan, pressing a hand to her head- to one particular spot on her head. Esu glances up from his cards at the sound. His gaze sharpens, eyes narrowing, but he says nothing.

"Si, are you okay?" Gon asks. "Is your head hurting?"

It takes monumental effort for her to say, "Yes, but it's fine."

"You don't look fine," Killua tells her. "You look like you're about to pass out. If you can't walk on your own, we won't be able to get out of here fast enough to avoid the Phantom Troupe."

"That won't be a problem. I can carry her if necessary," Esu says. His voice gives her another stab of pain and she winces.

Don't think about it, a voice whispers inside her head. Don't think about him, and the pain will stop. But not thinking about Esu is impossible when they're in the same room together; when she can hear his voice, see his figure, watch him shuffle cards like His-

She screams, the sound strangled and choked from her efforts to quiet it. Her skull feels like it's splitting in two. Don't think about him don't think don't think don't think. She presses both hands on her head and rocks back and forth, willing herself do. not. think.

Finally, what seems like hours later, the pain in her head recedes to a dull ache that's at least semi-bearable. She slowly opens her eyes, cringing at the light of the lantern Esu'd brought with them.

"Si?" Gon asks cautiously, like he was afraid he'd set her off again. "Are you okay now?"

"I'm better," she manages, and makes sure not to look in Esu's direction. "Should we go now?"

"Yes, the Troupe has probably left by now. We should leave." He leans down to pick up the lantern and opens the door. The three of them follow Esu back down hallways, through rooms, down stairs, and finally out the window of the first floor- he'd said going through one of the entrances was too dangerous, and Si suspects he hadn't wanted to risk them climbing out one of the upper-level windows in case she hadn't been able to take it. She isn't sure if she's offended or not.

Once they're a mile or so away from the Troupe's hideout, Esu stops and turns to them. They stop as well. "As you may have already guessed, Kurapika is the chain user who killed one of the Spiders, Uvogin. He and I are currently working together."

She'd expected as much but...she can't help a little bit of surprise at his last sentence. Gon looks even more surprised, while Killua's expression is as inscrutable as ever. "Again, why are you telling us this?" she keeps her eyes down and away from Esu's.

She hears the slight rustle of cloth; probably Esu shrugging. "I have my own reasons," he says simply. "Perhaps I thought it'd be fun to see your reactions when I revealed Kurapika's actions. Perhaps I wanted to make you even more cautious in your dealings with the Spiders, now that you hold the information that could destroy both me and Kurapika, if you let Pakunoda touch you. Perhaps I wanted to make you more eager to find Kurapika, before he gets himself killed and I lose a potentially interesting opponent in the future. Who knows?

"In any case," he continues, "you're no longer in danger of the Troupe finding you. I shall go back to the base now."

"What if some of the Spiders are there when you get back?" Killua asks. "And how are you going to fake letting us get away?"

Esu flicks a wrist and turns his back on them. "Leave that to me," is all he says, and walks away.