A/N: Finally! This is the sequel to A Series of Bizarre and Mildly Humourous Events! I apologize for taking so long to come out with it. In my defense, the story developed sentience and tried to kill me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story, and do remember to leave a review at the end! I'm trying to update the story one chapter a week, hopefully during the weekends when people have time to read it.
Hunter X Hunter does not belong to me. I do not own the copyright to any of these materials. This is a fanfiction written solely for the purposes of entertainment, and the views stated by the characters do not necessarily reflect the views of the author. If you wish to host this story on a site outside of , please contact the author for permission first.
Play Time
Though Pariston had suspicions that the Ryodan intended to raze the entire Fort to the ground, in his opinion, the entire bunker was already on fire, what with how emotions and tensions were as high-strung as they've ever been in a while. This could not be more obvious than in the conference room where the Zodiacs now sat, fretting over the repercussions of killing Midoya. As he half-listened to the debate going on, Pariston could not help smiling a little. Had some of the Zodiacs really thought that they could kill someone as powerful as Midoya and get away with the consequences? The naivety of some of them was just so… quaint.
The rise in emotion in Cheadle's voice brought Pariston back from his daydreams.
"That's close to two hundred dead, Pariston," Cheadle was saying, her voice quiet bur urgent. "Two hundred dead. And there're only six Ryodan members here. This situation is getting out of hand."
"I have no idea what you mean, Cheadle-san," Pariston replied, smiling up at her from his seat. "The two hundred dead you mentioned are made up mainly of part-time hunters and Chimera Ants. They are…"
"If you say 'dispensable', I will hit you," Kanzai growled from the other end of the table.
"Not dispensable then," Pariston conceded with a graceful nod. "My point is, the inner portions of the Fort are guarded by the true hunters. Do you think that they could not take on six members of a criminal organization?"
"That's not the point!" Cheadle snapped. "The Fort is meant to be impenetrable! Yet, the Genei Ryodan, with only six members, has overwhelmed all the security in the outer perimeter. We need to do something now!"
"And what do you propose we do?" Pariston asked, amused despite himself. "They are here to avenge Midoya. Would you like me to bring Midoya back to life? I assure you that, as powerful as I am, I am incapable of doing that." Cheadle took a deep breath to snap at him some more, but he interrupted her by saying, "And I assure you, Cheadle-san, that nothing short of that or our deaths will make these people stop. You heard the man; they are from Meteor City and they will hunt down anyone who had anything to do with Midoya's death."
The entire conference table erupted abruptly in debate and Pariston leaned back in his chair to observe them, a sardonic smile on his face. Despite being the one who had actually ended Midoya's life, he would be lying if he said he was happy with the way things had turned out. Looking at this bickering, childish people, supposedly the cream of the crop in the Hunter Association, he couldn't help wishing Midoya had come up on top in this little game. He still had difficulty comprehending why she had trusted him but really… it wasn't that difficult to believe. Midoya had always been, despite appearances, an oddly trusting girl. Having that much power, ironically, gave her the luxury of trusting because even if her trust was misplaced, she believed in her own powers to get her out of the mess. Only, this time it had failed; he had won, and he still wasn't too sure how he felt about that. Next to Netero, she was probably the most interesting person in the Association, and Pariston had been looking forward to playing with her more.
Sensing eyes on him, Pariston looked up to meet Ging's eyes. The man was staring at him with a blank, inscrutable expression on his scruffy face. Pariston smiled back and wondered what he was thinking. Ging, as far as Pariston knew (which was not a lot given how seriously Ging took his privacy), was possibly the one person in the Zodiac other than himself who had genuinely liked Midoya. He had also been the most outspoken against plans to hunt Midoya. When Midoya had been in their power, he had also been the one who argued that they should arrest her instead of kill her. That Midoya was powerful enough and sneaky enough to run away made that impossible of course.
And even though no one else in the Zodiac knew this, Pariston was also aware that the reason Midoya's disciple was still alive and free was due to Ging. In the midst of killing Midoya, Pariston had seen Ging knock out Midoya's screaming disciple and hide him in the bushes. Ging had then done something that completely masked Timbal's presence. If Pariston hadn't seen where the young disciple had fallen with his own eyes, he would never have been able to tell where he was. All in all, Ging's actions to date told Pariston was that Ging did not approve of their actions.
All of this probably meant that Ging was highly pissed off with him at the moment.
It might make for an interesting game, trying to get Ging to fight him, Pariston supposed. He wasn't sure how well he would succeed. Ging always managed to slither out somehow when challenged by him. Well, he would have plenty of time after they dealt with the Ryodan to…
"Sir!" Beans cried, stumbling into the room suddenly and shocking the hell out of some of the Zodiacs. "Sir!"
"Yes?" Pariston asked, wondering if Beans knew how close he had come to being skewered by the shocked Zodiac.
Beans swallowed hard and raised a video tape in his hand. "Sir, you have got to see this. You wouldn't believe your eyes. Oh no, you wouldn't."
If Kuroro was a lesser, more ill-tempered and impulsive man, he would have kicked over the metal gurney in front of him out of pure frustration.
After searching for what seemed like hours, they had finally found the room in the images of Midoya. But, her body was not there. Instead, the brutally savaged bodies of what appeared to be scientists littered the floor. Kuroro lifted the decapitated head to see a familiar face. "That's Quincy," he told Machi, who was standing near the doorway, watching the corridor. "But where is Midoya, and what happened here?"
"Looks like someone took a chainsaw to the scientists," Machi commented.
"Someone on our side then," Kuroro muttered. "Or at least someone who did not care for what these scientists were doing any more than we did."
"Perhaps we can assume her body is safe."
"We can't assume that," Kuroro said, dropping the head in his hands so it rolled under the metal gurney. "For all we know, a rival scientist took her body for a different kind of research."
"Doesn't feel like that to me. It feels too personal," Machi said dubiously. "I think whoever did this is on Kito's side."
Kuroro opened his mouth to protest then closed it again. "Your instincts are seldom wrong," he said grudgingly. "I would simply feel better if I had possession of her body."
"On it, Dancho."
Nodding in acknowledgement of her support, Kuroro stood up and looked around the room, stepping carelessly over the dead bodies. It was possible he might find a clue as to what had happened. These scientists obviously liked recording their experiments so maybe…
"Dancho. Company," Machi warned tensely.
Kuroro's head snapped towards the doorway, and he frowned. This was inconvenient. He was looking for clues…
"Five Juwasi," Machi reported. "I can take care of them myself."
"Go ahead," Kuroro said, turning back to the room. Where should he start? Well, the table over there looked…
Out on the corridor, a Juwasi screamed in agony as it died. Then another – and another.
"Dancho," Machi said from inside the room, but Kuroro was already watching the doorway.
After a while, the screams stopped and nothing could be heard but the faint, almost inaudible sounds of light footsteps. Then a man stepped into the room.
He was probably a man in his late thirties or early forties, not particularly tall, but whip thin with sinewy, ropey muscles. His skin was tanned and leathery from a life spent largely outdoors. What caught Kuroro's attention though, were the fierce, feral, wild-cat eyes set in the lean and angular face. A hunter, and a powerful one at that.
"Damn, I was right. You are Kito's boy toy," the man said when he saw Kuroro. "I caught sight of you when you walked past the room I was in."
"Dancho isn't a boy toy!" Machi snarled, outraged.
"No, I am not," Kuroro agreed mildly. "I am a man toy." Machi stared at him but he ignored her in favour of looking the newcomer up and down. "You did this." He gestured to the room.
"Damn right I did," the newcomer said, his lips twisting in a snarl. "Wasn't right what they did to her no matter which way I look at it." Taking a deep breath to cool an obviously rising temper, the man nodded gruffly at them. "I'm Moonshine. Don't ask."
"Kuroro, Dancho of the Genei Ryodan. And this is Machi, Ryodan member."
"Yeah, I know," the man known as Moonshine said with a nod.
"Where is Midoya's body?" Kuroro asked.
"That's the thing," Moonshine said, gesturing at them to follow him. "I would have gotten my ass out of here earlier than this if I could. The Zodiacs aren't going to be pleased that I wiped out their entire Research Unit. But damn, I couldn't travel fast enough with her in that state. She was practically falling apart in my hands. Them bastards cut her open in the most fucking inconvenient of places."
"You have Midoya's body?" Kuroro asked urgently as the man led them into another room.
"Of course I do. I wasn't going to leave here behind for other fucking scientists to poke and prod at," the man said as he closed the door behind them and switched on the lights. From the looks of the room, Kuroro guessed that they were in a morgue or something similar. With quick, urgent movements, Moonshine went over to one of the metal gurneys and pulled the white sheet off it.
Midoya's body lay on it, as pale and as broken as it had been in the image. In real life, the opening on her torso looked even more gruesome than ever, and her skin was even greener than it had been in the picture.
"Now," the man said. "Anyone of you can do anything about her wounds?"
Wounds? Kuroro gazed at Midoya's lifeless face, trying to make sense of the man's words. A flash, an odd gleam in those eyes. Kuroro froze.
Somehow, though she could barely move the muscles in her face, she still managed to convey the impression that she was smiling at him.
The video tape was part of the surveillance tape of the medical corridor. On the image projected onto the screen, a lone male was carrying Midoya's body into another room. A brief shot, barely a second long, showed Midoya's lips, ever so subtly, moving.
The entire conference table erupted in chaos.
Pariston smiled.
This was more like it.
Wordlessly, Kuroro walked up to the metal gurney and grasped the sides of her face, staring intensely into her eyes. They were bloodshot and dull, but focused on him when he looked at her. "You're alive," he said, bemused. "Why are you alive?"
"Beats me," Moonshine said from behind them. "When they brought her in, she was definitely dead. When they started cutting her up, she was definitely dead. When I was just about to toss her body into the furnace to burn it, she was definitely not dead. No idea what happened in-between." A pause. "She can't talk though. Her ribcage is still opened up and I'm betting she's in a shit load of pain. I have no idea how she is alive in that condition. Don't supposed you have a medic in your group or something like that?"
"Machi," Kuroro said without looking up from Midoya's face.
"Right," Machi said, already hovering over Midoya's torso. The quiet twang and swish of her threads was the only sound as she started to work on the grotesque wound on Midoya's body.
As she did, Kuroro took hold of Midoya's hands and felt for her pulse. It was beating slowly in a strangely mechanical way, too regular and too hard for a woman in her weakened state. Still, it was beating. She was alive. "I bought earrings for you," he said impulsively. "Hu earrings. Only, it suddenly occurred to me I can't remember if you have pierced ears or not." He touched her ears. "You do," he said. "I bought you combs for your hair too. And a bra made out of seashells."
Her lips moved slightly, barely more than a tremble. It'll chafe.
Kuroro smiled despite himself. "I'm sure you can make it work somehow," he said.
There was a twang, slightly louder than the rest, and Kuroro knew Machi was done. He watched as Midoya started to breathe as her lungs inflated. She coughed weakly and he sat her up so she wouldn't choke if she started to throw up.
"How is she?" Moonshine asked awkwardly from behind.
Ignoring him, Kuroro gently rubbed Midoya's back as she started to draw in deeper breaths. He was ready for it when she suddenly made a gagging sound, and he held her as she started to dry heave over the side of the gurney. After a while, she leaned back onto him, gasping softly, tears running down her face.
"How do you feel?" Kuroro asked quietly, taking the paper towel Machi offered and wiping Midoya's face.
"Pins and needles," she gasped in a barely audible rasp. "Hurts."
Methodically, Kuroro rubbed her body from her feet up, trying to help her get over the sensation. "Better?" he asked.
"Yeah," she whispered, her voice still hoarse. "Thanks."
Kuroro nodded. "How are you still alive?" he asked. "Pepeka said he saw you die."
"I did," Midoya whispered weakly. "But, you remember when you just woke up from your fever and I told you I have a Plan A, B, C and D?"
"Yes."
"Well, I lied. I had a lot more plans than that. I am still alive because of Plan L." She moved her head experimentally and managed to tilt it enough so that he could see the back of her ear where a tiny scar was. "Nen-powered microchip. Had it installed a couple of years ago," she rasped. "In the event that my heart stops beating, this microchip will kick-start my heart twenty-four hours after I'm dead. Following that, it will sustain life, no matter how badly damaged the body, for another two hours. It only works for once and it is impossible to get a replacement now that its maker is dead. Cost me a fortune too. Glad I thought to invest in it though. It was a close call, but thanks to Machi here, I'm going to make it."
Machi blinked, surprised at being addressed "You're welcome," she said stiffly.
"Good lord almighty," Moonshine muttered from behind them. "You built a mini defibrillator into your brain."
"It's probably dissolved by now," Midoya said, sounding a lot stronger. Hesitantly, she sat up away from Kuroro and tried moving her fingers. "Goodness, it sucks to be dead. My hands… hurt like crazy. And my chest… oh lord, the scars. My breasts look hideous now. I wish I had woken up before they did a Y-incision on me. I know this is a weird thing to think about, but it's better than thinking about how many pieces my liver is in now." Slowly, she stretched, grimacing in pain as she did. "Where's Pepeka?" she asked. "Did you manage to find him? I assume you are here because you are looking for him."
"Partly," Kuroro replied. "I actually came here to make funeral arrangements for you."
"Funeral arrangements?"
"It's the practice where I come from," he explained. "When one of ours is wronged and killed, we arrange a superb funeral pyre for the body lined with the corpses of those who wronged him or her. If there are enough bodies, we have a wicker man or two too. I wanted to line your pyre with the entire Hunter Association."
Midoya blinked. "You wanted to line my pyre with the entire Hunter Association?" she repeated, her voice gaining strength as she did. "You wanted to kill all the hunters in the world so you could burn their corpses together with mine in a giant bonfire?"
"Yes."
"My dear," she murmured, looking touched. "Kuroro, that is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. My goodness, I would kiss you now if I had the strength to get up and if I didn't smell like a corpse."
Kuroro kissed her anyway, tasting formaldehyde and blood on her. "I suppose I own the two hundred Juwasi and hunters we killed an apology though," he mused. "Since you're not dead."
"Juwasi? There are Juwasi here? I heard rumours but I never expected it to be true. Well, don't bother apologising to the association. I have a very strong and intense hatred for them now, and even if I'm not going to burn on a funeral pyre anytime soon, they still deserve to die." Midoya shook her head and flexed her fingers. Obviously she was satisfied with what she felt because she swung her legs off the gurney and slid to the floor, leaning heavily on Kuroro for support. "Goodness, I think I just jiggled my spleen," she complained. "Still I am impressed with your skills, Machi," she added, turning to the woman in question. "I'm no expert, but I believe all my organs are back in the right place. That is some skill you have."
"Of course," Machi said, looking even more awkward with Midoya's sincere gratitude. "I am in the Ryodan, you know?"
"And Uncle Moonie," Midoya said fondly. "Thank you for getting rid of those vile scientists. I am eternally grateful to you." To Kuroro she added, "That is my Uncle Moonie, not my real uncle of course, because then I would be forced to kill him. All Kitos are always trying to take my inheritance from me. He's a veteran hunter who has always taken great care of me. Netero introduced us to each other shortly after I became a hunter and Uncle Moonie has been watching over me since then."
Moonshine's eyes widened with shock and horror. "Watching over you? Kid, I've been waiting for ages to fucking kill you!" he growled.
Midoya smiled tenderly. "Isn't he just the greatest uncle anyone could ever ask for?" she said to Kuroro, still leaning against him.
"The only reason I saved you," Moonshine grounded through gritted teeth, "is so I can kill you myself."
"Don't, you'll make me cry. Coming back from the dead is making me all emotional now that I have a healthy, functional endocrine system again. Ah, screw it. I love you too, you big softie." Midoya hobbled over and gave a leathery cheek a kiss.
Moonshine started to splutter indignantly, but evidently Midoya's strength had run out because she started to teeter precariously, and he was forced to grab on to her to stop her from falling to the ground. With Kuroro's help, they managed to put her back on the gurney where she lay down with a tired sigh.
"I'm tired and cold," she whispered mournfully.
"That's because you're naked," Machi noted with characteristic bluntness.
And so she was. Kuroro shrugged out of his coat and helped her slide into it. She smiled at him wearily, her face drawn and pale. "And you, my dear Kuroro," she murmured. "Thank you for the earrings and the combs… and the bra." There was more she wanted to say, but Kuroro knew her well enough to know she wouldn't.
"You're welcome, Midoya." Kuroro eyed the way his coat looked on her. Since the coat only went down to his knees, it wasn't exactly too long for Midoya on whom it covered her ankles completely. The sleeves were definitely way too long, so he started to fold them up the best he could. "Now that you are alive and in need of medical help, this changes things somewhat."
"What's the plan?" Machi, always the one for action, asked.
"Ideally, we should get out of the Fort," Kuroro said thoughtfully. "No, more than that, we need to get off Hun. We have to assume the entire continent is compromised."
"That wouldn't be easy," Moonshine said gruffly. "The Hunter Association stopped all air, land and sea traffic leaving Hun the moment you guys attacked. Your nice big yacht got blown up too, Kito."
"I never liked it anyway."
"They killed all your tiger sharks and snakes too."
"They killed my babies? Oh, I am so mad now! Stupid endocrine system!"
"If it makes you happier, the snakes and sharks killed a couple of the hunters before they went down."
"Oh, they did? Goodness, I am so proud of them. But still, my poor babies…"
"Right," Kuroro said, ignoring them as he thought. "First thing's first, Machi, tell Nobunaga and the rest to meet us in this room. With Midoya incapacitated as she is, we are going to need more fighters around should the association decide to launch a proper offensive against us. Having to protect a wounded companion always halves the fighting capability of each fighter in the team. I assume, Moonshine, that you're with us for the duration of this campaign?"
Moonshine shrugged. "Why not? Not like I liked those fuckers much anyway. Besides, I'm probably on the blacklist myself now. Might as well fuck them up before they fuck me up. That's the only way life should be lived."
"I greatly admire your philosophy on life. You have much in common with many of my best friends."
"Have to find Pepeka too," Midoya insisted. "He's still in the Fort isn't he? We should go look for him. You didn't forget, did you?"
"Of course, I didn't forget about him," Kuroro lied smoothly, placing a hand on her forehead. It was cold and clammy, entirely too much like a corpse's for him to feel comfortable with. "Are you sure you're in no danger of dying suddenly?"
"Fairly certain. Machi has sewed me up quite nicely. It might possibly only take me a day or two to recover if I sleep all the time and don't move. Her technique is superb."
"Don't get too complacent. My threads get weaker the further you are from me. If you're not careful, a sneeze would undo everything and all your organs will come tumbling out again," Machi warned. Then to Kuroro, she added, "I called Phinx. They've cleaned up the trash outside and are coming in. Timbal is with them. At least I think that's what they said; reception was bad."
"Excellent," Kuroro said, pleased. "Now we wait till they find us."
Settling next to Midoya, he looked down at her as he thought about possible plans. They might be able to escape the Fort, would likely be able to escape the Fort, but to leave Hun? That was unlikely. What should they do then? Find a place to hide and wait till Midoya recovered? But even then, they would still be trapped on Hun. Even if they managed to steal transport off the continent, they wouldn't be able to escape. In a boat or plane, they would be vulnerable. A well placed missile would land them in the sea (if they survived the explosion) and they would have to return to Hun again anyway. Frowning, Kuroro bit his lip as he thought. There was, quite literally, only one thing they could do. He wasn't sure it was the best plan, but given that there were seven of them in good fighting form, eight including Moonshine… possibly…
He looked down at Midoya again and she smiled back at him, a knowing smile that told him she had already reached the same conclusion he had and had already decided it was the best course of action.
Smiling wryly, Kuroro placed a hand over her eyes, silently urging her to sleep. She would need her strength for what they were going to do. Well, even if this plan failed, the others would come, Shizuku, Franklin… those not here at the moment. They would come and there would be a wonderful funeral that would burn for weeks…
"Was that Dancho?" Nobunaga asked as Phinx hung up.
"Machi," Phinx said. "The reception was bad, but I could make out what she wanted us to do. Dancho wants us to meet him at Room 1-25 on Corridor M. From what I gathered, they found Kito and there was something about a change of plans, but I couldn't quite get what she meant." He shrugged. "We'll find out when we find them. Good thing we're not that far off, being in the Fort already. I have no bloody idea which corridor we're on though."
"Corridor F, Phinx," Shalnark replied, sticking his thumb at a signboard. "We're on corridor F."
"They found sensei's body?" Pepeka asked emotionally. "Well… that's good news, I guess… for the funeral pyre I mean." He looked down sadly.
"It'll be the biggest funeral pyre ever," Nobunaga, who had taken quite a shine to the young man, said comfortingly. "Come on. Let's go see what Dancho has to say."
"Yeah, okay," Pepeka said sadly, wiping his hands that were covered with blood and brain matter on his jeans. "You think sensei will really be proud that I crushed twenty skulls in her honour?" he asked hopefully as they started to walk towards the entrance of the Fort. "I'm not really… really familiar with how vengeance works, so I don't know. I mean, it feels damn good and everything, but I don't know if it's right for sensei."
"Of course it is," Feitan, the one who had put the idea in the man's head, said confidently. "It's the only way to honour the dead. If you don't believe me, ask Shalnark."
"Many cultures do feel that the way to honour the dead is to crush a couple of skulls over their graves," Shalnark said thoughtfully. "But I guess it's mostly the thought that counts."
"No Shalnark, you can't burn a thought on a funeral pyre. It's obviously the crushed skulls that count."
"If you say so, Feitan. Hey, look! Another hunter. You want to crush his skull, Pepeka?"
"Sure," Pepeka said absently, grabbing hold of the fleeing hunter and crushing his skull. "Say, you know, I've been thinking…"
"Yeah?"
"Well," Pepeka said slowly, "I was just thinking… the number of hunters and Chimera ants we've killed so far… that's a shit lot of dead bodies. That means sensei's funeral pyre is going to be a really huge one. Like… really huge. And that's not taking into account the dance floor and the band and what not."
"Yeah, I guess. So?"
"So," Pepeka said reasonably, "how are we going to find a space big enough for all of that?"
There was a thoughtful silence as the group continued walking.
"Meteor City?" Phinx suggested hesitantly.
"No way," Nobunaga disagreed. "There's so much crap there it's fucking impossible to find an open space that big for a funeral pyre that size. Besides, I personally think Kito's too classy to be cremated in Meteor City. Her fucking ashes would give the place an upgrade. The elders would weep if someone actually made Meteor City classy. You know how fucking traditional they are."
"She does have that private school accent, yeah," Phinx agreed, frowning. "I have no idea. Shalnark?"
"Symbolically speaking, York Shin City is the best place to cremate her," Shalnark pointed out. "I mean, she's lived there all her life and she operates from there."
"Also where she first met Kuroro," Pepeka said wretchedly. "Kuroro is the only boyfriend she ever had that lasted past a couple of months. She killed the rest."
"Erm… yeah. Yeah, so York Shin City really works, you know… symbolically speaking."
"I agree, Shalnark," Feitan said. "But York Shin's just as bad as Meteor City when it comes to clutter. There're so many high-rise buildings and stuff in York Shin… Unless…"
"Unless?"
"Unless we level out part of the city to make a flat open space," Feitan said thoughtfully.
Yet again, the group fell silent as they thought it out.
"I can see it happening," Phinx finally said, brightening up. "I mean, logistically, it's possible, right Shalnark?"
"Sure," Shalnark agreed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Logistically speaking, I would say the Central District of the city works the best. Most of the buildings there are mafia owned anyway, and since Kito is practically mafia herself, it's just as well we cremate her on mafia owned property. I can't remember the exact layout of the District, but I think if we could demolish four or five buildings, including the Hunter Association York Shin HQ which should be somewhere in that area, we'll have quite a nice area big enough for the pyre, the wicker men, a stage for plays or a music band and a buffet. We've got to eat after all."
"Sounds good," Nobunaga said happily. "We'll have to think about how we're going to stop the mafia from crashing the party, but I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem."
"Yeah, it shouldn't be," Shalnark agreed his eyes distant as he started planning the mission. "We can take turns doing security for the pyre. Assuming we let it burn for a fortnight, as is the custom, that must means that each of us has to keep watch for slightly over twenty-four hours. That's not too difficult. It shouldn't be too hard to bring down those buildings too. I'm just wondering how we can do it and still keep the area below quite clean. I don't want to have to spend weeks removing rubble from the area."
"Oh, so true. Even Shizuku would take ages cleaning it up. Kito's body would rot before we can get a nice fire going."
"Erm…" Pepeka mumbled in the tone of a man unsure of whether he should be saying what he was saying, "what's going to happen to the people in the buildings?"
"The people in the buildings?" From the expression on their faces, Pepeka guessed they hadn't really thought about it. "Well…" Phinx said with a shrug, "they can choose to join us on the ground or they can choose to join us hanging from the wicker men. It's up to them."
"I like the idea of hanging them from the wicker men. They're mafia employees anyway. I'm sure they are guilty of something."
"What do you think, Timbal? Think Kito will like that?"
Pepeka looked at the four faces staring at him and, in a sudden show of good sense, cautiously said, "Yeah, I think sensei will like that. She's always liked setting things on fire. Come to think of it, sensei loves… loved fireworks. I suppose we could light the wicker men with fireworks. It'll be quite a sight."
"Sure," Nobunaga said cheerfully, giving Pepeka a friendly slap in the back. "I'm glad you're getting into the swing of things. At first, you seemed pretty darn reluctant about it."
"It is a good idea," Pepeka said forlornly. "I mean… it kind of is the kind of thing sensei would like. She does like irritating people a lot, and I'm pretty darn certain blowing up the York Shin HQ and a couple of mafia buildings will irritate a lot of people."
"As will burning corpses in a giant funeral pyre." Feitan chuckled. "Do you remember the last time we attended a funeral and these group of social worker type burst in on us, screaming at us that this is not the kind of thing children should see?"
"Oh yeah, I remember," Phinx laughed. "We set them on fire and had a pretty darn good time of it too."
"Why am I not shocked by that? I think I'm beyond feeling disturbed," Pepeka sighed miserably. "I kind of miss my innocence."
"What for? Innocence is so overrated." Nobunaga's expression brightened and he added, "Timbal, my man, when we get out of here and settle Kito's funeral, I'm going to take you on a nice killing spree in York Shin city. There's always so much trash in that place. It'll do your soul some good, killing a bunch of mafia thugs. They always make the funniest sounds when you hit them just right."
Phinx eyed Nobunaga. "You're going to get Dancho to induct him into the Ryodan, aren't you?" he asked suspiciously.
"I didn't say anything," Nobunaga said innocently. "Besides, Timbal wouldn't mind being in the Ryodan, right?"
"Of course he would," Phinx retorted. "He's Timbal for fuck's sake. Go on, Timbal, tell Nobu you don't want to be in the Ryodan."
"Uhh," Pepeka mumbled ambivalently as the pair continued to argue, having learned some time ago that his opinion didn't really matter to either party anyway. In his mind, he personally felt he was getting too used to hanging out with these criminal types. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing, he mused. The Ryodan members seemed to be pretty decent people if one ignored the senseless lust for destruction and death, the indifference towards the torments and agonies of others, their regard of all material things as theirs by default, their tendency to compete over the smallest things, and their sudden inability to think for themselves once Kuroro Lucifer sets them on a trail. Pepeka had met worse before after all.
"Say guys," Shalnark, who had been walking a little ahead of the group, said suddenly. "Check this out. I think we're getting close to Dancho." He pointed down the corridor, which was lined with corpses and carcasses.
Nobunaga whistled. "That's a shit load of bodies, more than all of us combined," he said, nudging an amputated arm with his toe. "We're going to have a hell of a time picking up the bodies later."
"Damn, while we were stuck outside, Dancho and Machi were having a party inside," Phinx complained. "Can't be that many left to kill now."
"I wouldn't know," Shalnark said, sounding slightly worried. "These Chimera Ants are pretty good at breeding, remember?"
"Oh hell yeah, more to kill," Phinx exclaimed happily.
"You know Phinx, I really wish you would think…" Shalnark trailed off, suddenly looking lot more alert and dangerous, and a lot less like a young teen geek.
It actually took Pepeka another good two seconds before he realised they weren't alone.
Creaking, creeping sounds started to fill the air, coming from everywhere and nowhere. The tappity-tap of insect legs grew in intensity. Then the Chimera Ants were filling the corridor, entering from rooms, ventilation shafts and both ends of the corridor.
Pepeka took a good look around and drew his Nen around him quickly. Next to him, he felt the intense aura of powerful Nen-users vibrating through the air as the Ryodan members powered up.
"Oh good," he said faintly, his stomach doing flips as he watched the grotesque mutated creatures scuttling towards them. "More bodies for the pyre."
"That's the spirit!" Nobunaga grinned cheerfully.
And then the battle was on.
A/N: And Midoya is back. I hope the microchip thing wasn't too gimmicky a story plot. Initially, I wanted it to be Pariston deliberately sparing Midoya's life so they could continue to 'play', I wanted Midoya to come across as a bit of a James Bond with her fancy gadgets. Also, I wanted her permanent death to be more convincing. Hope that worked out somehow.
Trivial: Phinx was not exaggerating when he said that the elders in Meteor City were very traditional. If anything, most people in Meteor City were very proud of their culture, and thus very traditional about the values of Meteor City. Phinx himself, for example, took great pride in the fact that residents of Meteor City believed in being the scum of the earth, and were proud to be the scum of the earth. Meteor City was shit, everything here was shit, and everyone here was shit. That was the unofficial motto of the City.
To the horror of the social workers who entered Meteor City in an attempt to build paved roads and proper sanitation systems, that motto was a bit more literal than most people would have thought.