Hunter x Hime: Chapter 24
Pursuit
...
Gon, Killua and Himeko set out to meet Leorio at a chic cafe in the heart of city. Once the trio arrived, they joined Leorio who was already seated on the second floor by the window, looking out at the dozens of couples, and there were two who casually fit in with the rest. The waitress took their order and soon returned with a cafe latte for Leorio, and three juices for the youngin's. While they were keeping an eye on the oddly normal looking couple Leorio had pointed out, he proceeded to pass along the leaflet with the pictures of seven Phantom Troupe members. Amongst those was a young girl, not older than her mid-twenties with long, light pink hair, and another was a much older looking man, probably in his early thirties with long, black hair tied up at the top. The same pair was sitting not too far away from the quartet, wearing a much slouchier and casual attire. The information was passed onto them by another couple who were sitting dangerously close to the troupe members, and Leorio texted them to provide them with a picture to confirm that those two were indeed the same people as from the wanted posters.
A while later, he got a text back with an up close picture of the two, who looked like any other couple out of a date. Leorio then passed his phone around, wanting to get confirmation from the others. Upon closer inspection, they could all come up to an agreement that they were indeed the criminals they were after. Once it was confirmed, Leorio transferred the promised reward to their information brokers, and the couple left the place as soon as possible, not wanting to get into any trouble.
Gon, Leorio and Himeko were eyeing both Machi and Nobunaga, trying to read into any suspicious movements. Killua on the other hand had other things he was thinking about. "Why would they be out in the open like this? It just doesn't make any sense!" He began chewing on his green straw, hoping to vent his frustration. Two wanted criminals being out in plain sight didn't make much sense to him. After the big stunt they pulled a couple of nights ago, they must know that the whole city was on the hunt for them, yet they didn't look worried at all. To him it was just suspicious; he hadn't got a clue on what their motives were.
"I have an explanation!" Leorio exclaimed, making Killua's attention turn to him immediately. He put down his white coffee mug, before crossing his arms in confidence, "There could only be one reason."
Himeko nodded, agreeing with Leorio. "Yeah, I thought of one possible explanation too!"
Now that she was also aware of the spiders' motives, even Gon started to grow curious. "Go on, spit it out already!" Killua yelled impatiently, wanting to put together all the puzzle pieces to this mystery.
"They are on a date!" Leorio and Himeko deduced insync.
Gon seemed to have believed the ridiculous conclusion the two of them came up with, "Woah!" He awed, before immediately looking out of the window to check what this so-called couple was up to.
Killua stood up and hit the table out of frustration, "That's not it!" he yelled, wanting the two class clowns to snap out of it and be more serious, "Concentrate you two!"
"But now that we have found them, can't we just capture them and force them to tell us their hideout?" Himeko questioned, after looking at the two Phantom Troupe members who looked unarmed. They obviously had the upper hand; it was four vs. two right now.
"It's not that easy!" Killua sighed, dropping back down onto his white, wooden chair. He realised how much more he was stressing out compared to his three friends, so he first tried to calm himself down. After seeing the Phantom Troupe members in person, he couldn't help but remember one of the stories his father once told him. Just thinking about it made him so much more anxious, and to stop his friends from doing something reckless such as going after them without knowing their true strength, he decided to tell them his father's story. A few years ago, Silva received a request from someone to hunt down the Phantom Troupe. The reward seemed quite high for what he believed were petty thieves at first, but after fighting only one member and defeating their former #8, he told his family to stay away from the infamous bandits. 'They weren't worth the money,' he remembered his father complaining on the tough mission, and in Killua's opinion, this was the greatest compliment one of the Zoldyck's targets could get. Unlike the other three, Killua was well aware of how strong they were. If even his father, the head of the Zoldycks had a hard time beating one, then they must be a strong target. They couldn't afford to blindly underestimate them based on just looks.
After he told them the story, he looked up and saw everyone else's faces. They still didn't completely understand the true capabilities of the two members sitting amongst the crowd, so Killua decided to assist them with it. "Just imagine two Hisoka's sitting there. Act natural!" Killua proceeded to take a sip from his drink, but when he opened his eyes again, the trio imagined two Hisoka's sitting opposite each other, and having a chat over a cup of coffee. Their expressions fell immediately and they started to act very awkward and unnatural, not knowing how to handle the situation anymore. They took Killua's advice to act natural, but all they could do is force out an awkward smile and some nervous chuckles. "Stop acting so suspicious!"
At the table outside, the two Phantom Troupe members Machi and Nobunaga casually had a chat over a cup of coffee. The weather was pleasant, and there were quite a lot of couples sitting around them, making it much easier for them to blend in. However, the pair wasn't on a date; instead, they were looking out for anyone, and anything suspicious.
"Do you think someone's watching us?" Machi asked, discretely scanning the area now and then.
"Probably," Nobunaga replied, looking up at the clear sky. To him the answer was pretty obvious, so he didn't even have to bother looking around like his comrade. Their pictures were on wanted posters all over town, and with two billion jenny on each of their heads, the whole city was looking for them. Not too long ago he even noticed a young couple sitting a few tables away from them, and going as far as staring at them. He managed to take note of their suspicious behaviour, but as they weren't a threat to them, he chose to do nothing.
"Do you think it's the chain user?"
"The possibility is quite high."
"What do you think the boss wants to do with him?" She asked out of curiosity. Their boss Chrollo was rarely interested in people, so his sudden fascination with the chain user surprised her. "Do you think he wants to recruit him?" Although it was just a harmless question she asked, the tension between Nobunaga and Machi grew all of the sudden.
"The boss wanted him dead or alive, Machi." He pointed out, in a slightly warning tone, not wanting her to come to the same assumption again. The two weren't exactly sure what might have happened to their fellow teammate Uvogin, but they knew that he was heading out for the chain user when he was last seem. Whether he managed to capture Uvogin again, or might have killed him in the worst case scenario, they didn't know. All they were after was finding the chain user who would have the answers to their questions, and Nobunaga was set on finding him dead or alive. The pair had a heated debate on whether to take the chain user down, or whether to take him to their hideout alive. Nobunaga wasn't so set on leaving him alive, he out of everyone wanted him dead for whatever he could have possibly done to his dear comrade.
"Oi, can you feel that?" Leorio asked, feeling the tension that could be cut with a knife between the two Phantom Troupe members who got into a heated argument. Till now, they were able to camouflage into the crowd quite well, but that dangerous aura that was oozing out of them all of the sudden made them stick out like a sore thumb. "Did they perhaps notice us? I mean, I can't even use Zetsu yet."
"No, they didn't!" Killua stated fully confident. "Using Zetsu would just make us more suspicious and attract more attention. They aren't trying to sense Nen, but instead they are just looking out for anyone and anything suspicious."
"Why would they do something like that though?" Himeko asked. "I mean, what would they gain by doing that?"
"I don't know either. They might be looking for someone specific, but I'm not exactly sure about that."
"They look like they are arguing with each other!" Gon pointed out, while continuously observing their actions. It wasn't too obvious as the pair was trying to keep calm, but judging by their expressions and the tension between them, he drew to this conclusion.
"Scary! Remind me to never get into an argument with them!" Himeko shuddered at the thought of possibly getting into an argument with them.
"Let's settle this without violence," Nobunaga suggested, before pulling out a gold coin from his pocket. After flipping the coin, the two agreed on the terms. If Nobunaga won, they would take the chain user down, but if Machi won, they would lure him back to their hideout. Once they came to an agreement, Nobunaga decided to reveal the results of the coin flipping.
"Heads, I win!" Machi stated, before being the first one to stand up.
"Tsk," Nobunaga clicked his tongue out of annoyance, before putting the personalised coin back in his pocket. He too stood up after taking one last sip from his coffee, and the pair slowly started to leave, wanting to lure out whoever was watching them.
"They are moving!" Leorio announced as the Phantom Troupe members were on the move again. "We have to come up with something quickly!"
"We can't lose this opportunity after we finally found two of them," Gon pointed out. "We have to follow them."
They all turned to Killua to hear his opinion. Being the most experienced in these hide and seek games, he was the most reliable person to turn to in this situation. "Zetsu, we will follow them using Zetsu!" He proposed a plan. "I'm confident in Gon's and my own skills since we trained together, but I'm not sure about you two. Only come with us if you are confident with your Zetsu!" It was a warning, and Killua was dead serious. If just one of them were to get caught, the rest of them would also be in trouble.
"That rules me out then," Leorio stated, "I don't know how to use Zetsu."
"In that case, you can contact Zepile who is going to help us with the auction."
"Okay, give me his details." Gon took out his new cell phone and scrolled down the list of numbers he manage to save on it. Once he found Zepile's number, he dictated it while Leorio dialed and saved the number in his own phone.
While Gon continued filling Leorio in on Zepile and his job, Killua then turned to Himeko who was the only person left without a role. "That just leaves you!" he informed her, "Are you confident enough to come with us, or are you going with Leorio?" It was a hard question for her to answer. After knowing the real strength of the two Phantom Troupe members, she found it hard to find the will to go with Gon and Killua. If the two members are really going to their hideout, there is a possibility of meeting the other eleven members who were all as strong as Hisoka, maybe even stronger. If Killua left out that vital detail of how strong they really were, she would have immediately agreed, but now she had to think about it carefully. If she messed up with her Zetsu, the two boys would be found out too. But if this ended up being a success, not only would it help Gon, but they would also find valuable information to pass on to Kurapika who was after them.
Himeko started using Zetsu all of the sudden, which turned the attention of Gon, Leorio and Killua towards her. "I'm coming with you, I'm not going to back out after coming this far."
"Good!" Killua smiled seeing how determined she really was about this mission. She seemed extremely confident in her Zetsu skills, but he still couldn't help but worry over Gon and her. They were about to follow professional Nen users, and neither of the two actually had any experience in trailing. He knew the two were quite talented and skilled, but Killua still thought of Gon and even Himeko as simple-minded and naive when it came to fighting. Coming face to face with such people was never something Gon would have expected, and though Himeko wanted to track her clan's murderers down, she didn't have a clue on how to deal with experienced fighters either.
Now that the plan was confirmed, Killua and Gon followed and also activated their Zetsu, while Leorio just watched them in awe. "It's as if they completely vanished in front of me, but they are still here." He thought as he looked at the trio who were still right in front of them, but he couldn't sense their presence at all.
"Leorio, did you bring my katana?" Himeko asked, interrupting the elder's thoughts. He took a moment to snap out of it, before frantically looking around his seat for the item she had requested for him to bring.
"Yeah, here!" He handed her the sword he got from their hotel room. Himeko wasn't fond of carrying such a large and eye-catching katana around, especially since it attracted quite a lot of attention towards her. After bringing it from Kioto, it was on standby in the hotel and she had previously told Leorio to bring it back if he were to find any clues on the Spider's whereabouts. Once she finished checking thethe katana's condition, she tied the dark blue sash to hold it in place, so the blade was now on her back.
"That looks so cool on you!" Gon exclaimed in excitement, seeing Himeko secure the sash. "Can you teach me how to use it?" Although Himeko wasn't as excited as him, she did remember having a similar reaction when she first began learning sword fighting from Natsume.
Himeko looked up at the excited boy. "Yeah, sure! Once we are done I'll teach you!"
Compared to Gon, Killua wasn't exactly impressed, "Is that really necessary? It might slow you down." Their mission to follow both Nobunaga and Machi to wherever they were heading required absolute concentration, and nothing could distract them. The fact that she had to carry such a large sword around on her back worried him. Killua saw her katana as more of a hindrance than an aid.
"Don't worry, I'm used to carrying it around so it won't get in the way." She reassured him, having travelled with her katana before. One of Natsume's favourite ways to teach her was to take her out on the mountains and play a game. Their aim throughout the game was to hide out in the forest and try to take the other person out. Although she did enjoy his more interactive way of teaching, Natsume did tend to take things too seriously sometimes. Whatever it was, there were quite a few instances where they played the so called game with weapons.
With that all settled, they headed out of the cafe, ready to part ways. However, before they headed after Machi and Nobunaga, Killua gave Gon and Himeko a set of instructions he needed them to follow at all costs. If they were spotted at any point during the mission, they had to abandon the chase and leave immediately. If they couldn't continue the pursuit for whatever reason, they would give up, and there were no if's or but's for this condition. If Killua gave them a signal using his phone by ringing them once, they would abandon the plan. Gon and Himeko were only advised to pick up his phone call if he rang more than twice. If Machi and Nobunaga were to split up at some point, all of them would follow Machi.
"Before we go, have you two ever trailed anyone before?" Killua asked curiously. As of now, he was the self-proclaimed leader of this mission being the person with the most experience. However, although he highly doubted the possibility of the two having trailed someone in the past, he still felt the need to ask them just in case.
"Nope, I pretty much sucked at hide and seek when I was younger." Himeko told them, shaking her head. He somewhat expected an answer like this from her. Being someone who hasn't been out of her house until four years ago, he doubted that she would have actually had a chance to follow someone. Moreover, she only learnt Zetsu a couple of months ago, and her footsteps weren't as quiet as they should be. If she did trail someone before, she would have only trailed an amateur; someone who wasn't comparable to the Phantom Troupe members.
Killua then looked forward to Gon's response, honestly not expecting much from him either. "I've only followed Hisoka for three days during the exam," Gon beamed proudly, leaving his friends speechless. Being able to trail any random stranger unnoticed was one thing, but being able to be on Hisoka's case for three whole days was another.
"What?!" Himeko and Leorio exclaimed at the same time.
"He didn't notice you?" Leorio questioned, not being able to believe his own ears.
"No, I actually managed to surprise him," Gon smiled confidently, remembering the time back on Zevil Island. Although he made it sound like it was nothing, he did spend three whole days putting a lot of thought into how to go about trailing the dangerous fellow. "He even complimented me too."
"Wow, that's impressive Gon!"
"That was before you learnt Zetsu too!" Himeko added, "You are a natural, Gon!"
Seeing his best friend's head in the clouds, Killua slowly walked towards the grinning Gon, used his fist to hit him on the head in order to bring him back on planet earth, before walking back to where he was originally standing. "Ouch, what was that for?" Gon yelled, trying to soothe the pain by massaging his scalp.
"Just, I had this sudden urge to hit you."
"That hurt though!"
"Okay you three, we should split up now before we lose sight of those two." Leorio interrupted the argument that was going to break out between the two boys, reminding them of the main mission here. With Gon, Himeko and Killua set to leave, he told the three to be very careful on their quest and abandon the mission if there were any complications. Once Leorio left to meet up with Zepile, the trio decided to split up and head out to follow Machi and Nobunaga who already left the cafe.
"Green boar to blue typhoon and silver spark. Frommy end, it seems like they haven't noticed us yet, over!"
"Blue typhoon to green boar and silver spark. Nothing suspicious is happening from my end either, over."
"Stop fooling around you two and keep on guard!" Killua decided to take the lead as planned, while Gon and Himeko were close behind him. He trusted his own instincts the most, so when they split up he decided to remain closest to their target, knowing that he'd be able to sense danger from miles away and alert the other two. The trio followed them from three different directions, and from all of their point of views, nothing seemed particularly out of the ordinary, and neither of the two Phantom Troupe members seemed to act strange.
Himeko watched them from a tall building as they kept walking down the pathway. Neither Machi nor Nobunaga's eyes averted away from the path ahead, making her wonder whether they haven't been spotted yet. No matter how much she practiced over the past couple of months, she was careful not to let herself slip and reveal her presence, knowing it would end up bad not just for her, but also for Gon and Killua, and maybe even Leorio who was waiting for them back at the hotel. There was no signal from Killua, and knowing how experienced he was with these kind of things, she trusted his instincts over her own. Once the pair was far enough, she continued to trail them by jumping from one building to the next. "Have they noticed us yet, Killua?"
"They haven't, I don't think they have."
"So, should we keep following them?" Gon asked for his confirmation.
"Yes, let's do that for now. Just be careful you two!" Compared to Gon and Himeko, Killua was already drenched in cold sweat, and it hadn't even been that long yet. He was tense, one wrong move and it could be all over for them, so he didn't want to blow the chance. He was the most experienced out of the three, and he was also the only one who could thoroughly analyse their targets. These kind of hide and seek game he had been playing since he was only six years old, but never has he followed a target this powerful.
Meanwhile, compared to the tense trio following them, the two Phantom Troupe members were pretty composed. "Do you think someone is following us?" Machi asked, as she calmly continued walking.
"Probably," Nobunaga answered in the same, composed tone as his colleague. "Whoever it is, they are good. I can't sense their presence, but there are definitely more than just one person."
"Do you think it is the chain user?"
"We can't be too sure. We can assume that the chain user likes to work alone, but there is definitely more than just one person following us."
"I have a feeling that they have a connection with the chain user. My instincts tell me."
"Your instincts are usually right, so I'll trust them for now." There was something about these two; they were just too carefree, although they knew they were being followed. This was one of Killua's deepest fears at that moment, something he couldn't read off by their body language. They acted almost too dumb to be true, and for him it was difficult to determine whether their targets were fully aware of them being followed. On the one hand, these were two experts; even his father approved of their skills, so it seemed almost too illogical to assume that they were completely clueless about being followed. However, these two were completely absorbed into showing no signs of awareness; they wanted the trio to blindly follow them into their trap.
"Why aren't they showing any signs?" Killua was stressed out to the point where he wanted to pull out his own hair. He had been watching Machi and Nobunaga for the past half an hour, not leaving his eyes from them even once, but they were showing no signs of them knowing they were trailed. Killua was confident in his skills, he was able to notice a skip in heartbeat, but the fact that Machi and Nobunaga were so calm made him anxious. Soon, Killua started to notice that they were beginning to stray from the busier streets, going into the more empty alleys of Yorkshin. They were at the outskirts of town, heading towards a set of deserted buildings. "Do I follow them or not?" Killua gripped his phone tightly, observing the cool troupe members. Was this going to be a trap, or was it not? He decided to trust his observation skills, and since there weren't any behavioural changes, he decided to keep following.
Himeko started to notice that the alleyways they walked down became more and more deserted, and she saw the pair walk towards a deserted set of buildings. She started to wonder whether this was going to be a trap or not and looked at her phone. "Is he going to give us a ring yet?" Killua's first condition; abandon the mission if it became too risky to continue. Killua hadn't contacted them yet, however seeing how the events were starting to unfold, she wasn't comfortable following the enemy anymore. She had more faith in Killua's skills when it came to these things than her own, but there was this little gut feeling that told her to stop right there, turn around and go back. Gon trusted Killua a lot, and he'd be prepared to go in with no second thoughts if Killua insisted.
After seeing that her phone still hadn't rang, she looked around the area. She had no clue where the boys could be, but nonetheless, she entered one of the buildings and carefully hid in one of the rooms on the third floor. Machi and Nobunaga were standing right in the centre of the abandon buildings, and Himeko kept her eyes on them. Gon and Killua must have been quite close by too, probably hiding in one of the other buildings, or maybe even the same building she was in.
"They aren't taking the bait," Machi pointed out impatiently. "Do you think they've realised this is a trap?"
"They've followed us all the way here, so they won't resist attacking."
"So, we have to wait?"
"Yes, we'll just wait for a bit." Following their short conversation, the pair remained motionless, waiting for whoever was hiding to just come out and show themselves. Suddenly, Nobunaga's phone started to ring. In that situation, the sudden call surprised them, but he still decided to pick up after looking at the caller ID.
Gon was on standby in one of the three buildings surrounding the Phantom Troupe members. He had no idea of where Himeko or Killua might be, but he had complete trust in Killua which was why he didn't hesitate to keep following the pair. Looking out of the window, he kept a close watch on the troupe's every move. Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. After leaving it to vibrate once, he felt it vibrate once more, and that was the sign for him to finally pick up. "Killua!"
"Gon, Kou, don't move from your places. Keep watching them and if there is one odd movement, make a run for it!"
"Do you two think that they might be trying to lure us out?" Himeko proposed the theory she had been keeping in the back of her mind all this time now.
"I can't tell, but if you do see one strange movement, then get out of here immediately."
"Okay, I got you!" Gon put down his phone and proceeded to look out for any odd movements Killua talked about. Nobunaga was still talking on the phone when suddenly, he looked up and over in Killua's direction. This was the sign Killua had been telling them about all this time, the sign to abandon the mission and run as far as they could.
Gon ran towards the exit, but his path was blocked by the tall, slender Pakunoda. He backed away, trying to make an escape through the window, but it was no use. Machi made her way into the room through the window and blocked the way out. He didn't even move an inch and was caught by Machi, who grabbed his arms and tied them behind his back, making him unable to move. The two women who had now surrounded him were going to start their interrogation, "Who is the chain user, and what is your relationship with him?" Machi began asking.
"I don't know!" Gon yelled, as he struggled out of Machi's grip. Machi looked over at Pakunoda who moved towards Gon and put her hand on his head. Gon was slightly taken back by the sudden contact, however, Pakunoda wasn't trying to hurt him. After some time, she let go before shaking her head.
Over in Killua's room, he escaped as soon as he saw Nobunaga look over in his direction, but just like over in Gon's room, he was greeted by an unexpected guest by the door. It was another one of the Phantom Troupe members, Phinks. Killua used his speed to bounce around the room, trying to confuse Phinks, but Phinks managed to catch him by his leg with ease. Killua then grabbed a few rocks and threw them at him, and while he was distracted by them and dodged them, he used his other leg to kick him, but once again, Phinks was able to grab Killua's second leg with ease.
Killua pierced his fingers into the ground, and spun around trying to release himself from Phinks' grip. He managed to back away, but was greeted by Nobunaga who climbed out of the window. That was when Killua finally realised; they weren't the ones stalking, but the ones being stalked. With that, the men started to interrogate him too, leaving him no choice but to answer. He had to eventually surrender for the sake of Gon and Himeko.
After seeing Nobunaga's eyes avert to one of the three buildings, Himeko concluded that this was finally the right time to abort the mission. As she headed towards the door to escape, she too was greeted by an unexpected guest. "Hi!" Shalnark waved at her, with a wide smile plastered on his face.
She slowly backed away one step at a time towards the window, but was stopped by a man who suddenly popped up from behind Shalnark, and moved towards the window in a flash, blocking it in an instant. It was Feitan, and he was too fast for her to see, all she could see was a flash moving past her. Seeing how she was surrounded on either side, Himeko firmly stood in her place, before she reached for her katana, ready to strike.
"If you draw your sword, I'd have to draw mines!" Feitan warned in a low, growling tone. At the sound of his voice, she stopped her hands in midair, slowly removing them from her katana and raising them in the air to show that she wasn't going to try anything funny.
"Do you know a conjurer or manipulator that uses chains to fight?" Shalnark began to question her too now.
"Chains?" Himeko questioned, but before Shalnark could answer, he received a phone call. Seeing the preoccupied man, she wanted to try and use this opportunity to escape, but stopped when she received another warning.
"I'll cut you!" Feitan's low growl made her freeze again. These weren't the kind of people who just made an empty threat, and she would get killed by the shorter man behind her if she disobeyed. In the end, Himeko could only wait for Shalnark to finish his phone call.
"Your friends surrendered," he informed her, once he was done conversing with Nobunaga. He put away his phone, before leading the way out. "You are coming with us." With Feitan behind her, all she could do was obey and follow the blonde man out of the run down building. Once they were out, both Feitan and Shalnark met up with the others, and although Himeko initially found it hard to believe that both Killua and Gon were also captured and surrendered, after seeing the two in the same situation as her she couldn't deny it any longer. Unfortunately, all three of them were now in this mess together, and not even one of them managed to escape. Following Nobunaga's orders, the trio obediently got into the car and headed towards their hideout. Whilst in the car, Pakunoda continued to ask them a couple of questions about the chain user, but the trio did not know of their mystery man, so they could not answer.
Eventually, the cars reached the Phantom Troupe's hideout, and the youngsters were led inside, where they met the rest of the troupe who were already waiting for them. Gon, Killua and Himeko all took a good look at all the faces, but one familiar face stood out the most. "Don't react!" Hisoka prayed quietly, hoping that the three were old enough to think for themselves. Killua was the first one to notice Hisoka sitting there, and just kept walking, pretending not to know him. Himeko was the second one to spot the creepy fellow, staring back at her with a straight face. Although she was a little more surprised to see such a familiar face, and though it raised many questions to why Hisoka was there, whether he was a member of the bandits and why he told Kurapika about the Phantom Troupe in the first place, she ignored the thoughts for now and just walked past.
Gon was the third person to walk in and scan the crowd, "Oh!" He exclaimed as soon as he spotted the familiar face. Hisoka tried to keep his straight face, while Killua and Himeko suddenly stopped walking at the sound of their friend's voice, before all three mentally face-palmed.
A/n- Hi, lol.