Hunter x Hime: Chapter 28
Wait in the Rain
...
"It's pouring down outside!" Himeko sighed, looking out of the window. The sky was crystal clear that morning when they met up with Kurapika at the park. The weather was good enough to have a picnic even. The city was now covered in dense clouds, and in this complete darkness, Yorkshin was illuminated by the cars, streetlights and buildings. After a small debate, both Killua and Himeko were assigned to watch the Phantom Troupe from their hideout and update Kurapika about any strange behaviour. With Leorio being needed as Kurapika's driver and Gon acting as a diversion, both Killua and Himeko who were left overs were picked to stake out outside the enemy headquarters. The pair just left the room a mere minute ago and were walking down the corridor of the hotel they were staying in to leave for their mission.
After hearing her comment, Killua's eyes also ended up watching the rain fall outside. It wasn't that he didn't notice it until now. With his sharp ears, he picked up the sound of the rain drops as soon as it began raining. Besides, rain wasn't too uncommon during fall time. Although it was sunny a couple of hours ago, it was odd for Himeko to point out something so painfully obvious. Unless however, she was using it as a conversation starter.
"We'll use it as our advantage then," Killua stated, breaking the silence from his part. "It would be hard for them to find us in the rain. The rain will wash away our scent and will block off some sounds too. As long as we use Zetsu, it will be hard for them to trace us like last time." Trailing someone in the rain wasn't a rare occasion. Things like the weather were hard to predict, so Killua learned to adjust himself to act according to his surroundings. Himeko was still inexperienced when it came to things like this, so it made sense for Kurapika to send him with her. Not because he was sure she'd mess up, but because she could learn a lot from him.
"That reminds me!" Just like he predicted, she tried to keep the conversation flowing naturally, so they won't be caught up in an awkward silence. "When we followed Nobunaga and that pink haired girl, we were followed and ambushed. But didn't Nobunaga mention something about not knowing that their comrades were following them and us? 'You have to fool your comrades first in order to fool your enemy' or something along those lines I remember them saying."
"It's not like they weren't trusting their comrades, but at the same time there are people who can read the smallest slips in body language. Kurapika killed one of their physically strongest members, so it makes sense for them to take precautions. They didn't know what kind of person they were dealing with. If I were to be completely honest, it was a smart plan. When I went out on jobs alone, I sometimes found that my older brother was trailing me without my own knowledge." To his dismay, Killua found himself praising the enemy. He wasn't particularly fond of them, but he understood why his father told him to stay away from them. "I was too caught up on keeping my eyes on Nobunaga and the girl, the thought completely slipped my mind. Even if the weather seems to be on our side, we can't lower our guard just yet." But Killua also knew that the rain wasn't just going to cause the Phantom Troupe trouble.
"What's the likelihood for us to be followed again?"
"I'd say it's very slim. They made sure to make the mafia community believe that half of the members are already dead, so I doubt they'll suspect anyone following them. They'll only be cautious of Kurapika, but they don't even know what he looks like." Killua explained, "Besides, you seem pretty good at using Zetsu, so I wouldn't worry too much."
Just as he finished talking, Himeko suddenly stopped walking and simultaneously pinched both of her cheeks. Killua who looked back at her over his shoulders seemed rather puzzled.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, raising a brow in utter confusion. Although his face gave more of a 'what the hell are you doing' look.
She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly in reply. "Sorry, I've never heard you compliment me so I was just making sure it's not a dream." She proceeded to pinch her cheeks yet again.
"Done?"
"Yeah, looks like it's not a dream!"
They eventually reached the elevator once they started walking again, and Killua pressed the down button before the pair waited for the elevator to arrive at their floor. While waiting, Killua took initiative to continue the conversation from where they left off. "You know, I'm not actually a bad guy. Well, I kinda used to be one but if you think about it cops sometimes kill people too, so can you really call me carrying out my duties as the heir of the family business a bad guy? But then again, I don't have that many friends although that's probably because I'm quite blunt most of the time."
Himeko stared hard at Killua's desperate attempts to justify himself.
"Y'know what I'm saying?" Killua asked the unresponsive Himeko.
"I never said anything," she raised her hands slightly to defend herself. "But I seriously thought you didn't like me. My character's usually a hit or miss with people, so it isn't uncommon for people to dislike me. I mean, Gon's pretty much the first friend I've ever made so that should say a lot about the kind of person I am."
"Hm." Killua was slightly amused. He could say the same words that came out of her mouth just now and it would apply to him perfectly just like it applied to her. It was the most relatable thing he's heard someone say in a long time. Seeing how comfortably they were talking right now, Killua found it appropriate to be truthful. "To be honest, I didn't like you at first. My instincts are pretty accurate when it comes to judging someone's character, so it's no surprise for me to be wary around strangers. You seemed quite distant and secretive at first, and you didn't hesitate to draw a line when Gon or anyone else asked a personal question. You were obviously sticking around Gon and the others to pass the exam, you looked like you were going to go off on your own way as soon as you got what you wanted."
"Ouch! Words can hurt too you know!" Himeko held her chest as she pretended to be offended by his statement. "Besides, I don't think anyone else actually noticed."
"I doubt Gon could ever imagine anyone doing something like that. Especially you."
"So, when did you decide to trust me?"
"After the exam was over."
Himeko let out a sigh of relief in response, which only confused him. "To be honest, I didn't trust you much either at the beginning. I feel quite bad thinking back, but I guess it's okay since you felt the same way about me."
"Why?"
"No offence, but I don't think anyone would trust an ex-assassin, Gon aside. I don't get Gon's reasonings sometimes. Even if someone has a criminal background, he'll only show hostility if they are a threat to him or the people around him." She answered. "Plus you knew about the Inoue clan, it would only make sense for me to be suspicious. Thinking back now, you found the exam way too easy compared to us. Ironically, you were also the only one of us to fail. It seemed like you were just playing around. Someone who had no motivation to pass other than wanting to kill his own boredom, and as someone who was struggling to keep up, of course I wouldn't like you."
"I was. I was killing my own boredom." He admitted after letting out a heaved sigh. "Gon was the most interesting out of the whole batch, so I figured it would naturally be more fun for me to stay around him. As you said, for some reason he laughed off the fact that I'm from an assassin family. It was refreshing. But I never expected to hang around him for this long either. Before I knew it, I began to truly enjoy spending time with everyone. But when I saw Illu-nii, I knew it was all over. I could've never imagined standing here today."
"I get you. If I went off on my own after getting my license, I would still be aimlessly wandering around looking for clues. I'm glad I chose to tag along to your family estate. If I didn't, I couldn't have imagined standing here next to you either. I guess I've always mistook solitude for independence."
Ding. The elevator finally arrived, and the pair casually stepped inside before pressing the button to the bottom floor and watched the doors close.
"How about we properly introduce ourselves now that we've lifted that burden off our chests?" Himeko suggested, smiling brightly.
"What's the point, don't you consider me as a friend already?"
"Of course I do, but let's just make things official! And we still have time to kill before the elevator reaches the bottom floor!" She pointed out, before reaching out her hand. "Himeko Inoue, twelve years old, but you can just call me Kou. Pleased to meet you."
Killua sighed in defeat, before placing his hand in hers, "Killua Zoldyck. The pleasure is mine, Kou."
"Okay, we are officially friends now, and look you finally called me Kou for a change. You usually call me hey, you, stupid, idiot, brat, washboard and there were some others that I forgot. Oh, never mind we reached the bottom floor. Let's go!"
Ding. The elevator reached the bottom floor and the door opened. Himeko was the first one to head out and Killua just followed her out at a slower pace. "Geez, just where do I keep finding people like her and Gon from?"
Following her, Killua took a quick glance at the clock before they walked out of the hotel. The weather was a lot worse than it looked from the inside. This was probably where the expression 'It's raining cats and dogs' could be used. The smell of the fresh rain lingered around in the air as they could only hear the heavy rain hitting the concrete streets loudly, as well as the occasional honking of cars on the busy streets.
"Rush hour," Killua thought, as the pair was standing under cover from the rain. "Can Leorio really drive Kurapika around at this time?" Although it wasn't supposed to be part of his worries, Killua still found himself pondering on a question that Kurapika and Leorio should be figuring out. He didn't realise his concern over his friends, something that was very foreign to him, yet it came to him quite naturally without any second thoughts. Killua learnt to always watch his own back on missions, and trusted his family to watch their own backs. "No, Kurapika's smart! He would be able to figure something out. I have to focus on our mission."
"What now?" She asked.
"If the Spiders were really going to start moving out to the auction, I guess they'd do so in maybe an hour and a half. It would take us around half an hour to get to their hideout in this rain. Before we go I have somewhere to go."
"Where?"
Killua just told her to follow him since he knows what he is doing, and since he was an assassin, she thought he had enough experience to trust him and followed. But that didn't exactly stop her from asking where they were headed to every few seconds, much to his annoyance. To avoid getting drenched in the rain, they kept close to the shop windows. The roofs weren't able to keep them completely dry, but at least only half of their bodies got drenched. Killua kept a close eye on the items displayed on the mannequins in the stores making her wonder whether he was just taking her window shopping. And at some point, the pair arrived in front a clothing store with mainly sports wear.
When he looked back, she just gave him a look of disapproval, "Out of all people I didn't expect you to mess around at a time like this."
"But we aren't exactly dressed for the occasion, are we now?"
They both took a moment to take a good look at their clothes, the same clothes they wore that morning when the sky was still vacant of any stormy clouds. Neither Killua's shorts nor her summer dress were appropriate for a mission in the rain. So without further delay Killua opened the door and walked inside, keeping it open for her to follow him in. As soon as they entered, the lonely store clerk came running up to them. The store was pretty much deserted, and apart from her there were no other forms of life around. Not many people were out shopping at that time of the day. The sky was already darkening, and because of the rain everyone was just hurrying back home.
"Can I help you?" She beamed in joy, hoping she would finally be able to sell at least one item to each customer. "Would you like a dress, young lady? We have a wonderful selection of clothes for girls your age so you I'm sure you'll find something in the-"
"Could you show us the rainproof clothes in our size?" Killua interrupted before she could finish her sentence. His eyes weren't on her and instead scanned around the store to find what he was looking for. The employee took a moment to process the fact that a twelve year old just rudely interrupted her, but her professionalism didn't let her give up there. A smile found a way on her face again.
"Sure, please go this way!" She used her hands to gesture them towards the back of the store where a selection of wind and rain proof jackets were hung up. Killua who was keen on the mission wasted no time to walk towards the back of the store, while Himeko at least thanked the employee to show her appreciation before following him. In the corner of the store, she began to show them a selection of coats their size.
"This peach colour has been really popular," she explained, before pointing at a nearby mannequin that displayed an outfit with the peach outerwear. "White does get dirty easily, but this white puffer jacket is quite popular too."
"We need something darker," he informed, not satisfied with the pieces they were being shown. "Something that doesn't make us stick out."
"We don't have much in her size. We do have darker colours but those coats are all bigger sizes." She was right, the jackets that were on the darker side were all for girls who were a little older. The selection for girls her height wasn't large at all and they found that they were very limited. He then turned to Himeko.
"Do you mind wearing something from the boys' section?"
"Not really, I just need something for the mission right?" she shrugged indifferently, knowing too well that signs of pickiness could anger both Killua and the sales assistant even more. "As long as it's comfortable and easy to move around in I'm fine."
"In that case, please come this way."
Killua immediately stepped forward and scanned through the selection while Himeko and the store clerk remained behind. He picked out a set consisting of a raincoat and waterproof trousers. "Do you have these in any smaller sizes?"
"Unfortunately those are the smallest sizes we have right now," she replied, hoping Killua doesn't insult her any further. "I'm sure those would fit you though."
"Of course they'll fit me, we need another set for her."
"That's why we have the girl's section…"
Killua sighed, "Do I really have to explain everything all over again for you to understand? For a grown up you are pretty stupid."
"This little-"
Noticing the the store clerk grow impatient, Himeko stepped in and took the set off him, "I'll try it on. It might actually fit since I'm only a few inches shorter than you."
Himeko wasted no time and stepped into the changing room. She was too afraid to leave Killua alone with the store clerk, not because of Killua but because of the employee. If he continued to tick her off even more she might've ended developing some kind of Nen ability just so she could vent her ager out on him. The jacket was good, but she would've preferred if the trousers were more fitted. Her reflection told her just how loose they where on her, but she didn't have the luxury to complain. The Phantom Troupe might take hours to show themselves, and standing out in the rain in a dress sounded like a bad idea. Anything that was her size would've been very easy to spot. She could freeze herself, or deal with oversized clothing for a couple of hours. The latter option sounded more appealing.
She opened the door and stepped out, attracting the attention of the pair that was anxiously awaiting her return. "It's a little big, but I'll live. I can just give it to Gon once I'm done, I'm sure it'll fit him."
Killua stared at the long sleeves with an irritated look on his face. "Seriously, do you still need someone to do everything for you?" He let out a heaved sigh. "If the sleeves are too big then you can just roll them up, here let me do it for you." For some reason he looked more annoyed at the fact that her clothes were too big on her than she did. In the end, the store employee quietly watched him roll up the sleeves of her jacket, wondering whether he was having mood swings. He then pointed at her track pants. "For the trousers, you can just pull the up higher and tie them if they are too long. Fold them from the bottom too so you don't trip."
"Gee, thanks mum!"
The employee watched the light-hearted conversation the pair was having, before another comment was aimed at her.
"Give me a minute, I'll change too! We are already behind schedule because of this useless store clerk." He took a set rainproof clothes into the changing room, and closed the door before locking it.
The young woman's lips twitched as she tried to remain composed in front of her customers. She was left clenching her fists to calm herself down as she cursed the young boy in her head. "Just wait you little brat, if I ever run into you outside work you're dead."
Perhaps sensing the malice she was emitting, Himeko smiled sympathetically before whispering words of encouragement. "Don't worry, he is always like that. If not you, he'd be arguing with me instead."
The store clerk just groaned as she rubbed her temples in annoyance, waiting for Killua to step out and complain again. But she found herself pleasantly surprised when he didn't offer another complain. Instead, he looked quite satisfied with the clothes he changed into.
"We'll take these two sets then!" Killua declared as he walked towards the counter.
"Yes, just pay and leave already!" The woman in her mid-twenties rushed back to the counter at the front of the store, and scanned the labels Killua and Himeko handed her. Once she was done, she looked back up at the pair. "That would be four thousand jenny."
"Four thousand?! For two low quality sets of clothes? You didn't even have the right size for one!"
"Please, just give me two thousand and leave," she begged, looking as if she was planning on banging her head against the counter. Himeko on the other hand just looked at the woman with worried eyes.
"Is she going to be alright?"
Killua put his hand in his pocket to fish out a couple of notes before handing them to her. He then proceeded to walk out of the store without waiting for a receipt. Before Himeko followed, she looked at the employee who watched the young boy walk out, sensing a hint of relief coming from her.
"Excuse me? Sorry about what happened, he's a bit on edge today for various reasons." The young girl managed to slip in another apology on her friend's behalf, before following him out of the shop. "Never would have guessed that I'd get kicked out of a store like this." After hearing the door shut, the store clerk raised her head and started to count the notes Killua had given her, only to be surprised.
Now with their brand new rainproof clothing on, the pair was finally able to walk around in the rain with ease. Without getting drenched and soaked, they began to run towards their destination, Killua taking the lead to navigate them through and Himeko close behind him. The crowd of people walking on the sidewalk made it hard for them to make it through the city, but once they made it out it got a lot easier. Once they reached the outskirts of the city, they were running through the woods that would eventually lead them to the abandoned warehouses. Killua thought it was the perfect time for them to activate Zetsu, and noticing that his presence has suddenly disappeared, Himeko followed his example.
She took out her phone from the jacket pocket, before pressing the home button to check the time on the dimly lit screen. "We have roughly five hours left until the auction."
"That means they'll move out soon if they are actually going to the auction. Let's move fast, we can't afford to waste any more time."
"Right!"
While running down the path leading them through the dark woods, their eyes eventually adjusted themselves to see in the dark. The path ended abruptly in front of a tall, wired fence and one by one they carefully climbed over it. Killua looked up at the dark grey sky still pouring down on them. Just by looking at the density of the clouds, he could tell it would rain for a couple more hours. Although he considered it a double-edged sword, it could really work to their advantage while hiding.
"If it keeps raining, they'll have a hard time finding us. Let's hope that it stays that way."
"Well, at least we are prepared. We can wait until the sky is all out of rain drops." Himeko reminded him by showing off her newly bought raincoat. "I still can't believe you got these for only two-thousand jenny."
"I didn't, I paid the full price."
Although he was telling the truth, she looked at him in disbelief. "Stop lying, I know how stingy you are. You wouldn't pay the full price even if your life depended on it."
"I felt sorry for her in the end, so I just gave her the four thousand." Despite their situation their conversation began to take a light-hearted turn again, but mid-laughter Killua decided to look up at what was in front of him. His eyes only widened and with his mouth agape he slowed down until he stopped running completely. "What in the world..."
Himeko kept her eyes on him as he was running ahead, but noticing the sudden change in his demeanour she was also forced to come to a halt. After she stopped running, she looked up ahead and was met by the same surprise as her peer. "I hope I'm hallucinating. Killua tell me I'm seeing things!"
"If you're seeing things then so am I." Flabbergasted by the sight in front of them, he tried to compare the scenery to how it looked the previous day when they both were imprisoned there with Gon by Nobunaga. But it didn't match up. "You remember there only being one building here too, right?"
"Yes, just one," she nodded to agree with him. "Are you sure you didn't just get us lost?"
"Don't be ridiculous, I didn't gets lost. I'm not you to get us lost all the time."
"What are we supposed to do now? We'll be out of time if we check through all these buildings."
"No, only one of them is the real one. The others are definitely traps, so we shouldn't go anywhere near them." Killua spent a moment to look around the area, and then spotted another abandoned building in the distance, away from all these multiple copies of the same warehouse. "There, we'll keep a watch from over there until we figure out what to do next."
Himeko couldn't come with a better plan, so they chose to take shelter in the abandoned building in the neighbourhood. They checked whether the building was safe to enter, before running up the flights of stairs to reach the roof top. From there, the pair had a good view of the neighbouring buildings and began to keep watch from there. They both stood in separate corners to scan the area and find any clues that could lead them to the original building. But eventually, they both had to give up and met up at the assigned meeting spot.
Killua crouched down on the floor in frustration. "Any luck on your end?"
"No, they all look the same. No point playing any more rounds of spot the difference." She could only heave a loud sigh in return, joining him in the spot next to him. "Did you have any luck?"
"I tried using Gyo, but I had no luck either. They are all identical copies, it's definitely a high level technique that was being used." He informed him of the few things he concluded from his findings, sure that she would've come to the same conclusion as him. "Damn it, they were cautious about us all along. If only there's a way to find the original building!"
"It's one of their Nen abilities, right? I think this is the technique they used to fake the corpses last night."
"Yeah, it's probably a conjurer. We are in no position to be guessing, we'll be spotted if we set foot into the wrong building."
"But if this is a high-level technique they'll definitely have some sort of time limit for it too."
"Yeah, but we can't just depend on an indefinite time limit. We are dealing with advance Nen users, so who knows how long they can keep these up. They might be able to keep this up for days, and we'd still be sitting up here." It wasn't that obvious, but she could tell that he was gradually beginning to lose his cool. They were too far away to keep a close eye on the criminals, and neither could they both watch every single building in the hopes see someone leaving from them. They also had to consider the possibility that the Phantom Troupe decided to leave for the auction sooner than anticipated. "In the worst case scenario we'll run into one of the members while waiting here."
Noticing the cold sweat running down his forehead, she thought it was appropriate to snap him out of his thoughts. "Killua, stay calm! We'll find a way out of this mess, so for now just cool your head and keep an eye out for anything abnormal. I'll update Kurapika on what's happening."
She watched him nod in response, before he stood back up to keep a look-out for anything odd. Afterwards, she took out her phone out of her pocket again and noticed that Killua wasn't the only one beginning to grow more tense over time. As she held her phone, her own hands were shaking in fear of the unknown.
"Calm down, you just told Killua to cool his head. Don't be a hypocrite and freak out after telling him that."
Ignoring her trembling hands, she pressed the down button in her list of contacts. After seeing Kurapika's name on the screen, she pressed the call button. Knowing the dire situation they were all in, Kurapika perhaps sensed that they may have run into some trouble and picked up his phone almost immediately.
"Kurapika?" She called his name out the very moment he picked up, and from that the older boy could tell there was trouble.
"What's the situation there?"
"Very bad," she said bluntly, which only made Kurapika worry more. "I'll keep it the update short. Killua and I reached their hideout a while ago, but we found multiple copies of the building we were held in yesterday. Fifty to be exact."
Kurapika unconsciously raised his voice in shock. "Fifty?"
"Yes, we assume that it's the work of one of their members. Killua suspects that it's a conjurer. We are currently keeping watch from a neighbouring building, but no matter what we try we just can't figure out which one's the real building. Killua went as far as trying Gyo, but he had no luck with that either."
"This must be the same ability used to make the fake corpses from yesterday."
"We suspect so too, but that's not why I called. It's too risky for us to get any closer than we already are. We want you to tell us what to do next."
Kurapika spent a moment deep in thought before telling her his decision. "Don't move from where you are right now. Give me five minutes and I'll call you back."
"Right, we'll wait for your word!"
With her agreement, Kurapika ended their call. He, along with Gon and Leorio also left the hotel they were staying in and were driving around the city, waiting for any updates from the Phantom Troupe. But hearing the long awaited update, it just made his plans a lot more complicated than he initially anticipated. Involving Gon, Himeko, Killua and Leorio was already a big enough gamble, but he was now forced to rely on more people to get his plan to work. In this situation, he could only think of one individual who could come to their aid.
"He'll call back?" Killua asked seeing how she ended the call and was left to hold her phone in her hand, awaiting Kurapika's call.
"Yeah, he told me to give him five minutes. It did sound like he had some kind of plan, so let's trust him."
"Keep your eyes open until then! The fact that they went through the trouble of creating so many fakes means that they still have to be here somewhere. It also means that they are getting pretty desperate."
"The rain isn't exactly helping though. If only it didn't rain, then we could've at least heard a couple of footsteps or voices. It would have narrowed the location down."
"There is no point complaining now, they are using the rain to their advantage just like we planned to use it."
Exactly five minutes later, Himeko received another phone call from Kurapika as promised. But this time around, Killua leaned in closely to listen in to their conversation.
"Hello? Kurapika?"
"Kou, I've talked to a colleague of mine. She agreed to help you, so she should be there soon."
"Does she know where we are?"
"Don't worry, she will have no problem finding you."
"Okay, we will contact you again when she arrives."
With that, their short phone conversation came to another end. But hearing this, the young boy looked pleasantly surprised to see a sudden change in Kurapika's behaviour. He thought back to how he freaked out less than ten minutes ago, and no matter how calm Kurapika appeared to those around him, he must've felt the same confusion as him even if it was for a split second.
"A colleague?" Killua questioned, wondering whether his sharp hearing failed to pick up a piece of important information. "He is starting to sound more desperate to capture that Pakunoda woman."
"Because he is starting to ask for help?"
"Yeah, he was so against the idea at the start. He wouldn't even allow us to participate, but now he is asking not just us but his co-workers for help." Despite his surprise in this situation, he noticed that Himeko looked rather relieved to hear that a colleague of his was helping them out. If Kurapika trusted this person, then they would probably have had the required skill to help them. In fact, Himeko looked rather happy despite the tense situation they were in.
"I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. This way, we'll be able stop him from doing anything reckless and we can keep him safe too." She was motivated to help Kurapika out for whatever reason, and although that was motivating to see, Killua couldn't help but drill an important fact into her head.
"You do realise that Kurapika is stronger than us, so us protecting him isn't going to be of much use to him."
That was when she finally realised, "Oh yeah!" She exclaimed, and he could only sigh dumbfounded at how she just figured that out. For her to actually forget such an important fact she must have been pretty motivated to help him out. But her moment of realisation only lasted for so long, until a serene expression appeared on her face. He found it strange. She looked so grateful having seen a change in Kurapika, it made Killua wonder whether she was oblivious to what was going on around her. "It's just that he wants to do things on his own, I can't help but worry. You guys are very reckless."
"Me?" He asked as the conversation finally turned around and found its way to him. "What did I do?"
"You told us to go away when we came to Kukuroo mountain."
"That's because you guys have no chance against my family, even in a fair fight. I was facing my own problems and didn't want any of you to get involved."
"That's exactly what Kurapika is doing right now, don't you think? His eyes look so sad now, but they were beautiful when we first met. He's burdening himself by taking everything on by alone, and at some point he'll lose himself in the whirlwind of emotions within him. His pretty eyes will become empty and vacant, and we'll only become a burden. I just want him to lean on us a little."
Her serious words couldn't help but surprise him. He felt like she understood the older boy, but at the same time it also felt like she didn't understand him at all. Those unfiltered words that came straight from her heart were warm and caring. But Killua knew he wasn't the real recipient of those words. He could sense just how much she wanted to tell Kurapika the same words.
"In that case, answer my question. If you ever found yourself in a dangerous situation alone, would you choose to rely on us?"
"A dangerous situation?"
"What if you found out whoever murdered you clan, will you go after them alone or would you want to get us involved?"
"I wouldn't want to get any of you involved in something like that, but I wouldn't want to keep any of you in the dark about it either."
"That's a pretty vague answer, so what do you think Kurapika's doing right now? It is frustrating to see him from a bystanders point of view, I consider him my friend so I wouldn't mind helping him out either. But back then if Kurapika asked us to stay out of it I was planning on backing away. If we could fight on even grounds with those bastards, then that's another story, but even the three of us couldn't do anything about the top-knot guy. If we were held hostage again by one of them, then we wouldn't be helping him at all. We'd just end up being a nuisance."
Although she couldn't deny the fact that there was nothing but truth in his words, she ended up pouting, disappointed that she had no words to rebut his argument. "You sound like a grandpa giving life advice. Are you sure we're the same age?"
"No, but you're acting like Gon today. The moment you two focused on Kurapika you lost track of everything else going on around you."
"Okay, okay, stop with the lecture already!" She interrupted him, feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment because of his comment. "Just tell me the next time something's bugging you. You absolutely have to tell me. In return I'll tell you whatever bugs me when I have a problem."
"Looks like Gon's stupidity is contagious since even you have it now. I don't want you to come crying to me with all your little problems. I bet you all the money I have that you'll end up having boy trouble and decide to dump it all on my head."
"Well boy and girl trouble is part of the package! It's a promise then!"
"I didn't promise anything!"
"I know that you'll tell me anyway. You can rely on me if you need a shoulder to cry on, you know if a girl dumps you or calls you ugly and curves you."
She sounded so sure of herself, and all he could do was tell her to shut up and continue her assignment. "Be quiet, it's your turn to keep watch."
"Roger, Captain!"
With that, Himeko stood up and started watching the Phantom Troupe's hideout. Killua took a turn to sit out and waited for a call from Kurapika's colleague. However, the phone was quiet and there were no sights of them. Himeko also couldn't spot any movement from the Troupe members, which was frustrating in it's own way. She wished that they'd at least have a clue to which direction they might be in.
The rain wasn't helping the situation either. At first, they were confident that the weather would be on their side, but that was a great miscalculation and their confidence mercilessly backfired. The Spiders were using the rain to stay hidden, and the sound of the rain blocked off any possible clues they could have found. The howling wind wasn't helping much either. It was blowing against them, and the cold raindrops were hitting against her face, making it harder to see anything in front of her. It went as far as blowing her hood off at some point.
"The wind's gotten quite unruly all of the sudden," she quietly mumbled to herself while trying to keep her hood up. Killua noticed her struggle against the wind, and saw her jet-black hair fly in all kinds of directions. He instinctively reached out to touch a strand of her hair. It was a very faint touch, but she was able to sense it and turned his attention towards him.
"Sorry," Killua apologised quietly, before retracting his hand. For some reason, he felt the need to come up with an explanation for his impulsive actions, yet he couldn't find a reason. "I just felt like it. Your hair has gotten longer."
"Yeah, I thought of changing my look up a bit. I decided to grow it out, but I never knew it would be this much work to maintain. Back when I was still little, the maids would usually take care of it so I never realised how much work it truly is!" She nitpicked on a couple of split ends on her hair as she talked.
"Then just cut it again! It's going to get in your way when you fight." He bluntly told her his opinion. "Besides, short hair suits you better."
"What?"
Himeko didn't know whether she heard him right. His last words were just a quiet mumble, and it was quite hard for her to make out the words. As she stared at Killua, he faced the other way in order to avoid eye contact. Not being one to compliment or receive compliments very often, both actions would leave him embarrassed. But she also knew that the blunt Killua would never flatter anyone just to please them.
He eventually stretched both of his arms and stood back up, "Forget what I said. It's my turn to keep watch again, so sit back down!"
"But I just started a few minutes ago."
As she began to protest, he pushed her down by her shoulders, "Then you lost track of time, it's my turn already!" She wasn't able to say no to him, so all she could do was sit back down obediently and start counting down while Killua continued to keep watch of the multiple buildings in the distance.
"Hey, Killua? Hypothetically speaking, if Gon was to find his father really soon then what will you do?"
It was quite a strange question to be asking, and it took him off guard because in all honestly, even he hadn't thought that far ahead yet. Himeko had a good point though, Gon's clue was Greed Island, so what would happen if he found his father in the game? He didn't want to go back home, he wanted to stick around with Gon until he found something he could truly set his heart on. He decided to answer her question honestly.
"I don't know myself. Gon and I might agree to help you find your brother if you want?"
"Really? You'd do that for me?"
"Well Gon doesn't seem to have anything else planned after finding his dad, so since I don't have anything to do either we both might decide to accompany you on your journey."
But before Himeko could open her mouth again to continue their conversation, he suddenly spotted a small figure in another one of the neighbouring buildings. She held in her words after seeing his body stiffen, but eventually she decided to ask him, "What's wrong?"
"Someone's over there."
Just when he finished his sentence, both of their attention shifted to Himeko's phone that was in her hand. She took a look at the screen first, before holding it up so Killua could see it too. It was an unknown number. He looked back at her, and after he gave her a firm nod she picked up the call. "Hello?"
On the other line was a voice of a woman, but she couldn't determine the age from the voice alone. "I'm Kurapika's colleague. I'm standing on the roof of the neighbouring building to yours and I can see you both."
"Is there any way you can prove to us that you're the person standing there?"
"One of you can whisper out a command."
She looked up at Killua and told him to whisper a command. As soon as he did, he received a response which surprised him.
"What is it Killua?"
"She raised her right hand just like I told her to."
"Even I couldn't hear what he said and I'm sitting right next to him…" Himeko thought, as they both stood their completely astonished by the person Kurapika asked to join.
"Hello?"
"Yes, please make your way to our building. We will be waiting." With that, Himeko ended the call and informed Killua that the woman will come and join them in a moment. As they waited, they kept their eyes glued to the door, waiting for this mystery woman's arrival.
"She's coming," Killua informed her when he heard the door creak open. A short, stocky woman in disguise stepped foot onto the roof and silently closed the door behind her. She introduced herself as Melody, one of Neon Nostrade's bodyguard and Kurapika's co-worker. "How were you able to find us?"
"I could hear a young female voice talking." She answered, aiming her gentle smile at Himeko whom she assumed the voice belonged to. Although Himeko was scared, she got the courage to look at Killua who was standing right next to her, only to see him giving her a look of disapproval.
"Oops, was I really talking that much?" Hearing her slightly startled voice, Killua couldn't help but let out a sigh while shaking his head.
"Even if she wasn't talking, I would have been able to find you two just by the sound of any movement or your heartbeats."
"So, you can help us find them?"
Melody walked towards the edge of the roof and listened closely. "I can hear maybe five or six footsteps, including women. They are coming from far back. They are talking about something, but I can't make out too much of it because of the rain." Killua and Himeko tried their best to listen too, but all they could hear was the rain hitting the hard concrete.
"Your hearing is impressive," Killua couldn't stop himself from paying her a compliment. "We trained a lot over the past couple of months but we couldn't hear a thing."
"It's my specialty after all."
"Shall we follow after them?"
"Yes, let's go. They are heading towards the city."
