"Right behind you."

=oOo=

"Do you know what to do?"

I nodded. "Kill the power at seven o'clock sharp and get the hell out of here," I hummed, eyeing the panel in front of me. You'd expect that a high-end hotel like this would have a pretty neat circuit board, but the amount of crisscrossing wires were proof that the electricians weren't too keen on neatness. Following the wires, it seemed as though they all lead to a primary switch and giving it a good pull would theoretically kill the power. Well, if worst came to worst, I could just slam that solid-looking box in the corner into the thing. That would surely get the job done. "I'd ask you the same thing, but I realize there'd be no point…" I evenly said as I turned away from the wires in front of me and glanced at the Kurta.

Kurapika was busy fixing the ribbon on his disguise – a notably feminine-looking receptionist, of all things – and I couldn't help but huff. It was just a clip on. There wasn't really anything difficult with putting it on. What did trouble me though was the wig he was wearing. The strands were far too long and for a guy like Kurapika, he must've been very uncomfortable with it. A sigh escaped my lips as I reached up behind me to undo my hair and tossed the blonde the piece of elastic. "Tie your hair," I hummed. "It'll get in the way, I tell ya."

The blonde easily caught the flimsy thing and stared at it for a few seconds before he nodded and took my suggestion. "You can find your way out?" he asked, eyeing me.

I managed a small smile and nodded. "Don't worry about me," I reassured him. "I'll be fine, so you just do what you gotta do." My answer didn't sit well with him, judging by the slight frown on his face, but I didn't let that bother me. He really just worried about the wrong things sometimes. Gon and Killua's return was our priority right now and he didn't need to be distracted by anything else. "See ya later then."

Kurapika's gaze lingered on me for a few more seconds before he nodded. "I'll see you later… Be careful."

"You too."

"I will," he replied as he made for the door, but a thought crossed my mind and I grabbed his arm before he became out of my reach. The blonde blinked and gave me a curious look. "Is anything wrong?"

Honestly, there were a lot of things that were wrong – like the kids being captured by those Spiders – but I wasn't gonna say that. "Try to not get too… emotional." My eyes wandered away from the Kurta and settled on a large metal pipe that ran along the room's wall. "Maybe you already get this, but keep yourself in check. The more indifferent you look, the more they'll think they have less leverage. That'll put them off."

The blonde sighed and that had me turning back to him. He had an unreadable expression on his face, and for now, it was a good thing I couldn't read him. It would be his best defense once he came face to face with the leader. "You really have done this before, haven't you?" he evenly asked and I shrugged in response.

"This exactly? Of course not," I replied. I had never ever had to save a friend from mass murdering thieves and I wished and hoped and prayed that this would never ever happen again. "But I've been thrown into a lot of dire situations much more often than I'd like, and it pays keeping your shit together."

Kurapika considered me for a few seconds before he took a deep breath. "I'll do my best."

"Good," I chirped. "Well then, you better get going before they get here while I try to figure out how this thing really works," I said, pointing a thumb over my shoulder at the panel behind me. Again, the blonde nodded and it was only then that I let go of his arm, managing a smile for him before getting back to work. Those wires weren't gonna sort themselves out.

"… Mina, I…"

"Hm?" I hummed, looking over my shoulder at the Kurta. He opened his mouth to say something, but he ended up closing it in the end, causing me to raise an eyebrow. He should really get going now, but if he wanted to say something right now in the middle of this little mission, then it had to be important. "What is it?"

Kurapika shook his head, already turning away and heading for the door. "It's nothing… I'll tell you after we get Gon and Killua back."

=oOo=

A complete plunge into darkness.

That didn't really sit well with me, now that I thought about it, but it was part of the plan, so I couldn't really complain. A quick glance at my phone told me that in two minutes, I'd have to shut down the power and we'd have to move. It should probably take the Spiders more or less five seconds before their eyes would adjust, more than enough time for us to make our escape. Hopefully. A huff escaped my lips as I grabbed hold of the switch I was supposed to pull and took one more look at my phone. One more minute.

Gods.

It was during times like these that time moved the slowest. It was like the gods were purposefully prolonging the agony of waiting. Closing my eyes, I tightened my grip on the switch with one hand, the other, holding onto my phone. My phone was set to vibrate five seconds before seven o'clock to make up for any delay. After a few long seconds, the device in my hand began to shake and I quickly pulled down on the switch. As soon as that was out of the way, I opened my eyes, perfectly able to see in the dark.

Now it was time to get out of here.

I didn't waste any time in rushing back up to the ground floor – the power room had been underground – and made my way to the kitchen. There was always a door that led out in kitchens found in high-end establishments. It was where fresh ingredients would be picked up. After surprising a few hotel employees and chefs, I managed to exit the building and found myself in a back alley. The rain was still pouring down on the city and I quickly pulled up my hood before running off for the main road. It was highly unlikely for Leorio to actually wait up for me, given the situation, so I simply hailed cab. Besides, Kurapika had already told me on the way to the hotel where we should be once he caught the Spider Head.

At Lingon Airport.

Not to be confused with Ringon Airport, which was in the middle of a goddamn desert.

Lingon. Ringon.

Lack of creativity much?

It wasn't even ten minutes before I felt my phone ringing in my hand. A quick glance at the caller ID and I had to think he was calling in to check up on me. "I'm alright, Leorio," I promptly said as I answered the phone. "I made it out fine and I'm on my way to the airport, just as planned."

"That's good to hear."

"What about the kids?"

"Last I saw them, they were uninjured." I couldn't help but blink. That was Kurapika's voice, but he sounded a bit on edge. I couldn't blame him though. I couldn't imagine what it was like to be sitting right beside the person who murdered my whole family, but if he didn't pull himself together like he usually does, then that Spider they had with them would really think and feel that they had the upper hand in this.

"Am I on loudspeaker?" I blurted out.

"Ah, yeah," Leorio replied. "Look, Mina, we'll call you back when we get to the airport. If you get there before us, wait until we arrive, alright?"

I nodded, not that the man on the other end could really see though. "Yep. Leorio, kill the speakers for a sec, would ya?"

"Uh, sure…" I then heard a beep. "What is it?"

"I just want to ask you to keep an eye on Kurapika," I quietly said. "I can tell he's not the most stable right now, so he might do something stupid. Just…"

"I understand. Don't worry. I'll beat him up myself if he goes crazy."

=oOo=

Ignore him, Demina.

Ignore the man staring at you.

Ignore the leader of the Phantom Troupe.

"And who might you be?"

An eye of mine twitched, but I kept staring out the window. Leorio and the others had arrived before I did. The future doctor had called me when they did and told me to head over to a waiting airship. When you thought about it, it should've been like looking for a needle in a haystack – seriously, how could I pick out one airship from a whole bunch of airships? – but there had only been one airship separated from the rest and my gut had told me the lonesome thing was the one they were on. Right now, Kurapika was busy changing out of his disguise and back into his usual traditional Kurta garb. Of course, his Chain Jail was still in effect, keeping the door from closing all the way.

"Are you, by any chance, Mina? You must be, seeing as the woman in the other room is called Melody."

I continued to ignore the man. Or more accurately, tried to. I was facing the window, but thanks to the reflection, I could see the Spider looking right at me with that creepy, passive expression on his face. It was very unnerving, but I needed to keep my cool. I couldn't let him get under my skin.

Gods, I hated guard duty.

"There is no need to be so hostile," he mused. "With these chains, I cannot do anything to you, or your friends."

Just ignore him, Demina.

"Might I just say that you are a lovely young lady?" I couldn't hold back the huff that escaped my lips. This sounded like the beginning of a very bad joke. "I can see why the chain user keeps you around. It would indeed be refreshing to see a beautiful face at the end of a tiring day." Chains jingled right then and I raised a fine eyebrow. Ah, so Kurapika could hear him to some degree, and the blonde's reaction amused the Spider. "I thought it was those boys he was most worried about, but I was mistaken. Despite the circumstances, it is still you who he is most concerned of… Why is that?"

This man was making it so hard to play nice.

"I suggest you shut your mouth before someone shuts it for you," I evenly said, still not turning around to meet the man's gaze. Kurapika was taking his sweet time in changing and I could only keep on a straight face for so long. I was pretty sure Melody could hear us too, but it was next to impossible for the woman to step in right now. A while ago, Leorio had told me what happened on the way to the airport and apparently, not only did Kurapika lose it for a while, but Melody had also been pretty shaken.

After all, the lady could hear what others couldn't, and that was a pretty freaky position to be in.

I should know. I've been there.

"So the lady can speak."

"And hit you where it hurts if you don't shut up."

From the reflection, I could make out a small smirk appear on the man's face. I was not liking this one bit. "My answer to my question, Mina?" Chains jingled again and there was an undeniable chill that ran down my spine when he dragged out my name.

Keep it together, Demina. You need him alive.

"Do you really mean as much to him as I think he does?" Kurapika's chain jingled one last time before it grew taut. My eyes grew wide at the instant I felt a murderous presence and I immediately rushed to Spider's side, blocking the Nen infused punch the Kurta threw with a Nen enhanced arm of my own. Blazing red eyes shone from the shadow the door had cast and I promptly kicked the thing wide open, revealing a very pissed and fully clothed Kurapika.

But before I could even open my mouth to scold the blonde for being so brash and to remind him we needed the Spider in one, recognizable piece – maybe call him a few choice names too – I felt someone nuzzle his face into my still untied hair. "Because I believe he does," the man hummed, amusement evident in his voice, just as he moved away. It took both Kurapika and I a split second to realize what had happened, and when we did, the blonde was more furious than ever while I barely stopped myself from cringing in disgust.

"Bastard!" the Kurta hissed, preparing another, much stronger, punch, but I caught it again with my own hand. Which surprised him very much, by the way.

"Kurapika, stop this," I darkly said, glaring right back at the slightly older teen. Gods, I hated seeing him like this, so crazed with anger, but I couldn't really blame him. "You won't get anything from beating him up, so walk away."

"But-"

"We need him alive, for Gon and Killua." That was what I said, and it wasn't just for his sake. It was also for my own. I was this close from tearing off that man's smirk from his face with my own bare hands.

I'd never felt so violated before in my life.

Even Hibiki's nonsense couldn't compare to the sick feeling I had at the pit of my stomach.

It turned out to be a glaring contest between Kurapika and I, but it didn't last long enough for either of us to win since Melody popped into the room, her head peaking out of the door at the other end of the room. "Kurapika, Mina. She's here." Both of us ended up hissing a curse of our own and took a step back from each other. I settled myself back on the crate I had been sitting on a while ago while Kurapika righted himself and chained up the Spider's mouth.

"Alright. Send her in."

=oOo=

"Okay, let's begin the exchange!"

Lifting my head, I eyed the two boys that were standing a good distance away from us as they walked over. At the same time, the man to my right began to walk away, heading over to Pakunoda and Hisoka, who, by the way, shouldn't really be here. The psycho had suddenly appeared at the airport and made a very compelling argument for him to be on the airship bound for this place right here, in the middle of nowhere. The whole thing was pretty much quiet and as soon as Gon and Killua reached us, I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

Thank the gods they were alright.

Once that was out of the way, my friends and I went back to the airship and let Hisoka deal with the Spider Head. Hopefully, the psycho would kill that thief. But then again, with the man's Nen practically sealed, Hisoka – being the sick, deranged man that he was – wouldn't even bother fighting the Troupe leader. On the other hand, I could hope for the best and they'd kill each other off. Now wouldn't that be dandy?

Two birds with one stone, they said.

"Do you really mean as much to him as I think he does? Because I believe he does."

My eyebrows pulled together. What a time for that statement to pop up. Now I really wished I had clawed his smirk off when I had the chance.

"I'm sorry for putting you in danger…" I heard Kurapika murmur and I tilted my head a bit away from the window – I really liked this window – to watch the boys talk among themselves.

Gon shook his head. "Nah… You used your chains on the boss, right?"

"Yeah, but… This isn't the end." It was then that the Kurta met my gaze and suddenly, I was very worried. The blonde seriously needed a break. Sure, his eyes had gone back to their normal brown, but he was paler than bone and the bags under his eyes had grown considerably deeper. I wouldn't be too surprised if the guy suddenly collapsed right here and right now.

And he did.

Thankfully, Leorio caught him before he could hit the floor and he and the two kids went off to find the blonde a proper place to rest. I got up to follow after them but my phone suddenly beeped and I fished it out of one of my pockets. It was a message from an unknown number, but judging from the suit symbols that littered the short line of text, I had a pretty safe guess who it was from. As surprising and troubling as it was to find out Hisoka had my number – the creepy little bastard – what was even more troubling and creepy was the content.

"A message from the boss: You remind me so much of your mother. Please send her my regards."