Idle: Movement

Nemmi stared down at her, pale blue breaking the monotony of a white tile ceiling. Her entire body felt heavy, down to her eyelids feeling like lead weights. Thoughts swam around her head half-finished and nonsensical, clarity missing from more than just waking up.

A twitch of her hand, and she winced. Blissful numbness zapped away, it hurt. Still. Drug-induced haze faded enough that the memory gap from jungle to hospital slowly filled.

A hushed but excited, "You're awake!" and Lan froze. That voice, she didn't dare move and break the hallucination. Then Auntie, as real as can be, leaned over her. Worry lines deep, her eyes shined with joy and concern.

Mouth dry, Lan's lips parted to no words. Just a few stupid tears trying to gather in her eyes. Auntie carefully brushed Lan's hair from her face, fussing over her. Lan felt a pit in her stomach as all the residual fear bubbled up from her time spent on the forest floor, alone, in crippling pain. Lips pressed together, but she still had to choke back a whimper. It had hurt so fucking bad. Auntie hushed her with the affirmation it's okay, gingerly bringing Lan into a loose hug.

As Lan's hiccupping tapered, tears under control, Auntie pulled away. "You had me so worried," Auntie admonished, stern tone lacking. She kept her hand on Lan's shoulder, thumb rubbing gentle circles. "How do you feel?"

Perception clouded, mostly numb, "Like I'm on a ton of painkillers," she concluded. Smallest testing twitches of limbs, pain shot up her right arm. She didn't understand why, above all else, that hurt the most. "My right arm hurts. A lot."

Knuckle appeared, looking down at her as he leaned over the bed. Band-aids on his face, bruise on his cheek, bandage peeking out from his sleeve as he tried in vain to fix a drooping pompadour… "Your old injures may have always hurt."

That… made sense. The amount of damage Adalei had caused, Machi had said she could only do so much with what was left intact. Cosmetically healed, deeper damage remained. Damage she probably exacerbated greatly with the training she had forced herself through later. The reason she felt pain at all…

"That's also the arm that snake bit," Knuckle reminded. Doctors said she may have nerve damage, but since she could move it fine she brushed it off. Like every injury.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, breaking eye contact with him. All the scrapes… Like fever dreams, or, truthfully, nightmares, she recalled brief flickers of distorted reality twisted into hallucinations.

The venom, physical pain over mental anguish, it still too closely mirrored her time with the Fan Shi.

"It's fine, Lanfen." Knuckle's tough look faded. Rings under his eyes, he hadn't slept well since dragging her here. "A few minor cuts and bruises were worth getting you here. Most I could have avoided if I wasn't rushing." A second passed and he seemed to realize brushing it off wasn't enough for her to forgive herself. "And I know you didn't mean to, either. You were just," he paused, mulling the phrasing, "in a bad place."

Did he… did he know what happened with the Fan Shi?

A glance to Auntie, and she shook her head. There was only one other person apart from the Fan Shi that knew exactly what had happened there. She had wanted it to stay that way because… Embarrassed was a terrible word to affix to it, but shameful and humiliated distressed her more. Minimizing her emotions at least let her pretend things weren't as awful as she remembered.

Chrollo may have had to divulge some of what happened to properly explain how Knuckle should proceed. She had told Knuckle to call him for that very reason. Trust Knuckle as she may, she wished… She could have kept it a secret. Their dynamic had changed enough already. That… scared her. She wasn't good at maintaining relationships.

"Best we can tell," Knuckle started, "that chimera ant had venomous Nen that works by directly attacking aura. The curse you already have started to fight it, but since it was also affected, your sense of pain kicked in," he explained- No, repeated. "Your condition's improving, now. For a couple of days, they had you in an induced coma to… you know." Prevent her from tearing apart the sterile room that also reminded her of the Fan Shi base. Add restraints, and it would be the same. She wondered if Chrollo suggested immediate sedation; it seemed like a drastic measure Knuckle and the hospital staff would use as a last-ditch effort after some casualties. "Now you're on some strong pain meds, but that's about all the hospital can do for you. Trying to exorcise just the ant's Nen wasn't going to happen, so… You just have to wait for your curse to finish dispersing the venom."

Lan nodded, regretting the movement. Her neck felt stiff, and, suddenly, stiff was more than resistance. Everything hurt. She didn't understand how people lived like this…

"Is…" Her voice trailed as she looked back to Auntie. Someone had called her, and Knuckle hadn't known she existed. Also, even if Auntie had called, Knuckle had the decency to not answer someone else's phone. "Is Chrollo here?"

"No." As though his aggravation didn't appear in his voice, Knuckle shook his head for emphasis. "Haven't heard from him since calling him on the way here days ago."

She flinched as her fingers picked at the blanket. Nemmi hopped from the headboard to the floor. "Oh…" Unwarranted dejection settled on her. She supposed he sent Auntie for a reason.

"He said he was preoccupied," Auntie cut in, word scathingly accusatory. "Bastard," she muttered, face scrunched into a severe frown, also needing to emphasize that point.

Lan tried to swallow her disappointment. She really shouldn't defend him. Not because he deserved blame, for once, but because of her audience. Auntie and Knuckle really didn't like him. "Things in Meteor City were bad, last time we spoke." Eyes on the blanket, on her left hand picking at fabric, she stupidly kept talking. "The mafia attacks got worse after some sort of illness started spreading so getting rid of..."

Her eyes met Auntie's and then Knuckle's, words catching. Auntie's thoughts had gone one horrible direction while who knows where Knuckle's went. She let the subject die there. Chrollo could incriminate himself well enough without her help.

Nemmi returned, shuffling for her attention in the silence. He deposited one sheep plush in her hand. She wanted to pet him. She fiddled with the toy instead, fabric soft, comforting. Nemmi had survived the venom by keeping distant. If he got too close for too long, she guessed the ant's Nen would latch onto him and eat away at him until he vanished. The curse needed to weaken the venom more before she dared let Nemmi near. In her current condition, she couldn't remake him. Even upon recovery, it would take longer than she wanted to wait.

All the aura he had absorbed while fighting the first ant would help maintain him for a while, at least.

"I'm staying until you're better." Auntie gave Lan's shoulder the lightest of pats. "I'll admit that the one thing Chrollo has going for him is his wallet."

Lan smiled the slightest bit. She wondered how much Chrollo spent to bribe Auntie into not being impossible and accept his peace offering. He certainly knew Auntie would stay no matter if she had to pay for everything herself.

"I'm sticking around for a while, too."

"But"-

"Not happening!" Knuckle pointed at her to shut down her complaints. "We can't risk the chimera ant dying while you're like this. I know you know that Nen curses are serious business. Your boyfriend sounded pretty damn convinced you understood that while fighting it."

She chewed on her lip, wanting to argue that they went after the ant because it was being an ecological terror best dealt with swiftly. But, she did in fact know better. She didn't need Chrollo calling her on her recklessness while not even here, though.

"You injured it, didn't you? It's not going to be as active until it's healed."

Reason being used against her, she kept quiet. Throbbing in her arm, pain radiating, she gave up on the idea of asking to leave the white-walled hell her recklessness landed her in.

As much as she hated hospitals, she needed to be here.

Lighter wheel clicking, feet pacing a trail back and forth, back and forth, Agnello couldn't be convinced otherwise. Haven did this. Whatever the hell was happening in Meteor City, it was Haven. When Agnello agreed to let them loose on the city, this is not what he had agreed to. Haven made it seem like they wanted to wipe out the depraved city of junk, not wage an indiscriminate attack on every mafia network entrenched in the place.

His contacts couldn't track down Haven in the chaos. Too busy fighting rabid residents armed by old crone Hecate. Outside Meteor City, desperation ran high to find an exorcist capable of removing the Nen plague that'd spread from the junkyard back home.

"Where the fuck did Miwa disappear to?" She knew Haven was up to something. Instead of sharing critical information, she had been all standoffish, kept quiet. She caused this shitshow.

"It's fine," Roeis told him again, voice dead tired to match the dark rings under his eyes. Been awake for days, coordinating his little Hunter contacts. "Haven was blackmailing her with something. She went to check on it." About the fifth time Agnello'd asked, and Roeis refused to elaborate further. Just kept staring at screens or talking on the phone.

Agnello's pacing stopped with his empty lighter thrown on the ground. "Sybil did this, you know." Witch glared at him, waver in her aura a challenge. Quiet since they got back, she "Caused all of this to go to shit with your supposed lead."

"Like, it isn't my fault that you went behind my back." Sybil crossed her arms over her chest, eyes slivers as she looked down her nose. "Meeting with Minji wasn't my idea, you know. If someone," her glower shot to Roeis, "told me what Haven shared, maybe I could have forced Minji to meet outside of Meteor City." Silence at her inexplicably reasonable words, she scoffed, tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Definitely isn't my fault Miwa let Hisoka see her with Minji, either. Seriously, like, we don't even know if he cares since he hasn't contacted them."

Any attempt at contact ended with cards and casualties, Roeis reminded, solemn, tense. He sent a few bounty hunters after the clown under that pretense. Keyword: pretense. Guy had killed his mentor, sent him bawling to this mess of a revenge club. He didn't want Hisoka anywhere near him.

"Quit blaming me for Haven, too," Sybil whined, pointing to Agnello. "I didn't let them walk off."

"You bit-"

"Shut up!" Angello and Sybil stepped back from each other's throats. Roeis stared at his laptop, trying to erase the spectacle his raised voice created. "Just, shut up already," he repeated, softer, more in character. "Sybil's lead is checking out." News to Agnello, he hovered over Roeis' shoulder to see the screen. Roeis slammed the laptop closed. "Private airship didn't follow the flight plan it'd submitted, but they'll be able to pick the trail back up based on its last reported coordinates and how much fuel it had. Also posted a reward for its location."

"About damn time." Waiting around while Haven wrecked shit, they needed the Phantom Troupe neutralized. Splitting ranks now wouldn't do him any good. "This fucking plan better work," Agnello grumbled, reaching into his jacket. Delivery dropped a couple hours ago, Agnello wished he'd realized his lighter was dry.

"Kid, got something for you." Pushing a handgun into his face, Roeis froze. Pointed at the damn floor, mortified look on his face- "Take the fucking thing!" Agnello shoved it in his face again to no response but doe eyes. "Ability like yours, you're going to need some sort of protection, right? Shouldn't be too hard for a manipulator to manage a bit of emission to fire a Nen-coated bullet." Nothing. "Asked for the damn thing, quit staring at it and take it!"

Shaking hand finally accepted the damn gun. Agnello swore, if this idiot didn't have any idea how to work it- These people were on his last nerve.

"It was a cross-ocean flight," Roeis whispered, awkwardly fiddling with the gun to unload it. "We'll go when Miwa gets back."

Haven perused one of Hecate's many bookshelves, boredom setting in as they remained, essentially, captive. Soft noise, the guard assigned to monitoring Haven leaned against the doorframe, blocking the sole exit.

Not that Haven planned to run. Despite their limited ways to confirm, everything outside seemed to be going well enough. Haven wouldn't risk contacting any of the kids in any manner. Someone from the revenge team could, potentially, call Haven being Hecate didn't confiscate their phone just in case they did. Haven doubted they would. At least, more than Agnello making dramatic threats with no follow through. He had already done that plenty.

They picked up a thick book at the start of the shelf. Hecate's interests, judging titles alone, were foremost toxins, secondarily gardening, and, finally, weaponry. The few dusty adventure tales confined to the lowest shelf didn't appear to be hers.

Stale title of A Compendium of Toxins in the Natural World: Subtropical Species, Volume One. Haven mindlessly flipped through worn pages, illustrations and diagrams more interesting than science babble.

Bold black stylization, tentacles around a ring-dotted mass- Image flickering by as pages fell, Haven caught the pages, turned back quickly. No idea what that was, but they had seen that before. Locating the image again…

Plain-ring tusked octopus. Name unfamiliar, meaningless, but the image. Starker when black on white than etched glass, yet it was a perfect match. Tentacles positioned the same, lines now more apparent as tusks and rings, this had been the creature on the vial Circe held accusingly. The damning evidence Hecate attempted to hide.

Skimming the paragraph on side-effects confirmed the pit in their stomach. The things Naida had reported Minji treating at the clinic, the symptoms matched the majority of the poisonings caused by the tainted mafia supplies.

Slowly closing the book, sliding it back onto the shelf without reaction, took everything. Haven took the book beside it, repeating their actions without paying any attention to the pages.

Hecate… Hecate wasn't seeking to control Meteor City by ousting the mafia. She had never cut ties with the mafia, weapons she armed her militia with proof as much as how paranoid she became around Haven's Nen. And how upset she had been that they had killed mafia-associated elders, it wasn't suspicion being drawn to her, it was losing her allies.

She wanted to control both.

Using Haven's ability to inflict further chaos on an already crumbling system, she intended to weaken both sides until she could seize Meteor City and then move onto unifying the broken families formerly under the Ten Dons.

Circe had confronted her, likely planned to interfere further, but- But Haven fucked up.

They weren't in any position to stop Hecate alone, and those most capable of stopping her would be busy playing with the diversion Hecate had Haven create.

Lan sleepily leaned into the hand combing through her hair. Pleasant, comforting, careful not to disturb her, she wondered what time it was. No blaring light behind her eyelids, hospital hallway quiet, when were visiting hours again? Seemed too early or late or maybe Auntie bullied her way in…

Weight shifting on the bed beside her, something soft tickling her cheek, the movement brought a scent. Nothing floral or vanilla like Auntie's perfumes. Spices, mostly.

Dumb dreamy smile on her lips, she cracked her eyes open. "Hey," she lamely greeted, sleep still in her voice. Chrollo's fingers slipped through her hair, his hand cupping her cheek. A soft greeting of her name, he leaned down, brushed his lips to hers. She managed to work her left arm from the covers in time to wrap it over his shoulder. She buried her nose in the crook of his neck, holding him close.

A few moments of her enjoying the familiar tickle of the fur lining his coat, his warmth, smell of leather, spice, and him, he kissed the side of her head, fractionally pulled away.

"You started wearing a consistent scent," she mumbled, refusing to release him.

"I enjoy when you do, so I thought perhaps you would as well." Sweet answer spoken so softly, she gave up, let go. Instead of standing, he moved to lie down beside her in the rather small hospital bed. She gingerly made room, wincing at a wrong move. His eyes drifted over the scars circling her right arm as she favored it. "You're still in pain."

"I am." Her attention fled from dark eyes picking apart her few words. She reminded herself it was okay to tell him, that he wouldn't think less of her over it, nor sugarcoat his response. "I guess… that my arm didn't heal well." Nothing from the Fan Shi incident had healed well. Maybe, in a way, that had influenced his desire for revenge against them. They hurt her irreparably. Weak, pitiful laugh, she added, "It hurts more than the bite from the chimera ant." Truthfully, she barely even felt that wound underneath the tearing, grinding, burning, hell that was her right arm. "I don't understand how you deal with this every waking moment."

"You have no pain tolerance," he said, destroying the lie she usually hid behind. She should have never experienced this truth. "Nor a frame of reference. In fact, if your arm had not been previously injured, a papercut would have been disabling." He smiled slightly when she scoffed. A papercut from a page while reading, she had asked if it hurt as much as people say. He told her having a Nen chain squeezing your heart was much worse. "I've had years to adjust," he reassured. He enjoyed her attention and concern, of course, but he didn't need her preoccupied with worry at every scratch. He made that clear while training with her.

A pause, her mind wandered back. "I didn't…" Her eyes avoided his. Daring to comment felt ungrateful, but not asking… "I didn't think you would be here."

"Lanfen," his expression apologetic, caught, his voice quieted, "I hadn't planned to." And why should he have? The situation didn't call for his assistance any further than that one phone call. He had even been kind enough to send Auntie to comfort her through recovery. He had no obligation to physically appear when on Phantom Troupe business. "However," he continued with amusement, "I found myself so preoccupied with you that I believe I got on everyone's nerves." Her face scrunched. As secretive and controlled as he was, she wondered what gave him away. "I would have been here days ago had we not have had to wait for a lull in a dust storm- that still persists, to my understanding."

Her face scrunched with mild irritation. "Storms do love to interrupt our travel plans." She forgave him for not calling; he probably couldn't. He wouldn't lie about something so… trivial. Not when he had already admitted to the worse offence.

"After driving through the storm to the nearest city, we stole an airship. We crashed it in the Republic of Hass before stealing a series of vehicles to arrive here without every manner of authority accompanying us."

She laughed under her breath, flinching. How did that hurt? Scowling already, she also considered his suspect we. Fantastic. Company.

She didn't understand. "Chrollo, as happy as I am to have you here, I…" He wouldn't choose her over Troupe business. Never. Pulling members away with him made even less sense. "Doesn't this interrupt whatever you were doing in Meteor City?" In the very least, he was giving up a powerful ability. For her. To visit her.

"You are irreplaceable." Deadpan, slight frown, touch of irritation in his voice, she quieted. In awe, mostly. Denying his love got on his nerves. Especially with the grand romantic gesture of abandoning his usual duties to come here. He must have agonized over the decision.

"Chrollo," she reached out, fingertips resting on his chest, "I love you."

He gently took her hand, raised it to his lips to brush a kiss against her knuckles. Grey eyes solemn as he looked into her eyes, he quietly whispered, "Trust that I'm here for you. That I wouldn't abandon you." No ulterior motives, just the miraculous fact he loved her. "Given your condition, I do not want you taking on unnecessary risk. Particularly if my issues have since become yours."

Illusion shattered, Miwa, Hisoka, Minji, the possibility of the Zoldycks appearing, it hit her out of her drug and pain stupor. She'd pushed that to the back of her mind while playing Hunter. The thought of them finding her now, Auntie and Knuckle present to complicate things more, mortified her. Nemmi hopped to Chrollo's shoulder, shuffled with new nerves.

Chrollo spared a glance to Nemmi before his eyes returned to hers. "I trust that those that stayed in Meteor City can handle matters there while I take care of matters here." Another kiss to her hand, intensity in his eyes, "I apologize, but I can't keep that promise. Once things in Meteor City are settled, I will go see that this issue is dealt with permanently. I have no interest in avenging your death."

She understood Hisoka, he already had a death warrant signed, but the implication. The promise. Indoor Fish. Nymph Dance. Teleportation as well. "You would give up all those abilities."

"Strange, isn't it?" A smile flickered on his lips, bemusement, amusement, something between. "I believe you've driven me truly insane, Lanfen." A gentle squeeze of her hand before he released it, he brought her into an embrace so careful to avoid causing pain. His hand on the back of her head, he spoke softly beside her ear. "Or, perhaps, this is the sanest I've ever been. I haven't decided which. I am only sure that you are irreplaceably dear to me, and that's reason enough."

Lanfen buried her face into his shoulder once more, nodding. Perhaps not certain, perhaps not even equally, but, in the very least, he held her dear like he held the Spider dear. Enough so that he was here despite everything else, despite the sacrifices he would have to make.