Chapter 5

"This is a human hand." Pitou said while staring at the dish. "I mean, Chimera ants eat humans all the time, right? Why am I suddenly uncomfortable with this?" She said while trying not to puke. "I can't eat this. It's too disgusting. Inuka needs to prepare me a new dish!" She yelled.

Neferpitou's sudden change in attitude alarmed her but not as much as the inedible meal prepared for her. She went to the palaces kitchen and decided to confront Inuka. As she marched on her way to the kitchen she heard snoring coming from somewhere far in the hallway. She decided to investigate so she could scold whoever is sleeping on the job. Already annoyed as she is, she refuses to tolerate slacking. As she gets closer to the source of the snoring she sees a slightly familiar face in the distance of the hall. It's Jagren, the young chimera ant who Hippotsu told her about.

She ponders as she looks at him sleeping on the ground with his hood over his head. He looked like a pre-teen child with Jaguar genes. He was attired with electric blue shorts, an ocean blue hoodie and a sky blue bandanna around his neck."Hmmm. He looks really young, and he's also how come I haven't seen him before? I guess Shaipouf did handle most of the recruiting. Sigh" She thought.

"Hey, get up." Pitou commanded. There was no response from the little Jaguar boy. He just continued to snore. It was definitely a surprise to Pitou who last saw him as very energetic and disruptive. She continued "Come on! Wake up already!" she said while nudging him back and forth. But he wouldn't budge no matter what she did. Obviously fed up with the lack of a response, Pitou decided to punch a hole in the wall next to him really hard. She succeeds and causes some debris to fall. Some soldier ants who were just passing by saw her and quickly ran away out of fear.

After all of that he still wouldn't wake up. Pitou who was now really annoyed by the insubordination pulled the young jaguar boy's hood off and prepared to attack him. However when she pulled his hood off he was snoring with a bubble in his nose, this brought back memories of Komugi to Pitou. The peaceful look of Jagren's made Pitou reminisce about Komugi's influence on the king and how much she meant to him. Thanks to this sense of compassion she decided to carry him to her quarters and let him rest there. "Honestly. What am I doing?" she said while clenching her teeth in embarrassment.

Pitou continued to march towards the kitchen thinking of what she was going to say for when she confronts Inuka. When she made it to the kitchen she met with Inuka and said. "Inuka...that dish-" however she was cut off.

"OH PITOU-SAMA! DID YOU LIKE IT?! Huh? Did you? Chef Pig taught me how to make that dish! OH HE'S SUCH A GOOD CHEF! I wish he were still here!" Inuka said.

Pitou looked at her with confusion. "Actually, I couldn't finish it." Said Pitou.

"Hm? But why? Was there too much salt on it? Oh, are you more of a brain person? I actually prefer the breast myself and-" before she could finish Pitou cut her off.

"Inuka, I'm going to be honest with you; I didn't eat the dish." Pitou claimed

Inuka looked at her while concerned "Huh? What do you mean you didn't eat the dish? Don't you like human meat?" She asked casually.

Pitou looked to the ground and said "I'm no longer...'comfortable' with human flesh."

Inuka was rightfully confused. All chimera ants ate human beings on a regular basis. Even being made from human genes didn't seem to faze them. "Forgive me Pitou-sama. I'm not sure I understand. You ate a human before right?" Inuka asked while jumping up and down.

"I realize that. But something in me has changed. For some reason, I can't stand the thought of eating another human." Pitou said. "Inuka, from now on. Only serve dishes that aren't made from human meat. Understood?" Pitou commanded.

Inuka looked at Pitou and was rather terrified of what she was saying. But she ultimately bowed and accepted what she said. Neferpitou left the kitchen to gather her thoughts. "What's going on? This isn't like me at all. Why am I suddenly so bothered by things that never fazed me in the past? Is it because I lost my nen...or maybe...something else? Meow I understand! Yes, it's gotta be that! My aura is gone, some of my memories are gone and even bits of my personality are gone. Is there anything else I lost when I fought that kid?" Pitou looked at the palms of her hands while trying to figure out what was going on with her. "This whole thing is starting to stress me out. I guess I'll go check on that Jagren and take my mind off of this."

Pitou returned to her quarters once again to see if the sleeping Jaguar chimera ant was still sound asleep, however when she got there, he seemed to be absent from the room. "It looks like he woke up. He probably got nervous about being the queens quarters and made a break for it. HAH! I could imagine the look on his face." Pitou jokingly said. Suddenly she heard a rustling sound in the bathroom of her quarters thanks to her sensitive hearing. "Hm? Is he still here? Hehehe this should be fun!" Pitou said with a sinister looking smile.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Saherta. There is an apartment complex that is used as a shelter for those under the protection of the Hunter Association. Colt and Reina are currently in residence here. They have a bit of an awkward relationship despite Colt's best efforts to understand her. Reina was born with Kite's memories instead of the girl her body was originally made from, making the disparity in their relationship a lot more prominent. Colt enters Kite's room who happens to be reading a book about the history of a man named Don Freecs. "Hey Reina..." said Colt.

"I told you already, my name is Kite." she responded.

"Right. Well Kite, I'm sure this experience must be odd for you; being reborn as a Chimera ant with all of your memories fully intact. I just wanted to check in on you." He said calmly.

Kite responded with "I'm fine. I've already gotten used to it."

Colt tried to rebuttal "Well, it just seems like you're not taking this whole situation too well. Aren't you worried about any of this?"

Kite decided to entertain the conversation just for a moment. "Sigh I've been through weirder situations. This is just one of the many that I have to accept. Although there is one concern I do have. Do you think you could help me understand?"

Colt's eyes widened as a result of finally being glad that Kite was opening up to him. "Y-yes! If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them."

Kite closed the book in his hand and looked at Colt with a rather serious expression and then she said "Am I going to die soon?"

Colt looked at Kite with a rather shocked expression. "W-why would you ask that?" He asked.

"If you think about it, the body I'm in now aged pretty quickly, within the span of a few months in fact. How long will it be before this girl is a fully grown adult. And how long afterward before I become an elderly woman?" Kite firmly said.

The room was silent for a while. Colt didn't know what to say for he didn't know himself. Reina's growth rate was astonishing to him even among his Chimera brethren unique features he has never seen a case like this. He responds with "I'm not sure to be honest. But Reina I-" however Kite cuts him off.

"It's Kite." she says.

"R-right. Listen, I'm sure everything is going to be alright. You don't have to worry." Colt reassures. However Kite went back to reading her book knowing full well that Colt didn't have the answer she needed. "Well I'll be in the other room if you need me." says Colt who has left Kites room.

Kite was now alone with her thoughts. She thought back at the time 'he' fought Neferpitou. He thought back at the pain he felt from losing his arm but was able to stand his ground. Knowing those could be his final moments, he readied his crazy slots ability and waited for Pitou to make another move. "Wise decision Killua. Now take Gon and run!" He pleaded with the white haired boy. Once Killua was no longer in range of the fight. Kite asked Pitou a question. "You're much stronger then some of the other chimera ants I've faced so far. Tell me, are you one of the royal guard?" Kite asked.

"Hm? How do you know about that?" Pitou asked with a rather devious smile

"Your speed and power far outmatch that of your soldier ants. I assume one with as much nen output as yourself would be of a higher ranking." answered Kite.

"Interesting. So not all humans are as dumb as I thought. You're capable of using your heads! Hm...speaking of heads; I'd like to see what makes you so intelligent. Won't you let me pick at that brain of yours? Come on mister human...give me...your head!" Neferpitou said while spewing a terrifying aura.

Kite's attempt to buy time has failed, he knew had to activate the secret number of his crazy slots before she could lunge at him. If he had a little bit more time he would be able predict and possibly control where he would end up however that was no longer an option. He had to hope his next life would be as ideal as the one he had lived up till now. He activated the number in his crazy slots that has never been used by him before. This number was able to transfer his consciousness and memories onto a newborn vessel to perform a pseudo-reincarnation of sorts. "I have no choice." He muttered to himself.

Neferpitou lunged at him while aiming for his neck. The slots rolled the secret number that Kite had prepared. And once it did, he closed his eyes, smirked confidently and said "Damn, bad spin."

End of Chapter 5