Chapter Fifteen

Approaching Darkness

Kurapika hums to himself as he changes into fresh clothes. Another eventless guarding session. One less worry.

A knock on the door breaks through the Kurta chant he's now singing under his breath.

"Gon?" Kurapika is surprised to see two of his friends there. Gon holds an ice pack and looks almost afraid, and everyone knows Gon is afraid of nothing.

Killua, chagrined, stands behind Gon.

"Can we come in?" Gon asks.

"Of course." Kurapika steps back. "Is everything okay?"

"Are you okay?" Gon presses. He holds out the ice pack with quivering hands.

"I'm fine now. No more meltdowns," Kurapika says with a quick smile that's not exactly reassuring.

"That's not it," Killua mumbles.

"Pardon?"

"Does it hurt?" Gon bursts forth. "Are you in pain?"

A pall settles over Kurapika. His jaw slackens. "Who …"
"Hisoka; who else? Although, to be fair to everyone's favorite clown, he spared us from Illumi's version," Killua explains.

"Ah." Kurapika tries to laugh at the absurdity, but he's too embarrassed to do much besides tremble with sweat dotting his brow.

Gon presses the ice pack against Kurapika's forehead.

"I'm really okay, I promise." Kurapika looks away. He still feels dirty. Still feels like a grimy traitor. A traitor unworthy of atonement.

"Do you like it?" Killua finally dares to ask.

Kurapika squeals. "Why are you asking?"

"Because we didn't know people did these weird things, and I don't get it," Gon protests.

"I knew, but still don't understand," Killua grumbles. "And you're more approachable than the other options."

"I see." Kurapika sits on his bed. He wonders, if he texts Chrollo, will he rescue him now? Or will Chrollo laugh at his current misfortune?

But when he blinks, Killua and Gon have already sat at the edge of his bed.

"Okay, so what exactly…did you do?" Killua looks fascinated.

"You're twelve," Kurapika says seriously.

"We need to hear something normal," Killua says.

"If it's not painful, what does it feel like?" Gon clasps his hands. "I want to know."

This, Kurapika decides, must be his punishment for his affair.


"Well, no, you ask if it's okay," says Kurapika's doll.

"Okay, stopping this." Kalluto folds his Kurapika, Gon, and Killua paper dolls. "Hmm, Alluka, who else do you want to see?"
"Brother Milluki!" Alluka smiles. She grips her the shiny necklace Kalluto gave her.

"Okay." Kalluto fishes around for Milluki's paper doll.

"I don't know. Illumi doesn't tell me much of anything," says Milluki's voice.

Mother speaks. "We have to find out if these rumors are true!"

"Can you believe anything from an airship bar?" Milluki forces a laugh.

"Hmm." Father's distrust is evident, and Alluka shivers at the sound of his voice.

"Enough of that." Kalluto folds up the dolls. "I have a better idea."

He hands Alluka two paper dolls: one colored to resemble Alluka, the other Nanika. "So you can talk through a doll instead of switching who's out all the time."

Alluka gasps. "You're the best little brother."

"Am I?" Kalluto looks hopeful. He's her only little brother, after all, but maybe he's still special to her.

"Yes!" She hugs him, and Kalluto decides he's going to be the best little brother and do what he ought to have done when he first saw her.

"Do you want to go steal ice cream with me?"


"We're nearing the continent."

Tserriednich glances across the way to the unusual man in the cell facing from him. He looks like the dead Hunter Chairman, but younger and maybe more stupid. "Oh? Do you suppose you'll escape and rule a new empire?"

"I'm not here for Empire. I'm here for my own heart." The man closes his eyes and sniffs the air. "It smells like land and mystery; can you not tell? I'd guess we're in the shallows before the land."

"I smell darkness." Tserriednich doesn't, but he doesn't mind frightening this man.

"You're a liar if there ever was one." The man grins. He extends his hand between the cell bars. "Beyond Netero."

"Your father named you Beyond?" And Tserriednich thought Tserriednich was a poor name. "What a selfish bastard."

"I never spent enough time with him to know," Beyond says agreeably.

"Fathers were made to disappoint." Tserriednich crosses his arms. "And be killed by their sons."

Beyond smiles dryly. "How bleak."

Tserriednich, if he's being honest, does not care much for ruling a continent. Or even the Kakin Empire. He cares about killing, about that one moment between life and death where a person's secret self is released. He cares about the satisfaction of watching a man wither away and die, of a deep philosophical conversation on humanity's mind before animalistically fucking a girl, of the intimacy created by brutality.

He doesn't want to win this contest for renown. He wants to win to know who people are. Because he's always been lonely.

He ought to have started with the powerful, though. Next time, he won't make such a mistake.

A voice rings out.

"Hello, brother dear."

Tserriednich turns to see a slender young woman with two scars across her face and a crown of thorns.

"And you are…"

"Morena Prudo." The young woman smiles at Beyond. "A friend of Netero's."

"And my bastard sister." Tserriednich grins. "Your mother must have been terribly ugly if my Father didn't marry her."

"You'd be so easy to kill, all locked up and helpless in that cage," she purrs in return.

"What a lovely clapback. All look, no bite. I prefer women who bite." Tserriednich winks.

Morena's lips curl in digust. "Well, you're in luck, brother."

"Am I?"

"First things first. I hate you. But I'll free you on one condition." She holds up a finger. "You start your path by killing our father."

"And what's in it for you?"

Morena hardens her eyes. "Vengeance."

She saunters closer, until Tserriednich feels her aura. "They're imprisoned you without aura here, correct?"

"Until I escape with your help, no doubt." Tserriednich leans his head against the bars.

"You'll escape with your own help, of a kind." Morena leans forward and bites her brother's lips.

Tserriednich is not complaining, though Beyond looks mildly pained.

"Whooo!" Tserriednich steps back. He feels an aura rumbling within him. "Now, that's an interesting ability."

"It strengthens the more you kill, brother dear." Morena wipes her lips and sashays away. "Have fun escaping."


Nasubi Hui Guo Rou, king of Kakin, funder of this expedition, is most annoyed, even after a night of wine. He had higher hopes for Tserriednich than his imprisonment.

Of course, the rumors of the Phantom Troupe add another delectable portion. He's heard there are beautiful women among them.

There are also beautiful prostitutes waiting in his quarters. He smiles to himself as he enters his room and shooes them to the sitting room.

One can imagine Nasubi's surprise when he drops his robe to Tserriednich waiting there.

"Well, if it isn't my prodigal son."

"Thank you, Father. I consider that a compliment, mmm." Tserriednich crosses the room wih a languid pace.

"I had high hopes for you. They may have been restored just now." Nasubi settles his girth onto his brocade sofa. "You'll have to divide your time between finding your treasure and the succession contest, however."

"Treasure?" Tserriednich feels as though cold steel has pierced his heart.

"Indeed. The Phantom Troupe appears to have made off with much of it, or so Benjamin tells me."

Tserriednich holds his breath. Not his treasure. Those jewels, those coins, those books and body parts – they're more than things to him. They're memories of past people who held these items, even if briefly, with no idea where their treasure would pass next. They're collections of the human spirit. Their financial worth is paltry compared to their human meaning.

"He's hunting them now." Nasubi snorts.

"He'll get none of the glory," Tserriednich says. "And neither shall you."

He steps closer, conjuring a candle in his hand. It burns before his father's amused eyes.

"How splendid, Tserriednich."

"My favorite part about candles isn't the flame, did you know? Not even the pain of extinguishing it with your fingers. No, I like how candles melt. Reduced to puddles just to expand their power." Tserriednich smiles at his father, who frowns.

He reaches up to wipe the sweat off his creased brow, but instead of brine, he sees his own flesh smeared across his hand.

"Guards!"

"They work for me now," says a female voice, entering the room. Two scars cover her eye.

"Who – who are you?" grunts Nasubi. He falls to the ground, staining the beautiful embroidery with melted fat and skin.

"Now, that's going to be quite a mess." Morena shrugs. "Thank you, brother. Now, your reward awaits." She opens the door to the sitting room.

"Always." Tserriednich grins at his father's harem of girls huddled there. "Am I not more handsome than him?"

They nod. As his father melts behind him, refusing to scream, refusing to give his son the satisfaction, Tserriednich feels alive.

Because now he knows – his father only lived for lust.

So Tserriednich closes the door behind him. Nasubi can die alone, without seeing another breast.

Morena stalks out of the room. The prince has leveled up. And now, though she's sorry to interrupt her brother's lechery – and she's not – it's time to make sure the ship doesn't have time to notice he's missing.


"Woble, dear, why are you crying?" Oito pats the child. It's well past midnight, and Woble is uncharqctristically fussy.

"Shh. Everything's going to be okay. I promise, Woble." Oito has no intention of leaving the Black Whale when they arrive. She will never endanger her child.

Perhaps she's a coward, or perhaps a prudent mother, but Oito's lust for adventure is second to her care for her daughter.

There's a small moment in which nothing happens, but Oito feels a sharp glint of horror.

A glass is sent soaring off the small dresser in their room. It shatters on the floor.

"Spirit?" Oito spins around. "Are you trying to get my attention?"

There's silence.

Her voice breaks. Why do I feel so nervous all of a sudden? "Why can't I see you? We both want to protect Woble, right?"

The room begins to shake.


Alluka's whimpering awakens Kalluto.

"Huh? Sis?" He flicks on the light, blinking away the flicker of pain sprung upon his eyes. His belly hurts from too much ice cream, and arguing with Alluka that chocolate sprinkles are superior to rainbow sprinkles – because they are.

Alluka shudders, but it's not her face that turns to Kalluto. It's Nanika's.

"Uh, hi." He waves. "It's me, your best little brother."

Nanika begins to sob. No tears come forth, butt her distress seems genuine.

Nanika can't even cry. She'd be a good Zoldyck, a better one than even Killua. In his sleep-deprived state, Kalluto's frustration at Nanika bubbles over.

"Why do you have to be so perfect?"

"I'm not," says Nanika, wiping away her tears. "I'm not good at all, Kalluto."

Kalluto frowns. He's jostled out of bed, falling before Nanika. Is it just him, or is the boat vibrating?"

"I'm very, very, very bad." Nanika cringes.

The lights extinguish.


"Feel good?" Feitan lies between Machi's thighs. She's pulling on his hair and squirming under his touch. Neither of them are particularly sure why they awoke at the same time, but they're never ones to lose an opportunity.

"Wait." Machi bites her lip.

"You okay?" Feitan sounds as concerned as Machi's ever heard him.

She sits up, a scowl growing on her face. "Oh, no, you're wonderful, Feitan. It's just…something feels wrong. With the ship. It's just instinct, I think, but –"

Feitan's voice drops as he sniffs the air. "It's not just instinct."

She inhales. Smoke.

Both of them launch out of bed and stumble in their tangled blankets. Machi swears.

"Floor uneven," Feitan says tersely.

Machi clamors for her clothes. "We have to get Kalluto!"


Hisoka lies awake as Illumi slumbers beside him, curled in a fetal position. His husband looks most uncomfortable, but truthfully, Hisoka is uncomfortable too.

Soon they'll be in the Dark Continent, where he won't have a luxurious bed to treat Illumi.

There's only one option. Hisoka taps "play" on his phone.

"Think of it like a knife –"

Illumi jolts awake to Killua's scream. His eyes pop open. "What in hell?!"

"Do you like your alarm?" Hisoka grins wickedly.

"You wouldn't delete it if I asked, would you," Illumi says matter-of-factly.

"No. This is gold." Hisoka snorts. "But you know what I would do?"

"What?" Illumi rubs sleep out of his eyes.

He looks so young and vulnerable, with the blanket pulled up to his chin, tightly tucked under him. Hisoka uses his fingers to mold Illumi's lips upwards.

"What are you –"

"Shh, husband." Hisoka moves his face close enough to tickle Illumi's cheeks. "You're blushing."

"It's a physical response."

"To emotion, Illumi." Hisoka giggles. "Because you have feelings for me."

"I wouldn't have married you if I didn't," Illumi says. It just makes sense. Even if he doesn't allow himself to feel his feelings, he still possesses them.

"I see." Hisoka tilts Illumi's chin up to kiss him.

Illumi feels a flash of fear – a flash of memory, of his client holding him down – but no, he really does want Hisoka. He reaches for his husband, trembling with excitement, when –

The floor erupts beneath them.

The ice pack scene came from conversations with Serenechaos and Hamliet.