"Paku, Where is Chrollo?" I asked
She was silent for a moment and finally responded, "He's not coming back"
We all gasped in shock
"Not coming back?" I repeated.
"Yes" Paku answered
"Why not? Where is the boss?" Phinks asked
"He can't come back" Paku said, looking at the ground
I looked at Pakus' right hand and noticed her gun.
Does she plan on using it!?
"Oi, you're being a pain in the ass. Are you going to explain to us what the hell happened there?" Nobunaga asked, impatient.
Without any hesitation, Paku lifted her arm and started loading her gun.
I stood there, frozen in my spot. Thoughts started swimming through my mind.j
She plans on sharing the information.
She's going to pick 6 of us to share it with.
She has that judgement chain Kurapika implanted inside her.
If she uses her nen, she's going to die.
She's going to die...
She is WILLING to die...
She's going to share everything and sacrifice herself...
I have to stop her before it's too late.
"Do you trust me enough to know what I'm about to send you?" Paku asked
I shook my head back into reality. I looked at Paku and see her pointing her gun towards us.
"W-what?" I said, confused
"Machi, Nobunaga, Phinks, Feitan, Franklin, Shalnark. Do you trust me enough to know what I'm about to send you?" Paku asked again.
"Don't!" Phinks shouted. "You're being manipulated by him!"
Paku smirked and looked at me.
"Aoi, do you trust me to do this?" She asked once more.
I met her gaze and studied her face. She's being serious about this. She is seriously choosing death in order to send us this information.
"You will die Paku..." I finally said, tears starting to form in my eyes.
"It's okay kid" Paku reassured me with a smile.
"Come on, it's Paku. Let's trust her" Nobunaga said before anyone else could argue with Paku's use of the gun.
With that, Paku clicked the gun and shot her 6 bullets to my friends.
All I could do was stand there and watch Paku's face go pale and see her eyes go blank. She collapsed, face planted to the ground.
"Paku!" I screamed and ran to her side.
I turned her body over and checked her pulse.
There was no beat. No breathe. No sign of life. Her body was already getting cold. All there's left from Paku is a smile on her face.
"She's dead" Shizuku said.
Tears finally streamed down my face.
I didn't want anyone else to die. First Uvogin and now Pakunoda.
"Why Paku...why..." I whispered to myself softly.
Everyone else regained their posture after the bullets and looked towards Paku's body.
"I finally understand" Phinks said.
"Sorry Paku" Nobunaga said in apology.
"What do you understand Phinks?" Shizuku asked.
"I'll explain..." Phinks replied.
He re-explained everything in more details that Paku and I experienced earlier when we had our conditions with Kurapika. Then he started explaining what happened after Paku left with Gon and Killua, in which it was new information to me.
"She brought those kids back to the chain user. He let the boss go as promised but he's left somewhere on the desert" Phinks said, looking pissed
"Can we go to him?" Shizuku asked
"No, we can't" Nobunaga answered, annoyed.
"He has that judgement chain on him. That stupid chain user threatened that we are not to look for Chrollo" Phinks responded
"What now?" I asked
"We do nothing" Franklin answered
"Nothing?" I asked in confusion
"There's nothing we can do" Nobunaga responded. "The boss is ordered to not return to us. If we try to save him or if he does something, then that chain will kill him."
"Just like how Paku died" Phinks added. "That's why I fully understand what Paku was showing us"
"What about the fate of the chain user?" Feitan asked.
I looked at everyone's face with a worried look. Do they still plan on hunting down Kurapika?
Nobunaga looked at me and then looked at Phinks.
"Phinks?" He started "You got any bright ideas?"
Phinks was silent for a bit.
It felt like ages before he could respond.
"Like we said earlier, we do nothing."
"Does that mean...you're not going to hurt or kill Kurapika?" I asked, hiding the tone of relief.
"Seems like it" Machi answered. "We won't hunt down your boyfriend anymore"
"Eh?" I looked at Machi, blinking vigorously.
"First off, let's bury Paku in peace" Franklin said "Then we'll talk about the outcome of this group"
With that, we carried Paku away and buried her among the other graves we had over the years outside of our hideout.
I sat in front of Paku's grave and said my prayer and thanks.
"Thank you for everything Paku. I'm sorry this happened to you. I wish there could've been another way so you'd still be alive"
"So, what's going to happen with this group now?" Shalnark asked, breaking the silence
Franklin looked at each of our faces and then laid eyes on me.
"Aoi" he said
"Y-Yes?" I responded, a bit startled.
"From seeing Paku's memory, you have officially been released as a member of the Spiders. You no longer belong here" Franklin said straightforward.
I looked at him in shock.
He is right. I no longer belong here.
Kurapika did get me out of this group.
I am free...
"I know" That was all I could say.
Franklin nodded his head and continued.
"We basically have no reason to continue being here. Chrollo is unable to come back to us with that chain. We have no reason to kill that chain user based on Chrollo's condition."
"Does that mean some of us can go home?" Machi asked
"Hm...I forgot about home" Shizuku said, putting her finger to her chin
"I guess home isn't a bad idea" Shalnark added with a slight sigh.
"Home..." I whispered, looking at everyone.
'This isn't my home anymore' I thought sadly 'Where I truly belong, is with my new gang of friends, and Kurapika'
"Well, this is annoying" Nobunaga said.
"I'm staying here. Still got some things in mind with this auction" Phinks said
"I'll stay too" Feitan said, standing next to Phinks.
"I as well" Franklin added.
Benelenov and Kortopi nodded in agreement, indicating that they want to stay with the rest meanwhile the others agree to go home.
"Well, I guess this is our goodbye, for now" Machi said
"Yeah. We will find a way to bring our boss back" Phinks said with determination
I remained quiet and spaced out.
This is really happening, we really are departing.
"I..." I started but trailed off. "I...want to say goodbye"
Everyone got quiet and looked at me.
"Are you going to that chain guy?" Nobunaga asked
I shifted my gaze towards Nobunaga and answered without any hesitation.
"Yes. I will"
Shalnark looked disappointed but changed his expression to a smile.
"You must really like him huh? That Kurapika guy?" He asked
"I do. Sorry Shal" I said with a weak smile.
"It's okay. I'm just happy to have spent these last few years with you at a Phantom Troupe member" He said with a smile.
"I hope you'll be happy with those kids" Machi said as she patted my back.
I nodded my head and smiled. Happy to know they are okay with this.
"As much as I know my hatred for that chain user, I have no reason to kill him" Phinks said in defeat
"Hmph, I have no comment. Just do whatever you want Aoi" Feitan said and walked away.
"Goodbye Aoi" Franklin said as he bowed towards me.
I bowed back and looked at Kortopi.
"I do have one request before I leave. Can I please have the scarlet eyes?"
It was a daring question to ask. Those eyes are a treasure. The real money maker.
"What a bold move Aoi" Nobunaga said, impressed that I was daring enough to ask this.
Kortopi grabbed the jar that contained the Scarlet eyes and looked at Franklin.
"Take it" said Franklin "This is something the Boss would never do but I do respect your wishes"
My smile widened. I'm so happy that I could bring it to Kurapika.
"Thank you. Thank you very much" I bowed
"I'm going to miss you kid" Nobunaga said as he lightly punched my cheek.
"Me too Nobunaga" I said and gave him a tight hug.
"If that guy mistreats you, he won't be forgiven" Machi said with her serious look.
I chuckled and hugged her. "Don't worry, nothing bad will happen"
"Well, this is goodbye Aoi" Shalnark said as he held his arms out.
I hugged him and kissed his cheek.
"Thanks for everything Shal" I said
I said my goodbye to everyone else and grabbed the jar.
"Farewell everyone. I am happy to consider you all my friends and family" I said, waving my arm and leaving the vicinity.
Alright! Time to make amends with the gang, especially with Kurapika.
"But, where should I start? I have no clue where they are" I asked myself with a pout.
About a day went by since Paku's passing till now.
I made my way around a nearby playground within the auction area in York Shin City and took out my phone.
I set the jar down, sat on one of the swings and flipped through my call logs.
I remember missing an unknown phone call back at the auction site a few days ago.
I re-read the text message from that unknown caller as well: I'm happy you're alive Aoi.
"That's it!" I shrieked.
The missed call! I can just call back that unknown caller! It will be one of the guys!
I quickly hit that 'call back' button and held the phone next to my ear.
My heart was beating rapidly as the phone started ringing.
Whose the one on the other end of the line?
Gon?
Killua?
Leorio?
Kurapika?
ring...
ring...
ring...
"Hello?" said the person on the other line.
*Author's Note*
Hello readers!
I am so sorry for the huge hiatus. Disappeared for a good year!
No worries, I have finally come back! I didn't forget about this!
I went through a lot of tough times so I needed some personal time to get things straight. I do have details in my personal blog on Wordpress [ ]
I know you all have been waiting and requesting for the next to chapter to come out and it finally has!
We have just about 2 more chapters to go and this story will finally be over!
Once again, thank you everyone for being awesome with encouraging words and still showing love.
Sorry if you think things are getting cheesy in the plot. It's a fanfiction for a reason.
~Rin