（ー△ー；）

Sayo was kind of a bitch, and Kanata thought that that was putting it mildly.

Of course, it's not like Kanata was in any position to speak as he also had entire lists of his own shortcomings—and he was being modest as he said that—but regardless, he felt like the woman had gone a little too far with her jokes this time. He knew that she was shamelessly crass and blunt, but he thought she'd be at least above making her own friend cry.

"Come on, Hacchi," He awkwardly rubbed comforting circles on his friend's back. "Sayo's a bitch, but she didn't mean to make you cry…I think."

"You little—"Sayo snarled from across the table, but Kanata noticed the minute change in her expression. Her eyes flickered uncertainly at Hazuki and her hands twitched, as if to offer some sort of sympathetic gesture, but she dropped her hand at the last moment.

Hazuki bawled harder into his shirt –yikes, cleaning all that snot was going to be a pain—and Kanata was pretty sure he heard her blubbering about how she'd curse some guy called Togashi with her dying breath.

Kanata sighed, feeling an impending headache. He just wanted to go out for some drinks on a Saturday night to catch up with his friends – he'd be hard pressed to call Sayo a friend, ugh semantics—but instead, he's here in Hazuki's apartment, consoling the hysterical woman with an irate Sayo glaring daggers at him.

Christ. He was too sober for this.

凸ಠ益ಠ)凸

Sayo felt horrible for making Hazuki cry.

Sayo knew that she wasn't exactly the easiest person to get along with but Hazuki was one of the few odd people who managed to actually stick around for a long time. Hazuki—bless her sweet, stupid heart –was desensitized so much to Sayo's naturally insensitive disposition that she happily clung to her like a stubborn barnacle.

So, you know, Sayo actually cared. A lot. For Hazuki.

At some point in her life, Sayo had actually grown to like—albeit begrudgingly—another human being in the universe.

So seeing Hazuki wail like a helpless drunk – Sayo had to admit that it was a little funny how she held the pack of beer like it was her baby –made something churn in Sayo's gut.

It was probably guilt.

("I don't understand how you could think it was anything but guilt," Kanata would later intone.

"Shut up," She would later hiss.)

But honestly, could you fault her for laughing for a good five minutes when Hazuki confessed to interdimension travel after inviting her and Kanata over for some quality booze and cheap snacks?

Come on, it sounded like a plot to those terrible harem light novels with excessively long titles* that was all the rage these days!

What else was Sayo supposed to say?

'My best friend's bathroom is a portal to popular shounen manga and all the bad guys are falling in love with her!'

Sayo winced.

Yeah.

She's definitely not going to go in that territory.

"Bu' iiiizaaaa truuuu'!" Kanata attempted to pry the beer pack from Hazuki ("Jesus Hazuki, I need a drink. I'm too sane for this.") but she sluggishly rolled away from him, clutching to the pack as if it were a lifeline. "Noooooo, you hafta listen t' me first! Sayo, you betraying betrayer who betrays!"

The corner of Sayo's lips tugged into a smile. Hazuki's capacity for coherent speech was typically one of the first things she lost when drunk and it often served as a source of amusement for her.

But at Kanata's withering stare – seriously ugh, it's like the man always had a stick up his royal ass—she changed her expression into one of solemn repentance.

"Gah fine," She eventually relented. "Tell me about this er—, interdimensional bathroom of yours."

.

Three packs of beer, two bags of dried squid* and five existential crises later, the trio quickly found themselves sprawled on the floor of Hazuki's apartment in various states of tipsiness.

Kanata had someone's foot on his stomach but he just laid there like a squid waiting to be dried.

"So—" Sayo burped. "Your bathroom lands you in the lap of cute 2D men? Naked?" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively at what she thought was Hazuki.

It was unfortunately not Hazuki. "Are you even listening? She was in a towel." Kanata grunted as he turned his head away from Sayo. "And your breath stinks. Stop talking."

Sayo scrunched her nose. "Whatever."

"Something like that," Hazuki giggled from somewhere.

"Well then, why don't you prove it to us?" Sayo waved her hand around to find Hazuki's arm and gave the woman a firm nudge towards the bathroom. "You know wha—what," She accidentally smacked Kanata in the face but promptly ignored his sputtering. "Nishikino-sensei says about empurrical evidence to support your fi-findi—oh you know, your stuff."

"Yeah," Kanata piped in, suddenly feeling a little more sociable. "We're 'sciencey' people, Hacchi. We need hard faaaacts and rigorous assessments to validate our stuff—ugh—I think I'm going to be sick."

"Weak ass." Sayo murmured silently.

Hazuki, who had also temporary lost her clarity of mind, inelegantly stood up from the floor and shouted."Y-Yeaaah? Well, Imma prove it to ya ri—right now!"

Kanata and Sayo cheered at her declaration as they awkwardly clapped their hands on top of their stomachs. Motor coordination was never their strongest suite, even when sober. Hazuki was reminded of baby seals at the sight of them but she forgot the comparison as soon as she was given another firm nudge.

"And, I'm going to get a no-noberu, oh screw it, I'mma get a science prize for my theory of interdimensional travel via plumbing system!" Hazuki threw her hands up as she crashed her way to the bathroom.

Once Hazuki skid inside the bathroom and shut the door close, Sayo chuckled as she heard her friend bump against something ("My toe!" Hazuki wailed.). But Sayo's delight shortly tapered off into mild concern when Hazuki failed to emerge from the room after ten minutes of silence from her end.

"Hacchi?" She called out.

No answer.

Frowning, Sayo made to move for the bathroom but paused when a hand wrapped around her ankle.

"…I think I'm really going to be sick."

"Seriously?" Sayo groaned, obviously displeased but accompanied Kanata to the toilet nonetheless*. Kanata wasted no time in diving for the toilet, and soon heaved the contents of his stomach.

"Ughhhhhhhh," Kanata looked up to see Sayo leaning against the door frame.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up." She sighed, making a motion for him to follow her. "Hacchi, we're comin' in, Kanata has barf on his shirt and is so gross and – H-Hacchi?!"

"Wh-What's wrong?" Kanata blinked from behind Sayo, trying to get a look at what surprised her.

"…Hacchi's not here!"

（￣ー￣）

Pakunoda was feeling restless.

It was a few hours past their curfew, but she wasn't in her room like she was supposed to be. Father would definitely scold her for this later on (she could picture him tutting at her in disappointment) but she still snuck into the old chapel, as she had done many times before.

Pakunoda wasn't a religious person. Not by a longshot. She doubted that the other kids even had religious inclinations.

Nonetheless, she still found the chapel to be a mysteriously calming place. Whenever she felt particularly troubled or scared, she liked to come over and gaze at the broken stained glass windows until she fell asleep. She liked to think that it was once a beautiful work of art, but the years of thievery and old age had taken its toll and so it was reduced to this sorry state. Still, she thought it looked rather pretty in a sort of antiquated way.

But tonight was different.

Someone else was inside the chapel.

Pakunoda immediately took on a defensive stance, prepared to call for Father if the intruder proved to be hostile. "This is a neutral territory," She struggled to keep her voice calm and felt ashamed. She was supposed to be better than this. "If you're in need of money, you can take one of the candle holders and sell them. We want no trouble."

A few seconds passed until the intruder finally turned to reveal herself and Pakunoda's breath hitched.

It was an angel.

Pakunoda was a clever girl. She knew that things like magic and miracles were but fanciful constructs that she should have long outgrown by now. She didn't believe in the so-called 'God' that Father spoke of, nor of fate and destiny.

But…if angels truly did exist, she thought that the woman in front of her would qualify as one.

The woman wasn't exactly beautiful per se. The shade of her hair and eyes were rather plain but there was just something about her that made it seem as if she didn't belong in this filthy world. Perhaps it was the way the moonlight filtered into the room, illuminating and highlighting the woman's features, or the way her cheeks flushed under the pale moonlight or maybe it was the way she looked pristine as she stood in the middle of the ruined church.

Or perhaps, it was the strange dress she was wearing.

"…Where am I?" She asked breathlessly.

Yeap. It was definitely the dress.

"The Church." She replied, unconsciously relaxing her posture.

The woman smiled serenely at her. "I—" Unfortunately, Pakunoda was so disarmed by the angel's smile that she failed to notice the intruder sway on her knees before unceremoniously dropping to the floor.

A sense of urgency filled Pakunoda to help – even if it went against her very nature—the angel. Swallowing her own cry of surprise, she hastily made her way to Father's chambers to call for assistance, leaving the angel sprawled on the floor.

But in Pakunoda's haste to alert Father, she completely missed the watchful eyes that lurked in the shadows.

(´〜｀*) zzz

'I will never drink again!' was what I told myself every time I woke up with a terrible hangover.

Unfortunately, I was swift to forget about my resolution and promptly drank myself to oblivion whenever I got too carried away.

And so to no one's surprise, I woke up the next morning with a pulsating headache that worsened with my room's bright lighting. Grumbling at my own foolishness—I was never going drink again, ever, I swear this was the last time—I curled back under the threadbare blanket as its loose strands scratched against my legs uncomfortably.

Wait.

Threadbare…?

My eyes snapped open.

I wasn't in my room. Again!

Instead of waking up to a bed that was covered in papers and the occasional stuffed animal, I woke up to a rickety bed with moth-eaten bed sheets. The frame was made of wood and had been repeatedly painted to hide its decay but even from this distance I could see how it was chipped and worn down. A few shifts here and there were enough to make the bed creak in protest.

"Ah, you're awake." A distinctly deep voice grumbled from next to me.

I slowly twisted my body to face the boy (teenager?) –Wow, he was tall. Were all kids this tall nowadays? Ugh I feel so old.—before finally responding. "H-huh?"

The teen gave me an unimpressed stare. "The Old Man told me to bring you to him once you were awake."

Ah. Yes of course. The Old Man.

Yeah—no.I still had no idea what he was talking about. "Huh?"

"The Old Man wants to meet you," He said again, a little impatient.

I frowned, mulling over his statement. What did I get myself into this time? My memories of last night were hazy at best – I know its horribly irresponsible of me, but please allow me this fault – and I distinctly remember inviting Kanata and Sayo over and spilling my guts about my bathroom to them before –

– I naively agreed to Sayo's dare.

I winced. Why do I this to myself?

You'd think after that memorable incident with Hisoka, I'd know better.

"Okay." I sighed because I was quickly getting used to this sort of development. Rather than panicking and worrying like an headless chicken, I might as well get this done and over with. Right?

Oh boy, I remarked snidely to myself, which character will I have the pleasure of meeting this time?

The boy nodded, seemingly satisfied at my reply and led the way to the so called 'Old Man'. I took the short walk as an opportunity to observe my surroundings. We passed through a hall that was plastered with rotting wood but was otherwise well tended to. A cursory glance out the window also revealed what looked like a small yard with a couple of children playing tag.

I didn't know where exactly here was but the sight of kids made me hope that I wasn't in any grave danger.

Maybe I was in Whale Island?

I brightened at the prospect of meeting Gon or Mito, who seemed like such lovely people.

Hey, maybe things were looking up for me!

.

Turns out, I was not in Whale Island.

When I casually asked the boy about our whereabouts, he just stared at me as if I grew another head and mumbled an incoherent name. I didn't quite catch it the first or second time he repeated it for me unfortunately. As I didn't want to make an even bigger fool of myself, I solemnly nodded at his response and echoed the incoherent mumbling to him.

He gave me another weird look.

"Oh hello," A plump old man donned in clerical clothing smiled at me once we arrived at what I assumed was the 'Old Man's' office. "Did you rest well?"

Huh. When the teenager said 'old man' I certainly wasn't expecting this homely looking priest.

"U-um, yes!" I placed my hands on my lap as I gave a bow, my eyes sliding to the ground in shame. I nearly winced at the sudden movement (my head hurt like hell) but made no move to get up. Whether or not this was a fictional world, I still felt mortified that a virtual stranger had to take care of me in my inebriated state! Jesus. I should really stop drinking like a sailor. "Thank you very much for giving me a place to sleep last night. I am terribly sorry for all the trouble I caused."

"My, what a polite young lady!" The old man let out a lopsided smile. "But please raise your head. There's no need to prostate yourself out of gratitude."

I instantly complied with his request – ugh, it's been such a long time since I had to do such a stiff gesture—and gave him a sheepish smile. "But still, I'm very grateful."

The priest smiled pleasantly and directed me to sit at the graying couch. "Ah my boy, thank you for bringing our visitor here. Feel free to return to your activities."

From behind me, the boy grunted and left the room.

"So, what brings a pretty lady like you over here to our Church?" The priest asked, the smile never leaving his face.

"A-Ah," Crap. I certainly couldn't say that I wandered in here from another world! I had to think of something and fast! "I had a little too much to drink last night and got into a dare with a couple of my friends to sneak in here. Ahaha…You know how it is when you're young and stupid. "I trailed off, hoping that he bought it.

I found that lies close to the truth were a lot easier to uphold.

"I see," He said after a few seconds of silence. "Of course. You just happened to…wander inside The Church out of a dare."

I laughed nervously in embarrassment, completely missing the way his smile tightened. "Something like that. I'm kind of a bad drunk."

"It's a good thing you didn't get into any trouble during your state of inebriation then! Meteor City is much much dangerous during the night. In fact, I'm surprised you even ventured out at that time," The priest cocked his head to the side, as if to observe me. "Pardon me for saying this but you don't exactly look like someone who can fend for herself."

I paled.

"…Meteor City, you say?" Oh gods. I feel like I was going to get sick. Well, even sicker.

"Yes, Meteor City." The priest gave me a curious look. "Are you okay, my dear? You're trembling."

"I-It's probably the hangover!" I tried to give him a reassuring smile but it probably ended up looking like a grimace. "My head still kind of hurts from last night."

The priest's lips pursed but after a few seconds he gave me a brisk nod. "I see." With another amiable smile, the priest – Pliny, he later introduced—shooed me off back to my room and told me to sleep my ailment off. Naturally, I refused and insisted that I couldn't impose on his kindness – more like I wanted to escape back to my bathroom—but he waved my concerns off.

"Nonesense! This is The Church. We provide aid to anyone who needs it. You need not worry." He said. "We accept everything."

I felt like his last statement carried much more weight than it ought to but I was too lost in my own thoughts to pay it any attention.

.

Once I was back in the safety—a relative term at best—of my temporary room I took the chance to examine the situation I was in.

During my irresponsible state of drunkenness, I happened to stumble into Meteor City again. But this time, I had yet to see someone that I would recognize. But I was willing to bet that it would be someone from the Phantom Troupe, as that seemed to be the common link between all of my visits.

Yikes.

The only ones I had yet to meet were the blonde cellphone guy, tracksuit guy, the Frankenstein guy, the ninja, and the lady in the sharp suit.

…I wondered if any one of them could qualify as a 'lesser evil'.

I sighed. This was getting me nowhere. The more I thought about it, the more I failed to come with a decent solution. My head was hurting like crazy and my breath stank of squid and booze. Worse, I forgot take a bath last night! I was certain that I was an absolute mess to look at right now.

Well. Time to do the one thing that never failed to soothe me.

It was time to take a bath!

(*＾v＾*)

"Hey, hey, Pakunoda," A small blonde boy looked up at his companion. "Who's the new lady?"

Pakunoda replied. "I don't know. But that's why Father is sending me over."

"To interrogate her?" He cocked his head to the side cutely. He found that using this particular method often won him some sort of advantage.

"…Nothing as sinister as that. Just a few questions to see if she's a threat to us." Pakunoda was not fooled by the boy's act.

"Hmm," The boy hummed as he fiddled with his new found toy. Pakunoda eyed the novel object in his hands but said nothing. The boy caught her gaze and promptly hid the toy in his pocket. "Sounds like fun! Can I come?"

A sigh, then. "Just don't cause too much trouble Shalnark."

Author's Note

OCs. OCs. So many OCs. For this chapter, I introduced two of Hazuki's friends; Kanata Kawaguchi and Sayo Hoshizora. The three of them are in the same university and take classes together, so they're pretty close lol. I'll try to post an illustration of the two sometime soon! They'll be Hazuki's support in these trying times haha.

Phew. This chapter is a minor break from the consecutive flirty (lol) chapters.

So, some explanations for this chapter!

*Light novels with excessively long titles ; I don't know why but I've noticed this trend with Japanese LNs in which they kind of have really long titles, especially when translated to English lmao. For example, something like 'I got reincarnated into a new world but somehow I'm a vending machine?', or something like that lol. Regardless, I'm still fond of a lot of light novels.

*Toilets in Japan : I kind of forgot about this major detail in the previous chapters but in most Japanese households, baths / showers are a separate room from the toilet. So when Kanata has to vomit, he uses the room for the toilet, while Hazuki is supposedly in the actual bathroom.

*Dried Squid / Surume: A snack that goes well with beer.

We don't get much information on Meteor City and the Troupe's past so I've decided to throw A LOT of headcanons in here to give the troupe some sort of backstory. I'll be explaining more about it in later chapters but for now, we have Shalnark and Pakunoda appearing in the same chapter. I'm not sure how this is going to be received but I hope people will be okay with this kind of development!

Another thing, thank you so so much for the reviews! It means a lot to me and I'm really glad that you enjoyed that last chapter with Hisoka and that you find this fic humorous! He was such a struggle to write (especially in his own POV!) and honestly most of the time I'm worried that my interpretations of characters are too OOC. But I'm glad that people still found it enjoyable!

Who are the characters you'd like for Hazuki to meet / re-meet (lol is that even a word) in the future? Are there any kind of developments you want to see? Let me know in the review section!

Please leave a review as it makes my day!