So, my little sister has this nintendo game called Tomodachi Life, and geez it's addicting. I've made all of my OCs on that game, and even two OCs that I haven't written about yet and may never get around to. It's basically a game where you create people and they form a community on a little island. It sounds simple, and it is, but it's super fun! Each individual character has their own personality, food preferences, relationships, etc. Of course, I have the problem of the game belonging to my sister. She's got a 3DS, while I've got a super old one I got when I was in kindergarden. My nintendo will only run old games, so I can't go and get the game for myself as much as I might want to. Anyway, if you can, I recommend getting the game. I love it!
Onto what you actually came for.
"Hey," I knock at the open doorframe, drawing the attention of the people sitting at the screens. "I wanna see something."
"Who are you?" one of the employees asks.
"All you need to know is that I'm doing work for Mr. Nostrade. Now," I step into the monitor room, "you're going to show me the footage of Neon Nostrade and the guy she was with."
"We already showed one of you assassins," another guy complains. "Just go ask him."
"I came here 'cause I wanna see it with my own eyes. If you already know I'm an assassin, you should know not to get on my nerves like you are, genius. Now show me what I came to see." Grumbling, the men turn back to their monitors. I enter deeper into the room and rest my hand on the back of one of their chairs, watching as one begins to rewind the footage.
"Here, is this what you wanted?"
He presses a button and the screen begins to play, showing me the backs of two people walking together down a hallway. One is Neon, which is made obvious through her vibrant blue hair. The other, though….the other wears a suit, with no other defining features. Then something catches light.
"Pause it," I order, gripping the seat tighter. A scowl on his face, he obeys. Then he gasps, startled, as I yank him and his chair away from the screens and move my face closer to the monitors.
Barely visible under spiked hair is a round, green orb dangling on his ear. With that I've identified the mystery man. I giggle, shaking my head. I didn't recognize him at first, probably because he usually slicks his hair back, but Neon's companion was none other than my brother, Chrollo. That means he's planning something, something more than just letting us run wild. I wonder if he told any of the others.
Above us, the sound of gunfire hardly manages to reach this underground room, but the fighting has definitely begun. That means Shal's probably busy. The others, too, of course, but he happens to need his phone to fight how he prefers. I can't ring him up and ask him about anything right now. Is there someone else I can call? Only a few members of the Phantom Troupe actually own cell phones, and even fewer are willing to cater to my eccentric whims. Phinx and Feitan also have phones, but it's unlikely either would tell me anything if I simply asked. Pakunoda can't really use a phone while in battle, since her duel guns require both her hands. I think Hisoka has a phone, but even if I knew his number I wouldn't call him.
Deciding, I dial Shizuku's number and wait for her to pick up. While I do, the employees get back to monitoring the screens, the screen with the footage of Chrollo and Neon reverting to present time. I scan my eyes across the screens lazily as the phone rings in my ear.
"Hey, isn't this the same guy that was with that girl?" one glances back at me, pointing at a monitor. Indeed it is. On a screen in the top right corner, Chrollo is shown standing in the middle of an empty room with two other people whose backs are to the camera. However, it's clear to me who they are.
The Zoldycks.
Finally, Shizu picks up. "Who is it?" she inquires, monotonous.
"Who else do you think would call you at a time like this? Chrollo's in the building right now, and earlier he was with Neon Nostrade. I'm curious as to why."
"Boss doesn't tell us things like that," Shizu sighs. "Is that all?"
"Huh? No, there's more. I was wondering….is there any reason being seen inside the building would be a problem for him?" As I say those words, one of the workers eyes me warily. Although his buddy seems to have missed it, the one appears to realize at least a bit of the implication behind my words.
For a moment, Shizu is silent. "...yes….that might be problematic. He plans on using fake corpses to let the auction go on, but all of them are being placed outside the building."
"I see. Well then, see you Shizuku! Don't slip up and get yourself killed!" Hanging up, I turn to the man who's paid attention to my conversation. He flinches back into his chair as I say, "Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop like that?"
"You don't have to pay me anything," the man bargains. "I'll keep quiet! I never saw the man on that screen!"
"Well, you see," I crack knuckles without care, "If that man wasn't my real boss, and my brother, I might accept that. Unfortunately for you, I can't let you go now that you've inconveniently seen the face of the leader of the Phantom Troupe."
"W-wait, you mean-" The man cuts off, his vocals flying too high pitched to be heard. The ignorant one finally takes interest, tensing.
"Yup! How lucky you are! You get to be killed by a member of such a famous group!" Before either one can shout, I've got them both by the throat so they can't make any sound other than choking. "Since you haven't really done anything particularly wrong, I'll even be merciful today! You'll both have quick deaths." With that, I crush their necks and drop them to the floor. My fingers flex out the tension leftover while I muse about how extremely fortunate they are that I'm not Feitan.
What to do now? As much as I'd love to go up and watch Chrollo fight Silva and Zeno, they'll probably be done by the time I actually get up there. Then again, maybe not. Silva and Chrollo's first fight didn't last very long, but maybe the extra player this time will add length. But if I go up, I could get caught up in the fight and killed….
I burst out laughing, heading back to the elevator. Since when did I care about danger? Unsure of whether or not I need to use the employee key to go back up, I put it in the elevator keyhole just in case. The security camera had been for the top floor, so I press the highest button and wait. The doors slide shut, and the elevator jolts into motion.
Not long after, there's a bang that rocks the lift and stops it. I cringe, steadying myself. One of the doors has been knocked inwards, a giant dent impressed into it. It stays standing, however, blocking my view of the other side. Sighing, I wedge my fingers between the elevator doors and work the untouched door open. What I'm met with another door, indicating I've stopped at a floor. Not precisely, though. The top foot or so reveals the walls of the elevator shaft. I growl, beginning to lever open the next door. When it's open just enough to fit me, I slip through and step into the carnage. It's the ground floor where I've been stopped, but it looks nothing like it did when I first came into the building. Walls are broken through, bits of the ceiling are crumbling, and dead bodies litter the floor. Everything's riddled with bullet holes. There's no sign of whatever made the impact on the elevator, though.
"Why aren't you men shooting!"
The frantic shout causes me to turn, finding a sizeable group of live men. All the one's I can see have guns at the ready, but that's nothing for me to be concerned about. How could I call myself a member of the Phantom Troupe, or even Chrollo's sister, if I couldn't dodge a few bullets?
"But sir," one of the men holding a gun glances behind him, "it's just a little girl!"
A short man in a pinstripe suit pushes his way to the front, grabbing the collar of the man who spoke and yanking him down to eye level. "Just a little- she could be part of the Troupe! They have girls, too, you idiot! And she could-" Then he happens to shift his gaze in my direction, meeting my eyes. "Wait...Wait a minute...Are you….are you Corona? Corona Hale?"
At the sound of my name and my old last name, I immediately go rigid. "Who the hell are you?"
He simply stares at me. Then, he makes a motion with his hands and all the men lower their guns. "Capture her alive, and make it quick! We've got to get out of here."
I barely have time to think before the horde of men rush at me. The thought that manages to surface before I'm forced to react is, Crap! I forgot my aura's out!
Then hands grab at my arms and I shove them away, sending the men stumbling backwards. I'm only able to count the number of assailants before they once again come at me. Eighteen. Not nearly enough to be of major concern. The next one to touch me is rewarded with a snapped neck, courtesy of my fist. His buddies don't so much as hesitate even as their friend crumples to the ground, another man grabbing at my waist. I can feel his organs rupture as I jab my elbow into his stomach.
Once I've knocked out six of them, the remaining twelve finally begin to show signs of caution. The short boss man keeps glancing around anxiously, his guards preoccupied with me. Who is that guy, anyway? How the hell does he know me, and why is he trying to catch me?
While I break the next guy's arms, one of the men breaks away to whisper something to his boss. I can see the small man in the pinstriped suit stiffen as I knock the broken armed man off his feet. Then, as I throw one of the remaining men into a half crumbled wall, the boss and the one guard slip away. I let them. The likelihood of them actually surviving is low enough I don't have to worry. Meanwhile, I finish off the abandoned men who fail to notice the absence of their boss.
When I crush the last one's chest in, I step back, a bit short on breath. That guy must be somehow involved with my father. Does that mean my old man is still looking for me? It's been seven years! Shouldn't he have accepted by disappearance and adopted a new heir by now?
I growl, slamming the skull of one of the dead men into the ground with my foot. Damn, that guy's persistent! I thought he'd give up years ago!
Smashing these dead guys doesn't help my mood at all. Why'd I have to run into someone who knew me? I was done with that family of mine when I was ten!
Sucking in a deep breath, I slow my heart and cool my head. It doesn't matter. That guy and his guard will be killed by some other member of the troupe before he can escape. Father isn't going to find me. Even if he does, he has no way of holding me. He has no way of forcing me into anything.
For now...I guess I should go back to Kurapika. I'll tell him that it was the leader of the Phantom Troupe that was with Neon, which is the truth, but I'll leave out the detail of him showing up on a camera while I was there. Maybe if he thinks that a good portion of troupe members are dead, he'll let go of his hatred towards us a little. Maybe he'll hate me a little less. So as long as he doesn't know Chrollo was in the building when he was supposed to be dying outside….
That has to probably be the best part about the conditions Kurapika put on me. He allowed me to stay silent, so I can refuse to answer any question. It's not like I'm tricking him, exactly, and I don't have any ill intent. I'll just let him think those corpses are real.
For now I'll return to room 501, although I'll have to forgo the elevator in favor of the stairs. Normally I'd love all this excitement. Normally I'd join in the slaughter. Right now, though, I'm drained.
I just want to see Kurapika.
Corona Hale. Honestly, her last name was picked at random. I have this lost list of first names and last names for me to use in writing, and I just chose Hale at random. Her first name, though, obviously was derived from Chrollo. Although her name was entirely up to me to decide, I think this says something about her mother. Her mother quite obviously was distressed over her abandonment of Chrollo, so she sort of raised Corona in his place. Therefore, she named her after her brother. I feel a bit sorry for Corona. Neither of her parents really saw her. Her father saw an heir, and her mother saw a way to maybe make up for her mistake. Because of that, Corona didn't really form a bond with either of them, it seems. I think she liked her mother better than her father, though. Just a feeling. We'll see if any of this info comes in later, cause I honestly have no idea if it will or not.
Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!