I haven't really had time to talk with my best friend, lately. School's been a hassle, as usual, and she's got a new boyfriend and all. The most we manage to do is see each other in the halls by chance. Personally, I think that's dangerous for my mental health. No, really! I'm an odd person, without a doubt. I don't particularly care to get to know people (you readers of mine being the huge exception to that), so she's basically my tether to social interactions. The farther I grow from her, the farther I grow from any other human beings. Since humans are naturally social animals, that's pretty bad for mental health. That's just what's been on my mind this week, but it's nothing that can't be fixed with a day of hanging out.

Onto the story!

The first three to arrive are Machi, Shizuku, and Chrollo, and being pushed by the pink haired girl is none other than the two captives, Gon and Killua. Their hands tied behind their backs prevent them from attempting any sort of getaway. In their eyes, I can see their recognition when they see Leorio, but they smartly keep their mouths shut. Neither of them seems to notice Kurapika. He doesn't exactly look like their usual companion right now, does he? And, of course, not even Chrollo realizes my presence.

I stride over to the five, sneaking between the two thirteen year olds from behind and slipping my arms around their shoulders. Both of them immediately sense my touch, stiffening and whipping their heads around to look. I grin at them both, ignoring Machi's now aware gaze. Chrollo doesn't react until I speak, and Shizu's out of sight. I can't see her reaction.

"You two are a couple troublemakers, aren't you?" I muse, ruffling Gon's hair. For Killua, I make do with just keeping my arm hugging him closer. He might snap at me if I dare touch his precious little head.

"How long have you been here?" Machi inquires.

I tilt my head to look at her. "Only the entire time. Don't tell me you didn't notice even once, Machi."

"Don't act as if it's unusual that you're ignored."

"Ooo, ouch," I wince, straightening, but keeping my hands resting on the boys' shoulders.

That's when Leorio starts yelling. All of our eyes travel to him. I hadn't expected much, but his acting is acceptable. Good. Had it not been, this entire plan would be doomed to fail. His face is twisted in irritation as he makes up whatever conversation he's not having. At one point, he glances over at us and softens his expression, holding up a hand and bowing his head in apology. Then he returns to his fake conversation, sounding as if he's trying to keep his voice under control. When the words 'seven o'clock' slip from his lips, I squeeze the boys' shoulders. They don't react, but even if they don't understand it immediately, they'll understand after a bit of thought.

"He should just take his call elsewhere," Machi complains, crossing her arms. As she speaks, another three troupe members arrive. It's the three that continued after the scarlet eyes; Pakunoda, Kortopi, and Nobunaga. Those last two I dan't care about, but I can't let Pakunoda touch me before the lights go out. She could prove quite troublesome. There shouldn't be anything too unusual about me avoiding her, though. She knows well I hate touching her.

"What're these two doing here?" Nobunaga wonders, surprised. "Did they change their minds? They want to join the troupe?"

"Sorry bub, but I can't see that happening," I taunt. "These two were the ones trailing us earlier. Apparently they didn't know the bounty was lifted." Kurapika told me earlier that this was the excuse Gon was prepared to use if he was caught.

Nobunaga swallows his anger over my poking fun, instead asking a slightly more reasonable question. "You were with us?"

"Not that someone like you would realize that," I stick out my tongue. When his hand goes for his sword, I chide, "The coin, sir samurai. I'm heads."

Veins bulging from his forehead, he lowers his hand. Then, he returns his attention to the boys while I shift my hands off them. "How about this, then. You two want to be friends with me?"

"Of course not, idiot," Killua snarks, turning his head away and closing his eyes. "I don't even want to look at your faces!"

After a second, Gon joins in, copying his friend's head motions. "I don't either!" Well, they clearly understood Leorio's message, but I have to cringe at how obvious it was. I guess it's only that way cause I know what the plan is, though. None of the other troupe members seem to realize Leorio's connection to the two kids, nor his emphasised word patterns. Must be that they're convinced he's direction it all at his phone, which is what we'd wanted. Still...the message he's sending is blaringly obvious. As soon as the plan is executed, they'll all realize he was in on it. We won't be able to use him anymore.

"They remind me of Uvo," Nobunaga chuckles, unbothered by Killua's insolence.

"It's because they're kids," Machi sighs. "They know no fear." I contain my laughter at her words. Of course some kids are pretty ignorant of bad situations, but I'm pretty sure even a toddler would be terrified by now. She gives children too much credit. "Pakunoda, tell us about the chain user. You said you got information about him from the guy you found."

"Before that," Chrollo stops her, "check these kids again."

I flinch, but otherwise keep my expression unreadable. There's still about a minute until seven. If Pakunoda spills everything, even I'm ruined. Of course Chrollo's the one to try to ruin my plans.

Pakunoda doesn't even question the order. "Alright, what do you want to know?"

"What are they hiding?"

This time, I can't hold back my laughter. When Chrollo glances over at me, I explain, "That's a pretty broad question! Look at them! They're thirteen year old boys! Who knows what dirty things your drudging up in their brains right now? You really want Pakunoda to see all that?"

"It's not gonna work, anyway," Killua reasons. He's trying to buy time. Only a few more seconds, but there's still plenty of time for her to warn the others. "We don't know any of what you want to know, and even if we did, we could probably hide it from you."

"You're misunderstanding," Pakunoda rebukes, grabbing them both by their faces. I scowl, beginning to grow uncomfortable. She's touching them, but as long as I can delay her use of her Nen a little longer…

I hiss, "Hey, if you hurt them I'll carve out your innards. I've said before, I've taken a liking to these two."

She glances at me, mimicking my words from earlier. "The coin, miss Hale. I'm heads."

"Bitch!" I bristle. "The name's Lucilfer! And don't you dare throw my words back at me!"

"It's time to ask the question," she ignores me. "What are you two hiding?"

"Hey, look at me!" I snarl, but even as I speak, shock colors her expression. I get my wish. Right before everything goes dark, she meets my eyes with what can only be described as a look of terror.

And then we're blind. In the darkness, I can vividly hear the cracking of bones. Then my eyes adjust, as I'm sure the others' eyes do as well, and I immediately reinforce my Zetsu. Chrollo's already gone, but everyone else are focused on the two thirteen year olds. Regretfully, I'll have to leave them for now. I dart out the door, where Kurapika and Leorio are already in the car with Chrollo, whose wrapped in chains. I point down the road, directing them to, "Leave a window open! I'll come in a moment!"

Kurapika doesn't hesitate, revving the engine and skidding away. I whip around. The hotel is still dark, but it won't be for very much longer. As fast as my fingers can work, I attach my note to Leorio's knife and send it flying through the door that is still open from my fleeing. As soon as I'm confident it's gone into the hotel, I take off towards the car. Since I know the route Kurapika's set to take, it doesn't take me long to catch up. I abandon the sidewalks and begin my parkour course atop the car hoods. When I reach the right one, I check the windows and find the one rolled down. I slip myself inside, huffing.

That has to be one of the most nerve wracking things I've ever done.

"Geez, it's tight in here," I comment, snuggling right up beside Kurapika. He's still, unfortunately, dressed like a girl, but this time he can't move away from me! This is a four person car, after all. I'm forcing a third body into the back seat meant for two. Leorio and another one of Kurapika's associates sit in the front, the one I don't recognize staring back at me. I wave to her. "Hi, I'm Corona! I helped with this fun little scheme of Kurapika's!"

"I'm Melody," she introduces calmly. She glances to Kurapika for a moment, then looks back to me. "You are an ally?"

"Mm, you could say that," I grin. "I'm just here to stay with Kurapika."

"You must like him a lot."

"Melody," Kurapika warns.

I answer anyway. "Yeah, I think I do!"

"I didn't know you liked women, Corona," Chrollo comments.

I reach over the person between us and whack him on the back of his head. "You idiot! He's a guy!"

"You shouldn't be fooled by what you see," Kurapika advises him, finally removing that wig of his. Delighted, I run my fingers through his silky blonde hair and earn a scolding glare from him. "And you should be careful of what you say, also. It could be the last words you ever say."

"You won't kill me."

"Yeah," I poke the chain user's arm. "You aren't allowed to kill him. That's my one condition for helping, 'kay?"

"You two seem close," Melody observes, meaning me and Chrollo.

I blink. "Do we? That's new. I've never been close to anyone."

"You seem close to the chain user," Chrollo interjects. "Were you not entertained enough?"

"What can I say? I get bored easily. I think this guy'll provide me with lasting interest, though."

"I'm sorry, I tried my best to be an acceptable brother," Chrollo apologizes. Huh, I don't think I've ever heard him do that before.

"Wait, he's your brother?" Leorio exclaims. Kurapika doesn't say a word, but his eyes practically shout. They glitter red with hatred, causing me to shrink back a bit.

"Half-brother," I correct, doing my best to hide the heaviness his gaze gives me. "We were raised separately."

"Kurapika, you should calm down," Melody tells him. "Don't be angry with her. She genuinely likes you, and your anger towards her is hurting her."

"Say what?" I choke, staring wide-eyed at the squat woman in the front seat.

"You didn't know yourself? As soon as you saw Kurapika's expression, your heart started screaming in pain."

"If you like him that much," Chrollo pipes up, "I have no choice. Chain user, I ask that you take care of my little sister."

"W-what?" the blonde stutters, overwhelmed. I can't even speak. What's going on?

"Um…." Leorio starts. "Maybe we should gag our hostage? So we don't get anymore shocks. I mean, we all have enough to think about right now."

Kurapika collects his bearings. "Yes, you're right." As he puts duct tape over my brother's mouth, I cross my arms and stare out the window. This time, I'm careful to not lean on Kurapika.

What Melody said….his anger was hurting me? That's absurd! I was just...discontent. I mean, I did nothing to earn that hatred, right? All that happened was that he learned that Chrollo and I share blood. Does that automatically condemn me? And my heart 'screaming in pain'? That's just overdramatic. And what Chrollo said, as if he was giving me away to be married….

Despite the coldness of the air, and the chill of the rain pattering against the window, my face burns as I think of the the words that were just spoken.

Well...I suppose it's time to ask again since I haven't asked in a while. Is there anyone out there who wants to share how they imagine Corona to look? You guys have already given me a few descriptions, and honestly, it's fascinating! You all see her so differently! About this chapter, though, I feel like it was strangely lighthearted. I've really had that feeling as I've been writing this entire thing. Maybe it's just because of Corona's flippant personality, but despite the serious situations she's put into, it all happens so easily. It's kinda fun! It's a new type of writing for me! I mean, this is how you discover new writing styles: by accident. It's like I just uncovered a giant gold nugget. So we'll see how that all plays out, but I've got a good feeling about it.

Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!