Disclaimer: I wish I owned Hunter but it already belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi :( I just own my idiotic OC, Hitomi... yay...
Chapter 32: A Promise x Sneaking In x Breaking The Rules
The three kids opened the door, in where Kite was. Once inside, they just saw Shoot's small cage, floating in the middle of the room.
"Kite's in here," Shoot spoke. "He is no longer the person you once knew."
"It's okay," Gon nodded. "We'll find a way to cure him!"
Then the cage lowered and rested in the floor. Shoot then explained that it was Hotel Rafflesia, his Nen ability. He told them that he could trap there an entire body or just a part of it.
The door of the cage opened, and a mini Kite stepped out of it, his steps swaying a bit. He then returned to his full size and gave them a long look.
His eyes were cold and dull... like he was a monster.
"Kite..." Gon said, softly.
Maybe, he was the most affected out the three kids.
"Most likely, they used him to train soldiers," Knuckle told them.
"That is why he automatically attacks anyone who approaches," Kurapika informed.
Despite of that, Gon started walking slowly towards him. Hitomi tried to stop the boy from doing so, but Kurapika grabbed her arm and shook his head.
"It's okay now," Gon assured, opening his arms. "It's okay."
Immediately after, he was punched by Kite. Gon stepped back, blood pouring out the place in where he was hit.
"It's been awhile... since you punched me," he said, walking to him again. "That hurt a lot..."
And he was hit again, and again. The others just watched, as the boy continued getting punched, but getting closer anyway.
"You're going to let this beating continue?" Morel asked. "Gon can't use Nen to defend himself either, right?"
"It's okay, Gon will notice," Killua said. "Maybe he already has, and is still..."
"That idiot is allowing himself to get hit," Hitomi narrowed her eyes.
But then, after more beating, Gon dodged his attack. Without knowing what else to do, he hugged the man tightly.
"I'm sorry, Kite," Gon apologized. "It's our fault you're like this. Take a rest, we'll take it from here."
Because Hitomi had her Nen back since yesterday, she could it see it too. Over Kite's head, a puppeteer-thing appeared.
But Gon couldn't see it, he hadn't Nen like them.
"Level two. It activates when anyone touches Kite. You must be highly skilled at combat to clear this test," Kurapika explained. "We've already blocked Kite's Nen, so we can conclude that belongs to the one controlling him. So, if you touch him again, he'll attack."
Gon looked at him, his eyes watering. "Kite... Just wait a little longer," he turned around to leave. "I'll get you back to normal soon."
Kurapika just flinched a bit, never expecting to see his friend in such a state of rage.
"Guys," he spoke when he passed by his friends, anger burning in his eyes. "I want that one myself!"
And then, he walked out the room. A bad feeling hit Hitomi's chest, as it started to burn from inside. She couldn't help it. She was worried about the way that things were developing.
"Gon... Don't tell me you're going right in the avenger's path," she thought, narrowing her eyes. "Please... I nearly lost my brother there... So, don't..."
Her brother on the other hand, just frowned at the sight of his sister, knowing exactly what was going on in her head. He suddenly felt guilty, for hurting her that much in first place.
"Killua..." Knuckle called the albino boy. "I knew something was different when I saw you. What did you guys do in the short time I saw you last?"
"We didn't do anything," Killua spoke. "Our enemies did."
Luckily, Knov and Morel let the three kids go with them to 's why all nine of them - including Palm, who was staring at Knov for a seat far away from the others - were eating in a store, close to the border of the country.
Hitomi was taking another bite of her food, when her eyes traveled to the person being shown in the television. There was the Supreme Leader of East Gorteau... Diego, she thought his name was...
Anyway, that wasn't the problem. She could clearly see strings and the same thing that Kite had over him back then, that meant that Neferpitou - the ant who fighted Kite - was controlling him as well.
It also said that in ten days, the citizen would be summoned to Peijing for a celebration of the nation's birth... Yeah, right.
"Colt believes the celebration will be used as a screening," Morel said.
"We don't know what they'll do with those found to have Nen, but ninety-nine percent of the humans there will die," Knov said. "We must stop it before that happens! Our limit is ten days."
"What's the old man up to?" Killua asked.
"He sent an e-mail saying that he's already inside East Gorteau, but I haven't heard from him since."
"Maybe he's been taken out?" Hitomi suggested.
"If he fails to contact us today, we've been told to assume as much."
Right when these words were spoken, Knov's phone started to ring. He looked at it, and his expression didn't change at all.
"Speak of the devil, it's the Chairman," he informed.
The others jumped in their spot, shocked at the revelation.
"That old man's got some sharp ears..." Morel commented, surprised.
"He already knows everything. Including the fact that you three are here," he looked at the kids, before glancing at Morel and giving him the phone. "And that Morel-san is badmouthing him."
They all read it.
"Divide into three groups and draw the Royal Guard away from the King.
The night before the celebration, the operation will begin at midnight.
From the sharp-eared old man."
"Damn you, creepy geezer," Hitomi muttered under her breath.
Then, Hitomi's cell phone started to ring, and she froze. Slowly, she reached at it and opened the text, as she started to twitch in anger.
"Cursing people is impolite, Hitomi.
From the sharp-eared old man, again."
Killua and Gon swardorpped. Kurapika shook his head, as he watched his sister grit her teeth, in irritation and rage.
"Where the hell did he get my number?" she mumbled.
She then wished that she had never asked that question. Her phone ringed again and looked at the text again. Out of annoyment, the girl banged her head against the table, gaining a look of amusement from all the people in the place.
Kurapika then took her phone and looked at it, as the kids peered over his shoulder and read it as well. Killua smirked.
"Because I'm the Chairman. I know it all.
Hohoho~
From the creepy old Chairman ;)"
Nen was leaking out Gon's body, a clear proof that the thirty days were up. The kitty that used to hang on his back disappeared, freeing the boy.
But then, Morel spoke.
"Gon... Sorry, but I'm still not convinced we should keep you around," he walked in front of him and took off his shirt. "Show me your resolve. Attack me as if I were responsible for Kite. If your attack is too weak, we'll replace you with another Hunter."
Gon's fist clenched tightly.
"You want me to attack you for real?" he asked, darkly.
"Don't insult me! If you hold back in the slightest, you're off the team!"
The boy walked towards him, as Morel released his Nen. Gon closed his eyes, as the memories of an armless Kite flashed in his mind. He opened them, and they acquired a dull brown tone.
"Ah, shoot," Hitomi facepalmed. "Couldn't you have thought in a slightly happier example? You're so dead now..."
"First comes Rock..." he chanted, angrily.
Gon's Nen started to spike all over the place, charged by his own anger. Wind blew around him, showing how strong his attack was.
Kurapika opened his eyes at full capacity, looking in huge surprise at the boy. It looked like he got way stronger in the short time they had seen last. It was kind of terrifying.
But if things continued like this, he was going to kill him. He tensed at the thought.
"Gon, sto-!" the blond boy tried to stop him.
Before he could even finish his sentence, something else happened. Killua and Hitomi were right behind Gon, each one placing a hand in a shoulder.
"Gon, that's enough..." Killua spoke to the young boy.
"He passes, doesn't he, big guy?" Hitomi directed to Morel.
"Y-Yeah..." that was the man's only answer.
The other boy blinked, and then returned to his old self, relaxing slightly.
"K-Killua, Hitomi. Thank you," he then turned to Morel. "Sorry about that, Morel-san! I was really about to kill you!"
Knuckle laughed, placing a hand on Hitomi's head.
"Pretty honest, isn't he?" he asked.
"Yeah, somewhat," she looked at him, smirking. "Does it count if I say that you are awesomely annoying as being honest too?"
"At least it counts like I'm awesome in something, right?" he looked away, chuckling, red faced.
A vein popped up in Killua's forehead. "This is getting more bizarre every moment..." he frowned.
Kurapika, on the other hand -not noticing Knuckle and Hitomi's conversation - blinked at the situation with the Freecss boy and released a chuckle, relaxing his body a bit. It looked like Gon would be always Gon... As long as his best friends were with him, that was it.
Morel gave him a long look as well, before starting to laugh.
"You got me... You got me good. You go crazy with the best of them."
Hitomi smirked and slapped softly at Gon in the back. He just grinned in response.
"We'll split up now. Use whatever means you deem best to fulfill your mission," he declared. "Gon, Killua and Hitomi, as you requested, you're assigned to Neferpitou. Knuckle, Shoot and Kurapika, you're on the one called Menthuthuyoupi. Knov and I will take Shaiapouf."
"Working in teams, huh?" Kurapika sighed, glancing at his partners by the corner of his eye. "I prefer going on my own but... Oh, well."
"What's with the long face?" Knuckle head-locked the boy, much in his dismay. "Come on, you look like you hate working with us-"
"With you, more likely," he joked, deadpan as always.
"Why, you-!"
The kids sweatdropped at the scene, while Shoot just shook his head. Hitomi then smiled to herself, happy that her loner brother was making friends... in his own way.
"Well, best of luck to you," Morel completed his speech.
"NO WAY!" Killua and Hitomi yelled at same time.
Gon flinched at their sudden outburst. He still couldn't understand why they had reacted like this, nor why both of their faces were that red.
"What's wrong with it?" he replied, confused. "The three of us are friends, aren't we?"
"That has nothing with do with this, Gon," Killua replied, embarrassed. "Hitomi is a girl, remember?"
"And what?"
Hitomi released a long sigh.
"For goodness sake, don't you get it?" Hitomi said, annoyed, pointing at herself. "Do you think that a girl like me would swim around boys like nothing, all naked?"
Killua stared at her and his blush increased. The girl noticed him watching, and she flushed as well when she realized what he was thinking about. Her teeth gritted and her eyebrow twitched.
SMACK!
"Don't go imagining things about me, freaking pervert!"
"Ah?!" Killua snapped. "Who would imagine that about such flat-chested tomboy like you?!"
"You little-!"
"Hey, hey, you two..." Gon tried to calm them down. "It's not the time for this!"
They gave each other a small glare, before looking away. The other boy just laughed awkwardly, sweatdropping at the scene they were making.
"I don't understand what's the problem with that," Gon spoke, innocently. "I used to bath together with Mito-san and she wasn't ashamed about it."
"That's different! We are talking about your aunt, a mother-like figure for you-! Argh! It's impossible to talk about this with you!" Hitomi yelled, irritated. "Why can't I just swim with my clothes on?!"
"Because you can catch a cold," Gon grinned.
"Don't smile when we are talking over a problem like this!" she snapped.
"Calm down! Why don't we do this?" Killua tried to calm the girl down. "Gon and I go first and analyze the area. You wait five minutes and then go. We can meet there, okay?"
"Okay..." she huffed, in annoyment.
"Good then!" Gon's smile widened, as he started to take his jacket off.
"NOT IN FRONT OF ME!"
She then turned around and rested her blushing face against a tree. Gon blinked meanwhile Killua shook his head, sweatdropping.
"If I kept seeing for a bit more, I would be scared for life now..." Hitomi sighed. "I had enough with that freaking clown in Greed Island.."
"Well, we are off," Gon said behind her.
"Yeah, understood," she said, annoyment flowing in her voice. "Go, go."
Hitomi heard them getting in the water and waited a bit. She then turned around and found that they were gone. She spend the five minutes wrapping her belongings in a plastic bag. Who knows, something could suddenly happen in her trip, and she definitely didn't Pairo's eyes and everything else soaked with East Gorteau's water... Just to be safe.
She then undressed, put her bag on her head and some leaves for camouflage. Hitomi then got in the water and safely arrived at the other side. Quickly, she dressed up, twisted her soaked hair to dry it a little and threw her bag over her shoulder.
"Hi, there," she waved at her friends once she found them. "Well then, let's go."
They looked at her, and nodded. Like that, the three started to walk
"Sneaking in was easy," Killua said. "But the question is how to get close enough to the enemy."
"And we can't let just anyone see us, either," Gon added.
"Yeah, if we do that, we are dead," Hitomi agreed.
"This country has a powerful information regulation system that operates in secret using groups of informants," the whitehead explained.
"Informants?" Gon blinked.
Hitomi sighed, placing her hands behind her head.
"Yeah, informants, you know. People who give information to other person," she went on. "If you discover an enemy spy, you receive a reward. If you find evidence of insurgency, you receive a reward. If you stop someone from fleeing the country... Guess what? You receive a reward."
"So the people will do anything for that reward," Gon asked.
"Money isn't everything in this," she continued. "After racking up enough informant points, the entire group is promoted. But if someone provides false information or a member commits a crime, the entire group is punished."
"Carrot and stick, huh?"
"It's pretty nasty business. Family members are put in different groups," Killua added. "So if an entire group tries to escape, the other family members can be executed or imprisoned for life. If a family is caught trying to escape together, they'll be executed, no question asked."
The girl gave Gon a glance and chuckled. He was having a difficult time using his head.
"For this country's elite to live the good life, the rest of its citizens must scrape by. But the media also spreads lies. Such as that, in other countries, had the population starves by the age of ten. Foreign aid never reaches the needy. Instead, it's spent on cars, jewels, and missiles," the boy continued. "It even said that East Gorteau spends grant money developing nuclear weapons that become bargaining chips in negotiations for unprecedented foreign aid increases."
Then, he stopped when he spotted a laughing Hitomi. She then pointed at Gon. Smoke was getting out his head.
"Hey, don't overheat!" Killua shouted at him, angrily.
"I th-think I'm okay..." he scratched his cheek, nervously. "That was just so complicated… But you two sure know a lot about it."
"Complicated?" Hitomi scoffed. "Come on, I understood all of this completely when I first read about it, when I was six."
They gave her a look, speechless. "What kind of books did she use to read?" they thought.
"What about you, Killua?" she asked him.
"My brother told me everything," he replied. "And he probably heard it from Grandpa."
"Your grandpa?" Gon asked.
"Yeah. Long ago, he infiltrated the country for a job. And I've seen similar information on Hunter websites. The system is likely still in use."
Then, the three noticed something, far away from the cliff in they were on, so they kneeled down to not be seen.
"There's village," Gon pointed out.
"Yeah," Killua nodded. "It's not very big."
"What do we do?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Hitomi grinned playfully. "Sneak in!"
Gon blinked at her, while Killua shook his head at her excitement. Nothing good could come from it, and it even worried him a little.
"Is that a good idea?" Gon asked.
"She's right. We need current information. Knowing what kind of clothes they wear or how to identify someone's rank will help," Killua agreed. "They may have certain practices to root out spies. The more data we have, the better."
"Well, then," Hitomi's smile widened. "I'm off-!"
"You two wait here," the boy interrupted her and then ran off to the place.
"Ah!" Hitomi pouted. "Boy..."
Gon looked at her and smiled nervously. They watched Killua got inside cautiously, spying and inspecting the place. After a bit, he made eye-contact with them and told his friends to come there.
They entered at a house, just to find out that it was completely deserted.
"Maybe everyone left for Peijing?" Gon suggested.
"Yeah, right," Hitomi kneeled in the floor and touched softly the red trail with the tips of her fingers. "That explains the blood here."
"Something happened here," Killua went towards a chair and moved it, showing a tiny crack with a spot of blood in the middle. "And someone's trying to hide it. They did a sloppy job."
Hitomi sighed and stretched herself.
"Seems like whoever did this is not a brilliant one," she pointed at the red line. "We even have a blood trail to follow here."
She started to walk, the boys closely following her. At the end, they found themselves in front of a lot of wild dogs that ran away at the sight of them. The three looked at what they had been around to.
The skeletons of the people of the village.
"So the idiot who tried to cover up the murdering scene forgot to dig the bodies deep," Hitomi sighed. "No wonder the dogs got to the bodies. I can tell that the entire village is buried here."
"What's going on here?" Gon asked.
"This is the true purpose of the national celebration. It's a pretense for entire populations of towns and cities to vanish without raising suspicion," Killua's eyes narrowed. "The selection has already begun."
Hitomi nodded, frowning, while Gon just tensed.
"In hindsight, it would be tough to summon all citizens to the capital and make the selection so quickly. This nation has a population of around five million. Clearing out one town or city at a time is more effective," he continued, as the three started walking. "In that case, their only concern would be coworkers or family members raising a fuss over the missing. But with the pretext of the national celebration, no one will find it strange that they can't contact someone. In this nation, cell phones aren't allowed, so if they believe the other party is travelling, it makes sense that they can't contact them."
"The selection will go very smoothly. The capital city, Peijing, is in the southeast corner. They only need to attack the farthest towns first and work their way east," Hitomi explained. "If each town told that the government will assign its people a time to depart, there won't be any problems regarding communication between towns."
"So, by preventing people from meeting between towns to travel together, they eliminate any cause for commotion," Gon concluded. "But, that means they have to run around the nation to attack all five million citizens."
"Well, if one percent survives, that gives them fifty thousand creepy soldiers," Hitomi shrugged. "Not a bad number, I guess."
"No, I mean before that. There are ten... No, nine days left. If you wanted to check five million people in that time, you'd need a lot of help.. Assuming that one Nen user can check ten thousand citizens in ten days, you would need... ugh..."
Gon was never good in math, and he would never be.
"Five hundred Nen users," his two friends said in union.
"Exactly!" his face brightened.
"You're getting at the fact that there can't be that many ants who can use Nen?" Killua stated, and he nodded. "I agree, but it probably isn't that hard. They don't need Nen users to check everyone."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Manipulation, remember? That puppet thing that Neferpitou used," Hitomi told him. "I think I see Killua's point. That thing maybe can be used to automate victims or like Genthru's power, can probably be used to control multiple people at once. Ordinary humans have aura, like us. So, the manipulator could force a victim's aura to concentrate in their fist. One punch alone could create an army of fifty thousand. While leaving four million, nine hundred and fifty thousand dead in the process."
Gon then tensed, and Killua gave him a look.
"Well, it isn't all bad news. If my theory is correct, causing a commotion to stop their selection will be simple," he told him, smirking. "We merely have to pop up, take out whoever is being controlled and cause quickly. Then we just encourage the people who escape to check on other towns nearby. If the Chimera Ants have sent controlled puppets rather than actual Nen users taking them down will be a cinch. We'll just run around, taking them down one after another and wreak havoc."
Gon just nodded happily while Hitomi smirked as well.
"The problem is that they'll detect us quickly," Killua turned serious again. "Once we make our move, they'll know we're here. If we want to go with the old man's plan... we should stay hidden," he stopped and looked at his friends. "What do we do?"
The boy thought over it for a bit, but Hitomi didn't. She just gave Killua a cheeky grin.
"Who cares about him? Let's do it. Rules are made to be broken," she said, while Gon nodded in determination. "Also, if the selection has already begun, we can't just stand around watching."
He looked at her, before releasing a tiny smile.
"Okay, let's do it," Gon nodded energetically at his answer. "But I'll do this alone."
"Eh?!" the black haired boy exclaimed.
Hitomi crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"No way in hell, I'm going," she told him. "It's dangerous to run around here alone."
"But-!" he shouted at her.
"No buts I don't care. I'm so going," Killua opened his mouth to answer, but she cut him off. "You know, even if you wasted your energy arguing with me over this, I would still follow you. And knocking me out isn't a good choice either. Leaving Gon all alone carrying an unconscious girl around would burden him way a lot, and it wouldn't be nice coming from you, would it?" she then grinned. "So, you have no more option than let me accompany you for good."
Killua's eyebrow twitched before he sighed in annoyment.
"Okay, whatever," he said, in surrender. "But you, Gon, are staying in hiding."
"Why?!" he complained. "It'll go better if the three-!"
"Don't forget our main mission!" he shouted at him. "Defeating that Chimera Ant. That should be your focus."
Gon looked at his feet as Neferpitou's face flashed in his mind.
"Let me handle everything else," Killua started to walk, while Hitomi's eyebrow twitched. "I'll stir things up."
"He's talking like I'm not here..." she softly growled, as she followed him together with Gon.
"And no offense, but I work more easily alone. I have more than enough with Hitomi's stubbornness," he continued, annoying the girl even more.
"Geez..." Gon pouted. "Fine, I got it."
"Really?"
The three stopped in their tracks. Killua didn't face them, and the other two exchanged looks, worried about him. Finally, he looked at the boy.
"Do you really understand?" his fists clenched. "Promise me you won't make a move! Not even if people are killed right before your eyes! Promise!"
No one talked for a bit and the atmosphere was that thick that you could cut it through with a knife. The two friends looked at Killua with puzzled expression, before he turned around.
"We'll contact you by text," he said. "Our cell phones should still work in this area."
"Killua?" Gon called the boy uncertainly.
"Sorry, it's nothing," he looked at them, with a smile in his features. "I'm just a little tense."
Hitomi raised an eyebrow. "Oh, just a little... Right," she mumbled, in disbelief. "Anyway, let's go."
"I can't help it!" Knuckle yelled, as he took a bite of a lollipop. "We're supposed to stand around, watching as people are killed?"
Kurapika was feeling the same way as him, but didn't reply.
"Are you two sleepy?!" he yelled at his partners, much in the blond's dismay. "Want me to put you to sleep, eh?!"
"Yeah, I'm agree with you but don't yell," the young boy sighed. "You'll draw ants here and, besides, it's annoying."
The man looked away, calming down a little bit before looking at Shoot. In irritation, he pressed his forehead against his, teeth gritting.
"Don't act that it's not your business!" he yelled."If they're gonna check five million citizens in ten days, simple arithmetic says that's five hundred thousand per day! Of which one percent will survive!"
Kurapika sighed in annoyment. "Who does this guy remind me of? It was an annoying guy, but-" Leorio's face popped up in his mind. "Oh, wait. Now I remember."
"And your point is?" Shoot asked, calmly.
"That means four hundred, ninety-five thousand have already been killed! How can you be so calm?!" he turned at Kurapika. "And I'm talking to both of you!"
"Because if we lose our cool... billions could die!" Shoot replied, while the boy just nodded.
Knuckle gritted his teeth, before stepping back and sitting down again.
"Even though I personally would prefer acting now, we must stick to the plan," Kurapika's blue eyes narrowed. "And if the plan fails, nobody will survive. If we don't manage to draw the three Royal Guards away from the King, I highly doubt that the Chairman will be able to defeat him."
"Thus, we cannot let them discover our existence before the time is right," Shoot added. "If that happens, security around the King will be even further tightened. You must endure this."
A sigh was released from Kurapika's mouth as he looked at Knuckle. He could be a little reckless, but he was glad that Shoot was here to control his temper.
"Gon is another of this type, but luckily he listen to people and calms down..." he thought randomly. "He is really different from Hitomi... she's is kind of reckless, unpredictable... and never listens to people..."
A thought crossed his mind and he flinched unconsciously as a tiny yelp escaped from his lips. Because of that sudden action, he gained a look of confusion from both his companions.
"What's wrong, Kurapika?" Knuckle asked him. "You became pale all of sudden."
"It's nothing," he grimaced. "I just... remembered something. That's all."
The other two exchanged a look.
"Ah, I see, you are worried about Hitomi," Knuckle concluded, thinking about the girl. "Speaking of that, she is your sister, right? So-"
Kurapika's cold glare interrupted him, as he raised an eyebrow.
"Ah, my bad. Sorry, awful timing. I'll ask later..." another glare came to his direction. "... Or never again, it's alright..."
The boy looked at him for awhile more, before sighing.
"They must be inside here now..." he brought a hand to his forehead. "Oh, please, Hitomi. For once in your life... just be quiet."
"COME ON!" the girl yelled at the top of his lungs. "Get your asses out of here if you want to live!"
Killua smirked at her. She was taking this too seriously. Maybe too much for her own sake.
All the people looked at her shocked. Hitomi stood with Killua, crossing her arms over her chest, in front of the soldiers they had just taken off.
"Diego has been dethroned," Killua told everyone. "Brainwashed soldiers are running around, slaughtering entire villages and towns!"
"Diego has fallen?" the murmur of the people could be heard.
"Is that true?"
"But we saw the soldiers try to kill everyone."
"Don't waste your sacred time thinking about it!" Hitomi cut them off. "Save your skins, now!"
"Just leave this village and run, anywhere!" Killua said. "Warn people in other areas!"
Then, the people started to run and the kids smirked at each other, before starting to run to another direction. They had to warn other people as well.
"We have to hurry," Hitomi said. "Who knows how much time we have until the ants start to act."
"Yeah," that was Killua's only reply.
The two ran for a lot of time, trying to not be found. After a while, Killua leaned against a tree, panting, and looked at his phone.
"So," Hitomi gasped a little for air, looking at the phone. "The closest village is at two o'clock."
"And the next closest villages are at eight and ten o'clock," he nodded. "Should we skip them and head for Taba, forty kilometers away?"
Hitomi just nodded, before starting to run next to Killua. They stopped in their tracks, feeling a huge Nen wave close from where they were.
"Maybe not, then," the girl said, before they turned around and headed for another direction.
They continued to run, and they saw several soldiers walking around. Because of that, the two leaned against a wall, trying to not be seen.
"Told you so," Hitomi smirked. "The military had started to mobilize."
"Hmm... No problem. They can bring out tanks and fighter jets," Killua said, determined. "We will stop them all."
"Oh?" she smirked. "Seems you are confident. I like it."
"This is bad... I should have taken matters into my own hands," Knuckle mumbled. "As we speak, Cheetu is racing toward East Gorteau. It seems the Hunters that replaced us failed to capture him."
Kurapika sighed, remembering the cheetah ant. Days ago, they had fought him along Morel and after that contracted Hunters to kill him, meanwhile they took care of other matters. The reason that Knuckle could tell that was because he had used his Nen ability on him and APR was following him.
"Is he headed toward us?" Shoot asked him.
"No, if he continues on his current course, he'll pass far to the south," he replied.
The boy looked at the floor for a bit, and before he realized he was standing up. The two other Hunters gave him a confused look.
"You two stay here, and stick with the plan," Kurapika clenched his fists. "I'll have to kill him before something bad happens."
"Wait, Kurapika. Don't act like you're the leader, you're still too young," Knuckle said, standing up as well. "I'm going with you."
"But-" he was about to reply.
"Don't try to stop me, I'm already in bad mood," he cut him off, then turned to Shoot. "The Hunter Association has captured three hundred and nineteen Chimera Ants outside of NGL as of yesterday. But Colt confirmed that none of them were Squadron Leaders. According to him, there are eight Squadron Leaders left that would be considered aggressive. Hunters have encountered four, but they all got away. Cheetu is coming to East Gorteau for a reason. He must know the King is here."
"He's choosing to return to the King's service in order to increase his power. And if we allow more ants joining the King, we'll never be able to draw the Royal Guard away. That's why he has to be stopped," Kurapika concluded. "But, Knuckle, you are still using your ability. You should save your strength for-"
"My ability is still in effect, that's true, but I have more raw strength!" Kurapika got interrupted again, annoying him a little. Then, he directed to Shoot, who was still in silence. "Are you gonna try to stop us? Eh?! If you are, I'll fight you first!"
"If you only were a bit less loud..." Kurapika shook his head.
But instead, he just showed him a phone.
"First, we contact Morel-san and Knov-san. If worse comes to worst, they will need to replace us," he gave it to Knuckle. "I'll come with you two. This should increase the odds of capturing that ant."
Kurapika smiled slightly, in thanks, and the man grinned widely. He pressed the phone against his ear and waited, hearing the rings. After a little, they stopped.
"It's Knuckle... Something has come up," he said, and talked for a while with his master. "So, uh... Hello? Hello?"
And then he looked at his comrades, with a puzzled expression. Morel had just hung up. Kurapika shook his head, sighing.
"Looks like he's pissed off then," Shoot stated. "He's probably calling the Hunter Association right now."
"Well, we have no option," Kurapika declared. "We need to take care of this, alone."
The other two just nodded at him.
Minutes later, the three were on move to capture the ant. They stopped, as Knuckle tried to locate the cheetah. Finally, he stated that it was close.
"If he continues that way, he'll pass by ten minutes," he informed.
"You said that APR stars adding interest again in ten seconds, right?" Kurapika asked, and the two men nodded. "Good. Since he is a cheetah, probably he will arrive here after seven seconds. More than enough."
They waited for the seven seconds to come, but nothing happened. Knuckle's eyes flew opened in disbelief, as he jumped out of his spot.
"Damn, what happened?" he cursed. "At the last second, he suddenly changed direction!" he jumped down the hill. "He's down below!"
"Knuckle!" Shoot stopped him. "Don't bother. We can't catch up. Our opponent has a cheetah's speed."
Kurapika looked at the way the ant was supposed to be, in irritation. Knuckle analyzed his environment, and confirmed that he would never be able to smell them.
He wasn't supposed to know how to deal with Zetsu, so how did he discover them?
"We weren't in his sight, so he shouldn't have been able to see us..." Kurapika said, and then got surprised at his discoverment. "But... someone else then..."
"Look up!" Shoot suddenly said.
The three looked up, just to see an ant who looked like a dragonfly flying over them, seeming that he was the one who noticed them. Kurapika wanted to go after him, but realized that it wasn't the best option. He could put his partners in danger in the attack.
And then, the ant flew away.
"Diego has fallen into enemy hands!" Killua yelled, as he ran through the village along Hitomi. "If you stay in your homes, you'll be killed!"
It looked like Diego had already appeared in the TV, looking alive, because the people started to throw things their way. That irritated Hitomi a little.
"Liars!" they shouted. "Rebel scum!"
"We're the liars here?!" Hitomi shouted, pissed off, as she grabbed a vase that was about to land in her face. "We were just trying to save your freaking lives, ungrateful scum! I don't want you all crying over us in your dying breath by the hands of a scary ant!"
"It's not the time for this, Hitomi," Killua stopped her. "We'll have to give up our instigation! Our only option is to take out as many puppets and soldiers as we can!"
Killua ran away and Hitomi sighed, giving the people a last glance. "Happy dying, everyone!" she shouted, before following the boy.
They decided to go north, where the next city was. Not long after that, they found themselves being followed by air. Flying over them, there was an ant called Flutter, the flydragon one.
"Damn, my attacks can go that far," Hitomi cursed under her breath.
"He's way out of my yo-yo range," Killua thought, before saying. "If we don't lose him or defeat him, we'll be in trouble."
They ran for a bit and found a jungle. Trying to lose him, they got inside it and hide there, panting slightly.
But he never came.
"Shit," Hitomi thought. "Does that mean he still can see us and he is laughing over this? It annoys me a little..."
Then the ground started to tremble and not long after that the two realized that enemies were coming their way. Killua got out of his hiding spot just to avoid the enemy's attack and in one swing, he removed his head.
Hitomi jumped out the rock as well, and stabbed her knife in the other foe's skull before realizing that there was a bunch of them.
But in a flash, Killua killed everyone, in a cool way, just leaving the leader. Hitomi's eyebrow twitched.
"He's getting all the attention, huh? No fun."
But then, the girl noticed something zooming at her side, and she jumped back. Flying over her head, there were a lot of insects, doing nothing than watching them.
"That's why he can see us!" she realized. "We have to stop him now!"
She turned around and faced Killua.
"Killua! Go for the leader!" Hitomi shouted, before quickly starting to climb the tree. "Catch you later."
"Got it," he nodded. "Just don't die!"
And then he ran away. She didn't say anything, but a tick mark appeared in her head.
"He thinks I'm going to die? Wow, he trusts me way a lot..."
But she never reached Flutter. It seemed like fate wanted her to fight another ant first. That's when Hitomi realized how much she hated that Fate-guy... if he even existed... or if he was a he...
Either way, she hated it. Nothing more, nothing else.
End of this chapter!
First of all, I would like to say that - again - I won't be publishing anything until next week. You see, school is in the way and is going to kill me soon :( Sorry...
taran taran: Thanks for reviewing! Hope you liked this chapter :D
havanatitana: Thank you for reviewing too :) I wish you had fun here!
Another Cosmology: You're right, it's kinda cool :D Thanks for leaving a review and I hope you liked this chapter!
JokeLover123: I'm happy you liked that killutomi part:) Thanks for reviewing and hope you had fun here!
SoulXHunter: You don't know how glad I'm about it! Honestly, I always found this arc kind of difficult, and I was afraid that it would became really boring... Thanks for leaving a review and hope you liked this update :D
Silent Readers Out There: Thanks for paying a visit! Have fun XD
See you all later!