"How can you destroy a monster without becoming one?"

-Kaneki, Tokyo Ghoul-

CHAPTER 16: ANOTHER PSYCHIC

"So? How did the call go?" Leorio rose from the sofa, looking at the blonde who just entered the room.

"I couldn't get anything." Kurapika sighed. Fatigue was apparent on his face.

"How about telling them that the Phantom Troupe tricked everyone with the fake corpses?" Leorio suggested.

"No. Now that the Community knows the Troupe was from the City of Meteor, they won't try laying a hand on them." The blonde curtly dismissed the idea. "-But that's not what I want to know!"

Leorio flinched, suddenly catching a bad feeling about what the blond Kurta was implying.

"Kurapika… Don't tell me… you want to face them without help from the Mafia Community?!" He asked wearily.

His blond friend turned to him with a deadly serious expression that clearly confirmed his earlier suspicion.

"I think you're mistaken about something, Leorio." The blonde calmly revealed. "I've never got help from the mafia!"

Leorio stared at his Kurta friend, nonplussed. Just in the 6 months that they were apart, Kurapika had changed tremendously. The wimpy kid he used to know had turned into a powerful Nen user, enough to kill a Phantom Troupe member all by himself. He surpassed them all, even Killua. No matter how he thinks of it, he didn't expect such a monstrous speed of improvement.

This is what a true genius is, and a very miserable one at that! The guy had sacrificed greatly to reach this level of Nen mastery!

"Kurapika, we'll help you, too!" A familiar childish and cheery voice broke the interim silence in the room.

Leorio promptly turned his head. Gon and Killua had returned after their little discussion.

"Tell us what to do and we'll do it!" Gon added.

Killua silently sneaked a few glances at the blond Kuruta and his stubborn best friend. He was not as keen on meddling with the Phantom Troupe as Gon was. Sure, helping Kurapika would be a good cause but with their current state, he was not even confident that they could make it out alive. Since the reward from the Mafia Community for capturing the Troupe was canceled, he no longer fancied taking such a great risk. Being captured by the Phantom Troupe once was enough. Feitan, the hobbit, almost broke every bone in Gon's arms. He himself had Hisoka's card digging into his neck. They were no better than some playthings for those bastards to pass time.

"You're aware that the reward for capturing them has been revoked, aren't you?" Kurapika sighed.

Of course, we knew. Just turn him down! Now! Killua chanted in his mind while staring intensely at the blond Kuruta and thinking about how to get out of this soon-to-be mess.

"But my intention to stop them hasn't changed!" Gon replied firmly with his signature stubborn look gleaming in his hazel eyes.

Ah…Gon and his reckless enthusiasm! The silver-haired assassin secretly grimaced in frustration.

"We might die." The blond Kuruta said; His voice turned grave.

Damnit! You're adding fuel to the fire, Kurapika! Killua cursed internally, already foreseeing where things were going.

"Yes, I know." –Gon answered with full determination.

Killua silently exhaled. Ah, here it goes! He thought grumpily.

Touched by Gon's answer, Kurapika's face relaxed a little. He looked at all his three friends, gratitude filling his eyes.

"Fine then. Let's discuss our plan!" The young Kurta beckoned them to come further inside.

Until the next auction started, there were only 6 hours left. The gang was once more gathering in Gon and Killua's hotel suite.

"First, we need someone to keep an eye on their hideout." Kurapika said. "-And keep us informed."

"I'll take care of that!" The silver-haired ex-assassin raised a hand. It was the only thing he felt comfortable doing anyway. Like Gon, he knew Phantom Troupe's secret base. He was perfect for the job. And if he could, he would try to avoid confronting those guys up close. Just spying on them would be fine.

"You'll need to be extremely prudent!" The blond Kuruta warned him.

"Of course. I won't take any unnecessary risk." Killua nodded. For the first time, he strongly agreed with Kurapika on something.

"Next, I need a driver." Kurapika shifted his gaze to a certain friend in a black suit. "Leorio, could you do that?"

All eyes fell on Leorio, and he flinched.

"You mean..me?" Leorio asked, trying to hide his nervousness but the cold sweats incessantly decorating his forehead gave him away. Of course, he was not thrilled with the idea of chasing the Spider. Unlike the rest of the gang, he hadn't even mastered the basics of Nen yet.

"Umm, yeah…" Leorio stuttered a reply at last.

"Don't worry, with Kurapika at your side, you don't have to be afraid!" Killua scoffed, with sadistic amusement.

"Hey Killua, are you implying that I'm afraid?" Leorio shot up, pointing an accusing finger at the young ex-assassin.

Ignoring Leorio and Killua's comical banters, Gon turned to Kurapika. "What about me?"

"You'll be in charge of keeping them distracted," Kurapika replied. No matter how much he thought about it, a bait would need to be bold enough to divert the enemies' attention. There was no one else better than a wild and reckless Gon. He was the perfect bait.

"Wait, that's a dangerous job! He'll need to confront them again!" Killua shot up from his seat. Knowing how impulsive Gon could be, baiting the Troupe was basically a suicidal idea. There was no freaking way he would let Gon- his precious Gon- do that.

"That depends on the means Gon uses," Kurapika said.

"I don't get it." Killua furrowed his brows.

"Very simple." The blond Kuruta explained. "I only need one second of their attention!"

And the rest of the gang held their breaths. Just one second? What could they do to the Troupe in a mere second?

"One second is perfect for me to capture Pakunoda." The Kurta replied to their silent inquiries. "-But in the worst case, I'll need at least half a second!"

Everyone fell into a brief silence. Incredible. Only half a second to capture a target. What's the extent of Kurapika's ability? They silently pondered.

"You are the key to the plan. Can you handle it?" Kurapika's gaze fell on Gon. Truthfully, he didn't want to pressure Gon. One second or half a second, acting as a trouble-maker to divert the Spiders' attention was still a dangerous job.

"I don't know. I'll have to think about it." Gon answered with uncertainty. What should he do? He'd be the most important part of the plan. He didn't want to disappoint Kurapika but it would be a lie if he said he was not nervous. What if he failed? There'd be no way to get out of it. Everyone would be in a fatal situation.

Kurapika gently nodded at him.

"Anyway, remember this-" Kurapika looked at his three friends with a deadly serious expression. "Our target is Pakunoda, the one who reads minds."

"Only her! Don't get involved with the others!" He emphasized.

Kurapika leaned back into his seat and propped his chin on his hand, wracking his brain to find a better strategy. But there was none.

Time was moving fast. The circumstances make him unable to speculate a better plan. There were only six hours left. They needed to quickly get rid of that mind-reading Spider.

Suddenly, an image of a certain someone crossed his mind.

"Gon, Killua!" The young Kuruta suddenly turned to the boys. "How exactly did Pakunoda read your mind?"

"Uhmm… She just touched us. Nothing much!" Killua replied, shrugging his shoulders. "But it's just my speculation."

"I was in alliance with Hisoka but he also didn't know some of the Troupe members' abilities, including Pakunoda." Kurapika said.

"Of course, revealing one's abilities, even to your teammates, would be fatal in combat." The Kurta lone survivor added matter-of-factly.

Killua instantly rolled his eyes. Well said, man! Weren't you the one that revealed every bit of your abilities to us on a whim? The ex-assassin thought.

"Kurapika, can you put a Nen blade into my heart?" Gon said with determination."That way, I won't have a chance to reveal your abilities to Pakunoda." He smiled.

Kurapika stared at him, astounded. Killua and Leorio immediately exchanged a meaningful glance.

"Can you make three?" The young doctor and the ex-assassin decided to ask after a brief silence.

Kurapika was temporarily at a loss for words. A wonderful warmth suffused through his body.

"I appreciate your sentiments but it's a bad idea." The blond Kuruta shook his head in disapproval.

"Even if Pakunoda read your mind, it doesn't mean she can immediately reveal what she learned to others." He analyzed. "We can just capture her and eliminate her before she discloses the info."

"But if I put my judgment chain on you." He elaborated. "We'll lose the chance to counterattack!"

They all slumped back at his response. It was true. They did not think it through and it was indeed the worst idea!

"And… one more thing." The blond Kuruta finally shifted his gaze to the three friends around him. His eyes were filled with gratitude and tenderness. "Even if you reveal my secret, I'll have no regrets."

"I truly have good friends." Finally, he added with a smile that rarely comes by.

"Ha, you're making us even more pressured this way, Kurapika." Gon grinned wryly.

"Yeah, that's my motive!" Kurapika responded with amusement.

Gon chuckled merrily and Kurapika instantly joined him while the other two just rolled their eyes. What's there to laugh about? Killua thought. They were still in a tight situation here.

"Another thing… we have to look further into Pakunoda's power!" The blond chain-user said.

"How?" Killua raised an eyebrow.

"I have a friend," Kurapika explained. "She might be able to help investigate it."

The Kurta lone survivor searched his phone and selected a recently added contact entry.

Dawn was breaking.

Soft beaming lights of early morning seeped through the hotel room's curtain.

Clandestia sat up in bed with a contented sigh.

For the first time since she's been to Yorknew, she had a pleasant and sound sleep. Thanks to Melody's flute and the talk they had, she did not have any dream throughout the night.

The digital clock on the bedside table read 5 A.M.

The morning was still young. She could hear the early birds' soft chirping. The air was humid and fresh, reminding her of last night's downpour. Her phone started vibrating on the bedside table. Soon a familiar ring tone filled the quiet hotel room.

She frowned. Who would call this early?

She groggily reached out to grab the phone. Her eyes widened at the unexpected caller ID.

"Kurapika?" She jolted up, unable to conceal her surprise.

"Lady Clandestia… sorry to call at such an inconvenient time." A stern male voice greeted her.

It was really him. There must be some important issue that someone strait-laced to a fault like him would call her at this hour. She was about to urge him to continue but suddenly something was bothering her.

"Hey, first, I remember you already agreed that no more miss and lady!" She scowled. Her soft, sleepy voice mixed with a little sullenness that came out like a cute whining suddenly induced a faint shade of pink on his cheeks. He felt terribly relieved that they were just talking on the phone.

He was silent for a second. Then he spoke, a little awkward. "Clandestia, I have something to…"

"No-no, not that either!" She was persistent.

Another one or two seconds of silence went by before she heard a frustrated sigh at the other end of the line.

"Fine… Tia!" The Kurta bodyguard uttered, massaging his temples with his thumbs as he finally gave in. "You're happy now?" He asked, scowling. But surprisingly, it did not feel as awkward as he expected.

The young professor's lips curled up into a triumphant smile. For some reason, hearing him call her pet name was really satisfactory. And yes, she was indeed happy.

"I have a favor to ask." He said.

"I'm all ears." She gently urged him; her eyebrows knitted on alert.

"This is a bit complicated to talk through the phone." He replied, his voice turning serious. "So could you spare some of your time to see me?"

"Where are you?" She quickly asked, not wanting to waste any time. Kurapika must be in a really tight situation if he decided to ask for her help.

"I'm at a hotel near Orcharfe road. I'll send my friend to escort you here." He explained.

"Don't bother!" Clandestia quickly brushed him off. The seriousness in his tone was making her restless. "Just send me the address, I'll have Melody go with me!"

"Melody?" He repeated her suggestion as an idea crossed his mind. In fact, it was a good suggestion. "Alright, I'll contact Melody to instruct her." He promptly replied.

"Okay, I'll get going now," Clandestia said while slipping out of her bed.

"Thank you," The blond bodyguard said.

"See you, Kurapika." She smiled softly before they ended the call.

She walked barefoot to her closet and absentmindedly pulled out a purple T-shirt and a pair of casual shorts. It's making her uneasy thinking about what kind of situation Kurapika is currently in, that he has to ask for her help. But at the same time, it pleased her that he finally relied on her more like a friend. It was a positive sign that he's no longer weary of her.

Clandestia was in such a rush that she missed out on something important that was quietly lying on the bedside table.

A/N: Yonah7: Thanks for your honest review. It really helped me.

Neo-digital: I'm glad you like their interaction.